There are two main reasons why I decided to create Y-StyleRevoice. The most important one is:
90% of the styles we find on the internet just won’t sound as intended on our keyboard!
That’s a fact, even when it’s said, “it works for your keyboard too.” Of course, it will work, but how will it sound? For example, a style might sound great on one keyboard, but that same style may (and often does) sound terrible on a different one. The reason is that each keyboard has its own set of built-in voices. While it’s true that the majority of “most popular” voices can be found on every keyboard, not all of them are available.
So, what happens if a style uses a voice that doesn’t exist on our keyboard? Two things can occur:
1.The keyboard will automatically substitute the “unknown” voice with a similar voice that does exist. For instance, if the unknown voice is a guitar (and we don’t know how that guitar sounds), the keyboard will replace it with a “similar” guitar voice. However, being similar does not mean they’re identical, so the style will sound a bit different from what was intended. If multiple voices are automatically replaced, the result can range from acceptable to junk.
2.In some cases, the keyboard is unable to find a substitute for a voice. This usually happens when custom voices are used in styles (from expansion packs) or when the keyboard from which the style originated has a special voice pack built in. If a substitute voice isn’t found, then you’ll get silence for that instrument.
Now imagine a style where, for example, Chord1 (guitar A) and Chord2 (guitar B) sound different, and Phrase1 (cymbalon) is missing—there’s no need to say more.
But the above issues aren’t limited to styles found on the internet. Sometimes, voices are also missing in original Yamaha packs. Here are two examples:
•In the “Norteño & Mariachi” pack, the MariHuapango style’s voice for Channel 2 doesn’t exist in the pack.
•In the “Japan” pack, the Soranbushi style’s “Shamisen 2” voice for Chord1 is corrupt and doesn’t export to a *.ppi file.
The problem is that when using a style on the keyboard, we can’t always tell when a voice is missing. It often happens that styles switch voices quickly (sometimes for just one note), and we don’t even notice there was silence. All of this combined is what makes the difference between a good and a bad style.
Finally, the opposite can happen: we might want to use a different voice than the original one. It’s easy to replace the “main” style voices on the keyboard, but that’s not the case if the style is switching or replacing voices while in use (replacing voices in a Variation).
That’s why I realized I needed software that would solve voice-related issues in the long term. I tried some free tools, but most of them looked like control panels for a nuclear power plant and required considerable MIDI-related knowledge. I just needed a simple, user-friendly tool where I could easily check styles for voices on my keyboard and make quick corrections without being a MIDI expert. Eventually, I decided to create my own tool, with the main goal being an intuitive and simple interface.
Features
- Requires no installation, no internet access and doesn’t modify Windows registry – Open any style that Yamaha PSR keyboard recognises (*.sty, *.prs, etc.)
- Show all voices used in style (Init voices, Variations voices and OTS voices)
- Clearly indicates voices status (if certain voice exist on keyboard or not)
- Clearly Indicates MIDI channels that are actually used by style
- Replace any existing voice in style (with voice search options)
- Show voices and styles in expansion packs (*.ppf and *.ppi)
- Export styles from expansion pack to disk
- Indicate what (custom) voices in pack are used by certain style in pack
Y-SR Limitations
Even though it would be easy to implement other style-related functions (e.g., changing voice volume, tempo, etc.), I decided not to do that. Y-SR was meant to be a voice-only tool from the beginning and shouldn’t pretend to be more than it is. Once you start adding features, there’s no end to it, and the user interface becomes more and more cluttered.
Y-SR can only read style files created in the Yamaha format. This means that if a style is created on a Yamaha keyboard or comes from a Yamaha expansion pack, Y-SR will open it properly. However, if a style is created using non-Yamaha equipment or software, Y-SR may or may not be able to open it.
Where to download Y-SR
You can download the Y-SR program from the following location on the forum and also add any comments etc there.
Bogdan Hrastnik – Author of Y-StyleRevoice.
