The topic came up recently in viewtopic.php?f=69&t=69363, and I wonder if it makes sense to elaborate on it.
Voice Assign Mode is a zone parameter, and it is well documented in the Fantom Parameter Guide. However, if you just look at the zone parameters on the Fantom, it might not be obvious what it is doing.
Voice Assign Mode is relevant "when the same key is played repeatedly". The default option (in an initialized scene) is LIMIT, and the other two options are SINGLE and FULL.
Imagine you have a tone with a long release time, and you repeatedly play the same key. With SINGLE, the previous sound will be immediately silenced (cut off) when pressing the same key again, and a new sound is triggered. With FULL, the previous sound will not be cut off, and a new sound is triggered. That means you hear a combination of both. If you press the key repeatedly, then all of them keep sounding (assuming sufficient polyphony). LIMIT is somewhere between SINGLE and FULL.
Same behavior in combination with the hold pedal, that means playing the same key repeatedly while holding down the pedal.
Which option should you use?
Example pipe organ: If you play the same key repeatedly with the hold pedal and with LIMIT or FULL, then the same note will sound multiple times, and it will cause phasing and cancellation effects, which sound strange. For such a sound, SINGLE will almost always sound more realistic. It is similar for many other acoustic instruments. However, there are also instruments that can play the same "key" twice, for example an acoustic guitar.
Another important example is a pad with a slow attack, and while using the hold pedal. In this case, the difference between SINGLE and LIMIT is very obvious. Despite the phasing effect, LIMIT is often used for the pad when layering it with a piano tone, because when played with the hold pedal, it creates the perception that the two tones are independent.
Although LIMIT is the default option (in an initialized scene), I think SINGLE might be the more useful option in the general case.
Although voice assign mode is a zone parameter, it actually only works with some synth engines (Z-Core, and everything that directly maps to Z-Core). I tried some SN-A string tones, and they always behave like SINGLE.
VTW tones behave differently. Pressing the same key repeatedly (while holding the pedal), will not trigger a new sound. Instead, the previous sound continues. I call this mode LEGATO, and I think having this fourth option for all Z-Core tones would be a very useful feature, in particular for the piano+pad example that I have mentioned earlier.
The voice assign mode feature is not specific to Roland products. It also exists on some Yamaha products. For example, on the Yamaha Motif XF, it is called Key Assign Mode, with the options single and multi. And it is a voice ("tone") instead of a performance part ("zone") parameter, which IMO makes more sense.
What is Voice Assign Mode?
Re: What is Voice Assign Mode?
Thanks XP30 (used to have one zillions of years ago, lovely piece of gear!). This is very useful information !
Re: What is Voice Assign Mode?
Maybe the term TIE would be less confusing than LEGATO. I tested it with a MIDI processor prototype that automatically ties notes. The following two audio files demonstrate the difference between SINGLE and TIE.xp30 wrote: ↑21:54, 25 January 2023 VTW tones behave differently. Pressing the same key repeatedly (while holding the pedal), will not trigger a new sound. Instead, the previous sound continues. I call this mode LEGATO, and I think having this fourth option for all Z-Core tones would be a very useful feature, in particular for the piano+pad example that I have mentioned earlier.