WHICH IS BEST - COMPLEX OR SIMPLE EDIT ?

[♔Chello]

WHICH IS BEST - COMPLEX OR SIMPLE EDIT ?

After editing on Pa5X for almost 23 months, I find myself once again returning to simple edits.

Complex edits can sometimes apparently produce better sound, but something strange happens:
The joy of playing decreases with the complexity.

There are many very good effects to use, but every time I use the Limiter, something inexplicable happens to the sound; the sound image is somehow compressed.

I have done countless tests with and without the Limiter, but the sound is better WITHOUT.
The sound is also better with few or no effects - only a little Ambience on the drums.
Listening through my different ways of editing, I like the earliest ones the best, where I only used Ambience.

So I've spent 23 months, just to confirm that everything on the Pa5X is not really needed.
It is also clear that simple styles with few tracks are better than styles with many active tracks, because in my opinion the Pa5X is not suitable for styles with many tracks - the sound is compressed, which I have meant from the very beginning.

Many other earlier models, also from Yamaha, such as the A-3000 and DGX-670 appear to be better at complex styles than the Pa5X.

On one point, however, the Pa5X is superior to all others:
Simple styles and styles from midi.
Many of the styles I have made from midi give an incredible joy of playing, which tells the truth about what is best.

[⚖Chris]

When I have made a style I have just wanted the correct beat from just 2 bars of the midi (sometimes 4). This simple style fits my simple song sheets and my simple way of playing.

[⚖musicalmemoriesuk]

It’s also very easy to spend hours over thinking things or end up in a vicious circle. 

Sometimes it’s the smallest or smaller changes that make the biggest difference.

Also it’s why it’s important to make regular backups or save your changes so you can do an A / B comparison.

It’s also good to rewind the clock and go back to your creation from a few months back, sometimes its like having a fresh pair of ears listening to something, something you didn’t like then you may like now.

Anyhow just my thoughts.

[♔Chello]

When I have made a style I have just wanted the correct beat from just 2 bars of the midi (sometimes 4). This simple style fits my simple song sheets and my simple way of playing.

Thanks for your wise comment - this is something I should have clarified in my tutorial for Style Works.
The best advice I can give for successfully creating styles from midi is exactly what you say:
Use as few bars in each variation (main) as possible.

The producers have for years used 4 bars, while recently this has increased, which makes the style easier to make, but more difficult to play.

I have created far too many styles with many bars (up to 32), which very few can play correctly, because every chord has to be exact all the way through, otherwise everything goes wrong.

Today I preferably use 4, 2 or 1 bars, which makes the style more universal and easy to play.

[♔Chello]

It’s also very easy to spend hours over thinking things or end up in a vicious circle. 

Sometimes it’s the smallest or smaller changes that make the biggest difference.

Also it’s why it’s important to make regular backups or save your changes so you can do an A / B comparison.

It’s also good to rewind the clock and go back to your creation from a few months back, sometimes its like having a fresh pair of ears listening to something, something you didn’t like then you may like now.

Anyhow just my thoughts.

A vicious circle is perhaps one of the worst, and very easy to end up in, because you find a way that works, and stick to it.

It's always best to try the easiest first - if this works, then everything else is unnecessary and often destructive.

I've thankfully taken backups of everything I've done from the beginning, and when I rewind and listen through, I often find surprising results; both negative and positive.

So your thoughts are mine too.