THE ULTIMATE SOFTWARE FOR YAMAHA VL70M/PLGVL SYNTHS

VERSION 1.0

It is my hope that this software will

re-energize the VL user community and
stimulate Yamaha to re-launch a new generation of VL synths.

Rudy Verpaele

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of ImoxPlus BVBA. The software described by this document is subject to a
License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied,
reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by
ImoxPlus BVBA, hereinafter referred to as ImoxPlus.

Document authored by: Rudy Verpaele


Document version: 1.0 (02/2016)

Special thanks to the Beta Testers

Preface
Background
Thanks for installing the VL-Wizard, also referred to as VLwiz.

Many years I had a VL70m and a WX5 in my studio and I was frustrated having such great technology available
without being able to unlock its full power. I was ready to sell this piece of equipment. Luckily I found the VL-
Guidelines from Manny Fernandez on the internet. His VL-manual inspired me to start building an entire new
VL70m editor from scratch. Thanks Manny.....

This project was a very difficult journey with many pitfalls, technical complexity, lack of detailed information
etc. Thousands of hours went into this project and everyday I discovered new things or things to improve. Find-
ing the right balance between user-friendliness and in-depth access to the hundreds of parameters was a real
challenge. Several times I had to restart from scratch and wanted to give up but the supportive words of the
VLwiz beta testers and the donations helped me to get to the end of this marathon project. I want to thank all of
them for this...

The deeper I digged into the VL70m the more I was impressed about the fantastic job Yamaha has done to built
such amazing synth.

The VL-Wizard
The VLwiz runs on the recent MAC and WINDOWS operating systems and is compatible with the VL70m
unit(s) and VL-expansion cards PLG100VL / PLG150VL. It can control up to 8 units.

Hundreds of parameters are accessible in a well organized, realtime and visual manner. Many have an informa-
tion popup that includes information from the VL-guidelines of Manny Fernandez. This will help you to under-
stand the role of a parameter and will speed-up your learning curve.
  
A large voice library of more than 1000 voices is included. This library contains VL70m Factory, Windlist, con-
verted VL1, extracted visual editor voices etc.  This provides a great start.

MODULES WIDGETS
Librarian & templates (voice browser), Midi phrase recorder,
Advanced Editor, Midi learn,
Common & System Editor, Parameter Snippet,
Tuning Editor, Custom Voice storage,
  VL70m Effect User Sysex.

Note 1: The editor is not compatible with the VL1 and VL7 synths.
Note 2: The editor can only store voices into the memory of VL70m and PLG150VL units (not PLG100VL)
 

1
 Main Control Center
Overview Navigation (MMC)

Loaded voice category and display name

Click does open About window

Open Voice Browser

Volume slider
Open Element Editor
Voice image
Open Tuning Editor

Open XG-Common-System Editor

Set voice as favorite
Select other voice image Open VL70m effects Editor
Click to select voice category from list
Click to enter voice display name
Click to enter VL element name
Click to enter new voice category type Compare with original loaded voice
Click to enter voice author name or click circle Open user list widget

Click to enter extra comments on the voice resend voice to VL unit

open Custom/Internal storage widget

Midi in, thru, out led’s

Send midi reset - panic by clicking on led’s save active voice to disk/library

show midi notes open VLwiz settings

click to select octave up/down shows the actual voice mode as defined
shows all kind of information such as sysex, in the settings
note, warnings, confirmations etc. open midi phraser widget
Visual levels of most common controllers open midi learn widget
open snippet widget
Voiceslot switcher,
Up to 8 voice slots, click to select voice slot

Note: Some Features and labels appear only when moving mouse cursor over the MMC (main control center)

2
SETUP
First time startup / setup.
The start-up initialization might take a few seconds. This is because the VLwiz has to prepare itself (voice buffers,
graphics, license control etc..)

The first window appearing is called the Main Control Center (MCC) . The majority of feature on the MMC become
only available after loading a voice into the editing buffer of the VLwiz. Before you can load a voice you need to
setup a few things.

Step 1 - Configure the Voice Library Folder

1 - Click the Settings wheel button to open the VLwiz settings. Do not get overwhelmed by the amount of set-
tings. Most become clear over time. We will only setup the absolute necessary.

2 - Click the field “Voice Library Folder” and select the correct folder


For MAC a default location is set as part of the installation

For WIN you need to define the location, typically c:\user\[username]\Documents\VL-Wizard\VL-Voices

3 - Click the Voice browser button to open the Voice Library and see if the voice browser is correctly populated.

Step 2 - Configure the MIDI ports

Configuration Type 1: LOCAL MODE ON = WX5 midi signal is internally routed towards the VL70m
tone generator and also send via VL70m midi-out connector towards the VL-Wizard

On the VL70m

- Connect the WX5 controller to the front connector of the VL70m unit

- Set midi-transmit channel to 1

- Set midi-receive channel to 1 or ALL

- Set Device ID number to ALL

On the VL-Wizard settings


- Keep the midi-thru checkbox unchecked. Not doing this mightcause the VL70m to receive double notes.

- Switch ON midi-in and-out port connected with your VL70m. See port names of your midi-interface.

- Set midi-in channel to 1

- Set midi-out channel to 1

3
- Set number of devices to 1

- Set Device ID to 1 or ALL

- Set Device Type to VL70m

- Set Part# to OFF

- Set Serial# to 1

- In the advanced section of the settings, click the Device Check button to perform a send and receive test. Make
sure that VL-Unit number 1 is set to be tested.

- First watch your VL70m front display, it should show the VLwiz icon for a short time. (send test = OK)

- Then watch next to the Device Check button, the “VL70m” text should appear. (receive test = OK)

- Now play a note with your WX Wind Controller and see if the VLwiz reacts. If not then double check the set-
tings and your connections.

- Once the connection is correctly established you can go back to the voice browser and double click of press en-
ter key on a selected voice. This will load the voice into the VLwiz and VL70m. As of this point you can start
modifying , tweaking voices.