humannoyed Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Anyone have one of these beasts? From their price and bulk, they have "Studio" written all over them. Frankly I wish Open Labs had some competition, especially in the gigging arena. A keyboard with a built in computer does not need to be big and bulky. If computer manufacturers can make something as powerful as some laptops are, or even a mac mini in something that small, it could be put in a small lightweight keyboard - I'm thinking around Electro size... And it could be standard off the shelf parts that are cheap and easily almost endlessly upgraded with new HDs, mobos, ram... Why don't the OL folks have some competition?? Day "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I have a cat. She is gray and claws my chair when she gets mad. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 OL does have competition: it's called the MUSE RECEPTOR. Much cheaper, sounds great, pretty easy to use. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Why don't the OL folks have some competition?? Because they're the only ones foolish enough to try and slap a laptop/synth hybrid together, including monitor, and think there's a market for it? Here's the real competition for OL (more like the company that's got it right, IMO): http://www.museresearch.com/i/receptor2_pro_max_front_810.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Both keyboardists for the formerly up-coming concerts for Micheal Jackson had one. Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images/storiespre2k6/neko_fire.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephonic Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I'd rather have a MacBookPro with a decent controller. gear list.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Apparently, Open Labs invited someone to set fire to one of their Neko keybaords to impress people with how tough it is. It's from Namm 2005. Neko fire I'm impressed with how thick the skull is of the Open Labs wizard that thought up the scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 The NeKo is trendy bullshit used by hip-hoppers and that douche nozzle from Korn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Still only one stereo pair of outputs on the Receptor 2? Again, I'll rant...how is a FOH engineer supposed to mix this thing if you only carry one to the gig? 8 optical ADAT outs? ADAT? Seriously? Oy. An off-the-shelf PC with almost anyone's 8-in- 8-out interface will come in way cheaper than this thing. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I wouldn't let a FOH engineer mix my sounds. He gets a stereo send and that's it. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd8dky Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 ...and that douche nozzle from Korn. THAT almost made me spit soda at the screen! http://www.weisersound.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 +1 with Moe/MateStubb. Still only one stereo pair of outputs on the Receptor 2? Again, I'll rant...how is a FOH engineer supposed to mix this thing if you only carry one to the gig? 8 optical ADAT outs? ADAT? Seriously? Oy. An off-the-shelf PC with almost anyone's 8-in- 8-out interface will come in way cheaper than this thing. k. I've been using my Receptor for almost 5 years now, in my Pink Floyd tribute. It provides the organ, MiniMoog, Prophets, Mellotron, string Machines, ARPsynths, CS80v and even some guitar processing. I did the homework, I programmed the sounds and mixed the levels on the Receptor's 'mixer', and guess what: it works great. I'd dare say MY mix of keyboards sounds better up front (because I send a stereo feed, period) than your's do if you're letting the engineer handle them. Receptors seem to work not just for me: Tony Banks of Genesis toured with is; Jordan Rudess is using his; go to the Muse page and find a whole list of people. The thing is a WINNER. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humannoyed Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 The Receptor is definitely a viable option for portable soft instruments and I'm glad it is working for you guys, but that thing hardly constitutes a standard windows or mac computer built into a lightweight keyboard that one can easily upgrade any part of cheaply, and... also run any program that a standard computer can run. I'm with Zephonic, for the price of a Receptor 2, a laptop would be even more versatile, though more trouble to setup unless everything stayed plugged in using one of the Studioflyer racks. That will probably be the route I go at some point. But... what can I say? I like to dream up alternate options. Here is another one: What if there was a standard size keyboard controller that had an expansion bay that would hold an entire a Mac Mini, or a MM size windows machine. You just plug it in and slide it into the bay. There could be an auto launch vsti host program that loads all your favorite soft instruments and setups when the machine is turned on - no monitor, mouse or computer keyboard needed unless you wanted it. ...I think it would be nice if there were other options using standard off the shelf computer parts and OSs that created a portable lightweight all self contained soft instruments machine. Surely some of you have thought of this too? I am just surprised there are not more options available considering the huge growth in soft instruments, and the desire to easily and inexpensively use them at the gig. Day "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewImprov Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 There could be an auto launch vsti host program that loads all your favorite soft instruments and setups when the machine is turned on - no monitor, mouse or computer keyboard needed unless you wanted it. I believe Brainspawn Forte can be configured to run this way. Turn up the speaker Hop, flop, squawk It's a keeper -Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 The Receptor is definitely a viable option for portable soft instruments and I'm glad it is working for you guys, but that thing hardly constitutes a standard windows or mac computer built into a lightweight keyboard that one can easily upgrade any part of cheaply, and... also run any program that a standard computer can run. 1) Why would you want to run "any program that a standard computer can run"? Killing time between sets, and playing Solitaire on the NeKo? 2) Why would it be better if it were a "standard Windows or Mac computer"? Frankly I want something that is designed and optimized for the job at hand. Sure, I could be a cheap prick and suffer the vagaries of substandard hardware and inconsistencies in build components (I'm looking at you, Dell) because the only focus is the low sale price, the hell with how well it works. I'm with Zephonic, for the price of a Receptor 2, a laptop would be even more versatile, though more trouble to setup unless everything stayed plugged in using one of the Studioflyer racks. That will probably be the route I go at some point. But... what can I say? I like to dream up alternate options. That's all well and good, but dismissing other solutions because they don't fit what you consider to be important is a little myopic, no? What if there was a standard size keyboard controller that had an expansion bay that would hold an entire a Mac Mini, or a MM size windows machine. You just plug it in and slide it into the bay. Sure... you convince either (1) Apple to never change the form factor of the Mac Mini, or (2) a white-label PC manufacturer to develop a whole new chassis design from scratch, just to cater to your niche-market synth product. Good luck with that one. There could be an auto launch vsti host program that loads all your favorite soft instruments and setups when the machine is turned on - no monitor, mouse or computer keyboard needed unless you wanted it. You don't need any of those with the Muse either; you might want to do a bit of research on the Receptor. ...I think it would be nice if there were other options using standard off the shelf computer parts and OSs that created a portable lightweight all self contained soft instruments machine. Surely some of you have thought of this too? See my response to the 'standard Mac Mini' suggestion above. When you can convince one or manufacturers to stick with a form factor for your 1% of 1% of their target market base, you'll be laughing. I am just surprised there are not more options available considering the huge growth in soft instruments, and the desire to easily and inexpensively use them at the gig. Again, "huge growth" is relative... how big do you honestly believe our market to be, relative to the general public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary75 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 +1 for Receptor, Love mine, and it was tonysounds who put me on to it when I had it shipped to the UK from Nova Muzik over 3 years ago now. I keep thinking about a hardware board purchase, but I then listen to the demos, compare, and turn away. Just want to upgrade my Rev C so I can have 4GB RAM. I use a lot of samples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 The Receptor is definitely a viable option for portable soft instruments and I'm glad it is working for you guys, but that thing hardly constitutes a standard windows or mac computer built into a lightweight keyboard that one can easily upgrade any part of cheaply, and... also run any program that a standard computer can run. I'm with Zephonic, for the price of a Receptor 2, a laptop would be even more versatile, though more trouble to setup unless everything stayed plugged in using one of the Studioflyer racks. That will probably be the route I go at some point. Day Ok, let's tally up: I'm successfully using VSTs via Receptor now in live settings, and have been doing so for 5 years. You are not. But you "pooh-pooh" my methodology and think there's a better way to do it because of all your experience in this domain. Seeing as your thread asked why Neko had no competition, I think we can safely say that you have been shown that they do. Thanks for stopping by! Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humannoyed Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Sven, Tony... Guys, Lighten up The majority of us that are using soft synths are using them on standard computers with standard OSs - not on Receptors. Computers come in all shapes and sizes - towers, racks, laptops, minis, and netbooks. Does that exaust the possibilities? Hardly, there are still other possibilities - ie they could made part of keyboard controller as well, with easy, upgradeable access to all the computer hardware. No special OS, so no need for software to be "receptorized", and not the whole kitchen sink angle of Open Labs. Like I said, if Receptors are working for you, great, but that hardly exausts the possibilities for even more succint options. Dreaming up new products does not make one myopic, Sven. Day "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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