Receptor - IMPRESSIVE

[Geoff Grace]

Originally posted by Dan South:

I still think that the computer is best in the studio, because there's nothing between the sound generation unit and the recording unit - they are one and the same.

Dan, I both agree and disagree with this statement. Certainly, in cases in which one prefers to digitally record or render audio from virtual instruments, then the preferred method would be to have it start and finish from within the same box.

 

However, there are often advantages to analog processing in which case, it doesn't matter from which unit a sound originates as long as it sounds good. In fact, when an analog signal path is preferred, it may be better to originate anything that travels the analog path from a separate hardware unit because it helps reduce the processor load on the DAW computer.

 

Even in cases in which it is desirable that the signal path stays in the digital domain, it may still be desirable to save processor power. That's where units like Receptor come in handy. Via Receptor's UniWire software and an Ethernet cable, the DAW computer treats Receptor as a plug-in with virtually no processor drain. It's similar to using extra G5s as Logic nodes, except that Receptor gives the user integrated access to PC VST plug-ins rather than extra instances of Logic plug-ins not bad, if you're a Logic Pro user looking for the best of both worlds.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

--------------------

[burningbusch]

Originally posted by Beethree:

Originally posted by burningbusch:

. I'm running Ivory and find it to be very responsive. Absolutely zero glitches. It certainly works better than on a PC and far better than on a Mac.

 

Busch.

BurningBusch-

Can you play Ivory completely and utterly glitch free at 128 sample buffer on Receptor? And I mean COMPLETELY....sustain pedal pumping, forearms smashing, glisses galore....

I'm thinking of getting it to use on my Receptor for solo piano gigs, and also on sessions where the studio doesn't have a piano.

Thanks!!

I'm sure I could come up with a torture test that could make it glitch, but I've yet to hear it glitch once in my normal playing. I concur with you with regards to Kontakt and DFD. There are none of these issues with Ivory. Playing Ivory on my Mac dual 2.5 G5 and it's pretty easy to get it to glitch.

 

I am warming up to Ivory for use as a live piano. I found that I like the Boesndorfer better than the Steinway or Yamaha, which is wierd because for recording I had so discounted the Bose that I didn't even have it installed anymore (to save on disk space). I did the full install on Receptor and gave the Bose another shot. What I like about it is that when you hit it hard, it just gets brighter while the others tend to get harsh through stage speakers. Still, whne I go back and forth between Ivory and the RE700SX, it's not like there's this HUGE difference. When you EQ them similarly, I'm just not hearing this "Oh my God" difference. If anything, I would use the Ivory pianos because they are more playable. Ten velocity splits vs. four allows for a greater dynamic range without the piano getting jumpy. I love the dynamic range of the Ivory pianos.

 

Busch.

[Zeke Smith.]

Originally posted by Ted Rackley:

By the way, the Receptor installer for Ivory has FINALLY been publicly released:

 

http://www.plugorama.com/customer/search.php?substring=&in_category=&price_search_2=&sort=3&devid=52&sf=1

 

YES!!!! I just got back from vacation (as he runs upstairs with his Receptor rack and grabs his Ivory disks)

[Ted Rackley]

I know I should know this, but I deal with a lot of plugins and it is hard to stay sharp on all of them, but doesn't Kontakt 2 read HALion files?

 

If so, and Scarbee is just using the HALion Player with *.hsb (HALion Sound Bank) files, couldn't Kontakt 2 running on Receptor play the Scarbee clavinet? Once you have converted it to Kontakt 2?

 

Is Thomas still in here?

 

If so, HOWDY!! Remember me from when we hosted you at the Steinberg booth at NAMM '05? That guy you had playing the Clavinet was a great player! I still need to spend some time watching his fingers, because all of my Clav licks are awful (which is to be expected since my main axe is guitar).

 

Can anyone help me with some easy to play yet impressive Clav licks? Maybe some simple John Paul Jones stuff?

[JeffLearman]

Try CDXtract or Extreme Sample Converter to see you you can convert those clav samples into a format you can use.

 

Also, if you want to cram more into memory, Scarbee has a set of samples per key. IMHO, the Rhodes scales extremely well, meaning you can easily cut the required memory in half by using one sample set for two keys, or by 66% by using one sample set for three keys, etc.

 

If anyone wants technical help in doing this conversion, let me know. This way you can cram a bit more in your Receptor memory with a different sort of compromise. BTW, I created a 128k version of Scarbee that plays quite well, though it only has 6 velocity layers and you know what that means. I used on a machine with 512M of RAM; now that I have 2GB I'll be creating a version using all 12 velocity layers, fitting into 256K.

 

There are no release samples in my version, but release samples don't take up much memory because they're short. Also, I don't feel the need for 'em -- I understand why folks like them, they're just not important to me. For example, Linwood's great demo has real nice release sounds. But if Harold could have made the instrument to not have these sounds, he would have! I use it to make music, not to fool people into thinking I'm playing my actual Rhodes.

 

BTW, I agree that Scarbee often sounds better than a real Rhodes, even one in perfect condition. Because even one in perfect condition has a very high background whitish noise level, and if you like to notch the lows a bit and bump the highs like I do (like almost everyone does), that noise gets nasty. But the Scarbee samples have been carefully denoised, so this age-old problem disappears. Along with other mechanical difficulties, and you get a better action to boot.

 

I love the Rhodes, but not for its faults.

 

Cheers

Jeff

[burningbusch]

I am not positive but I'm pretty sure the Halion player allows the developer to lock the samples to the player, making it impossible to export them for use in a different product. This was something originally talked about with Giga 3, but was abandonded.

 

Note, this is one area I'd loved to be proved wrong.

 

Busch.

[InfoSal]

A Kontakt/Kompakt version of Scarbee's Keyboard Gold Bundle is due for release in April.

[keyman_sam]

I watched the video tutorials for receptor, and its pretty cool. I was majorly disappointed with one thing though :

 

The way you select patches. There's no way i can see myself turning the knob and THEN hitting that button to just load a patch. i'd want something like just turning the knob and the patches changing, like in a regular rompler/va.

[Phil Aiken]

Originally posted by InfoSal:

A Kontakt/Kompakt version of Scarbee's Keyboard Gold Bundle is due for release in April.

Wow. That's probably great news for Receptor users.

Although....I already own the Scarbee Rhodes, Wurly, and VKFX, so I'd be paying the full price just to get the Clav and Pianet.

[Geoff Grace]

Originally posted by keyman_sam:

I watched the video tutorials for receptor, and its pretty cool. I was majorly disappointed with one thing though :

 

The way you select patches. There's no way i can see myself turning the knob and THEN hitting that button to just load a patch. i'd want something like just turning the knob and the patches changing, like in a regular rompler/va.

Sam, I agree that the kind of behavior you describe makes sense in situations in which patches load almost instantly. However, Receptor can load sample libraries that are huge compared to those in a ROMpler. Imagine having to wait for those to load, one at a time, while you scroll through programs it could feel like eternity before you finally reached the program you were looking for! (I imagine that load times can vary dramatically from almost instantly to a minute or so depending on the type of program instantiated in Receptor that one is accessing.)

 

Because of this reason, I'm glad that Receptor's behavior mimics a sampler rather than a ROMpler. I'd much rather take a second to hit a load button than to wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, etc. while programs loaded that I didn't want to select.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[keyman_sam]

Good Point, Geoff, but now im curious : Is this button-type loading only for sampler patches? Are you saying that i can load VA synth's patches using CC messages/ by just turning the knob? With a regular synth, i can just turn the data wheel in my Fantom S, and the softsynth VA will change patches almost instantly. Is this possible in Receptor?

[Geoff Grace]

Sam, good question.

 

Perhaps Ted or one of our Receptor users can field that one.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Phil Aiken]

There are several ways to organize your patches so that switching is instantaneous from your controller. I can't think of a way to get out of pushing the button if you are at the front panel. But really, you're pushing the same button you're turning, which doesn't seem like a huge forbearance to me. I realize everyone's way of working is different.

[keyman_sam]

But if i wanted to cruise through patches, i understand thats difficult with samplers but why not with VA patches? It seems silly to load each patch by pushing that button when there's no necessity to do so. jimo.

[burningbusch]

Keyman, I think most users will be accessing the Receptor remotely, not directly. Three ways:

 

1) Send program change messages from a DAW.

2) Use the Receptor Remote Control Software which gives you direct access to all functions.

3) Use a master controller to send out patch changes (live scenario).

 

In all three cases, programs can be brought up immediately, seamlessly. I only use the front panel when I'm on a gig and am trying to figure out what's going on.

 

Busch.

[keyman_sam]

awesome. thats what i wanted to know.

[Ted Rackley]

Hi Jeff,

 

Thanks for the tip...though I don't understand what you mean by 128k...

[Tom Fiala]

Ted:

 

My Receptor order has taken 2 months....I realize it's a custom build piece with extra memory and a large disk size, but what's up with that? I spoke with George at YRS in Orlando - he mentioned something about Muse getting new suppliers.....can you clarify & help?

[Gérald_dup2]

Hi to all fans and experts of the Muse Receptor,

 

My name is Gérald (French living in Germany) and I am a newcomer in this (very interesting) forum.

I plan to buy a Receptor in the following days to be able to use my VST plugins on stage with my band.

 

I have a couple of questions for you all:

 

- do you use a special rack for using your receptor on stage and for protecting it during transport ? How can I avoid to bring a table on stage ?

 

- when using a workstation and midi-masterkeyboard, does it make sense to plug the first one in the instrument input of repector for mixing purposes ? Doesn´t it reduce considerably the efficiency (loading speed, latency...) of your Receptor ?

 

- Assuming it is possible to do so, can I also use my workstation as a second midi keyboard using a midimerger while its audio output is already plugged in the audio input of my Receptor (I would then use the mixer to mute the audio input or the midi channels coming from said workstation depending on the song I play) ?

 

- what hardware configuration (RAM, HD) would you recommend to be on the safe side for live performance ?

 

- when will it be possible to use sampletank v2.1 ?

 

- same question for X-phraze (Steinberg) ?

 

Many thanks in advance for your great help !

 

Kind regards

 

Gérald