Are there any hardware synths with a VST plugin interface? i mean so that the synth would be a card or box plugged into USB or something and entirely programmed within a VST host.

The closest thing I can think of to what you're talking about is the Creamware Pulsar XTC system.

Just in case you didn't know, it's a DSP card with a VST plugin interface which can run synths, samplers and FX.

Powerful stuff, but very expensive for what you get really.....

Creamware's Pulsar XTC page

Actually, the 'standard' Pulsar and PowerPulsar (15 SHARC DSP chips !) are now both VST compatible with the newest version (3.0) of the Pulsar software...
Anyone know if the Pulsar VST stuff works with the FXpansion VST-DX adaptor?

quote:

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Originally posted by mooseman:
Are there any hardware synths with a VST plugin interface? i mean so that the synth would be a card or box plugged into USB or something and entirely programmed within a VST host.

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It's probably inevitable- "amphibious" is the new standard for hardware synths, with programs like SoundDiver already around for a long time and SCSI and USB connections sprouting like gills on hardware synths over the last years.

Maybe complete USB>DXi interfaces will become as normal and expected for most hardware synths as editing software now is.

-CB

Have you seen this?
Abacus

Yes, something like the Abacus only...better.

Check this out...

http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/MusikMesse00/CreamWare/CreamWare-S tageFrame.html

-CB

I don't know if this is possible but howabout this: a stand alone hardware host. Basicly a dummy MIDI keyboard with a load of controler knobs, LCD screen and a s**t load of DSP power. You could load in the VSTi of your choice and use the keyboards processing power so it could be used in real time as a hardware synth.

novation is coming out with something like that
soon

they're making it only for reason though.
i wrote to them and suggested they make it for any vsti.
the controller they're making has a touch screen with bitmaps of the reason modules on it. looks pretty cool.
But now that i think of it: any 'dummy' keyboard controller with knobs on it can be used to control any vsti, because they all use #0--127
you just need the cc map for the instrument

-mike

I posted a thread on this a while ago and just a month or so ago it seemed like nothing was in the works. But that Creamware prototype looks like a step in the right direction. If you could only mix the Creamware thing, with VST integration, and the controls of the Abucus you'd have the ultimate VSTi Hardware host. Imagine never having to take a laptop to a gig again, and still having all those synths at your fingertips. It can't be that far off, maybe I should start saving my pennies now.

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Originally posted by KOSMOLITH:


It's probably inevitable- "amphibious" is the new standard for hardware synths, with programs like SoundDiver already around for a long time and SCSI and USB connections sprouting like gills on hardware synths over the last years.

Maybe complete USB>DXi interfaces will become as normal and expected for most hardware synths as editing software now is.

-CB

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You mean like Yamaha's mLan (using Firewire)?

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Originally posted by Bryce FIscher:


You mean like Yamaha's mLan (using Firewire)?

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Yeah! I wonder what the RME Digiface uses? Saving up for that. Looking at the list of possibilities RME and Pulsar offer as examples, it seems to me that the lines between software/hardware/native/internal/external are already very blurred, the Reason hardware sounds promising.

CB

quote:

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Originally posted by KOSMOLITH:


Yeah! I wonder what the RME Digiface uses? Saving up for that. Looking at the list of possibilities RME and Pulsar offer as examples, it seems to me that the lines between software/hardware/native/internal/external are already very blurred, the Reason hardware sounds promising.

CB

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RME Digiface uses a Firewire cable, but not mLAN or any other standard... Of course neither this nor mLan is what we are looking for in this thread.

Why don't you build your own Hardware VSTi? Rackmount case, with optimized WIndows. Follow Reference PC's from the soundcard you purchase, to ensure compatibility, etc...

Then use Cubase, Logic or even one of the other VSTi hosts like DSound's, or the future one from Fxpansion...

ooh... and one of those touch sensitive LCD screens as the interface to the rack-mount CPU!

That'd look pretty buff on stage.

Working with pulsar and vst is a fabolous thing... i have my pulsar I board which gave me a virtual workbench that is like a studio with thousands of racks... if i have a different way to concept my setup i will route differently my audio streams right to my needs... i use some synth played by pulsar dsp ( 0% host cpu ) then premixe them with effects and record them directly to cubase in sync with vsti or mix and effect them toghether with a pulsar bigmixer ( 32channel 32bit, 6 aux sends, 4 insert per channel, 16busses, parametric 4band eq per channel ) with effects. if i want something different, work with external device or other, u can drag your modules on the workbench ( that can be ( all automatable from apps ) synths, samplers, drummachines, step sequencers, effects, mixers, modulars synths, midi faderboxes and operative system drivers, like the 64 channel ASIO in & Out to e from cubase or others asio compatible hosts, 16 wave driver to communicate realtime with applications... ) and then plug the synth in the overdrive and then out to cubase, the drummachine from cubase in the pulsar mixer with some compression and eq on the channel and some delay sends, the delay sends in the returns and in the phazing effect and then in another channel of the mixer with eq and some insert... and you can control midi stream to and from application, catching events from sequencers and recording tweaking with CC...

it is a sound board that never close or stops your thinking of making music... for every setup... try that, i'm not the only user of that... buy a pulsar 2 with 6 dsp and use it in conjunction of every other machine u have soft or hard... or trying integrate directly in cubase with XTC mode ( in bundle with pulsar system 3.0 ) to have pulsar synth inside cubase ( and apply fx and synth to tracks directly in the cubase mixer ( and export them audio directly as VSTi & VST tracks)...

Lou

some good links:

www.creamware.com ( the makers of the board )
www.planetz.com ( Good Resource Links for questions, forums, review, free synth & fx downloads )
www.SteckenLeiter.de ( good resource for modules and SCOPE platform )

quote:

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Originally posted by Bryce FIscher:


RME Digiface uses a Firewire cable, but not mLAN or any other standard... Of course neither this nor mLan is what we are looking for in this thread.

Why don't you build your own Hardware VSTi? Rackmount case, with optimized WIndows. Follow Reference PC's from the soundcard you purchase, to ensure compatibility, etc...

Then use Cubase, Logic or even one of the other VSTi hosts like DSound's, or the future one from Fxpansion...

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Actually my music computer IS a rackmount PIII 1,000 with nothing in it except for Samplitude, Reaktor, and CSound, with a TFT screen, and a new VST host is exactly what I'm looking for.

I didn't transfer Cubase from the old machine because I don't want the dongle (the Reaktor USB dongle is a slick compromise, it's tiny and so far 0 problems) and Cubase evolved into nothing but a VST host for me anyway.

The weakness at this point is the MIDI. The Audiophile and DiO are great cards for the money, both computers can be slaved to the Flying Calf, etc so audio recording is cool, but 8ms latency is as low as I can go as AFAIK.

That's what brings the need for something like the RME or Pulsar into the picture. IMO a true hybrid setup would have that hardware "feel" with the knobs- you know, like you're holding the sound itself.

There was a 1-rackunit synth announced recently which is "blank", to be loaded with 3d party synthesis edited/controlled from either frontplate or computer, but I can't remember what it's called.

-CB

You mean this? http://namm.harmony-central.com/Musikmesse01/Content/SoundArt/PR/Chame leon.html

Adaerus
www.mp3.com/adaerus

the chamaleon project is pretty cool... we waited for it but there is no way to load directly vsti-pulsar-dxi into it except for the developers that can convert the plugins directly for the new platform... i expected that one day pulsar would load vst and vsti into its dsps... but there are teknikal reason ( or commercial reason !! think about a protools->vst adapter ( only software ) that could be possible but digidesign doesn't permit its development... ) that cremware couldn't develop an adapter... the answer for a vsti host is only with a pc equipped with an RME ( 2ms latency ) and steinberg or emagic or dsound or fxpansion hosts... only for doing that thing and any other machines for doing sequencing and fx...

lou