KVR Audio

T-CM11 · Post by **T-CM11** » Sat May 02, 2015 9:00 pm

Lotuzia wrote:
T-CM11 wrote:
Lotuzia wrote: Well I mused with the idea of proposing some for a while, because I have made many *pro* Automap templates for my synths.

........ So to end the story, I decided I would certainly not offer Automap templates to my users that I would NOT use myself
I don't think that's still the case with Automap 4+. The regular plugin should be loaded when the automapped one isn't found.
I'm not sure about it though, I'll test it this weekend!
Sounds good. Hope you're right. This would put Automap back at the top of the pile -for me, and according to my needs and priorities-

I tested it and it works (in Cubase).

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Sat May 02, 2015 10:42 pm

Abandoning driver support for a flagship product like these Roland keyboards is very poor form. Much to my satisfaction Yamaha surprised me with drivers for my very old midi interface, Steinberg released unsupported drivers for my Midex 8 and Midex 3s which work perfectly and Sonic-Core have kept my 16 year old cards current for reasonably priced driver and software updates. We should start an appreciation thread for companies that release updated drivers for older equipment. I realize that the technology forges ahead but those companies that go the extra mile even at some cost to the user deserve some gratitude.

T-CM11 wrote:
Astralv wrote: I totally agree with your position. Over the years I noted that many manufacturers have this business model which is very frustrating. Take, for example, Roland. They released Fantom G which was $2800 for 61 key model and V_Synth GT which was almost $3500 list. Few years later Windows 8 was released and Roland's USB driver did not work with it. So Roland said- they will not rewrite the driver and if we need it- too bad- use 5 pin MIDI port.
Do those synths lose any functionality by using an external midi interface instead of the internal?

Dewdman42 · Post by **Dewdman42** » Sun May 03, 2015 4:49 pm

I'm definitely gonna get the Akai advanced. Looking forward to it. I think Akai is going in the right direction finally with their VIP software and I think it will be much more universal in nature then what NI is doing, so way ahead in that regard. Its definitely going to be providing a similar experience as the Komplete Kontrol in terms of making any different patches from different plugins accessible from one consolidated browser, which will make the process of perusing sounds and searching around for sounds really enjoyable and interactive. Check out this demo video, it looks great honestly, I'm definitely getting this controller for my studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH8LYxVqmuE

kokotte · Post by **kokotte** » Sun May 03, 2015 6:46 pm

Anyone excited to control their VSTs with Akai Advance?
No

Doc Brown · Post by **Doc Brown** » Sun May 03, 2015 7:24 pm

Dewdman42 wrote:I'm definitely gonna get the Akai advanced. Looking forward to it. I think Akai is going in the right direction finally with their VIP software and I think it will be much more universal in nature then what NI is doing, so way ahead in that regard. Its definitely going to be providing a similar experience as the Komplete Kontrol in terms of making any different patches from different plugins accessible from one consolidated browser, which will make the process of perusing sounds and searching around for sounds really enjoyable and interactive. Check out this demo video, it looks great honestly, I'm definitely getting this controller for my studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH8LYxVqmuE

We'll see if the keybed sucks, if so it's pointless for me as a master controller.

Jace-BeOS · Post by **Jace-BeOS** » Mon May 04, 2015 12:31 am

T-CM11 wrote:
Astralv wrote: I totally agree with your position. Over the years I noted that many manufacturers have this business model which is very frustrating. Take, for example, Roland. They released Fantom G which was $2800 for 61 key model and V_Synth GT which was almost $3500 list. Few years later Windows 8 was released and Roland's USB driver did not work with it. So Roland said- they will not rewrite the driver and if we need it- too bad- use 5 pin MIDI port.
Do those synths lose any functionality by using an external midi interface instead of the internal?

Convenience, at best. Serious functionality at worst.

Convenience: When you have many hardware synths, it's very nice to have named ports and only one data cable. Nice also to avoid swapping cables on my rack-mounted MIDI interface (which is already full). 8 in & 8 out gets used up quickly with lots of MIDI devices.

More serious losses: However, some such synths also work as audio interfaces (the VG-99, V-Synth XT, Virus, etc). With my V-Synth XT, the only USB functionality that still works beyond Snow Leopard is the card reader, because it's using the generic mass storage USB standards that any modern OS supports automatically. MIDI interfacing has a similar "driver-less" standard, but good luck finding support for that on these expensive synthesizers. The VG-99 editor might require USB (hmm, maybe it works via 5-pin MIDI but I'm not sure). But ANY editor/librarian works WAY FASTER through USB than 5-pin MIDI!! Typically less crashing, too.

I've many audio devices with USB ports. The only thing actively supported any more is the Virus (maybe the Korg M3m uses Korg's generic MIDI driver that is maintained for current hardware, but i'm not sure on that either).

5-pin MIDI is ancient and yet it still provides functionality independently of drivers. Every time I see new piece of hardware with computer interfacing as a bullet point feature, I see a device with planned obsolescence. USB is great, unless it needs a driver from the original manufacture. Don't get me started on Yamaha's mLAN(!!!!) or Korg's M3 FireWire drivers. Or the Avid/M-Audio ProjectMix I/O that was effing abandoned when Avid sold M-Audio. I'm seriously pissed about that. I have two FireWire audio interfaces from that business combo that are very important to me and they're useless past Mac OS X 10.7 (or past Win 7).

I could keep ranting...

When the new MIDI standard comes out, I hope it's just as driver-independent as the current 30+-year-old-version. If I'm even still alive when the new standard comes out.

T-CM11 · Post by **T-CM11** » Mon May 04, 2015 11:02 am

I was asking about synths that have a built-in usb midi interface together with regular 5-DIN Midi. It's of course a complete different matter if we're talking about non-class compliant audio/midi interfaces and no alternative interfacing.

And there's no (good) reason why an editor would be slower or more crash-prone using a separate midi interface vs. the one built-in.

Dewdman42 · Post by **Dewdman42** » Mon May 04, 2015 3:59 pm

Does the akai advanced require USB connectively to use the VIP software in its full glory? It would not surprise me if so. There is a lot of data to transfer back and forth to get the display on the keyboard to show all that information dynamically. USB has much much more bandwidth then midi does. But aside from that, there is definitely no reason why all of that information can't be sent back and forth over midi as sysex packets, but it would probably be quite slow, I doubt its able to work that way, probably requires USB due to limited midi data bandwidth.

Big Tick · Post by **Big Tick** » Mon May 04, 2015 5:11 pm

It does require USB, but not for that reason.

trusampler · Post by **trusampler** » Mon May 04, 2015 5:35 pm

When exactly are these shipping? I'm hearing mixed reviews from different dealers, some saying june, others saying May.

Anyone have a for sure date?

Big Tick · Post by **Big Tick** » Mon May 04, 2015 6:16 pm

They're supposed to hit the dealers stores today.

trusampler · Post by **trusampler** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:00 pm

Big Tick wrote:They're supposed to hit the dealers stores today.

Nice do you know of any in particular that are carrying it, I've tried my local gear pimps, and internet pushers, and I can't seem to find it.

thanks tick

Dewdman42 · Post by **Dewdman42** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:05 pm

Big Tick wrote:It does require USB, but not for that reason.

Why does it require usb? For power? That doesn't necessarily mean it's not exceeding the data bandwidth of midi also

Big Tick · Post by **Big Tick** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:14 pm

trusampler wrote:Nice do you know of any in particular that are carrying it, I've tried my local gear pimps, and internet pushers, and I can't seem to find it.

All the big name, Guitar Center, Sweetwater, ... supposedly had them delivered today. They might be already out of stock because of the preorders.

Big Tick · Post by **Big Tick** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:16 pm

Dewdman42 wrote:Why does it require usb? For power? That doesn't necessarily mean it's not exceeding the data bandwidth of midi also

Because some DAW's grab the midi port first thing when they start, and which point it is not available for the plugins any more.