Why do people buy Receptor?

[FaX]

As for going for the Yamie and Alesis (?) I have only one question - what the hell are you doing on KVR????

My Alesis QS6.1 is an amazing synth and a great MIDI controller. .

Hmmm yeah sure .
NO RESONANT filters with a shitty tone control lowpass that is about as adequate as a cheap EQ device.
Hideous interface.
Try programming patches from scratch in one.
Very brittle souning on certain patches the strings/piano's/ ep's etc in particular aren't of much use.
Never thought the bass patches where that dynamic myself either.
The drumkits are renowned for being universally horrid.
Cumbersome effects routing in Multi-timbral mode etc.
Just read the HC reviews for how much it's loved.
Whilst I can't afford a Receptor in reality it's a reasonably priced concept compared to hardware prices here in Oz.
More 3rd party plugs work than you think.
Just ask TC (Tim Conrady).
A unit like this could help you get a few more years use out of your PC setup before upgrading.
For professional gigging muso's in particular this would have a lot of appeal.
I'm not who the unit is marketed at.
That said I think its a solid well thought out concept for what it's worth.

[stefancrs]

Yes, Uniwire is one big carrot.

@stefancrs: You didn't mention soundcard, I noticed

For the live purposes the built-in one would be enough for me (native asio drivers for the nforce chipset, atleast on the two shuttles I've built). For the studio you wouldn't have to record via analog outputs on that computer, since it isn't your main daw.

[erminardi]

My setup is: 2 PC P4 3200, 4U rack format in a hard case with 2 pre and 1 converter (1U rack each) all pre-wired. One PC for sequencer+efx and one for VSTi and gigastudio. 2 "heavy duty" LCD 17" connected on stage throug my KMV switch (rack format) to the 2 dualhead video cards of PCs.
The 2 PCs are linked via ethernet 1gb with FX teleport VST/i.
A master keyboard plus a Doepfer Drehbank 128 knob and the setup is complete.
Very stable, silent (2 Carillon PC) and very powerful.
Usable at home or portable at gig without problems and customizable every time...

[Caleb]

My setup is: 2 PC P4 3200, 4U rack format in a hard case with 2 pre and 1 converter (1U rack each) all pre-wired. One PC for sequencer+efx and one for VSTi and gigastudio. 2 "heavy duty" LCD 17" connected on stage throug my KMV switch (rack format) to the 2 dualhead video cards of PCs.
The 2 PCs are linked via ethernet 1gb with FX teleport VST/i.
A master keyboard plus a Doepfer Drehbank 128 knob and the setup is complete.
Very stable, silent (2 Carillon PC) and very powerful.
Usable at home or portable at gig without problems and customizable every time...

Sounds luverly!

Caleb

[Watto]

Holy shit, does it ever!!

Kind of expensive, though...

[nuisance sonore]

You know, the computers in my house are the only appliances that I've ever dismantled and that I know inside out...And truly and totally hate that. Problem is, if I was to pay somebody to fix it every time a small issue comes up, I'd be drowning in debts not to mention that I would probably never use it as it would always be in the shop.
So, the idea of an appliance that works straight out of the box, one where the only knowledge required is to know where to plug it in and where the ON button is I find extremely appealing. Reading the Receptor forum though, I'm not sure it's there yet so that's why I haven't bought one as of now, but it certainely is in the back of my mind.

[Rock]

we have a fulltime keyboard player using a DX7 and a real SC Prophet 5 (which sounds way better than any NI emulated one - trust me)

Wow I was shocked how the NI emulation loaded my patches I had created 15 years earlier and played them exactly as I remembered them except without the hum and noise...

[ShawnG]

I am in no position to buy a receptor, but the idea appeals to me as, having played live shows on and off for 15 years, I would NEVER trust a gig to a PC, desktop or laptop. I know there are people who do it, but usually even those "PC on stage" folks have some hardware as a backup. PC's are designed to be treated in a respectful manner, and in a club there is too much chance of having beer, etc... spilled all over your gear, as well as the stress of transporting, and careless roadies, and band members knocking into your stuff... and as was mentioned before the lack of quality connection points on a lot of PC gear. that's not to mention the fact that all computers crash at one point or another, and spending an eternity vamping while my PC reboots is not the sort of experience that I would enjoy at a live performance. And while it may be true that the best hardware beats the best plugins for quality, the plugins that I can afford, are much better than the hardware that I can afford. So here's hoping they find a way to make it cheaper...

[aaastronomer]

the problem with receptor is that it is yet-another-box where i'm trying to get my whole studio in -one- box...with dual-core laptops just around the corner, why would anybody fork over $1400 for a racktop...oh, anybody know if the receptor cpu can be upgraded to a dual-core without sending it back to the factory?

[nedrob]

I am a software developer and I have many computers in my house and in my office/studio. For the last year, I have been using a Dell laptop for all my music related tasks which is all studio-based. I don't play live, just compose.

Because I was using a laptop, not only do I have music software on it, I have a lot of other stuff as well. Receptor, for me, is a way of having a dedicated box that does nothing but VSTs and won't have other programs draining the CPU. Perhaps if you are very, very disciplined, you could have a computer dedicated to only VSTs and it might be superior to a Receptor. However, I also like that I don't have to deal with Windows and that Muse is constantly improving the box. Look at UniWire for example. Already, I can see the advantages of having a non-PC (or MAC) running all these specialty softwares and of having multiple Receptors to do it on.

Just my 2 cents.

Ned

[Stupid American Pig]

Ttoz, you should go ahead and get one, so I can buy it from you cheap in 3 months.

[xander]

...Receptor, for me, is a way of having a dedicated box that does nothing but VSTs and won't have other programs draining the CPU. Perhaps if you are very, very disciplined, you could have a computer dedicated to only VSTs and it might be superior to a Receptor. However, I also like that I don't have to deal with Windows and that Muse is constantly improving the box. Look at UniWire for example. Already, I can see the advantages of having a non-PC (or MAC) running all these specialty softwares and of having multiple Receptors to do it on.

Just my 2 cents.

Ned

Good point here actually...

[funkynuts]

i think it all boils down to 2 questions....

Can it survive being dropped down a flight of stairs by a pissed up roadie?

Will it keep working after a pint of beer has been poured over ,the mains went off 3 times and whilst 20 people jump up and down on stage right beside it?


b.t.w. the akai s3000xl passed all these tests with flying colours

[Hybernation]

I must admit I was lusting heavily for a Receptor, and I still thing they are cool. And if you MUST gig with software instruments (which I don't, I prefer hardware for gigging) then I guess Receptor is the way to go.

AND WHAT ABOUT those killer Jordan Rudess videos?!?!?

Seriously though, I bought FX Teleport last week and I am BLOWN AWAY. I had an extra Pentium 4 3.0gHz machine with 1 Gig RAM sitting around doing very little (my host is a little bigger/faster/more memory: 3.2ghz 2gb RAM) and I thought what the heck I would try this. I am absolutely amazed. I have installed everything below:

Kompakt (with some SampleTekk and BMI multi-gig pianos)
Absynth 3
B4
FM7
Pro53
Manystation
Albino
SonikSynth2
SampleTank2XL
All four Arturia "Vintage Collection" synths
Atmosphere
Cameleon5000
and a few freebies

ALL of them work flawlessly.

The only VST That I have paid for that wouldn't work reliably was "Eve". No great loss

The two boxes are connected with a CAT6 CrossLink cable, and they both are Dells with Broadcom GigaBit ethernet on the motherboard.

I have not had ONE BIT of trouble with this setup and it has effective MORE than doubled my CPU Loading capacity. More than doubled you ask?

It seems that Sonar 4 PE on the host consumes a fair amount of resources just idling. I set up a test with 5 CPU hogs (the four Arturia's plus Atmosphere) playing a fast 8th note thing (sort of like "Too Much Time on my Hands" with lots of harmony parts). With all of them running locally, the CPU was maxing out and breaking up a little. With All of them running Remote the remote CPU was only at about 70%....no breaking up. And of course the host CPU was at almost ZERO!

Now I don't know much about the ACTUAL loading capacity of the Receptor compared to a P4 with Teleport, but I'm guessing that the STOCK unit with only 256MB cannot compare, and the loaded receptor unit is quit expensive. MY SLAVE DELL IS A GX280 that can be had for less than $750!!

I think FX Teleport may at least be the "Uniwire Killer". It's here and now, and it WORKS. And ANY VST that works on my one computer is gonna work on my 2nd one for sure

[high tech]

Even so, lots of people I know buy used PCs and ethernet them into a 'networked DAW', which is way cheaper than Receptor (and more flexible IMHO).

..[/size]

can u tell me more about this please.
it is a fascinating subject for me.
can u hook up some links or info?
for example is it like system link whereas u need digital i/o on every machine?