Receptor short comings, for me. Please correct me.

[cfod]

So Receptor looks like a great idea and all, but I'm a guitarist and the more I look at it the more it seems like it's not for me. It's geared toward people who want to run virtual synths and my application is sort of an after thought. Admittedly I'm not sure I can be fair about that statement until I've used one, but maybe someone can set me straight about what I see as it's short comings for my application.

I only have two major concerns so far with Receptor, but they are major ones for me. First, stereo in and out?????? Seriously??? Sorry, but I would have thought four analog ins and outs would have been a minimum for a product like this and I'm surprised that I seem to be the only one to think so. I understand that keeping cost down when bringing a new product like this one to market is an issue, but at least offer it as an option. I know it's been discussed that a USB interface might be an option in the future, but to me that seems like a lame after thought. The whole selling point for me is the "all in a box" ness of the unit. Having to deal with USB cables on stage and on tour sort of defeats the purpose for me. Not to mention then the one great box that was gonna replace a bunch of effects becomes a two unit box and a USB interface either in another rack space or jury rigged in the back of my rack somehow...not what I was hoping for either way.

My second problem has to do with internal routing and here I'm not sure I can speak with much authority having never used a unit, but hopefully others here can address my concerns. From what I gather the unit is set up similar to a DAW mixer, with three effects per channel three on each buss and three on the master out. Here again this seems like an ideal setup if your a keboard player, but lacks some of the versatility I'd hope to have. My normal setup Includes a Soundsculpture Switchblade. Basically it's a sixteen channel programable patchbay/mixer. Plug in your effects and create patches. Anything to anything, it performs summing, and level adjustments at any point in the chain. It allows me to do some crazy stuff. Feeding effects back to earlier points in the chain, running a bunch of stuff in parallel, or pretty much anything else I could think of.(a dangerous thing) What I'd hoped for is something similar in the receptor only the effects units would be built in, in the form of VST plugs. Saving me lugging around a rack full of gear.

So please, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me there will be I/O expansion in the future, and I'm wrong about the routing structure. I really want this to be the answer to my problems, but I can't sell my Orville until I'm absolutely sure.

[cbreeze34]

you certainly have valid concerns. i use my receptor with my guitar, as well as keys and electronic drums at live shows. i do get the feeling that guitar functionality is secondary to keyboard/synth/sampler functionality, but here's how my rig is set up. i have two old fender tube amps, and i had a tube tech convert one of the channels in each into a preamp with a line-level send, which i use to drive the stereo inputs on the receptor (don't really like the sound of receptor's low-z front input...too clean for me). additionally, i route midi signals from my foot controller, keyboard, and the drummer's electronic pads into the receptor's input. internally, i have a multi set up for each song, designating certain channels in receptor's mixer for each instrument (1-4=keys, 10-11=drums, 12-16=guitar). unfortunately, there is no ideal way to do effects switching for the guitar channels, so i basically have bypass switches set up for each guitar channel, and i always leave the last guitar channel clean. this means i have to do two stomps to switch effects (one to enable the new channel, one to bypass the ond one), but the only alternative is to bypass the individual effects plugins, and if i did that there would be a gap in the guitar sound each time i switched. after effects, i route the guitar channels through the receptor's main output and back into my amps (similar to a stereo effects loop). i designate one aux send for delay on the guitar, which i control the volume of using the foot controller. the other aux i use for verb or delay on the keys. all of the keys channels i route into receptor's ADAT outputs 3&4 (incl. aux 2), and the drum channels i route into ADAT 5&6 (7&8 are unused as of now). Then i have receptor's ADAT out connected to an Alesis ADAT d/a converter, whose analog outputs go through a whirlwind hotbox quad di and into the PA system (or a couple of on-stage keyboard amps, depending on the evening's setup).

it doesn't have the flexibility you described in your setup, but it gets the job done, and there are some great VSTs out there that sound pretty sick on a guitar (ohm force plugins come to mind). also, to get multiple outs you'll have to shell out some more cash for an ADAT d/a converter. additionally, the only foot controller i found that is flexible enough to talk to the receptor is yamaha's (i forget the model number). and i recommend upgrading your memory right away. so yes there are plenty of concerns that could steer you away, but i got mine to do what i need. plus it's a very young product. i'm hoping that there will soon be a receptor version 2 that addresses all of your concerns (and those of other guitarists) and offers a little more flexibility.

[cfod]

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping someone would tell me I was totally wrong, but it's good to know I'm not alone in my concerns. So it sounds like switching may be a problem too. I have the Yamaha foot controller, but I almost never use it anymore in favor of my Axess MFC-5. The size is unbeatable, and with my current setup I don't really need much more than program changes. The Switchblade will then sent whatever changes I want out to the other effects.

When I heard about Receptor my first thought was the Ohm Force plugins.

[cbreeze34]

yeah, i don't doubt there are better footcontrollers out there for the receptor, i guess what i should have said was it was the only one i could find within my price range. what would be perfect is a controller that can send multiple controller signals with each stomp, so that you could program it to mute all guitar channels except the one you selected. there may be a way to do that with the yamaha board, if i recall correctly, but i'll have to get out the manual again. however, in my mind, that should be something you can program the receptor to do, after all, it is a computer at heart. perhaps muse could give us some sort of midi scripting language to play with?

[PhilAiken]

yeah, i don't doubt there are better footcontrollers out there for the receptor, i guess what i should have said was it was the only one i could find within my price range. what would be perfect is a controller that can send multiple controller signals with each stomp, so that you could program it to mute all guitar channels except the one you selected.

Cbreeze,
If I understand you correctly, this is something that can be easily done on Receptor using "snapshots'. You would only need to send one patch change, and you would instantaneously have the desired channels muted/unmuted.
Forgive me if this is something you are already familiar with and I misunderstood your needs as stated above.
-Phil

[cbreeze34]

I'm not familiar with snapshots...are they a feature of a recent receptor software version? i only have 1.4, since my receptor was at the shop for the last month or so. are snapshots something you can save separately from multis?

[cbreeze34]

yep, i can answer my own question after reading the 1.5 release notes. that's definitely a useful feature...gonna go play with it right after work.

[cfod]

So is the USB interface the final solution or is there a possibility that there will be an I/O expansion option in the future? Or even an updated model? Any thoughts? I'm GASsing for this thing, but I really can't justify it if it isn't a complete solution for me.