Receptor future improvements

[nbozic]

This question is specifically for MUSE Research folks, but anybody can comment/answer.

Lately I've had that "home sick" feeling, because I was unable to get several of my favorite VST plugins to work. It's a bit frustrating, but other than that Receptor is a great piece of equipment.

Are there any plans for Receptor's Operating System to be updated in the future so it can support more plugins, especially the ones that are more complex in terms of DLL library references, complex GUIs, DLL shells, etc.? In other words, will Receptor be able to play ALL Windows-compatible VST plugins in the future?

I know that there's a lot of talk regarding Receptorized plugins, but it's a big undertaking to change the whole industry and make all developers jump on the bandwagon. Therefore I think Muse Research should show some flexibility and make future improvements to the Operating System. It's easier changing one thing than changing the whole industry.

[binez0r]

I'm not sure, but I would say it most certainly would be able to run all plugins in the future as things evolve, advance, and move forward. I think you're being a bit too whiny, expecting a perfect product and missing the larger picture. The Receptor (and like incarnations, IE pci cards, plugzilla) represent a movement towards smaller and smaller components. Everything is with bugs, nothing is stable. Everything evolves. Install a 3 year old version of (whatever sequencer) you're using now and you'll be amazed that you ever managed to work with it. Look at Cubase v1, Fruity 3, Live 2... Logic on the Amiga or whatever it started out on.. People still managed to get things done. So, I think, well, just have faith. In due time things should come to be. I think Muse has been more than helpful and supportive. Buying KVR off was genius, uniwire is and will be revolutionary, etc. Its kind of like traveling across country on a covered wagon. Think of it that way.

binez0r

[nbozic]

I think you're being a bit too whiny, expecting a perfect product and missing the larger picture.

I very much disagree for three reasons...

The first reason is that my viewpoint and experience go in parallel with many other people. I'm sure that many receptor users have realized that some of their favorite plugins don't work. This can be a significant problem, especially if you became proficient at using those plugins. Overall, Receptor is a great piece of equipment that can get the job done, even if you have to resort to substitute VST plugins in some cases.

The second reason is that I did not bash Receptor as being a flawed product - after all, as you mentioned, no product is perfect. I was simply curious and wanted to know the future "vision" that Muse Research folks have in their mind. I still hope they can respond to my post.

The third reason is that in order to promote future advances, there has to be a significant demand/push by customers. If we all simply nod and say that Receptor is awesome (which it is by the way), there would probably not be as much innovation. Demand is a huge drive behind innovation. So to all Receptor users out there, post whatever you think might make the product even better, give Muse Research a call about it, etc. - this is how things get done.

[thesoundsmith]

Well, having had m Receptor for all of four days, the entire time of which has been spent trying to get Receptor ready to gig, I can say this much:

This is a very cool product, for what it is. What it is NOT is a personal computer. If you want your favorite PC plugs to run, they will have to conform to both the hardware limitations/enhancements/alterations and the licensing requirements. Some of my favorite reverbs won't run probably because the licensing is too Byzantine for Muse and Plugorama to manage. If they would stop trying to continue to squeeze money out of their customers after the sale, these companies' plugs would probably run on Receptor just fine...

So customer demand has to direct itself in two directions - Muse and the plugin provider. Just busting one side's chops isn't going to be enough.

It would be nice to be able to keep the upgrades coming and keep moving to bigger, better and faster boxes, but the fact is this is a dedicated device, and should not be thought of as a PC. If it does what you want today, it will continue to do so till it dies. It may not do what you want in the future, but neither did my Apple IIe...

[nbozic]

You already got your receptor? That's pretty good. I had mine on backorder by Sweetwater and it took me over 2 weeks to get it. When I did I was eager to open the box very fast

Anyway, by no means did I try busting anybody's chops, and I apologize if I created such an impression - I do have good faith that Muse Research will have some decent future improvements and do whatever they can on their part.

I agree with you that receptor is not a PC and that some plugins would be nasty to implement. It's possible, though, that some of the currently incompatible plugins could be made to function if Windows could be emulated more closely (except the crashing part, of course).
After all, I heard that Mac/Apple is able to emulate Windows stuff and run its programs, so it appears to be doable. In the extreme case, Receptor could offer an extra option to have the actual Windows OS installed (at an extra cost if necessary), minus the extra processes that run in the background and slow things down. In other words, it would be a Windows box, but NOT a PC, and therefore it would be more stable.

I just like to brainstorm, that's all Maybe my ideas are not feasible, especially if Muse Research is a very small company.

By the way, could UniWire be implemented in a "reversed" way?
For example, right now Receptor can function as an external plugin when used with a PC. Could this be reversed so that a PC would function as an external plugin to Receptor? This way one could run ALL VST plugins that reside on a PC.

[thesoundsmith]

Anyway, by no means did I try busting anybody's chops, and I apologize if I created such an impression - I do have good faith that Muse Research will have some decent future improvements and do whatever they can on their part.

And I did not mean to give the impression that you were - it was just a figure of speech (and I rewrote it a couple of times to try to convey what I wanted, which was - put real pressure on the company, not just a polite "Wouldn't it be nice if..." letter.)

Companies respond to user requests (or demands) differently, but the more users and potential customers clamor, the quicker such a demand is fit into the development cycle.

I have nothing against Muse or its folks, so far this forum has been all the tech support needed, They seem to have done a good job implementing this box. But there is nothing so perfect it could not be made better.

[nbozic]

And I did not mean to give the impression that you were

No problem, I understand your point of view.

But there is nothing so perfect it could not be made better.

I absolutely agree, and the more ideas we throw around, the more likely it is that some of them will be considered seriously.


Anyway, thesoundsmith, last night I bought most of the PSPaudioware plugins at plugorama (since they've got that buy-one get-one-free deal), and I must say that it was a great deal for such high-quality plugs, especially since pretty much EVERYONE raves about them. Are there any "high quality" plugs you swear by?

[thesoundsmith]

I use a Mac G5 for recording and sequencing on DP, mixing and pre-mastering. Most of my important FX plugs are on the Mac, so my PC experiences are mostly with instruments. I love Altiverb (Mac) and like my Waves plugs a lot, but won't be renewing the WUP when it's up, as there are equally useful alternatinves that don't charge an annual fee.

My primary use for the Receptor is as a live sound module, though I have moved many of my studio istruments from my PC VST player to the Receptor, and will concentrate on video on the old box. So I am not heavily into processed sound (I play jazz, R&B and world fusion musics livem and these mostly do not need more than realistic sounding instruments.)

For instruments, I love the B4, the Art Vista pianos, especially Chet Baker and Nora Jones settings,and Mr.Ray22 (which is not included, but loads just fine.) For live effecs I'm happy with the free verb plug from Kjerhaus. Not great, but plenty good enough for live venues. (This worked great on my laptop, and I haven't yet gigged with the Receptor, so I can't comment totally honestly, but it sounds great through my Mackie HR824w.)

[nbozic]

Cool, I will look into the Art Vista piano - I could use it as a lead in some of my Trance tracks.

[thesoundsmith]

nbozic, after using Art Vista for a bit, I have some concerns. It is a very CPU and memory-intensive app, takes a LONG time to load (also on my Mac and PC both, these are huge files.

The sound is quite unique, it seems to have convolved reverb built into the sounds. But hiold the sustain pedal down and run a few arpeggios and it will stop playing, run out of resouces very quickly. I have the voice count bumped from 64 to 96, still not enough. I could try running it all the way up.

The pianos do sound great, but I have reverted back to the Silver Steinway or JABB piano, not sure which will be the final, but they both load faster and have less issues, though they are not as warm.

BTW, I am running a new Rev C with 2G ram and 160G disk. The new default live config...

[nbozic]

...not sure which will be the final, but they both load faster and have less issues, though they are not as warm.

Yeah, the warmth part could make a huge difference in the final sound. I guess adding another VST to warm things up might be worth a try. Maybe PSP Pianoverb could help, or some saturator/warmth module, although I don't know how apropriate it would be for a real-world instrument like a piano.
I like to add VintageWarmer to many of my instruments - haven't tried it on piano.

[thesoundsmith]

Depending on the musical style(s) you are playing, the Art Vista may be to fluid. The warmth is achieved by a degree of animation in the sustained tones which is a bit over the top for me. I think it works best as a solo, exposed instrument. There, it sounds less synthy than Silver or JABB, but in a group setting, it tends to get a bit muddy.

To be fair, i have only gigged with Art Vista once, but I have used it in my studio and prefer several of my Giga instruments. Now I'm wondering if it would make sense to try Kontakt 2 with a Translator-ed version of the Bardstown Bosendorfer...

[thesoundsmith]

BTW, I've posted a description of my live multi setup, any opinions appreciated...