Has anyone heard from Muse lately?

[atopfer]

Does anyone have any idea when Muse is coming out with their new Direct Installers for all of the Kontakt 2 Player libraries?

They sent us a newsletter several months back. Since then, nothing.

[mwgilbert]

Does anyone have any idea when Muse is coming out with their new Direct Installers for all of the Kontakt 2 Player libraries?

They sent us a newsletter several months back. Since then, nothing.

To which I would like to add: I am currently contemplating the purchase of Plectrum, which used to be GVI-based, but was just released in a new version that is Kontakt player-based. I am stuck at: will it be supported on Receptor?

I keep asking Muse for updates about supported apps and install procedures but have gotten no response. The silence is getting a bit overwhelming. Frankly, I am starting to get a little concerned about being orphaned. Any device like this is only as good as its flexibility, and Muse is not looking like they are keeping it current anymore.

[projektio]

It is usually quiet this time of year leading up to the big NAMM show in January. That being said, here is the latest news update from Muse's website:

http://www.museresearch.com/news.php?id=107

Even if the company wasn't doing well, I doubt they would go out in a whisper without their being some "hard" industry rumors...

I am hopeful that they will release the Kontakt Player 2 libraries soon as well.

projektio

[MCal]

Dont worry guys. Muse have been very busy and aren't going anywhere. Not sure if it's on the official site, but if you check my site (see below) you'll see whats instore It's lovely and I have the 1st one outside the states for testing. I was under NDA but the guys have now given me the ok to speak out...

Al.

Yes I want the k2 player support too. It is on the way, but it's more difficult than thought due to an number of reasons.

[mwgilbert]

Don't worry guys. Muse have been very busy and aren't going anywhere. Not sure if it's on the official site, but if you check my site (see below) you'll see whats in store It's lovely and I have the 1st one outside the states for testing. I was under NDA but the guys have now given me the ok to speak out...

While I'm happy to see a new product, I would be happier to see support of the "old" one. I hate to think that the way to benefit from Muse's current efforts will be to buy a new $$$ box.

Unless there is an amazingly progressive trade-up policy, I am not likely to enjoy the benefits of a new version of the hardware. I own 2 Receptors. I bought them both within the past year, with all sorts of hope that Muse would be growing the compatibility list. Since I've owned them, very little has been added, and trying to ask them about where the platform is going has yielded only incredibly vague comments about how "stuff is coming soon". Direct Install came and went without much impact, as it supports only Komplete and two other apps. It is not so far open to installing as a general concept. If I contact Muse and ask if application X will be supported, all I get is either silence or the "stuff is coming soon" without a reference to X.

So, of my two Receptors, one of them is currently for sale on eBay, where it is generating very little interest. If it doesn't sell, Muse is welcome to trade me a new version for my two old ones. I'm not going to hold my breath for that happening...

While I believed in the Receptor concept, I am currently wishing that I had spent my money buying a second Mac for my studio, and used that to offload VST/VSTi processing. Seeing the nice picture of a new Receptor version does nothing to change that thought.

So, I invite someone from Muse to respond to this, honestly and frankly. I'm not going to hold my breath for that happening either.

-MWG

http://www.mwgilbert.com/
http://www.myspace.com/michaelwilliamgilbert

[MCal]

Well I do know that there are very reasonably priced upgrades for all existing owners as I'll be one of the locations performing the upgrades.

As to your other question, all I can say is that Direct Instal is far from over. I spoke with Muse about assisting with this and they were very positive. You must remember that the Receptor OS isnt windows and you cant always just run an installer or even drop a Dll file into a folder to make everything work. There's alot of scripting and work that goes into making a plugin work as well as Muse require them to work in Linux (Receptor OS).

Al.

[mwgilbert]

Well I do know that there are very reasonably priced upgrades for all existing owners as I'll be one of the locations performing the upgrades.

I'm curious to see how "reasonably" gets interpreted.

As to your other question, all I can say is that Direct Install is far from over. I spoke with Muse about assisting with this and they were very positive. You must remember that the Receptor OS isn't windows and you cant always just run an installer or even drop a Dll file into a folder to make everything work. There's alot of scripting and work that goes into making a plugin work as well as Muse require them to work in Linux (Receptor OS).

I am as much talking about how Muse communicates with their user base. This has been about the worst experience I have ever had with a company that purports to really "get" musicians.

I have been an IT developer and researcher at a major US university for more than 20 years. I have done Linux development, and on 'alternative' platforms. Believe me, I know that what they are trying to do is certainly complex. Using Wine-based code, they are creating a stripped-down Windows inside a Linux box. But that does not mean that giving a realistic idea to Receptor owners of what they can and can not expect is complex; I, and others, feel very cut off from Muse, and that is not a good thing.

I very much appreciate your response, but hope that Muse itself would also respond. Thanks.

-MWG

[c3boy]

The whole Direct Install was a let down. It was marketed as a be all and end all for loading plugs. It was marketed really as a generic direct install and not just a way of getting Komplete on to your system yourself.

I upgraded from Rev B to C last christmas and see no point in upgrading hardware to this Receptor 2 while the software releases are lagging behind.

The fact is, it looks like we have other options now with SMAudio shipping their VBox the end of this month with the V-Rack and V-Pedal to follow. We are'nt such a select group of people anymore who use vsti for live use, it'll be the norm in the next couple of years I expect.

[looneytunes]

Hi Everyone,

I certainly sympathize with MWGilbert, being in the same boat with 2 receptors, and being skeptical about their net worth and upcoming usefulness. I have yet to see a viable uniwire. The compatibility story is less-than acceptable. The upgrade path from previous Receptor to Pro was not quite as smooth as one would like (you basicly had to reinstall everything since the drive needed to be reformatted). But I feel that despite all of this, the lack of good communications from muse employees on this forum is what really tests my patience.

So I've owned my first Receptor since ~ 2004. Can someone please explain to me what has made my life different on Receptor since then, and what I have to look forward to?

I do not mean to disrespect Muse employees or anyone with these comments, I would simply like a few reassurances for my confidence in basing my entire live rig in this product, as well as my studio usage (from my 2nd rig). My investment has not really grown (without significant effort on my part to jump thru non-user condoned hurdles).

Regards,
Kevin L

[mwgilbert]

One little update. Since I wrote my earlier entry about Direct Install ("it supports only Komplete and two other apps") I checked Direct Install today, and since a day or two ago it has one more new app. The app in question is Symphobia, by ProjectSAM, and it is listed as a beta. It is a K2 app.

As a first go, I believe that Muse has found one of the more expensive K2 libraries (currently reduced to $1399) for people to try out as a beta. Since that's quite a bit out of my league, if any of you all out there in Receptor land owns Symphobia, a report on the process of installing it as a K2 app would be welcome. Perhaps a beta of something more inexpensive/common/available would have more testers. Please understand, I have nothing against Symphobia, it is just not a likely first case test choice.

I would rather expect to see a process whereby ANY of the K2 libraries could be installed, and in fact one might wish to have more than one at a time. You know, the way it works on a regular old PC.

I hate to have to be an activist for a degree of customer support that I think ought to be our due with the purchase of a reasonably significant box/platform. I'd frankly rather be composing. The lack of flexibility that I thought I was investing in has impeded my usual workflow, in making choices, and my frustration (in case no one was aware of it ) is getting to the point where I am close to giving up. If I knew then what I know now from my own experience since I bought my Receptors, I probably would not have.

-MWG

[batgab]

Boy, I am with mwgilbert and looneytunes; while wanting to give Muse the benefit of the doubt, I have to admit I'm beginning to feel duped. I suppose my story is not unique; I paid bigtime for a Receptor Pro just this summer, bought one semi-major VSTi (foolishly thinking it - v2.0 - would be installable since the previous version was), then another VSTi to replace the first one in the interim. That second VSTi was one that was advertised on Plugorama as being one of the few that was installable with Direct Install. But, I found out the hard way that the version I ended up with - 1.1.1 - was NOT installable, only version 1.0. (I don't know what the difference is between 1.0 and 1.1.1, but it doesn't sound like much, going by those numbers...) At this point, I feel buying any software is going to be a total risk. Even if a user says a particular version is installable, who knows if that's the exact version you'll get if you buy it?

And yes, the fact that Muse is resolutely silent on all of this is downright infuriating. At least throw us a bone; i.e., "look, we're gonna get this install mess cleaned up, but honestly, it's gonna take us 'til mid '09. Here's what the problem is, and an outline of our plan.... ." Right now it's like we all bought a new car but it turns out we can only get gas for it in Mexico.

By the way, for you folks that are savvy about the guts of computers, was Muse's choice of a Linux/Wine, etc. architecture a bad one? I don't know a lot about this stuff, but it seems that if this is making a universal install function difficult to produce, they should've been able to anticipate that. I would really be interested in what you smart dudes have to say about this. To me, not being a software expert AT ALL, it just doesn't seem like it should be so dang difficult to do this. If it's gonna take a hardware upgrade, it better be insanely cheap.

MCal, I noticed on your website it says "Imagine being able to use your favourite VST plugins live on stage, or adding plugin capacity to your studio simply by pluging in a Receptor." Well, so far all I CAN do is "imagine".

[johnrule]

I think some valid customer opinions (and complaints) are being posted, and Muse should take notice.

One thing I would like to see for current hardware is support for upgrading things on our own. I was surprised to discover just how proprietary Receptor is. As far as I know, it is not possible for me to upgrade the processor, motherboard, or hard drive without Muse intervention (and expense).

Since I can easily upgrade my other computers, and they behave much the same as a Receptor by simply running V-Stack (or similar), I am starting to question the value of Receptor myself. My other computers boot plenty fast, even with VST host startup time, and the hardware cost is a fraction.

Until I get more value out of my current investment in the Receptor technology, I see no reason to consider a "Receptor 2", and I will be using my VST host computers in the future.

JR

[UltraJv]

I can see why Muse used Linux, it made the unit cheaper. IMHO the way to go would have been Windows XP embedded. This is a custom install of XP with no extras. The problem with doing it the Windows way is that it would have been more costly. The tradeoff is price vs compatibility.

[thesoundsmith]

I think some valid customer opinions (and complaints) are being posted, and Muse should take notice.

One thing I would like to see for current hardware is support for upgrading things on our own. I was surprised to discover just how proprietary Receptor is. As far as I know, it is not possible for me to upgrade the processor, motherboard, or hard drive without Muse intervention (and expense).

Since I can easily upgrade my other computers, and they behave much the same as a Receptor by simply running V-Stack (or similar)...
JR

Receptor is a dedicated hardware VSTi player, NOT a 'computer' in the normal sense of the word. So is my Roland XP-80, my DX7IIFD, etc. These are not designed to have software OR hardware upgrades, at least Receptor has some options here. If you think of the Receptor as a computer, you will be disappointed. If you think of it as a dedicated hardware synth, it's a hell of a box!

But if you bought it expecting and requiring future upgrades to make it useful, then you will not be satisfied...

[mwgilbert]

But if you bought it expecting and requiring future upgrades to make it useful, then you will not be satisfied...

I would put delivering on the promise of a meaningful Direct Install as both a reasonable expectation and a reasonable requirement. Remember, the expectation originated with Muse, not as an idle fantasy in the mind of the customer. Muse did decidedly not(!) market the Receptor as a dedicated hardware synth. It was marketed with an emphasis on its flexibility; their emphasis.

I can surmise that there were a number of factors that could have kept Muse from delivering on that promise:

- it turned out to be harder to do than they thought
- it thus turned out to be more expensive than they thought
- it has taken longer than they thought, and their initial boxes have aged while VST complexity and system demand continues to grow (Omnisphere?)
- the sheer number of VSTs and new versions of VSTs has grown faster than anyone imagined
- they have been unable to work with a number of popular developers for any number of possible reasons (their platform is small in numbers?)
- dealing with differing copy protection methods has been a bottleneck
- it's a hard business to be in
- ...and some I haven't thought of...

One thing about the copy protection thing. Disclaimer: I do not advocate the use of illegal or stolen soundware, and I buy the software that I use. Nevertheless, I think if the Receptor was a more open platform, the same way a personal computer is an open platform, it would have removed the burden of having to re-engineer existing copy protection schemes, and placed it back between developers and users.

In the end, you don't sell something as morphable and consider it OK to be static.

If nothing else, this thread has provided the opportunity for some interesting discussion. I sent an email to the CEO of Muse, Chris Halaby, with a link to this thread. I wonder if he'll read it, and I wonder if he'll respond.

-MWG