Pianoteq 3

[johnrule]

This latest version actually seemed more stable too. I was able to poke around the menus a bit without the Receptor locking up.

I spoke too soon...it still locks up when trying to access certain sections (without a pattern that I can discern - at the moment). It's aggravating but it's usable once you get it set up.

JR

[jhibshman]

John,

Any updates on the reliability, performance, etc? I still haven't tried installation yet because the Receptor is a staple in my rig and I don't want to risk it yet. However, it's getting to the point where the features are making pianoteq 2.3 vastly inferior to the current version so it's very tempting. I really would like the the K1, Rhodes, and Wurlitzer on my Receptor 1 and I just don't think I'm willing to shell out the money for another Receptor, or upgrade, after the lack of plug-in support they're providing.

Hopefully they'll get it together for those of us who still own the dinosaur rev c!

[johnrule]

Any updates on the reliability, performance, etc?

Sorry, I should have posted this...

The new version (3.6.1) does indeed run more stable because they fixed the menus. I believe that the old menu was drawing on the screen in such a manner that the graphics engine in Wine/Linux did not like it...and invariably locked up the OS. Now it looks like you can at least get into the menus to use it normally...I have been using it regularly without any problems. The playback has always been stable...

The only remaining problem is the selection of presets from the Muse VST host menu. You can scroll to Pianoteq 3 presets just fine, but when you go into the menu and select a preset, the window will not close, and you must do the "triple push" to do a soft reset. It's not a big deal, but it can be annoying.

In terms of installation (I already had 3.6 installed), I simply dragged the .exe into my folder (deleting the old one). The first time I instantiated it I got an error dialog (from Pianoteq) that simply said "This is strange!". I pressed "OK" and that was the last time I saw it.

Yes, it is indeed very nice to be able to use the K1 presets from my Receptor 1!

JR

[johnrule]

Any updates on the reliability, performance, etc?

In addition, this could mean that the installation process will be much easier. The difficulty I faced was the crashing because of version 3.5 (and getting into the menus).

This is where I wish I had a default image so that I could go back to a fresh install and start over. The image I made was with Pianoteq 2.3 installed, and I believe that may also be causing some issues. The Muse software scans for all valid plugins and will report a conflict between Pianoteq 2.3 and the new install...you need to select the new plugin as the default.

You cannot delete any of the Pianoteq 2.3 directories either because Muse has everything locked (well, I should say that you do not have permissions to delete those folders), so you have remaining directories from an old install lying around. Eventually, I will have to get in there as root and manually delete all of this garbage...it is so lame.

If you don't have 2.3 installed it may be very easy indeed compared to what I went through!

JR

[johnrule]

Installing Pianoteq 3.6.1 on a Receptor 1 Rev C is a lot easier than I previously described. It is basically an "unsupported plugins" install with registry modification. My earlier instructions describe this type of install and reg mod, so that part is still viable...just ignore the Pianoteq 3.0 install portion. I recently had to go in and clean out all of the Pianoteq 3.0 install info because it was conflicting with my unsupported installl...that is what was making it difficult.

I kept my Pianoteq 2.3 install the way it was and simply did the unsupported install for 3.6.1, and I now have the option to choose between "Pianoteq" and "Pianoteq 3" in my plugins menu. The key to this whole things is setting up your file paths in the registry, and you can basically use just about any path you wish. I chose the "My Documents" folder for the main install folder and executable (in "Pianoteq36"), and a custom folder for the .dll in "Unsupported Plugins". My registry looks like this:



Don't worry about the "Instruments\model" folder (i.e. you don't have to use my paths exactly). I simply wanted to group my physical modeling plugins together.

In order to modify the registry you need to have that option in your setup page (under "Run Utility") or you need to install it (ask Muse for the "enable-regedit-1-1.rpm" installer). I don't think Receptor 2 users have this option anymore, but I could be mistaken.

It is still a good idea to have some back-up of your Receptor hard drive just in case, but an unsupported install with reg mod is not that uncommon. The only thing I am not sure about is your authorization method. You should go through a normal authorization over the Internet, but it may not 'take' until after a reboot or after you do a plug-in refresh.

Good luck!

JR

[fewarren]

Following John's excellent advice, I now have Pianoteq 3.6.4 running on my Receptor 1 Pro. The Pro has the 2.4 Ghz processor and 2 Gigs of memory so it just BARELY runs version 3.6.4. I am still trying to optimize it to run reliably, but I think it will be possible. Three things were key. The first is that you need to create the directory locations that Pianoteq expects using the Receptor regedit tool (as John described). The second is the update to the .prefs file (again John described this). The third is that you need to ask Pianoteq support for the special Receptor version of Pianoteq 3.6.4. This last step is the key. They modified the code so that it will go directly to the registration step and not go through the part that crashes Receptor. The process of manually doing the authorization is painful and you must VERY CAREFULLY copy the URL provided by the plugin and copy it EXACTLY into your browser. If this works, then you get back the key data which can be cut from the browser and pasted into the plugin. Please refer to John's unsupported plugin install of Pianoteq 3.6 for further details. Good luck!

[johnrule]

Following John's excellent advice, I now have Pianoteq 3.6.4 running on my Receptor 1 Pro.

Well done!!!

I had a feeling it may have been the 3.5 version that got things authorized, and then I just updated the executable from there. Modartt deserves a pat-on-the-back as well for being company of the year in my book. That's the way to treat a customer!

I did upgrade my processor to a 2.6 Ghz, but you are close enough. Here are my other settings:

Buffer = 64 samples
Sample rate = 44 khz
Polyphony = 48
Reverb = off

Sometimes I can turn the reverb on when I am using a simple stereo patch, but I definitely stay away from all 5 mics!

The funny thing is (or annoying actually), now that I am running my aMusing Replacer software, I get better performance from the same hardware. I was getting a 24 in the "Performance" measurement for Pianoteq using the Receptor OS, but now I get 27...and I can leave the reverb on with no problem.

Regardless, I hope you get things tweaked enough so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor!

JR

[looneytunes]

Hi Guys,

Maybe I can do one better ....

I was able to install and run 3.6.4 "Without any registry modification". The key was to run the PianoTeq installer on Receptor itself. You can do this by putting the Pianoteq installer.exe into the "Drop Installers Here" folder, and executing it via an unsupported install. If you tell the installer to place the 'program folder' in (for example - My Documents' folder, as John describes, and place the vsti .dll in your 'Unsupported VSTis' folder), the installer will fix all of the correct resources for you.

I have all of the recent add-ons going too (Clavinet, Vibes, Marimba, Xylo, Glock, Rhodes, Wurli). It all seems to work fine and is stable for me.

Hope this helps,
Kevin L

[looneytunes]

Hi again,

By the way, I should mention - I installed/run PianoTeq on a Receptor 2 Pro Max. I don't see any issues with performance. I think I made a multi with 4-5 instances of PianoTeq active, and everything ran smooth.

As John mentioned before - if you do this, you'll burn up one of your authorizations (instead of using the iLok for Muses PianoTeq version).

Regards,
Kevin L

[PhilAiken]

Hi Guys,

Maybe I can do one better ....

I was able to install and run 3.6.4 "Without any registry modification". The key was to run the PianoTeq installer on Receptor itself. You can do this by putting the Pianoteq installer.exe into the "Drop Installers Here" folder, and executing it via an unsupported install. If you tell the installer to place the 'program folder' in (for example - My Documents' folder, as John describes, and place the vsti .dll in your 'Unsupported VSTis' folder), the installer will fix all of the correct resources for you.

I have all of the recent add-ons going too (Clavinet, Vibes, Marimba, Xylo, Glock, Rhodes, Wurli). It all seems to work fine and is stable for me.

Hope this helps,
Kevin L

Wow....trying this as soon as I get a chance!!

Can I ask you:
1. Did you already have an earlier version installed?
If so, did you uninstall?
2. Does it matter what folder you install the program files into?

[johnrule]

Hi again,

By the way, I should mention - I installed/run PianoTeq on a Receptor 2 Pro Max. I don't see any issues with performance. I think I made a multi with 4-5 instances of PianoTeq active, and everything ran smooth.

As John mentioned before - if you do this, you'll burn up one of your authorizations (instead of using the iLok for Muses PianoTeq version).

Regards,
Kevin L

Very nice...

Out of curiosity, what is your performance index?

JR

[looneytunes]

Can I ask you:
1. Did you already have an earlier version installed?
If so, did you uninstall?
2. Does it matter what folder you install the program files into?

Hi Phil,

Yes, I did have the previous 'Recepterized' (ie. iLok protected) Pianoteq previously installed at the time I installed 3.6.4. I don't really think that it matters though - the installer.exe should provide everything that is needed to install.

I'm not sure it matters what folder to put the program files into (obviously, the .dll needs to go in a place where Receptor will know about it. ). I followed John's lead and directed the installer to put the program files in "My Documents" such that the standalone program would not be confused by the Receptor OS as something else.

I think I might have also created a custom-install.xml file to put with the .dll -- I'll have to check that.

Hope this helps,
Kevin L

[looneytunes]

Hi John,

On my Receptor 2 Pro Max, performance is quite good. During normal play, the CPU meter is ambient and peaking below 20%. If I play a piano (eg. YC5) heavily, I can get it to peak just over 20%.

Regards,
Kevin L

[johnrule]

Hi John,

On my Receptor 2 Pro Max, performance is quite good. During normal play, the CPU meter is ambient and peaking below 20%. If I play a piano (eg. YC5) heavily, I can get it to peak just over 20%.

Regards,
Kevin L

Actually, I was looking for the Performance index that Pianoteq generates in the "Options". Here are my indexes (using default "K1" preset):

Receptor 1 (OS 1.7) : 24
Receptor 1 (Windows) : 27
AMD Desktop (Athlon X2) : 38

By the way, you are supposed to be able to install Pianoteq 3 on the Receptor 2...this was about installing it on the Receptor 1.

The gold star still goes to Fred

JR

[looneytunes]

Hi John,

On my Receptor 2 Pro Max, performance is quite good. During normal play, the CPU meter is ambient and peaking below 20%. If I play a piano (eg. YC5) heavily, I can get it to peak just over 20%.

Regards,
Kevin L

Actually, I was looking for the Performance index that Pianoteq generates in the "Options". Here are my indexes (using default "K1" preset):

Receptor 1 (OS 1.7) : 24
Receptor 1 (Windows) : 27
AMD Desktop (Athlon X2) : 38

Ahh - Didn't know they had that there.

I got a performance index of 37. (also using default "K1" preset).

By the way, you are supposed to be able to install Pianoteq 3 on the Receptor 2...this was about installing it on the Receptor 1.

The gold star still goes to Fred

JR

Ha! Actually, there was no mention of this being user installable on any receptor. I simply stumbled across running the installer directly. By the way, I was running installers this way with my Receptor 1 - so, maybe someone can give that a try on their Receptor 1.

Regards,
Kevin L