aMusing Replacer update

[projektio]

I wish the receptor was designed the same way. Allowing people to install any plugs they want. The only thing Muse would have to do, is issue OS patch to keep with changes and updates from MS in order to run new plugs.

It would sell like hotcakes. That's my 2 cents.

+1 You are right on the money. I'm sure that their original intentions were to protect whatever proprietary OS and drivers they designed for this hardware, but the fact that this product has been on the market for how many years now, and I'm stuck with a limited amount of mainstream retail plugins I can't install drives me crazy.

I keep debating about selling my Pro Jr for whatever it will fetch and moving on with life, or perhaps I'll wait until this aMusing frontend software gives me some more options. My latest DAW is pretty darn powerful so needing to offload plugins has become slightly irrelevant and I'm in a genre of music now where I don't need to use one live anymore.

projektio

[johnrule]

Take Apple for example, they don't like people to crack their OS (iphone), so they say "officially", or to run apps that it wasn't made for.

I didn't "crack their OS"...I don't find it worth cracking.

What I did was utilize the very expensive hardware I paid for in a new way. I am trying to get more value out of my Receptor, that's all.

JR

I wasn't suggesting that you did John. I know better...

I was merely outlining the fact that open systems tend to be more popular.

That's all!

Understood!

It was something that I felt needed to be said...and I agree that "open" is better.


JR

[johnrule]

UniWire replacement:

I have been experimenting with a free application that comes with Cockos Reaper called "ReaMote" as a replacement to UniWire, and I am truly impressed! There are two significant advantages to using ReaMote:

- Off-line processing
- Host stores plug-in reference

The off-line processing is by far the most productive feature in that you no longer have to do a 'real-time' render and worry about starting over because of a glitch in the audio.

In terms of the second feature, you can select where you want to do your processing in the track itself...either locally or remote. That means you no longer have to call up a preset on the remote host...it's much more intuitive.

I have also been very impressed with the performance. My Receptor 1 hardware that was not able to use UniWire seems to work fine with ReaMote, and at a latency that is very acceptable. I now have midi and audio working over my network like I expected with UniWire!

JR

[vihreamies]

Man you keep on bringing good news for us! I Almost changed from logic to Reaper couple months ago, I just wish there was better "Piano Roll" editor, because I tend to use it much.

I've been thinkin about the aMusing Replacer lately, and start to realise how good invention it is really.

Now, if we find a person who could make driver for the Receptor audio interface, we won't be forced to buy new soundcard...does somebody here know a person who would be filling and able to do that?

-Vm

[johnrule]

I Almost changed from logic to Reaper couple months ago, I just wish there was better "Piano Roll" editor, because I tend to use it much.

There are a lot of powerful features in the "Actions" menu...you have to dig a bit. I am coming from Cubase after many years (used Logic for a while too), and I have been able to get my work done just fine.

I've been thinkin about the aMusing Replacer lately, and start to realise how good invention it is really.

Thanks...that is encouraging. It is a bit if a jiujitsu move in terms of the Muse/Receptor philosophy, but I need the flexibility.

Now, if we find a person who could make driver for the Receptor audio interface, we won't be forced to buy new soundcard...does somebody here know a person who would be filling and able to do that?

That will most likely be too much trouble for anyone...

I did discover that the Envy24 drivers enable communication with the PCI card, and there is audio that passes through the ribbon cable going to the breakout card, but you need a specific driver that controls all of the IO. I also tried to bypass the relays hoping that it would at least enable the analog IO, but to no avail.

I imagined that this project would be for someone who wants to do exotic things to their box, and they would probably replace the audio card anyway. You can use almost anything. For example, I also use a cheap Behringer UCA200 USB interface that gets 1.8 msecs of latency...it is perfectly acceptable for output. Didn't everybody get one of those for free with something?

The Reaper 'ReaMote' gives me all of the DAW connectivity I need, so I am set for now. Eventually, I will replace my mobo, cpu, drive, etc. and explore my audio options at that point...maybe a USB 3 audio interface or something.

JR

[thesoundsmith]

John, I've not been checking the forum for awhile, so this is a pleasant surprise thread. Assuming no changes are made to the mobo or connections, simply replacing the HD back and forth would allow me to swap back to old-school Receptor Rev C, or swap drives and boot into the current configuration of if whatever OS/apps etc. were running? No BIOS issues? And, if you know, if I add the $19 Firewire card, and swap back to Receptor OS, can I leave the card in? (Just one more set of screws to deal with...)

Do I need to buy Bidule, or am I open to whatever software I choose to install (DAW, editors, etc.) Sorry for such basic questions but I like to know the limits (will it slice my bread for me? Probably not. Will it run 24-bit 24-track audio while I play on my Omnisphere /Trillium combined piano morph? That's another question...

And finally, I'd be happy to front you some bucks for the development time, what are you thinking is fair?

[johnrule]

Assuming no changes are made to the mobo or connections, simply replacing the HD back and forth would allow me to swap back to old-school Receptor Rev C, or swap drives and boot into the current configuration of if whatever OS/apps etc. were running? No BIOS issues?

Yes, I was doing this for a while until I was convinced I was done with the Receptor OS. I did quite a bit of experimenting, and the Receptor drive and OS is fairly picky about putting things back in the BIOS....just keep notes about what you change.

However, I imaged my original drive to a SATA, and I was able to leave SATA enabled when I switched back and forth between that drive and a Windows IDE drive. My original Receptor drive required the SATA setting to be turned off.

Right now, I have a dual boot Windows/Ubuntu Studio 1TB drive...and I have the aMusing Replacer running on both at startup! I have the boot time down to 45 seconds to preset load/play. I am actually getting better performance on both OSs.

And, if you know, if I add the $19 Firewire card, and swap back to Receptor OS, can I leave the card in? (Just one more set of screws to deal with...)

I actually pulled the Receptor PCI card to plug my 1394 card in, so I did not try to use both at the same time. If you can fit it in, I think it may work...I don't think the Receptor OS checks for a response from the VT1724 audio card. The card I used had a connector on the top, so I did not modify the case at all (yet!). I did switch to a USB audio interface once I discovered that ReaMote could take the place of UniWire.

Do I need to buy Bidule, or am I open to whatever software I choose to install (DAW, editors, etc.)

You have a lot of options from the RTE3 software (the aMusing Replacer host) including shell commands, 'Launch' commands (i.e. open a file with an application), midi, network, OSC, etc., so you can try anything. However, I have found that Bidule is the best replacement because of the remote preset loading capability, and the 2-way communication via OSC.

Will it run 24-bit 24-track audio while I play on my Omnisphere /Trillium combined piano morph?

That is the point...you can upgrade the hardware to a 64 bit i7 mobo with 16 gig memory and SSD if you want to. It will void your warranty though

The Receptor OS will become unusable of course because you must stay with the exact configuration...but I imagine you will not care at some point. The convenience of controlling my own software and hardware is just too compelling now.

And finally, I'd be happy to front you some bucks for the development time, what are you thinking is fair?

I was thinking of a 50% discount for current Receptor owners, but you can use the full version for free as long as you let the software ping the server when it starts. Check it out and see if it will do what you want.


JR

[looneytunes]

Hi everyone,

I've used Forte as a host on a PC before - I wonder how this would work on a redeployed receptor?

Forte doesn't have the monitoring views like Receptor does, but it seems to be much more oriented towards performances (with Scenes and preset ordering) as well as MIDI learn configurability. I haven't used EHCo, but that looks like it might one-up things with MIDI-out to control external Midi devices.

I think this might be the same host used in the OpenSystems keyboards.

Regards,
Kevin L

[johnrule]

Hi everyone,

I've used Forte as a host on a PC before - I wonder how this would work on a redeployed receptor?

Forte doesn't have the monitoring views like Receptor does, but it seems to be much more oriented towards performances (with Scenes and preset ordering) as well as MIDI learn configurability. I haven't used EHCo, but that looks like it might one-up things with MIDI-out to control external Midi devices.

I think this might be the same host used in the OpenSystems keyboards.

Regards,
Kevin L

You can just change one line of code in the "Replacer" project from sending an OSC command to sending a midi command to recall presets...and the same for loading a file. I will include an example for sending midi and loading a file in the next update.

Another option is the 'free' VST Host by Herman Seib. I was actually using that until I found Bidule.

JR

[o8o8]

I was thinking of a 50% discount for current Receptor owners, but you can use the full version for free as long as you let the software ping the server when it starts. Check it out and see if it will do what you want.

...hi John, this is just to let you know that i appreciate your efforts!...

...in case i do not drop my Receptor from some bridge soon* i'll try your suggestions and software...

...especially the part about using the Receptor-Hardware with ReaMote - something i have not yet understood how you are using it with your setup but i'll do some more reading - sounds very promising, as it would mean that there is - except for the harddrive - no need to change the hardware to use the system...

...UniWire (for use within Ableton Live) was the main reason for me to buy the Receptor, and it never worked for me...

...one remark regarding your licensing scheme: what happens if i'd like to use the software in a live-setup where i have no access to the internet?...or is this calling-home just neccessary for the trial-version usage...

[johnrule]

I've used Forte as a host on a PC before - I wonder how this would work on a redeployed receptor?

It loaded and ran fine...no problems.

JR

[johnrule]

.especially the part about using the Receptor-Hardware with ReaMote - something i have not yet understood how you are using it with your setup but i'll do some more reading

I'm using it instead of UniWire, but it's not just a stream of audio that I must render in real-time. The rendering happens off-line, and the plug-in references are saved with my song, so I don't have to load anything on my Receptor...it just acts like a processor extension to my host.

It works very much like FX Teleport.

I also did a test from Cubase, and you can use ReWire to utilize ReaMote...which means you can use it from other ReWire capable hosts as well.

JR

[o8o8]

I also did a test from Cubase, and you can use ReWire to utilize ReaMote...which means you can use it from other ReWire capable hosts as well.

...hi John, thank you for your quick reply...

...i think i have to rephrase my question: you have Reaper running on your modified Receptor, or do you use ReaMote wrapped into Bidule?...

...what about your DAW-machine: is Reaper running there with an instance of ReaMote which - in my case - i would have to ReWire to Ableton Live?...

...please excuse if my questions seem redundant: i am just since a couple of hours starting seriously to look for an alternative to/alternative use for my Receptor 1...

[johnrule]

I also did a test from Cubase, and you can use ReWire to utilize ReaMote...which means you can use it from other ReWire capable hosts as well.

...hi John, thank you for your quick reply...

...i think i have to rephrase my question: you have Reaper running on your modified Receptor, or do you use ReaMote wrapped into Bidule?...

...what about your DAW-machine: is Reaper running there with an instance of ReaMote which - in my case - i would have to ReWire to Ableton Live?...

Yes, reaMote is running on the modified Receptor. I have it starting up on power up so it is always running.

You start up a special 'slave' version of Reaper on the host to act as a proxy between Ableton and reaMote.

JR

[o8o8]

...hey John, thanks again...

...hmmm...

...from the Reaper-Manual i understand that you can use ReaMote for FX only...so not with instruments...

...i'll do some further reading, but if the above proves to be correct it might not be the replacement for UniWire that i am looking for...

{edit:}

...i just found that one sentence

'It {ReaMote} just works: REALLY. It works amazingly well on 100/1000mbps wired networks. You can even run softsynths remotely with very minimal latency for live monitoring! '

here: http://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/ReaMote...