A way forward

[hopkihc]

*Sigh*

This post could get nuked, but here goes:

In my view, the Receptor had:

- Great form factor
- An operating system that was kept "out of the way" so you could focus on getting cool patches together
- Reasonably good front-panel controls in case you didn't want to lug a display
- A VST host that in principal got most things right (IMO mixer mode being better than rack mode), although its feature set is limited compared to other hosts
- Quite good latency and sound quality, at least in my Receptor 2

What really sucked, and ended up being an Achilles heel:

- Broad and stable VST compatibility.

There's enough community talent to keep the box going, which is great. But there are some significant barriers to moving things "forward," starting with the fact that there's no baseline software image available to paid customers, much less an option for folks with used Receptors to buy such an image. Maybe whoever picks up the IP will end up reselling that piece.

I don't see a way around the Achilles heel, not without full-on investment in WINE-wrapper development or spinning up a "Windows + third-party host (Canabile? Forte?) + Muse patch/multi converter" that still minimizes interaction with the operating system.

I'll stick around, certainly. Meanwhile, I'm off to pick up a cheap disk drive!
-John

[Fishoow]

[Fishoow]

.....

[Fishoow]

Here hear!

I'll admit sleepless night regarding how to handle this. I very much appreciate the support of the community here. Apparently there are joined decades of experience. Unfortunately, Receptor was a big investment of time and money for me and the payoff before collapse of the company has rendered more lost work than gained.
Meanwhile I see Presonus, a recent collaborative company, coming out with StudioLive. Granted it only runs audio processing with some basic FX but this has been my issue since I got my Trio. After many weeks of trying to get the preloaded VSTs to do what I wanted I found that the only way was to load NIK which was having compatibility issues. I was reluctant to throw another $1k at a work-around.
The idea of the Receptor was to take the load off a laptop and lose the screen. In every post I see someone saying "bring a screen, keyboard, and mouse". I can personally tell you that a VNC controller will not do the job if power goes out and your Receptor shuts down improperly. Also, the idea that a whole band can run on a T3io or Q4tro is true up to the point where the GUI comes in.
Again, the StudioLive (from a previously partnered company) only has audio conditioning controls but add a laptop via FW800 and you only are running the VSTs on laptop (better for those running a "whole band"). Uniwire even works with their software. They have very fun synths and the ability to flawlessly run all plugins.
My hope is that Presonus picks this up, uses their beautiful GUI and integrates it with their StudioLive. They have been pushing the Wifi tech for years and I could see them taking Receptor interstellar. I was sad when Camel Alchemy (still my favorite) went away but then popped up in Apple Logic's world.
Ultimately I decided to keep my Trio with the hope that I figure a way to use it as much as I can before something happens to it or it becomes outdated.

[hopkihc]

Er, the StudioLive is a mixer with FireWire in/out and some built-in DSP, but I'm not sure how that addresses the niche of the REceptor.

The unit is reportedly quite poor for low-latency operation (see Sound on Sound review).

The ability to "run all plugins" depends on the OS the plugins are coded for, not necessarily the host (although it's true that some plugins and hosts/DAWs don't play well together). I'm not sure what you mean by "they have very fun synths" but if you mean the Presonus "synths," they run inside StudioOne and IMO are fun enough but really aren't much to write home about.

At the end of the day, you're going to need a host environment that runs VSTs at low latency and with some crash recovery mechanism, on an optimized OS.

[Fishoow]

At the end of the day, you're going to need a host environment that runs VSTs at low latency and with some crash recovery mechanism, on an optimized OS.

Indeed. This is true. I believe crash recovery is among the top three reasons Receptors exist. Honestly, I feel I have very little experience with the machine though I've had it for a couple years. Because it's been so difficult to set up for my daily usage I have been using my Early 2008 Mac for three hours daily to accompany dance classes at the University. I incorporate acoustic instruments and invite others to sit in being amplified on my rig. I run StudioOne and have some free VSTi included like Alchemy, Reactor, and others. The organization of drag and drop instruments (not loops; possible, but not for what I do) the quickkeys to access views, instrument controls, settings, MIDI bindings, just about everything. I would love to have all that on the Receptor.

Ya know, I guess you're right. I, again, was trying to think of a workaround to fix my problem of only one instrument/effect or whatever on any one audio input of the Trio Rack mode. I used Rack mode because my Boss RC-300 only went up to CC99 and all channel controls in Mixer mode are above 100. I use a hardware looper because the T3io doesn't send MIDI clock info and my bass player needed to slave from me so using Gloop was out. I have none of these issues with my laptop rig. Actually, come to think of it I rarely ever have crashes. The sample clock occasionally gets off from my M-Audio 410, but... really, that thing's so old. I never have that issue with my Presonus FireMobile.

My goal since i got the T3io was to be able to change my band's sound with the press of a MIDI foot pedal. Perhaps even have them make a change or two themselves. Mixer mode was my best bet but, well, see above. --endless workarounds very little to show.

The direction I was headed with the Presonus was actually that the Receptor would be a great addition, in my case, to the StudioLive. If Presonus could integrate the two I would feel very solid wherever I went. My point about their synths is simply that they have put time into developing some very useable instruments though ALL their strings sounds suck rosin, some of the e-pianos are kinda resource hogs, but there are a handful of drum and perc sounds that work. Lately, though, i've been having fun with the Mojito. At first I thought it was limiting but now I've really learned how to shape it. Sorry. I digress.

Anyway, whoever the guys find to take over their baby will be great, I'm sure and I will chug along behind, hopefully getting a bit of work out while I do.

[emcee]

agreed. I'm not jumping ship, but I am also purchasing spare drives this weekend to create a backup that will go in a safe place, and another that'll travel with me seperately from the one in the Receptor.

I'm hopeful that whoever does buy the IP gives us faithful supporters at least the support we deserve, or a way to keep the units going for some time, and not just "here's a link to the source code". I've done some research and there's no direct 1:1 competitor that matches the Receptor's main functions, to paraphrase John; great form factor for gigging, no mucking around with Windows Updates/Upgrades and spinning beach ball of death, and (touch wood) reliability and confidence on stage and also in the studio. And although there were several VST's that I tried on my PC thinking ooh this is good, then couldn't get working on the Receptor, most of the time there'd be another variation on a theme that did fill that musical need.

To quote another John, "Keep the Faith" - I am telling myself this is not the end of the book, just the start of another chapter. Unless Behringer buys it.. LOL

[Fishoow]

"Keep the Faith" - I am telling myself this is not the end of the book, just the start of another chapter. Unless Behringer buys it.. Lol

[analogaddict]

Unless Behringer buys it.. LOL

That's actually a very good idea. Behringer want to profile themselves as suppliers of professional gear, they have money and logistics. If they were to consider the Receptor platform a way to get access to all the acts using Receptors, buying the IP could be a good investment. Does anybody know anyone at Behringer?!

[emcee]

acccording to my Linkedin profile I do know someone who knows someone at Behringer..
but do I blindly mail the guy and say "hey, you should buy Muse"

[Fishoow]

Though I like my FCB 1010 because there's a whole world of MadMaxian Mod folk out there, I prefer a different company. Vote your conscience though. I would have no problem cold-calling a company.

You might want to run the idea past the folks at licensing@museresearch.com.

[emcee]

Yeah. There's a saying around my circles "friends don't let friends buy Behringer".
Would an established hardware co take on muse? I'm thinking your Roland/Korg/yamaha's no.. Native instruments perhaps with their foray from pure software to hardware?
I wouldn't like to see Alesis/Akai take it on. Novation?
Or is a Kickstarter an option?

[analogaddict]

Yeah. There's a saying around my circles "friends don't let friends buy Behringer".

There was a time when I would subscribe to that notion - but I believe they have changed in the last couple of years. Less imitation, more innovation and higher quality. After buying Midas, they've actually been producing useable mic pres and digital converters. And there's an analog poly synth in the pipeline! But NI could step in more directly and sell Receptors bundled with special versions of Komplete. The whole platform ought to be too good to die, but I believe it's up to us to make something happen. I've sent emails to companies before and made things happen, but I've always had a contact to reach out to.

[Fishoow]

Yeah. Someone that builds devices and works with plugin development. Arturia just won some awards though Receptor seems like a stretch for them. I'm not sure what happened with the Peavey thing. I like where they were headed but I've seen some negative crits on other forums.
For me, a focus on getting in and out when it comes to programming is really important to my music making. Architecture of motherboard and components is 1st but just as important, for me, is graphic interface design. NI could be good with this and may want to branch into a dedicated plugin player. If they did, that would fix the K10 issue but I'm not sure where the Omnisphere folks would be.
Avid makes their 11Rack. Folks were not so warm to Presonus (who apparently doesn't have the $ backing right now anyway) but how about Protools?

[Fishoow]

but I believe it's up to us to make something happen. I've sent emails to companies before and made things happen, but I've always had a contact to reach out to.

It would be great to have a user consensus and then start making contact.