Synthmaster 1&2 iOS Midi Lean issues

[multicube]

Hi KV331 Audio team,
For the past year or two I have constantly asked for a fix for both Synthmasters Midi Learn. No matter how many times I map the filter/ADSR/portamento parameters to be controlled inside Cubasis3, within a short time the parameters revert back to being unmapped, resulting in my songs not sounding like I had originally programmed them. You issued a fix by way of adding an Import Midi Mappings tab, but this only works short term and after a while I forget that this problem occurs. Besides, most of my songs contain many instances of SM1&2, remapping midi learn does not apply to all instances at once, even remapping in stand-alone mode does not remap globally.
These two synth apps are the only ones that have this problem, why is it so difficult to to fix this permanently. I have tried using Automation to control the various parameters but the main biggest problem with that is if a preset was changed during song playback, this new preset would automatically have its parameters set by Automation used for the previous preset, this automation cannot be cancelled at all
You have created two immensely powerful synths, but please can you finally fix Midi Learn on both of them.
I have read the various comments for Synthmaster 3, but surely you do need to fix 1&2 first
I’m not angry, just frustrated when it comes to using these Synthmasters in my projectss and think to myself ….will they work when I expect them to, or let down because the filter sweeps are suddenly not sweeping or the slow envelope attacks end up being abrupt!

[robert_p]

I feel your pain. I don't use Syntmaster 2 any more due to memory leak and massive amount of ram consumed by my wavetables library. There are some more bugs too, but I'm not even reporting it as I don't believe it would be fixed. I think I understand now why some people see Synhmaster 2 as "underrated" plugin and why it doesn't sell well - it's because it's difficult to recommend something that can't be used in any serious project. It's a shame - this synth has a huge potential. No matter how many new functions will be implemented into Synthmaster 3 - I won't buy it.

[multicube]

Hi robert_p,
It’s good to hear back from a Synthmaster user who also experienced problematic issues with the app, I was beginning to think I was the only person who had all these problems. I am trying to steer away from both SM1&2 because of too many bugs that I have reported but have not been fixed. The BIGGEST bug of them all is the inability to organise banks and presets, many time they duplicate themselves, causing all kinds of havoc.
I have loads of Cubasis 3 projects that contain both Synthmaster’s, I use bank and program change messaging extensively throughout all my projects to cut down on processor usage, BUT every time I purchase a new preset pack that contain Factory Presets and assign them to a bank, my existing preset numbers are automatically rearranged making all my program change messages wrong resulting in wrong presets being selected throughout my projects which is an absolute disaster, I have complained about this so many times to no avail, this is just another reason for steering away from Synthmaster.
I definitely won’t buy another Synthmaster app or purchase anymore preset packs, they are just too unreliable, the sad thing is, the KV331 team know all this but are unable or can’t be bothered to fix these issues.
Reported issues to other synth app developers are soon issued with a permanent fix….but not Synthmaster!
I have spent a lot of money on the App Store purchasing both Synthmaster’s and numerous preset packs, I expect them to work correctly and to be reliable………but this definitely is not the case.
Sorry for all my rants

[robert_p]

I was planning to buy some soundpacks too, but now I'm happy with spending my money somewhere else. KV331 is known in producer's community for their bad reputation and I'm afraid they won't gain enough customers to maintain their products because of that. It is sad to see such a potential being waisted.

[multicube]

Hi robert_p,
I have just read your thread - Synthmaster 2 Memory Leak (Windows) and realised you are discussing a desktop version, whereas I am experiencing Synthmaster problems on iPad Air 4 iOS16. So, no matter what device is being used - Synthmaster is still problematic.
I have to admit that both SM1 & 2 on iPad are extremely powerful there is so much potential….more than I will ever discover, it’s just a pity they are not reliable enough regarding preset management and global midi learn, these are the only two synth apps on iOS that cannot be fixed for some reason, even though I am always being told they will be fixed, good job I’m not holding my breath

[lb_kv331]

Hi multicube,

Once again I would like to tell, please assign the midi learn parameters from the standalone app and save them to a different file, preferably inside the iCloud. That way, they will not be lost, and in case of a problem you can always import them back.

The engine reads the presets alphabetically so you are right their index will change when you add new presets. I will use a similar approach for Midi Banks, once you create a midi bank you will be able to save it individually and you will be able to import them back and program change will work as expected

[multicube]

Hi IB,
I have imported my saved Midi Mapping into SM in stand-alone mode, closed and relaunched it and indeed the mappings do return, but this does not always update the AUv3 instances in Cubasis3 and for the actual Synthmaster version I need to respond to CC messaging, I have to manually import the mappings there followed by closing and relaunching Cubasis which is a procedure I find annoying.

If something can be done to secure preset positions then that would be good.
I have tried exporting my saved Midi Banks so that I can re-import them if things go wrong, but I am only able to export my own saved presets or those that do not reside as Factory Presets.
Thanks.

[skarabee]

Synthmaster (1&2) are buggy on all platforms.. some good sounds, lots of features, but garbage app

I've had the same issues, and the workarounds not only are a PITA but none of them work. A workaround is good till it does the same thing all the time when you use the (painfull) procedure. Since it works only sometimes it doesn't work att all, period. The app is broken regarding midi assign and this is not the only bug, unfortunately.
Never buy something again from them.