All hail Cypher 2!

[dlandis]

But the question I've got for you is this: did Cypher 2 or Strobe 2 ever show up in your ROLI Connect? I ask this because they never showed up in my ROLI Connect at all; they were always only in my FX License Manager. Currently, both my ROLI Connect and FX License Manager seem to be working.

My memory is a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure it worked differently for each synth. They both showed up in the Connect widget, but I think if I clicked one of them it would actually download directly, and if I clicked the other one it would open up the browser and take me to the FXpansion website or something. It was definitely a little janky. I got them bundled with the RISE 25 so I wouldn't be surprised if that changed something about their ROLI Connect behavior, even though it shouldn't have.

"Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice.

Well, your guess is at least as good as mine and probably better. Oddly, checking my account at ROLI, two things were apparent: first, neither Strobe 2 or Cypher 2 were mentioned in my account at all (not a surprise as I had never seen them in my ROLI Connect and they were indeed still listed in my FX License Manager as I previously described.) In order to download the software, I have to go to the FXPansion site. (Since both Cypher 2 and Strobe 2 are installed currently on my machine, they don't download via FX License Manager.) Much more concerning, however, is (second) my Equator 2 license does not seem to be listed anywhere in my ROLI account either (though my Equator 1 license is listed and Equator 2, strangely, does show up in ROLI Connect.) I'll have to send in a ticket for that. Thankfully, ROLI support has been pretty good about getting back to me when I have questions or report bugs.

[hey212]

Ya the license management situation with ROLI has been curious and ever changing in my experience.

[bradkvr]

If believe if you acquired Strobe and Cypher before ROLI bought the company, you could ask for your licences to be transferred to ROLI and then they would appear in Connect. If you didn't ask for the transfer, you still deal with the FX License Manager and your account on the FXpansion website.

[Ah_Dziz]

I really dig strobe 2 , but cypher 2 had some major stability issues all through the beta and I just never really got over the bad taste that left In my mouth. I should probably reinstall it at some point. It's a great synth and the MPE implementation is stupendous.

[Schmidi]

Totally love Synth Squad and still have it installed. Bought Strobe 2 but never liked the 2.0 GUIs for FXPansion plugs at all. Geist 2 was a mess IMO, Strobe 2 was better, but I just love the OG DCAM so much more. The Transmod system is amazing BTW!

[Dirtgrain]

The Transmod system is amazing BTW!

What does it do/how does it work? I feel like I knew this at some point.

[Gribs]

I had sort of forgotten about the fXpansion/Roli plugins except Geist 2, which I miss. I am sure I could go grab it from my old account but I am moving on. So I just installed Cypher 2, Strobe 2, and Equator. I didn't really click with Equator in the past. Sure, though, Cypher and Strobe still sound really good to my old ears. I have to set them to max magnification to be able to read the GUIs, though, and even then it is a struggle, again because I am old. Equator scales better.

I need to get a monitor. I have a work monitor here in my studio/office but not a music and gaming monitor, and UHD on a 17" laptop can be a struggle.

[zerocrossing]

I guess I don’t understand the “if it’s not continuously developed, it’s dead to me” mentality.

I think the word "dead" when applied to software has a range of meanings from "not presently in development, but still operational" to "barely being able to function in the current mileau" to "not being usable in an ever increasing number of contemporarily plausible scenarios," to (finally) "not being usable at all on current equipment." Some of the uses of the term are also contextual based on past developmental behavior and whether there have been factors that have slowed or (apparently, at least) stopped further attention to the software from the owner/developer. Almost paradoxically, the use of the word can have a "dynamic" (as opposed to "static") quality.

Angus' leaving was obviously something that fits into several of these possible schemata. He was the lead, I believe, on Cypher 2 and was often working to find snags on that VST (I believe he was working on the issue I mentioned regarding voice allocation around the time he left. He seemed to indicate that my i9 was not the preferred processor in view when Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 were developed.) If there were updates after his leaving (and it was clearly demonstrated that ROLI still considered Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 valid pieces of software in their own right and not the unloved sisters from a previous marriage before the darling child of Equator 2 came along from the new union,) it would have gone a long way to assuaging that vague feeling of dread. And while your comment about impOSCar 2 is particularly apt, it should be noted that 1) impOSCar 2 is relatively bugless in my experience (at least, I've never had an issue with it,) and 2) there are assurances that impOSCar 3 is on the way, probably soon.

ROLI itself has had a number of issues, both structurally and financially (as these two often intertwine.) The effect on the company as a whole has been largely negative and produced a much needed evaluation of the previous business model. While it is heartening to observe that ROLI has not deleted Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 from their catalog, per se, it should be acknowledged that it is far easier to allow software "to sit on a shelf, gathering dust" (virtually, if you will,) than it is to maintain viable pathways for manufacturing and distributing hardware. Hence, Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 remain, while the Seaboard Block keyboard is relegated to the scrapheap. My use of metaphor may be a bit hyperbolic, but you get my gist.

While I can't speak for anyone else, I know that I try to use the term "dead" regarding software while allowing for the range of meaning. I feel that I, in good conscience, have to allow for this range because of my own ignorance insofar as a company's intentions are concerned: I acknowledge that I have no understanding of the inner workings of a given manufacturer. In full judgement of current facts, however, I can't ignore the lack of movement regarding the software, either.

FWIW.

BTW, sir, did you get a chance to check the version number of your copy of Strobe 2 and/or Cypher 2? If you would, could you be so kind as to check your version of Equator 2 as well?

Again, thanks for the help!

Well, Roli’s still going, still selling Rise 2’s as far as I can tell. Sure, they’re focused on Equator 2, but they’re still selling Strobe and Cypher and I think it fills a much needed hole in the analog emulation MPE market. TAL and Arturia are OK, but in terms of MPE integration, Roli FXspansion is still the best, IMO.

I did check my version, it’s the same as yours, 2.6.1. I guess I was mistaken, I must have been thinking about an Equator 2 update. But it’s solid and I’ve not really found a bug.

[Uncle E]

Lately I’ve been doing a thorough assessment of all my plugin instruments, starting with analog emulations, and I tend to use Cypher 2 for MPE modulation festivals. Today I started out from an init and just spent time making traditional analog type sounds, and it struck me that it is clearly one of the nicest sounding analog style plugins that I own, yet it rarely seems to get any mentions here. Considering all it does and the high quality of how everything sounds, I can’t really figure out why it’s not mentioned in the top plugins.

I think it was Angus who told me that Cypher is based on the Alesis Andromeda. I recreated the first bank of Andromeda patches in Cypher and they did indeed sound very similar. Unfortunately, I lost the patches when I reinstalled Windows.

[zerocrossing]

Lately I’ve been doing a thorough assessment of all my plugin instruments, starting with analog emulations, and I tend to use Cypher 2 for MPE modulation festivals. Today I started out from an init and just spent time making traditional analog type sounds, and it struck me that it is clearly one of the nicest sounding analog style plugins that I own, yet it rarely seems to get any mentions here. Considering all it does and the high quality of how everything sounds, I can’t really figure out why it’s not mentioned in the top plugins.

I think it was Angus who told me that Cypher is based on the Alesis Andromeda. I recreated the first bank of Andromeda patches in Cypher and they did indeed sound very similar. Unfortunately, I lost the patches when I reinstalled Windows.

I do remember your a/b tests. Shame you lost them, but this thing sure isn’t wanting for more presets. I think there’s over a thousand of them included.

[Schmidi]

The Transmod system is amazing BTW!

What does it do/how does it work? I feel like I knew this at some point.

To me, at least, Transmod was the next step past a typical hardwired mod matrix approach. Essentially, everything can modulate everything else. As far as I know, the OG Synth Squad was about the first to allow this kind of modulation that also showed a visual representation of said modulations. It's a system that allowed a complex/messy process (once you get to dozens of connections) to be more easily referenced.

Transmod how to video:

[zvenx]

........

I think it was Angus who told me that Cypher is based on the Alesis Andromeda. I recreated the first bank of Andromeda patches in Cypher and they did indeed sound very similar. Unfortunately, I lost the patches when I reinstalled Windows.

Though I remember your audio comparison, not sure if I had heard something like this before, but may fully well explain why I always preferred the sound of Strobe2 way more than Cypher2, even though Cypher could run rings around Strobe 2 in terms of features.

rsp

[Uncle E]

Though I remember your audio comparison, not sure if I had heard something like this before, but may fully well explain why I always preferred the sound of Strobe2 way more than Cypher2, even though Cypher could run rings around Strobe 2 in terms of features.

They did a strange thing by focusing their marketing for Cypher on the FM capabilities. But yes, I liked Strobe, too. Too bad there'll never be a Strobe3 and Cypher3.

[dlandis]

I guess I don’t understand the “if it’s not continuously developed, it’s dead to me” mentality.

I think the word "dead" when applied to software has a range of meanings from "not presently in development, but still operational" to "barely being able to function in the current mileau" to "not being usable in an ever increasing number of contemporarily plausible scenarios," to (finally) "not being usable at all on current equipment." Some of the uses of the term are also contextual based on past developmental behavior and whether there have been factors that have slowed or (apparently, at least) stopped further attention to the software from the owner/developer. Almost paradoxically, the use of the word can have a "dynamic" (as opposed to "static") quality.

Angus' leaving was obviously something that fits into several of these possible schemata. He was the lead, I believe, on Cypher 2 and was often working to find snags on that VST (I believe he was working on the issue I mentioned regarding voice allocation around the time he left. He seemed to indicate that my i9 was not the preferred processor in view when Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 were developed.) If there were updates after his leaving (and it was clearly demonstrated that ROLI still considered Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 valid pieces of software in their own right and not the unloved sisters from a previous marriage before the darling child of Equator 2 came along from the new union,) it would have gone a long way to assuaging that vague feeling of dread. And while your comment about impOSCar 2 is particularly apt, it should be noted that 1) impOSCar 2 is relatively bugless in my experience (at least, I've never had an issue with it,) and 2) there are assurances that impOSCar 3 is on the way, probably soon.

ROLI itself has had a number of issues, both structurally and financially (as these two often intertwine.) The effect on the company as a whole has been largely negative and produced a much needed evaluation of the previous business model. While it is heartening to observe that ROLI has not deleted Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 from their catalog, per se, it should be acknowledged that it is far easier to allow software "to sit on a shelf, gathering dust" (virtually, if you will,) than it is to maintain viable pathways for manufacturing and distributing hardware. Hence, Strobe 2 and Cypher 2 remain, while the Seaboard Block keyboard is relegated to the scrapheap. My use of metaphor may be a bit hyperbolic, but you get my gist.

While I can't speak for anyone else, I know that I try to use the term "dead" regarding software while allowing for the range of meaning. I feel that I, in good conscience, have to allow for this range because of my own ignorance insofar as a company's intentions are concerned: I acknowledge that I have no understanding of the inner workings of a given manufacturer. In full judgement of current facts, however, I can't ignore the lack of movement regarding the software, either.

FWIW.

BTW, sir, did you get a chance to check the version number of your copy of Strobe 2 and/or Cypher 2? If you would, could you be so kind as to check your version of Equator 2 as well?

Again, thanks for the help!

Well, Roli’s still going, still selling Rise 2’s as far as I can tell. Sure, they’re focused on Equator 2, but they’re still selling Strobe and Cypher and I think it fills a much needed hole in the analog emulation MPE market. TAL and Arturia are OK, but in terms of MPE integration, Roli FXspansion is still the best, IMO.

I did check my version, it’s the same as yours, 2.6.1. I guess I was mistaken, I must have been thinking about an Equator 2 update. But it’s solid and I’ve not really found a bug.

Thanks for checking! I still like Cypher 2 and Strobe 2, but as I mentioned, it does get a wearisome trying to account for voice allocation hassles. Usually, rolling off 4 voices covers the issue, but sometimes this lowers the possibility for use in a given song. This may be an i9 specific issue (Angus kind of alluded to that possibility, if I understood him correctly.) I really like Equator 2, but it has issues loading presets (mostly, if not entirely, centered in the FX portion of the preset) in Bitwig. ROLI is aware of this and has promised this issue will be fixed in the next update. In Studio One, it's fine, but, of course, one loses the fifth dimension of MPE in Studio One: Lift. As of Studio One 6, Lift is still not recognized. Presonus has given no date for this issue to be fixed.

BTW, did you happen to check on what update number you have for Equator 2?

[Echoes in the Attic]

The original cypher had some of the coolest audio demos. Remember any of these?

https://soundcloud.com/fxpansion/cypher ... -fm-robert
https://soundcloud.com/fxpansion/cypher ... ike-robert
https://soundcloud.com/fxpansion/cypher ... imal-night