Roland Cloud

[D-Fusion]

for me it is the same coming from an intel mac pro to a M2 studio ultra, both v1 and v2. It is the only plugin I have (500+) that acts this way, for a long time already. I guess it is a DRM check for those 100+ preset packs

Weird. Maybe it is not properly optimized on mac then or you have a slower hdd/ssd than me?

I have Lifetime keys for Zenology Pro + The 99 Preset pack and the Zenology Versions of SRX Dance Trax, World Instruments, Orchestra, Symphonique Strings and Vintage Keys.
I also have lifetime keys for a few of the Synth Models for Zen too JX8P, Juno 106 and the Jupiter 8 + Zen JD-800.

And the startup time has been the same with or without these expansions.

[Septic Underground]

guess its a apple m2 problem, on GS some others have the same issues.

I have a very fast top specced system, the internal SSD is lightning fast and I have 128 GB ram internal

[PAK]

Weird. Maybe it is not properly optimized on mac then or you have a slower hdd/ssd than me?

It does the exact same thing on PC. So the Zenology slow launch is not a Mac / Apple Silicon issue. Rather it's a Roland issue.

Launching in 12 seconds is the fastest I've heard anyone claim. The typical launch time is more like 30 or even 40 seconds plus on PC just as it is on Mac, and seems related to how the plugin initialises itself / authorisation checks rather than SSD speed. The Zenology model expansions and presets are fairly small, with only the Zenology SRX expansions taking up a couple of hundred megabytes.

[D-Fusion]

Weird. Maybe it is not properly optimized on mac then or you have a slower hdd/ssd than me?

It does the exact same thing on PC. So the Zenology slow launch is not a Mac / Apple Silicon issue. Rather it's a Roland issue.

Launching in 12 seconds is the fastest I've heard anyone claim. The typical launch time is more like 30 or even 40 seconds plus on PC just as it is on Mac, and seems related to how the plugin initialises itself / authorisation checks rather than SSD speed. The Zenology model expansions and presets are fairly small, with only the Zenology SRX expansions taking up a couple of hundred megabytes.

Weird. Just tested with a stop watch here now and it clocked in at 11 Seconds in Bitwig 5.

As i mentioned it used to be 30+ for me too but not anymore after my new build where i replaced all my Hdd with Pcie 4 M2 Drives.

[PAK]

Weird. Just tested with a stop watch here now and it clocked in at 11 Seconds in Bitwig 5.

As i mentioned it used to be 30+ for me too but not anymore after my new build where i replaced all my Hdd with Pcie 4 M2 Drives.

It could be related to the M2 drive, something else about your config, or perhaps how it's being handled in Bitwig. If you have access to another host, on the same machine, it'd be interesting to know if it gets the same results as Bitwig.

Given how common the issue is, on many other configurations, I'd say this should be Roland's number one priority to fix on Zenology. Such huge launch times are going to put people off buying / using their product. After it launches its response is excellent btw (it'll recall its GUI faster than most plugins and doesn't skip a beat when switching models / presets etc).

[D-Fusion]

Weird. Just tested with a stop watch here now and it clocked in at 11 Seconds in Bitwig 5.

As i mentioned it used to be 30+ for me too but not anymore after my new build where i replaced all my Hdd with Pcie 4 M2 Drives.

It could be related to the M2 drive, something else about your config, or perhaps how it's being handled in Bitwig. If you have access to another host, on the same machine, it'd be interesting to know if it gets the same results as Bitwig.

Given how common the issue is, on many other configurations, I'd say this should be Roland's number one priority to fix on Zenology. Such huge launch times are going to put people off buying / using their product. After it launches its response is excellent btw (it'll recall its GUI faster than most plugins and doesn't skip a beat when switching models / presets etc).

Yes. There must be something i recently added in my pc that changed it since it used to be slow in bitwig too.

Will reinstall Studio one 6.5 and see if there are any changes in loading time there

[D-Fusion]

Weird. Just tested with a stop watch here now and it clocked in at 11 Seconds in Bitwig 5.

As i mentioned it used to be 30+ for me too but not anymore after my new build where i replaced all my Hdd with Pcie 4 M2 Drives.

It could be related to the M2 drive, something else about your config, or perhaps how it's being handled in Bitwig. If you have access to another host, on the same machine, it'd be interesting to know if it gets the same results as Bitwig.

Given how common the issue is, on many other configurations, I'd say this should be Roland's number one priority to fix on Zenology. Such huge launch times are going to put people off buying / using their product. After it launches its response is excellent btw (it'll recall its GUI faster than most plugins and doesn't skip a beat when switching models / presets etc).

Yes. There must be something i recently added in my pc that changed it since it used to be slow in bitwig too.

Will reinstall Studio one 6.5 and see if there are any changes in loading time there

Checked in Studio one 6.5 now and Zenology pro was ready in 11 seconds there too.

[PAK]

Checked in Studio one 6.5 now and Zenology pro was ready in 11 seconds there too.

Interesting. I still think even 11 seconds is a bit high, but it's worlds better than 30+ secs (no prior instances loaded)

So this changed when you switched to an M2 drive? No other changes other than fresh install? (EG Win 10 to Win 11 etc?)

[PhilF]

Can somebody give provide a quick overview of System 8 hardware v System 8 plugin, please?

I've got System 8 hardware but have got such a tiny workspace that my System 8 is currently packed away. So, I've been looking at the plugin version but am not sure what I actually get. So, I've got a few questions

Am I still limited to 4 synths per System 8? How easily can these be swapped on the plug in?
My understanding is that the sound quality on the plugin is pretty much identical to the hardware - is this correct?
Can I use hardware patches on the plugin?
I've never used Roland Cloud before - am I about to enter a whole new world of pain? I'm on an M1 Mac and use Ableton as my DAW

Cheers

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Can somebody give provide a quick overview of System 8 hardware v System 8 plugin, please?

I've got System 8 hardware but have got such a tiny workspace that my System 8 is currently packed away. So, I've been looking at the plugin version but am not sure what I actually get. So, I've got a few questions

Am I still limited to 4 synths per System 8? How easily can these be swapped on the plug in?
My understanding is that the sound quality on the plugin is pretty much identical to the hardware - is this correct?
Can I use hardware patches on the plugin?
I've never used Roland Cloud before - am I about to enter a whole new world of pain? I'm on an M1 Mac and use Ableton as my DAW

Cheers

The System-8 plugin is ONLY the System-8 engine. There are not "4 synths" in it like the hardware. It's just the System-8. If you want software versions of the Jupiter-8, Juno-106 and whatever you have in the extra slot, you'd need to buy those plugins separately (or subscribe).

Yes, you can use the System-8 patches from the hardware on the Plug-Out. But if you want to transfer them over, you'd need to plug in your hardware for the transfer so they can talk to each other. Likewise, you can transfer patches from the software to the hardware.

The sound quality is identical enough for me. Never heard a difference.

[PhilF]

That's really useful - thank you.

[D-Fusion]

Checked in Studio one 6.5 now and Zenology pro was ready in 11 seconds there too.

Interesting. I still think even 11 seconds is a bit high, but it's worlds better than 30+ secs (no prior instances loaded)

So this changed when you switched to an M2 drive? No other changes other than fresh install? (EG Win 10 to Win 11 etc?)

No fresh install of windows and i am not sure when it changed since i haven't used Zen Pro much because of the long Loading time.
It was Septic Underground's post that made me revisit it again today since i have been complaining about the same thing in the past so i decided to test again.

[JamminFool]

I have been complaining about Zenology load time almost from Day 1. Although it has improved since then, it is still unacceptably slowwwwwww. Like others, I used to wait 30-40 seconds and even though it is better lately (now takes 20 seconds), it is still a bad joke.

Even Ableton Live loads in 8 seconds on my machine, and that seems like too long. So what the f**k is Zenology doing (other than wasting my time)?

I really want to like it, but I always come back to this stupid load time and think, no!

[ReiKru]

I used to wait 7 seconds

[WatchTheGuitar]

We used to waste hours just walkin' around