Ethno Instrument 2 (UVI Engine) question.

[zerocrossing]

Hey,

I see that MOTU has released a new version of Ethno Instrument. Frankly I'm mad I ever got the first version as it's really limited in the way you can assign controllers. My biggest beef if I can't assign aftertouch to pitch so I can do a pitch bend on an instrument like a sitar that's similar to how you'd control it in real life. I see a lot of marketing blah blah on the site about new content and what-not, but nothing about features like that. Anyone have experience with it who can say for sure?

[otristan]

Hey,

I see that MOTU has released a new version of Ethno Instrument. Frankly I'm mad I ever got the first version as it's really limited in the way you can assign controllers. My biggest beef if I can't assign aftertouch to pitch so I can do a pitch bend on an instrument like a sitar that's similar to how you'd control it in real life. I see a lot of marketing blah blah on the site about new content and what-not, but nothing about features like that. Anyone have experience with it who can say for sure?

Hi,

You can't assign another modulation to the pitch but it's by default connected to the PitchBend with a custom range. (that's an UI limitation not an engine one for what it worth)
However there is a new legato sitar in version 2 with custom recorded legato samples which are triggered when you overlap two keys while playing. (in dedicated presets so you can have still have polyphonic ones)

Still, You can use both Ethno 1 and Ethno 2 sounds in UVIWorkstation (which is freely available at http://www.uvisoundsource.com/)
which let you assign aftertouch to the pitch.
You just need to either move Ethno.dat and Ethno.ufs or copy shortcuts/aliases to those in the UVISoundbanks folder. (Ethno plugin still need to be installed for it to work)

Hope this helps.

[zerocrossing]

Hey,

I see that MOTU has released a new version of Ethno Instrument. Frankly I'm mad I ever got the first version as it's really limited in the way you can assign controllers. My biggest beef if I can't assign aftertouch to pitch so I can do a pitch bend on an instrument like a sitar that's similar to how you'd control it in real life. I see a lot of marketing blah blah on the site about new content and what-not, but nothing about features like that. Anyone have experience with it who can say for sure?

Hi,

You can't assign another modulation to the pitch but it's by default connected to the PitchBend with a custom range. (that's an UI limitation not an engine one for what it worth)
However there is a new legato sitar in version 2 with custom recorded legato samples which are triggered when you overlap two keys while playing. (in dedicated presets so you can have still have polyphonic ones)

Still, You can use both Ethno 1 and Ethno 2 sounds in UVIWorkstation (which is freely available at http://www.uvisoundsource.com/)
which let you assign aftertouch to the pitch.
You just need to either move Ethno.dat and Ethno.ufs or copy shortcuts/aliases to those in the UVISoundbanks folder. (Ethno plugin still need to be installed for it to work)

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info! That's good news. I'll try that and maybe the upgrade will be worth it. I can't for the life of me figure out why MOTU cripples their software like this.

[K-Slash]

Honestly I think this Ethno 2 release is what the first Ethno should have been.

Maybe we'll see Symphonic Instrument 2 upgrade soon with new recordings and features like proper keyswitches, better effects and HQ timesretch if they includes phrases and loops.

That's all I wish, with a rock solid PC version of MachFive 3.

Finger's crossed...

[zerocrossing]

Yeah, Ethno Instrument is buggy as all hell on my machine, I'm hoping using the UVI engine instead helps things in this regard as well. To be honest, MOTU's crappy support for Ethno has soured me to buying an upgrade or anything else from them at this point.

[shadoe42]

I hear that. I have had two support tickets by MOTU closed as resolved when nothing was ever done. for the most part I buy software knowing that whatever bugs it has I will have to live with as very few companies give proper support these days it seems.

[tishta]

Worst purchase I ever made. unstable, very poor time-stretching quality, annoying Pace iLok.

PLUS ----->>>>> It became instantly redundant when Snow Leopard came out and they never made it compatible!!!!!!! 6 months later they want USD179 to upgrade to Ethno2.

Quite frankly I will be surprised if they sell any

[Mister Gibson]

That's all I wish, with a rock solid PC version of MachFive 3.

Finger's crossed...

+1

[otristan]

Worst purchase I ever made. unstable, very poor time-stretching quality, annoying Pace iLok.

PLUS ----->>>>> It became instantly redundant when Snow Leopard came out and they never made it compatible!!!!!!! 6 months later they want USD179 to upgrade to Ethno2.

Quite frankly I will be surprised if they sell any

The UVIWorkstation is a real solution to this problem and it doesn't require any fee.
You don't loose any features from Ethno 1.
It's just faster, stable, with lots of FXs including an optimized version of the convolution reverb of Ethno 1, text based search handling, more sound design control, loading of your own loops (wav/aiff/rex/apple loops),..

http://www.uvisoundsource.com/uvi-works ... icles_id/8

The upgrade includes more sounds and a superb sounding new time stretch algorithm and all the new features already included in UVIWorkstation(optimized convolution reverb and search), so you don't pay only for a Snow leopard working version.

If you're only annoyed by the SL compatiblity, just move to UVIWorkstation and don't pay extra bucks.

Your call.

[Tweek4]

Worst purchase I ever made. unstable, very poor time-stretching quality, annoying Pace iLok.

PLUS ----->>>>> It became instantly redundant when Snow Leopard came out and they never made it compatible!!!!!!! 6 months later they want USD179 to upgrade to Ethno2.

Quite frankly I will be surprised if they sell any

I'm a newbie here but couldn't help reading this thread regarding Ethno 2...

I purchased Ethno 1 retail about 3 years ago and use it alot (I'm on a PC currently running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit)... yes it can be a little buggy and hoggish... and the installation order changes everytime I install the latest iLok drivers which can be very frustrating... but in general I have been pleased with the product and was excited about the release of Ethno 2 since the engine has been redesigned and the soundbank is almost 3 times larger etc.

That being said... I agree that their support for the product has been horrible... and the upgrade cost for Ethno 1 users is total BS... first time users get what looks like a far superior package in Ethno 2... at a far cheaper price then what I paid for Ver. 1 + shelling out for the upgrade (which I admit is substantial over Ver. 1).

Essentially I paid $350 for Ver. 1 and now they want another $180 (plus shipping and handling of course) to "upgrade" to Ethno 2 when anyone can walk into a retail location and get it for $395 ???

Their response to me (in the long back and forth email trail I have going with them today about a number of issues with them and their products - I also bought Symphonic) was this:

"Previously, it was stated that you purchased Ethno Instrument ver. 1 over 3 years ago. Ethno Instrument version 2 was not available at this time. Users purchasing Ethno Instrument version 2 today did not have 3 years of previous use of Ethno Instrument 1."

What the hell does my "3 years of previous use" have to do with anything ?? And regarding the fact that Ethno 2 was not available at the time... DUHHHHH... I was purchasing Ethno 1 at the time expecting that being a "registered user" who helped create a demand and funded development of Ethno 2 would be offered a better deal than a first time user !?!?
... geez... call me crazy !?

This is just one of a number of retarded answers I receieved from them... here's another one of my favorites:

Regarding why I should pay more than a first time user to get Ethno 2 when 8 gigs of the new 21 gig soundbank is the same 8 gig soundbank from Ver. 1:

"Users purchasing Ethno Instrument 2 as a new version are receiving that product only. The upgrade to Ethno Instrument version 2 is $179.00 plus shipping and handling for registered users of Ethno Instrument 1 for a full installation of Ethno Instrument 2, the same version that ships in the box as a retail version. Ethno Instrument 2 is a new version with significant upgrades including a 21 GB library of world instruments, voices and loops."

That product only ??? Ethno 2 replaces Ethno 1 making owning both redundant... did i miss something here ??? Yes, it's a new version... not a new product... why do I have to pay more than half of the original price I paid for Ver. 1 to upgrade to Ver. 2 ???

MOTU sucks and it's doubtful that I'll spend money on their products again... I mean what's the point of being a registered software owner if you can't get any usefull tech support and upgrades are a rip off ?

Thanks for the information regarding UVI Workstation... think I'll check it out and see what I think.

Cheers everyone.

[zerocrossing]

I agree that their support for the product has been horrible... and the upgrade cost for Ethno 1 users is total BS... first time users get what looks like a far superior package in Ethno 2... at a far cheaper price then what I paid for Ver. 1 + shelling out for the upgrade (which I admit is substantial over Ver. 1).

Essentially I paid $350 for Ver. 1 and now they want another $180 (plus shipping and handling of course) to "upgrade" to Ethno 2 when anyone can walk into a retail location and get it for $395 ???

Yup. That's MOTU. Craptacular. I've been deep into Amplitube3 land (now that's a company who knows how to treat their customers) so I haven't had time to install the new UVI engine yet, but MOTU's behavior over-all makes me want to spend more money on RA rather than give them another dime.

[ViktorW]

I purchased Ethno 1 retail about 3 years ago and use it alot (I'm on a PC currently running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit)... but in general I have been pleased with the product and was excited about the release of Ethno 2 since the engine has been redesigned and the soundbank is almost 3 times larger etc.

That being said... the upgrade cost for Ethno 1 users is total BS... first time users get what looks like a far superior package in Ethno 2... at a far cheaper price then what I paid for Ver. 1 + shelling out for the upgrade (which I admit is substantial over Ver. 1).

Essentially I paid $350 for Ver. 1 and now they want another $180 (plus shipping and handling of course) to "upgrade" to Ethno 2 when anyone can walk into a retail location and get it for $395 ???

"Previously, it was stated that you purchased Ethno Instrument ver. 1 over 3 years ago. Ethno Instrument version 2 was not available at this time. Users purchasing Ethno Instrument version 2 today did not have 3 years of previous use of Ethno Instrument 1."

What the hell does my "3 years of previous use" have to do with anything ?? And regarding the fact that Ethno 2 was not available at the time... DUHHHHH... I was purchasing Ethno 1 at the time expecting that being a "registered user" who helped create a demand and funded development of Ethno 2 would be offered a better deal than a first time user !?!?
... geez... call me crazy !?

Well, you're crazy. (sorry)

That's how the market works. Of course, all in all you paid more than a first time user of Ethno Instruments 2. But you gave the reason for that: you've been using the product for 3 years before v2 came out. That's exactly what you're paying for, is that worth nothing to you?
There's always going to be another upgrade that improves on a product, so you could always wait a few years before buying anything, but apparently the original version of the software was worth the money to you.

Would you like a free upgrade to a sample content that's almost 3 times as much as in version 1? Or do you want that with every upgrade the cost of the product rises 150$? Products grow to compete in the market, you must know that. Obviously you've not been unhappy with the old Ethno Instrument, right? And 13GB of new sample content can't be cheap to develop. I also would have preferred it it were a cheaper upgrade, but the fact that the upgrade isn't free does make sense to me.

The stability thing is something else though, and MOTU have never been able to resolve my issues with BPM. But, in your case, the UVI workstation is a great alternative, really!

[zerocrossing]

Hey,

I see that MOTU has released a new version of Ethno Instrument. Frankly I'm mad I ever got the first version as it's really limited in the way you can assign controllers. My biggest beef if I can't assign aftertouch to pitch so I can do a pitch bend on an instrument like a sitar that's similar to how you'd control it in real life. I see a lot of marketing blah blah on the site about new content and what-not, but nothing about features like that. Anyone have experience with it who can say for sure?

Hi,

You can't assign another modulation to the pitch but it's by default connected to the PitchBend with a custom range. (that's an UI limitation not an engine one for what it worth)
However there is a new legato sitar in version 2 with custom recorded legato samples which are triggered when you overlap two keys while playing. (in dedicated presets so you can have still have polyphonic ones)

Still, You can use both Ethno 1 and Ethno 2 sounds in UVIWorkstation (which is freely available at http://www.uvisoundsource.com/)
which let you assign aftertouch to the pitch.
You just need to either move Ethno.dat and Ethno.ufs or copy shortcuts/aliases to those in the UVISoundbanks folder. (Ethno plugin still need to be installed for it to work)

Hope this helps.

Hey,I know I get to these things like a glacier going to a Memorial Day BBQ, but I just wanted to say, "Thanks." That totally helped me get more use out of Ethno. Maybe it'll even wash the bitterness away to a point where I get v2.

[zerocrossing]

I purchased Ethno 1 retail about 3 years ago and use it alot (I'm on a PC currently running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit)... but in general I have been pleased with the product and was excited about the release of Ethno 2 since the engine has been redesigned and the soundbank is almost 3 times larger etc.

That being said... the upgrade cost for Ethno 1 users is total BS... first time users get what looks like a far superior package in Ethno 2... at a far cheaper price then what I paid for Ver. 1 + shelling out for the upgrade (which I admit is substantial over Ver. 1).

Essentially I paid $350 for Ver. 1 and now they want another $180 (plus shipping and handling of course) to "upgrade" to Ethno 2 when anyone can walk into a retail location and get it for $395 ???

"Previously, it was stated that you purchased Ethno Instrument ver. 1 over 3 years ago. Ethno Instrument version 2 was not available at this time. Users purchasing Ethno Instrument version 2 today did not have 3 years of previous use of Ethno Instrument 1."

What the hell does my "3 years of previous use" have to do with anything ?? And regarding the fact that Ethno 2 was not available at the time... DUHHHHH... I was purchasing Ethno 1 at the time expecting that being a "registered user" who helped create a demand and funded development of Ethno 2 would be offered a better deal than a first time user !?!?
... geez... call me crazy !?

Well, you're crazy. (sorry)

That's how the market works. Of course, all in all you paid more than a first time user of Ethno Instruments 2. But you gave the reason for that: you've been using the product for 3 years before v2 came out. That's exactly what you're paying for, is that worth nothing to you?
There's always going to be another upgrade that improves on a product, so you could always wait a few years before buying anything, but apparently the original version of the software was worth the money to you.

Would you like a free upgrade to a sample content that's almost 3 times as much as in version 1? Or do you want that with every upgrade the cost of the product rises 150$? Products grow to compete in the market, you must know that. Obviously you've not been unhappy with the old Ethno Instrument, right? And 13GB of new sample content can't be cheap to develop. I also would have preferred it it were a cheaper upgrade, but the fact that the upgrade isn't free does make sense to me.

The stability thing is something else though, and MOTU have never been able to resolve my issues with BPM. But, in your case, the UVI workstation is a great alternative, really!

Do you hear yourself? Yeah, it's MOTU's prerogative to charge what they want and yeah, I got years out of Ethno 1, but they were buggy years and years where a super simple thing like assigning aftertouch to a perimeter was not implemented. So now they're pricing their product more attractively to attract new customers, but why not spread the love and give a little something more to the people who've stood by them for years with known bugs unresolved?

[Tweek4]

Well, you're crazy. (sorry)

That's how the market works. Of course, all in all you paid more than a first time user of Ethno Instruments 2. But you gave the reason for that: you've been using the product for 3 years before v2 came out. That's exactly what you're paying for, is that worth nothing to you?
There's always going to be another upgrade that improves on a product, so you could always wait a few years before buying anything, but apparently the original version of the software was worth the money to you.

Would you like a free upgrade to a sample content that's almost 3 times as much as in version 1? Or do you want that with every upgrade the cost of the product rises 150$? Products grow to compete in the market, you must know that. Obviously you've not been unhappy with the old Ethno Instrument, right? And 13GB of new sample content can't be cheap to develop. I also would have preferred it it were a cheaper upgrade, but the fact that the upgrade isn't free does make sense to me.

The stability thing is something else though, and MOTU have never been able to resolve my issues with BPM. But, in your case, the UVI workstation is a great alternative, really!

Do you hear yourself? Yeah, it's MOTU's prerogative to charge what they want and yeah, I got years out of Ethno 1, but they were buggy years and years where a super simple thing like assigning aftertouch to a perimeter was not implemented. So now they're pricing their product more attractively to attract new customers, but why not spread the love and give a little something more to the people who've stood by them for years with known bugs unresolved?

Thank you ZeroCrossing... exactly my point... if it wasn't for Ver. 1 users... there wouldn't be Ethno 2.

So VictorW... and I take no offense at your light hearted jab... I'm definitely not crazy ... I know how the industry works... software gets better and cheaper as the years go by (same with hardware obviously) and you have to lock in somewhwere along the technology chain. And, I'm also very aware of the development cycle of a product (I worked on the development team for the original Otari RADAR back in the 90's)... but are we supposed to continually pay MOTU "X" ammount so that they can attract a new user base and offer them a better product at a better price??

I definitely DO NOT expect a free upgrade everytime they (or any company for that matter) release a major upgrade... but as a registered owner of their product... I do expect a reasonably priced upgrade option based against the retail value of the latest version (you yourself agreed that you thought the upgrade price should have been lower). It's not like I expect them to come over and scratch my b**ls or something...

So I'm not being self righteous here and whining that I personaly got screwed over by MOTU... we all did LOL... I thought $50-$100 would have been a fair price considering most of us probably paid $300-$350 for Ver. 1 and that would bring our cost in line (more or less) with the current retail cost. And yeah.. paying another $80 on top of that doesn't seem like much for a major upgrade to a product I'll use extensivly and make back in a couple hours working on a project... but what happens when they release Ethno 3... and Ethno 4 ?? After $180 + conversion (I live in Canada) + shipping + taxes it'll cost me around $250 to upgrade to Ethno 2... if it costs me that for each additional upgrade over the next however many years... I'll have paid close to a grand for a product that probably, by that time, retails at $200-$300 !? And I can't even sell, or even give my copy of Ethno 1 to one of my musician friends (who might not have the bank to throw down on the new one) as I still need the original liscense/key to install and run the Ethno 2 upgrade. Does that make some kind of sense to you that I'm missing?

I love Ethno (even with it's shortcomings) and Ethno 2 looks like it's everything it should have been in the first place... and that's a good thing... but I think I'll be waiting for them to make us a better offer... yeah, yeah... I know... hell freezes over and all that...

Sounds like you already took the plunge and upgraded... and I'm sure you're loving it and the cash spent is totally forgotten... and I'm sure I'll bite the bullet before too long as well...

It's simply the principle of the matter...