KVR Audio

Astralp · Post by **Astralp** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 3:30 pm

I bought it in November and so far haven't managed to get it to translate anything I bought it for. Support is silent and I am seriously frustrated. I've used ESC for years which is superb but it leaves some gaps. So far this is what I've found:

* Kurzweil -> anything - causes a terminal crash.
* Kontakt -> Sampletank results in silent presets.
* Anything -> Alchemy causes terminal crash.
* Battery -> SFZ - Says it is done yet no files are written.
* Battery -> Emulator-X - File gets written but loads empty in Emulator X
* SFZ to Kontakt works, but main instrument volume is set to zero.

Can anyone verify if they are using Translator to do any of the above conversions successfully?

Also if anyone knows an alternative for converting Battery 3 to other formats I'd love to know, I built a product based on the idea I could use Translator to do this which is effectively locked to Battery/Kontakt 4/5 now.

synthmagic · Post by **synthmagic** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:22 am

There has been some threads about it here on KVR. General comments not good I'm afraid.

I nearly bought it during one of their sales, but I was warned off from buying it as it is hit and miss from what I have been told.
The demo version loaded in ok and worked fine from a view the software point of view, but it does not allow for any conversions to take place so you cannot test it will convert ok.

Have you tried ringing the guy who runs Chicken Systems?
He was replying in the threads at KVR saying he answers support calls really fast.

Goseba · Post by **Goseba** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:35 pm

A few weeks ago Garth was quite active on the Yamaha sampler Yahoo group about possibly supporting the A series, no help to you but he is around and was responding very quickly.
Maybe try and contact him some other way.

Goseba · Post by **Goseba** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 4:13 pm

You could PM Garth here, KVR name chickeneps

robogone · Post by **robogone** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 3:06 am

synthmagic wrote:There has been some threads about it here on KVR. Not good I'm afraid.
Lots of people complaining about it.

Most of them have been deleted too as they tend to end badly...

synthmagic · Post by **synthmagic** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 1:38 am

robojam wrote:Most of them have been deleted too as they tend to end badly...

It is a real shame that the demo software cannot do a couple of conversions just to confirm it will work.
I would buy it in an instant if I could test it on my setup.
I have heard of other users of it who say it works without any real major problems so I'm guessing it is specific computer setups that can throw a spanner in the works.
It is just taking that chance of spending 149 dollars on it and it then might not work properly. Can anyone confirm that it will convert Kontakt instruments to sfz format?

Astralp · Post by **Astralp** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:23 am

Thanks everyone for replying, I've actually stopped using it, it's wasted far too many hours of my life and really can't face opening it again at the moment.

I downloaded the demo a couple of months ago and got the license which worked for one session and then wouldn't validate again which is bizarre considering it doesn't even do any conversions. Thankfully I bought it in the sale they had last month and didn't pay full price.. I have the EMU edition which comes with Emulator X3 and had more success with that, in fact it was that experience that made me take the risk.

I would still like to hear if anyone has successfully done any of the above conversions though. I would love it if it did all the things it claims to do.

As for calling them, I don't fancy the price tag involved in UK->US calls, I don't want to throw any more money at it tbh.

Silaris · Post by **Silaris** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:56 am

Recently, I purchased Translator Pro, and experienced issues converting Akai CD-ROMs to SF2 and SFZ formats. Apparently, version 6.0.9 has a bug, which was confirmed by Garth. However, version 6.0.8 converted the samples fine, but with a few crashes here and there.

I also had issues with the validation process, which was user-related, and an out-of-memory error. Both times I called the 1-800, and Garth helped me out.

Translator Pro has worked for my limited conversion needs. However, based on my experiensce, stability could be improved. YMMV.

Astralp · Post by **Astralp** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 4:58 am

I don't have any links to earlier versions, they only sent me a link for 6.0.9, I'll check which version is supplied on the CD. Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps 6.1 will be more reliable.

stardustmedia · Post by **stardustmedia** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 3:59 pm

I also was just thinking about to buy it. Then I read a lot of bad things about it. Ok, let's try the demo. NO CONVERSION in the demo(?!), what a pitty... hmm ok, I could afford 150 (spent that kind of money for much dumber and worse things). But hey, there will be another 100$ only for shipping !!?? I paid like 170$ for a 2 RU tube preamp to have it shipped from the states here to Switzerland. And you have to buy the CD, even if you're happy with downloads only.

I guess I'll stay a no-buyer and hope I can find someone around my place that has it.

synthmagic · Post by **synthmagic** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 4:13 pm

deft_bonz wrote:I also was just thinking about to buy it. Then I read a lot of bad things about it. Ok, let's try the demo. NO CONVERSION in the demo(?!), what a pitty... hmm ok, I could afford 150 (spent that kind of money for much dumber and worse things). But hey, there will be another 100$ only for shipping !!?? I paid like 170$ for a 2 RU tube preamp to have it shipped from the states here to Switzerland. And you have to buy the CD, even if you're happy with downloads only.

I guess I'll stay a no-buyer and hope I can find someone around my place that has it.

Can you not select download only and avoid shipping? $100 seems real steep just to send a dvd box in the post.

DrumAddict · Post by **DrumAddict** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 4:32 pm

synthmagic wrote:
deft_bonz wrote:I also was just thinking about to buy it. Then I read a lot of bad things about it. Ok, let's try the demo. NO CONVERSION in the demo(?!), what a pitty... hmm ok, I could afford 150 (spent that kind of money for much dumber and worse things). But hey, there will be another 100$ only for shipping !!?? I paid like 170$ for a 2 RU tube preamp to have it shipped from the states here to Switzerland. And you have to buy the CD, even if you're happy with downloads only.

I guess I'll stay a no-buyer and hope I can find someone around my place that has it.
Can you not select download only and avoid shipping? $100 seems real steep just to send a dvd box in the post.

No , they are force you the cd shipping , even if the software are just only a few MB big !

you can download the software (temporär) and use after buy , but gets replaced with the cd software !

i don't know anymore , but i had Translator more than 5 times in the shopping card but everytime i cancelled !

they also have no paypal direct option , you needs to contact them after you can pay with paypal , but that cost you another 10 Dollar !

and after all this and that i have heard also bad things , i did not even look anymore on their software !

definetly lost a costumer , and i would bet i'm not alone !

chickeneps · Post by **chickeneps** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 5:43 pm

deft_bonz wrote:I also was just thinking about to buy it. Then I read a lot of bad things about it. Ok, let's try the demo. NO CONVERSION in the demo(?!), what a pity...

Can't help it, too many people pirate the software that way.

I could afford 150 (spent that kind of money for much dumber and worse things). But hey, there will be another 100$ only for shipping !!??

This thread is over a year old. Please don't revive older threads as they may include information that is not relevant anymore, instead, start a new thread.

Shipping certainly isn't $100, it's only around $10. If there's a problem don't complain here but instead contact SamplerZone (the seller) directly. Please see below regarding distribution costs, no matter what you pay it.

chickeneps · Post by **chickeneps** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 5:52 pm

DrumAddict wrote:No , they are force you the cd shipping , even if the software are just only a few MB big !

Translator is a physical product; however, you can download temporary build that you use immediately after ordering. It is fully functional but it expires by the time you get the packaged product. It's the best of both worlds; great for convenience and eliminates the need for overnight shipping.

If we distributed our products download-only, that would take a sizable investment (usually dongle license fees) and we would certainly pass that on to the customer. EVERY PRODUCT you buy has some kind of distribution fee, either separated out or hidden in the cost of the product. So the thought that you are paying extra in shipping isn't the real case.

Also, remember that having a real physical product enables you to fully control authorizations and installs yourself. You don't have to be dependent on external entities. Plus, our license agreement is very liberal - you can install on as many computers as you want, freely.

they also have no paypal direct option , you needs to contact them after you can pay with paypal , but that cost you another 10 Dollar !

It's actually $5, not $10. And that's to pay PayPal's fee's. We are not fans of PayPal, do some research on the Web. They are a bank but somehow have eluded many customer protections, they are not good for business and not good for customers.

Translator has been out for 15 years and has over 50,000 users. It is an excellent product - it should be - works on Mac and Windows, and has won several industry awards. That's just the start. If you do have any problems, you can call us on the telephone and talk directly to an engineer, or you can email and you'll get a response within an hour or so.

People LUUUVV to complain on KVR, don't take it seriously.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Wed Nov 13, 2013 6:33 pm

chickeneps wrote: Translator is a physical product; however, you can download temporary build that you use immediately after ordering. It is fully functional but it expires by the time you get the packaged product. It's the best of both worlds; great for convenience and eliminates the need for overnight shipping.

If we distributed our products download-only, that would take a sizable investment (usually dongle license fees) and we would certainly pass that on to the customer. EVERY PRODUCT you buy has some kind of distribution fee, either separated out or hidden in the cost of the product. So the thought that you are paying extra in shipping isn't the real case.
Also, remember that having a real physical product enables you to fully control authorizations and installs yourself. You don't have to be dependent on external entities. Plus, our license agreement is very liberal - you can install on as many computers as you want, freely.

[quote}they also have no paypal direct option , you needs to contact them after you can pay with paypal , but that cost you another 10 Dollar !

chickeneps wrote: It's actually $5, not $10. And that's to pay PayPal's fee's.
If you do have any problems, you can call us on the telephone and talk directly to an engineer, or you can email and you'll get a response within an hour or so.

Couple of things here... PayPal didn't charge me a fee that I remember (I would remember if they did). Also, I've yet to receive any 'physical product' from CS. And when I purchased the SampleTools Package, I was told I would receive an auto sampler, which I never have. But the communication from the company has been excellent, which is a plus, I have the downloaded products (except for the promised auto-sampler) and was told they do ship rather slow, so I've been patient about it. (TBH, it has been a few months though.) I haven't had any real chance at digging into the tools themselves either. I have no doubt that if I contacted them more, they would respond to this.
Again, what I can say as a positive is the attention in communication they have.

Any Chicken Systems Translator users?