1) Receptor intermittently stops playing for about a second (IvoryII?). As if someone’s briefly cut the power to the amp then turned it back on again. This is my highest priority bug that is preventing me using it outside the house. It is so intermittent that it is very difficult to investigate, I think it’s only when I’m playing IvoryII, sometimes it might happen numerous times over several minutes other times you think you’ve fixed it but an hour or so later it does it again. I don’t think it’s related to overloading the processor; too many notes too quick or too much pedal. I’ve tried reducing the ivory cpu usage. It doesn’t seem to be related to anything I’m playing etc, it’s more like some random electric glitch, but I’m filtering/conditioning the mains supply. It still happens if I disconnect amp, mouse, monitor, qwerty kbd and listen through headphones.
2) How do I add an audio channel in the rack? On page 26 of the instruction manual there is a picture of an audio channel; an audio equivalent of a synth in the rack in the main receptor GUI. If I go into the mixer mode rather than the rack I can easily add an audio channel A, B, C or D but can’t figure out how to do it in the rack mode.
3) Competing control changes. If I load several synths, particularly if all are using the same midi channel many of the controls share common control change numbers which is hard work to sort out. So 2 questions:
a) Is there any way to easily (quickly) find out what all the CC’s are for each VST – some have a convenient table if I can find the instruction manual, others don’t. Is it just trial and error right clicking every control, but there’s a danger on the more complex VSTs I’ll miss some CC’s and suddenly find it by mistake half way through a number on a gig.
b) Is there a way to easily (quickly) turn off/disable all CC’s for a selected VST but leaving on CC’s for that synth (like volume, solo, pan, etc). Some VST’s like the VB3 and Museplayer have a lot of CC’s, I don’t want to edit the Museplayer while playing, but I do the VB3, so the simplest solution would be to stop all the VST’s in the rack responding to CC’s that I don’t need to respond, leaving those that I do like VB3. I want to set keyboard controllers to individually adjust, while playing, the volume or solo feature of all individual synths, but only the other parameters within some, not all the VST’s.
4) Don’t understand the Listen on channel/map to channel/Thru feature. When I click on the midi button on a synth in the rack it opens the synth midi settings window. I don’t understand what the “map to channel” box is doing, particularly the “thru” setting. I’m assuming this refers to the way I can map if I click “setup” then midi “mixer control”, i.e. the synth might play on channel1, but I could have the mixer controls for this synth mapped to channel1 or channel2, etc? But if I set synth1 to be mapped to ch2, then open the mixer control it still says ch1 in the mixer control. Am I doing it wrong or misunderstanding what the “map to channel” means? What actually is it mapping – the synth controls, the VST within the synth, something else? I understand the difference between midi out and thru when I connect up kbds etc, but I can’t visualise what it’s doing here within the synth, is it affecting what controls the synth, VST in the synth or what midi goes out of the synth, but if so , midi going out to where, presumably all the synths are effectively in parallel rather than in series? Or is it that midi controls the synth, at the synth level (i.e. the volume, pan, solo), then the VST, so unless you use “Thru” it doesn’t pass through the synth level to the VST inside it (effectively answering my question above) but that doesn’t seem to be what’s happening.
5) Can I turn synths on and off with midi? If for example I have 4 synths in the rack I can solo any single synth, can I turn off one or more of the synths with a midi message for each synth a bit like solo or mute? Obviously I could turn volume to 0, but presumably it would reduce cpu usage if I can temporarily turn off any synths I’m not playing.
6) BANK, program change, using midi to select preset sounds in a VST. I’m having difficulty understanding the differences between bank hi and lo and program change, and the effect on different levels within the Receptor (Tag, preset, synth, VST, presets in the VST). If I have several synths in a rack, each with a different VST, but all running on the same midi channel can I set it up so if I press a pre-programmed button on my kbd it will select a certain preset sound that has been programmed in that VST, e.g. one kbd button could change synth1 with Ivory from a C7 piano preset to a Bosendorfer preset and not affect any other synth/VST, another button would change the VB3 preset in synth3 from its current preset to a jazz organ preset etc. I haven’t quite got the hang yet of the difference between program change and bank hi or lo. Is it, say with bank hi I could select the synth, and bank lo the preset within that synth, on one reading of the manual it sounds like bank hi or lo is going to select the tag and preset in that tag in which case my existing rack and settings will be thrown out and replaced with a totally different one, on another reading it sounds like I should be able to use midi to change my synth1 from ivory with C7 to Ivory with Bosendorfer. And not quite sure what I program in my kbd, is it a bank hi and/or lo change or a program change? Can I set bank/program change in Receptor e.g. select something and assign a program change or bank value to it (although I realise that presets within a tag are automatically assigned a bank – or is it program change? – value as the preset number).
7) Ilok garage. If I open the door to the garage there is a USB connector on the door, but the other end is not connected to anything. There is a thin plastic 5-way connector on the other end of the wire with 2 black wires, a green, a white and a red wire which is not connected. Should the red wire be connected? It’s either come out (I’ve never touched it, not crimped in the pin?) or it’s not supposed to be connected in which case shouldn’t the bare wire be insulated? Where is this 5-way connector supposed to go? Should I connect it or is that a job for Muse?
When connecting to computer it keeps losing communication. Not my highest priority issue as I can use a monitor instead, but I’m assuming the first response to some of these issues is have I got the latest software updates. When I connect to the computer program it loses contact after only about 30 seconds or sometimes will stay connected for many minutes before disconnecting. Using windows7.9) Any recommendations from other keyboardists how to set it all up in Receptor/kbd/patches? Particularly if using a single kbd that only has one zone, for maximum flexibility in live performance, where you never know what is coming up next; reading the floor. My current plan is one rack setup a bit like this: synth1=Piano (over whole kbd), synth2=bass (only the lower kbd notes), synth3=VB3 not yet decided whether to split it with lower manual for comping upper for solo or use a single manual and the drawbar A or B switch , synth4=Epiano (whole kbd), synth5=comping guitar only in the middle of the kbd, synth6=rh only soloing sounds like vibes at the upper end of kbd , synth7 = synth strings/brass at upper end of kbd. Use sliders or knobs or pedals to control the volume of each synth individually, set up switches to solo/turn off individual synths . Set up the few main controllers I’ll use for live control of the VB3 like switching between drawbar setting AorB, rotary speaker slow/stop/fast, overdrive. If its possible send midi patch change within/only to one synth E.g. change synth2 from acoustic bass to rock bass, synth3 from rock organ to Reggae. If not, I’d probably then set up a series of identical setups/racks, but e.g. one called jazz with jazz piano, acoustic bass, jazz organ, jazz E.piano, Freddie Green comping guitar, another called Reggae with Reggae Bass, organ, etc. I’d like to set up an audio channel A as a general purpose mic input, B general purpose guitar, C&D as general purpose stereo for playing back recordings in rehearsal or the break as occasionally I let singers or bass plug into my amp so might be better using Receptor inputs and control volume and pan with midi from my kbd. Is this a sensible approach, its feasibility might depend on answers to the questions above, is there a better way, or any useful hints or tips, what do other keyboardists do in similar situations?