Virus TI2 Statement

[parker36]

Not a question but a statement.
Downloaded and installed Numerology yesterday, hooked up my TI2 Desktop and started working within seconds! :)
That's what makes a good software.
Will register now. Finaly found whtat I was looking for.

Regards from germany.
parker36

[john brennan]

my sentiment exactly virus and N2 are made for each other

[Sjoerd]

I wish I could say the same. :-(

I love both products, but unfortunately, the process of combining them directly has been far from smooth for me so far.

Whenever I select the audio outputs of the Virus TI2 in N2, N2 crashes or becomes unresponsive (fails to open projects, although the menu bar is still active). For example, a project that I created from scratch with the same version of N2 and works perfect with a different audio (in/)output fails to load in N2. It needs a force quit and often leaves the Virus in an unusable state until it re-establishes the connection. When the TI2 audio outs are selected and N@ is restarted, even simply saving the preferences without changing anything crashes/hangs N2. On several occasions I heard some very nasty artifact sounds that I would really hate to have an audience listen to in a live performance situation. At one point I even got a quasi-infinite loop of failed connection attempts.

I'm not sure yet where the problem lies, since as of yet I have only been testing the Virus TI2 with Numerology 2.1rc4a, and on a single system running 10.5.4 OSX86. I will test with different hardware and more recent versions of OS X first, before trying previous versions of N2. The Virus <--> USB connection is the first suspect on my list (maybe I should try different USB ports under OS X, but under Windows, you're not 'allowed' to switch USB ports so it needs a full uninstall/reinstall including system reboots, so this is not an attractive route). It may have to do with the recent changes of ReWire functionality, as I do get the TI2's audio in/out to work with other hosts, but the Virus TI2 also has some problems outside of N2 (and the most recent TI OS still has some bugs in general; I already found at least one quite severe bug in the TI plugin where the transmitted upward pitchbend range is off by 1/6). Of course it could also be caused by something specific to the particular system, which is why I want to eliminate that first (and btw, before blaming my hackint0sh install, maybe read this: http://www.infekted.org/virus/showthread.php?t=31027 - some Mac users seem to have quite similar issues).

Anyway, I still have hope that the issues can be resolved. In the meantime, I have some great toys to amuse me. ;-P

Of course, if there's anything I can do on my end to help resolve these issues, I'm more than happy to do so.

[john brennan]

Hi sjoerd
Yea unfortunately using a virus as your main out put while running dose not seem to work . It's not really an issue for me because I use a separate interface for both audio output from N2 and audio input .I have tried and experienced the same problems as you describe . I use my virus only as an exterior sound source .I understand your problem as In a live situation using the least amount of gear keeps things simple . Perhaps there is a way around it but I have not needed to find it . With regard to the new virus OS Ive been using it since it was in beta form and had a few problems with it namely a weird fault when arpeggiations would randomly drift in and out of sync and using the new delays a problem would arise again causing timing issues . I emailed access and went for an uninstall and problem solved . Although I have a friend using the TI desktop whos had nothing but trouble with his .
Hope this info helps

[Sjoerd]

Thanks for the heads up John, such info definitely helps a lot, and is thus greatly appreciated. :-) With which version(s) of N2 have you tried this, and on what type of system (if I may ask)?

Using the TI2 over MIDI and/or using a different audio in/out is sufficiently workable indeed, but misses some cool possibilities, like using parameter modulation with more precise resolution, and of courses it makes it a slightly less compact setup. So I guess I'll keep on looking for better solutions...

[john brennan]

No problem to be honest I tried it when I first got N2 ( bout 6 months ago ) not sure what version it was they change so often ;) . My set up is fairly straight forward. Using N2 as the main host and battery 3 for drum and vocal sequences with a TI snow on the side . As a sound card / AI im using an Mbox pro been meaning to upgrade to something better but it all works so Im in no rush to fix it . As far as effects go Im using some TAL audio and Sugar bytes all on a macbook 2.4 ghz with 4 gigs of ram . I find this set up for me to be bullet proof and fingers crossed has not let me down yet . I use pro tools (when it decides to work :mad:) I try to get my arrangement , levels and effects all done in N2 and record down to a aiff file then use protools for mastering . Its probably not the most efficient way to work but I dig it

[Sjoerd]

Thanks for the additional info. Sounds like a cool setup you have! Maybe give http://reaper.fm/ a try whenever PT decides not to work. :-)

[john brennan]

Thanks for the heads up I just got the reaper demo . Time to give it a bash :D

[Sjoerd]

Enjoy! Feel free to ping me if you get stuck anywhere.

[jim]

Of course, if there's anything I can do on my end to help resolve these issues, I'm more than happy to do so.

Just send me the crash logs. The virus ti is tricky business. As with Pro Tools TDM systems, since I don't have one, I can't officially support it. But at least with PT, I can get access to one occasionally in Santa Fe. Nonetheless, I may spot something I can tweak that will help things along. Of course, you should also report these problems to Access. The only other audio interface I've seen problems with was the Allen & Heath firewire mixers, and I'm pretty sure that was due to a faulty driver on their part.

Best,
Jim

[Sjoerd]

Just send me the crash logs. The virus ti is tricky business. As with Pro Tools TDM systems, since I don't have one, I can't officially support it. But at least with PT, I can get access to one occasionally in Santa Fe. Nonetheless, I may spot something I can tweak that will help things along. Of course, you should also report these problems to Access. The only other audio interface I've seen problems with was the Allen & Heath firewire mixers, and I'm pretty sure that was due to a faulty driver on their part.
Thanks Jim, I will do so after some more diagnostics. Still in the process of trying to clearly describe reproducible problematic behavior, to get a firmer grip on things before I cry wolf.

Do I just use the ReportNumerologyCrash.app for sending crash reports? It's the first time I've seen a dedicated crash report thingy for a music app since I betatested SynPlant (http://www.soniccharge.com/synplant), I'm assuming this app is slightly less ambitious and just collects and forwards the logs from the usual places? (SynPlant's beta tests had an awesome realtime usage feedback and debugging system; Magnus could even tell how many times we had clicked on each single button - and by how much pixels I was off on average :)). Is there also anything more specific I can do to diagnose the situation where N2 'hangs' but doesn't crash? (I have Xcode installed, so maybe I can use some of the debugging tools in there).

I will definitely be reporting this to Access as well, along with a steadily increasing list of nitpicks.

Oh and Jim, you're perfectly welcome to drop by in Amsterdam more than occasionally to play with my Virus TI. ;)

[jim]

Do I just use the ReportNumerologyCrash.app for sending crash reports? It's the first time I've seen a dedicated crash report thingy for a music app since I betatested SynPlant (http://www.soniccharge.com/synplant), I'm assuming this app is slightly less ambitious and just collects and forwards the logs from the usual places?


Correct, but it is a bit out of date and should be removed. (In fact I thought I had already removed it...). Anyway, for now it is best to email me both crash logs and what I call 'run' logs. Crash logs are always in:
<your home dir>/Library/Logs/CrashReporter
and are called something like "Numerology (blah blah blah).crash"
The run logs are in:
<your home dir>/Library/Logs/NumerologyLog.txt
<your home dir>/Library/Logs/NumerologyRWDLog.txt

(SynPlant's beta tests had an awesome realtime usage feedback and debugging system; Magnus could even tell how many times we had clicked on each single button - and by how much pixels I was off on average :)).


Crazy!

Is there also anything more specific I can do to diagnose the situation where N2 'hangs' but doesn't crash? (I have Xcode installed, so maybe I can use some of the debugging tools in there).


Probably just force-quit. If there is a crash log from that, email it to me along with the run logs.

I will definitely be reporting this to Access as well, along with a steadily increasing list of nitpicks.

Cool. I should probably start poking around for the right person over there to request a loaner from...

Oh and Jim, you're perfectly welcome to drop by in Amsterdam more than occasionally to play with my Virus TI. ;)

I will keep that in mind! :D Amsterdam and Berlin are both high on my foreign travel wish list. Perhaps STEIM would be interested in hosting a class... ;)

Cheers,
Jim

[Sjoerd]

I will keep that in mind! :D Amsterdam and Berlin are both high on my foreign travel wish list. Perhaps STEIM would be interested in hosting a class... ;)
Great idea, I bet they would love that! I'd definitely sign up for that, and I know some other people who would too! I'm currently seriously considering signing up for some of their upcoming courses (on junXion and Pure data), and would be happy to break the idea with them (along with providing them with some assurance that it will get enough participants to be feasible). They have some lodging possibilities for visitors; but you're welcome to stay at my humble guestroom as well; I always wanted to have an 'in-house developer'. ;) Maybe we can set you up for a fully paid-for trip with a little effort. There are some other interesting possibilities as well; a workshop at ADE (http://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl/conference/) for example.

PS: Berlin is only about 6 hours drive from Amsterdam (http://➔.ws/amsterdam2berlin), and you get to ride the Autobahn without any speed limits for ±75% of the trip, hehe (< damn, apparently I ran out of smilies, haha).

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/bf/4c/bd5d1363ada0a332525dd010.L.jpg

[jim]

Great idea, I bet they would love that! I'd definitely sign up for that, and I know some other people who would too! I'm currently seriously considering signing up for some of their upcoming courses (on junXion and Pure data), and would be happy to break the idea with them (along with providing them with some assurance that it will get enough participants to be feasible).

Give it a mention -- will be interesting to see if it works out. I also have some friends in Santa Fe that have connections there...

Hmmm, autobahn, n2, a few synths..... ;)

Cheers,
Jim

[amsonx]

I will keep that in mind! :D Amsterdam and Berlin are both high on my foreign travel wish list. Perhaps STEIM would be interested in hosting a class... ;)

Cheers,
Jim

Would be great and Amsterdam and Genova are not too far :)

[XMS]

Give it a mention -- will be interesting to see if it works out. I also have some friends in Santa Fe that have connections there...

Hmmm, autobahn, n2, a few synths..... ;)

Cheers,
Jim

And? A full Amsterdam treatment / experience :D