TI vs. Studio Connections

[wildbill]

does anyone know if there are any differences between the 'total integration' of access, and the 'studio connections' of yamaha/steinberg?

as far as i can tell, they seem to be pretty much the same thing, but access is specific to one product and studio connections should eventually cover most, if not all?

[Khazul]

I use Studio Connections (SC) with a Yamaha 01x, i88x and a Motif ES Rack. It is basically a total recall mechanism with a bunch of editors (for the 01x mixer setup and the Motif ES voice and multi editors).

Both SC and TI provide total recall for the connected hardware, both provide GUIs for editong patches, configuring the device etc and save the result with the track in Cubase SX 3.1.

TI will do this with any VSTi capable DAW - not just Cubase SX 3.1.

The big difference between the two is that Virus Control (TI) is a VST instrument. It likes to get audio fed to it directly via a private USB audio connection to the TI and then feed this audio into your DAW as if it were a soft synth.

You can use the TI VSTi without the USB audio, in which case it effectively acts as a proxy for the hardware. Becuase it is a VSTi, it also more directly exposes automation, so you can automate selected controls from it directly without having to mess around in Cubase's uselessly labelled automation tracks (unless you have a panel defined for the synth your are using).

SC could have been alot better if it defined contral panels as well and therefore provided useful labels for automation tracks (at least I have found a mechanism for this - but havent looked hard either).

SC isnt a VSTi however because it was not designed for synths - it was intended originally I think for integrating Yamaha mixers and particular saving desk snapshots with the track (which is partly what I use it for), and later the build in part mixer in the Motif romplers, and then the various editors were incorporated. I beleive there is a Performance mode editor in beta for the Motif ES as well now.

[wildbill]

Originally Posted by Khazul

........................
The big difference between the two is that Virus Control (TI) is a VST instrument. It likes to get audio fed to it directly via a private USB audio connection to the TI and then feed this audio into your DAW as if it were a soft synth.

You can use the TI VSTi without the USB audio, in which case it effectively acts as a proxy for the hardware. ...................

Khazul: thanks a lot for the information.

this is really strange to me. are you saying that you could boot up your computer and use a 'native TI' (vsti ti that uses your computer's processor), without having to have the physical keyboard or module hooked into the system?

or maybe that you can use a TI vsti, but you have to have the hardware connected to act as a sort of 'dongle'?
about the automation - are you refering to using the 'read and write' functions with the TI instead of drawing in automation in the lanes?



also, i guess that with SC, you have total recall and editors, but no hardware can act as vsti's yet?

i wonder if yamaha will release some vsti's? maybe like the an1x, some type of FM, or physical modelling or whatnot.

i don't want to get 'too' far off the TI here, but the system you have, 01X, i88x and es rack, is one that i have seriously considered. i'm currently on SX3.1 and have been using cubase for a long time.

is it working out ok for you? are most of the bugs worked out?

do you have any other external gear that can be integrated into the system?

i haven't followed the posts too closely here, but are you having some of the typical problems with your TI?

[Khazul]

Originally Posted by wildbill

this is really strange to me. are you saying that you could boot up your computer and use a 'native TI' (vsti ti that uses your computer's processor), without having to have the physical keyboard or module hooked into the system?

No - Im not saying that - the VSTi is effectively a proxy to the hardware TI synth.

As a proxy it basically forwards MIDI from Cubase SX to the real TI, and gets real time audio data back from it via a private audio stream (between the VSTi and the real hardware TI).

Think of it as a hardware accelerated VSTi - the hardware basically doing all the work, but is represented in the software as a plugin for covenience.

Incidently, Virus Control is well worth using even if you way of working with your gear causes the VSTi behaviour to be a pain in the backside. Its also a very nice patch editor for the TI. Personally - I dont get on with Virus Control as a full VSTi, so I use it as a partial VSTi - send it midi, automate it etc, but get the audio back via my main sound interface instead.

If you dont have a complex rig, lots of synths, complex audio routing in hardware etc - ie TI is you only hardwrae`synth - then Virus control is very good - integrates brilliantly with your DAW - just so ironic that im finding it a bit of a hinderance to integration with a mostly hardware based rig