AIR Instrument Expansion Pack, thoughts?
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- KVRAF
- 1895 posts since 13 Oct, 2002
I finally got around to installing the AIEP in my system but I find there's not a lot of info about how to install these softwares and no installer guide. And there's no personalized customer support page on their website. I looked at their FAQ and noticed that with their Advanced Music Production Suite has a much more unified installer that installs the entire suite in one go. It would be nice to see this for AIEP. In the meantime, as an FAQ, the following describes my installation issues on a W7-64 PC:
- I don't use ProTools, but the installer doesn't give me the choice of not installing AAX versions; the Options in the opening page of the installer does give a choice to select a default VST folders for the dlls: but they're not differentiated between 32 and 64-bit and since both are installed, one will have to be manually moved.
- Hybrid has 2 versions on the DL page (Hybrid 2.02 & Hybrid 3.0.0) : Are they different engines with different content?
- Velvet 2.02 comes up in German (DL'ed twice). BTW, the initial step is not really the installation, its the installer extraction; after that run the *.exe if it doesn't do so by itself, and go to the Options if you need to specify a different location for the Factory Content of the larger lib files.
- The large sample library VIs (Transfusion, Strike and Structure) follow the same installation pattern as Velvet where the content is extracted before the actual installation is run. It's very tedious and time consuming to do it this way as opposed to just having the installer extract the content right into its destination, like most others do.
You then have to register the software at http://www.airmusictech.com/registration. If you don't do this, you won't be able to authorize the plugins. BTW, after I registered I saw this stamped under the header of the page: "("status";"FAILED","message";"Failed adding subscriber to the list")". Maybe because I'm already on the promo list?
And then there's the authorization. The download page has "Unlock Codes" but these are not the License codes required on the Sonivox AIR site you're directed to by the product authorization (not sure what unlock codes are for). You get the proper codes, called "Digital Rights" from an email sent to you after you do the registration procedure as indicated above. BTW authorization support seems to be support@sonivox.com. So Air Music Technology seems to be a division of Sonivox. Products are authorized one by one, but at least they only need the code, email, and country if you feel like changing it.
So after all this tedious installation, is it worth it? My only complaint is that like so many others, these GUIs are going to need a once over for hi-res screens. But overall I have to say that I'm quite impressed by this collection. Not only are the synths unique in many ways, but AMT went through a lot of trouble to include lots of very high quality presets OOTB which really impressed me. The Structure sampler seems to be a collection of Sonivox's catalog, which is quite a decent bread and butter collection. Strike seems like a ok rhythm box for jamming. Not sure about Transfuser, yet. And Velvet: seems everyone just has to have an EP VI! And it's pretty good too. Some interesting stuff for the seasoned and a definitely great balanced starter pack.
- I don't use ProTools, but the installer doesn't give me the choice of not installing AAX versions; the Options in the opening page of the installer does give a choice to select a default VST folders for the dlls: but they're not differentiated between 32 and 64-bit and since both are installed, one will have to be manually moved.
- Hybrid has 2 versions on the DL page (Hybrid 2.02 & Hybrid 3.0.0) : Are they different engines with different content?
- Velvet 2.02 comes up in German (DL'ed twice). BTW, the initial step is not really the installation, its the installer extraction; after that run the *.exe if it doesn't do so by itself, and go to the Options if you need to specify a different location for the Factory Content of the larger lib files.
- The large sample library VIs (Transfusion, Strike and Structure) follow the same installation pattern as Velvet where the content is extracted before the actual installation is run. It's very tedious and time consuming to do it this way as opposed to just having the installer extract the content right into its destination, like most others do.
You then have to register the software at http://www.airmusictech.com/registration. If you don't do this, you won't be able to authorize the plugins. BTW, after I registered I saw this stamped under the header of the page: "("status";"FAILED","message";"Failed adding subscriber to the list")". Maybe because I'm already on the promo list?
And then there's the authorization. The download page has "Unlock Codes" but these are not the License codes required on the Sonivox AIR site you're directed to by the product authorization (not sure what unlock codes are for). You get the proper codes, called "Digital Rights" from an email sent to you after you do the registration procedure as indicated above. BTW authorization support seems to be support@sonivox.com. So Air Music Technology seems to be a division of Sonivox. Products are authorized one by one, but at least they only need the code, email, and country if you feel like changing it.
So after all this tedious installation, is it worth it? My only complaint is that like so many others, these GUIs are going to need a once over for hi-res screens. But overall I have to say that I'm quite impressed by this collection. Not only are the synths unique in many ways, but AMT went through a lot of trouble to include lots of very high quality presets OOTB which really impressed me. The Structure sampler seems to be a collection of Sonivox's catalog, which is quite a decent bread and butter collection. Strike seems like a ok rhythm box for jamming. Not sure about Transfuser, yet. And Velvet: seems everyone just has to have an EP VI! And it's pretty good too. Some interesting stuff for the seasoned and a definitely great balanced starter pack.
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- KVRAF
- 8802 posts since 7 Oct, 2005
They are working fine in my desktop (win 8.1 64bit / i5 4-cores @3.2Ghz default). I didn't try Hybrid 2. I just downloaded Hybrid 3 (it is Hybrid 2 Plus and even has all the presets of Hybrid 2).
Yes, the installer doesn't give a choice, but after the installation I went to the dll files and put them in the Vstplugins folders (both the 32bit folder and 64bit folder, i have them separated). Then they worked normally as plugins (there is no standalone).
You normally use the serial numbers in the download page and put them into the registration website when you authorise them. If you have a problem, send email to the support so they help you. There might be a problem and they need to fix about your serial numbers. However, for me everything was OK. It was once my mistake about Hybrid 3 that I was entering the s/n of Hybrid 2! The download page is busy with many numbers and versions, so I suggest to record them all in external file for a future reference.
In the end, I was so happy and still really like I bought them yesterday! Worth much more than they offered really. The three synths are immediately became from my favourite (I should write a detailed review about them, maybe soon!).
I didn't buy Hive because I felt Hybrid 3 is enough! It is really a great bread and butter synth. Light cpu usage with a sweet sound and amazing presets mostly targeted at the dance crowd but also many nice pads, leads, bass ..etc. It has also a great manual (can't say this about Loom and Vacuum pro!)
Loom is a great additive synth but I bought the very good tutorial from Groove3 to be able to understand many things inside. The manual is very thin unfortunately. Anyway, the morphing capablity and how you can change the speed of every line (direction) is amazing. It is an excellent balance between ease of use and complexity. I thought to buy Alchemy before Loom, but now I really don't feel I need it. Loom is moderate in cpu usage. it depends on how many partials and which host you are using. In Studio One surprisingly it uses less cpu than Sonar X3!
Vacuum Pro is a great VA synth. It is really very good sounding analogue synth. It can be little bit heavy on cpu, but not that much.
Velvet is a very nice electric piano. I still like Lizard Lounge a little bit more, but Velvet is my second favourite.
Actually I liked Strike a lot, but the browser is annoying that it is impossible to load a preset that down in a big list!! There is a bug about it sure, I hope they fix it in the future. In it you can do many good beats. It has a sequencer and kits, so it is something like Geist, but with additional "complexity" function.
Transfuser is also nice especially for loops. There is so many good loops and presets there. The editing also is extensive. Very nice for fast beat laying.
Structure is a sampler. I didn't like it a lot especially the Piano sounded weak for me, but because I'm getting used to listen to my digital piano, so maybe this is the reason. The strings I found them nice, but I really don't need to use. it is just there in case.
In the end, the pack worth it. The three synths complement each other perfectly. I really like the design of them. They are very good thought of
Yes, the installer doesn't give a choice, but after the installation I went to the dll files and put them in the Vstplugins folders (both the 32bit folder and 64bit folder, i have them separated). Then they worked normally as plugins (there is no standalone).
You normally use the serial numbers in the download page and put them into the registration website when you authorise them. If you have a problem, send email to the support so they help you. There might be a problem and they need to fix about your serial numbers. However, for me everything was OK. It was once my mistake about Hybrid 3 that I was entering the s/n of Hybrid 2! The download page is busy with many numbers and versions, so I suggest to record them all in external file for a future reference.
In the end, I was so happy and still really like I bought them yesterday! Worth much more than they offered really. The three synths are immediately became from my favourite (I should write a detailed review about them, maybe soon!).
I didn't buy Hive because I felt Hybrid 3 is enough! It is really a great bread and butter synth. Light cpu usage with a sweet sound and amazing presets mostly targeted at the dance crowd but also many nice pads, leads, bass ..etc. It has also a great manual (can't say this about Loom and Vacuum pro!)
Loom is a great additive synth but I bought the very good tutorial from Groove3 to be able to understand many things inside. The manual is very thin unfortunately. Anyway, the morphing capablity and how you can change the speed of every line (direction) is amazing. It is an excellent balance between ease of use and complexity. I thought to buy Alchemy before Loom, but now I really don't feel I need it. Loom is moderate in cpu usage. it depends on how many partials and which host you are using. In Studio One surprisingly it uses less cpu than Sonar X3!
Vacuum Pro is a great VA synth. It is really very good sounding analogue synth. It can be little bit heavy on cpu, but not that much.
Velvet is a very nice electric piano. I still like Lizard Lounge a little bit more, but Velvet is my second favourite.
Actually I liked Strike a lot, but the browser is annoying that it is impossible to load a preset that down in a big list!! There is a bug about it sure, I hope they fix it in the future. In it you can do many good beats. It has a sequencer and kits, so it is something like Geist, but with additional "complexity" function.
Transfuser is also nice especially for loops. There is so many good loops and presets there. The editing also is extensive. Very nice for fast beat laying.
Structure is a sampler. I didn't like it a lot especially the Piano sounded weak for me, but because I'm getting used to listen to my digital piano, so maybe this is the reason. The strings I found them nice, but I really don't need to use. it is just there in case.
In the end, the pack worth it. The three synths complement each other perfectly. I really like the design of them. They are very good thought of
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- KVRist
- 172 posts since 19 Oct, 2013 from Romania
So, EnGee, do you use the Air Pack with Studio One? Did you encounter the GUI updating problem? It seems to be very random situation, and I am particularly interested in Studio One compatibility, as this is my DAW of choice and I'd like to get AIEP soon.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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...and that's all I have to say about it!
...and that's all I have to say about it!
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- KVRAF
- 8802 posts since 7 Oct, 2005
I recently bought Studio One (again!!) so I only did normal test. But as far as I know there is no issues at all, they play great with Studio One.24MTS wrote:So, EnGee, do you use the Air Pack with Studio One? Did you encounter the GUI updating problem? It seems to be very random situation, and I am particularly interested in Studio One compatibility, as this is my DAW of choice and I'd like to get AIEP soon.
Thanks.
I don't have any GUI problem with Studio One Producer latest one (2.6.5). I use mainly the 64bit.
Please notice I use Windows 8.1 64bit/ i5 4-cores / nVidia GTX 750
The problematic plugins were in my Studio One setup (cpu spikes, I never had a GUI problem):
- NI Kontakt (player, but with libraries like Studio Drummer) - don't have it anymore
-NI Reaktor (some problematic ensembles like Razor and some users ones) - don't have it now
- Z3ta+ 2 (still have it. Works fine in Sonar and Reaper, but not very cpu efficient in Studio One)
latency:
- Addictive Drums has a little latency (1.5 ms reported) but it works fine.
- IL Harmor reporting latency depending on the preset loaded (mostly between 1.5ms to 3.5ms), but it works fine no problem.
The list that works very well with Studio One in my setup:
- Reason (Rewire)
- Steinberg synths (VST3 of Retrologue and Padshop Pro)
- Air instruments
- NI Battery 4
- Oberheim SEM V
- Dimension Pro and Rapture
- Lounge Lizard and Strum Accoustic
- Dexed
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- KVRian
- 1063 posts since 28 Dec, 2012 from Boston area
No problems I've noticed so far with IEP in Studio One here, laptop w i7 Win 7 Pro. Haven't tried Strike or Structure, since I have other things for those roles, they're huge, and I'm trying to conserve disk space, or Transfuser, since I'm not much of a loop guybut Hybrid, Loom, and Vacuum Pro are truly brilliant, notably great sounding, though a bit CPU hungry. Velvet is ok; I have other things in that neighborhood that I like a lot, and it didn't blow me away.
If you're having CPU issues in Studio One, have you seen this:
http://support.presonus.com/entries/203 ... Studio-One
Just got that myself last night, no real world experience with those settings yet, but it's worth a shot.
Note that those settings are NOT recommended for Win 8.1, but there's a link in that article to the 8.1 equivalent.
If you're having CPU issues in Studio One, have you seen this:
http://support.presonus.com/entries/203 ... Studio-One
Just got that myself last night, no real world experience with those settings yet, but it's worth a shot.
Note that those settings are NOT recommended for Win 8.1, but there's a link in that article to the 8.1 equivalent.
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- KVRian
- 1339 posts since 25 Sep, 2011 from New York
And you can hear them all in here, including Strike and Structure:
https://soundcloud.com/basaristudios/ai ... ri-studios
https://soundcloud.com/basaristudios/ai ... ri-studios
Reality is a Condition due to Lack of Weed!
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- KVRian
- 1119 posts since 29 Sep, 2013
I realize that this thread was started way back in stale territory, but I thought I'd toss in my experience, abreviated, of course.
I bought Loom during the Black Friday sale for $49. When I discovered that there was an upgrade to AIEP for $129, I went straight to the site and looked for it. It didn't appear to be working, and I was a bit confused. I called the support number (Yes! A genuine support number! Try finding that in the U.S. For Novation...). I don't remember who I spoke with, but he sent me the upgrade voucher via email and I verified receipt while we were on the phone. Worked like a charm. Yes it's a big download, even with a 100mb/s connection.
I ALWAYS stress when installing download versions of software. You just never know what any given vendor will throw at you for an installer. I WAS very concerned about getting the samples on to my sample drive rather than my C: drive. Honestly, I cannot remember what happened from there, but I got it installed without fail. I registered online and that was that.
I think it was one of the high point purchases that I made in 2014. I've not used anything extensively, but I'm excited with what I've seen in each instrument.
Let me add this: someone mentioned Groove3 above. Don't be too proud to check them out. Just because they are tutorials won't make you uncool. I signed up so that I could check out tons of products that I knew little about. It led to a bunch of purchases. That was worth $15/mo. (Or $99/yr.). Beyond that, there are tons of well made tutorials divided into sections for a lot of product that I own. I learn a thing or two in my down time by clicking on one of the vids on my iPad and just zoning out and following along. Worth a look. They cover all of the instruments in the AIEP, btw.
I bought Loom during the Black Friday sale for $49. When I discovered that there was an upgrade to AIEP for $129, I went straight to the site and looked for it. It didn't appear to be working, and I was a bit confused. I called the support number (Yes! A genuine support number! Try finding that in the U.S. For Novation...). I don't remember who I spoke with, but he sent me the upgrade voucher via email and I verified receipt while we were on the phone. Worked like a charm. Yes it's a big download, even with a 100mb/s connection.
I ALWAYS stress when installing download versions of software. You just never know what any given vendor will throw at you for an installer. I WAS very concerned about getting the samples on to my sample drive rather than my C: drive. Honestly, I cannot remember what happened from there, but I got it installed without fail. I registered online and that was that.
I think it was one of the high point purchases that I made in 2014. I've not used anything extensively, but I'm excited with what I've seen in each instrument.
Let me add this: someone mentioned Groove3 above. Don't be too proud to check them out. Just because they are tutorials won't make you uncool. I signed up so that I could check out tons of products that I knew little about. It led to a bunch of purchases. That was worth $15/mo. (Or $99/yr.). Beyond that, there are tons of well made tutorials divided into sections for a lot of product that I own. I learn a thing or two in my down time by clicking on one of the vids on my iPad and just zoning out and following along. Worth a look. They cover all of the instruments in the AIEP, btw.
In rotation here: Hammock- Stranded Under Endless Sky
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- KVRAF
- 8802 posts since 7 Oct, 2005
Thank you for the link. There is there a link for Win 8.1 users. It says mostly about Power Options (which I use sometimes when running Cubase). Fortunately, I don't have hungry cpu plugins so I'm running my cpu with a slightly modified default settings in the power options (cpu start from 50% instead of 0%), so still it is "relaxed" mode and the cpu run from 50% to 100% as needed.dwozzle wrote:
If you're having CPU issues in Studio One, have you seen this:
http://support.presonus.com/entries/203 ... Studio-One
Note that those settings are NOT recommended for Win 8.1, but there's a link in that article to the 8.1 equivalent.
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- KVRian
- 1063 posts since 28 Dec, 2012 from Boston area
I had been using a modified version of the high performance profile, but the Presonus settings, at least he Win7 ones, change things I'd never touched, about handling of individual cores, etc. The article talks about that.
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- KVRist
- 172 posts since 19 Oct, 2013 from Romania
Thanks, very good to know!EnGee wrote: I recently bought Studio One (again!!) so I only did normal test. But as far as I know there is no issues at all, they play great with Studio One.
I don't have any GUI problem with Studio One Producer latest one (2.6.5). I use mainly the 64bit.
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...and that's all I have to say about it!
...and that's all I have to say about it!
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- KVRAF
- 8802 posts since 7 Oct, 2005
Thanks, the article was interesting to know about what exactly the profile does (in Win 7). For Windows 8 I will try to adjust my modified power option profile further based on this from PreSonus Support Page:dwozzle wrote:I had been using a modified version of the high performance profile, but the Presonus settings, at least he Win7 ones, change things I'd never touched, about handling of individual cores, etc. The article talks about that.
Win 8 users only:
-> Right-click Start (or WinKey+X)
-> Choose Power Options
All versions of Windows:
-> Click "Change plan settings" for the currently selected power plan
-> Click "Change Advanced Power Settings"
You will need to restart your computer after making the changes that are outlined in this guide.
Note: If this is a laptop then change these options for "while plugged in".
Some systems may not have all of the power options that are listed here.
- PCI Express
-- Link State Power Management
--- Setting: OFF
- Processor power management
-- Maximum processor state
--- Setting: %99
-- Minimum processor state
--- Setting: %99
-- Cooling Policy
--- Setting: Active
- USB Settings
-- USB selective suspend setting
--- Setting: Disabled
- Wireless Adapter
-- Wireless Adapter Settings
--- Setting: Maximum Power Savings
- Intel(R) Graphics Settings
--Intel(R) Graphics Power Plan
---Setting: Maximum Performance
Good luck24MTS wrote:Thanks, very good to know!EnGee wrote: I recently bought Studio One (again!!) so I only did normal test. But as far as I know there is no issues at all, they play great with Studio One.
I don't have any GUI problem with Studio One Producer latest one (2.6.5). I use mainly the 64bit.
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- KVRist
- 137 posts since 1 Feb, 2015
I dunno, my experience so far is that getting the stuff installed is a major pain. The only thing that has been worse to install was going from the version of halion sonic se to halion 5 via the absolute collection. Steinberg at least decided to release a downloadable installer for halion 5 so they fixed that process.
But seriously getting the expansion pack completely installed is painful. Also their forum is crap and their website is mediocre. Fix that stuff and they are an option for some decent VSTi's. Without getting the installation process cleaned up and a better website I can't see them competing with others.
But seriously getting the expansion pack completely installed is painful. Also their forum is crap and their website is mediocre. Fix that stuff and they are an option for some decent VSTi's. Without getting the installation process cleaned up and a better website I can't see them competing with others.
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- KVRian
- 1063 posts since 28 Dec, 2012 from Boston area
I got v2, so I haven't been through an upgrade, and I didn't install everything, just Hybrid, Loom, Vacuum Pro, and Velvet (others were too big, given that I have alternatives), and those first three are among my favorite instruments. No problems installing, but there was a problem with my order, and Simon Bangs did super right by me, excellent support.
From my experience, highly recommended, but as you're pointing out, v3 and the upgrade to it are unknown quantities.
From my experience, highly recommended, but as you're pointing out, v3 and the upgrade to it are unknown quantities.
