OS 4 was too quirky in my setup.

All,

To begin with, I will provide a non-exhaustive list of the relevant equipment in my setup:

Mac Pro G5 Quad Core, Cubase 4.5.2, Mac OSX 10.5.6, Steinberg MR816 CSX, MOTU Express 128 MIDI Interface, Steinberg CC121 Controller.

I own a Virus TI Snow and have enjoyed the one or two OS updates I have performed over the past year. Usually, once I find a stable OS with any instrument or component in my studio, I stick to it and disregard the lure of new features. OS updates are risky and can lead to downtime or even embarrassing moments with clients or guests should an unexpected problem arise.

In any case, I updated my Snow to the latest "release" version of OS 4 to my disappointment. Within my setup, it would generate random notes on its own. For example, I was designing a patch on my Oberheim SEM and playing and holding a few notes with one of my keyboard controllers, the Alesis Micron. Next thing I know, with the Virus open as a plugin - yet not receiving MIDI notes... I am going on 12 years as a Cubase user so, with confidence, I can attest that it is not user error - it would begin to scream and within a span of 10 minutes, I had to hit the panic button on the Snow twice to kill the randomly generated notes. Sometimes, the setup would simply be idle and I would hear random "screaming notes" coming from my BM6s... the Snow was again the culprit. Afterwards, interfacing through the software was impossible. The Snow required a reboot and the problem would repeat. Reboot and repeat. It became old very quickly. Add to that a new MIDI latency issue that required the use of the Live switch to offset - which I never experienced before OS 4 - and the reversion became truly necessary.

So, I went back to the version of OS 3 that worked perfectly on my unit and I will never upgrade again. I have what I need in it and enjoy using the Snow immensely. Access, thank you for the effort, but I will stay with OS 3. It feels like even the OS 4 version runs like a beta... such quirks give my Hartmann Neuron some added personality that I can do without (its memory leak takes over an hour of nonstop use to crash the PC that hosts the Neuron, but it's alright... it was an incomplete product when it was released, so I am never surprised), but in the Virus (an established product range priced between $1300 and $3300), such bugs are unacceptable.

This is not reproach... it is constructive criticism accompanied by gratitude for trying to further develop an otherwise excellent instrument. It seems like PR departments only hear from the public when a risk or crisis needs to be managed. Today, it was my aim to inform you (assuming that PR, Marketing, or R&D read this forum) of how apparent the "bugginess" in OS 4 is to a hobbyist who scarcely has the time to compose, much less to devote most of that time to troubleshooting. Also, I hope to level my constructive criticism with recognition of the effort your company is showing in designing better operating systems that preclude the need to simply design a new synth from top to bottom and render thousands of little white or black boxes and black and white keyboards manufactured in your factories simply obsolete. It is a fine way to maximize technological development and minimize the use of scarce resources.

Thanks Access. It is not perfect (as nothing made by man ever is), but the Snow is one of the finest pieces in my somewhat labyrinthine studio. I recommend further testing of an OS before calling it a "release" version, though.

--The Wood.

Dear Marc,

Thanks for your interest and reply.

I never contacted support regarding this issue. It would be nice to use OS 4, but I figured the troubleshooting process would probably be far too time consuming. If you think it is worth it, I'll give it a shot. BTW, what do you think the issue's cause could be?

Cheers,

Cam.

Thanks for your reply, Marc.

The issue with my setup was defined in my original post. What I meant to ask was what you thought the cause of the problem was. In any case, if anything I will contact them at another time, I suppose. It's a shame that OS 4 is not quite up to speed yet. Good luck with that. Thanks for your help.

--The Wood.

andyrUK: The OS that works great for me 3.0.1.15. HTH. It still gives me the little red "sync error" message when I switch patches too quickly, but that's no big deal... you just switch patches a little slower, that's all. Other than that, I experience no issues with that at all.

Marc: I choose not to contact support for now because it is not that serious of a problem. I have OS 3.0.1.15 still on my comp and was able to roll back. That version always worked well. I was hoping to use the new features in OS 4, but it's alright... I'll sit out this phase of OS updates. I only posted my opinion to help out Access identify problems with the new OS and have a better idea of how many people may not be having a smooth time with it. If I had the time to engage in email troubleshooting, I would certainly contact support and work this through. Unfortunately, I don't. So, I'm content with what I have. In the end, I love the Snow.

Heheheh, it's like Cheryl Crow once said, "it's not about having what you want... it's about wanting what you have." LOL Quoting Cheryl Crow... wow.

Now, I'm off to "soak up the sun" (whatever is left of it) up here in the frigid American north.

--The Wood.