Should i upgrade LUNA2 to Pulsar or other creamware products

Merkury · Post by **Merkury** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:17 am

Hello guys

I've got a Luna 2 that i'm using succesfully from 3 years ,mainly for recording guitar purposes.
I'm satisfied with the sound quality that i obtain with it,i love it

Only thing,i'm tired of having only ONE input,i mean i can only connect my MicPRE in it and it's end of the story. That sucks

I'd like to connect my Line6 Pod into the Luna,but i can't use it in stereo because...how in the world i connect the two POD outputs to the luna without a bunch of adaptors/cables , a thing that i hate doing ! I like a clean signal path

Plus ,i've never used the board to its full potential,cause in XTC mode i've got latency ... so :

-should i upgrade to another creamware board? i'd love also to have a bunch of cool DSP synths to record in cubase.... but i'm not sure if,upgrading for example to a pulsar,would i be able to record the synths succesfully in cubase ?

or maybe.... creamware is just not what i need and i need another type of board? thank you very much ,cheerz

pollux · Post by **pollux** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:04 am

if the processing power of the luna is enough, you can either rty to find a luna 2496 io box, or add the adat i/o plate and then connect any multichannel pre that has an adat out.

see this thread:

http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24977

Cheers!

Raul

Herr Voigt · Post by **Herr Voigt** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:48 am

Maybe a used Pulsar 1, connected with your Luna via S/TDM is the cheaper solution. Aaaand - you have 4 more DSPs.

Which outputs has your Pod?

the19thbear · Post by **the19thbear** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:54 am

you can still monitor without latency in xtc mode! and use the creamware stuff on the inputs with no latency! you can even monitor through creamwares mixers in txc mode.

go here:
http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic ... =gonzo+xtc
this is a word document that helped me alot!!

http://www.planetz.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... =xtc+gonzo

I dont know what you have and havent done, but this is what you need to do if i remember right:

1:Install scope with xtc mode.

2: create a folder inside your scope directory called XTC PLUGINS ( you decide) EG: C:/scope 4.5/devices/xtc plugins

3. open up the xtc configuration file in a text editor ( I think its called "vst config" and its located in some sub sub folder.. sorry about this but i cant remember, maybe someone else can help with the actual file name)

- In this file you should se a row of directories. One with the words mono in front of it and one with the words stereo in front of it.
Copy these two ( mono and stereo) text lines, and insert them in the bottom, right after the last line and edit them so they contain the path of your xtc folder.
EG:

ScopeMono C:/scope 4.5/devices/xtc plugins/*.*
and Scopestereo C:/scope 4.5/devices/xtc plugins/*.*
( i think that this is the same wording that is used in the file)

4. Go to your shared vst plugin folder, and pick a plugin that you know is working.( any plugin. not a creamware one) and copy that into your XTC folder EG:
C:/cubase/vst plugins/XTC

make as many copies as you need XTC plugins.
Now rename every single one of the copied plugins to match the names of the plugins in your C:/scope 4.5/devices/XTC plugins/ folder. but leave the DLL extension
example:
was supercomp.dll now renamed to minimax.dll
was supercomp.dll(2) now renamed to masterverb.dll
etc etc..

the actual dll files in your c:/cubase/vst plugins/ folder are actually not used at all.. they are just "shadows" of the files from the c:/scope 4.5/devices/xtc plugins/ -folder

5. edit the xtcproject located in some other sub folder to suit your needs. save it.

6.start cubase
Open the vst plugin menu in cubase and add the c:/cubase/vst plugins-folder as your shared vst folder, and restart cubase.
IF that doestn work, rename the vst plugins folder to something else, set it up in cubase and restart cubase again.

I know this seems like an awful lot, but when you get the hang of it, it is actually really easy..

Merkury · Post by **Merkury** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:07 pm

Hey lots of stuff to do eh !

thanks for your support,

@pollux : yes the i/o box would be a nice add for the recording,for the DSP i really don't know if the 3 DSP would handle more plugins...i have to try it with XTC. i see that now it hasn't got the power to open VOCODIZER for example,so that really makes me think ummm

@volgt : the Pod has L R outputs,nothing special

i'm using it fine,only in mono (with only Left connected directly to LUNA with a balanced cable.. i think the only way to connect it in stereo tu Luna is buying a bunch of adaptors,)

@the19bear : wow so you can use XTC with direct monitoring?interesting ! yeah it sounded like an awful job at first,but you're right it's not that hard ..i just have to reinstall with XTC and try. if it works that's great !

thanks i'll try that way and let you know if it works

Andy

Herr Voigt · Post by **Herr Voigt** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:34 pm

Well, you'd only need an Y-cable, as you buy normally for an external effect - that's all. Two Mono jacks -> One Stereo jack.
On a Pulsar 1 you could use the cinch inputs with adapter cables, I have some.

Cheers, Thomas

Merkury · Post by **Merkury** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:40 am

Searching the forum i discovered also "gender changers" for cables. i guess i'd buy them ,sorry for the dumb questions but i just did'nt knew that such a cable it's called "Y-Cable" hehe...

Well,my main problem was that i was trying to understand if i should stick to creamware and buy a more powerful board (with synths) or to change brand and go to a more "simple" one.
So i've downloaded the "One Small Synth 107" by HUROLURA (thanks man) to try in SFP and ......WOW i just discovered that i've really never used in the right way my Luna in these years. This stuff is AMAZING !! connected to masterverb it sounds so huge and clear.

I thought ,if a free synth sounds so good ,i imagine the BIG ones should sound like the heaven ??!

i've listened to a creamware synth webpage and my ears confirmed. Creamware sounds like Heaven to the ears

So i'm deciding to upgrade to a more powerful board,you mentioned the Pulsar I and i like the idea.
But... wouldn'it be dated to this days ? I mean,would you buy a used Pulsar or go to the Sonic Core products ? i'm a bit confused ..

My main goal is 1) to record guitar voice and bass in cubase sx ,so i would benefit from multiple Hardware inputs

2)to use great sounding creamware synths in SFP (since XTC umm sounds a little too much work to do ! ) and sending them to ASIO to recording in cubase sx.

I'm very sorry if i explain myself bad but i'm Italian

BTW ,i love this forum so much,is a bible to me .

Thanx 2 everybody !

pollux · Post by **pollux** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:21 am

Merkury wrote:.WOW i just discovered that i've really never used in the right way my Luna in these years. This stuff is AMAZING !! connected to masterverb it sounds so huge and clear.

It totally replaced my rig for studio.. Only use it as a preamp, excepting for some distortion stomp boxes that are quite special (big muff, sansamp gt2)

Merkury wrote:I thought ,if a free synth sounds so good ,i imagine the BIG ones should sound like the heaven ??! i've listened to a creamware synth webpage and my ears confirmed. Creamware sounds like Heaven to the ears

If you're falling in love with synths you should definetly considder Solaris.. It's state of the art!

Merkury wrote:So i'm deciding to upgrade to a more powerful board,you mentioned the Pulsar I and i like the idea.
But... wouldn'it be dated to this days ? I mean,would you buy a used Pulsar or go to the Sonic Core products ? i'm a bit confused ..

Welcome to DSP madness

Merkury wrote:My main goal is 1) to record guitar voice and bass in cubase sx ,so i would benefit from multiple Hardware inputs

2)to use great sounding creamware synths in SFP (since XTC umm sounds a little too much work to do ! ) and sending them to ASIO to recording in cubase sx.

you could also use reaper in asio mode, or VDAT in Scope...

If you play guitar and bass, you should definetly check Dynatubes, and also Celmo's Amp Modellers (there's a free version, the BluesMan, which sounds very nice). I've 'em all.. feel free to PM me if you want to know more about them.

I also use Vinco quite a lot with the bass, and MCCY (Martin) has recently posted some interesting devices too.

Keep rocking

Raul

Herr Voigt · Post by **Herr Voigt** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:40 pm

Compare: A Xite-1 costs 2,900 Euro, they say it has the performance of 140 sharks, you can fiddle with synths and effects and ressource hogs 'til the doctor comes.
A used Pulsar 1 (4 sharks) you can get for less than 100 Euro. It's good enough for more i/o's, one or two more synths, more voices, perhaps more devices ... Don't expect big miracles.

Last month I bought 2 used Pulsar 1, and I'm happy.

Merkury · Post by **Merkury** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:18 am

Yeah i think i'll buy a used pulsar or pulsar II with a nice pack of synths...now i see what i can find and then let you know.

If you're falling in love with synths you should definetly considder Solaris.. It's state of the art!

Man i've listened to some stuff made with it ...It's Shocking !!! i'm falling in love mainly with DSP synths,because they sound HUGE compared to Vst stuff. They totally comes alive out of the speakers compared to VST,even the best vst sounds THIN in my opinion .

you could also use reaper in asio mode, or VDAT in Scope...

i'll try REAPER ,haven't got VDAT with my luna2

i've tried the CELMO stuff and i love its sound,really simple but effective and most especially it really comes out in the mix ! Crunchy

I've also tried,and been very impressed by the Uknow 007.

Herr Voigt · Post by **Herr Voigt** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:07 pm

You'll be excited when you can get the big synths: minimax, prodyssey, pro-12 ... b-2003.
They are really great instruments!