I'm hopelessly out of touch - questions questions questions

[Neil B]

My current setup is a Pulsar 2 card with 6 DSP's
I'm running Scope 4.5 and I have mod III & Flexor 3

I downloaded Scope 5 in Dec 09 but haven't installed it yet.
I've seen lots of posts (and arguments) on a variety of topics that are pages and pages long but I was wondering if you guys can just give a few simple answers to a Luddite so I can decide where to go next.

Is Scope 5 stable?
Does Flexor run under Scope 5? (seem to remember at some point there was a chance it wasn't going to)
Is Modular 4 worth upgrading to?
I read about 64 bit version coming "soon" - does the age of the Pulsar 2 card affect anything or is it all software (probably another stupid question)
Really I'm only thinking of going 64 bit for more PC memory for Omnisphere & Trilian, although I suppose I can do without it.
I believe there are some add on DSP boards available so I could have more than 6 DSP's - do these require full size slots on my PC or ....?
I think I've also read somewhere that Scope 5 allows you to save midi assignments better than 4.5 (which is rubbish). I remember the "old days" when the Midi CC's were saved with the device - is Scope 5 like that or not?

Okay loads of daft questions but it's easier to put them all together than trawl about and get my brain muddled!

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[at0m]

Hey Neil,

I'm running Scope 5 on XP32, and I quite like it - and it comes with a bunch of new 'vintage' dynamics/EQ/chorus/verb fx. It hosts all FleXoR versions, and other existing 3rd party stuff, just like the old Scope v4 and v4.5. I'm considering Mod4, but I'm not convinced - yet. I've overwritten, one by one, Scope 4/4.5 versions of modules and devices with Scope 5 versions, and many files are smaller - which suggests they consist of fewer atoms, read: more DSP efficient.
Regarding 64bit support, I'll see about that when it's released, and as reviews start popping up here. But for at least another couple years I don't see, personally, why I'd need it. It's indeed an OS and drivers thing, so running the old DSP cards that are currently supported by Scope 4/4.5/5. These cards also need 'classical' PCI slot, just like the one your Pulsar2 is in now.
MIDI assignments are saved either with a project, within a modular, or using MIDI presets, just like in any post-2.04 Scope OS.

Here's a tip: just install Scope 5 to its own folder, and try for yourself (supposing you have the keys for v5). If you don't like it, just remove the v5 drivers, reboot, install the v4 or v4.5 drivers, and you can run your current Scope again. The drivers thing puzzled me a bit initially, until I found out about the manual driver removal from Device Manager and the reboot after the removal.

I did have some issues with backwards compatibility for older projects: for some reason S|C managed to make the old External Effect/Source/Destination devices incompatible with Scope 5, and I had like 10s of them in each project. For the rest, all went smooth, and if I happen to encounter any issues, I now know how to easily revert the drivers and run the old OS version.

I hope this enlightens you a bit
at0m.

[Neil B]

Thanks Atom - that's a great start.
Yep, I'm on XP32 too so I may stick at that. I got to thinking about 64 bit just for Omnisphere/Trilian etc and realised what I may lose by upgrading - things such as MS Office and especially Wavelab 4.1. The additional cost of upgrading for running a couple of synths in live mode just ain't worth it!

I need to check if the version 5 I've got (Dec 09) is still current or if there's been any revisions.
Good tips about installing 5 to it's own folder, although I'll probably have to come back to this re the manual driver removal and other little things.

I never did get the hang of Midi things after V2 when you saved with device. Saving with project was a pain to me when I had configured all my synths to my Kenton Control Freak only to find I had to keep doing it for every project if I needed to control any knobs & sliders.

I'll probably do it in a couple of weeks when I get back off holiday, so if anyone else wants to chip in too, the more info, the better for me.

Thanks

[at0m]

I never did get the hang of Midi things after V2 when you saved with device. Saving with project was a pain to me when I had configured all my synths to my Kenton Control Freak only to find I had to keep doing it for every project if I needed to control any knobs & sliders.

Actually, it's more flexible nowadays, or post-2.04: In each device's Preset list, you'll find a "MIDI Controller" presets bank. Whatever preset you store in that bank, saves all MIDI assignments. When the device is loaded into a project, you do need to load a preset from that bank to instantly assign the previously saved CC# to controls. Or for example, on a device like the STM mixers, which have >120 controls, you could create a bunch of banks and switch between them manually or using Bank Select and Program Change MIDI messages, and MIDI assignments are restored instantly. Or, imagine using a controller keyboard with only 10-16 knobs, you can still reach most of the device by switching MIDI Controller presets. That was impossible on a pre-v3 SFP OS...
There's other things that changed in the post-2.04 preset lists, like the amount of voices is no more part of the presets, but those are things that one doesn't often change on-the-fly...

[garyb]

also, if you DO keep the v4 folder on your computer, BE SURE TO RENAME IT. otherwise, you'll have old projects that try to load from the old folders and that'll be mayhem...