PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

I'm about to upgrade my studio and have decided to build everything around an Xite,
I'm a complete newbie (when it comes to scope) and my only experience of it is, 2 old pulsar 1 's and scope 5.1
which I've been testing over the last few weeks to see if I like it.

I need some advice on compatibility / usability on some of the Hardware I'm looking to buy
and advice on how to connect it all up in Scope

do any of you have experience of using this gear?

shopping list so far includes:

Xite1 or 1d
Sequential Prophet 6 (just love this synth)
Sequential Tempest
Arturia Keylab 88 Keyboard Controller or Physis Piano K4
MOTU EXPRESS128 8 I/O MIDI Interface
Behringer X32 Compact digital mixer
Adam F5 active studio monitors

I've also been thinking about adding a kyma Pacarana (not sure yet)

I've got a Hackintosh (duel boot with Win 7 ) running on a
Gigabyte Z87-DS3H motherboard with intel 4770 cpu with 16 gb RAM, all 64 bit.

My DAW is Studio one 2 / Reaper x64 on win 7 and Logic pro on the hackintosh

also have a BCR2000 and m-Audio Delta 1010

any thoughts?

Ambient Source wrote:
shopping list so far includes:

Xite1 or 1d

Both good.
Which you need depends on your demands, - how much and what you want to have loaded simultaneously and if you need a pair of quality mic-pres w/ phantom power, HiZ inputs and alternately line inputs on the front panel.

Ambient Source wrote: Sequential Prophet 6 (just love this synth)

Well, I´m a big fan and user of monphonic and poly analogue synths,- previous owner of TWO Prophet 5 too. a Rev2 and Rev3 ...
Prophet 6 is a fine instrument and has it´s price,- but what you get compared to a Prophet 5 is not much more.
You get voice #6, a slightly improved polymod section and FX,- that´s it.
The basic architecture is as simple as the former Prophet 5 was.

Now, my experience was and is, you get a excellent Prophet 5 rev3 emulation in SCOPE 5.1 with "Profit 5" and what you can do w/ the rest of improvements in a hardware Prophet-6, you can do w/ other synths in SCOPE too.
For the step sequencer/ arpeggiator built in a synth, you could buy the optional "ProTone".
When you want Prophet 5 rev2 and rev3 sonic quality differences, there are ZARG "Prowave" and "ProOne v3" allowing selection of SSM or CEM components.

It´s all much cheaper than the hardware and even you buy it all for SCOPE.

You´ll miss the haptics though ... ***

Consequently, my advice is, don´t buy Prophet-6 and save the money to buy John Bowen´s Solaris which is almost all synths in ONE hardware instrument and based on the same hardware technology than XITE.
Software development for Solaris is also done in SCOPE SDK and lots of modules come from ZARG softsyths you can buy for SCOPE.

*** you´d get the haptics back w/ Solaris hardware synth !

(I´d whish I could afford Solaris NOW !)

Ambient Source wrote: Sequential Tempest

Do we need a hardware drummachine/arpeggiator today ?
I dunno if you need it, I don´t.

What about Mattomat http://www.sonic-core.net/shop/product_ ... osing.html ?

(Not buying Tempest saves much more money for Solaris !)

DSI Sequential Prophet-6 and DSI Tempest together is EUR 5.281,- @Thomann germany and for UK buyers.
JB Solaris is EUR 3.800,- plus VAT and shipping.
Still leaves some money ...

Ambient Source wrote: ... or Physis Piano K4

THIS !!!

Ambient Source wrote: MOTU EXPRESS128 8 I/O MIDI Interface
Behringer X32 Compact digital mixer

Both obsolete !

You don´t need a separate digital mixer when you have XITE and SCOPE.
I go XITE-1 analog out > passive volume knob > amp > speakers.

Physis K4 would be your USB and physical MIDI interface !
Everything connected to the Physis K4 via physical MIDI and USB is bi-directional connected with the computer via Physis K4 USB !
It IS a 2 Din-MIDI In / 8 Din-MIDI Out interface w/ several USB ports in addition and everything is independent access.

Ambient Source wrote:
Adam F5 active studio monitors

Today I´d buy ADAM A7x http://www.thomann.de/gb/adam_a7x.htm .
Don´t save on your speakers !

Ambient Source wrote: I've also been thinking about adding a kyma Pacarana (not sure yet)

I´m out on this. Ask Roland Kuit.
For me it´s hard enough learning SCOPE modular II / III / IV and CW as well as BC Modular.

Ambient Source wrote: also have a BCR2000 and m-Audio Delta 1010

any thoughts?

Yes,- throw M-Audio Delta 1010 in the bin when you get XITE and SCOPE.

Keep BCR 2000 !

best and good luck ...



Bud

Thanks for the input Bud,

Consequently, my advice is, don´t buy Prophet-6 and save the money to buy John Bowen´s Solaris

I used to have a rev 3 Prophet 5, I loved it but IMHO the profit 5 is about 85% there
and the Solaris is Interesting but to my ears it doesn't sound ' analog' enough.
Before I could even consider the Solaris, I would have to play it, and I don't think there's one near to me in Scotland.


Behringer X32 Compact digital mixer

Both obsolete !

You don´t need a separate digital mixer when you have XITE and SCOPE.
I go XITE-1 analog out > passive volume knob > amp > speakers.

Why obsolete ?
I have some hardware synths, Guitar, Mic's preamps.etc.
without a Mixer how will I connect everything to the xcite at once?
how easy is it to connect the X32 in scope?

agree about the Physis K4 and the ADAM A7X's

one problem I have is when I boot into my MAC partition the Xcite wont work,
so I will need to keep the Delta 1010 for the audio on my Hackintosh.

Add the X-ADAT board to the Behringer and go from the mixer into XITE via ADAT. Or.. just use an ADA-8200 for the inputs (Black Lion Mod of course!) or better, one of the Ferrofish units which go up to 96Khz and take the ADAT into the XITE and mix there. I don't see how the Scope mixers can be beat. The BCR is real handy for the Scope synths, effects and mixers.

If you are going to use XITE as the center of your studio, it is worth knowing all it can do, and then seeing how each of those uses mates with your work style/flow. Functionally, it can do almost anything you'd find in a studio, so it's worth assessing what you want from XITE/scope, and then seeing if the xite-1 or the 1d fits then bill. XITE can run 48 channel surround mixers, plus all the synths, eqs, and fx needed at the same time. 1d might be a little limited in pulling it all off at once, but can do several of them at once just as well as the XITE.

With 38in and 36out hardware, plus 64 ASIO channels, the XITE can simplify a studio quickly, but it also takes some effort to be able to access/control all of those DSP hardware devices from MIDI or DAW. Not difficult, but not brainless. Just like any professional studio takes thought planning and effort to realize.

Bud's advice is solid, too.

Can anyone tell me how many devices/tracks you can run on a Xite 1D?

I produce Ambient / experimental/ Berlin school music and typically would use 15-20 tracks with a mixture of vst's with scope and hardware synths,

lets say 3 x Profit 5's and 1 x Solaris, and lots of delay and reverb, compression, EQ
the rest would be VST's from the Daw and a few channels from hardware synths and Drum machines

would this be easy to achieve?

I would think it could handle it, depending if you also needed a 15-20 channel mixer running or not. If so, then I think an XITE would be a better choice.

Ambient Source wrote:
Why obsolete ?
I have some hardware synths, Guitar, Mic's preamps.etc.
without a Mixer how will I connect everything to the xcite at once?

Well,- buying a AD/DA converter like Ferrofish A16mkII (16 in / 16 out analogue w/ individually adjustable gain per channel) or upcoming A32 ( 32 I/Os ) gives you enough input and output channels interfacing w/ the SCOPE mixers !

Ambient Source wrote: how easy is it to connect the X32 in scope?

simply connect the main stereo out to xite stereo analog in or, when you get 2x ADAT I/Os w/ X32 you can connect all, analogue and digital to xite.

But IMO, you connect a digital hardware mixer, which is an avoidable investment, as a front end to a digital DSP mixer in SCOPE and it´s worth to think about that because you need just only enough inputs,- no ?

Ambient Source wrote: one problem I have is when I boot into my MAC partition the Xcite wont work,
so I will need to keep the Delta 1010 for the audio on my Hackintosh.

I agree on when you use MAC and LOGIC, for the time being, SCOPE/XITE isn´t the ideal solution.
Using a Windows PC for SCOPE is and using a 2nd machine (MAC) running LOGIC is too.

Bud

Ambient Source wrote: ... the Solaris is Interesting but to my ears it doesn't sound ' analog' enough.
Before I could even consider the Solaris, I would have to play it, and I don't think there's one near to me in Scotland.

Not being able to try Solaris in shops is indeed a problem.

Soundwise,- define "analog enough" ...

In most cases, getting great sonic results from synths, at least to me, is matter of programming skills,- and in a musical context, it´s a question if a sound fits the tune, composition, arrangement or not.

I kept my trusty Minimoog D and my Oberheim Xpander,- both synths are simply there because I buyed ´em as 1st owner in the past.
When I were younger today and didn´t own these synths anyway, it´s questionable if I would buy these today for insane money even they are analogue synths.

IMO, Prophet-6 is much too expensive for what it really does.
Compared to the DSI Prophet-12, you pay a lot for just only the name "Sequential" !

Xpander ( and Matrix 12 ) were half analogue and half digital already, just because of the architecture to be realized,- and sound good.
Purists prefer the sound of a Oberheim OBX p.ex., but OBX lacks the flexibility of the others and even the old Oberheim 4- and 8-voice synths composed from SEM-modules do.
So what to buy used?

I myself, I´d prefer the more flexible machine because I can do more w/ it.

But that´s only me.

You say "Profit-5" is about 85% close to a real Prophet-5,- that might be correct in a direct comparison.
But who does direct comparisons when making music ?
And didn´t I mention (John Bowen) ZARG Prowave ?
It´s probably much closer because of the exchangable components in the architecture, depending on what you do w/ it or the Profit-5.

Comparing some analogue synths to digital ones, the low end is eventually the most obvious difference, so buying a dedicated analogue bass synth like the relatively cheapo MOOG Minitaur wouldn´t be a mistake though.

Bud

I finally got my new studio setup today, got more stuff than I thought I would

so my final setup is

Xite 1D attached to main PC x64
25 DSP scope PCI system on 2nd PC x64
Prophet 6,
Prophet 12 desktop,
Ferrofish A16 AE
DSI Tempest
ADAM A7X
BCR2000
BCF2000
Arturia keylab 88 master keyboard (there is no dealer in Scotland for the Physis Piano K4..no try , no buy)

still have to get a MIDI patch-bay and extra racks and cables

I have a couple of Questions

I'd like to connect the scope PCI boards to the ferrofish via adat, whats the best solution?

I have the Zarg synths attached to the xite, would they run better on the PCI system?

thanks for your advice, It made me think about what I really wanted.

all I need now is the SDK so I can make my own devices

yes, the Zarg synths will probably be better on the PCI cards, it depends on what kind of patches you run.

just connect the ADAT cables between one card and the A16 and put the appropriate modules in the routing window. make Scope master and the A16 slave to ADAT. there's nothing special to do.

so my final setup is

Xite 1D attached to main PC x64
25 DSP scope PCI system on 2nd PC x64
Prophet 6,
Prophet 12 desktop,
Ferrofish A16 AE
DSI Tempest
ADAM A7X
BCR2000
BCF2000
Arturia keylab 88 master keyboard (there is no dealer in Scotland for the Physis Piano K4..no try , no buy)

Wow!! Nice setup !!

yes it's the best setup i've had in 25 years,
though I still morn for the synths I had in the early -mid 1980's
especially the EMS VCS3