New 3.1 Software Available for Raven MTi2 DP

[waxman]

Go get it...

http://users.drumclassroom.net/

[Killahurts]

For those of us who don't have one yet, what does the new update offer?

[waxman]

For those of us who don't have one yet, what does the new update offer?

List of Updates. http://slate.boards.net/thread/945/rave ... -available

The RAVEN MTi2 is really 2 pieces of Gear. It is a touch screen mixer with R/M/S/INS buttons and what they call The Batch Commander. The Batch Commander is like key commands on steroids. Besides machine control the BC has customizable set ups for how you work with user assignable buttons for the pretty much any thing you do on DP. No more mousing up to the menu line. Buttons are nameable which helps. The BC is working great and the few bugs it had are fixed.

The interface has new pan layout with light indicators. The INS button works now and brings up the channels plugs for touch control of plug parameters. Scroll through the plugs in a channel and adjust by touch instead of mousing. A better mouse trap IMO...

On DP the RAVEN works different then other DAW's. It uses templates in PT, Logic etc. In DP there is no overlay template. I think it works better with DP mostly because the DP design is so elegant and lends itself to the RAVEN. The meters on faders showed clipping at -5 in previous version even though DP was not clipping. So that has been turned off. Not a perfect fix but better then a red light special. The new pans are on both the floating mixer and the external mixer.

FINE FADER is fixed. There was some problems with the FINE Fader set up on previous version.

The RAVEN was stable but of course now it's snappier and rock solid.

Since it's software it just keeps getting better and more features particular to DP...

[Killahurts]

On DP the RAVEN works different then other DAW's. It uses templates in PT, Logic etc. In DP there is no overlay template. I think it works better with DP mostly because the DP design is so elegant and lends itself to the RAVEN.

This is the same problem I had with DP and the SSL Matrix when I first got it. But the SSL, via its Matrix Remote software, can be reprogrammed from the default of Mackie/Logic MCU, to DP if you have a PDF of the original DP MCU overlay (which I do), and don't mind a little tedium..

I can't imagine that Slate hasn't converted an overlay template for DP yet. I'm sure it's great and getting better, but full compatibility is required to get me off the fence

[musicman691]

On DP the RAVEN works different then other DAW's. It uses templates in PT, Logic etc. In DP there is no overlay template. I think it works better with DP mostly because the DP design is so elegant and lends itself to the RAVEN.

This is the same problem I had with DP and the SSL Matrix when I first got it. But the SSL, via its Matrix Remote software, can be reprogrammed from the default of Mackie/Logic MCU, to DP if you have a PDF of the original DP MCU overlay (which I do), and don't mind a little tedium..

I can't imagine that Slate hasn't converted an overlay template for DP yet. I'm sure it's great and getting better, but full compatibility is required to get me off the fence

I just checked an old link I have that used to go to a page on the SSL site where they had a profile for DP and the page no longer exists. So I guess it's back to programming through the SSL s/w.

[waxman]

On DP the RAVEN works different then other DAW's. It uses templates in PT, Logic etc. In DP there is no overlay template. I think it works better with DP mostly because the DP design is so elegant and lends itself to the RAVEN.

This is the same problem I had with DP and the SSL Matrix when I first got it. But the SSL, via its Matrix Remote software, can be reprogrammed from the default of Mackie/Logic MCU, to DP if you have a PDF of the original DP MCU overlay (which I do), and don't mind a little tedium..

I can't imagine that Slate hasn't converted an overlay template for DP yet. I'm sure it's great and getting better, but full compatibility is required to get me off the fence

A template for DP is NOT useful because DP has a dynamic mixer layout. So putting a template over an ever changing DP window is a problem. It's NOT a problem with fixed windows like PT and Logic. But a fixed window is a limitation and something I don't like. A big factor in why I think DP is the top DAW and my choice is the dynamic user assigned layouts.

It IS a problem for an SSL Matrix or any other physical hardware controller for that matter. Fixed physical knobs, faders and machine control that needs to be tediously assigned and work across a spectrum of DAW's means compromise. I have no doubt you experienced problems on the SSL Matrix. I had 32 channels of Mackie MCU pros for years. I thought switching to the SSL Matrix would solve those problems. When I demo'd the Matrix it had the same problems as the MCU pro and then some at 10 x the $$$ of the MCU's and 20x's the $$$ of a Slate Raven.

The Raven for DP and the Matrix or any other hardware comparison is not apples and apples. It's not even apples and apples with Raven for DP and other DAW's like PT, Logic, Live, Cubase etc...

The beauty of DP is you can choose the sections of the mixer for a mixing window. The Raven has 3 touch mixers. A floating mixer, a Aux sends mixer and the RAVEN main mixer for final mixdown. I prefer the floating mixer in production mode with a custom DP mixer sitting above the Ravens floating mixer faders. It's all dynamic and you can move it any way you want. It follows Mackie Protocol so banking through 24 channels is no problem. But if you swipe with two fingers it will move just a few faders in either direction and not disturb the DP mixer. As with any DAW control you always sit in the sweet spot with hundreds of faders that you can actually move smoothly at your fingertips. No more mousing from channel to channel. But when you bank on the Matrix or other hardware DAW controller channels 1-24 looks just like 25-48, 49- you do the math... hahaha The only indicator of what channel your looking at are little 6 character led's that start to look like a foreign language. Or multiple tape strips. On the RAVEN custom label PICTURES appear below every channel and the channels are unlimited. That just flat out works better. I have a pic of a strat, a les paul, a moog, a piano, a wurlitzer, a B3... you get the idea. It's faster then naming the track. Software touch mixing has caught up and is just better IMO...

Upon final mixdown the Raven's main mixer has beautiful long throw faders that can be grabbed and work as well or better then hardware. Unlike DP you can actually mix organically with 10 simultaneous touch points so moving the faders feels like playing an instrument again. Every channel has an INS button when pushed the actual plug comes up in front of you. Your eyes don't move to a bunch of knobs that kind of work but are actually another layer between you and the plugs in or VI's. The working environment and your eyes don't need to adjust to a new space with goofy hardware machine control options that are just another needless layer of controls.

So obviously I am a sold on the Slate tools. An SSL Matrix is $19k. The SSL Nucleus is $5.7k. The RAVEN is $1k. Those days of needing to spend big dollars on a mixer is going bye, bye...

The RAVEN simply is new technology that works better. It's software that is evolving and getting better all the time. I've had the Raven since late December. Every company is in a RUSH TO TOUCH for live and studio.... The physical desk will be obsolete.

All to say sell that SSL Matrix and climb down dude.
Get the Raven and you'll have enough left over for half the price of a new Tesla Model 35 or Slates Everything Bundle for 60 years.

[Shooshie]

Upon final mixdown the Raven's main mixer has beautiful long throw faders that can be grabbed and work as well or better then hardware. Unlike DP you can actually mix organically with 10 simultaneous touch points so moving the faders feels like playing an instrument again. Every channel has an INS button when pushed the actual plug comes up in front of you. Your eyes don't move to a bunch of knobs that kind of work but are actually another layer between you and the plugs in or VI's. The working environment and your eyes don't need to adjust to a new space with goofy hardware machine control options that are just another needless layer of controls.

So obviously I am a sold on the Slate tools. An SSL Matrix is $19k. The SSL Nucleus is $5.7k. The RAVEN is $1k. Those days of needing to spend big dollars on a mixer is going bye, bye...

The RAVEN simply is new technology that works better. It's software that is evolving and getting better all the time. I've had the Raven since late December. Every company is in a RUSH TO TOUCH for live and studio.... The physical desk will be obsolete.

All to say sell that SSL Matrix and climb down dude.
Get the Raven and you'll have enough left over for half the price of a new Tesla Model 35 or Slates Everything Bundle for 60 years.

This just kills me. I always knew that technology becomes cheaper over time, but this? I remember back in about 1993, a studio in Paradise Valley, AZ that I had worked with needed to install their new board out in Studio A. Musicians aren't known for being body-builder types, so to get this off the truck they had called a lot of us up to come help. I don't remember how many we had, but it was like carrying a stretch coffin, and we were the pallbearers. Went in the back door, through the control room doors, and put that sucker into its new home. I think it was an Otari, with a Trident going out (possibly vice-versa), but it sure seems like it was a million dollar Otari. Does that sound right for the finest Otari board of that time period? Maybe it was $100K, and in my mind I've added a zero. At the time it was shocking to me, so I don't think it was 100K.

I came back once the technician there had it all hooked up, and of course I was blown away with the beauty and flexibility of the board. But it all seems like horse & buggy stuff now. Astronomically expensive horses and buggies. It just doesn't seem possible that we all can have so much more than what they had, for a teensy fraction of the cost. Their $26K Pro Tools installation of the time, running on a Mac FX, could basically splice a stereo track, or cut out a pop. That's about all you could do at the time, but even that seemed jaw-droppingly high-tech, yet now is just ho-hum.

If this is what we can do now, what will it be like in another 25 years? Put on a hat and download completed scores and albums directly from our minds? I hope I make it that long. I'd love to see what happens next.

Shoosh

[waxman]

If this is what we can do now, what will it be like in another 25 years? Put on a hat and download completed scores and albums directly from our minds? I hope I make it that long. I'd love to see what happens next. Shoosh

You must have shined up your crystal ball Shooshie. I was working with a Israeli VR company last year. VR may be available to run DAW's in the next 5 years. You may not be able to download music direct injection into your brain, but, you may very well be able to put on a head set and have DP and all the tools at your fingertips. For hardware nothing exists in the physical realm but the headset and a touch pad and a cloud cpu. Boom

[Killahurts]

Every company is in a RUSH TO TOUCH for live and studio.... The physical desk will be obsolete.

All to say sell that SSL Matrix and climb down dude.
Get the Raven and you'll have enough left over for half the price of a new Tesla Model 35 or Slates Everything Bundle for 60 years.

Ha! Don't think I haven't thought about it! The Matrix was very expensive, but it's not just a controller, and if it were, I wouldn't have it.

After my digital console died in 2010, I worked completely ITB for nearly a year with (what was then) Euphonix artist controllers. I had 5. Even though it was never efficient with DP and caused bad CPU hits, it was still way better than Mackie Control could ever be. When I got the Matrix, I "climbed down" to MCU as a controller, and that was hard. But the programmable macros were still there for me, a feature specific to the Matrix and beyond MCU. But still not enough to justify the cost in my setup.

No, the reason I haven't replaced the Matrix is because it is the heart of my studio, and it sounds phenomenal. The center section is more fully featured than nearly all of the stand-alone boxes built specifically for that. And having mixed records completely ITB, I can tell you that nothing ITB comes close to the sound of summing your music through 40 channels of an SSL Super Analogue mixing rail. The more you turn it up, the bigger and wider it gets, but it never runs out of room.

[waxman]

And having mixed records completely ITB, I can tell you that nothing ITB comes close to the sound of summing your music through 40 channels of an SSL Super Analogue mixing rail. The more you turn it up, the bigger and wider it gets, but it never runs out of room.

Yep it's a nice center piece for clients and that is the best reason to keep it. For "summing." I sum through a Neve 8816. I am 100% with you on ITB vs. OTB. The Slate Virtual Console Collection is pretty fierce. I still would not loose a summer but having those in the inserts sounds very desky.

Having played the gear merry go round for years I know getting in and out of gear at the right time is an art form in itself. The SSL Matrix is a nice desk but.... will never be worth more then it is today. IMO keep it up for sale all the time. If it sells go to a summer and a Raven... the day is coming where touch screens will be the norm and that Matrix will be selling for 20% of it's original price in 2011. A Matrix just sold on ebay for $10k. It might be getting to the point it's better to keep it.

[musicman691]

And having mixed records completely ITB, I can tell you that nothing ITB comes close to the sound of summing your music through 40 channels of an SSL Super Analogue mixing rail. The more you turn it up, the bigger and wider it gets, but it never runs out of room.

Yep it's a nice center piece for clients and that is the best reason to keep it. For "summing." I sum through a Neve 8816. I am 100% with you on ITB vs. OTB. The Slate Virtual Console Collection is pretty fierce. I still would not loose a summer but having those in the inserts sounds very desky.

Having played the gear merry go round for years I know getting in and out of gear at the right time is an art form in itself. The SSL Matrix is a nice desk but.... will never be worth more then it is today. IMO keep it up for sale all the time. If it sells go to a summer and a Raven... the day is coming where touch screens will be the norm and that Matrix will be selling for 20% of it's original price in 2011. A Matrix just sold on ebay for $10k. It might be getting to the point it's better to keep it.

But can you mix on the Raven without looking at it? I doubt it. Hate touch screens - like someone said "think of working at an atm for hours at a time". Not my cup of Earl Grey thank you very much.

If someone likes it - fine that it works for them but it's the the solution for everyone. There's too much imprecision for me to trust it for fine control.

[waxman]

But can you mix on the Raven without looking at it? I doubt it. Hate touch screens - like someone said "think of working at an atm for hours at a time". Not my cup of Earl Grey thank you very much.
If someone likes it - fine that it works for them but it's the the solution for everyone. There's too much imprecision for me to trust it for fine control.

And that ladies and gentlemen is the opinion of a blind mix'n, touch screen hate'n, earl grey drink'n, SSL use'n kind of guy!

[musicman691]

But can you mix on the Raven without looking at it? I doubt it. Hate touch screens - like someone said "think of working at an atm for hours at a time". Not my cup of Earl Grey thank you very much.
If someone likes it - fine that it works for them but it's the the solution for everyone. There's too much imprecision for me to trust it for fine control.

And that ladies and gentlemen is the opinion of a blind mix'n, touch screen hate'n, earl grey drink'n, SSL use'n kind of guy!

And proud of it my friend. But hey - use what you're comfortable and I LIKE having real knobs and faders and such.

[doodles]

I still have my Raven sitting in its box from November. Nearly finished these soundtracks, then can't wait to get playing and see what it does!

[toodamnhip]

I have had to develop a cool trick for accessing the actual data of a given plug-in in the sequence editor. DP has no easy way to do this but I have developed a trick. In ProTools, you can control command click a parameter of a plug-in window and it will go to that exact data for editing. Is there any sort of short cut in the new raven that allows a user to go from a plug-in window, down deep into the sequence editor to pencil in data?