The Raven MTi2 Thread

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Gravity Jim
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The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

Several of us are receiving these units in the next few days (mine is on the truck for delivery right now), so I wanted to start a central thread for discussion of our experiences with the Raven MTi2 control surface for DP.

I can begin before my Raven even arrives: I think that Steven Slate Digital is on its way to becoming a legend in the industry, and not just for the remarkably high quality of their plug-ins (which appear to be spreading from studio to studio like wildfire). I am equally impressed with their level of customer service.

Their sales staff was very helpful in answering questions when I was deciding to buy, and this morning I got a message through the Gravity Music Facebook page that read:
"Hey Jim, Xxxxxx here from Slate MT. I saw you are getting one of the first RAVEN MTi2's.

Don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions (xxxxxx@stevenslate.com). During work hours my email will get the quickest response for questions and support so don't hesitate to use it.

Very excited to hear what you think about it. :D "
An offer of help the day the unit is supposed to arrive, with a personal contact? Whoah. NOBODY ever did that.

I also want to lavish praise on Westlake Pro, who actually called me to update the status of the order every time there was a change. I may have a new favorite audio store... even if they do have to charge me CA sales tax.
Jim Bordner

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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

It's alive.


Image



Just getting started, so no real impressions yet. A heads up, though... the Quick Start video says you don't need to calibrate the MTi2, but that's not correct: mine was "upside down and backwards" until I ran the calibration utility.
Jim Bordner

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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by James Steele »

Very cool... I like your layout there as well. I have an Argosy desk that has rack bays on either sides where your monitors are, but with less and less emphasis on outboard gear, I ought to reconfigure someday to something like what you're doing there. :)
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

James, I still have a Roland JV1080 in the rack behind the left hand display, but that's it... The rack is just four channels of tube preamp now. I think I will finally have enough real estate... although I am wondering if the Raven's features will require less screen space than before.

All the software is installed now, so I get to spend all day tomorrow shaking it down... Should be huge fun.
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by OLB »

Your setup looks great Jim, what do you think of the MTi2's build quality? No creaking sounds when touching the screen f.e.?

Have fun and looking forward to your experience!
- Len
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

OLB, build quality is equal to any flat-screen LED television. The MTi was a much thicker and heavier device, but the MTi2 just feels like a TV.

Mine came with one corner where the bezel wasn't snapped all the way in place, but a little squeeze fixed that. There are no dead pixels and the display looks good.
Jim Bordner

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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

CONFIRMED: Raven 3.0 does not like OS X 10.11.1.

I installed it under El Capitan, just because everything else was working (including all my Slate plugs), but it reliably crashed when trying to use the pan knobs in the Raven Mixer. Finally it would display the Raven Mixer as blank... the panel would come up, but no sliders, buttons or knobs.

So I reverted to 10.10.5, and it's running sweet.
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by OLB »

That's unfortunate but Slate will update it soon I imagine.

It's kind of the interesting part for me to invest in this, the software can only become better and better. And Slate raises the bar constantly.

Hope the UK delivery will arrive soon (first weeks of Dec).

Let us know how you get on :)
- Len
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

Update:

Well, I haven't gotten into creating customized buttons or anything- although I wonder why I couldn't just use some other software to create macros or whatever - but after a couple of days, I have to say I'm disappointed.

The software has some bugs - things that result in the actual software not working anything like the software in the video. Two fingers on the NavPad crashes it, NavPad is sluggish and slow, so are the Zoom IN and Zoom out buttons (which are not in any way more convenient than using your keyboard, a fact I'm understanding about a lot of these built in controls), fade handles too small to access with fingertips (which is true of several other DP controls, too).

I haven't yet gotten to that "oh, yeah, this is gonna make my life a LOT easier" moment. Perhaps I will begin to see the wonder of the unit as I start going page-by-page through the manuals, or maybe you guys will help me understand why it's so cool as you get yours. I'm giving it some more time, but if it doesn't start showing me some awesomeness, it's going back.


EDITED TO ADD: I was able to get the NavPad to work a bit better by changing things in the Settings/NavPad Response window, but it remains a bit unreliable. Most disappointing? Even though it says RAVEN FOR DIGITAL PERFORMER at the bottom of each page, the manual keeps referring to "Abelton Live." Details, details.
Jim Bordner

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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

Gravity Jim wrote: Well, I haven't gotten into creating customized buttons or anything- although I wonder why I couldn't just use some other software to create macros or whatever - but after a couple of days, I have to say I'm disappointed.
But that disappointment is fading. AS it turns out, a lot of the interface problems I was having were the result of touching it wrong.

You can't address the screen the way you do a small touch screen, like a smartphone or table, which is usually done with the fingertip. If I do this on the Raven,lots of things work badly. You have to place the pad of you finger, like the whole fingerprint, on the control to get smooth operation.

I learned in my "page-by-page" manual exploration: now that I know it, the pan knobs and Nav Pad all work great. I guess I was instinctively doing it with the faders (because they look like physical faders, and I'd gotten used to addressing touch-sensitive faders that way), which explains why they worked fine.

Also beginning to discover the power of the toolbar. As of Sunday morning, I'm really warming to it. It's just beginning to feel like a more efficient tool than a mouse and keyboard.

That said... hasn't anybody else got theirs yet? No other impressions?
Jim Bordner

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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Killahurts »

Very encouraging Jim!

I don't have one and will likely not get one due to ergonomic reasons.. That's all. Waited decades for this and now realize it doesn't fit with my life, because I can't look "down" on screens anymore, they have to be eye level, or slightly above.

OTOH, the control of plugins could be worth the price of admission alone. I would love to hear your experiences with those, soon as you're ready..

Took me Three months to learn the power of the SSL Matrix.. don't loose hope!
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Bennie Sims »

After one evening with the Raven I am extremely impressed!!! It set up perfectly didn’t need calibration and I could touch the knobs anyway I want. The preset Batch Commands are already very thorough as to covering so many bases in my work flow. I have a ton to learn yet but I already see this device reducing time spent on a project exponentially!! I am still using Yosemite so that may be the reason why it is so solid for me!! Except!!! It seems to cause my Roland A-88 to send control info like play and start sequence which I can’t seem to fix!!
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

Just discovered that MIDI problem myself, Bernie. Is your A88 connected by USB?

I'm on Yosemite, too. Try using two fingers on the NavPad and let neck is if you see the same crash (Raven disappears but doesn't quit).
Jim Bordner

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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Killahurts »

That happened to my controller (key station Pro 88) last year, when I was messing with Mackie control, reinstalling etc. Going to commands, to the transport section, I saw some MIDI cc's coming from my controller that I don't believe I set up. Deleted those, everything went back to normal..
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Re: The Raven MTi2 Thread

Post by Gravity Jim »

Cool. Thanks for the ProTip, Killah. I'll go digging.

EDITED: Yep, that fixed it. I should have thought of that myself! Big ups, mad props to ya.
Jim Bordner

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