Play 6 anyone?

[dix]

http://www.soundsonline.com/play6

Anyone tried Play 6 yet with DP? Look like there's some nice improvements in the patch navigation department, which I've always found cumbersome.

[dix]

Well, I went ahead and took the plunge. Fortunately I kept a copy of Play 5 because it's rough going with Play 6 so far. It took forever to pass DP's AU exam. Like 10 mins or so and then takes more than a minute to instantiate the plugin. Same deal in 9.5, 9.13 and 9.02. The standalone takes at least as long to launch as well.

I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing these hangups.

[dinobass]

I haven't used it in a project but I've opened it and loaded instruments just to check it out briefly. No issues so far, and only takes about 10 seconds to open, even in standalone.

[dix]

Hmm. Maybe an El Cap thing. Could be time to think about High Sierra. ....anyone else?

[mhschmieder]

I don't mind the price request (others on different forums think it should be free), but the thing is, it is extremely rare that I use anything from that company other than their "Spaces" reverb plug-in, as I find all of their older libraries highly unmusical and deeply flawed at the sampling level so only use them when they're my only sound source for a particular instrument.

I even thought of buying the pianos on sale recently, but deeper listening revealed the usual phase flaws and overly-wet recording environment (even with close mics).

Similarly, I've toyed with getting the Hollywood Harps and maybe the new Choirs -- not sure but it seems the upcoming revisions to the Word Builder (only for the old choir, or will it be shared and/or similar for the new one?), and would need to review whether Play 6 is a requirement now.

For those who like the actual products (libraries) and are thinking of the upgrade, I did see a caveat that might mean it's advisable to wait for the next update. Unfortunately I can't remember whether the bugs (known and being addressed) were mentioned on GS or VI Control. Should be easy to find, and they seemed specific to particular configurations of hardware and OS as I recall.

The main improvements seem targeted towards the browser, which I haven't had particular issues with but perhaps a "search" feature would be helpful or inside-the-GUI reminders of some of the bizarre terminology used in the patch naming conventions as I rarely remember them and thus waste time trying too many patches.

Oh, also it is supposed to load much faster now. I haven't noticed a lag with my new computer but did with the 2010 MacPro, so it seems like a CPU efficiency thing more than a memory management tweak as I have less memory so far (haven't upgraded yet) than on the MacPro but a much more powerful CPU. Anyway, not sure I'd need the upgraded performance of Play 6, since I render every track except when doing massive rearrangements and testing such ideas.

[dix]

I too have no problem with EW charging for an update, but I can't see all that much improvement over Play 5. Load times may be a bit faster, but nothing dramatic. The new nav features are nice, but I never had an issue with previous versions. The only reason I'd like to get it working is that I have a need for the new choir instrument, which requires Play 6. Presumably future EW instruments will too.

EW read my post on the soundsonline forum and contacted me regarding my slow launch issue. They still don't have an answer, so I'm still looking for one. Play 5 starts normally, but Play 6 takes over 2 mins to launch as a plugin or standalone.

Also, East West's Installation Center takes a similarly long time to launch. Around 2 minutes to get it to open - much of the time "checking for legacy licenses". Is anyone else noticing that? If someone could let me know I'd appreciate it. I'm thinking the issue could be related.

[mhschmieder]

Thanks for clarifying that Hollywood Choirs requires Play 6.

Also, since posting, I have read further clarification elsewhere that the Word Builder for Hollywood Choirs will be way more advanced than the upcoming update for the old EWQL Choirs, but Hollywood Choirs has fewer articulations.

If I can suss out whether there are compatibility issues of Play 6 (CURRENTLY; they are obviously doing bug fixes as we speak), I may go ahead and buy the upgrade, just to stay current, and for better performance, even though I don't use much of their stuff anymore.

[Michael Canavan]

I own EW Symphonic Orchestra Platinum, The Dark Side and Storm Drum 2. All older libraries, I don't think I'll upgrade though, I can't see any reason why? They would have had a more compelling argument for a paid upgrade from Play 4 to 5, what with the included FX etc. I just don't see that much different here.

[dix]

I just saw on the soundsonline forum that there is some MIDI delay issues with DP and Play 6. Might be wise for DP users to wait to upgrade.

Keeping an eye on this thread: http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/show ... hp?t=55272

[dinobass]

Just finished a project using Play 6 extensively with no problems.

[dix]

Solved my very slow Play 6 launch issue.

With the help of EW support I figured out that Play 6 and the East West Installation Center were not happy having an iLok1 on my USB bus. I tried just moving my EW licenses from the iLok1 to the iLok2, but that had no effect. It's wasn't until I took the old iLok1 out of the scheme completely that Play 6 and the IC, as well as the plugin and AU inspection, all launch normally within a couple seconds.

Also, to be clear, the issues with Play 6 and DP I mentioned in my last post occurred when using Play 6 with DP projects created using Play 5....I haven't checked this out yet, but that's the implication in that soundsonline post.

[labman]

Solved my very slow Play 6 launch issue.

With the help of EW support I figured out that Play 6 and the East West Installation Center were not happy having an iLok1 on my USB bus. I tried just moving my EW licenses from the iLok1 to the iLok2, but that had no effect. It's wasn't until I took the old iLok1 out of the scheme completely that Play 6 and the IC, as well as the plugin and AU inspection, all launch normally within a couple seconds.

That type of bug is plain nuts to me. Hope they fix that. Our rigs have many many iLoks.