Really guys. Don´t take me wrong. i think the system is fantastic, really. Or I wouldn't be using it at all. As I said, I'm a user AND ENTHUSIAST of the system. The only thing I´m saying is...
1) It's kind of cumbersome to install and setup right.
2) Creamware on that time didn't offered much help in a concise and ORGANIZED fashion as there should exist for such a hard to set hardware. We always have to recover to the forum and wait for other more experienced users to come in with a helping hand. (Again, don't get me wrong. It's a great forum, and you are all very helpful guys.)... My point is... recommended hardware database and tweaks list and Questions and answers should be there in the Creamware site. Hopefully, if all that is still needed for setting up SC XITE-1, SC will work on a database for XITE users, with more information. I mean concise and condensed HELP! If they took all the work and time doing such a great system, and I´m sure that´s what it is, it´s not asking too much for something like this. Is it? When I bought my first Creamware, some 10 years ago, I wasn´t really aware of this, and I had too many problems, buying and selling computer hardaware, setting up tweaks, PCI latency parameters, and I had to work for a living. And yes, even with no reverbs, I get PCI errors, when doing complex routing, large channels multi-mixing and many instances of compressors, eq´s, distortion and other plugs.
3) After all this tweaking, buying hardware, etc... my PCI bus problems still occurs when I´m doing hard jobs. And my jobs at mixing always becomes hard. And you know, recording and mixing is a tedious job, meticulous, hard work, and it always crashes near the end, when I need it MOST to work. So, in my opinion, the old cards runs on PCI, but they were not designed with PCI limitations in consideration. You should always consider limitations. And it seems only nowadays motherboards and chipsets are fast enough to let old Creamware cards designed ten years ago to run smoothly. Well, it also means they were really ahead of their time. Yes, that, they were...
4) The question remains. Was XITE-1 designed with PCIe LIMITATIONS in mind. What´s the point in putting a hundred DSP chips inside a box, if PCIe won´t let you use all the chips? There is a simple question I would lke to do...
Will XITE-1 users be able to load reverbs, and only reverbs instances (the most problematic plugs for bus overloading, like the old classic reverb from creamware) until all XITE-1 DSP power is full and still have the system working without totally crashing, as we see in the PCI boards? Why don´t someone at SC chimes in, and give us a REAL answer. That would be good to know, and it is a simple and direct TEST anyone cold do. A direct answer is required, in my opinion. Or they should do tests in many MOBOs and publish information about that, if it can´t stand full DSP load with available real world MOBOs. That way, users knows published limitations when buying the system, and could have a point to reach, when configuring it. It wold make the thing much less deceptive for many of the new users.
5) I'll keep using it anyway. I love it. It's the most open and complete of all! There isn't anything better.
6) There are other good systems out there. UAD1, TC electronics and PT are examples. And they are all easier to deal with, but I still think think Creamware is the best, but not if you don´t want any headaches. as I said, Working with PT has always been much easier for me, from installation to the final mix. But, yes, i do like Creamware better, for the reasosn above, and because I feel more confortable with it´s openess in the studio.
7) About money, there are Creamware users all over the world, and if $4k USD is not too much money for someone in Europe, Japan or USA it might be for someone in Africa or Bolivia, specially considering up to 100% import taxes in some countries like mine (Brazil). That's not important in the discussion.
8 ) Regardless of price point, any system should work as advertised and have good user support. Even a $100.00 US dollars soundcard, that today can do wonders, if you know what to buy and how to work with it.
9) I´ve used DSP plugs that sound as great as any Creamware plugins on many platforms, from PT TDM to HD, VST, the old and wonderful Paris, Powercore, UAD1, and many more. The advantage of Creamware is much more than the Plugins, it´s the unmatched routing and module handling, as well as very low latency.
10) I don´t want to beat Creamware at all. Just want to make it better for final hard audio recording and studio users, like me. I´m a 10 years user, and I feel my feedback might do some good at this point.
for example my s2000 had crappy midi timing with more than 5-6 midi channels after i purchased it, so i sent it back and it got fixed.
It got fixed by the manufacturer. You do not have to live with the bug.
Older mixing desks soemtimes ahve defective channels strips... and so on or noise when moving faders or eq knobs.
I work with designing and building analog audio gear also, for local studios and for my own studio. Change pots and faders, or most of the time, just clean it using proper cleaning sprays, like you also must do with any old computer hardware, including creamware boards in some places where dust should cause problems with time, and your analog gear should work again.
It would be an awesome system even without the synths at all. But the synths themselves are what makes this platform unique. Plug-in synths that can stand up against the best VA synths from the big players like roland and korg, etc.
My system is a 17 DSP system. Ok, it´s not the bigger system around, I know. But I´m a professional pianist and keyboard player. I still have to rely on my old Roland 128 voices XV5080 hardware synth, my Korg TR-rack or my new Yamaha MOTIF-ES 128 voices synth for playing with good enough polyphony for normal brazilian jazz piano playing style, I mean, with cords , bass, melody, improvisation and all at the same time. For electric and electronic style with simpler lines, Creamware does the job very well, and the synths are really very good. But the lack of virtual and realistic instruments in the Creamware platform is a pity. In that territory it really can´t stand up to the competiton, namely Korg, Roland Yamaha, or all the VSTis available out there, or Gigastudio libraries, Reason (here is one that sounds JUST GREAT for all kind of synth and sampling work), etc... Where are all the good realistic instruments libraries for Creamware S-type samplers? Answer: there aren't any. Please, point me to a solution, if you think I´m wrong here... Also, in my opinion, for many kind of styles, nothing sounds like a MOTIF.