Creamware NOAH announced!!

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Sun Jan 26, 2003 1:11 pm

for me it be about $ 600 off
NOAH price - Minimax - Sixstring - ProOne

just got the Vectron so I could make my own waves or modifications

I'm seriously considering it...

cheers, Tom

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 9:38 am

According to Creamware - it is USB 1.1. It is still not clear whether it is 8 or 6 channels (their web site conflicts with the information in the brochure).

On 2003-01-23 17:46, mythalethe wrote:
Anyone know if it is USB 1.0 or 2.0?

I haven't seen many USB 1.0 interfaces capable of 8 channels, but 2.0 should be able to move even more...

-mythalethe

[ This Message was edited by: mythalethe on 2003-01-23 17:46 ]

mythalethe · Post by **mythalethe** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 3:50 pm

still no mention of whether we can load SFP synths and presets into NOAH... I also thought the original announcement mentioned sampling, but it looks like there is no sampler option mentioned in the brochure...

mythalethe

braincell · Post by **braincell** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 1:05 am

I thought it could load any synth that can be used in the SFP. This would include the STS series of samplers. Does anyone in here actually use this? I would be very interested in getting one if I had more money.

If they say 8 channels they probably mean 6 USB and 2 from the headphones! I would wait until it includes USB 2.0

[ This Message was edited by: braincell on 2003-02-05 01:08 ]

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 7:28 pm

Still no real clear details from Creamware - very dissapointing!

Virtuos · Post by **Virtuos** » Fri Feb 14, 2003 1:08 am

I´ve got the price from the swedish distibutor (www.luthman.se)

Noah with 7 DSP = 2460 Euro
Noah with 11 DSP = 2960 Euro..

After reading about (http://www.openlabs.com/products.php), I don´t think Noah is interesting anymore. Thats a killer synth

[ This Message was edited by: Virtuos on 2003-02-14 01:14 ]

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Fri Feb 14, 2003 5:40 am

Openlabs stuff looks like a gimmick, i'm not more interrested in openlabs stuff than any other kinda PC... A nice small and ligth laptop, a Noah, and a master keyboard seems alot more flexible to me.

The EKO synth is cool in the concept, but it is not attracting to me at all.

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Fri Feb 14, 2003 11:20 am

The prices on the Noah are higher than what I expected. Hopefully they are good enough to demand that price (bug free, super efficient, totally upgradeable, able to run all SFP devices, low latency USB audio, etc.)

I am going to have to agree on the eKo. At first, it looked great. But after really thinking about it, I feel a laptop, or even a rackmount computer, with a Pulsar system (or Noah) is a better choice. Also, in talking with Open Labs, I found out that Creamware's cards may not fit in the case (however, they say they are working on a solution). The eKo is also very bulky and heavy.

As far as a rackmount computer solution,I have found 2U rackmount computer cases that will fit into mobile SKB style cases. You can put the computer case and a flat panel monitor (on a velcro sliding shelf)in a 4-space rack.

The other option is to use a laptop to control the main computer using the desktop sharing program that comes with Windows XP pro. That way, all you need is a two-space SKB case and a laptop.(This is a little more bulky than using a Magma PCI docking bay with just a laptop, but you get a full computer running Pulsar instead of a laptop, and for less money. In addition, you can run additional software synths or a sequencer on the laptop. With the desktop sharing program, you can easily switch between viewing the computer desktop and the laptop desktop).

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 9:00 am

By the way, the eKo is now available for ordering. Their web site now states that it will fit a full-size PCI card, including Creamware cards. The base model is under $2000.

borg · Post by **borg** » Sun Mar 02, 2003 3:41 am

imho, NOAH is quite expensive, and lately i hear more and more people complaining about stuttering audio using USB devices.

i think NOAH will be a super standalone synth, but as a soundcard...?

why didn't creamware go for firewire (or pcmcia, although this would restrict the use to laptoppers)? ah well, we'll see/hear more soon enough...

i'd be happy to hear contradicting voices about the USB stuttering thing.

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Sun Mar 02, 2003 11:42 am

Yes - USB audio can be very tricky sometimes. It definitely takes just the right settings and very good drivers to get it to work smoothly. If Creamware has really spent some time on making the drivers really good - then it should hopefully work as a good USB audio device. They really should have put the latest technology in it - USB 2.0 or Firewire (or both for flexibility). That would have made it much more powerful - and more worthy of the price they are asking.

I also would have liked to see an ADAT input on it - which would allow me to run the individual outputs of my mixer into it for processing.

Too bad they didn't ask the potential users first before putting the features together.

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 4:32 am

On 2003-03-02 11:42, huffcw wrote:
Too bad they didn't ask the potential users first before putting the features together.

i don't see this happen often!!

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 10:22 am

No matter how you look at it thought... Noah isn't marketed as a USB audio device... I didn't think Noah was meant to be used that way anyway. It's a standalone synth. Period. (atleast in my opinion)
It's for people who go on a bunch of gigs, do lots of live playing with the keys. It's for people looking for a "nord lead's " company.

It's quite different from an alternative 15 DSP soundcard type of solution. And so I find it hard to make the comparison.

I do believe that all SFP presets and setups should be compatible though. Otherwise it makes no sense for a currently SFP user to upgrade to a Noah.

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:05 pm

Yes - you are correct. Creamware is positioning the USB audio as more of an add on than a main feature, so it is not the main focus of what Noah is intended for. And - you can still get some good use out of the USB features, it's just not as powerful as it could have been.

I still wish they would have put ADAT input on it (or even 4 analog inputs) so that it would be easier to route audio from my mixer to the Noah for processing. That would make Noah more flexible as an effect device. Although it is easy enough to set up an aux send with the two analog inputs, but this doesn't allow for more than one set of stereo effects to be used for outside gear.

All of this doesn't really matter since Noah is ready for production (scheduled for delivery in the U.S. in May). It is going to be a powerful and useful machine regardless. And anyone considering it will have to live with what Creamware has built into it at this point.

I think at this point, the most important things Creamware can do is optimize the number of voices (which is always a selling point for hardward synths), make sure the USB funcionality is as good as possible, and make Noah seamlessly integrate with a Pulsar system(to encourage their current users, who are probably one of their biggest prospects for Noah, to give it a try as a way to expand their systems).

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 12:17 pm

for me it be about $ 600 off
NOAH price - Minimax - Sixstring - ProOne

Actually, it is even a better deal than that if you were to buy all the plugins that it comes with for your Pulsar system...

Noah price - Minimax ($249) - SixString ($249) - ProOne ($99) - B-2003 ($? not currently available) - Vocodizer ($149)- Interpole filterbank ($? not currently available)

[ This Message was edited by: huffcw on 2003-03-03 12:20 ]

johnbowen · Post by **johnbowen** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:05 pm

I'd like to make a comment regarding some assumptions for Noah:

Noah does use the same SHARCs as the current Pulsar boards, however, the algorithms are going to be optimised, and so the polyphony results should be a bit better. On the other hand, because there is no host CPU involved, but rather one of the SHARC DSPs acting as the host, ALL current Pulsar devices have to be remade to work in Noah. (There are 2 types of code in Scope - host-based and dsp-based. The host code has to be replaced by DSP code, and custom new Noah modules are being made by Creamware for this purpose.)
This shouldn't be too much of a difficulty - just time consuming.

RE: the Pro One for Noah - this is not created by me (I don't have Noah modules yet), but by Creamware's Matthias Klag, with graphics by their 'graphics guru', Michael Ruf. They've done an excellent job -an even more 'exact' emulation that mine!
Of course, both use the same oscillators and filter emulations that we collaborated on 2 years ago, and I'm doing some presets for the Noah version.

john b

King of Snake · Post by **King of Snake** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:20 pm

still waiting for the update of "your"
version John

(just the preset list please!)

so are you saying the NOAH version actually sounds better, or is it just the look that's more "exact"?

So basically SFP devices will not be compatible with NOAH without modification. A shame...
_________________

[ This Message was edited by: King of Snake on 2003-03-21 12:23 ]

huffcw · Post by **huffcw** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:03 pm

Hopefully developers will be quick to release Noah versions of current devices. I got an email from Celmo stating that there are plans to adapt the guitar amp modeler and other devices for Noah once the development kit is released by Creamware.

[ This Message was edited by: huffcw on 2003-03-21 17:08 ]

mano · Post by **mano** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 7:56 pm

I wonder why CW didn't decide to use more recent DSPs for this new product... I was hoping that they were going to announce a new card with 10 times the power of the old cards ... What do you think? Arent there faster / more powerful SHARC DSPs nowaday?

dehuszar · Post by **dehuszar** » Sat Mar 22, 2003 6:18 pm

I think backwards compatibility is an issue. If you've noticed how much retooling of synths and FX have to be done for XTC, Noah, etc., they probably want their lineup to get settled with one set of code changes before they start introducing others. Just speculation though, could be that they've got it right in the pipeline.

Sam

On 2003-03-21 19:56, mano1.com wrote:
I wonder why CW didn't decide to use more recent DSPs for this new product... I was hoping that they were going to announce a new card with 10 times the power of the old cards ... What do you think? Arent there faster / more powerful SHARC DSPs nowaday?