Is Roland really not going to provide any status updates until a fix is actually released? Letting us know how things are progressing would be better than having to checking their web site periodically, hoping a fix will appear there someday...
Hopefully Roland is serious about fixing the VSTi and will release an update soon.
Just finished setting up my new core i7 DAW with Windows 7 64bit. I am now using my Soniccell via midi only with a Cubase 5 patch script.
I really regret purchasing the Soniccell now. Since the latency isn't great for DAW audio and the VSTi editor doesn't work in Cubase 5, there is no point for me to use the USB features on this device now. I only wish I would have bought a cheaper midi only module since this unit is now severely under utilized.
I also just upgraded my midi controller keyboard from a Roland A-37 to a Yamaha KX8. I needed a weighted keyboard and didn't even consider Roland due to their Cubase 5 unfriendly attitude. The KX8 plugins work great in Cubase 5!
I am a current owner of a JV880, JV1080, JV2080, A-33, A-37, and a soniccell and a former owner of a D-50, S-50, MP-50, etc...
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I gave Roland 1.5 years to update their Soniccell VSTi but now I am jumping ship...
signed,
former loyal customer
BTW ban me if you must as I don't need to come back here anymore. I never needed Roland support prior to this issue (thank goodness) and when I needed them the most, they failed miserablely.
I have to say I'm disappointed too :-(
In the US, support did not even acknowledge a problem, at least in this forum it was acknowledged as a problem but it seems that was it.
These days when products are so similar and money is tight, good or bad support can make all the difference in product decisions.
I'm not sure how long Roland have known about the problem, I can only base on my experience. I live in the US and when I tried to report the problem last year the support people did not even know there was a problem, they just kept quoting "it works with Sonar"
It was not until I saw this forum in the UK (towards end of last year) that it seemed to be acknowledged as a problem. John appeared to do a great job of articulating and passing the problem back through the channels but unfortunately it looks like that went to a black hole :-(
I really like the Roland sounds and if I just needed a sound module connected to my keyboard for live gigs then it would be perfect. However, for me, it is vital that my equipment works in my studio with my DAW (as it was advertised to). Unfortunately this is a *major* and the workflow to make it work are unacceptable.
On the positive, for anyone else in this situation, there is relief. I recently received my copy of Halion Sonic and this is an amazing software sound module that provides a great sound set and (very importantly) works with my DAW.
The sound set is very much like a motif and whilst I have a slight preference of Roland sounds, Halion Sonic has the edge, mostly because it works inside Cubase, but also because it has amazing sounds from a *software* module!
As I said, I really do love the Roland sounds but at the end of the day, if it does not work with my DAW then it's not much use :-(
So it looks like ebay will soon have another item on sale...
Finally, I really don't know if Roland actually pay much heed to these forums (their customers) but ignoring these kind of issues (because it means making things work with competitors) actually does far more harm in the long run than hoping everyone will convert completely to Roland gear. The reality is you can't pretend other DAWs, equipment, software, etc. does not exist.
I bought a SonicCell to use with Ableton Live 8, which is one of many DAW products that Roland publish a guide to using with the SonicCell.
However, I have come up against the "Unable to read/write data" problem which prevents me from controlling the SonicCell within Ableton Live.
I have done quite a lot of web searching, including looking up the previous reports of this issue in the Roland Clan forum, but nowhere have I found a solution.
There is no solution. You can read other threads to get the low down on this - Roland have been "investigating" for over 9 months, enough said...
If you need something to work with your DAW, I bought Halion Sonic and it works fantastic as a real VST plugin.
Wow, a Roland forum where you will see recommendation of competitor products, what does that tell you?
If this is the case, then surely the solution is to return my SonicCell to the retailer and ask for a refund.
The SonicCell is specifically advertised as having this functionality and, indeed, Roland publish a number of workshop booklets to supplement the main manual showing how the SonicCell works with the various DAWs, including Ableton Live.
If it cannot actually do that - act as a sound module for a DAW, its main purpose in life - it's not merely a matter for investigation but rather a product recall.
It's only Cubase (or should that be Cubugs) that has the issue (disclaimer: as far as I know)
It still acts as a tone module in Cubase, it's the VST editor program that is the problem...
I believe (again, as I don't own either Cubase, or a Sonic Cell), the editor will work stand alone, it just will not run under Cubase as a VST plug in.
Robinp's solution has sadly meant having to buy an actual VST instrument, partly what VST is all about any way.
If Roland never fix this issue, then buyers beware, especially if you run Cubase.
Makes you wonder if Yamaha slipped in a bit of code to Cubase to give Roland this headache...
I'm sure they wouldn't do that.
