OHHHHHHHHHH! Man hope it RETUNS! That would be VERY interesting! PEACE!

 

http://www.seersound.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Reality-Windows-10.png

 

I make PC and Multimedia Systems so I am not a newbie, FYI.

 

Seer Systems Reality on Windows 10 soon?


After weeks of hacking away, I can finally see it! There it is. The user interface of Seer Systems Reality showing its face on Windows 10! This is a major milestone for Reality. It’s coming back to life. Alas, Reality cannot make a sound yet, but we are not far away. Not far…



Posted on March 19, 2018Leave a comment on Seer Systems Reality on Windows 10 soon?
The Ordinary
An ordinary man sits at a window-facing bar in an ordinary city in the middle of the day. Aside his laptop rests a rather ordinary coffee cup. What is the weather like? Nothing unusual. This is not an uncommon scene actually. He’s just another blogger in a coffee shop. He types away frantically in an attempt to energize and inspire his readers. Thousands of blogs are read daily by millions, who are searching, for something cool, something different, something unique. But the unique, by definition must be rare. Deep down inside we lament the sad truth. Mundane is the norm.

At first a reader may see something amazing, the excitement is really there. Links are exchanged among friends and a new passion is born, but as time moves along, slowly, the excitement erodes. An unseen force or just life perhaps, slowly eats away the passion, until the excitement fades. What is this horrible destroyer of the extraordinary? Can it be stopped?

Life will always take a toll. The ordinary will always demand its tax from the extraordinary, but not to the degree you would think. Things are not what they seem. An ordinary man, might not be so usual. This might not be just some average city. That coffee cup may not be so ordinary either. Maybe it’s not even coffee at all.

What do you actually know about people, things, and life? If you dig deeper, you may conjecture that reality itself conceals more than you ever thought possible, and you would be right.

For every question you may have, for every longing, every yearning – no matter how difficult it may be to obtain – there is an answer. Your first step down the path of wanting to gratify your passion will more than overcome the force of erosion working against you. Life is only as usual as you make it, so what are you waiting for? The ordinary has never been so unusual…

Posted on November 1, 2017Leave a comment on The Ordinary
Crafting a Retro PC
Seer Systems Reality is an excellent sounding piece of software, but picking the right hardware to run it is tough. Getting the right operating system installed and working right is a journey in and of itself. A treacherous journey it may be, but the reward at the end is just so cool, who can resist? I wonder how many people have just given up and assumed it to be no longer possible with currently available hardware. Impossible? Well, almost. [In pirate voice] Narrow be the path and few there be that find it!

Now, I could keep this a secret mind you and make you buy my PCs. This would be great! I love building PCs, but something about that just doesn’t feel right. I want as many people as possible to enjoy this wonderful piece of software, no matter how they wish proceed with it. The do-it-yourself’er will not be left in the dark.

The Hardware

You need a motherboard that has drivers for at least one non NT-based version of windows. These are Windows Millenium, 98 and 95, nicknamed Win9x. The CPU should be an Intel for best results although AMD will work with a slight performance hit. There are also some other chips on your main board that handle memory access, I/O with hard disks, PCI bus and USB. These chips are called a chipset. If you have on board graphics, then your video is also part of your chipset. Intel chipsets seem to be the most prominent and work very well for Reality up to the Intel 865g chipset for onboard graphics. Anything above 865 up to Intel 925 should work if you have video card drivers. Beyond that you’re out of luck. An 865g chipset seems to be a good choice with its built-in video. If you find something more retro, it can be easier to configure and provide better latency. For example, the Intel 440bx chipset is one of the easiest to work with. Pentium 4 CPU’s are not supported by 440bx, but Pentium III’s can still be quite fast.

Your sound card needs to be a PCI or ISA card with working win9x drivers. PCI Express sound cards don’t have drivers. On board sound sometimes works, but drivers are often poorly done. You are a lot more likely to run into problems. Professional cards are preferable, but must support directsound. ASIO is irrelevant for running Reality. Digital out plus directsound really limits the options available. An m-audio card from the delta series is pretty much your only readily available choice for PCI. The others are quite rare. If you have an older system with ISA slots then you have a few more options, the AWE64 gold being your best one for its fully functional digital output.

If you don’t care as much about digital output, a very nice analog card for Reality is the Ensoniq AudioPCI (aka the ES1370). These cards can have issues on some chipsets though. I would recommend an intel i845 or older for this particular card. The intel 865g chipset in the Dell GX270 for example will crackle in Reality with this card. There are newer versions of this card such as the ES1371 and ES1373. One of the problems with these newer versions is the hardware change from 44.1khz sampling rate to 48khz. This may cause sample-rate conversion for you in the AudioPCI driver. If it does, the sound quality will suffer. Even though you are outputting an analogue signal, the conversion still happens. It has to do with the cost savings of only supporting one sampling rate in hardware while allowing software to “see” multiple sampling rates. This is not to say that sample-rate conversion is always bad, but in a sound card driver from the 1990s the sample rate conversion is not going to be sophisticated. The conversion happens in software (in the driver as I said) and is optimized for speed over quality. Admittedly, Reality might actually support 48khz and select it automatically and output in that format directly thus removing the need to convert, but I can’t confirm that is what happens. That is why I say just use the ES1370 and be safe. It’s usually only about $8 on ebay.

You need to have a midi interface if you’re going to have a controller keyboard or your main computer driving Reality. The m-audio Audiophile 2496 cards have built-in midi, and the AWE64 gold can accept midi input through a joystick port adapter cable. Otherwise, you’ll need an external interface. USB midi interfaces don’t seem to work in win9x. I would love to be proved wrong in this area, though. Also most USB midi interfaces are not known for having great midi timing. As such, I like to use parallel port midi interfaces for this purpose. The Midi Quest 2port SE goes for about $30 used on ebay.

Operating System

Once you have all the hardware, you’re now ready to start setting up the operating system. You’ll need an install CD of one of these versions of windows: Windows Millenium, Windows 98 second edition, Windows 98, Windows 95 (version a or b). One thing to consider is the age of your hardware. To use an older version of windows you tend to need an older version of hardware. Don’t try to install windows 95 on a Dell GX270. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but you’ll run into problems.

To complete the installation, you’ll need a license key, too. Make sure it is legal. You need to have the Certificate of Authenticity to prove that you are the legal owner. Just insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive (hopefully you have one of those) and turn on the machine. Sometimes you need to press a key to tell the computer you want to boot from something other than your hard drive. On a Dell PC you press the F2 key on startup to select a boot device.

There are many guides online that document how to install Win9x. Basically, though, you just need to answer the questions and move on through the install. Once you have completed installation, Windows will try to detect your hardware and may ask you for driver disks. Make sure you have drivers burned onto CD for your hardware.

You will also need the latest version of DirectX installed. You can get this from Microsoft’s web site. The latest that supports Win9X is DirectX 9.0c.

After all this, you’re ready to insert the Seer Systems Reality CD and follow the instructions. I recommend installing all of the extra soundbanks. You’ll want those.

There are a few tweaks you’ll want to do to make sure that you’ll get good sound that won’t crackle:

• Disable Power options in control panel or use always on.
• Turn off virtual memory if you have at least 256mb installed.
• Remove all networking services except the bare minimum that you need for TCP/IP. This means removing “Client for Microsoft Networks” and File Sharing, etc.
• Download the program CacheMan and optimize all of your caches.
• Make sure DMA is enabled on your hard drives.
• Disable any hardware in Device Manager that you don’t need/use.

If you have a pro sound card, tweak the buffer settings to the lowest buffer size possible. High buffer settings can actually confuse Reality sometimes and cause cracking. Reality is smart enough to do its own buffering, so leave the buffer to Reality. Also, make sure that Reality is configured with the Directsound version of drivers for you sound card. Select the MIDI interface in the MIDI source drop down. There is a play button that plays the demo song. Push this button for a quick test. If all goes well, you should hear a really great tune.

After that, you’re ready to start enjoying Reality. Just make sure your controller keyboard is plugged in and start playing! If you’re having problems, I’d love to hear from you. I’ve got solutions. Otherwise, you will certainly be developing some great opinions about this awesome synth very soon. Let me know what you think!

Posted on August 17, 2017Leave a comment on Crafting a Retro PC
The Return of a Seer’s Tool
What does a seer use to hear the unseen? Ancient seers have used many tools: horns of beasts, timbrels, bells, springs and strings – all with mystical properties. The most important tool, however, is a seer’s hands. Even the roughest of instruments can be made to sing at the hands of a mystic prophet.

If I had lived in times of old among J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel, the tools of the times would not have been limiting at all, but perhaps liberating. A shorted audio cable might have been a thick stringed instrument. Audio dropouts might have been short moments of silence in a four part chorale, not heinous cacophonies, the perpetrators of which are fortunate to have never crossed my path.

But times change, and technical difficulties afflict humankind in the quest for art. The fluid substance of artistic thought is oft interrupted with the unexpected turbulence of technical calamity. Fluidity of thought and oneness with art are rarities that must be fought for.

I will continue my fight, as my favorite software synthesizer slowly slips away on the horizon – trapped in the past – trapped there by Microsoft those many years ago. This special seer’s tool, is not forever to be left in times past, but will be brought back to ubiquity.

Posted on April 27, 2017Leave a comment on The Return of a Seer’s Tool
Reality Desktop Low Latency PC


This Reality PC is a small form factor unit with ultra low latency. You have to hear what this synthesizer sounds like! What you get is a very retro sounding synthesizer with a warm analog vibe.

The unit includes analog outputs and integrated MIDI for connection to your controller keyboard. Here’s what Reality looks like.



Just plug in your other gear and go. You’ll need a monitor. After that, all you have to do is flip on the power switch to start using Reality. You can use Synergy to control Reality with the mouse and keyboard of another PC.

The breakout cable also has MIDI connectors. Both inputs and outputs are available.



The unit has no spinning hard drive. Instead, a 16GB compact flash card is used with an adapter board. It’s like having a solid state hard drive.



The unit has all of the features you need to get going with Reality quickly.

Click here to purchase this item!

Posted on August 27, 20164 Comments on Reality Desktop Low Latency PC
Reality Desktop w/ Digital i/o


This Reality PC is a small form factor unit with “no compromises” on sound. You have to hear what this synthesizer sounds like! Get yourself a really good DAC. What you get is a very retro sound without the “old skool” compromises on quality. It’s unique to say the least.

The unit includes both digital and analog outputs and integrated MIDI for connection to your controller keyboard. The analog outputs can be seen on the expansion card on the back of the unit.



Just plug in your other gear and go. You’ll need a monitor. After that, all you have to do is flip on the power switch to start using Reality. You can use Synergy to control Reality with the mouse and keyboard of another PC. A digital optical cable is recommended for inputing into your main PC or other gear.


The digital out is available via the breakout cable provided, and there’s even a digital input, too.

The breakout cable also has MIDI connectors. Both inputs and outputs are available.



The unit has no spinning hard drive. Instead, a 16GB compact flash card is used with an adapter board. It’s like having a solid state hard drive.



The unit has all of the features you need to get going with Reality quickly.

Click here to purchase this item!

Posted on May 17, 20162 Comments on Reality Desktop w/ Digital i/o
Reality Panel PC w/ Digital I/O

For the more flexible budget, we offer a Reality appliance. This unit includes hardware for mounting into a console. For mounting in a rack, hardware can be ordered separately. The unit has a 12″ screen and is smaller and lighter than it looks in the pictures. Having a built-in monitor increases portability and convenience. The construction quality is quite solid.

Below you can see Reality while it plays a demo:

On the back you can see that MIDI and digital audio are available via a breakout cable:


Analog i/o is also available directly on the unit (not visible above). PS/2 mouse and keyboard, parallel, serial, and USB ports are all available.

This item is currently out of stock! Contact us if interested.

See completed eBay listing.

Posted on March 24, 2016Leave a comment on Reality Panel PC w/ Digital I/O
Reality Tower w/ Digital I/O

This Reality PC was envisioned to be affordable without making compromises on sound. It includes both digital and analog outputs and a MidiQuest 2Port/SE box for connection to your controller keyboard.


Just plug in your other gear and go. You’ll need a monitor. After that, all you have to do is flip on the power switch to start using Reality. You can use Synergy to control Reality with the mouse and keyboard of another PC. A digital optical cable is recommended for inputing into your main PC or other gear.

Here are the analog and digital outputs on the back of the unit (just below the network card).


The unit has all of the features you need to get going with Reality quickly.

Click here to see the completed listing

Posted on March 24, 2016Leave a comment on Reality Tower w/ Digital I/O
We’re live!
I’m pleased to announce that SeerSound.com is live! Have a look around and let me know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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NO issues at ALL on WIn 10 and Live 10... by far my fav software.

Some one is on cracked... and crack.

 

Thanks! Gracias por su aportación!

 

Nice thoughts, but that will never happen as MS doesn't give two shits about musicians. ;) I would like to say they care about 95% of people who use Windows for browsing, listening to music, and watching films, but with W10 they have started to fuck even those people in the arse.

Omnisphere and all Spectrasonics VSTs have always been badly programmed. Spectrasonics VSTs give me the most headache of all the VSTs I have ever installed. Their programmers must be rubbish. But when you make their VSTs to work, they work. And they sound wonderful. So I wouldn't say they're that buggy, but just stupidly programmed.

So I partially agree with the OP. Spectrasonics could have hired better programmers who know how to program VSTs *well*. Like u-he, Synapse Audio, TAL, D16, Voxengo, Klanghelm, Toneboosters... When it comes to programming quality, first Omnisphere, Trilian, and RMX were just slightly more advanced than some simple Synthedit creations.

It is not just Spectrasonics though, who hire shitty programmers, but good graphic designers. It is also Roland [they have shitty graphic designers, too lol], Native Instruments, Arturia, Slate Digital, Brainworx, and to some extent FXpansion. All these are focussed on making impressive graphics [that takes hundreds of MB of RAM] and nothing else. I call them graphics companies, not audio.

 

Last edited: Feb 4, 2019

From Spectrasonic's Omnisphere requirements page, the following can be found:

Microsoft Windows 7 or higher

So XP is not even officially supported, end of story: This thread can be closed.

By the way, if you bought it without reading the requirements, you've got only yourself to blame, certainly not the developers.

 

Atmosphere - WinXP - Zero Problems
Omnisphere - Win7- Zero Problems
Omnnisphere 2.5 - Win8- Zero Problems

Sorry your having problems. Either I'm extremely lucky, or prepping my Win systems for Audio prioritization is paying off... Here are some links that might help out:

https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/206674219-Optimising-your-PC-for-Audio-on-Windows-XP

https://support.presonus.com/hc/en-...ur-Computer-for-Audio-Windows-Vista-Windows-7

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/can-you-still-make-music-elderly-pc

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/troubleshooting/en367983

https://www.adorama.com/alc/seven-tips-to-make-your-recording-studio-computer-run-faster

https://www.recordingrevolution.com/optimize-computer-recording-mixing/

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Troubleshooting/Windows-10-Guide

https://community.cantabilesoftware.com/t/optimizing-your-computer-for-audio/588

https://www.noterepeat.com/articles...em-improving-performance-and-managing-latency

Etc...

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 4, 2019

That's Awesome News! I have many nostalgic Reality memories, and would LOVE for this synth to work again!

 

I didn't want to be aggressive,you get the wrong idea.And I thought you're older than 47 because you tell you're in music industry since 35 years.

In your post you critisize hardly Omnisphere,Windows,MAc,Cubase....Omnisphere is a beast,for me it has a lot of positive sides,like the others,it's not just garbage.
Omnisphere is a wonderfull software in the audio world,isn't it ? It sounds awesome-the most important- ,and it has plenty of sounds that you'll never have enough time in your life to play with all of them.I don't talk about its great modulations,filters and FXs,oscillators.
I have the last Omnisphere with Windows 10 last update,and it works normally.

But what I find shitty is their updates that every regular human on earth don't understand;you don't know if you must update the software,the library or the patch library first.I know,but some people have updated the library but not the software,or the opposite.And with all the updates available it's a big mess.I can't imagine all the emails that the Spectrasonics' support must receive every day !
They could make ONE update that update everything(software,library,patch library) each time,that would be easier for everybody.

 

Last edited: Feb 4, 2019

NI,Roland, or FXpansion sound (very) good!are you joking?...For me Brainworx sounds better than Voxengo too!
NI graphics are ugly (FM8,Massive,Absynth especially) but these plugins were created 15 years ago!

Synapse Dune 3 is buggy as hell !!! And I have some bugs with Uhe too.

 

Last edited: Feb 4, 2019

no issues with omni, get a decent pc and os simple

 

dont knw what your on about mate working perfect here win 10

 

The OP needs his pills for stress...

 

If I only had one "desert island" sound-bank to use for Omnisphere it would be Soundscape Synthetica!

 

'Sup my good friend @SineWave. Happy new year even if late. EricP has some good programmers alright. Bugs are meant to appear with so many capabilities, Omni 2xx and especially 2.5 and forth is the mother of all synths hardware and software in terms of features. The only other contender for this title should be Reaktor but Reaktor is more like an enviroment to build machines rather than a synth. So, Omnisphere 2xx is by far the most capable synth, with sampling ability too, if we can call wavetable "sampling". So there may be some reported bugs from time to time (which i haven't encountered so far) but in general for all the machines i 've installed it, it is always fully functional. The fact that it also can contain Trillian and Keyscape from within the same interface makes it irreplaceable for me, in both studio and live applications.
And please @SANDYMAN777, unless it was intended as a joke (which i don't get), correct the thread header mate. His name is Eric Persing lol.
Cheers

 

i dont know what Eric Piercing did....maybe you could ask his close friend Eric Persing

 

damn stole my thunder