The small amount of experience (specifically with G5 dual 2 gig, Logic 7.1.1, OSX 10.4.3) I've had with VI says, Yeah, you'll be OK, if....you do these things assiduously:

Before installation make sure that all your permissions & diagnostics are run.

Make sure you have lots of RAM and fast drives to hold the samples.

Place the Syncrosoft dongle in a powered socket - preferably directly into the G5 or perhaps a powered hub.

Use only Syncrosoft ver. 4.9.7. There is a special announcement on their site to easily accomodate this version. They know that 5.0.1 is not working in many cases.

Follow the VSL installation video the same way that Forrest Gump 'kept his eye on the ball' before he became a ping-pong champion. Download the video and play it back for each step as you do the install. Do each thing perfrectly.


There will be a few things that go slightly astray. However, it will be most likely be session-viable and it will only get better.

By the way, it sounds just the way you wanted it to sound before you took the credit card out of your wallet. I am grateful for teh opportunity to have such a great tool as this. Take heart that most of the people who are running VI on Mac are too busy using it to go to the forum -s so typically I've noticed over the years that most happy users seldom post.

Now please let me go back to work.

Hmmmm...that's seems way more complex then it should be. Think I'll wait this one out. Looks pretty dodgy at best.
Thanks,
Jamie

OK, let me put it another way.

Make sure your computer is in good shape.

Put the dongle where it belongs.

Download the correct version of Syncrosoft.

Follow the directions.

i'd like to add: and make sure your file permissions are not corrupted and need to get repaired (disk utility - system volume - verify permissions)
christian

@jamieh said:

Anyone using the Vi on a Mac feel it is ready? What are you finding in you daily workflow?
I have Opus 2 and several Horizon products that I use all the time.
Cheers,
Jamie

VI is ready enough, although no doubt there will many welcome updates to come. Such is the case with any software.

The question is whether the user is ready for VI.

The more complex musical requirements are expected by electronic musicians, the more complex the software will be to serve that purpose. VI works differently from early libraries, and these differences must be learned as they are assimilated into production.

I wouldn't want to place VI into action after only having it for less than two weeks. It took me a couple of months before I chose to put PE to work in the studio. It had less to do with the software as it had to do with wanting to develop a sense of fluency to not appear as one guessing his way around and wasting time.

I'm not sure when I'll put VI to work, but I will say that I've completed 5 sequences, three of which are mixed, with VI Strings with the past 10 days. Currently, custom matrices make starting new projects faster and easier, not having to start completely from scratch any more.

Workflow is a delicate word. Part of the issue is how fast one can work. Another part of the issue is the result. A smaller library by definition means there are fewer options, less sonic variety, and perhaps less believability in the end. Sure, VI is tweak city if you want-- or if time allows-- but you could spend the same amount of time or more with other libraries and never accomplish the same quality.

Only familar software can be called easy to use.

I would currently be happy to use VI in a production environment, except use in larger orchestrations is currently a problem for me due to the load times between songs. - For example if your film score projects are made up of a number of dfferent cues that you have to bounce between then 5-8 minute load times really are an issue.

This doesn't affect functionality only practicality.

Julian

What makes me fear this product is not the interface...I think it is a brilliant, functional design. What scares me is this behavior sounds exactly like the way the Halion engine behaves on a Mac. It uses the same syncrosoft dongle that obviously has serious issues. The Halion Engine player that SAM adopted is a dog on the Mac...long load times, long sample loads and high CPU use compared to any other. I know this is supposed to be their own engine but it sounds somehow linked to the Halion engine.
I have over a dozen NI instruments as well as various softsynth/sampler players and not one required me to watch a video and trend so carefully doing an install. This form of copy protection seems very counter-productive/invasive.
I am still thinking of getting the woodwinds but I am wary here. I want to compose...not beta test. Still watching with interest.
Cheers,
Jamie

@jamieh said:

[...] I have over a dozen NI instruments as well as various softsynth/sampler players and not one required me to watch a video and trend so carefully doing an install. [...]

Welcome JamieH,

Don't get me wrong, but I doubt that the install of several hundreds of GB is a commonplace, even today.

Well, I'm not interested in the full edition. For me it would probably just be the woodwinds and maybe solo strings. I am curious as to why the synchro control is so badly designed. It seems like a disaster just waiting to happen. iLok is a very solid system that has been around for quite awhile and I've never had a problem with it. And more importantly, it doesn't slow your computer to a crawl just loading the protected plug-in.
J

J--

I'm using LCC v. 4.9.x.x. With VI 1.04 everything is working very efficiently and quickly. Load times for 7-8 instances (16 total matrices) is about 1 minute or so.

I can understand your hesitation, but all I can tell you is that I have no regrets.

JWL.

do you think LCC 4.9.x.x can make a difference in startup speed instead of 5.0.0.1?

best.

thomas

@thomas wolter said:

JWL.

do you think LCC 4.9.x.x can make a difference in startup speed instead of 5.0.0.1?

best.

thomas

Hi Thomas:

All I can say is that after the troubles I experienced with 5.0.0.1-- and after trying all other known solutions, 4.9.x.x seemed to work so much better. I've not had any USB read warnings or authorization glitches since. This was even before VI 1.04 was installed. LCC 4.9.x.x helped more with reducing the license scan wait, but VI 1.04 really sped up the actual sample loading.

Now, from reading all the posts it seems that everyone's experience is rather unique. The process for Mac users with Logic and DP are slightly different as well. There seems to be quite an issue with Logic's Project Manager needing to be refreshed, etc., and to be honest-- having just gotten Digital Performer up and running nicely, I'm not looking forward to starting over with Logic's quirks. I am hoping that most of the AU and SLCC hurdles have been surmounted at this point, but only time will tell.