PS I'd like to be able to see the actual throughput in the MacOS activity monitor.

It makes sense to me that it works the way it does, as it's meant to indicate the drive's ability to keep up with a demanding workload. 

What I don't understand is how it's different on Windows and MacOS. Maybe that has nothing to do with VSL.

Of course that doesn't explain the difference between Windows and Mac versions. 

Originally Posted by: Macker

Moreover, I don't know how to account for the fact that Synchron speedometer showed only a 4x increase in speed when using my T7 instead of the Barracuda, yet the loading times imply a 24x increase in speed for T7 versus Barracuda.

When you load a library into RAM, a lot of the data will be read sequentially from the SSD. The Synchron player tests non-sequential 64k reads, which have a lower throughput of data.

In Cubase, VST lists will have /// displayed to the right of VST3 plugins. Click on the output box in the inspector of an instrument track, and a list should open up with the current instrument selected. 

I changed the file system on my T5 to NTFS,  and the Windows version of Synchron Pianos shows a read speed of 600 MB/s.

Originally Posted by: Alkan

Am I right to assume that VSL libraries are stored as tons of small files, so when a preset is loaded random reads determine the loading speed?

The actual files are several gigabytes each, but the parts of the file are not necessarily accessed sequentially, so it's similar to reading small files.

I'd imagine (but I don't know) that the player and files are designed in such a way that some large chunks can be read sequentially. 

Originally Posted by: Macker

Johnstaf, your Windows computer + T5(?) Synchron speed result is most interesting - many thanks for that.

It wasn't even the T5. It was a drive from 2013! 😀

I hooked my 2013 Samsung SSD via USB 3 to my 2012 Samsung i5 dual-core laptop. According to the Windows version of Synchron Pianos I'm getting 600 MB/s.

The same drive shows around 150 MB/s in the Mac version with my 2018 MBP 15.

The performance is better on the Mac though with the T7 with a 64 sample buffer. I can still manage 2 mic pairs with a 128 buffer on my old laptop with the older SSD. 😀

For my next trick, I'll try to get everything up and running on a 1970s calculator! 🤡

Fixed.

The driver was missing, and reinstalling the elicenser software didn't fix it. I updated the driver in the device manager.

Hi all,

I'm having a problem with my Windows computer. When I insert my key, the red light turns on, but when I try to run VSL software or the eLicenser control centre the light on the key goes off. The key is not showing up in the control centre.

I've used different keys and the result is the same. The same keys work fine on my Mac.

I've uninstalled the eLicenser control centre and reinstalled it. None of this makes any difference.

Has anyone come across this kind of behaviour?

Thanks,

John

The performance of the T7 isn't good for small file access.

Accessing small non-sequential chunks of data is similar to accessing millions of small files. The smaller the chunks, the more non-sequential reads must be carried out per gigabyte, which slows things down.

Of course none of this explains why the T7 is slower than the T5 in this regard.

I hope it's a fixable bug rather than a design limitation. 

I just thought I'd add that the read speed (as shown in the Synchron players) for the T7 is slower than the T5. If I run other tests, the read speed for small files is again below that of the T5.

In actual usage the T7 seems to perform very well.

The Glyph seems particularly impressive. 

Parallel drives work well for other demanding instruments such as Dimension Strings. For Synchron Pianos, the Glyph seems like a great choice. It will be interesting to hear how you get on with it.

The Activity Monitor mentioned in my other post is the built-in MacOS utility. It doesn't show any extra activity on the drive when using Synchron Pianos. It usually shows external SSD activity as well as that of the system disk. The Synchron CPU meter works.

I'd love some more VI libraries. The whole way of working suits me so well. As wonderful as the VI libraries are, and they are the best IMHO, the VI interface is an even bigger draw for me.

Thanks Matt. That's great to know. I wasn't sure if I was getting a reasonable speed or not.

I'm looking at getting a new SSD, and I might try the T7. Maybe a 2nd T5 with half of the mics on it would work well.

Thanks Paul.

Hi all,

I have a Samsung T5 SSD. and a 15 inch MacBook Pro (2018). The Black Magic speed test shows read speeds of 500 MB/s. Synchron Pianos shows read speeds of 190. Is this normal?

I wonder if this is because Synchron isn't simply reading a big file from start to finish, unlike a speed test.

Also, I have the HFS journaled file system. Should I switch over to APFS? I have APFS on my other drives, so this was an oversight on my part.

Incidentally, the Activity Monitor on my system doesn't show any activity when playing the Synchron Pianos. It doesn't matter, but I found it interesting.

If Logic and Final Cut had a few bugs ironed out, I'd buy an ARM Mac just for them, even with a performance hit. I have to use them both for non-musical stuff.

My current computer is fine for the foreseeable future for anything music related.

I assume VSL aren't in a position to comment, as it was only announced yesterday.

I'm interested to hear what Steinberg have to say about the eLicenser when the time comes.

Originally Posted by: Bernhard Meijer

Hi,

I had the Synchron Piano player installed on my Mac that i used with the D-274 but when i downloaded the big bang orchestra i was asked to download and install the Synchron player and i did that. But it replaced my Synchron Piano player on the launchpad on my mac and the Piano player is not to be found there any more. I can however find the Piano player of i go to "programs" in the finder.

Should it be like this?

The Launchpad can be weird like that.

I get that red flashing as well. It only affects one mic pair.

I've also had the problem where the disk would stop streaming, although restarting Synchron Pianos fixed it. I use a MacBook Pro and a Samsung T5.

Something similar used to happen with my Windows laptop, but I'm almost certain the problem there was with my hardware.

Thanks Paul. They're really fantastic libraries.

Is there an equivalent to Vienna Imperial's 2SUS repedalling control for the Synchron pianos? I can't seem to find it.

When playing Vienna Imperial with the 2SUS turned on, the sustain pedal changes the sound of notes that are already being held.

On the Synchron pianos, if the pedal is applied after a note is played, it just seems to hold the note (like the sostenuto pedal).

Thanks,

John

Originally Posted by: Paul

.... to offer this rather rarely-used option for everyone interested - without doubling both our recording and editing efforts and also the sheer data size of the already huge piano.

Rarely used?😳