Muse Research Musings August 2010
Well its that time again... summertime that is, at least in the Northern Hemisphere... and bands around the world are out touring and gigging like mad. And given the recent concern we all have about reducing carbon footprints, we’re pleased that we can do our bit with RECEPTOR since it weighs less and fits into a smaller space than the racks of gear it replaces.
But the environment is not the only thing we’re concerned about here at RECEPTOR Central. We’re also interested in saving you money, and ensuring that RECEPTOR helps you sound and play your best with minimum impact to your pocketbook. And just to prove we’re serious, how about this?
ANNOUNCING NEW LOWER RECEPTOR 2 PRICES!
Yep, we’ve just reduced the U.S. pricing for the entire line of RECEPTOR 2 Hardware Plug-in Players. Effective immediately, the RECEPTOR 2 will sell for $1599, the RECEPTOR 2 PRO for $1999 and the RECEPTOR 2 PRO MAX for $2499. You can purchase any of these models and other accompanying options through our RECEPTOR resource site www.plugorama.com or through authorized Muse Research dealers.
Now a RECEPTOR costs you no more than a similarly equipped computer system, with the added advantage of RECEPTOR’s road-proven all metal rack-mountable design, dedicated hardware front panel, and the ability to run in environments where other computers over-heat and shut down. Of course, RECEPTOR offers many more advantages, especially for using plug-ins in a live situation, with its unique snapshot patch architecture, optional solid-state drives, and industrial strength operating system.
Customers who purchase a new RECEPTOR from our plugorama.com website will enjoy many advantages, including a no-risk 30-day return policy, free custom-installation of any compatible software that they wish to run on it and special software bundle pricing. Muse Research also enjoys a wide network of dealers who can sell RECEPTOR at these same low prices, provide demos of the product, and answer questions on site. Find out more at www.plugorama.com
RECEPTOR AND PRO TOOLS – A PERFECT MATCH
Check out our CEO Chris in his new video: Expanding Your Pro Tools Universe using the UniWire Plug-in. It’s an informative overview of all the benefits you’ll get from using RECEPTOR 2 with the RECEPTOR. This video is the first in a series of videos that demonstration practical applications of the RECEPTOR in live and studio situations. More coming soon!
Update for Save Speed Improvement
We found an issue with RECEPTOR 2 models that are running 1.8.20100127 software... the auto-save function, bless its little heart, can take a really long time under some circumstances, including temporarily freezing the user interface when manually saving a preset. Well, that’s fixed now, so you’re going to want to download and install 1.8.20100623 to solve that little issue. Sorry about that.
SAVE THE DATE
November 5-7, 2010 – See us at the AES Show in San Francisco, where we’ll be up and running with RECEPTOR 2 and MuseBox demos! Find us in booth 2987. Find out more at www.aes.org
Refer a Friend and be Rewarded!
Now when you refer a friend to Plugorama.com and they purchase a new Receptor, you'll be rewarded with up to a 10% commission on the sale! That's right, simply make sure your friend puts your name and email address or Plugorama username in the indicated fields at checkout, and we'll give you as much as a 10% credit toward any purchase on Plugorama. Of course, we'll need to wait 30 days to make sure the purchase is not returned and then the credit is yours to purchase whatever you like. Use it toward your own Receptor or software that's Receptor compatible like Komplete from Native Instruments or the Total Workstation from IK Multimedia. Please note, you must be a registered user on Plugorama to be rewarded. The refer a friend program applies to new Receptor purchases only. And no, sorry, you can't refer yourself!
RECEPTOUR NEWS
With all the live music going on this summer, you can be sure RECEPTOR is right in there, powering the rigs of some of the best.
Paul backs Paul
Paul “Wix” Wickens continues to back the legendary Sir Paul McCartney on the Up and Coming tour, which recently wowed a sellout crowd at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Wix is a long time supporter of Muse Research, and gave the Muse Crew a tour of the massive stage before putting on an unforgettable show. Sir Paul’s engineer Keith Smith along with keyboard tech DJ Howes, were on hand to ensure the gig went to plan, which meant stunning sound reinforcement to complement stellar performances from the band, with Abe Laboriel, Jr. on drums, Rusty Anderson on Guitar, and Brian Ray on Guitar and Bass, and of course the legendary Sir Paul.
A member of McCartney’s touring band since 1989, Wix has worked with many other musicians including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bon Jovi, and many more, and was the MD for the Concert for Diana. McCartney’s Up and Coming Tour, which started in March 2010, has seen him break new box office records, perform in places he’s never been before, win rave reviews, celebrate his 200th concert with his current band and play an intimate show at The White House where he was awarded the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. We’re very proud to count Wix and Sir Paul among our artist family, and we respect and honor the contributions Wix and Mr. McCartney have made, and continue to make, to our industry.
The Beach Boys Catch the RECEPTOR Wave
Like most legendary bands, the Beach Boys perform constantly and often find them flying far and wide to bring their killer harmonies and good vibrations to the world. Such touring requires portable, powerful, and reliable gear that lets you perform at your best. And Scott Trotten, MD with the Beach Boys, and Tim Bonhomme, keyboardist and tour manager for “The Boys” recently decided that RECEPTOR was just the tool they needed to deliver the classic sounds with ultimate fidelity and versatility. If you haven’t ever been to a Beach Boys show, you owe it to yourself to take a trip back to those days on the beach, slathered in lotion, catching a wave and sitting at the top of the world. For tour information, visit www.thebeachboys.com.
Tim Bonhomme, Keyboardist, and Scott Totten, Music Director, The Beach Boys
Toby Keith Takes the American Ride with Trace Adkins on Tour
Toby Keith’s American Ride Tour is hitting cities throughout the U.S. this summer and into the fall with Trace Adkins opening the show. Keyboardist Rex Mauney is counting on his RECEPTOR every night to deliver great sound night after night. He comments, “The RECEPTOR 2 Pro from Muse Research is the heart of my rig. Touring with Toby [Keith] means I absolutely must have any sound, at a moment’s notice. The library that comes with RECEPTOR with Native Instruments Komplete Inside makes that trick repeatable, every night. The sound quality is superb... just what I’d expect from a top-notch company with customer support at its core.”
Jon Coleman (keyboards, Trace Adkins) and Rex Mauney (keyboardist, Toby Keith)
Trace Adkins toured with Toby last year, and Trace pulled Rex aside and asked him why his piano sounded so good. Rex told him it was his RECEPTOR running Akoustik Piano, so now Trace’s keyboardist, Jonathan Coleman, is now also a proud RECEPTOR user as well.
Debbie Shair and Heart
The spunky and multi-talented Debbie Shair can be seen and heard backing the legendary group Heart, playing a number of dates and also appearing on the Lilith Fair tour this summer. Debbie joined the band in 2004, and she’s found the RECEPTOR the perfect solution for using software-based instruments live. She shares, “I’d been considering making the transition during live situations from exclusively utilizing traditional hardware synthesizers towards incorporating software-based instruments into my setup, but had concerns about computer configurations being able to effectively handle the load (and withstand stresses on the road). When I became aware of the RECEPTOR, I realized this was precisely the solution I was looking for, and it’s proved itself time and time again. In terms of reliability, ease of use and performance, there’s nothing out there that compares to the RECEPTOR.” Heart’s new album, Red Velvet Car, will be released August 31.
STYX Rocks the House with RECEPTOR In Tow
Also joining our artist family is the amazing Lawrence Gowan, keyboardist and vocalists with STYX. Lawrence is using his RECEPTOR to update his rig with more sample libraries, including the Symphobia symphonic collection from Project Sam, as well as taking advantage of the flexibility and control that you get with Virtual Analog Synths such as Sonic Projects’ OPX and Rob Papen’s Blue and Predator. Lawrence is currently programming the upcoming Grand Illusion / Pieces of Eight tour on his RECEPTOR, making huge use all that RECEPTOR can deliver, both as a sampler and as a platform for running virtual analog synths.
Lawrence sees virtual instruments as the past having caught up with the future: you get the actual controls of the synth like you did in the real hardware, making it far more expressive and programmable than playing a sample of one of the classic synths. And everything sounds bigger and better than ever, thanks to the advances in audio quality. Catch STYX on tour this summer by visiting www.styxworld.com.
RAIN Pays Tribute with RECEPTOR
One thing that is kinda interesting about RECEPTOR is that it is often used by both original artists, as well as tribute bands that honor them with faithful recreations of their music. For example, Steely Dan’s keyboardists use RECEPTOR (the amazing Jim Beard), but so do the keyboardists for Steely Dan tribute bands 12 Against Nature (Scott Sheriff) and the Bay Area’s own AJA VU (Gregg Dye). We think that’s kinda cool, don’t you? Even cooler is that RAIN, the Beatles Tribute Band that currently touring the country, is preparing to launch an 11-week run on Broadway with three new RECEPTORs powering the show. The run opens November 19th and closes January 2nd, so don’t miss what promises to be the most impressive staging of classic Beatles tracks with a much-needed dose of their message of Peace and Love. If you see the show, be sure to give a shout out to Mark Beyer manning the keyboards.
Warfield Goes Weird With RECEPTOR
The Phenomenal Weird Al Yankovic brought his high-energy show to the Warfield in San Francisco recently, with the astounding Ruben Valtierra manning the keyboard chair with his RECEPTOR watching his back. The show was amazing by all accounts, not only in its theatrical presentation with numerous costume changes and synchronized video, but also with a full band covering the parts of this fast-paced and hugely entertaining show. And if you ever wondered whether or not RECEPTOR can deliver enough polyphony for you, just check out Ruben’s playing some time... he'll more than prove to you that it can!
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Until next time...
Muse Research
