MATRIXSYNTH: Use | Audio Plugiator Virtual Analog Sound Module


Thursday, March 29, 2018

Use | Audio Plugiator Virtual Analog Sound Module

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via this auction

"There's a noise when the delay effect is turned on (other effects work fine). Apart from that it works great and the sounds are really awesome. I've been using this with an external effects processor, so the lack of delay hasn't been a problem.

The Plugiator is basically the Creamware Minimax (Minimoog), Pro 12 (Prophet 6), Prodyssey (Prodigy), B4000 (Hammond B3) and four more modules all in one unit. It's very easy to work and has a great favourite preset function using the 10 buttons along the bottom.

It's in fantastic condition. The only cosmetic thing I feel I should point out is that the metal is quite soft and there is a slight ripple at the top left hand corner, but it's barely noticeable."

Weird regarding the noise as the Plugiator is software based.

5 comments:

  1. I'm fairly sure the Plugiator files are abandonware at this point, so I’ve packed them all in a single ZIP just in case I lose my personal copy or anyone ever needs them. I’ve included host managers for PC, pil files and product keys for download here Plugiator FILES useaudio activation key prodyssey pro12 fmagia.zip - Google Drive and here: Plugiator FILES useaudio activation key prodyssey pro12 fmagia

    I guess I'm a Plugiator fanboy so I'll take a moment to recount my own recollection of events. The story goes like this: Creamware was founded in Germany in 1992. three years later they released their first interface, the TripleDAT, a 2ch card for Windows 3.1 & 95. in 1998 they released the SCOPE PCI card and their first softsynth, the Elektra. Between 1998 and 2003 they developed 10 other PCI cards ranging from the $900 Luna and Pulsar to the $3000 rack/synth Noah, which could run two softsynths at once, or four on the $4000 Noah EX. The Noah was partly responsible for the bankruptcy of Creamware Datentechnik GmbH. I had a blast from the past checking out their 90s websites: Creamware Noah |.

    By 2003 they had developed a large library of virtual instruments including the Vectron, which morphed into the Pro12 and the MiniScope I & II, which evolved into the Minimax. The company resurfaced as Creamware Audio GmbH and over the next two years developed and released the ASB line of hardware V.A. modules based on classic analog synths: the minimoog (minimax), Prophet (pro-12) and Odyssey (Prodyssey). They where ahead of their time but at $1000 each, they could not bring the company out of insolvency.

    Creamware filed for bankruptcy again on 2006. The founders split, each securing the rights to all their source code. One found Sonic Core who took over Creamware’s assets. The other, an engineer, moved to India to found inDSP. I don’t know when “Use Audio” came into existence but I presume it was a shell company established by inDSP for the sole purpose of releasing the Plugiator and ASX card in 2009. I’m speculating but I think Sonic Core went ballistic when the Plugiator was released containing a decade’s worth of Creamware technology inherited from the Scope project and Noah’s architecture, plus eight VST assets packed into a single $489 device.

    Use Audio must have withstood a litigious onslaught for two or three years until Sonic Core made it fold and thus the saga of the Plugiator came to an end. Their website was abandoned but it stayed online until mid 2017. inDSP still exists but they removed any trace of the Plugiator from their own website.

    A couple notable things about the Minimax, first: Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer had this to say about it: "you know, everybody's done models of Minimoogs, but this one — I put it up against my real, slightly ailing minimoog and it's absolutely identical." If one of the most renowned composers in the world claims it’s a great minimoog emulator, you damn better believe it. Second: the Minimax was dumped on a tiny ROM chip fitted into the ASB and Plugiator circuits; by 2009 standards, no bigger than 2 or 4mb. To put that in perspective, the latest Arturia minimoog weights a whooping 310mb. The Minimax ran on 3Mbits of RAM and a 333MHz SHARC ADSP-21364 chip, whereas Arturia’s V3 mini requires 4GB of RAM, 1GB of disk space and a 2.4GHz processor.

    Creamware’s engineers where absolute wizards, they wrote some of the purest forms of virtual analog sourcecode ever released on a piece of audio hardware. if and when my Plugiator dies I will buy another one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi , I know a very long time has gone since your post . . could it be possible to have the files you shared ? thanks for your attention , Maurizio7

      Delete
  2. I'm fairly sure the Plugiator files are abandonware at this point, so I’ve packed them all in a single ZIP just in case I lose my personal copy or anyone ever needs them. I’ve included host managers for PC, pil files and product keys for download here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k__2qnnch4YzO9RBKkMzDxJsS2q9bAG-/view and here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/4dfzs5904jzxos9

    I guess I'm a Plugiator fanboy so I'll take a moment to recount my own recollection of events. The story goes like this: Creamware was founded in Germany in 1992. three years later they released their first interface, the TripleDAT, a 2ch card for Windows 3.1 & 95. in 1998 they released the SCOPE PCI card and their first softsynth, the Elektra. Between 1998 and 2003 they developed 10 other PCI cards ranging from the $900 Luna and Pulsar to the $3000 rack/synth Noah, which could run two softsynths at once, or four on the $4000 Noah EX. The Noah was partly responsible for the bankruptcy of Creamware Datentechnik GmbH. I had a blast from the past checking out their 90s websites: https://web.archive.org/web/19980426151307/http://creamware.de:80/.

    By 2003 they had developed a large library of virtual instruments including the Vectron, which morphed into the Pro12 and the MiniScope I & II, which evolved into the Minimax. The company resurfaced as Creamware Audio GmbH and over the next two years developed and released the ASB line of hardware V.A. modules based on classic analog synths: the Minimoog (minimax), Prophet (pro-12) and Odyssey (Prodyssey). They where ahead of their time but at $1000 each, they could not bring the company out of insolvency.

    Creamware filed for bankruptcy again on 2006. The founders split, each securing the rights to all their source code. One found Sonic Core who took over Creamware’s assets. The other, an engineer, moved to India to found inDSP. I don’t know when “Use Audio” came into existence but I presume it was a shell company established by inDSP for the sole purpose of releasing the Plugiator and ASX card in 2009. I’m speculating but I think Sonic Core went ballistic when the Plugiator was released containing a decade’s worth of Creamware technology inherited from the Scope project and Noah’s architecture, plus eight VST assets packed into a single $489 device.

    Use Audio must have withstood a litigious onslaught for two or three years until Sonic Core made it fold and thus the saga of the Plugiator came to an end. Their website was abandoned but it stayed online until mid 2017. inDSP still exists but they removed any trace of the plugiator from their own website.

    A couple notable things about the Minimax, first: Oscar-winner Hans Zimmer had this to say about it: "you know, everybody's done models of Minimoogs, but this one — I put it up against my real, slightly ailing Minimoog and it's absolutely identical." If one of the most renowned composers in the world claims it’s a great Minimoog emulator, you damn better believe it. Second: the Minimax was dumped on a tiny ROM chip fitted into the ASB and Plugiator circuits; by 2009 standards, no bigger than 2 or 4mb. To put that in perspective, the latest Arturia Minimoog weights a whooping 310mb. The Minimax ran on 3Mbits of RAM and a 333MHz SHARC ADSP-21364 chip, whereas Arturia’s V3 mini requires 4GB of RAM, 1GB of disk space and a 2.4GHz processor.

    Creamware’s engineers where absolute wizards, they wrote some of the purest forms of virtual analog sourcecode ever released on a piece of audio hardware. if and when my Plugiator dies I will buy another one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! It's been a while since I've used my Plugiator but I too am a "Fan Boy" of the crazy little box...I just grabbed the files you have collected....THANKS Very cool of you to put them out there... I got to know FRank Hund who is the guy who brought us the Plugiator I have not been in touch with him for years but he went of into the automobile audio market where there is higher volume of potential sales...The plugiator is an awesome hybrid of hardware and soft synth and there were many more things that could have made it even cooler but Frank was trying to keep cost low so he didn't go full monty and the possibilities...Any way THANKS for putting these files out there for use who still p[ossess this magic little box...

    ReplyDelete
  4. BTW Frank HUnd is the "Engineer that went to India" He founded inDSP and USEAUDIO

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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