So what’s the best desktop alternative to this? I’d like a small rompler type device for pianos and things.
MC101? Wondering if that loads multisamples.
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I’d like to know the answer too.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
i’m thinking about selling mine, just too much going on in my life to properly dive in.
Me too. I have a couple of romplers (NS5R, QY70) but they’re either uneditable or have very slow UIs.
I’ve often thought about designing one myself, but after spending a year on the M8 Discord server, I know that endless feature requests would make me have a mental breakdown. Even sitting down and thinking about what *I* want from a rompler makes me not even want to start developing something like that 
I’ve got such a bad taste in my mouth about the whole project now I don’t even care if mine actually arrives any more.
They made so many hollow promises, and have clearly fallen way short of what they pitched.
I could forgive some of that if they had at least been making the effort to properly interact with their backers, but they’ve been plain ignorant, just treating us like a necessary evil. They’ve done the bare minimum interaction they could get away with, mostly just ignoring comments or fobbing us off with non-answers, no sign of the promised backer input and clearly not interested at all in ideas or feature requests even though they pitched the whole reason for launching on KS was to get backer input.
They used up any goodwill a long time ago, so now I’m not going to feel guilty for being blunt and holding them to account.
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So, two years late, and here’s the ‘manual’ !
https://synesthesiacorp.com/Download…and_Manual.pdf
Posted without further comment whilst I scrape myself off the floor, which I’m currently rolling around, LMFAO.
Note the comprehensive info about their beloved ‘tweakers’ - NOT
This is what the manual has to say…
the easiest way to understand Tweakers is just to load them and listen to how they affect your sound and your playing.
And also how the manual says “MPE is still in development”, yet the pitch some three years ago said…
And another great example of the BS they touted to get this thing backed…
Three years ago in the original pitch they said it was “Fully compatible with MPE”, now, two years later the manual says…
And again, from the original pitch…
> “Our goal is to use the time between our Kickstarter launch and the first shipping dates to refine our User Interface and User Experience. Our design team has launched hundreds of successful enterprise-level websites, mobile apps and software apps. We all believe that the best user interfaces are realized with a lot of user input, thus we are excited to be able to work with our backers to achieve this goal!”
So, two years of user interface refinement and this is what we have…
That’s what I’d expect from the first days of a prototype, not from two years of refinement…
It looks terrible imo. That stark juxtaposition of the pd interface over their design (which isn’t bad but isn’f great either) is puzzling.
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And it’s really clear from the comments of people who’ve actually received their units that it falls far, far short of what they pitched.
Given this is two years late already there is no confidence at all they’ll ever be able to finish it in any sensible timeframe.
They claim to have invested over 500k into the project, whilst only raising about 100k from the Kickstarter, so it wure is going to be interesting to see how they plan to recoup the rest of their ‘personal’ investment because they sure as heck don’t have anything like a saleable product right now, and their name is going to worse than mud once the word gets out a bit further…
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Oh it just keeps getting better and better…
If your input is not constructive or ‘misses the point’ we won’t assume malice, rather, we will politely ignore those thoughts and comments in favor of things that are addressable and in keeping with the mission to build the ultimate sound file platform.
AKA - “La la la, we can’t hear you…”
Things which are addressable?
How about addressing all the direct questions and concerns about promises broken, or features not included which were advertised as fully working 2+ years ago etc. then?
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Holy f**k. I am SO angry right now, I don’t even know where to start…
So yeah, the Kickstarter has been a complete fiasco, with delay after delay, deflection and radio silence from the devs. One of the worst KS I’ve heard of, but hey, I was a day 1 backer, for the ‘Founders edition’ and I’ve been waiting nearly 3 years for that damned thing.
Well, they’ve finally been shipping a few weeks and people have been receiving theirs in dribs and drabs, but still no sign of mine, and yes I’ve been pretty vocal on the KS comments, then this evening I get this…
I mean seriously, WTAF??
I never once asked for a refund. I didn’t WANT a refund. I just wanted the damned thing I’ve been waiting nearly 3 years for!!
Even though it’s been getting some pretty scathing reviews from those who have received it, and it’s clearly fallen far short of what they pitched, I was still looking forward to getting it and at least having a noodle with it.
I’m sure this is just to shut me up and stop me commenting on Kickstarter, but all they’ve done now is make me SO angry about the way I’ve been treated I’m going to make it my mission to tell everyone just how badly they treat their customers.
I’m not even that bothered about the device any more. I have plenty of other options for simple sample playback, but having been in since day 1 I was still pretty invested in the project, and having waiting three years and knowing it was finally imminent that just feels like a massive kick in the teeth.
Seriously, THREE YEARS WAITING and they pull a stunt like that…
Absolute scum
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Well this sent me off to research this.
I did find other examples of this sort of thing, with a project delayed and the project creator unilaterally giving a full refund to customers who were complaining. The examples i found involved customers complaining in forums other than the Kickstarter Comments area. These projects were for gaming, a large part of Kickstarter pledges, and the complaints were in forums specifically for those games, where other customers could read the responses, which is not like your situation.
As for Kickstarter rules about this, they permit it.
This is from Section 5 of their Terms of Use Agreement:
These are the terms that apply when you’re creating a project:
- You can refund individual pledges if you want. After your project has been funded, you can cancel and refund a backer’s pledge at any time. If you do, you have no further obligation to that specific backer, and no agreement exists between you.
There are no conditions set on this, it seems like Kickstarter permits the refunding for any reason. The project creator does not get to claim back the portion of money that Kickstarter takes to make their money. (That is after the 14 day settling out period, after the pledge period closes.)
So a creator could refund the money, of someone, who just wants their money back, let’s say they were sick and lost their job. Or it could be any other reason. Like the creator, would be losing money if they fulfill the pledge, and refunds are cheaper.
I also found elsewhere that Kickstarter will close a backer out of further project communications once their money is refunded in full.
You should also read Section 4 which details the responsibilities a creator has to the backer to successfully complete a project, and what must be done in the event of a failure. There are two areas that seem to me to pertain to a creator who chooses to refund a customer as they have in your case.
Specifically:
-
they work diligently and in good faith to bring the project to the best possible conclusion in a timeframe that’s communicated to backers;
-
they’ve been honest, and have made no material misrepresentations in their communication to backers;
You need to decide how you go forward with this.
If it was me, i’d take the money and run.
ADDED: The word unilaterally.
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what the what ???
i actually sold mine, but this definitely solidifies my decision.
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I received mine today. It was a long wait. During this time i sold lot of gear and entered the modular avenue.
So i tested it today, it’s like a computer. That’s not my way of doing music. Two years ago i would have been happy.
Now i will sell it. That’s life. No regrets for having been a backer nor having followed the rabbit that brings me in modular hole 
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Just saw one of these listed on my local Craigslist. Had no idea what it was so came here naturally to research. What a fiasco!!!
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You’re not wrong mate. Total car crash.
Interesting to note on the KS comments they seen to have pretty much gone radio silent. Lots of unhappy backers!
Seems like ultimately, when they cancelled my longstanding pledge on the very last day of shipping, I actually dodged a bullet,
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aye, i was a backer and as soon as i got it i flipped it. it was horrendous.
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Was a backer too.
Sold it very fast, unhappy with the sound, UI and unachieved programming.
But i think that people used with programming and computer skills could find a good starting base for their customisation talents.