I HATE EastWest's PLAY!

[soundslikejoe]

I don't know where to start. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I've always been a fan of EWQL VSTi stuff but since upgrading my Colossus and SO to PLAY, I've had NOTHING but PROBLEMS.

Everyone knows that PLAY was very buggy to start. I was still using Cubase SX3 when I first upgraded and was ready to believe that I needed to upgrade to Cubase 4 for maximum compatibility.

Since my upgrade to CB4, I still have problems. Every PLAY update that comes out, I install with crossed fingers. Still buggy.

CPU overloads, Cubase crashes (only when using PLAY).... recently I updated PLAY only to find that afterward dozens of samples disappeared.

EWQL tech support sucks. The installer for their software sucks (no functional repair mode, constantly demanding to install old iLok drivers). The software is totally unstable.

There should be some sort of recourse for this level of dissatifcation. Till then, I'll continue to use their NI Kontakt based products.

[soundslikejoe]

just in case someone asks...

System Specs: Intel e6600, Intel D975x-bx2, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 4x HD SATA, ATI x700, UAD-1, RME HDSP 9632, XPsp3

All software and drivers up to date.

[JustinAiken]

But they stopped pirates so they won right?

[feck]

Not a single problem here with PLAY and 8 core MAC. And I run 8-10 separate PLAY's per project for a few of the latest ones.

[soundslikejoe]

What is your platform? (Logic) Do you use multiple instances with single patches or do you load multitimbral templates? I've noticed more problems when attempting to group articulations polyphonically using one instance.

Recent problems have been reduced by reinstalling PLAY from scratch. Still... I'm waiting to see if it will crack under stress.

[barbital]

I may have missed it, but has anyone who is experiencing PLAY problems, updated to the latest version? I've heard it solves quite a few problems.

Still nervous. I am looking at SD2 for my rig, but still worried about stability.

Ben

[sahiaman]

I had problems with the initial install. When I upgraded to their new play engine all the problems went away.

[jokerent1]

Joenovice, same goes here. I have had a stressfull time with this play product. I purchased the Ql Goliath and this thing keeps crashing. It only plays the left channel when i use it in v-stack and crashes everytime in standalone mode. I paid 2much for this thing for it to keep doing this. Soundsonline/Eastwest support sucks. The guy told me......"check around on our forum and see if anybody else found a solution to this problem. I was like What! You guys made this product, who would have a better solution than you? I run every other vst with no problem but this new play engine is unstable.... my sytem is a core 2 do 2gb ram Open labs Miko keyboard

[soundslikejoe]

Good news. After working with the EWQL tech support and detailing problems, they have finally fixed the software.

Version 1.2 was released last week and is ROCK SOLID! If you haven't installed the update do so now. This should fix the majority of major problems.

[bobbybland]

I woke up to this friendly message this ,morning from soundsonline forums..

vBulletin Message You have been banned for the following reason:
No reason was specified.
Date the ban will be lifted: Never



I basically just asked if I could give the PLAY libraries away that I purchased,as I just don't have a need for them,and I was going to give them to a friend and fellow musician,who showed some interest in them.. I guess that too is against their policies.. Doug I don't know what to say other then your cronies are somewhat operating like a **** regime,I hope you fail miserably and customers acknowledge your companies fraudulent ways..East West dfegad You guys seriously should look into changing your policies for guys like me who can't stand your products after we've invested ton's of dough,only to be ridden with bugs after bugs from your software.. tuttYou won't get much further kids..

Cheers, Ted

[topaz]

I totally agree

play upgrade was a waste of money for me, it's buggy CPU heavy
and far less flexible than kontakt.

Infact I removed it from my system and promised to never buy another
east west product .

Support is useless, top that off with the constant so called
1 off sales.

[soundslikejoe]

I will say their libraries are worth the troubles I went through. Always good sounds. I'm scared of the soon to be released PLAY 2. It's a free upgrade but I think it will be a long time before I move from the current version.

Still solid since version 1.2

I emotionally scared from when I was having so many problems.

[Bob800]

PLAY is pure crap.

1.2 is still very buggy for me and a CPU hog.

[musicbydesign]

Yes, its an old post but still relevant.

Its sad how a company can produce such great sounds but with such a crappy engine AND installer.

I originally installed FAB Four & Ministry of Rock on XP 32bit 4g ram and it sucked royalty, but after the updates it was about medium usable which was pretty good I guess considering that it had never ran in pro tools 8 until the updates. The stand alone version worked before updating but that's only good for noodling around and checking out the sounds.


Now I've upgraded to Pro Tools 9 (From 8) and built a nice i7 PC with 12g ram windows 7 64 bit and after several tries, I finally got FAB Four and Ministry of Rock to install but the 64 bit updater won't run all the way. It hangs on "Please wait while the installer determines your disk space requirements".

Any Ideas? This sucks because the origional version is flat unusable in Pro Tools.

[musicbydesign]

okay, after about 3 days of repeated installs, failed updates and uninstalls, and many many reboots, I'm completely sick of East West and their F-ing stupid Play engine. The updater hangs and leaves the products useless. Waste of money !!!

"F" it all!!.....I'm going to use and support the plugs that actually work:


(Already installed on Win7 64 bit with Pro Tools 9 and working Fine

AAS
Antares
Brainwerks
DUY
Elysia
Flux
iZotope
Line6
MdDSP
Melodyne
Nomad Factory
Overloud
Sonalksis
Studio Devil
Waves Xils Labs

East West should stick to making sounds and not engines like Play.

[Animus]

I had all kinds of Play 64bit installer problems too. Complained about some Pithon lib it needed and somehow was an incomplete install but wouldn't let me reinstall anything saying "finish the current install" or some such and even wouldn't let me uninstall anything with the same message. lol Go figure. Luckily I was reinstalling my OS anyway shortly after where it decided to work.

[musicbydesign]

Originally Posted by Animus

I had all kinds of Play 64bit installer problems too. Complained about some Pithon lib it needed and somehow was an incomplete install but wouldn't let me reinstall anything saying "finish the current install" or some such and even wouldn't let me uninstall anything with the same message. lol Go figure. Luckily I was reinstalling my OS anyway shortly after where it decided to work.

Yep, its really strange. Today I installed a ton more plugs by IK Multimedia and Native Instruments and they ALL installed without a hitch. I would have to say NI is my favorite plug-in company because they have such excellent products and the Authorizer program makes it so easy when registering or updating the plugs. IK Multimedia is the second favorite plug company, both are excellent.

I do plan to try again soon to get the East West Fab Four & Ministry of Rock going. I wish East West would make new installers that actually work and are updated. I think these old 2007 installers are alot of the problems and with Windows 7 gaining rapid market share, East West really needs to update their products with full installers instead of updates that hang or won't install.

[musicbydesign]

Well I've been trying for weeks to get this stupid product to work on Windows 7 64 bit. The antiquated installers don't even offer RTAS as an option, but install VST and the standalone versions. I would like RTAS and Standalone only as I really don't need VST. Here is the story so far.

Win 7 64 bit 12 gigs of ram i7 CPU etc...

Pro Tools 9 32 bit (Avid please make it 64 bit native!)

I've tried both the 32 bit and 64 bit installer and neither installs (or even offers to install) the RTAS version .....even using custom install.

When I start the standalone version it promps me that an update is available V2.11

I downloaded the update in both 32 and 64 bit.

The 32 bit installer says I must use the 64 bit version. The 64 bit update hangs on the "Checking for hard drive space" message. I've left it for an hour just to return to the same message. The previous update always hung on installation also. I really hoped this one would actually work.

The non updated standalone version will work but is useless to me without being in pro tools 9.

East West makes great sounds but the Play engine so far has been completely pathetic in my opinion.

If East West would make a modern full installer for modern OS's then I think it would actually work. Or even do like many others do and make the player freeware and the sounds are what you purchase. Then we could lose the antiquated installers and actually make some music. Hello?

[elambo]

Originally Posted by musicbydesign

Its sad how a company can produce such great sounds but with such a crappy engine AND installer.

They hired a great outside engineer, Keith Johnson.

Other than that, EW has little to offer me. I used it for a few years (under the Kontakt engine) and it sounded great in most instances, but other libraries have since overtaken it and by a large amount.

[Cinemascope]

Play works great here and sounds flawless

It's an important part of my sonic armoury

love it

[musicbydesign]

Originally Posted by Cinemascope

Play works great here and sounds flawless

It's an important part of my sonic armoury

love it

Thats great, what's your setup? If mine would actually install RTAS and update to the latest version of Play, all would prob be fine.

My EW Products are Fab Four and Ministry of Rock 1

If they would release a new installer (Not just updater) it would prob work.

[zephonic]

Originally Posted by soundslikejoe

I don't know where to start. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I've always been a fan of EWQL VSTi stuff but since upgrading my Colossus and SO to PLAY, I've had NOTHING but PROBLEMS.

Everyone knows that PLAY was very buggy to start. I was still using Cubase SX3 when I first upgraded and was ready to believe that I needed to upgrade to Cubase 4 for maximum compatibility.

When I first bought Goliath I was on Cubase 4.5.2 and it would not even play. When I would open an instance Cubase would "unexpectedly quit".

I eventually installed Yamaha Studio Manager 2 and that solved the conflicts. Now I could use PLAY but it was not very stable and would behave erratically.

Then I upgraded to Cubase 5.5.1 and this has been a major improvement. Actually now it works okay, but it is heavy on resources. I recently upgraded to PLAY 2 and so far so good.

EW recommend you do not use one instance multi-timbrally, and although this ridiculous in a way, I'd do as they say and just load a separate instance for every instrument.


edit: oops, I didn't realize this is an oldie.


Here is a detailed account of my experiences with PLAY so far.

[musicbydesign]

Originally Posted by zephonic

edit: oops, I didn't realize this is an oldie.

Its cool, I woke it up trying to resolve some probs with PT9 with Win7 64 bit.

[Cinemascope]

I'm running 64bit AU in Logic 9.1.3 via OSX 10.6.6 on a 3gHz 8Core

[musicbydesign]

Originally Posted by Cinemascope

I'm running 64bit AU in Logic 9.1.3 via OSX 10.6.6 on a 3gHz 8Core

Cool, I will soon be getting a Macintosh Pro quad-core for Pro Tools 9. Hopefully these East West products will actually work well and even update properly.


UPDATE : 04-09-11----------

Well now I have a new Mac Pro Quad Core with 16gb ram and both FAB FOUR and MINISTRY OF ROCK 1 loaded and updated. Both play fine in standalone mode and while the Play engine loads in Pro Tools 9, there is no MIDI playback. You can play the instrument's onscreen keyboard with the mouse but no keyboard midi is working while all other tracks with midi instruments work fine. WTF?

BTW: Im really loving the new Mac and wouldn't go back to PC for music

[Mafiacondon]

this sucks - new software bought last week East West Quantum Leap symphonic gold with extra mic positions.

ran installers then tried to load play standalone and it crashed. 1.xxxx

ran uninstaller

tried to load 3.0.12 update , installer fails each time

called tech support amsterdam - talked me through FAQ double checked with permissions
- Michael couldnt find anything to explain , refered me to US tech support number.

got there answerphone each time i called

got response from email to tech support , they told me to run uninstaller and then all fine , i wrote back explaining that is what i said i had done in the first email - awaiting new plan of action

phoned again , this time held throughout got someone at east west on the phone , we didnt really see eye to eye in the conversation it was awkward and ive got the option to try and run play 2 see if thats any better ,

getting frustrated now , solution seems far off , just want to play tunes etc etc etc.............

[terrible.dee]

Originally Posted by Mafiacondon

this sucks - new software bought last week East West Quantum Leap symphonic gold with extra mic positions.

ran installers then tried to load play standalone and it crashed. 1.xxxx

ran uninstaller

tried to load 3.0.12 update , installer fails each time

called tech support amsterdam - talked me through FAQ double checked with permissions
- Michael couldnt find anything to explain , refered me to US tech support number.

got there answerphone each time i called

got response from email to tech support , they told me to run uninstaller and then all fine , i wrote back explaining that is what i said i had done in the first email - awaiting new plan of action

phoned again , this time held throughout got someone at east west on the phone , we didnt really see eye to eye in the conversation it was awkward and ive got the option to try and run play 2 see if thats any better ,

getting frustrated now , solution seems far off , just want to play tunes etc etc etc.............

Dude,

These people are HORRIBLE

I got my east/west Gold in the mail the other day and have nothing but problems.

Whentrying to load the samples I get this error

p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; } The sample file "/Volumes/G DRIVE Q/Play Libraries/EWQL Orchestra Library/Gold Instruments/Gold Brass/Solo Trombone/5 Keysw/../../../../Platinum Samples/Platinum Brass/Solo Bass Trombone/Solo Bass Trombone F/SBTssF F/SBTssF28 F.wav" could not be loaded.


No response via email.


Others are complaining about this error on the forum but they have yet to offer any answers


Could you give me their USA number for tech support? I can't find it anywhere. These people are impossible to get in touch with.

[Mafiacondon]

The support goes to answerphone everytime but i held on through the menu and got someone.

really annoyed at waste of money for something i cant use on a Mac xeon intel

001 323 957 6969

[Mafiacondon]

Got play working via install as different admin account then trash play preferences and log into old account.

(TFk don't need to use new account cause of all of my pluggin s go haywire when different account looking for authorisations that aren't there )

Pleased to report handles RAM well.

There is also a guy on gearslutz ' eastwestlurker ' who has tech knowledge and willing to help.

[elambo]

So for tech support you have to know to navigate to a general gear forum and find a particular member and hope that he finds your post... That's great service.

I see nothing has changed with EW.