I think I have the ultimate solution for the PLG150-AN.
I use a Kenton Plugstation (youd have to find one second hand nowadays,
Kenton has stopped making them quite a while ago). This is a standalone IU
rackmount module that can host 4 plugin cards (I have the AN, DX, VL and PF
cards. The great thing about it is that it provides 8 analog audio outs,
with good 24bit D/A convertors, and also has 8 channel ADAT out. So you can
set each card to output via its own dedicated stereo pair. It had MIDI
in/out/thru.
It also comes with a daughterboard connector to Yamahas SW1000XG, which I
have in my PC along with the Yamaha DSP Factory. So, when working at home,
the 8 outputs of the plugstation can also be routed through the SW1000s
link to the DSP Factory, which itself provides an 8 channel digital link
into the DSP Factory mixer.
The arrangement works very well for me. I use the ADAT output when wanting
to have the sounds routed directly into my Yamaha 02R mixer. I use the
analog outs if I am playing out live, and I use the link via the SW1000 into
the DSP Factory when I want to record the audio outputs into my sequencer.
For altering parameters, I use Kentons Control Freak Studio Edition, on
which you can set it up to transmit sysex as well as continuous controller
messages. So can get at any parameter that is controllable via either
system.
The one remaining bug-bear is not having the user banks of the AN card
retained during power off. I have mine backed up, but generally I leave the
Plugstation switched on 24/7 so it is only after a power cut or a holiday
(when I switch all my gear off) that I have to reload the entire bank.
If anyone is looking for a solution for multiple plugin cards, and sees a
Kenton Plugstation being sold, I suggest snapping it up. The only negative
comment I have about the plugstation is that when using the ADAT output, you
either have to make it the wordclock master (which may not be convenient) or
have it connected to the SW1000XG, in which case the SW1000XG has to be the
wordclock master.
By the way, I met the plugstations chief designer (Kentons owner) at the
recent sounds expo event in London. He told me that the company made a huge
loss on the plugstation, and that was why it was discontinued. It was never
marketed correctly, and most people were confused as to its main purpose,
mainly because it was available as a bare unit and you could choose to fit
various option boards in (to give you surprise surprise analog outs,
SW1000 connectivity, ADAT outs etc).. The problem was never properly
resolved, and he agreed with my comment that, in hindsight, they should have
just marketed it with all option boards as standard, and as a host for 4
plugin cards that could be used standalone or connected to an SW1000XG.
I got the impression that Kenton (who were approached by Yamaha to make it)
had expected Yamaha to do the marketing side of it, but they never did it
properly. The info on Yamahas website didnt really spell out the virtues
of the plugstation, and confused people as to which board options they
needed. The owner told me that based on the number of units sold, it cost
the company about £800 per unit to make it (including R&D costs) which is
far more that it sold for. I seem to remember it cost me a little under
£300 for the unit with all the option boards installed.
I also asked him about the wordclock issues and he told me that it would
have been easy to make an adapter to fit onto the D-Sub connector to provide
a wordclock input (the D-Sub is used to connect with the connector on the
SW1000 daughterboard) and that the idea was mooted, but that by the time
they thought of it, then it was already becoming clear they were going to
make a loss on the unit overall, and so development was not given the go
ahead. Thats a real shame.
Anyway, just thought this info might be of interest to someone out there.
Cheers,
Nigel
_____
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From: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of hemmer12000
Sent: 31 March 2007 04:24
To: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AN1x] Re: S30 + PLG150AN vs. AN200
The PLG150 is a great sounding board and having both a PLG150 and the
AN1x, I think the PLG150 sounds better. That said, I prefer having the
AN1x though.
The PLG150 has one option the AN1X does not: cross modulation. This is
probably why I prefer the PLG150 sound to the AN1X.
I once had two PLG150s in a CS6X (which I no longer have as well).
My biggest problem with the PLG150 is that it is not fully accessable
from within its host. Just as someone else already mentioned, there
are only certain parameters you can access, and for those like Cutoff,
you're only applying an "offset" to the patch's preset value.
Even with the Doepfer, you still need to send the PLG150 sysex to
change most parameters like the filter type or osc type. And this is
accomplished via the editing software that comes with the PLG150.
Further, even if you could easily access all the parameters, the patch
still needs to be stored, and the PLG150 has no facility itself to
store changes made on it.
With the CS6x you could have it autoload a patch bank upon bootup
which is what I would expect from the S03, but I had intermittant
problems with the CS6X actually loading the file.
There are other issues to consider: the PLG150 will use the S03's
audio output, and if you're doing any multitracking you'll need to
solo the midi track to the PLG150 to record it. An AN200 at least is a
stand-alone audio feed you can effect separately from your S03.
If you get the An200, you also get its rhythm section and AMW samples
along with the PLG150. I have heard that the PLG150 is inside an AN200
but I couldn't tell you for sure if it's the exact card.
Because of what I found to be too many limitations of the PLG150, I
ended up
trading both to a guy for a AN1x.
I couldn't be happier!
Good luck with your decision.
--- In AN1x-list@yahoogrou <mailto:AN1x-list%40yahoogroups.com> ps.com,
"harambeuk" <harambeuk@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I joined this group cause I played around with a PLG150AN in a CS6X at
> a friend's studio and I was really impressed with the sounds.
>
> I'm trying to trim my live setup from three keyboards (Nord Electro
> 73, Yamaha S30 and Alesis Micron) to two, so I need to replace the
> Micron's sounds. I'm thinking of either getting a AN200 or installing
> the PLG150AN card in my S30 and controlling it with a Doepfer Pocket
> Control or similar. I understand that I also have the option of
> removing the PLG card from the AN200 and putting it in the S30.
>
> Do you think one option is much better than the other? Is there a
> significant difference in sound quality depending on where the PLG
> card is housed? Can I control all of the main parameters (i.e.
> envelopes, filter, OSC wave) of the PLG card via MIDI and the S30's
> controls?
>
> Many thanks,
> Milt
>
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