tonester
Max Output Level: -74 dBFS
- Total Posts : 823
- Joined: 2003/11/06 07:11:09
- Status: offline
$49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
Hi all: So I purchased the V3 GigaStudio (ensemble) from ScitScat music for $49.00. Seemed like a great deal. I mean, 7 Gigs worth of content? Currently I run VSampler 3.5 "Pro" that has nowhere near that library depth, for about the same price. However, when I went to register the product, i was advised by the Tascam electronic registration process that the CD key I was given BELONGED TO ANOTHER USER, and that I couldn't register it. And yes, I entered the numbers correctly. Anybody have a similar experience? I mean the box and it's contents were sealed, so WTF? I have fired off emails to both Tascam and ScitScat, so now it's just a waiting game. Has anyone had a similar tale of woe? Thanks, Tony www.myspace.com/livesayrox
|
jcschild
Max Output Level: -41 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3409
- Joined: 2003/11/08 00:20:10
- Location: Kentucky y'all
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:03:03
(permalink)
HI,
welcome to the world of Tascam.
good luck getting it to work once installed
Scott
ADK
|
PC1211
Max Output Level: -87 dBFS
- Total Posts : 167
- Joined: 2006/08/29 03:56:20
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:15:06
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: jcschild
HI,
welcome to the world of Tascam.
good luck getting it to work once installed
Scott
ADK
A big amen to that. Tascam has quite possibly the most condescending, customer loathing tech support culture in the industry. They make Native Instruments look good, and we all know how big a task that is.
post edited by PC1211 - 2006/12/13 16:33:41
|
LionSound
Max Output Level: -39 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3616
- Joined: 2003/12/04 08:07:03
- Location: Los Angeles
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:23:39
(permalink)
What a bummer. Can you return it to the retailer you purchased it from? You can probably have them call Tascam with your info so they can verify that your serial number has been registered. It sounded like a good deal, though.
www.soundclick.com/lionsound FirstStrike 1.2 IS RELEASED! www.fsmod.com
|
Infinite5ths
Max Output Level: -39 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3631
- Joined: 2005/05/08 16:46:11
- Location: USA
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:23:45
(permalink)
I have that version -- but I purchased it direct from Tascam for $130. It works fine on my system ReWired into Sonar. Just make sure that you do ALL of the Tascam updates, and DON'T let any other program replace the ReWire.dll library file. [I can't make this a complete blanket statement - but my experiences have not been good using any ReWire.dll file except those included in the Tascam installs/updates.] I've got a few tips (things that have helped with stability & smooth playback) if you want them - whenever you get it installed and working.
post edited by Infinite5ths - 2006/12/13 16:43:38
|
darc
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 764
- Joined: 2004/01/19 14:39:05
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:25:32
(permalink)
If it's any indication, I had hundreds upon hundreds of dollars sunk into Gigasampler/Gigastudio/upgrades over a number of years, and finally just cut bait one day, having decided it wasn't worth any more aggravation. They were like a parody of the whole serial number/activation key paranoia thing. I think I had 4 different numbers for one product at one point, and they were all about 600 characters long. Plus, the applications would never run for more than a week at time. Some tech (hardware or software) would hit the market, and Tascam would just not bother to catch up for months at a time. (Hyperthreading was the straw that finally broke my back.)  It was more appropriate when Giga was owned by Nemesys, because they were my nemesis. If you're only $49 in, I'd turn and run now. (Find a good format converter and harvest all the samples first.)
post edited by darc - 2006/12/13 16:45:17
|
Infinite5ths
Max Output Level: -39 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3631
- Joined: 2005/05/08 16:46:11
- Location: USA
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:28:41
(permalink)
darc (and Scott), I keep hearing this....but what is the alternative?? ...Kontakt 2?? YEAH RIGHT! I'd rather be shot. [OK...I'd rather be one-shot.  ] Seriously though -- I've heard as many complaints about NI's lack of support as I have about Tascam's; and from what I hear Kontakt 2 seems to be just as buggy as Giga. Nothing else on the market seems advanced enough to fully implement the complex sample programming in Giga. So converting is a joke. Is there something I'm missing here?
post edited by Infinite5ths - 2006/12/13 16:53:40
|
darc
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 764
- Joined: 2004/01/19 14:39:05
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:36:41
(permalink)
I'd rather be one-shot. That should be a T-shirt for sampler geeks LOL. Anyhow, your points are well-taken. The reality for me was that I never really needed the power that Giga offered, and that made it all the harder to tolerate the constant speedbumps. At this point I'm happy to work with something with less depth, but that I can count on to work out of the box and until I'm done with it. So, in my case, I pretty much jettisoned all those old GIG files, too. Agreed, NI support is rough. I remember Nemesys/Tascam being worse, but that's probably just because the internet music community just wasn't what it is today. Back then when you got left in the dark, it was a blackout.
|
Infinite5ths
Max Output Level: -39 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3631
- Joined: 2005/05/08 16:46:11
- Location: USA
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:41:14
(permalink)
Yeah...unfortunately even some of my "simple" GIG files (that I REALLY like - stuff like steel string & nylon guitars, pianos, etc.) use some of the more advanced Giga stuff. It's pretty difficult to get them translated into anything worthwhile. [I've got Extreme Sample Converter 3.1.]
post edited by Infinite5ths - 2006/12/13 17:22:56
|
PC1211
Max Output Level: -87 dBFS
- Total Posts : 167
- Joined: 2006/08/29 03:56:20
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 16:48:46
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: darc
I'd rather be one-shot.
That should be a T-shirt for sampler geeks LOL.
Anyhow, your points are well-taken. The reality for me was that I never really needed the power that Giga offered, and that made it all the harder to tolerate the constant speedbumps. At this point I'm happy to work with something with less depth, but that I can count on to work out of the box and until I'm done with it.
So, in my case, I pretty much jettisoned all those old GIG files, too.
Agreed, NI support is rough. I remember Nemesys/Tascam being worse, but that's probably just because the internet music community just wasn't what it is today. Back then when you got left in the dark, it was a blackout.
I'm pretty much in the same boat with you, darc. I purchased Halion 3 and converted all my Gig's with pretty good success. I still use them (within Halion) on a regular basis. I also purchased Kontakt 2 and have been real pleased with its capabilities also. Neither sampler is perfect, by far, but the constant tech support issues that I experienced with GS are virtually a thing of the past. Both Halion and Kontakt work well for me, although Kontakt is definitely a resource hog whereas Halion is much more efficient.
|
Gavin
Max Output Level: -87 dBFS
- Total Posts : 183
- Joined: 2006/11/29 13:49:40
- Location: Scotland
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 18:24:38
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: tonester
Hi all:
So I purchased the V3 GigaStudio (ensemble) from ScitScat music for $49.00. Seemed like a great deal. I mean, 7 Gigs worth of content? Currently I run VSampler 3.5 "Pro" that has nowhere near that library depth, for about the same price.
However, when I went to register the product, i was advised by the Tascam electronic registration process that the CD key I was given BELONGED TO ANOTHER USER, and that I couldn't register it. And yes, I entered the numbers correctly.
Anybody have a similar experience? I mean the box and it's contents were sealed, so WTF?
I have fired off emails to both Tascam and ScitScat, so now it's just a waiting game.
Has anyone had a similar tale of woe?
Thanks,
Tony
www.myspace.com/livesayrox
Same problem! Same supplier! Took them 4 days to get me a new serial. I installed, used the serial but since i use a 64bit dual core CPU i had to install the 3.2 upgrade, doing so meant they asked for a NEW serial number, i reused and it wouldn't accept my old one. So i said "**** it", uninstalled, then it was causing huge cockups with the system. I then wiped windows, figured a clean slate... NOTHING on GS installed, new serial was now registered to another user. Tascam didn't reply... So i just googled for a gigastudio serial number generator... Forced to use a pirate serial for software i LEGALLY OWN... Then after 4 days it started saying serial invalid again... So now i have gigastudio 100% off my system. I then got Kontakt 2, have had NO PROBLEMS at all, NOTHING, converted all my gigs and just use them. Tascam can go right to hell.
|
Steve Mac
Max Output Level: -76 dBFS
- Total Posts : 730
- Joined: 2003/11/05 18:04:08
- Location: California
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/13 19:21:16
(permalink)
I then got Kontakt 2, have had NO PROBLEMS at all, NOTHING, converted all my gigs and just use them. What about "keyswitching" in the GIG files? Did it convert those as well? I have Kompakt, and it doesn't do keyswitching (which is a really nice feature on some of the libraries).
Steve McNamara ~~ SignatureTunes Studios~~ SoundClick avatar courtesy of my son
|
tarsier
Max Output Level: -45 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3029
- Joined: 2003/11/07 11:51:35
- Location: 6 feet under
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/14 10:07:24
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Gavin
Tascam didn't reply...
So i just googled for a gigastudio serial number generator...
Forced to use a pirate serial for software i LEGALLY OWN...
Then after 4 days it started saying serial invalid again...
So now i have gigastudio 100% off my system.
I then got Kontakt 2, have had NO PROBLEMS at all, NOTHING, converted all my gigs and just use them.
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with GigaStudio. But why are you surprised that the pirate keygen didn't work? The makers of keygen software have no way of knowing if they actually got it right, whereas the software (like GigaStudio) can have many methods of detecting whether or not the serial is valid. One of those methods was posted by a developer on KVR (sorry I don't have the link handy). In a nutshell, whoever makes the keygen would have to test it for some long length of time to really be sure if it worked. Software crackers just aren't going to do that, so you really can't rely on their keygens. I sympathize with your plight (I've had my share of dealing with Tascam and Giga support), but not with your use of a keygen--and then complaining that it didn't work either.
|
darc
Max Output Level: -75 dBFS
- Total Posts : 764
- Joined: 2004/01/19 14:39:05
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/15 11:46:07
(permalink)
I sympathize with your plight (I've had my share of dealing with Tascam and Giga support), but not with your use of a keygen--and then complaining that it didn't work either. I think his point was more to the effect that he was forced to use the keygen in the first place. I can remember getting e-mails from Nemesis/Tascam that were literally like 3 pages long, just all sorts of keycode gobbledey-gook. Multiple stages of installation/registration/activation. It was straight-up madness! (Come to think of it, VSampler was much the same. Maybe I just have a low tolerance for frustration.) The thing is, in the early days of Giga, the technology seemed so far-out that I was willing to put up with it. "My god my PC is making those sounds!!!" But as alternatives arose, and running Giga persisted to be rocket science, it just got ****ed. It doesn't sound like anything has changed (although I'm willing to bet the vendor is to blame in Tonester's specific case - they're probably reselling packages that other disgruntled customers have returned.)
post edited by darc - 2006/12/15 12:05:24
|
bachus
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 33
- Joined: 2004/02/23 16:39:09
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2006/12/21 12:15:06
(permalink)
I've been running giga as a standalone since 2.0 and it has worked quite well though there have been problems (Tascams) and service was pure poop. A few months ago upgraded to 3 had a problem with the registration process (what a surprise) but when I called I got really good service. Must have been a new guy. They've probably found out and fired him by now
|
nachivnik
Max Output Level: -78 dBFS
- Total Posts : 604
- Joined: 2003/11/04 11:42:55
- Status: offline
RE: $49 GiGaStudio 3 too good to be true?
2007/01/15 01:18:11
(permalink)
Same supplier, same deal, same problem. I got a new serial number from them that worked after a weekend + of not getting it to work and thinking I had been taken. They're fine, and they'll take care of it.
Unfortunately, the software has its own problems. I had it working on my much slower system, but since I upgraded to a new computer, I couldn't get it to work. I have limited time, so after I wasted three days' including a weekend, I decided that was it, and I went through the system uninstall process.
Trying to harvest the samples turned out to be futile. There must be something in the copy protection that only produces flatline samples when converting.
I'm occasionally tempted by GVI, but dongle + this experience has me going to Kompakt, which I already own. Someday I'll upgrade to Kontakt 2, maybe.
Hey, at least it was only $49, and not what others have spent. Okay, I really could have used the money for something else, and it turned out to be a lousy birthday present for myself. I should have known better, though.
|