Proteus VX - don't understand it

I am using Sonar X1b Essential on a System 7 64 bit laptop.  No midi input device necessary because I am simply playing back pre-existing midi files.   If there is other information you might need to help  me solve this problem, tell me, please.  Each midi track assigned to Proteus VX channels plays back just fine.  Sounds great.  Love it.  However...

according to the manual (the full manual, not just the help file), when I close my midi project all of the setup on the Proteus VX is supposed to save automatically (like the settings on Cakewalk TTS, Dimension LE, etc.).    As I am sure you know, when I close the project, the window states that the "contents of the sampler's memory have changed. Do you want to save them?"  Click yes and you are given a chance to name it and save as an Emulator X Bank File.  But when you open the project, a window states that it can't find the bank file and when you lead it to the file, it won't open because it's not a real EXB file (???).  And, of course, when I say skip it and go ahead and open the project,  an "empty" Proteus VX is there...and I have to reset every channel with the sound I had assigned before.  Again, all of the sounds work when I do that...I just can't get anything to save.

Another question:  I have several sound banks (e.g. Proteus 1, Proteus 2, Proteus 3).   I would like to use the program numbers for automation in setting the sounds on a particular channel.  No problem finding the preset numbers, but regardless of which bank I choose, they all show up as "000:000" for bank and program number.  So, if I have a preset from Proteus 1 on channel 1 and a preset from Proteus 2 on channel 2 and Proteus 1 and Proteus 2 are each referred to as bank 000, how will the automation find the correct preset?

I am not new to midi, but I am new to soft synths.  Again, saving the settings for a project happens automatically with TTS, Dimension and anything else I might use...just not with Proteus VX.  Thanks in advance to all of you who can help me.

That's not encouraging.  Okay, so what about all of the sound banks I have that play in Proteus VX (Proteus 1, Proteus 2, Proteus 3, Orbit, Planet Phatt, DSF Vocal Expressions)?  If I knew of something else that would play them, I wouIld be happy to dump Proteus VX.  I spent a lot of money on these sound banks...for a reason.  I bought a Proteus 1 when it first came out many years ago.  The sounds were great...and that's why I bought these sound banks.  There doesn't seem to be anyplace online where I can buy Proteus X or Emulator X (they don't seem to be offered anymore or something).  I'm even afraid to upgrade to Dimension Pro because there are no indications that it will work properly on System 7.  (Besides, I don't think it will run these sound banks)

Did you upgrade to Windows 7 64bit and use the Proteus sound banks generated in Windows XP? There is a problem with the ESC sound libraries (Planet Earth X, Mo'Phatt X and Protean Drums X) that came with some E-MU sound cards and keyboards. Whatever I try, they will not registrate under Windows 7 64bit. They work nice with W7 32 bit, but 64 bit is a NoNo.

I can only assume you are using (parts of) these libraries, and then you get a "not authorised" problem. This is only a problem with protected libraries. The unprotected libraries (like Xperience, Beat Shop One, X Producer etc.) do not have a problem.

Also -and this is a big problem with Proteus VX- some libraries are to big to fit in the softsynth's memory. Especially Studio Grant has very large samples. The full version of Emulator X3 has streaming sample play (it will be pre-fetched from the hard disk as you play). Unfortunately Protus VX is a "trimmed down" version of Emulator X3 that has no support for big samples (no streaming), so big samples will not work.

To add to this misery the Proteus/Emulator versions before Emulator X3 will NOT work under Windows 7, so no "back-up" solution.

About Sound center.. I am not sure what the problem is. I am using it in some projects, and I certainly do not have this slow responsiveness or loss of notes. I don't know how "beefy" your system is, but it is possible it just can not cope with the demands a DAW including soft synth's are asking. You can play around a bit with your MIDI buffer or check your sound card latency. Without a detailed description of your system it is hard to say what is wrong.

Ah - I see what you mean...

Well - you can set up a "sample bank" with Proteus VX. It is a case of selecting the samples you want to use, and when you are happy then -yes- you have to save it as a sample bank. When Proteus VX starts up it is always "clean". However - you can instruct Proteus VX to load the "last used" sample bank. If you assembled a sample bank (that can be only one sample or a lot of samples) you can let load Proteus VX that last used sample bank.

Unfortunately Proteus VX HAS to have the right sample bank to have the sounds available you use in your project, so yes - you have to save the (updated) sample bank before closing Sonar (and make sure this bank is loaded next time you use Proteus VX in Sonar). And -no-, Proteus VX cannot determine (as far as I know) what bank name is used in your project. My solution is to have a standard sample bank (on a standard location) with my most used samples, that is loading when Proteus VX starts up. Every time I need another sound I add this to my "standard" bank, so it will be available next time I use Proteus VX in Sonar (or another DAW).

You can use several sample banks, but in that case you have to make sure the right bank is loaded before you start working in your project. This can be archieved by starting Proteus VX as "stand alone", load the sample bank you need and make sure you checked "load last used bank" before closing down Proteus VX. After that you can start Cakewalk and the right bank is loaded when loading your project.

It is a bit cumbersome, but when you aware of this Proteus VX is a very usable and nice sounding synth/sample player. Do not forget you can use multiple outputs from Proteus VX, just like TTS-1.  Very nice for a freebie

keith, I'm sort of glad to know that VX not saving has been a problem since the beginning.  At least I know it's not something stupid that I'm doing or not doing.  While it might be nice that the proteus pack for kontakt is on sale, I not only don't have kontakt (which I assume has a cost associated with it), I would also have to pay for the proteus pack.  So, what do I do with Proteus 1, Proteus 2, Proteus 3, Orbit, Planet Phatt, DSF Vocal Expressions packages that I already bought?

Also, Jclosed, I have tried saving sample banks.  I am given a choice for one format:  Emulator X Bank file.  So, I save it and later when I try to open it, a window says it can't find it.  So, I lead the program to it and a window says that it is not a true ".exb" file and therefore can't open it.  I actually wouldn't mind too much going through the process you described, but it just won't let me do that either.

System requirements for Proteus VX are through XP.  Maybe someone will develop a driver so that VX works on system 7.  The more I look into this, the more it seems that something needs to be updated somewhere.  I'm still open to any ideas.

I take part of that back... the about box has a date of July 2006... but still...

Thanks.  I'll look around for that.

Hi,again! I said I would be watching this thread. I have and I was glad to get the info about the bank load. I had forgotten about that. There was a comment about getting VX to run on Windows 7, I believe. If you do a search of this forum, I posted a way to get VX to work in Sonar X1! I don't have time to go into it now. I have to go to a Mother's Day celbration. I will be back in about an hour or so. In the meantime I will let you know I used the Windows Compatibility function to tell Windows 7 to use VX as a Windows XP Service Pack 2 plugin and IT WORKED! If you can't figure it out or no one else trys to help. I will try to locate that post and send it to you.

Thanks, Sidroe.  I believe I set X1 to run as XP, but it never occurred to me to do the same with VX.  I will check out your thread and let you know on this one if it works for me, too.  You may be a hero. 

marklchambers

I had to update libraries in VX, then it worked like a charm in a project...saving my setup as it should.

Are you sure it saved the full VST state? IOW, if you load presets into channels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ... etc. do all of those presets get recalled properly when you reload the project? In my experience, the VST state wasn't saved properly with the project, requiring the custom bank workaround... If it is working correctly for you now, then even better...

I really appreciate the "Genius" nickname, but I really know just about everything I know about this product to the guys in this forum. I just got lucky with the VX fix. And I had no idea it would save the settings when you closed the project. I haven't used VX other than to kind of play around here and there. Thanks goes out to the guys in here that,while I was working with Pro Audio 9 in a commercial studio for someone else, I would hit this forum every day and still do. It was only when I made the plunge to buy my own Cake products that I could participate as a full blown member of one of the greatest forums on the net. I really mean that. It gets heated in here sometimes, but these guys are a wealth of info. I am so glad to say I can help some of you now. BTW, my wife said stop with the compliments. You are giving me the big head. LOL! Glad it worked. ROCK ON!