Soundtower apps for 99- is it worth it?

[Dave the Butcher]

Hi,
I downloaded the demo of the Soundtowerapp and GUI looks like i´m back in 1994 or something. And the Presets won´t load on the app correctly. And it feels like a lot isn´t working or counter intuitive. I had the Polybrute and the Editor was extremely fine, so i feel 99 is a bit high priced for a clunky piece of midi nightmare. or am i missing something? is it cool for anyone?

Maybe i program it on the synth anyway, but sequencer programming would be cool via editor...

[TvRMusic]

I don't think it's worth it. I also downloaded the demo and experienced the same buggy behaviour.
The only two pro's I could find are that you can easily see how a patch is made and that you can overwrite the factory patches but it's definitely not worth 99!

[gibson2]

I don't think it's worth it. I also downloaded the demo and experienced the same buggy behaviour.
The only two pro's I could find are that you can easily see how a patch is made and that you can overwrite the factory patches but it's definitely not worth 99!

I relate to your experience! I also found the GUI to be quite outdated, and the loading issues presets were frustrating. For $99, I expected a lot more polish and functionality. Programming directly on the synth seems like the better option at this point!

[dolomick]

I spent close to an hour with the demo until I realized maybe there were unlisted demo restrictions - I emailed the developer, and yes there are a bunch of demo restrictions that are not listed on the website or in the manual. Really not cool.

It is the only game in town unless you can get the Ctrlr editor to work, which requires a CS major so you'd better be a techie if you want to go that route

[Dave the Butcher]

i got CTRLR and synthmutts panel up and running, it´s straigt forward and really generous. i´m a complete noob, so if i can do it, you dont need to be a techie! the only thing is : you have to find synthmutts´s post on general topics in the DSI/Sequential Forum, there he redirects you to an .exe which installs CTRLR. Open CTRLR and Load the Panel for Theo5 posted here into CTRLR. Very much is running already, just Bugs with Presets, and no Sequencer programmind, sadly. But WAY cooler than the $99 soundtowerapp!

[Dave the Butcher]

https://sourceforge.net/projects/ctrlr-utilities/files/Ctrlr/
there it is

[dolomick]

Thanks but I posted on the other thread too that when opening the panel it gives me an XML parsing error. In both standalone and as a VST. I re-downloaded the panel and no luck. Strange because I am usually pretty good with computers and have used other panels in the past (Behringer pro-800).

[lewisfrancis]

I agree that the SoundTower interface is unusual, doesn't appear to follow ui conventions common to Mac/Win, which leads to confusion in a few places. Doesn't help at all that the demo restrictions are only listed on the app's splash screen.

However, even with the existing issues I find it useful, especially the AU PlugSE version.

Super-curious about the CTRLR approach but I think it's not supported very well on Apple Silicon machines, yet?

[avbnet]

You're right, many find the Soundtower apps clunky and overpriced. The UI is dated, and bugs with preset handling aren't uncommon. Unless you really need it for sequencer work, it might not be worth the $99.

[chazriff]

Here's a free editor for Mac and PC:

https://aka-v-c-f.blogspot.com/2024/09/oberheim-teo-5-editor-for-mac.html