MOTUnation.com

Ok, that was the problem indeed.
I ran Ethno 1.0.1 Mac installer once. After that I trashed the whole Ethno folder from applications, also trashed all plugin instances.

UVI Workstation shows Ethno sounds and loops as volumes now, all sounds load.

PS. I tried making an alias of MSI soundbank to UVI sounds, that also works.

The advantage of this approach is that I can open some MSI and MEI sounds inside the single instance of UVI WS. This saves some processing power of the CPU.

Still no update driver for Ethno in Snow Leopard? MOTU was on its game with all the others but this is taking forever. I know I could access them from UVI but I can't use the same editing features which is half of what I love about it. I guess I could drag them into Mach Five 2 and load them that way. Really annoying. This is why I should just wait 6 months before updating OS's. I'm sure I forgot to freeze tracks in like 5 projects too... ughhh

I agree, this has taken way too long. Looks like they are not interested in Ethno any more. The embarassing thing is that they are still selling it. There should be a big red warning: Ethno is NOT compatible with current Macintosh operating system... of course there isn't.

I opened a tech session at MOTU to try and get some response. When I called it was obvious that it was becoming an issue. The woman who answered was helpful until she learned it was about Ethno and then she quoted the standard talking point "Ethno is not currently working with Snow Leopard"...you have to contact tech support" So when I got my tech response it began with "Ethno is not currently..." then went on to quote the standard "You can download UVI..."

I specifically asked them not to treat loyal customers (my studios are all MOTU everything) with talking points and to please address the issue of misinformation regarding the upgrade - that being MOTU's position that the SL upgrade is "forthcoming". I reminded them that the site has been saying this for months and that the word "forthcoming" means "imminent" ... "about to happen". "So please" I ask, don't duck your responsibilities to the people that pay your bills and simply give us some sense of the status, especially those of us that use Ethno as a main tool for composition. Really simple - treat your customers with respect by communicating with them when you've caused a problem.

It's really absurd behavior toward your customer base. There's no need to be secretive or political - please, we deal with enough of that BS. This is music, we're professionals we don't expect to go two steps forward with new quad cores and Snow Leopard and have our main tools disappear with no proper response.

but the ethno librairie work fine with Mach5

MaxIDInguE

Maxidingue wrote:but the ethno librairie work fine with Mach5

Good idea! Motu should offer a FREE Mach5 for existing customers that have bought Ethno.

So, here's my response to the non-answer form tech support.

"Yes, but my request was specifically for you not to respond with talking points and answer the question directly to the best of your ablilty. I own a pretty successful creative firm, and if I ever treated my clients this way...well I simply wouldn't and neither would any one on my staff.

Of what benefit is it to MOTU to be secretive about this issue?

The problem warrants a simple response - an estimate of when we will be able to use the Ethno program, not disable it and use some of the features with a third party download. You owe your customers the professional courtesy of open communication regarding the products that we purchase from you.

Your response was inappropriate. We all know that DP will crash if we don't disable Ethno and we all know about UVI. What we don't know is what the actual ETA for the Ethno fix is? Again, the request that most all Ethno users have is - When does MOTU estimate that we will see a working program in Snow Leopard. It is a most simple question and one deserving of an honest response. And if that is beyond the purview of Tech Support then it would be a good time for someone up the management chain to take responsibility. Customer service is more than a title.

Loyalty is an invaluable asset for any company, but obviously more so in this economy. It is not an exaggeration to say that, as a consultant and creative director, I have recommended dozens of new DP users who've gone on to spend thousands on integrated systems - two small studios doing so this month.

I don't recommend products that dead-end or companies that are irresponsive to their customers.

Thank you in advance for a forthright response to my question."

This is really bugging me. I use Ethno all the time. Yesterday I get a "jungle" scene to score and I got to open Ethno and then remember.... ugghhhhh. Yes I accessed it through Mach Five 2 but I wasn't able to edit samples the Ethno parameters. I like the effects and filters in Ethno and prefer to use them. Its just quicker plus I F'ing paid for it!

Is it really that difficult to fix? I love DP and MOTU hardware, also love MX4, and SI but the Electric Keys install was a pain in the a$$ and now Ethno not working on Snow Leopard and after 5 months still no sign of an update? Bad Business. I'd get it if it was a window's problem since DP is a Mac only platform but I'm not using a PC.

Please MOTU get this worked out by month's end!

The first video can answer this problem .
http://link.brightcove.com/services/pla ... 1941590001

corbo-billy wrote:The first video can answer this problem .
http://link.brightcove.com/services/pla ... 1941590001

Well I wouldnt call it answered... yet... Mostly because we dont know if theyre going to charge SL users an upgrade fee or let us upgrade free to this Ethno Version 2. Id be willing to pay a 40 dollar upgrade fee but much more than that and well, itd be hard not to get really tweaked about it.

Also this is kinda big for all the Ethno users that didnt want to use the workaround in SL. Maybe you should make it its own thread ? Anyway you cut it Im excited and hopeful!

corbo-billy wrote:The first video can answer this problem .
http://link.brightcove.com/services/pla ... 1941590001

Hey Corbo! Was so happy that I wanted to thank you for bringing this to everyones attention. I did a bit more digging around and found this quote on an emusician blog (the bus).

"MOTU was showing version 2 of Ethno Instrument ($395 MSRP), which offers 21 GB of ethnic-instrument samples and loops, which is a huge increase from the 8 GB that were offered in version 1. Also new are new time-stretching algorithms, licensed from IRCAM. Other features include access to a huge range of non-Western tunings that can be applied to any instrument. So you could take a Persian tuning, say, and apply it to a Japanese instrument. Lots of interesting possibilities. Upgrades will be offered for current Ethno Instrument owners. "

21 freaking GIGS!!!!!!! Holy cripes! lol. I really hope they dont upcharge too much for the upgrade.

Also hope you dont mind that I started a thread with that vid from NAMM Thanks again !

Hello all:

I must say I'm rather pissed about this Ethno Instrument 2 upgrade...

I bought Ethno in the autumn, after Snow Leopard came out, and have never been able to use it properly. Sure - I've used it in UVI Workstation but, as I've never been able to load Ethno itself, I don't know if I'm missing out on any features of Ethno!

Perhaps I should learn never to trust any software which doesn't actually work when I buy it. I guess I was rather too trusting of the statement on MotU's website:

Ethno Instrument will soon be compatible with Snow Leopard. Please check this tech note for further news as it becomes available.

Note that it doesn't say 'Ethno Instrument 2 will soon be compatible...' - looks like a misleading statement to me. How can companies get away with this?

Rant over.

Pants.

MoisiePants wrote:Hello all:

I must say I'm rather pissed about this Ethno Instrument 2 upgrade...

I bought Ethno in the autumn, after Snow Leopard came out, and have never been able to use it properly. Sure - I've used it in UVI Workstation but, as I've never been able to load Ethno itself, I don't know if I'm missing out on any features of Ethno!

For what it worth, you don't miss any features of Ethno 1 in UVIWorkstation except the instrument pictures and even better you gain some with optimized convolution reverb, search function, more FX, ...

MOTU should maybe communicate more on this possibility for SL users though.

MoisiePants wrote:I bought Ethno in the autumn, after Snow Leopard came out

Give MOTU a call. When a new version of a product is released, they usually have a pretty reasonable grace period for free or reduced upgrades for people who recently purchased the previous version.

Hi All, I'd just like to add my 2cents worth as I am in the same boat.

I think its unbelievable poor form to leave customers stranded with an unworkable Ethno1 for months and then expect them to pay USD179 to upgrade to Ethno2.

A free upgrade to Ethno2 should be the absolute minimum on offer after being stranded with nothing for months

Ethno has been without doubt one of the worst product/customer experiences I have had.

In my last correspondence with MOTU they said "Ethno Instrument version 1 compatibility with Snow Leopard is not planned at this time."

Whats worse is that despite outraged users nothing seems to be done.

Well, whilst I'm venting I am off to post on as many other forums as I can find. Hopefully, some potential customers will get the warning message in time.