Seasounds went under

W

Wallycleaver

New member
and I quote....
"6/29/01 Unfortunately SeaSound is no longer in business. This page is hosted as a courtesy to current owners of SeaSound products and those considering using these great sounding, albeit defunct, interfaces.

SeaSound phone lines, mailing address and email address are now non-functional. Updates to Tech support FAQ and links to future user forum will be posted in the future here."

They had some neat products. That is the 2nd "major" producer of sound cards to go under in less than a year! Damn......
 
Yeah I found that out this weekend...

I went to Sam Ash on 48th in NYC, and they were selling a SoloEX and the expansions for 199 and 99 (respectively)

I was so tempted to snatch it up (cool blue, rack mount)... But I didn't know jack about SeaSounds.... so I ran over to an internet cafe and found the website.
Lo and Behold, no support, no business.. nada... so I passed.

oh well.
 
Yeah, that's a great price.

SeaSound was Tom Oberheim's company and their device was a real beauty, the only drawback being the two channels. It was an excellent device. I have a brand new one here I haven't even plugged in that I got at a special price from Guitar Center the day, the very DAY, SeaSound went under.

I was in asking them yesterday what the situation was with the warrantee. If provisions have been made for warrantee, I'll keep it, but if not, it's going back.

Sad, as it is a really nice device with excellent features and sound. It's still unclear why the company went under. Oberheim should have been able to keep the place afloat on his name alone, and the products got great reviews.

Weird.
 
bongolation said:
# I went to Sam Ash on 48th in NYC, and they were selling a
# SoloEX and the expansions for 199 and 99 (respectively)

Were these NIBs?
Click to expand...

I believe they were floor models, but they had all the parts and stuff.
 
I bought a SeaSound SoloEX several weeks ago, and I am extremely happy with it. It is easy to use and sounds great. I use an outboard tube mic pre for vocals, but the pres in the Solo sound great too.

I like my Solo so much, in fact, that I decided to buy the Solo Expander to give me more ins and outs (8 each, total). But when shopping for the Expander, I discovered SeaSound is dead! (I searched around and found an Expander and bought it anyway... I really like this setup.)

I bought the Solo for $499 at GC (regular price) and picked up the Expander for $199 (discounted as a closeout, but not as low as $99 as someone found one above. Mine is NIB, though, and it was not easy to find so I grabbed it). Now that I have invested $700 in equipment that is GREAT but no longer supported, what can I hope for in the future?

I like Win98SE anyway so not having a Win2K driver isn't the end of the world right now. But in the future it may be a problem. Lots of people out there bought these Solos. What is everyone planning to do? Dump them on Ebay? Will a 3rd party ever come up with new drivers for this thing? Am I stuck with Win98 forever if I want to keep using my SeaSound equipment?

Those of you who have been around longer than me and have seen companies come and go like this, please let me know what traditionally happens. I really like my Solo (and my soon-to-arrive Solo Expander) and I hope to get lots of use out of it in the future.

Thanks,
Trumpetman.
 
trumpetman et al.,

I'm feelin' you, man. When I find gear that I really dig, I hate giving it up. I dig the SoloEX, and will probably give up the cash for the Expander as well. I hate to be the one to bring bad news, but as far as your piece goes, you are on your own. You should not expect any support from Seasound other than being able to access the site to download the driver. I don't even expect the site to last very much longer, and if it does, I doubt if it will be updated often if at all. The upside is the Solo is worth the $300 or so just for the mic pres and headphone amps. The pieces are functionally very good, and the quality is great. As far as OSs go, I use W2K for all my audio, and have been forced to record in W98SE - and it sucks d**k.

I really didn't want to be the person to do this, but I am *somewhat* gathering a database of users who are willing to invest in a WDM driver for the Solo. The reason I would like a WDM (as opposed to just a compatible NT/2000 driver) is bang-for-the-buck. The WDM standard will be around for a while, and is compatible with 2000 and XP. To get one developed, there are two options here: 1) Hire a professional company specializing in driver development to code one (very expensive, but guaranteed results AND timeline). 2) Enlist a private party do the same (much cheaper, maybe even free, but timeline and support non-existent). I have found both of these parties through ng posts and web searches. Most professional driver coders charge anywhere from $5-8k for complete development! This raises the question, "Why didn't Oberheim farm it out?" I guess we'll never know....If we get enough users together, it may only be $10 or so for a guaranteed solution - I'd be willing to pony up that in a heartbeat. Just a thought.....

Anyway, the Solo uses the ICEnsemble ENVY24 controller, the same as in the Terratec cards and the Midiman stuff and others. I would love to try and contact Seasound somehow and get them to post all the driver code that they developed, and give POWER TO THE PEOPLE. I doubt this will happen, though.

If you want to send me email addresses, send to: stoney_green_bud@yahoo.com
I'd like to keep this thread alive, so keep posting!
Peace, BM
 
Anyone have $300 to lend me? They are really great unit's. I'm getting a daw for a pal of mine as a gift and the seasounds price drop, I'll be able to hook him up!
 
Boogieman, thanks for the reply and you can count me as someone who would be interested in supporting the acquisition of an updated driver for the Solo and Solo Expander. I have yet to take delivery of my Solo Expander, but it would require its own driver separate from that of the Solo, right?

A quick question, perhaps a silly one: What is WDM? What is "the WDM standard?" What is a WDM driver versus a WinNT/2000 driver? I am guessing here: Windows Digital Media? Is this some new multimedia standard developed recently for dealing with the various audio and video formats floating around the Internet these days, or is this something developed for and by the professional digital recording industry?

I will keep a keen eye on this thread, as the Solo and Solo Expander form the foundation of my DAW and I want to be able to use them in the future.

Trumpetman.
 
Trumpetman,

First, let me preface by saying that I am not a developer, so I'm not completely conversant on this topic. Here are some links to get started:

http://www.gdcl.co.uk/ks.htm
http://www.gdcl.co.uk/wdm.htm

However, here's how I've interpreted the situation:
WDM - Windows Driver Model. The problem with existing drivers (VxD's under W95, etc.) is that they have to sit "on top" of the the OS in the chain as such:

1- Application
2- Driver
3- OS
4 - hardware


Apperently, everytime your application accesses your hardware via the driver, it has to communicate through the OS (back and forth, ..) Obviously, there are inherent latency issues with this setup, as well as other problems. The WDM standard allows for the driver to do its work "in kernel mode", which is the most direct link with the hardware it can make, short of actuall being part of the operating system itself. This results in a more direct application communication with hardware, allowing us to reap the benefits of better latency and hardware control. As you may have guessed, ASIO is another way of doing this, but is not an official M$ development, so they don't support it. Anyway, this standard will be around for a few years I'm guessing.

The Seasound expander does not need it's own driver (or pci card). Not for sure, but it should come with a dummy pci backplate that connects inside your computer via a cable to the existing Solo pci card. The Expander then connects externally to the phony card. Have I screwed up that expalnation enough? Anyway, you'll get it....The bummer is that the expander does take up another pci slot without actaully having a real pci card. Not a real problem, but I would have thought it easier to connect it to the SoloEX breakout box itself instead of the computer, but I guess that's why I'm a chemist instead of a hardware munfacturer....

You'll enjoy the units. Very clean, and built right. They actually use METAL 1/4" jacks and decent pots - if you can believe that.

P.S. - I may be completely full of crap about the WDM stuff, as I had a lot of cough syrup this morning ;-). Research it yourself to make sure. The opinions represented here are solely those of the author, and are not those of the management. Management assumes no liablity for any injury, intentional or otherwise. Any portrayal of persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Peace,
BM
 
Thanks Boogs for the info... now I understand how the Expander install works: it's not another PCI card, but rather a backplate that from the outside of the computer will LOOK like another card. I'm sure when I get the thing today or tomorrow, the installation will be a piece of cake.

Regarding WDM, thanks for the info. I will research it to figure out more. To be honest, I like Win98SE. I work with Win2K all the time professionally, and it is great for a large business network, but at home I have never had a problem on my little network with good old Win98. So for now, I am happy as a clam with the Solo's current capabilities. It's the future I am wondering about.

Worst case, I suppose I could just keep my DAW on Win98 and use another computer that is more up-to-date for other things.

Trumpetman.
 
I wrote a very long and detailled reply to this thread, but this *&%%#@ BBS ate it (yet again!).

I'm still trying to get my SeaSound set up on my new computer. It looks like it works, but I couldn't get any sound out of it yet, though at the moment I am limited to headphones. I'm playing back the demo song and the VUs are jumping, but there's no output from the headphone jacks.

I am also not sure what you are supposed to do about playing back sounds and music from your computer. Does the SeaSound take the place of your soundcard, or are you supposed to have another soundcard for that? I haven't one, as I was told not to, but I don't quite know what I am supposed to do about this.

Thanks for any help. I'd like to hang onto the SeaSound if it's functioning OK, but I need to know how to do a thorough shakedown so I can tell for sure.

(I've been trying to get this message to post for ten minutes!)
 
If you have the driver installed correctly, it should show up in the device manager. If it does, then you should also have the Solo-meter installed. Both of these install from the executable you downloaded from the Seasound site. If this is all good, to do a hardware check, follow this:

1. Plug a mic or DI into either one of the inputs. Turn up the trim and level to 12 o'clock. Set the pan to center.
2. Engage the record toggle switch to the enable position.
3. Turn up the Channel 1 or 2 monitor mix pots all the way.
4. Plug in some phones to either phones jack. Turn up the phones volume.
5. Set the metering function to input. The meters should show signal.
6. Listen to the cans. You should have sound at this point.

Note: You do not have to have sound going into the computer for the Solo's mixer functions to work. Even without the record enabled, signal is still sent to the phones (the meters won't be showing signal either). If it is not working, then return it.

To listen to a file on your computer, make sure the Solo is listed as the preferred audio device for recording and playback in the Control panel/ Multimedia settings in Win98 (you'll want to change this later).

1. Play back the file (set to loop it if you can).
2. Turn up the Computer 1 and 2 knobs in the monitor section of the Solo.
3. Check the Solo-meter on your computer screen to make sure it is showing signal - you may have to change the configuration (4x4, converter, etc.) make sure the sample rates match in the Solo-meter and your audio app.
4. Set your meters to output.
5. Plug in your phones and turn it up.

Hope it helps,
BM
 
# Hope it helps,

Yeah, I think I have it sort of checked out now, along with my microphones and cables. It LOOKS like everything is OK, as I can get sound out, the preamps and microphones (MK-219s which I fairly carefully pre-tested and selected at time of purchase) are relatively well balanced, etc.

Man, those knobs are hard to see though! 8-) I think I'll have to stick little dots on the indicator indices to make them visible.

Another revelation is HOW INCREDIBLY LOUD THOSE COMPUTER FANS ARE!!! Through the microphones and headset it sounds like at least one gardener with a leaf blower in the room. "HEY! I'M TRYIN' TO DO A VOCAL IN HERE! CAN'T YOU GUYS USE RAKES???"

My choice of the pro AKG K-240DF headphones wasn't so smart. They have 600-ohm impedance (normal is around 200) and that takes all the grunt the SeaSound headphone amp can muster to run. They're also open headphones, which is a chump shot for listening to yourself around mics. No biggy though...

Ominous Cubasis incident, though: I loaded it, brought up the screen and through the "Help" pulldown clicked the "About Cubasis" promo screen - and it locked up the computer. Just the first time, though.

I have a more real version of Cubasis here which I may try to install, I dunno. I know as much about this stuff as a cat knows about Christmas, as the old saying goes...and speaking of cats, man, how am I going to keep her out of all those cords? 8-) She is glassy-eyed with excitement!

Oh well...one problem at a time. So far, so good.

Thanks for the help - it looks like we SeaSound users are going to have to stick together from here on in.
 
Now I have to get MIDI controller working! From another post in the MIDI forum:

============
I recently bought a SeaSound SoloEX and a MK-4902 MIDI controller. I was trying to set up the controller last night. No luck.

This should be dead simple: The MK-4902 just has the MIDI out jack, which went to the SeaSound MIDI in. The controller powers up and seems to function, but I cannot get anything to work.

I assume from the very scanty docs that the SeaSound inputs MIDI to the computer without further hardware. For test purposes, I'm using the Cubasis software included with the SeaSound. The docs are not clear on what needs to be done, but I have followed what setup instructions as there are as best I can. I assume this is a configuration problem...though it is possible that there is some bad hardware. There's no telling.

Any help with this will be appreciated.
 
bongolation,

You're lovin' life, aren't you? Remember: Technology makes our lives EASIER, not harder.... :D I haven't had any MIDI problems to speak of with my Solo, but I'll give it a try..

1. Make sure the Solo MIDI i/o shows up in the device manager or Multimedia control, and that it is enabled. If it doesn't or isnt', then you'll have to reload the driver (after uninstalling, of course) or enable it.

2. Make sure you have the MIDI i/o for the Solo enabled in your software's MIDI preferences

3. Make sure you have the correct device/channel enabled for the MIDI track you are recording

Has this been a very enabling experience so far? Man, that was bad. Sorry.

4. You should also try sending MIDI out through the Solo as well (to a sound module or FX, or whatever)

The MIDI i/o lights on the Solo should tell you if signal is moving or not.

Good luck
BM
 
the boogieman said:

1. Make sure the Solo MIDI i/o shows up in the device manager or Multimedia control, and that it is enabled. If it doesn't or isnt', then you'll have to reload the driver (after uninstalling, of course) or enable it.
Click to expand...
OK, there's nothing at all about MIDI in "Device Manager" and the only thing in the MultiMedia option in Control Panel is

Multimedia Properties ->
MIDI ->
MIDI Output ->
Single Instrument ->
"Solo Command Port Out"
and
"Solo MIDI Out"

To make matters possibly worse, I installed an "External MIDI Instrument" as a sub-device under "Solo MIDI Out," which may be nothing or something... I don't see a way of uninstalling it.
2. Make sure you have the MIDI i/o for the Solo enabled in your software's MIDI preferences
Click to expand...
I believe I have that done, but let's see about my Step #1 settings first. They don't sound right to me, and we should take this a step at a time I think. ;)

The only response I can get out of this so far is that when I power up the MK-4902, the "MIDI In" LED on the SeaSound does a quick flash. That's it. Beyind that, nada.

Anyhow, though I have the lowest frustration threshhold on the planet, I'm not discouraged as I have been able to figure out how to record into Cubasis from microphone, thereby at least proving that the system is working that far.

One thing I might mention is that I have no other sound devices enabled. The onboard sound chip is jumpered out, so all we have is the SeaSound, which does seem able to record and playback. If I need something else to run MIDI beyond the SeaSound, it isn't there. I got the impression I didn't need anything else.

Thanks for any help. Sounds to me like we're on the track of a setup/config problem here that might get resolved fairly quickly.
 
Ha!

Turns out they sold me a stone-dead MIDI controller! Took it back to GC and tested it...nada! Gave me a brand new one on the spot and it works fine with the SeaSound, as does the J-Station (speaking of more orphaned hardware).

SeaSound news: The SoloEX is going for $299 NIB while supplies last this month at GC!

Last months they were $399, so I got a refund for the difference today and the following e-mail from Guitar Center corporate concerning the one-year warrantee:

===========
I had spoken to our Pro-Audio purchasing dept. before I contacted the store regarding this matter. I am sorry that they
have not contacted you yet. PA dept. told me that SeaSound had
gone down very quickly and has yet to contact us regarding many
issues, including our customers' warranties. A decision was made
that we would warranty the product ourselves. Please understand that this is NOT the same warranty. If the product is
repairable, we will repair it. If not, we will have to give you a
similar unit, since we might not be able to replace your unit with
another SeaSound. This is only until we hear from SeaSound.
That is what I had passed along to the store.

If you still need to be contacted by the store, let me know.

Sincerely,
Oliver Hooshmand
Customer Service

============

Dunno quite what than means in plain English.

Anyhow, the SeaSound works fine and at $299 has to be a super steal. Great unit.

The final days of SeaSound revolved around two possible buyers to keep it afloat, but they just didn't make it in the clutch and SeaSound went into Chapter 13 at the last minute, which explains why they didn't announce until the last business day of the business quarter, 29 June.
 
Very interesting! Additionally, there has been some activity on the Seasound site. Comprehensive manuals (covering installation of Expanders) have been posted in the last day or two (pdf only). This may mean that we will see a users' forum eventually. I think it's the least they could do. Well, at $300, it's a good deal on pre- and headphone amps anyway.

Bongolation, glad you finally got your problem solved.

Trumpetman - How's the setup working? Is the expander worth the extra cash?

Peace,
BM
 
the boogieman said:
Very interesting! Additionally, there has been some activity on the Seasound site. Comprehensive manuals (covering installation of Expanders) have been posted in the last day or two (pdf only). This may mean that we will see a users' forum eventually. I think it's the least they could do.
Click to expand...

I think that the SeaSound people were very, very wrapped up in the development and promotion of this thing and I would not be surprised if some of them contribute a little to the knowledge base once all this is worked out. There are a lot of things to be settled still from this abrupt end to the company. From what I was told yesterday at GC, they were still hoping to pull it out right up to the end of last month. I don't expect a real user forum to develop at SeaSound.Com until after all the fallout and hard feelings blow over...maybe in a couple of months.

Well, at $300, it's a good deal on pre- and headphone amps anyway.
Click to expand...

I have to say that I am still very, very impressed with this unit. It is so much nicer that _anything_ at twice the price. I'm going to keep it and use it to learn on and if it happens that I want to do an upgrade in a year, then fine, I've gotten a good education on the cheap.

Bongolation, glad you finally got your problem solved.
Click to expand...

Ha! Well, the first one! Dead MIDI controller...can you _believe_ that?

Now I'm having a bit of trouble with the mouse and at least part of the SeaSound not coming back up with power when I wake up the machine from power-saving mode...typical stupid Windows nonsense.

After getting out from under that dead MIDI controller, things seem to be moving along. I got the J-Station SPDIF output working with SeaSound's digital in and the MIDI working with J-Edit. I take back much of the bad stuff I said about the J-Station. Once you get into the J-Edit program, you have ready access to a host of fine adjustments and options you can't get in the basic hardware mode. I've come up with some excellent patches with good pro-quality sounds for recording.

Got the microphones up and tested (great sound out of "good" Oktavas and the SeaSound pres, plus I've been fiddling with the Antares Microphone Modeler) and have discovered how incredibly noisy that room is listening to the input from real studio mics with headphones on. I'm going to start doing the acoustic deadening in the room shortly and will do the closet vocal booth thing. I've figured out that I can move the computer case outside the door in the hallway with the monitor, recording rack, keyboard & mouse inside on the bench so this will cut down on the leaf-blower noise of the multiple cooling fans.

Now I have to learn to record intelligently on some sort of software. I have demos and trial copies of a bunch of different programs to play around with, but I haven't found out what I want to go with yet. Cubasis/Cubase is a little difficult, Sonar won't work with SeaSound and I'm not sure if Reason can use DirectX plugins (doesn't seem to be able to). I also have to figure out how to make convincing drum tracks with something or other that doesn't sound like tinny techno crap and learn how to use the (now working) MIDI controller to run software within the programs.

As you can see, I have a lot on my plate, but I think I'll be making good progress with a little help from folks with more experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top