Just wanted to ensure there was a place to share the mostly working setup I have for using SoundDiver (windows version) in a modern OSX environment, sharing (no dedicated midi interface required) the midi ports with other applications. This is huge for me, as up until now I was using SoundDiver (windows version) via Parallels on WinXP, however this solution required a dedicated midi interface, then some merging and patching into my regular OSX midi interface. Not the best solution, cumbersome, and confusing!

While it is not new news the time elapsed since the discussion started here has permitted the main program to mature in regards to SYSEX, now nothing is required in Terminal, it is about as simple as it can be. I want to acknowledge the hard work of others to get us to this point. Very thankful. The basic install for me (I will update these instructions later as required):

1. Download WineBottler ( WineBottler | Run Windows-based Programs on a Mac ), and install both apps to the Application directory

2. Have your SoundDiver (windows version) INSTALLATION files somewhere on your drive. Do not try to use files from an installation already made on another system, virtual or not.

3. If the file association is not right (it was not for me as I had Parallels installed) right click on the Setup.exe and open it with Wine.app (run directly in Wine option).

4. SoundDiver should install, and post installation eventually want to be authorised. Now, this is where it took me a while, and I cannot promise that this is the exact way to do it, but eventually it did authorise using the authentic cdrom on an attached USB dvdrom. A few things to try:

Open the Wine app, and go to the Wine glass icon in your top right menu and find the Configuration menu. In here you should be able to find under the drives tab (with Windows drive letters) at least one iteration of your cdrom/dvdrom drive.

. To move between the drives you need to click the drive letter, not the target name (not obvious). You then can select the advanced option, and ensure your drive is set to CD-ROM. Not sure if this is what made it work for me, but a few restarts later the darn thing authorised as it should when the program loaded. HINT: I also had Parallels running WinXP in the background once while I authorised, did this help? I don't know at this stage.

TIP: Scanning new devices will take forever, install devices from the device list, then manually set the midi device. The dropdown box to select the midi device is difficult to operate, but if you select the option box once, and do not move the mouse, you can use the cursor keys to move down to your midi device, then you must press enter to have it move to that selection.

Hope this thread can be a repository for hints/tricks for this developing solution.


thanks,
RDP

Hi!

Thanks for the instructions!!

How do you use the MIDI interface in Wine?

I’m going to try it in few days :-)

There is no setup in Wine for your midi interface. All your OSX ports are automatically exposed in the drop-down box in SoundDiver as Port 1, Port 2, etc.. You just select the right one.

Note: There are no fancy names, just Port 1, Port 2, etc.. so if you have multiple interface you might need to try a few times to get the right one. I have only one nine port (eight plus control) interface, so finding it was easy.

RDP

Thank you so much for your post OP. Much appreciated

I just so wish Apple never dropped SoundDiver, it was such a great application that emagic created - as finicky as it could be sometimes. Who knows why it was canned, maybe someone on here has some inside intel? Whatever the case, I still pine for the old app.

.

Thanks!

I’m very interested in getting this going. Is there a link to the Windiws version of SoundDiver somewhere?
So I guess I have to create the CD Rom first before trying the install. First step is to get a USD dvd drive which has been on my list of things to do.
Thx for the intel!

I have seen Soundiver (CD rom included) on Ebay from time to time. I'm not surewhat the status of this software purchase is or whether it's still considered piracy to use it without being officially authorized by the original creators (Apple). It has been a long time since Apple ditched it. I wonder if it isn't now in the realm of "abandonware" at this point? I have one of these Ebay versions, but I also have a Soundiver software CD that came with a VirusB that I purchsed years ago. The Soundiver disc only allows the Virus to be configured as an isntrument (no other instruments). It's actually a great interface for editing, and great for patch storage.

It was canned when Apple bought emagic, as Apple bought emagic to have a pro DAW (they also looked at Steinberg), and to create a cut down entry-level version (like iMovie -> Final Cut Pro).

Apple had no desire to develop editors for other manufacturers hardware - all emagic products except Logic were dropped when Apple released the first Apple-branded Logic Pro 7. All the interfaces, audio and MIDI, other software like the educational stuff and so on. The last hardware device to be dropped was the XSkey dongle, for Logic Studio (Logic Pro 8).

I also loved SoundDiver and still have VM's with both the PC and Mac versions (and I have my old Atari version of SD 1.x around, together with the natty bag SD came in back then...)

Wow. This is great news! I'm going to try this!

So, when you say "install both apps" which apps do you mean? Both WineBottler and Wine, or do you simply mean WineBottler and SoundDiver?

I've made progress, installed Wine 2.0. Is that what you're using or the stable version 1.8.6?
I'm getting SDiver to open but I can't add the modules without Scanning All. I guess I'll try that now.

PHUCK ME, MY VIRUS C IS LOADING PATCHES INTO SOUND DIVER!!!!

I used the WineBottle 2.0 version. Install both Wine and WB by dragging into Apps folder.
I already had the Windows version of SD on my drive. I think I grabbed it when I was going to try the Parallels option but gave up because I didn't want to mess with two midi interfaces. It shouldn't be hard to find.

I ran Setup. exe from the Emagic Soundiver 3.0.5 folder by telling it to open with Wine 2.0. It gave a warning saying there wasn't enough room to install, Ignore this. After install it wanted to Authorize. I opened SoundDiverAuthoriser.exe and as RDP mentioned, it's a little fuzzy here but you don't need to make a cd or anything. The Authorizer ran and then said I may have to run it every 30 days to re-auth.

SoundDiver opened but it didn't have my modules installed. When I tried the Setup Midi menu, the app crashed but first gave a dialog box. When I opened it again, my modules appeared to be installed (a Virus C and an XV-5080 are all the hardware I have left). The 5080 is having some communication issues so I need to track that down but the Virus C received patches fine and the editor opened. Testing it all out now.

Pretty freaking stoked so thanks to RDP for posting this solution!!!!

Both WineBottler and Wine as instructed on the window when you open the installer.

Note: From what I have learned you can keep SoundDiver install files somewhere, for instance on your desktop. When Wine does the install files are actually moved (just like in a Windows system) to a folder structure here:

~.Wine Files


Furthermore, I have not used Winebottler with success yet, just using Wine. With Winebottler I could not get the package to authorise with the CD properly.

Update: I did initial testing with SoundDiver 3.0, and have now installed 3.0.5 (I think the final version) and am having a challenge setting my device midi ports, but have not given up yet. 3.0 midi port selection worked using the tip I gave in my initial post.

Warning: Selecting SoundDiver midi preferences etc.. will crash SoundDiver. I have not seen a demerit yet to not having access.

Virtual Machines: I too was using a VM before now. The big difference is how fast Wine loads SoundDiver, it is not any slower than accessing a native OSX app. I don't think the solution we have now will can improve much! With multiclient midi enabling shared usage of your normal midi interface this is smooth sailing.

thanks,
RDP

I am using stable 1.8.6

Don't scan as per my initial post, you will be there for days. Just (from the New menu) INSTALL, ADD (your device, each one, or just one), then DONE. After than you are back on the main screen, now set the ports for each device (once again use the tip I gave for port selection in my first post). You will need the mouse button held down to keep the dropdown box open, then cursor keys (up/down) to move to the right port, then while continuing to hold the mouse button down, press enter on the keyboard. This worked for SoundDiver 3.0, now I am testing the final 3.0.5.

RDP

Once SD is open, if I go to any of the Options/Settings, Wine then crashes. Could be a preference issue or maybe it's happening since it's getting the midi port settings from the OS, not sure.
I'm able to import patches and banks into SD but I can't send back to the Virus. The SD editor will open for patches and the Virus is responding to parameter changes from SD. I just can't get the patch to change on the synth. It's been awhile so it could be a System setting I'm missing but I think I have it right. If anyone else with a Virus gets this working, lmk if the patches are loading in the synth.

I think I got it working, sending and receiving, synth responds to changes in editor and editor is showing changes on synth knobs in realtime. Once I clicked in the Active Single slot it seemed to straighten everything out. I had just been changing patches in the single bank. Usually Active Single would update on it's own but I guess it needed an initial push...now it's working correctly.

Only issue left is that when I open a Library bank, every patch is selected and I can't unselect. What's the Windows command for select one...shift isn't working.


Edit: Shift T toggles the select function.

Whatever you do, if you have a library of 2,000 patches and they are all selected, DON'T AUDITION!

I think I'm good to go. I'll circle back after I've done some more trouble shooting with the 5080 but for now, REALLY stoked to have my Virus back with full edit and librarian functions!!

Did anyone purchased it from here?

Emagic Sounddiver Soundiver 3.0.5 for Windows Librarian Editor DOWNLOAD VERSION | eBay

I wonder if it is legit version or just pirated bulls1t.

I think SoundDiver is considered shareware at this point since it’s no longer supported and hasn’t been for 10 years.
You should be able to find a download for free. You don’t need the cd.

Everything is working great for me. I updated my Virus to the last OS which included two new banks of some great sounds.
The only thing I'm missing is that the 3.05 Windows sound diver doesn't include the Moog filters that the later Virus OS has.

Does anyone have a copy of the Virus C Sound Diver version for Windows that came with the synth?
I think it's version 6.6, same as the last OS. If so, please PM me.

Thanks again RDP for the heads up on this. It's impossible for me to get around on the menus of the hardware. With Sound Diver I have the best of both worlds...knobs and a screen full of parameters. Also the librarian makes a huge difference in the range of sounds I can easily find.

Just wanted to say with RDP's gracious help, I finally got this working, both the SoundDiver Emagic (SDE) version which works for all supported synths and the SoundDiver Virus (OEM) edition. I hit a few snags so I'll circle back and write detailed notes. I'll also host the files and post links in the next few days.

I'm not sure who to thank for developing the Sound Diver software but it's really well done and it's a shame to see it go unused. The ability to have an on-screen editor and librarian that responds to the hardware input makes a huge difference in the ability to use these synths to their full potential.

Using Wine as a host for SoundDiver is SO much better than trying to run Parallels or an older Mac OS in tandem with a 64 bit machine. I don't know how RDP figured this out but I'm really grateful he took the time to share his findings here. All my hours of poking around Gearslutz has finally paid off!

Care to post a link? Shareware is not illegal on this website.

Michael Haydn is the clever man who wrote SoundDiver. He even had the courage to answer questions in an open forum like this. He replied to many of my questions back in the day
Projects like SoundDiver can quickly become a "millstone around a guy's neck" (burden) - so he needed at some point to drop it and move on, which he did.
In the meantime he left us with a very useful software tool. I still use it now most days and even write a few "adaptations". Yes it has it's flaws, there's many a frustrating moment (hour) but I've stuck with it. BTW: I paid for mine.

Here’s a link to the full version of Emagic's Sound Diver 3.054 which also includes the Authorizer app so the CD-Rom is not required. You may have to run this Auth app every 30 days.

Emagic SoundDiver v3.0.5.4-OxYGeN

Here’s a link to the PC version of SoundDiver Virus for Access synths only.

sd_virus_660r1_pc_oem.zip - Google Drive

I’m also going to see if Wine will run the Roland XV-5080 Editor for PC which is still available on their site.
Followup: It works! I ran the downloaded .exe which uncompressed the files. Then ran the setup.exe, chose Custom and XV-5080 and Librarian options. Then ran the installed XV apps from the Wine folder and it's working.
Roland - Support - XV-5080 - Updates & Drivers

You’ll need to install Wine and Wine Bottler. The 2.0 beta appears to work as well as 1.8.6, either should do.
To use Wine, select the .exe or .msi file and choose to Open With/Wine. Use the option to Run Directly and if you have more than one choice of destinations, chose the Wine folder from the list. You may get an error saying there's not enough room on the drive, Ignore this. Text Not Found error will pop up twice and then SoundDiver should open.
WineBottler | Run Windows-based Programs on a Mac

If any of these links try to install or download Flash Player, delete that. You don’t need Flash for anything and you should never install Flash.

Once you get SoundDiver to open, add your synths modules manually by scrolling down the list, highlighting the synth module you need, then Add lights up, click that. To assign the midi ports, in the parameters window, click on the Input Port area and when the pull down opens, use your arrow keys to move to the correct midi port that corresponds with the synth, then hit enter. This approach seems to work whenever there’s a pull down. Make sure you're synth is set to receive and transfer sysex and that you have the memory protect off. It's a good idea to back up your internal patches with a sysex dump before starting this.

dunno about mentioning Michael on some obscure website, either way it would have been positive. It's just one of those things, credit where credit is due. At the time SoundDiver would do all sorts of crazy things, the manual was frustrating so I'd ask Michael and he'd respond, might not have been the answer I was hoping for but at least I could then move on. His name is shown in the opening screenplash.

One thing I've noticed with the "adaptations" is, I'm sure the project team were very busy getting synths to borrow, get/read/understand sysex and then write as fast as possible adaptations for all those synths. Many have bugs but in the great scheme of things, the trick for me is to idenitfy the bugs and work around them. So I have a few synths where I do need to button press and not use SoundDiver editor, I end the sesson by "requesting" the edit buffer and save that (in SoundDiver library).

I may have to try installing/using the SoundDiver OEM version for the Fizmo. Is it best to use version 3.0 (3.0.5.4) or are other versions of SoundDiver fine?

Both guavadude and I have tried the Virus OEM module with success. For the main program I am using 3.0.5, not sure which version he uses. Don't see why you wouldn't try to use the most recent version as they usually contain bug fixes.

RDP

SoundDiver 1.x came around around the Logic 2.x time - I used to use both on the Atari ST, and then was beta testing Logic 2.5 for a while (which was the last Atari version).

SoundDiver 2.x was Windows/Mac only iirc as I don't think there was an Atari version of Sound Diver 2, and Sound Diver 3 was released as a final beta version after the Apple buyout (so around Logic 6 time) but was never really finished, which is why it's still rather buggy. It was (and still is) authorised by any XSkey on the Mac (the PC version was different).

Michael is a nice guy, I remember downloading SoundDiver updates over the phone from Germany via the SoundDiverBox BBS (yep!). He's still on the Logic development team today.

I never understood why Sound Diver was abandoned. It’s a great app and the difference it makes in my synth programming ability is nothing short of miraculous.

I’m using the OEM Sound Diver Virus 6.6.0 version which corresponds with the last Virus OS. I don’t think it’s buggy at all and running it in Wine performs the same as the Mac version I used to use in the Dark Ages of 32 bit apps.

I don’t need the full Emagic version but I installed the 3.054 to test it out. That’s what I’d use and it’s the highest version I’ve seen floating around. It also comes with the Authorizer and the largest list of supported synths.

From some of the replies I got from Michael, and these are not quotes but my interpretation of events. As we all know different OS needs constant changes to the code, many developers need to "draw the line" somewhere hence an app ceases to move forward. SoundDiver 3 sorta works on XP, it does some amazingly stupid things at times but works, it was not written for XP and there was no development for that platform. I often need to go to my Win98 or Mac (OS7) to do certain things. I also have SD version 2 which runs on 68k Mac, SD3 is coded for PPC. They all run slightly differently. I think I gave up trying with Mac OS9, it just crashed all the time.

As Nigel... erm... guavadude says, I persisit with SoundDiver because I can edit synth sounds in greater detail and faster than any other way. What I especially like is, I can often go to greater programming detail, making subtle changes that make for more expressive sounds.
And yes I store all my "sounds" in a SD library.

Interesting. I've had great success with SoundDiver 3 and Mac OS 9. Maybe this is due to the collection of modules/adaptations I'm using. All of them are solid.

I've also had success on Mac OS X running Parallels and WinXP. But it can't share the MIDI interface with OS X. So it's only useful for editing and library management (as opposed to working alongside a running DAW as envisioned).

yeh maisonvague, I'm sure SoundDiver works fine on Mac OS9 PPC, as you'll know, it's just one of those things, personal set up, alignment of planets. It's a good thing to list these various restrictions methinks, can save new people to SoundDiver time and frustration.

@ RDP how did you think to try Wine as a host? I can’t count the number of times I’ve looked for a way to run Sound Diver. I glanced at the other thread you linked but got so excited I didn’t read it all. Did you just stumble on that or was their some wise elder that came to you in a dream?

The wise elder is none other than GS user MARDUS. His linking wisdom came to me in 2015: Sounddiver / other universal editor librarians?

That thread itself is a good read, if only because I posted then my working Parallels setup, which now of course is no longer required for SoundDiver.

The trick (if any) was back then the thread on electro-music (that MARDUS linked to) required you to compile a special version with a fix for SYSEX, and I could never get it to work. I only recently decided to try again and work my way through it, but then while working through the thread realized the SYSEX fix had made it's way into the main branch, and therefore no more patching/compiling was required, and wow, it just worked, no magic required. As I said in my very first post in this thread, the credit goes to those who came before us.

RDP