Q. It appears I can not log in to your site to download my purchased software any more, what's the deal?  

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A. That's right, Unfortunately we're unable to offer the same feature on our new web platform we switched to in August 2022. I'm working on alternatives, eventually i may jump to another ecommerce platform if I can find one that is both affordable and secure. Good times.  


Q. I can’t get the editor working and I've tried everything.  

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A. Remain calm. We’ll solve this. Possibly one thing you haven’t done is trash the editor’s settings/preferences. It is necessary to trash the preferences after upgrading from a previous version.

Simply delete the folder who’s name matches the editor you are troubleshooting. These files can be found in either of the following location depending on your Operating System: (On windows, please be sure to enable “Show hidden files, folders, drives” within “Folder Options”)
     Mac OS: /Users/(your user name)/Library/Preferences/(editor name)
     Windows: \Users\(your user name)\AppData\Roaming\(editor name)
     winXP: \Documents and Settings\\Application Data\(editor name)
     

Beyond that it is very possible the issue is caused by a configuration setting on the synth you are attempting to edit with the software, or something else non-software related.

Ensure the synth’s Device ID is set to 0
Set the synth’s MIDI channel to OMNI (if even temporarily to verify the issue doesn’t lie somewhere else)
Verify the synth is set to TX (transmit) and RX (receive) CC & SysEx messages
Why not try swapping MIDI/USB cable?
Keep it simple and if your synth allows it, attach the synth to your computer VIA USB instead of 5 pin DIN via MIDI interface.

Q. When running your editor as a VST in my DAW, Im getting a “failed to open device” error when setting up the MIDI INPUT and MIDI OUTPUT devices in the monstrum editor’s menu. 

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A. If you are getting this error it is because the port/device is already being used. The ports (devices) you are selecting are probably enabled in your DAW. You must *disable* these ports within your DAWs main MIDI settings, otherwise they can not possibly be available to the VST subsystem. Go to your DAW’s MIDI settings, ensure the ports that connect to your Synth are disabled, then return to the VST and reselect them. NOTE: Some synths provide both a USB and 5 pin DIN connector. In most cases in fact if your synth has a USB connector that is all you need to provide MIDI communication to and from your computer. The benefit of using USB MIDI is the port will automatically be named specific to your synth.

 

Q. I’m trying to use the editor in my DAW and I don’t seem to get any communication either to or from the synth using the editor. 

A. The following is from the documentation, which is good cure for insomnia. 

1. Disable the midi ports of the synth you want to control in your DAW. 
2. Load the editor VST into your DAW.
3. Within the VST’s “MIDI” Menu, select the MIDI Out Device connected to your synth
4. Within the VST’s “MIDI>Plugin Options” Menu, enable “Input from plugin host” and “Output to plugin host“.
5. Within the VST’s “MIDI>MIDI Thru” Menu, Enable “Plugin Host -> Output Device”.
 

Beyond these steps, if you still are seeming to experience issues with communication either to or from the synth, the most effective way to isolate the cause of the issue is to try put aside the VST and ensure there isn’t a more simple cause to the issue. We always recommend when starting with our software that you work with the stand-alone editor as there things are significantly more simple…

If you haven’t already at this point, please close the DAW, and shut down the computer. Power cycle (turn off, wait a few seconds, then turn back on) your synth, then reboot your computer.

It might be worthwhile to trash the editor’s preferences at this point as well. When troubleshooting it always helps to start from as clean of a slate as possible to isolate variables.

Now, simply launch the stand alone editor and configure the MIDI Input and MIDI Output Devices under the editor’s “MIDI” menu. Ignore any other MIDI setting.

When you press a key on the editor’s GUI keyboard, do you see the synth’s MIDI activity illuminate? Do you hear sound?
When you turn a knob on the synth, do you see the parameter change on the editor’s GUI?
When you change programs from the editor’s GUI, does the synth change programs?
Does the editor’s GUI update to reflect the program change? (all knobs/sliders/buttons and program name should update on the editor’s GUI)

 

Q. The menu in the VST editor seems to be blank or greyed out. 
 

A. This may occur in some DAWs (Ableton Live seems to be the most guilty culprit) and it is a result of window focus order. Even if the VST window is floating above your DAW, focus might be given to another part of your DAWs interface. To bring focus back to the monstrum editor VST, simply click anywhere within the editor’s interface (preferably a blank portion, not a knob/button/slider), then try the menu again. The menu should work as expected.

 

Q. The fonts and arpeggiator looks different from the advertised screenshots of the editor.
 

A. If you didn’t install the fonts that came with the editor (especially if the editor uses special glyphs for the arpeggiator) things might look a little different than advertised. It isn’t absolutely necessary that you install these fonts but your system’s default fonts might not be as aesthetically pleasing as the intended look and feel which is designed to match that of the synth the editor handles. You’ll find these FONTS in the FONTS folder after you unzip the provided files.