Absolute newbie - can't get sound or add module to Voltage Modular

[ninjateeth]

Hi,

I'm completely new to Voltage Modular, though not audio production or sound design, so I'm getting incredibly frustrated trying to get started with Voltage Modular. First of all, if I load up a preset, I can't get any sound out of it in either my DAW or the standalone version. My audio and MIDI devices work fine with other VSTs, and my VM preferences seem to be set up ok from what I can tell.

I've also tried following the beginner videos on YouTube, and I can't for the life of me add the basic Oscillator module to a new basic Voltage Modular synth. If I drag and drop it underneath the main modular, a new empty row is added beneath it, but Oscillator doesn't appear in it. In fact, I've tried a whole bunch of modules, and I get this same exact behavior, except for a few: Knobs, Amplifier, and KString. What in the world am I doing wrong that is preventing me from adding modules?

Adding to my frustration is that searching for "can't add module" in the forums here notes that all 3 words are too common and thus can't be searched on. (Really? The word module is too common for the Voltage Modular forums?? Can that be adjusted on the server side?)

I'm running version 2.5.5 on Windows 10, by the way.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions!

[utdgrant]

Would you be able to post a video of what's happening using some screen-grabbing program or even just from a phone camera?

Have you tried pulling up the 'Library' and clicking the 'Add' button beside the module you want to insert in the cabinet?

Library.jpg (262.55 KiB) Viewed 1301 times

EGAdded.jpg (150.64 KiB) Viewed 1301 times

[Steve W]

First of all, if I load up a preset, I can't get any sound out of it in either my DAW or the standalone version.

Does the audio show in the Main Out LEDs?
When you press the Test button, do you hear the test tone?

I can't for the life of me add the basic Oscillator module to a new basic Voltage Modular synth. If I drag and drop it underneath the main modular, a new empty row is added beneath it, but Oscillator doesn't appear in it.

Have you tried adding the Oscillator using the Add button and the right-click method?

[ninjateeth]

Does the audio show in the Main Out LEDs?

Nope.

When you press the Test button, do you hear the test tone?

Yes! That part actually works!

Have you tried adding the Oscillator using the Add button and the right-click method?

Yes, none of those methods are working for me.

Would you be able to post a video of what's happening using some screen-grabbing program or even just from a phone camera?

Yep, I just did that here: https://imgur.com/a/tmlgvdV

As you can see, I try all three methods to add the Oscillator method, but none of them work.

[utdgrant]

Thanks for making the video. Yes, there's something deeply wrong on your system. I'm at a loss, as I've seen nothing like it.

My gut instinct is to completely uninstall VM from your computer, then log in to your CA account on your browser and reinstall it from scratch. Follow the installation instructions to the letter.

If that still throws up the same results, then raise a ticket through Kayako - they're pretty responsive to users.

Good luck,
Grant

[theWholeSandwich]

Could have a computer virus...

[ninjateeth]

I just uninstalled, re-downloaded, and reinstalled VM, and I still have the same problem. I'm guessing that my Cherry Audio credentials are cached somewhere in the registry or AppData, since I didn't have to log in again after the reinstall.

Quick question, though. Could my Cherry Audio account possibly be messed up? I'm wondering if it's not correctly registering the modules I have in my library, as when I load up some basic presets, I see these gray boxes with "Downloading" in them and "Demo" buttons across what I think are basic modules in VM and that should be in my Cherry Audio/VM library (in this case, it's the Basic Arp 1 preset):

voltage1.png (1.04 MiB) Viewed 1256 times

If this doesn't suggest a likely problem and solution to anyone, I'll go ahead and log a help ticket. Thanks!

[xones2358]

you may be right about the AppData thing.
when I had paid modules shown as demo, I got the advice to clean up the AppData folder EXCEPT the presets folder.. in other words: leave the presets folder in there and clear anything else. after this re-start VM and it should build the cache new and fix the broken elements... but anyway, to be on the safe side, I would go ahead and open a help ticket to CA. They are quite responsive and helpful - from my experience.

[ninjateeth]

Good news! I tried another re-install, but this time deleted the AppData\Roaming\CherryAudio folder in my Windows 10 user directory (easily accessible via typing %APPDATA%/CherryAudio in a File Explorer window), and that forced me to log in to my Cherry Audio account in VM again. I then noticed that VM tried to download all the modules again, so I didn't touch anything for a few minutes while it did its work (note the little "downloading" notes in gray and yellow by the module section):

Voltage2.png (1.02 MiB) Viewed 1215 times

Once it was done, VM appeared to be working as designed for me. I could make sound with the presets and also add the basic modules to a new synth without the behavior I saw before. Frustration gone! Maybe tinkering with VM before it finishes downloading its modules messed it up? But if that were possible, you'd think you'd see a lot more people posting about the same problem here.

Thank you to everyone helping me here!

On a side note, if anyone that helps administer these forums happens to see this, can you please adjust the search settings behind the scenes? The words "sound", "can't," "access," "module," and "download" are all considered to be too common and are rejected, which made it impossible to research my problem. Not to mention, "module" and "sound" are critical words to describe your product, so at the very least remove them from the search rejection criteria.

[utdgrant]

Great news! Thanks for the update.