RC-50 issues

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

Hello to all,

In setting up the RC-50, I encountered a couple of issues and a quick  
internet search revealed that they have been discussed before:

1) when switching from record to overdub the track is muted for the  
first 1/2 second

2) when attempting to sync the RC-50 from an external device the  
playback is distorted (as if the clock signal is somehow interfering  
with the playback).

The first problem is a pain however I've developed some work-arounds  
(I compose my own music, so I can simply consider the issue when  
working things out.)

The second problem, though -- has me scratching my head and could be a  
show-stopper.  What I want to do is to record my accompaniments on my  
synths, play them back via Cubase, and sync the RC-50's tempo to the  
computer.   My lead instrument is an Etherwave Pro Theremin and I wish  
to build loops in real-time along with the accompianment tracks.

My real concern is the syncing issue -- has anyone found a solution to  
this?  In scouring the web I found little on the sync issue with the  
notion that some people have had problems with it and others have  
managed to make it work.  However, I can't find out how folks went  
about troubleshooting and fixing this problem.

One detail about the loop station is that, when it is syncing from an  
external source, it apparently puts the tracks into quantize mode.  My  
test case happened to be a loop that was recorded without  
quantization.  I am wondering if that is causing a problem and when I  
get home I will try it.

I really like the RC-50 although I really wish I could control all of  
its functions from a computer at once.  From what I am reading, it  
appears that I can choose up to three functions that I can control at  
any given time -- and this is kind of a bummer.

I am also planning to take a look at the Mobius VST plugin -- perhaps  
that would be a better solution for what I am trying to do.  Though...  
I prefer to spread out processing across hardware devices rather than  
bog down the laptop computer.  (that is, I don't have a seperate  
computer that I can dedicate to Mobius and I'd have to use it as a VST  
plugin).

To summarize my questions:

1) Has a fix come out to solve the record-to-overdub glitch?
2) Is there a solution to the "garbled" sound that occurs when syncing  
to an external clock?
3) How would Mobius work as a VST plugin with Cubase SX3?  Is this a  
possibility for live performance?

I am pretty good with "tech speak" so feel free to answer these  
questions and if I don't understand what you are saying, I'll look it  
up or ask you to clarify.

I am new to looping and new to this list.  Your posts have been  
extremely valuable to me. As a result I am learning about looping much  
faster than if I'd 'gone it alone'.

-- Kevin