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Frequently Asked Questions...
Why is there both a drone and a tanpura?
The continuous drone is there to add "body" to the tanpura sound - to root you even more firmly in the tonality into which you place your notes. If you sometimes find the strokes of the tanpura distracting, you might even use the drone on its own.
 
Do I have to tune the drone, tanpura and tabla separately?
No - the single tuning control controls them all. We have left open the option for fine tuning the tabla but you're unlikely to want to use this.
 
What if I reformat or change computers? Do I have to buy another registraton key?
You don't have to buy anything beyond your initial two computer registration key to keep RiyazStudio running on two computers.

If you reformat or reinstall a computer, and you've been using a recent full version of RiyazStudio (August 2008 onwards) then our system will recognize your computer when you register again, and you won't  have "used up" an extra computer licence.

If you change computers (or you reformat having used an older version of RiyazStudio) and if you've used up both your computer licences then the registration system will allow you to unregister an old computer, so freeing up its licence to use again.
 
I've got my registration code but I can't register RiyazStudio...
If a security setting might be blocking registration - or if the registration page just isn't opening - try instead using InternetExplorer to run:

www.materialworlds.com/products/2_2.hta

(this page will assume you're trying to register the Standard version - but its registration will work for other versions too)
 
Do I get free upgrades?
Minor upgrades are free (by download). Major upgrades or add-ons (like RiyazStudio Semi-Classical) won't cost more than the price difference.
 
There are so many "tabla sample groups". Which should I choose?
Try them all. You'll soon find the one that sounds best at your pitch on your sound system - and RiyazStudio will remember it between sessions. Whatever pitch you play or sing at, make sure you try the E tabla samples, which come over very well on many sound systems - even when played significantly below their recorded pitch.
 
I've downloaded the installation program but when I run it it says it's "not a valid win32 application" or "checksum mismatch"
Download and install the free download manager DownloadExpress that's linked to on the download page - or use any other download manager.
This will ensure that your RiyazStudio download is complete and uncorrupted.
 
My anti-virus software says the installation program contains a virus
Occasionally we get a "false positive" (where an anti-virus software's latest virus definitions find a match in harmless software).
So what should you do?
  • Do let us know what your anti-virus package is, and what virus it thinks it is has found so we can investigate - and if all looks clear we'll ask the publishers to fix the "false positive" in their next update.
  • Try downloading the installation file on a computer that uses another anti-virus package.
    Then (having assured yourself that it doesn't contain anything evil) you could copy the file and install it on your computer having temporally disabled the virus protection.
    With any luck, the pattern that your anti-virus was detecting will be present only in the installer.

 

The volume on the tabla in comparision to the tanpura is very low, and I can't make the tabla loud enough. What should I do?
Raise the overall volume level by selecting: Start button: All programs: Accessories: Entertainment: Volume Control (this opens the Windows volume control panel) and increase the level of both the "Master Volume" and "Wave" (both these affect the loudness of RiyazStudio).
The amplitude of the tabla and tanpura waveforms is similar - but because the tanpura is fairly continuous it is louder than the occasionally struck tabla. To keep a good balance between them the tanpura volume should be set lower.

The  "boost Tabla volume" button in the Semi-Classical version removes this problem of low tabla volume. But on some computers running under Windows XP, with the tabla volume boosted to its maximum, the Windows mixer "Wave Volume" level should be no higher than 50% to avoid distortion
 
Will RiyazStudio work on Mac or Linux?
RiyazStudio works only on Windows (or emulations of it) and if you've got an IntelMac you'll be able to run RiyazStudio via "VMware Fusion" or "BootCamp" Windows environments (we've had a bad report of "Parallels").

But the most cost effective solution (it doesn't need Windows or a Windows licence) is CrossOver Mac. A recent (August 2008) customer reports: "Hi! I have tried riyaz studio on a MacBook OS x v 10.5.4 using Crossover Mac v7.0.2 which I just downloaded. It works fine. Thanks very much.".

Install CrossOver mac, InternetExplorer6 and RiyazStudio:

i)  Download and install the trial version of CrossOver Mac and create a Windows98 'bottle' (a CrossOver term - apparently CrossOver works best emulating Windows 98)

ii)  Install InternetExplorer6 (from the CrossOver installer list) into this win98 bottle.

(Why ie6? Because the core of RiyazStudio is an "ActiveX control" that needs InternetExplorer)

iii) Download and install RiyazStudio alongside ie6 in the win98 bottle, and copy the RiyazStudio icon into the mac finder for easy launching.

If, having installed RiyazStudio under CrossOver, you can't find a launcher (shortcut) to run it then create an "alias" to the file "indexPitchDroneTalaSF.hta"
You'll find it at:
"user/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles/win98/drive_c/Program Files/RiyazStudio/indexPitchDroneTalaSF.hta"
This will let you run RiyazStudio directly from the Mac Finder.

RiyazStudio also works on Linux via CrossOver Linux
 

Does it need a powerful computer?
Whilst RiyazStudio needs Windows (or an emulation of it) it doesn't need a new computer. It will be perfectly happy on a fairly old and slow PC (a 400MHz Celeron / Pentium II for instance) just as long as you can spare 756MB on the hard disk for the tabla sound samples.

What does matter is the quality of your sound system - a cheap pair of small PC speakers or a laptop's built-in speakers won't do you or RiyazStudio justice. If a better quality sound system isn't available then a pair of headphones (although inconvienient for practicing) could give a better idea of what RiyazStudio should sound like.
 
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