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I recently participated in a fun discussion with Principal PM @Pete Brown from Microsoft and Vin Curigliano of AAVIM Technology, who has been doing DAW benchmarking for a long time. We talked about a bunch of stuff, including the history of Cakewalk from the early years to now, our intersections with Microsoft’s technology over the last 30 years and lots of technical details about DAW development. You can listen to the podcast here. If you are a DAW geek and get through listening to all two hours of it, you win a prize. We’ll give you Cakewalk. Oh wait... 😂

It’s like you get two!

I have to say, as a longtime Cakewalk user (since 1986) I have noticed the return to the philosophy of Cakewalk's earlier days. Companies that are under pressure to release a new paid version every 9-12 months tend to throw in a lot of half-baked fluff just so Marketing can add to its features matrix and thus justify charging for the same product over and over. Noel and company, thanks to Meng's patronage, are now free to concentrate on just making the product better. Hats off to Meng, and happy to hear Noel giving the guy the credit he deserves.

$25.99 at Guitar Center Daily Pick https://www.guitarcenter.com/Daily-Pick.gc

I’m totally stealing this from someone else but this vague email from izotope makes me sub-spicious

Indeed we were in favor of open standards rather than being tethered by any particular vendors direction that's why we went with WDM KS at the time.

I really hate that when I buy a door, I have to also buy a lock. Why should it cost me money just because some people are thieves? And that lock seriously slows me down going in and out of my house. If I lose my key, then what? I'm locked out! (I'll see myself out now)

Yeah WASABI was an open low latency spec for writing drivers for Windows to get around the latency problem with MME (caused by Windows KMixer latency). Martin Puryear from Microsoft was involved in that project and it ended up being replaced by the WDM kernel streaming API (KS) which was released publicly. Another very cool open source project that never took off was a plugin specification called GMPI (Generalized Music Plugin Interface). There was a discussion group with many leading plugin and DAW developers participating and it went pretty far with the specification. I still have the posts from that mailing list archived. Its a shame that it didn’t take off since it was ahead of its time and more sophisticated than VST - besides being vetted by industry pros. Both those projects were led by Ron Kuper who pioneered the first Pro Audio version of Cakewalk.

Designer was after my time there. I left in 97 to start working with Cakewalk on Pro audio 7. Corel had some interesting if schizophrenic products. I peripherally worked on a product called The Art of Playboy, that was a multimedia CD-ROM (remember those?) showcasing art and illustration from the Playboy catalog. I helped the project lead to build a simple playlist engine to trigger the background music to the slides and my wife and I composed and sequenced the music in CWPA 3. That was a fun little side project. Wav file playback was still not an option in those days due to storage limits and spotty spotty support on off the shelf PC’s.

and in v3, TMNTTMT to get subtle variations in your Ninja Turtles across channels.

GMPI (Generalized Music Plugin Interface) , say what ? Were you holding out on us, LOL ? Very interesting Noel, and much in the same vein as the ASIO v WASABI v WASAPI v WaveRT discussion , or we could even throw in BETA v VHS, but thats a whole other rabbit hole

Bagged this for $25 with $75 coupon.

Not only that, but the C-64 had optional assembler software that could be used to write MIDI stuff (e.g., real time I/O code, on-the-fly data processing, MIDI file manipulation, etc.). It even had vector tables to tap into OS routines. For example, by re-routing the easy to use 60-times-per-second interrupt vector, incoming MIDI data could be very efficiently obtained, stored in a 256 byte circular buffer using zero-page write/read pointers, processed using arrays of pointers to various stages of the data processing routines, and then sent out. Predating Roli and MPE, the C-64 could channelize incoming single-channel midi data and process it, and send it out as repurposed multi-channel data. Not bad considering this was the mid-to-late 1980s using a 64kb computer with a 1 MHz (+/-) processor!!

I think it does. I’m using 2x 1920x1200 monitors that are old but color corrected for my photography work. I am far from happy with this configuration. I am working on building a new system and would like only one monitor. I am totally lost with this decision since the monitor must be: 1) color calibrated for photography; 2) 4k resolution for photography and my need to see more Cakewalk real estate; 3) about 32” (on this point I may be wrong) because my eyes need something bigger; 4) decent in the text size category. So, this is important.

I'm still running an iLok1 along with the e-Licenser...I've never had any trouble at all. I've had trouble with machine activations and various server problems but nothing with the dongles. Sure they can break if you treat your stuff like a 2 year old Bill

My Limelight Has Been Restored Kenny

Maybe by now you've seen the YouTube ad for Drip, which is a plug-in effect that from what I could discern, you're supposed to indiscriminately throw on all audio sources in order to make them sound perfect just by clicking on one of the obtusely named buttons. The results sound easily accomplished with various combinations of delay, EQ, and phasing. I mention this because I think it's in sharp contrast to something I tried out this evening. I decided to give some plug-ins a try whose "demo" videos I'd watched, videos that contained no identifiable audio demonstrating them, just a lot of images from old educational films and cheap graphics, kinda reminded me of stuff I'd go see at underground video festivals in the 80's. Kinda put me off a bit at first, not that I mind that aesthetic at all, but if you want me to buy an audio effect, I want to have some idea of what it does before I throw down my money. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I went to their site and discovered that their stuff is available with a 2 week timed demo, so I wouldn't have to pay upfront to find out how they actually sounded. I first tried the one that seemed the most obscure (and therefore intriguing), called Dumpster Fire. It fulfills a similar "need" to Drip, you put it on a track after you've run out of inspiration. In the case of Dumpster Fire, though, I think the idea is that you want to destroy whatever track(s) you've been working on. There's no way to describe exactly what it does, but if you like Glitchmachines' stuff (to say I "like" their stuff would be a sad understatement) or Unfiltered Audio's Sandman, Fault, SpecOps, and BYOME, you'll find yourself in friendly, familiar, yet unsettling territory. GM and UA's stuff is incredibly versatile, has zillions of knobs and virtual patch cables, lets you ruin audio in just about any way you want. As much as I love their stuff, I find myself using the randomizers a lot at this point because, well, to be honest, I may never fully understand all the controls. Dumpster Fire, on the other hand has 5 knobs, none of which are labeled with text until you click on a small icon of the old CBS "eye" logo, and even then the labels include "generates hellscapes" and "scales the Aether pitch spread." You know, for when you're thinking that your snare could use some Aether pitch spread to make it sit in the mix. What I'm getting at is that Dumpster Fire is like a Glitchmachines or Unfiltered Audio effect with only 5 knobs but more immediate gratification. There are no presets, you throw this thing on and start turning knobs. If you share the same diseased sense of humor and delight in audio torquing as I, you will be grinning like a fool (specifically, me) once you hear what this thing does. I chose the Van Halen-y "80's Metal - A" backing track that comes with Cakewalk. Just a few degrees of knob turning made it sound like a dixieland band being buried in lava. On my own material, it sounded great (meaning giggly insane) on the drum bus. There is no LFO, so once you dial in a sound, it can be kind of static, but it really shines when you make some automation lanes and doodle with the Draw tool. All 5 knobs plus bypass are available for automating. There is no mix control, which seems right somehow. I also tried their Backmask effect, which, once you get past the truly bizarre graphics and control labeling (again, clicking on a button gets better explanations), is a very versatile backwards effect. I already have one, Initial Audio's Reverse, which to be fair is designed to be simple and succeeds at that. However if I had experienced Backmask first I wouldn't have gone for Initial Reverse. Backmask has 3 different triggers, note value, mS, or level, which is crazy useful and not something I've seen in a reversing effect. I could probably figure out how to do the level-triggered backward thing using MRhythmizer, but it would take me hours. It also has an automatable freeze function. The big surprise was that neither of these FX do any bitcrushing that I can discern. From the graphics and advertising, I expected them to ruin audio in a distortion-y way, at least partially, but they do it in a smooth way, which is somehow more subversive and unsettling and delightful. They probably don't do anything in the end that I couldn't already do with my vast collection of sound deformers, but they do it in a quick and fun way. I've emphasized the chuckles I got from Dumpster Fire, but it could be seriously good for ambient ethereal drone-y sound design. So much fun at $20 each. Since Plugin Boutique carries them now, the purchase qualifies for whatever monthly giveaway they have going, and I hear that they may put them on sale from time to time. https://freakshowindustries.com/ (they have an unusual feature with their pricing, to discourage piracy they will let you "steal" the products at a variety of discounts depending on which theft option you choose, but their stuff has so much play value that there is really no need. These crazy people deserve to be rewarded and encouraged).

I just need to learn to stop worrying and love the bomb year 2040: "do you guys have the link for the hack to install Ozone 9 in a Windows 55 machine?"

exactly, there's not improvising in the purchase-download-install-forget cycle it's all well-oiled machine

Also, only during this weekend ESL-PADS is free. This offer is valid until March 7, 2021 at 23:59 UTC + 1 https://gumroad.com/l/yndjW/cqu3rk0?fbclid=IwAR3L42ocOMNTaSB1Ui0-XgCLPAvmDCDKYaX_viSJ7ahJ0TPa-UoQeNd2Xjs

Preset demo (SoundCloud): https://electroniksoundlab.com/esl-pads/

Who has time to improvise if all I do is chase deals, watch reviews/tutorials, install, upgrade, and start cycle over

See the Big red button? or Ctrl +R This will arm or unarm all tracks- I see a few people got this right. Tip of the day- Open the help module and point the mouse at everything in your workspace and take some time to learn what everything does you'll be amazed at how many cool features are right under your nose,,, like the big red button. If you don't have the mix module shown in my screen shot, add it by right clicking the control bar. Modules.

Use Waves v12 plug-ins?

There's a new tutorial on craiganderton.org - How to Use Cakewalk with Komplete Kontrol. In theory, Cakewalk doesn’t officially integrate with Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol keyboards—but in practice, there are ways to make this happen by using ACT. And, even though Komplete keyboards’ documentation says it works as a general-purpose MIDI control surface only when operating in stand-alone mode with the 5-pin DIN connections, there’s a workaround for that, too. It's kind of a long article, but if you want to use the Komplete keyboards with Cakewalk, I'm pretty sure you'll find the answers you need. Just note that you really have to follow the steps carefully, if you miss a step things won't work.

Devine Lies So after a long Covid induced delay, our new album, Regeneration is released today. Regeneration is a selection of tracks from our first 5 albums, some recorded over 20 years ago! The first DAW recordings were done in Guitar Tracks, if anyone remembers that!! The oldest track was recorded to tape!!!! So where we could, we used the original recordings – if unable to use the originals, we recorded new takes and then completely remixed and remastered the album. The first track, which is one of the oldest, is Devine Lies. Hope you enjoy it NEW WEBSITE We also celebrated the release of this album with a brand new website https://devinelie.com/ Nigel https://music.amazon.co.uk/artists/B002GLCV8K/devine-lie https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Sd0BBWtT5fv0GaXLoKTAC https://www.youtube.com/c/DevineLie/videos

This is a trailer for an evil clown movie: https://davidsprouse.bandcamp.com/track/the-shadow

Starts at 4:30

If you like NKS... I use Jason’s NKS library for Thorn. Makes tweaking sounds with hw knobs a lot of fun... https://freelancesoundlabs.com/index.php/downloads/komplete-kontrol-vst-packs/item/227-thorn-nks-browser-for-komplete-kontrol-maschine

No worries mate

actually the higher end UMC units have a decent ASIO driver - i can often run my UMC1820 down to 16 samples for raw recording audio.

True. For Keyscape (as for Omnisphere) the best way is to wait for 15% off at Musician’s Friend. Still pricey even then though.

MIDI Learn: Right-click the knob/control you want to change. Click on Learn MIDI CC# Automation. Move the knob on the controller that you want to use. Oh yeah! If this is essentially all you’re needing help with then the ACT module on the control bar should help. I’ve used it to map my old BR-800 to the faders and my existing MIDI keyboard as well. (M-Audio Oxygen 49) I demonstrated it here: *Please don’t mind the fact that this was years ago and I didn’t even have gray hairs yet... 😂

I think more and more vendors will try this model... NI recently asked me to respond to a survey that had a couple of questions about subscription models it makes sense from a developer's perspective (more stable revenue), I just don't want to pay endlessly... if you have a sub, no matter how many plugins it contains, the point will come when you've paid too much per plugin and still don't own s*** I think Netflix is different because if I stop paying, I'm not going to be stuck with a bunch of projects halfway done

Kenny

Been enjoying Collective for quite some time now. Half off is a sweet deal for those add-ons.

Thanks jack c. and Lynn Wilson for saying you like the vocals! I am usually the least pleased with them especially right now. I am a Talking Heads fan and flattered you would find a hint in there Lynn. I started in bands as a female bass player (and rhythm guitar) so was interested in their music. As for confidence, I feel somewhat confident but always so much more to learn! Takes a bit of confidence to post on the song forum ha. Thanks for the suggestions and support.

hey. actually, there is an ARM [UnArm] ALL TRACKS button just press it before (to disarm all), before selecting a new one. very useful when you're recording different midi tracks while composing You can activate this button with the module "Mix"

I see that too. I think it's the Facebook Container in Firefox. If you right-click the number, you can view the image...

Here is your opportunity to create one with either the built-in UI or a text editor. Directly editing the master.ins with a text editor may be faster depending on how the information is documented. When directly editing master.ins make a backup (just in case).

There are at least 3 types of tracks in CbB; MIDI, Audio and a hybrid, Simple Instrument Track. This is a combined MIDI/audio track where a soft synth is used. I have never used Instrument Tracks, but I believe that in order to see and edit the MIDI, there's something else that has to be done. BRB. Well, using a SIT, I was able to see the Staff every time. How are you trying to see it? Views>Staff at the top or a keyboard shortcut?

That's right. Don't mess with the frog.

Yep, I'm SO centric now too. I am working ProTools for a project. Strange days.

Going by the original, which never gets any use, and never did, I think you should rein in your excitement, having said that, I wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised.

another great recording job and song.jack c.

IIRC Ozone 8 was in 2.1 and v3 upgraded it to O9

Got this email "Get early access to Music Production Suite Pro" Try for free. It will be interesting to see what (if any) improvements there are in the "Pro" versions. I already have MPS3 and didn't see the point of upgrading to V4 given that it would give me a reverb and some minor additions to Nectar. In my case it is safe to argue that If I can't get a decent sound using everything I already have, I probably have no discernible talent in mixing and mastering. I can understand why they want to go with subscriptions and minor updates as I don't think there any many major toys they could add. Perhaps Composer Assistant that writes the music for you, Lyric Assistant that writes the words for you, Playing Assistant that plays the instruments for you and Recording Assistant which records everything for you.🤔

Make sure that you record each instrument on a separate track. And only "Arm" your current track for recording. See example in video below. It is queued up to start at 11:44 mm:ss. There are some excellent tutorial videos posted online. Suggest watching them. 😉