John Vere

I’ve been on a quest for a ride cymbal that actually sounds like a ride cymbal and not a crash. I think I’ll just record my own someday. I did this about 15 years ago but I lost the folder in a hard drive failing. I recorded my whole kit and it was cool to play it using Session Drummer.

Ya I mention it when I get a chance because it’s free so no harm in trying. I had to watch a video to get it working but have no clue which one that was, but yes it’s a strange duck. Good news is once you get it working it’s very easy to use. Try different streaming settings if your getting glitches.

Don’t do anything in Cakewalk. Just choose Mono when you export. Question? What are you using for playback at the gig that requires a mono MP3 file? Just wondering at that choice?

Sure looks good to me. That’s first class support I’d say. No harm in re installing it will either work or tell you it’s already installed. People are always uninstalling and I don’t think it’s ever been necessary.

I have in order of purchase M Audio Fast Track Pro, Tascam us1641 , Focusrite Scarlett 6i6, Motu M4 and the latest a Zoom L8. These are all what we would call entry level consumer gear. Anyhow shopping for an interface based on thinking there will be a big difference in sound for $200 is a very questionable exercise. They are all about the same. And ask 100 people you will get a 100 answers as it’s subjective. You are better off making a list of features you want and compare that. I think you’ll be disappointed in all offerings that are $200 range and the Behringer might be better than some of the others. That’s one that has real ASIO drivers right? Out of all my interfaces the sound quality has always been indistinguishable but the features make a huge difference to my work flow. I Scraped the Tascam because back then the driver sucked. They fixed it after I bought the Scarlett. I scraped the Focusrite because I hate the monitoring set up. I then scraped the Motu because it craps out randomly( Due to bus power?) So far the Zoom L8 outshines them all because it has 10x the features and everything on my list is there in a neat small package. Zoom was not ever on my radar until I started shopping this fall. I almost skipped it over because of its past reputation for bad drivers. Oh and it has a HiZ input that is working really well with my guitars and bass. It’s double the price of your budget but that’s my point I’m making. Anyhow make that list first. How many inputs do you need and are they multi purpose? How many outs How many separate headphone outs. Can you adjust the mix of the direct sound with playback using the front panel? Is it bus powered and are you aware of the issue that can cause ? Does the company update its drivers? Do they have good service? Do you need Loopback?

@Craig Anderton Yes it is a big concern and I think one of the reasons I chose-1.0 db was years ago there were many debates on this topic. It was one of those everybody had their opinions endless tail chase debates kinda like sample rate or analog vs digital debates. So I took the middle ground. Truth is I had been normalizing all my wave files to -0.2 db using Wave Lab for a long time. This was in the CD and DAT days. After I learned how “wrong” this was I took a close listen to those files and never really heard anything wrong? Much later on I dropped them in You Lean and most were dead on 0 db. But nothing was a +db. And then began my using the BT brickwall set at -1.0 db. Later using You Lean I learned that most of those masters were very close to -0.1 db? I then tested a dozen or more free Limiters and the Loudmax and Boost11 won the shoot out. Set at -1.0 Loud max at worst is -0.8. I apologize to Richard for our geeky side track but this is what we do. For your backing tracks the peak limit is not as mission critical but the LUFS definitely are . This latest batch sound way better than my last go round pre Covid. And people noticed. I’m still performing at 70 and I need all the help I can get so perfect backing tracks are worth the extra time and effort. Nothing I can do about arthritis and my guitar playing but the rest of the band is in top form now. And they don’t miss practice or get drunk at gigs. And oddly enough I get paid the same as a 3 piece band. But I do share this with the band and I’m going to treat them to a new computer.

I did already.

We are not allowed to discuss this topic. There are at least 100 pages already here you can read at your leisure.

Cakewalk is real good at taking anything you throw at it. If a project is 44.1. And you drag and drop a 48 or even a MP3 audio file it automatically converts the audio to 44.1.. Of note is the bit depth stays the same as original as Cakewalk can have audio files at any bit depth, but sample rate has to be the same.

The fact that WASAPI Shard mode doesn't offer buffer adjustments is 100% on Window and your Audio systems end. It has nothing to do with Cakewalk. This is why if you are using on board audio and want ASIO type features and performance you use WASAPI Exclusive mode. That is as close as it will get. ASIO4all is really only WDM mode in a 3rd party wrapper. This is why Cakewalk staff do not recommend it. Any Vendor that does is really out of touch with Windows 10 and 11 audio realities and I would personally avoid their products. Asio4all= WDM mode is the old Windows code and worse performance than WASAPI shared. Sure it might work but you'll just keep digging a deeper hole. Reaper uses a completely different audio engine than many DAWs do.

Another reason for not using MP3 files unless needed for the internet. But that said I do bulk convert in Gold Wave to MP3 that are 48 / 320 kbps. I upload these to Sound Click so I can listen on my Cell phone via Headphones. I can't hear any distortion so possibly it depends on the convertor and the sample /bit rates. Example I never use Cakewalks MP3 export. @RICHARD HUTCHINS I couldn't find the exact video I think I removed it last year, but this video has a lot of the same concepts demoed.

I’m your man! I just redid over 200 tracks last winter. The ultimate secret weapon is the You Lean Loudness meter. To save a lot of time get the paid version. This allows you to get a reading in seconds. The free version requires playing the file in real time. The reason i say this is your most important statistic is what the LUFS are for the song. This is the all important perceived volume. Exactly what you are trying to do. So I choose-14 LUFS at -1.0 db peak level as my target. This alone will bring your songs into the ballpark. But there’s a little more to it as the songs need to be mixed with things like drums and bass always being proportional. My solution to this is I always use the same exact instruments and pre sets. Ample P Bass and Addictive Drums. I also always use the exact same velocities for these. Next I use 3 or 4 Sub buses. Bass, Drums and Keyboards. I rarely use VST guitar or Horns but if so it gets a bus. Next I have the Loudmax brick wall limiter on the master and the You Lean meter underneath. I set the Loud Max at -1.0 db. Because the bass is the same VST set with same volume and velocity it is always seems to be at about-4 db. Perfect. The drums are about the same. Now keyboard stuff is always different so I mix it until it is where I want it. Now check the You Lean meter and it’s usually showing I’m good. If it’s too hot and the loud max is showing gain reduction I back off on the keyboard first. I export these at 48/16 wave and drag them into YouLean meter to test. The end result is I never need to adjust volume at gigs . It was time well spent. I made a video once I’ll see if I can find it.

Just a question but why do you need to use 44.1? Is that the delivery format? I only ask because if you’re doing it to decrease the file size it’s not a heck of a lot. Decreasing the bit depth will make more of a difference. You should be able to open either format but as David said some interfaces don’t do this very nicely. My Motu is one of them. My other interfaces no problem. Always check in the transport module to make sure the Sample and Bit rates are what you wanted before you record.

Actually your issue is directly related to your audio system because any system that doesn’t support 48/24 is garbage. I use on board audio from time to time on another desktop and a laptop and I use 48/24 and I can use both WASAPI modes . Either you on board sound chip is junk or that 3rd party app for routing is crap. They usually are. Cakewalk was designed to be used with ASIO drivers and this is only available with proper audio interfaces. People can try and fight it but you won’t win. On board audio if set up correctly can be all some people need, but with limited use Like next to impossible to record audio properly. The most important part of a recording chain is the pre amp and the converters. The input on a computer has got to be the bottom of the food chain for that.

To be fair this was nothing you find in the manual directly. That said , the OP did have the answer in the very first reply but then claimed they had checked this and it was fine. Possibly this is just another one of those language issues that seem common here because we are very global. This is why screenshots are important. I’ve seen plenty of 3 page threads that if the OP had posted a screenshot in first post would have been resolved in first reply.

Why use bounce? Just create a mix and export it. Drag it back to the project. To create the mix you just mute the unwanted tracks. It this is not feasible because project is ridiculously large then create a sub bus and send the tracks you want mixed to that and mute all other buses. My solution allows you to mix these tracks into a sub mix you can export and bring back.

You could try changing your on board audio settings in Windows Sound Settings. All my on board audio can be set to use 48/24 which is better for compatibility with movies etc. Then if you use WASAPI exclusive mode you can change your buffer settings. This is possibly a good reason to purchase an audio interface which would not be as limited as using on board audio. Instructions for how to do this :

Yes exactly an issue I ran into years ago with my Motu and Scarlett. To prevent that what I did to use the 3/4 outputs was I create a second master that goes to 3/4. . I then add a send pre fader on the master bus that goes to the second master bus. This way I can use 2 different sets of speakers solo or both using the send and the master fader. Now my Zoom L8 has 3 Auxiliaries so it is controlled with the interface not Cakewalk. I have lots of older projects that still have that second master. And of course that doesn’t interfere with the audio if the 3/4 are not connected to anything. The master is still available to 1/2

The year is 2030, The Rolling Stones are on tour again and this thread is still here!

You need to be patient. They said they will make it available. It is free software and they are basically done with it and moving on to Sonar. They need to focus on the 2 new products not worry about a half dozen off line users. I used to be off line and sure it was a hassle but I would just take my computer to town to my brothers house and update stuff then take it home for another year. Personally if I had no options about the internet I would never depend on software that does.

The above was your first reply. So the answer/solution was given 3 days ago. I missed this answer as it was on page 1, This is also due to when you set the Master to "none" I just tested this. Setting to none turns off the audio engine. The reason most likely is this project was saved when no audio device was present. This defaults to "None" I didn't know this until I tested. Took a project and I set the output to None, save it and close. I open another project and it is correctly set to the hardware. Re open the project I saved with None, and it is still set to none so no Audio. If it's always been this way I've never noticed before because I guess I always have something connected. But problem solved and I learned 2 new facts.

This is the problem with threads like this as I think we all ask this question at least 5 times and we’re told it was set to the hardware. It is most likely just a communication problem. I guess best to ask for screen shots at the start as they often resolve issues that texting in different languages might not reveal. And then toss in all the geeky terminology. And the OP might not be aware of the hidden hardware bus. It's a hidden secret. The master output was the very first thing came to mind.

I mostly use a Shure Beta 58, or the much more expensive SM 7B ( same mike in a sexier package) but I have others by AKG, Audio Technica and Sennheiser. You get what you pay for applies to mike sound quality. A plain SM 58 is pretty flat sounding but the Beta 58 has a much wider frequency response. There's a huge difference when you try them side by side. LDC mikes seem to pick up every noise in the house as well as I make a lot of noise when I sing and it is not very flattering to capture that! What ever the mike, you will always need to try a lot of them before you find that perfect match. And yes a LDC might just be the best mike for you. But you will need a better room. I think noise removal plug ins have their place in this world for things like live recordings where you cannot control background noise. To me it's unacceptable to capture unwanted noise when recording in an environment where I have some sort of control over it. . I kick the cat out, close the door and tell my wife to stay out of the kitchen which is above my basement studio. My computer is buffered behind a 3" foamy. But it is still faintly there if you listen to the blank spots between singing. So I delete that. I guess that's my noise Gate/ removal plug in. Delete. Not much I can do about my old Fender Princeton tube amp, but I consider that hum part of my sound. I just don't leave quiet spots! The OP's mike sounds like it would get shelved by me and I would keep looking.

The OP was trying Next because they are using a Mac. I don’t think there’s any plan for Sonar to be cross platform. Probably the big reason the developed Next in the first place.

This is why I sold all my LDC mikes. I use dynamic mikes because they are dead quiet. As well as they suit my vocal style. People seem to choose LDC because they see them in the big studios. I think in most cases they are a bad choice for a home studio environment.