Nigel Jackson

Hi John, hopefully you’ll see this update! I’ve been through the setup again from scratch, checking against your video. Software downloaded afresh from Bandlab, Steve Slate Drums and Focusrite so def the latest versions. The issue is still there. BUT - what I noticed today was that even if Cakewalk isn’t running, when the Scarlett is plugged into the laptop so the laptop sounds are playing through the monitors connected to the Scarlett, I hear the buzzing whenever there’s a Windows sound playing. So it seems the issue isn’t with Cakewalk, it’s either with the laptop sound drivers/system or on the Focusrite side. Can you suggest where I should look next? Cheers

Thanks John, that’s understood. I’ll check through the recommendations in the video and come back on here if I can’t get it sorted out

Thanks John, but I have everything setup. All was working fine on this laptop previously, and works fine on my other laptop. What I need help with is why I’m now getting this interference on the first laptop that used to be ok!?

I’m a real novice with Cakewalk and only use it in a very limited way - I use the Steven Slate Drums plugin in a single track and run my e-drum kit via my Focusrite Scarlett via MIDI. I have Cakewalk on my HP laptop, all works fine. Last week I decided to setup my old Microsoft Surface Book laptop with Cakewalk and use that for the drum kit so I can leave it connected and don’t need to use my business laptop (the HP) for the drums. Previously everything worked fine when using the Surface, but now, when I start to play the sound is fine, but after a minute or so I start to hear loud buzzing and crackling sounds, that continue when I stop playing. The settings in Cakewalk and for the Scarlett are identical between the 2 laptops, but only the Surface Book generates these sounds. If I shutdown Cakewalk the noises stop. I have no idea where to start looking to troubleshoot this issue - can someone guide me where to look and what to check? Thanks.

SOLVED - it was the choke sample sounds in SSD5 I was hearing. I just turned the volume of that articulation for each cymbal right down in the edit tab and all now OK!

After the very steep learning curve that is CbB and SSD5, I now have it all set up and working - just need to learn about the various CbB knobs and settings now! Because the Roland brain doesn't use a MIDI note for the chokes, to get them working for crash left and right and ride, I've had to check Key Aftertouch in midi settings. BUT, when I grab the edge of the cymbals as well as choking the cymbal sound, it also generates a 'ching' soung (like a dull cymbal). Obviously I don't want the 'ching' sounds...does anyone know how to stop them whilst keeping the chokes working? Cheers.

I haven't tried recording the choke yet, but I found the midi note list in the drum brain...choke doesn't appear anywhere in the list 🤔?

Yes I didn't explain the right way! Thanks for those notes Reginald.

OK, so first off, let me say I'm a beginner with very limited knowledge of CbB and SSD5. I'm trying to use the Steven Slate Drums SSD5 vst in CbB when I play my Roland kit, instead of the kits in the drum brain. I've got it mostly working now (thanks again for the help from various people), but, when I choke the cymbals this doesn't trigger in SSD5, so obviously the sound isn't choked. I think the choke isn't included in the SSD5 kits, and I've asked for help from them to get this sorted. They have asked me to record a MIDI file with only the MIDI notes for the 3 choke triggers (2 crash and ride)...but as a total beginner with CbB I don't know how to do this🤣. Please can I ask for some help - a quick bullet-point instruction on how to do this? My kit is connected to a Focusrite interface by MIDI, then from the interface to my laptop by USB. Thanks.

Thanks. That's 1 aspect sorted, just a million others to learn now

Ah, so the midi and audio track are 'built into' the instrument track...they don't have to be added separately?

Cool, thank you John. Can I ask a question (before I watch the videos, so it might be answered, sorry!)? I have my setup 'sort of' working but not sure if it's right... The Roland brain is sending MIDI to my Focusrite interface Speakers are now connected to the interface My laptop with CbB and SSD5 are connected to the Focusrite by USB I've got it so when I play the real kit, the SSD5 kit is reacting correctly onscreen, and the SSD5 sounds are coming out of the speakers . But, I had to add a 'simple instrument' track in CbB to make it work. I first tried adding a MIDI track, set the inputs and outputs and could see the meters in CbB moving, but there was no sound coming out. Is that correct, I should use a simple instrument track? Thanks again.

John, the links you included seem to be broken?

Thanks John. So basically I’ve not done this right at all 😂. The echo button is definitely on. The ProChannel appeared when I added the instrument. If I shouldn’t use that, what controls should I be using in the inspector? So the reason I’m hearing the sounds from both the brain and CbB is because I have the output directed back to the TD-17, and you can’t turn off the brain’s own output afaik. But I can turn the kit mix volume down…not sure if I can turn it off though. There is an aux input to the brain, but if I can’t turn the kit mix volume off sounds like I need a small mixer for laptop/CbB in and speakers/headphones out? Thanks.

I'm very new to MIDI/mixing/drums (only recently starting learning!) and only using CbB to play Steven Slate SSD5 drum sounds when I play...I'm not using CbB to create or record. After quite a bit of faffing around I've finally got my Roland TD-17 triggering SSD5 in CbB , and can hear the SSD5 drum sounds through speakers or earphones which are connected to the TD-17. But I've no idea if the method I've used is the CORRECT way to do this, and if I turn down one of the knobs in the master inspector panel I can hear the normal TD-17 sounds. Can anyone tell me if this is the right way to do this - sorry if my terminology is wrong?... - Select ASIO driver mode - Start an empty project - In the Browser select the instrument panel, select Steven Slate SSDSampler5 and drag it into the Track Pane - The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog opens - select Simple Instrument Track, click OK - In the track set the input to Midi Omni - In the Inspector I can now see the ProChannel - in the TUBE section if I turn up the Output knob I hear the SSD5 drum kit when I play. If I turn down the Output knob I hear the TD-17 sounds Am I doing this right? Am I still able to hear the TD-17 sounds because I have the speakers/earphones plugged into the TD-17, not coming off the laptop? In the TUBE section, how should I use the Input and Output knobs - should they be balanced - if not, what? And maybe a load of other questions later! Thanks,

OK cool, I'll check that...almost certainly not switched on if it isn't on by default! Thanks.

Thanks scook. I know I need to do the mapping...is that the reason I can't trigger SSD5 with my kit? As some of the MIDI notes are mapped, I expected them to trigger in the SSD5 kit. Currently when I play I'm hearing the TD-17 kit sounds that have gone through Cakewalk and back into the TD-17, but I want to hear the SSD5 sounds!

Hi from a newbie drummer (started learing 3 months ago at age 60) and Cakewalk/SSD5 user - well not so much the latter yet as I can't get it working! I have a Roland VAD306 kit with TD-17 brain, and want to be able to play the SSD5 kits when I play the real one, instead of the kits in the TD-17 brain. I think probably not-unusually for beginners, I am totally confused with how Cakewalk/SSD5 work and how to get them interacting with my drum kit. So far I have my TD-17 talking to my laptop, I have the SSD5 plugin in Cakewalk. I can add an SSD5 synth track to a project and add an SSD5 groove (and play it), but I can't get the SSD5 plugin kit to trigger any sound either through the laptop speakers or the TD-17 when I click on any part of the kit. When I play the real kit I can see the midi notes triggering in the TD-17 (Other > MIDI note menu) - I can see that some of the notes are not the same as the kit in SSD5 (so I have to do the mapping in full), but I was expecting the notes that do match to trigger the SSD5 kit when I play the real one - nothing - no sound and I don't see the parts of the SSD5 kit highlighting as I play. But, if I add an SSD5 track to the project, set the midi channel to match the TD-17, I can play the real kit through Cakewalk (which at least triples the volume)! I can also record the real kit in Cakewalk and play it back so I know that MIDI output from the kit is arriving in Cakewalk. There are so many elements to this that I don't know where to start unravelling what I've obviously not done correctly. I don't know how the process flow should work to see where I'm going wrong. Please can I ask someone who has experience as a beginner with Cakewalk/SSD5 (or another drum VST) who has sorted this all out so they can play the VST kits from their real kit to give me some advice. I've got the manual but I don't think an 1880 page tome is going to be the answer right now...I don't know which bits to read!? Cheers, Nige