Lee D

Honestly DAWs can be finicky sometimes.  One person may have a lot of issues with a certain DAW while others don't because of their system configuration.  Better to just find a DAW that doesn't crash for you!

13 hours ago, msmcleod said:

@Lee D - to set things up:

First of all, make sure you've got your Control Surface type set correctly within Preferences, using the MMcL version:

Here's the difference between them:

Next, use the Utilities menu to bring up the Mackie Control dialog (it should be at the bottom of that menu), and make sure Disable Handshake is checked:

(ignore the fact it's unchecked in this example - I'm at work, and haven't got CbB available so I'm using the only screenshots I have available!):

Then, save this as a preset by giving it a name in the dropdown in the top left, and clicking the save icon. Then click OK to close the dialog.

 

Fantastic!  Works great now.  The transport buttons all work except for the "loop" button, the track select buttons, faders, and knobs all work as well. 

Some of the buttons are mapped a little bit incorrectly for the controls. .  i.e. the loop button doesn't seem to do anything but the "metronome" button enables loop mode, etc.  I can't edit the messages the Arturia is sending in this mode, is there a way to edit the configuration on the receiving end to interpret it as a different command?

Thanks so much for the help, that makes a huge difference.

3 hours ago, msmcleod said:

@Lee D - to set things up:

First of all, make sure you've got your Control Surface type set correctly within Preferences, using the MMcL version:

Here's the difference between them:

Next, use the Utilities menu to bring up the Mackie Control dialog (it should be at the bottom of that menu), and make sure Disable Handshake is checked:

(ignore the fact it's unchecked in this example - I'm at work, and haven't got CbB available so I'm using the only screenshots I have available!):

Then, save this as a preset by giving it a name in the dropdown in the top left, and clicking the save icon. Then click OK to close the dialog.

 

Ah OK I didn't notice the "Disable Handshake" there. . . I will try it later, thank you!

6 hours ago, azslow3 said:

Have you opened its GUI (f.e. from Utilities Menu) and set "Disable handshake" option? When everything is correct, there should be no more "Connecting..." (even without any device attached).

 

I'm not sure where that would be located?  I opened the ACT controller configuration where it shows the various settings for the Mackie controller in Cakewalk and didn't see an option to disable handshake.  Which "Utilities menu" are you referring to?

6 hours ago, msmcleod said:

 

@Lee D - where are you seeing the "Connecting" message? Is this in CbB or on the KeyLab itself?

It's in the ACT Controller box in the ribbon/console at the top of Cakewalk.  

Unfortunately I tried this evening with no success. . . still giving the "Connecting" message no matter what I do

Why don't you want to use groove clips?  This is what it is for...

3 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

You can download the installer from here:

http://msmcleod.co.uk/cakewalk/MMcLMackieControlSetup.zip

Then pick "MMcL Mackie Control #1" as your controller type:

Fantastic, I'll try it when I get home.  Thanks!  I guess you're a computer programmer of some sorts, eh?

1 hour ago, azslow3 said:

Replace mackiecontrol.dll with the one from https://github.com/msmcleod/Cakewalk-Control-Surface-SDK/tree/master/Bin/x64

That is a mod from msmcleod, more advanced then my own (since I do not have any mackie device). It has "disabled handshake" setting, once set you will not longer see "Connecting".

If you ever hit the limit with what you can do in using Mackie plug-in, you can dive into AZ Controller programming. But I guess you do not need that long way 😉

Thanks!  Is there a way to configure the same in the Cakewalk settings or editing a file myself rather than downloading a .dll file.  Makes me a little nervous.

Does anyone have a Keylab MK2 keyboard working successfully in DAW mode?  I am setting the Keylab to Mackie MCU protocol but Cakewalk refuses to connect to it.  The ACT just says "Connecting".    I tried various things for an hour last night such as re-installing, deleting the mapping files in the %appdata% folder, but nothing works.

I have my MIDI inputs set to the MK2 Input and the MIDI IN 2 and the output set to MIDI OUT 2.  The Mackie Control Universal control surface is set to use the MIDI IN 2 / MIDI OUT 2.

If I remove the Control Surface from Cakewalk setup, I can verify that note data is being received when I push the various transport control buttons on the MK2.

I know there's a workaround to get the transport controls working but I want the whole thing working where the sliders control volume for the different tracks, etc.  

Works OK in other DAWs (Studio One, Reaper, FL Studio).  

If you guys are in the market for headphones and you're OK with open headphones I'd recommend the Philips Fidelio X2. . . $150 on Amazon right now and they are amazing.  I just compared a few headphones and these are by far the best in my opinion anywhere in this price range.

It's a great synth.  You need a high-resolution display though and a pretty powerful rig to run it.  Definite recommended buy at this price.

Thank you Noel!

1 hour ago, Noel Borthwick said:

I think you were asking about sound on sound recording. Takes are only committed on stopping record so you may not be able to hear the prior loop passes until you stop. I understand what you want though...

Thanks Noel, you are correct that it what I was asking about.

Is it possible nowadays to loop record a drum VST now so that each take you're recording a separate instrument and building the drum beat by making multiple passes?  aka the first pass I do kick drum, then the next pass I do snare and I hear the kick drum from the last pass, and so on?  Previously that was not possible.

Nevermind

13 minutes ago, Mandolin Picker said:

If you want to see/hear something unique, there is a web site that is playing back the entire Apollo 11 mission in real time. It includes over 11,000 hours of audio from mission control. Also has video that is synced to actual events as they occurred. It is a very neat web site.

https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/

Holy crap that's awesome... I will be checking that out at work tomorrow for sure!

1 hour ago, Bill Ruys said:

Lee has gone from feigning an interest in Sonar to conspiracy theorist over the course of this thread.  I can't wait to see where this goes next!

And while we are on it, the moon landing was staged!

2 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

I think the line of reasoning is:

1. We only understand things a company does in terms of how they directly produce revenue, i.e. We make or do a thing, you pay us money for that thing

2. BandLab has never explained to us how Cakewalk will directly produce revenue for them

3. As it is a human trait to fear what we don't understand, we will invent a sinister way that Cakewalk could directly produce revenue for BandLab and try to convince Cakewalk users that BandLab intends to  implement it

4. If we are successful, we will no longer fear, because with the reinforcement of the Cakewalk users' belief, we will understand BandLab's motives

This has already become very tiresome for the people who are not burdened by #1, so I will try to relate a parallel example.

Every year, Sony PlayStation pays millions of dollars to put their name on a college football game. The PlayStation Bowl! It's a big deal. Many people attend the game and watch it on TV.

Does PlayStation make money from this? They must, in some way, they are not stupid, college football is not a charity. But the people who broadcast the PlayStation Bowl don't pay them money to do it, nor do the people who show up and sit in the stands and watch pay them.

Nope, they actually lose money on the actual act of putting their name on the bowl game. However they sell enough of their  consoles to more than make up for it as a result, because people who watch the game associate PlayStation with football. If they have watch parties, they may even buy a new PlayStation, and it will never be the competitor's console, because who would do that.

Cakewalk can be BandLab's PlayStation Bowl, their Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, their Goodyear Blimp. Something cool with BandLab's name on it. To suddenly put code in it that would harvest user data and send it back to a server somewhere, which is activity easily detected, and DAW users are constantly monitoring their systems' CPU and network use to squeeze every last drop of performance, would be idiotic. It would generate so much bad publicity.

The value of any user data that might be collected in such a fashion is rather overrated, I think. BandLab has already had my email address for a year and a half and what have they done with it? Nothing. Zero, zip, nada, not even sent me mail themselves. That's how interested they are in using our precious user data.

Does BandLab or any person or company associated with them have any history of involvement with any activity like that? Of course not. The owner is the son of a wealthy and successful family who is building his own business with the help of his family's wisdom and  capital and doesn't need to pull stupid scams.

Cakewalk is a freebie that has synergy with BandLab's other products. That's about it. They're not going to wait until a whole bunch of people have a lot of projects they're working on and then start charging for it, and they're not going to turn it into spyware.

Have you read Bandlab's privacy policy?  I think your view is a little naive to be honest.  You have to sign up for a Bandlab account to get Cakewalk, why do you think that is?

By the way, I don't think there is anything bad or evil with collecting user marketing data in exchange for free services. 

19 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

I see it differently.

The value of BandLab as a social media platform / online DAW is measured on their number of active users - just the same way as twitter or Facebook was when it started.

BandLab as a DAW however has limitations... so when their members want to go beyond that, where do they go? Cakewalk is the answer. It gives existing members a pro DAW to move to while staying within the BandLab eco system.

As far as getting their money, Craig has pretty much explained it.

I know it's radically different from how most companies work - i.e. they expect each product to make a profit.

But it's probably easier think of  it as being similar to how a lot of people do a day job to fund their music. So all the other companies BandLab owns fund the BandLab webste & DAW / Cakewalk side. They're not seen as separate products but more like part of a greater eco-system.

 

I think we are actually saying the same thing

8 minutes ago, Tezza said:

I am attracted to the "all in one" DAW, I know you can get bits and pieces here and there but I would prefer to get everything from one developer, so you just buy the DAW and away you go. I would suspect those who have sonar or other third party instruments wouldn't notice that Cakewalk doesn't really have instruments. All Cakewalk needs is a decent sample player (like halion, dimension pro or kontakt etc) and a couple of good synths and some pitch correction software then it's done and dusted. As long as it can all be authorized under one developer like Bandlab then that's it.

Keep the DAW free but then you pay for the add on pack which contains the sample player, the two good synths and the pitch correction. Don't tie them to the DAW so others can buy them for their different DAW's.

This way you keep the capability of owning a great DAW for free but then people can choose to upgrade to the premium version. I think it's a mistake to assume that everyone is using or even has third party instruments, I think people still want the "all in one" DAW at least to start with.

 

Yeah if they re-release Rapture Pro and Zeta 2 as paid add-ons then that would pretty much do the trick.

6 hours ago, John said:

Lee I'm not sure why you are here at all.  Apparently, you don't use  Cakewalk or intend to do so, so what purpose have you in asking these things and also continuing do engage? I'm not sure how this thread fits in with the idea of a peer to peer forum trying to offer help to one another. 

In effect you are attempting to read the mind of Cakewalk's owners. I can't think of anything less fruitful. 

I've used it on and off in the past and would do so again in the future. It's just a conversation, maybe I should have posted in a different section of the forum? 

2 hours ago, JoseC said:

So, yours is the Big Brother theory. Cakewalk as a big marketing Trojan. Around here we call that "conspiranoid"

Yeah I read their privacy policy.  I'm not saying they are doing anything evil.  But I think that's their business reason for offering a free DAW.

Edits to frozen audio don't translate back to midi. 

Use freeze to free up cpu and memory when you don't need to edit the track.  

5 minutes ago, abacab said:

Aha! So what you are doing here is just trolling actual users.

Actually I was just hoping to troll you.  Mission accomplished!

2 hours ago, Craig Anderton said:

Customer acquisition and brand visibility isn't cheap. BandLab got HUGE publicity when they saved Cakewalk. That kind of positive PR is difficult to buy, at any price. 

What's more, it made a statement: "We're saving the program you love. Enjoy!" If that isn't going to make people think well of BandLab, I don't know what will. I think Meng has re-discovered a principle that too many companies have forgotten: the customer matters. Who here isn't grateful for what BandLab has done? And if you're a guitar player looking for a new guitar, or a mobile interface, or a case for carrying your gear, and there's one from one of Meng's companies - all things being equal, aren't you likely to support the guy who saved your program?

Of course, Cakewalk is part of a bigger picture which has yet to be played out. I think of Cakewalk as a race horse that's hanging out in a stable, being well-fed and groomed, while waiting in the wings for the next race...whenever and whatever that might be.

I don't hang out with Meng, but I have met him and talked with him. He's young, smart, and driven. Those kind of people tend to produce interesting results.

I think you captured part of it.  After giving it some thought, my hypothesis is that the free services provided by Bandlab have the goal of collecting and running analytics on an increasing number of users for the purposes of:

1) Creating brand recognition and loyalty

2) Marketing other products in the Bandlab portfolio

3) Assisting with product development

4) Selling this data to 3rd party partners and services

I think that Cakewalk will be modified in the future to collect user data and to more tightly integrate with the Bandlab ecosystem.  This might even allow them to collect data on the usage of the other equipment such as the audio interfaces, guitars, etc which would give a big step up in terms of product development and marketing.