mdiemer

Awhile back I added a Mackie 10Smk3 subwoofer to my M-audio BX5a speakers. These monitors are rather small. They have a frequency range of 56hz to 22Khz. They have an active crossover freq. of 3khz. (That is, the built-in crossover between the tweeter and woofer). The tweeter draws 30 watts, the woofer draws 40.

The subwoofer is also not a large one, and should match OK, although it's a different manufacturer. It has freq. range of 35-180hz. The crossover range is 40-180. It draws 120 watts.

I've been researching this, and see that the usual suggested crossover on the sub is 80hz. But I have also seen recommendations which are much higher if your monitor speakers are small, and don't have much bass response . Some as high as 150hz. The BX5a monitors are pretty weak on bass.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Even ballpark numbers would be helpful. I'm not sure I can trust my aging ears like I used to.

Also, check to see if there is a window which is waiting for a response from you. This one still gets me! Just minimize everything, and see if there is a little window politely asking you something.

Try saving the old VST's. Then when you open the new ones, simply call up the old version. I think most VST's allow you to do this. For example: You have a VST2 for an EW library, say woodwinds. you save that VST3 as "project name EWWW." You open a new VST3 instance. From the menu, you load the EWWW settings.

3 minutes ago, Bruno de Souza Lino said:

Did you try the Sonar Platinum one?

No, sonar 8.5 was my latest, until Bandlab came along and rescued it from oblivion.

32 minutes ago, Bruno de Souza Lino said:

Platinum came with the Roland Groove Synth, which is sort of similar.

Unfortunately the Groove synth, which I have via sonar 8.5, crashes my system, just like TTS-1 does. I thought about getting the RSC, but opted instead for the Air Expand synth. What I really wish I could use is NI's Bandstand, which I have, but will not authorize any longer, since NI has abandoned it.  It's annoying that GM/GS midi sets, which used to be essentially free (my old Ensoniq soundcard had an excellent built-in one, which is what I used for years in the old days); are now scarce and expensive. Last I knew, RSC was about 150.00. that's overpriced for just a midi set. Unfortunately this is the current state of things. 

With me, this usually is because the connection isn't good. The act of unplugging and replugging may be why it works for you. Try doing that without shutting down. 

On the other hand, it's probably more likely to be something else, but it's always good to rule out the obvious first.

You need to export the material as a midi file, not a wave file, if you want to open it as a midi file. You can open a wave file by choosing the option "import wave file" in the File menus.

Midi files are of two types, 0 and 1. The first will put all tracks on one new track when you open it in Cakewalk. The second will preserve the independence of the various tracks

This one is supposed to be excellent, though I've never tried it:     https://pianoteq.en.uptodown.com/windows

Sometimes I can unselect the extra space that gets selected erroneously, while holding the control key, and then it will paste normally. doesn't always work though. sometimes, after the computer has been running awhile, Cakewalk just seems to get tired or confused. Like me, but not as often.

This also happens to me occasionally. I work in staff view, and it will paste the notes several measures away, or sometimes not paste at all, though the Edit History shows a paste did occur. I have to shut down and restart when this happens. It is a serious detriment to my workflow. I will try Ripple Editing next time. I never use it otherwise, due to the nature of my workflow, but if it solves the problem it's an acceptable workaround, certainly better than restarting.

1 hour ago, azslow3 said:

Don't hope, by then there will be VST4 😉

Steinberg has "fixed" the license for VST3, plug-ins developers HAVE TO switch to whatever new version of VST Steinberg decide to release within fixed period of time (VST2 is still used many years after it is declared obsolete and by now 2 years since no new developers can sign VST2 license... Steinberg does not like that...)

 

Sounds like some competition is needed. This is very close to a monopoly situation.

I agree with the advice offered above. most people probably use a combination of the two (internal + external). Another example of "it's not either/or, or this or that., or one size fits all. It's whatever works best. And it will be different in different projects, even those by the same composer/musician. Keep experimenting, and keep an open mind.

Being of the "if it ain't broke don't fix it school," I avoid updates solely for the purpose of "using the latest thing." This is a good example of the wisdom of that approach. VST3's usually cause CW to crash on my computer. there is no sonic advantage to using Vst3;  Vst2 sounds just as good. When Vst2 stops working, I will switch to VST3. By then will have worked out the bugs (hopefully).

3 hours ago, Kevin Perry said:

Not knowing the exact amount CbB attenuates by, but could it be the difference (when adding up multiple tracks) between 3dB attenuation and a more accurate 3.01dB?

db = 20 * log10(amplitude)

But it can be cheaper (in terms of CPU) to calculate 6.02 * log2(amplitude), where 6.02 ~= 20 * log10(2)) *

* log10(2) = 0.301029996, 20 x log10(2) = 6.020599913

Or different tapers on the pan law (remember CbB - and SONAR before it - can do sin/cos as well as square root)?

Uh, okay, if you say so. (In other words, this is way over my head).

CONCLUSION: (Quoted from Lord Tim)

When tracks are panned center CbB nulls either completely or very close to 100% with REAPER. The minor difference betwen multitrack mixes can be down to rounding (ie: the exported files were 24 bit / 44.1Khz vs an internal 32 bit or 64 bit mixing engine, so the more tracks imported, the more there will be differences as they're mixed together). In modern pop/rock/metal/hiphop/etc music, apart from very quiet sections or the end of reverb tails, in real-world use, this is going to be practically inaudible.

This then could be the reason for the discrepancy between how my large orchestral project sounded in Reaper vs. CbB. when you're doing 50 or so midi tracks, those small differences can really add up.

3 hours ago, Will_Kaydo said:

Did everything. Cakewalk is broken 😂😂 

Jokes aside - Compression are more sensitive. I immediately hear the attack, release and threshold work, as soon as I touch it them in reaper. In Cakewalk with the same piano and chords - it's a bit higher up.

Reverb sounds fuller in Reaper and more thinner, but kind of "Shimmering" in CbB.

Same bars and plugin setting, after exporting the test - and I find myself enjoying the sound reaper gives - though it took me 100 times longer. Routing things are weird in reaper. 😕

I agree with the reverb part. As for routing in Reaper, it took me two weeks to figure it out. It was one of the most un-intuitive things I ever dealt with. 

1 hour ago, Will_Kaydo said:

I've been using reaper almost a month now with it's free license and I'm thinking of investing in it. Before I do, I need confirmation on something. 

I've been using Cakewalk close to 12 years. Huge fan of it - it's my go to DAW. 

Question:

Am I mistakenly to find that Reaper projects the sound differently than Cakewalk? My plugins sounds way fuller in Reaper. I really don't know how to explain it - but have anyone experience something like this? I hear compression better, the plugins are more sensitive there as what it is in CbB. The same with a Reverb - it sounds more true and natural than what it does in CbB. This is the same for every plugin. 

I use the same plugins in both and in CbB and there's a highly noticeable difference.

Plugs I use everyday: MFreeFXBundle from MeldaProduction. 

If this is true . . . We need Cakewalk up there. 

Yes, something is going on there. I too experienced a different sound, and when I recently exported a project from Reaper to CbB, I had to reduce the volume on my mix bus to -8 or more. I usually keep it at zero as much as possible. I can't figure out how this happened, and have had to work on this project differently than I usually do in Cakewalk. 

I have always heard that all DAWS do everything the same, and there can be no difference in sound between them. then how to account for what I experienced? I imported only midi, and removed any effects and controller events other than 7 and 11. So how did this happen? No one on this forum has been able to explain it (I had a thread going on it). Something is going on here, and we don't know what it is. And neither does Bob Dylan (sorry, couldn't resist). 

I believe this is called a following wave...

OK, time to shut this thread down, before I embarrass myself any further. I've solved the issue anyway. Well, not solved, but I have a work-around that is working. 

Woops, I must be confusing him with someone else. So he's not Hank Williams Jr.'s kid?

2 hours ago, abacab said:

I had formed my first impression of him as "Robby" in the film "Joe Dirt". https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245686/

But then a few years later, I saw him perform at an outdoor music fest. One of my friends insisted that we catch his set. So I grudgingly went along as there were a lot of other good bands in the line-up that day, including Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers.  And it was still early...

So at one point during his set, the rest of the band took a break and went backstage. Then Kid Rock proceeded to go around to every instrument on stage and perform a solo on each. My first reaction was "what a show off". Then it occurred to me that he was actually a quite talented multi-instrumentalist! 🙂

Still not a big fan of his music, but he earned my respect as a musician...

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/21-things-you-learn-hanging-out-with-kid-rock-182055/

Well he's got to have some decent musical genes, considering the bloodline.

2 hours ago, bitflipper said:

Depends. If you already have the compressor dialed in perfectly and don't want to mess with it anymore, use its output volume slider. Otherwise, turn down the bus input gain.

I.m making some progress by lowering the mix bus to about -4, and adjusting the sliders on my vsti's as needed. This seems to be the best approach. I tried several different things, including a bus for Sonitus Compressor, with sends for each synth, but that got way to complicated. But my current approach seems promising so I'm stickin' to it.

Tweaking them like you're doing is the only thing I can think of.  you might want to consider Vienna Special Edition 1. It has nice staccato articulations. I recommend the Synchron version, as the instruments are panned, whereas the Ensemble Player version is not. It's not an expensive library, especially considering what you get.

On the other hand, at least for me, not all the woodwinds are to my liking. I use their Flute, Eng Horn and Bassoon. But I prefer the GPO oboes and clarinets. 

I have not found one library to rule them all. I also have EWSO Gold. I use selections from all those libraries, plus two dedicated string libraries. Mix and match can work quite well. The weaknesses of one are covered by another.

You're right Bitflipper, and I am moving on. But I have one more question: What is the best way to deal with this increased volume - turn down the mix bus to -8, or turn down the gain on the Sonitus Compressor (which is on the Mix bus)?

As for kid rock, the greater mystery is what has happened to people's ability to appreciate art? I mean, the stuff we listened to - Beatles-Stones-Dylan-Yes-Floyd-  and on and on - compared to what they're listening to today? 

Nope, that wasn't it (see previous post).  When I tested this theory by opening another project, I had to turn the input back up, proving that was not the cause. Back to the drawing board...or sounding board I guess....