mdiemer

I'm now wondering whether I accidentally nudged the input dial on my audio interface. It's close to the headphone jack, and it's possible I moved it up while connecting or disconnecting that line out. This would explain it. I have been over and over my setup, and nothing is different. I can't be sure however, as I don't remember exactly where I had set the input volume (note to self: make a note of all settings on audio interface). But I'm going to assume that's the explanation as nothing else really makes sense.

Assuming you're on Windows 10, can you do a system restore? that's what I do in Win. 7 in this situation. But not being familiar with Win. 10 I don't know if this is an option. but that's what I would do, if I could. I would not be surprised if M$ took this feature away in Win. 10. After all, it was a great feature. and they have a history of killing great features. Anything to remove control from the user is a win, in their thinking.

Yeah, it's kind of mysterious. I'll probably never know exactly what happened here. I won't be importing again from Reaper. I won't go back to Reaper unless I can use it on Linux. While that's possible now, it's really not if you need Windows VSTs.

Very interesting, thanks for all that good info Lars. It will take me awhile to digest it, however!

I think I have done it other way in the past. and you're right, the result is better. Unfortunately I'm not always consistent in how I do things, and I don't do a midi transfer that often. On this occasion, although all the notes were there, as well as all CC events and velocities, it didn't have any tempos. I had to go back to the original project in Reaper and copy them down, then put them in CbB. As this is a large-scale, 16 minute piece, with lots of tempo changes, well it took me a while. Next time I'll be sure to do it the right way.

The imported midi does have all the volume events (CC 7 & 11), and also the velocities are correct. Not sure what you mean by "embedded in the midi data." Do you mean embedded in CC events, or that the midi data itself contains volume information?

That's what I've been wondering also. Different DAWS do have different ways of doing things when it comes to the nuts and bolts. For example, Reaper and Cakewalk treat time differently. They both have Event Lists, where you can see the time of every event. But they use different formulas. Cakewalk uses "1:02:000" for example, while Reaper displays the same time in a different format (can't recall just how as I haven't used it in awhile). But it puzzles me that a midi import would sound different, as I set everything up like I always do. Midi is just information, not sound, so I don't get how this happening. Once the midi is in Cakewalk, and I have set things up as usual, it should behave accordingly.

I have successfully imported large orchestral projects many times. This appears to be due to some kind of difference between Reaper and Cakewalk. So, if I import from Reaper (as opposed to importing an old Cakewalk midi file), maybe that difference is causing a problem.

I'm using Garritan Personal Orchestra, EWSO Gold, Vienna SP 1 Synchron Edition, Cinematic Strings, Appasionata Strings, and some solo instruments. Here too I have set everything to my usual defaults, then adjusting on the fly.

There is no audio per se, it's all midi. I am doing the same thing I always do with volume and velocity, adjusting everything as I go.

I'm remixing a piece I did in Reaper. I have imported the midi (midi only - no audio) from Reaper into CbB. It is much louder than the default volume I start my pieces with, even after adjusting everything the same as my other projects in CbB. I have to bring the overall mix level down to -7 or so or it's way too loud. This has me puzzled. It's only midi, so there should not be a difference. I'm using the same compressor I always use, Sonitus Neve. that always brings my orchestral mixes into balance. But not in this case. I can't figure out where these extra decibels are coming from. What in blazes is going on?

Thanks for that. This ticks my memory: Anderton awhile-back posted an article about how to import un-encrypted files into a sampler, like the sfozando player. It was complicated, but doable, although I have yet to try it. I may give it a shot at some point. I would then be able to "mine" NI Bandstand for any of its sounds I might want to use.

Very, very tempting. It says it can play un-encrypted NI files. The samples in NI Bandstand are in fact un-encrypted, so I may be able to actually use them again. not to mention the huge library they provide. The problem is, my birthday is coming up, and if I keep giving myself presents, I may not get any from my wife. Decision's decisions.

I use only Cakewalk plug-ins for my mixing and mastering. Of course, as a Sonar owner I have access to some very good ones that are not in the current Cakewalk DAW. I use the LP64EQ, Tube Leveler, Sonitus Compressor, and for final touch, the Vintage Channel. I find the "Gentle MS Mastering" preset gives my classical-oriented music just the right sheen. Cakewalk still has the Sonitus suite I believe, and maybe the Tube Leveler, but the LP64 and VC you would probably need to find something else. But the freebies threads on this forum have a ton of great stuff. Just ask and the various ascended masters in this place will be glad to direct you to some good options. You will have the TTS-1, which gives you a general midi set. (Hopefully it works for you; for some mysterious reason it won't for me).

I posted this by mistake in the Free FX forum, meant it for here: Don't know if folks know about this place, but they have a really nice free clarinet: https://www.fananteampro.com/clarinetica There are some other freebies there too, including some unusual ethnic instruments/synths. some of the stuff costs 20 or 30 dollars, but most is free. Great support, too. I messed up the registration, and they responded to my emails within 5 or 10 minutes. Did somebody mention Free Beer?

But I think I posted in the wrong place. I meant the Free Instruments thread.

Don't know if folks know about this place, but they have a really nice free clarinet: https://www.fananteampro.com/clarinetica There are some other freebies there too, including some unusual ethnic instruments/synths. some of the stuff costs 20 or 30 dollars, but most is free. Great support, too. I messed up the registration, and they responded to my emails within 5 or 10 minutes.

Thanks, something to consider. I've been needing a decent soprano sax for awhile. More feedback on the Fanan site: The Clarinet is definitely free. It's on a par with Garritan clarinets. The Brass inst. is also free, but rather disappointed me. The Accordion, which costs 20.00, is decent, but might take some tweaking to get it to sound the way I want. Their synths allow a good deal of tweaking, fortunately.

I was doing some searching for a good free clarinet vst, and I came across this place: https://www.fananteampro.com The clarinet is very good. and they also have "Folkordion." It looks like it has a Bandoneon (it would probably be the Argentina mode). It costs 20.00, but that 20.00 also gets you access to several more instruments. The clarinet is free, but you need to register it after 30 days, which I believe then costs 20.00. but again, you get several instruments. most seem to be synth-like, but not all. they also have a Royal Pack, which costs 30.00. The clarinet (Clarinetica) and the Folkordion are just 20.00. I'm still not clear on whether the clarinet is free, but I'm going to pay the 20 bucks and get the folkordion as well. Also their brass vst, which has trumpet, trombone, french horn and baritone sax. All for just 20.00. If the quality of the other inst's. is as good as the clarinet, this is a steal. Amazing what's out there.

Of course. Cakewalk does everything you need to do in a DAW. It's also one of the oldest, thus has had a lot of time to be perfected. and the developers are not under market pressure. They're free to continue perfecting it without worrying about the bottom line. And Cakewalk users are among the most knowledgeable people on the planet when it comes to using music creation software.

The learning curve is more difficult with Reaper. It's not as intuitive or user-friendly. I always felt like it was fighting me every step of the way. To me, Cakewalk is a no-brainer. It does everything. It's elegant. and it's free. In my opinion, a newcomer to the world of DAWS would be crazy not to try it first.

You know, after further review, I think the Tango Accordion in Xpand sounds better than Accordion 2 in Dim Pro. It sounds more like a real Bandoneon. It just has more of that nasal, tangy, sort of sinister sound you think of when you think of Tango music. the more I hear it the more I like it!

You know, it's weird, after I purchased it (Xpand), and was figuring out how to download, install, etc., I saw that I had previously created an account, and, lo and behold, I had an Xpand serial number already there, waiting for me. How long it had been there I don't know. But at some point, I was at least in the process of acquiring it. and the price? Around 3.00. So, I must have got it when they were practically giving it away, as you stated. and then, I don't know, I guess I just forgot about it. Maybe that was the last time Windows crashed and I had to reinstall. so, my total outlay was actually about 18.00, plus whatever inflation on the 3.00 had accrued. Anyway, I have it. I did some listening. both versions of the Bandoneon sound like real Bandoneons. The Dim Pro (Accordion 2) does sound better, but probably because the wizards who made Dim Pro enhanced it, as they did all the stuff on there. It's a great synth, as we all know. I then got the idea of trying to identify where NI got their Bandoneon for Bandstand. (Are all these words with "Band" in them confusing you? Then there's Bandcamp. and Bandlab, of course. Why is the universe so confusing?). Anyway, they got it from Sonic Reality. I went to their site, but it's not to be found anywhere. However, in one of their collections, World something, they have Accordion 2. Which could be the same thing that Dim Pro has. I have previously wondered if the two inst's. were in fact the same. they sound very similar. And now it looks like they could in fact be identical. IOW, the Bandoneon in NI Bandstand and the Accordion 2 in Dim Pro may in fact be the same sampled inst. These samples do get around, don't they? On the other hand, the Tango Accordion in Xpand, while sounding very much like a Bandoneon, is, I'm pretty sure, a different inst. So I've solved two problems here. I now have two good Bandoneons, one from Dim Pro, and one from Xpand. Plus I have a decent vintage GM-style VST or Rompler. (I prefer to say VST, Rompler keeps making me think of Romper Room, which I hated as a kid).

I got Xpand!2, definitely worth 15.00. The Tango Accordion is decent. In fact, the whole thing is decent, especially for the money. If I never get Bandstand working again, I now have a reasonable substitute. So mission accomplished there, I have a decent GM set again. I just need to determine which Bandoneon sounds like an actual Bandoneon. The one in Xpand (the Tango Accordion), or the one in Dim Pro (which is Accordion 2). I'm going to do some listening to real Bandoneon recordings. I'm used to the one in Bandstand, and the Dim Pro version is very close to that. But it's possible the one in Xpand is closer to the real sound. Thank you abacab for the suggestion.

I'm sure it would do nicely, but I'm pretty sure it's not free. There is a free demo, but it costs about 60.00 to buy. I think the word "free" refers to the nature of the reed. not the cost of the instrument.