JnTuneTech

Indeed! That video clip - nice that it is fairly straight forward performance snippet. I have a few "Long Distance Voyager" cover tracks on hand, but I have skipped "Night In White Satin" and songs of that era so far. That clip sort of makes me want to add it now (the song itself has a place in my dusty HS dance memory), after seeing them do it live, just using the mellotron & regular rock band kit. And Justin's stuff always works with my vocal range. Hmm. RIP Mike Pinder. Days Of Future Passed. Sigh.

As it happens, I was looking at some of my drum samplers, in search of sounds & patterns for pop/country style brush material lately, and I just created a few drum maps for AD2 using the AD2 Default layout. -Not much help for my search, since as it turns out, I have no AD kits with brush samples, but at least I refreshed my memory of some of the basic articulations available in Addictive. I have also attached an .ins file, for at least importing note name mapping for optional use in the PRV should one choose to do so. FYI: Some of the note naming may be odd, and though I have made a basic check with a simple AD2 kit loaded, I can only apologize for any errors or renaming choices (drum map character limit made me change some naming). -Anyway - maybe this can help getting things going, as of course making your own maps will usually wind up being the best. Mileage & wear may vary! If the attachment feature here does not work, just DM me some info to get you copies. -Also - 💭 Any good suggestions on finding MIDI patterns (grooves) for pop-country (like basic shuffles in 2/4, 4/4, etc.) style covers - that I can quickly adapt? 😎 AD2 Defaults BasicPopKit 2017 .map AD2 Defaults Brush+PopKit1 2017 .map AD2 Defaults Std Full 2017 .map AD2-Default-NoteNames2017.ins

If the audio track is not active, Input Echo is not on, etc. (the post explicitly states that the track "is off/muted") - then the most likely explanation is that the "live" pass-thru audio from your sound input device is also being added to whatever output you are monitoring with. For example - can you hear your mic without any DAW tracking set up - or running at all? If that is the case, you may want to find information on the method(s) available to you in changing the sound interface pass-thru monitoring options. It can be especially important with the way that effects will mix in your monitoring. The extra delay from latency alone will likely mess up your autotune performance until you find the right mix setup.

Yes, "Automation" in that dialogue refers to the basic track inspector tool (Volume fader, etc. - plus more for MIDI tracks (i.e. Controllers) automation items - and then additional sub-menus for effects (in the track ProChannel and FX bin) automation items. -And, FWIW, I have come to notice that using that selector dialogue also defines what envelope will be prominently displayed in the track view, and often immediately editable, especially once you expand the track view real estate. So, for instance, when I want to quickly edit the clip(s), or automation separately, etc., it really matters. -When I am being OCD about my mix, I often make sure only the items I want from each track are active with that dialogue, and/or sometimes just to "point out" what I need to remember is happening on a track. And, in practice, I mix up (pun intended) using the "active - record" automation item creation, with the manual-dialogue method, determined not only by how I want to approach entering the changes, but sometimes it just needs to be done at least initially to even have an FX automation item show up in the lanes/automation selection menu at all. That's been my experience anyway.

The final audio - in the track itself. -Since it wasn't specified, that would not normally affect any signal level to inline fx plugins (ones in the ProChannel or the FX Bin of that track) in a basic routing situation. Do take note however, that depending on how you use fx, the matter can be complicated by using sends or other routings, to fx elsewhere in your mix, sidechain inputs, what have you, just to be clear. -Using the signal flow charts referred to in other posts, and in help, really can be worth a look.

When using Cakewalk under Windows in a fairly default setup, -that is, allowing things like Windows Security to stay active, I have long ago found that adding all of your VST folder locations, and even the Cakewalk Core main executable and the Shared Utilites - VSTScan one as well, to the "Virus & threat protection settings - Exclusions" list, removed all slowness from my VST scans, except for some Waves plugins that still are probably misconfigured. My example is from Windows 10 Pro. In fact, loading some large libraries (ahem, Kontakt) for VSTs themselves can be sped up as well by adding them to your Security software exclusions lists. -Remember, however, that if any security risks are somehow loaded and then accessed in any of those locations, you may be more vulnerable. -Depends on how you prefer to manage your system, as is the preference of whether to have VST scans run regularly, or just manually. -That has been my experience anyway, of course, your mileage may vary.

Probably the age-old happenstance of HDMI audio in say, a monitor driver, which whenever the monitor goes to sleep, the driver unloads. Try a search for "HDMI audio disable" (or something along those lines) and you will find many suggestions and cases to try solutions. -I gave up on that one, simply because every time the monitor drivers get updated, the problem comes back, and It's not critical enough to reset every time - for me anyway. I just try never to allow my system to sleep while the DAW is running, and that has "fixed it" for me.

-You've definitely not picked a "nice and clean" MIDI file, or at least judging from the rest of your post, not one that has only what you want to start with. So, without delving into all the possibilities there, I suggest trying another import/project version, and cleaning up the MIDI manually - before trying to use it. I do that often with MIDI files from outside sources. Basically, I recommend deciding what MIDI you do want to keep, and then using a tool like Event Viewer to strip out anything else after you import the track(s). -For instance, I often keep the MIDI notes, and any expression items I don't want to recreate, and go from there. Using the Event Type filter in Event Viewer can be good for that, especially if all you want to keep is the notes. Just un-check Notes in the view filter, and then delete everything else in each MIDI track you want to clean. -Oh, and it may also be necessary to delete any Sysex banks from the imported MIDI as well, depending on how you imported the MIDI initially. -Once you start clean, it's much easier to go forward from there. -Just a suggestion!

Per the original post title: (in my experience anyway) - The "Bit Depth:" portion of the File Stats dialogue generally reflects the highest reported level of any of the audio clips in the project. (What the audio engine does with that is another issue entirely) -Simply that. -So, for instance, when I record into an empty project, and my audio driver is 24/48, this dialogue will say Bit Depth: 24 after the recording is done. If I then process the track (export to track/clip, etc.) and the settings I choose in the export dialogue are 32/48, and I then integrate that audio into a new track somewhere in the project, this dialogue will then say Bit Depth: 32. -Now, I haven't tried all the variations of mixed source material, but again, in my experience, this dialogue only reports the level of the highest bit audio clip in my tracking. I have also double-checked, and when I remove the higher level audio, the dialogue changes back to whatever is then left, or the general settings for a new project, -whichever actually is reflected in the audio clips present.

Speaking of "strange new characters" - and possibly AI interference... The post above that quotes one of my earlier chunks of grumbling - got a bit of unwanted malvertising added to it at the end (don't give them the clicks and look, but it's there) - it just never ends. -Of course, we've had unwanted re-use and attribution of our online data now for years, but it all seems to be ramping up these days. -Strange new characters will likely be the least of it. Sigh. Oh, and don't forget, now there are a zillion new ways to add emoji and various stuff in with your text, so be careful... Does anybody else remember just having to look up symbols to add to text using the character map? It was awkward, but at least I got to choose them myself!

After you sort through the vids & comments, you may realize the "keys" are heavily mixed with tracking that involved wine glasses, so no matter what other instruments you use to try and replicate the intro section (Part I), it just won't quite be there. -I had found that years ago, when watching & listening to the extra material that comes with the "Shine On" Immersion set. The Wine Glasses audio is on there, and if you add it to your cover tracking, and find where the chord changes match, you are almost there. -Neat stuff, if you like those classic tracks. I had to grimace at some of the lead synth attempts though, and as one of the supporting OG live reincarnation members (ostensibly) commented, the way synths were recorded back when, involved actual speakers & room ambience, plus many takes & overlaps, etc. Plus that group tended to mix in a lot of other material from previous sessions in & underneath the final outcome. But we all know how that goes, and in analog, nothing is ever the same twice anyway. -Still, fun to try sometimes. @Rain Nice. And - I like that shortened whammy bar he uses so much, I had to get one. -Just wish I had the chops to use it nearly as well!

The way I now look at that workflow, is just like what I tend to do with many preset items: In production projects I create subfolders for the presets, and then they are quickly available, but not loaded. So, for VSTi tracks, I create a track template that can call up the instrument and patching. Additionally, as I go along, I may "steal" an fx chain and/or track template from another project, if you follow that logic. -Works just the same as what many of us do with basic presets of many kinds. -I don't tend to use "deactivating" things, except to test or minimize overall load in a complex project when that's the simplest path. In my experience also, FWIW, the memory & CPU load with various VSTi plugins varies widely, some do little without input, some are always active.

8Dio & others will be more customizable, and because they have more dynamic range, often seem less "punchy" at first. But often times we don't need all that, and something basically pre-mixed like the samples used in the TTS-1 and its cousins can be all that is needed in a pop mix. And that's what most GM sets were created for. I reluctantly still have to plug the older Roland GM samplers, like TTS-1, because for me, they have had some of the most usable & affordable sound sets, with for my tastes some great metallic percussion samples since the late 80s. You should listen to the metallic percussion card demo song on an old R8-M - that one still impresses me. So, it's often that I also refer to TTS-1 for things like steel drums in a quick mix. -And, FWIW, on my systems, that DX only crashes on a few initial project setups using downloaded MIDI, but once I clean up the tracking, it never does it again. And I have tens of old projects with TTS-1 included that have loaded fine every time, for years now. -Of course, yes, eventually, it will go away... so I am starting to export all those things to audio, to be sure!

It is most likely that you are simply missing a step in configuring the way Cakewalk uses the MIDI output of the Kronos controller data. -Normally, MIDI track input is a separate function from fader & other CC control. And in your case, what you described would seem to be the mod & pitch bend affecting an instrument connected to the track, not the track control itself. As @Wookiee mentions, you may want to look into setting up ACT control, in order to use the Kronos transport & other CC controls for controlling the functions in Cakewalk. I would recommend using the documentation available regarding ACT control, and probably using the Mackie Controller preset, if there is not an available preset for the Korg Kronos. -With proper setup, that can work to allow both MIDI keyboard input to the track, and fader control to the DAW faders, and so forth. -That type of functionality does not happen automatically, it has to be turned on, and set up properly first. It can take a bit of work at first, but once you get the instructions working for you, you can also adjust it per your needs.

Sorry to hear that, but what you are describing is a bit unclear. For instance, most of the time, VSTs that the DAW uses are separate from the presets that are saved from/by/for them. I would be worried about needing to add a documents folder as a VST scan source. -Yes, there will likely be presets saved in the documents folder, but it's not normal to place/source the VST dll file(s) there. Are you sure you didn't somehow move the VST files to the documents folder(s) somehow, or delete the ones in their original location(s) at first? Did you mean that you also lost the VST instruments as well as the presets at first? -It's a bit confusing. A VST search path in CbB is only for the VST .dll files, -not the presets. The 2 items are not the same thing. Normally, VST .dlls are not located in a typical documents folder.

Definitely sounds like a MIDI driver and/or hardware connection related problem. And, I have actually experienced a few USB MIDI connection failures over the years, sometimes just the USB bus in the PC drops the connection, sometimes it's other reasons, but never something within Cakewalk itself. That is a tough one to troubleshoot sometimes. Sometimes I have had to re-allocate my USB devices, or add/remove a hub, etc.

As with many things, mixing style & tools use in general really depends on the application and end-use goals. -For instance, the majority of my mixes are done with very little track and mains compression (though as pointed out, using samples & other aspects of instrumentation inherently uses compression at many levels before some of the actual tracking), but that is by design for what I want it to come out like. I do the same, but primarily when the material I have laid down already has most of what it needs. And, in my case anyway, I generally mix to use as backing for live jamming and performance. In most cases, I have found adding mix compression before live amplification tends to make it harder for a good live sound output. -That also inherently assumes that the mains and the environment are going to affect the mix (and often a lot). -But again, that is a planned choice, and I make sure the initial tracking sounds like what I want first in the process. On the other hand, when I want to send mixes to be listened to via other means, compression can often be necessary on the final product. So, it's good to also learn how that will work, when you need it. If the environment your music is going to be played back in has other material that yours will be compared with, for instance, putting a "dry" mix up against heavily compressed ones, will often cause issues. So again, it depends a lot on your end goals. And often, without a mastering engineer or the appropriate qualifications, in some cases you can't submit material for publication and such. Basically, if you are happy with the sounds you get, technically. it shouldn't matter, unless there are literal (such as bandwidth and spectrum) requirements you have to meet. If you are just playing for yourself, -just be creative and use, -or don't use, anything you like! Compression can certainly be another tool to get the sound that you want, it does have value as a musical instrument itself, -if you want to use it. That's how I approach it anyway.

I subscribe to the method of creating one instrument track for each Kontakt output/pair, and (at least) one basic MIDI track to "feed" each instrument. That gives the option of using/assigning/re-assigning MIDI tracks to any individual Kontakt instrument by channel assignment pairing, and in the case where an instrument may have several MIDI inputs in of itself, helps figure things out. In most cases, only one instance of Kontakt is necessary for that as well. You can definitely use multiple Kontakt instances, but by design, the use of its multiple outputs seems to work best for me - resource and patching-wise, by using the Kontakt app for creating/assigning outputs, and using Cakewalk track routing & naming to set up the mix. -The simple instrument setup can be great for fast instancing, but you may get more long-term mileage out of learning to specifically route MIDI & audio tracks - IMHO.

If you are referring to assigning external MIDI controller input, to say multiple VST MIDI synths, the method I most often use is creating a MIDI only track for input to each synth I want to control, and then selecting the same MIDI input (port, channel option, output, etc.) on each virtual synth setup, so that in effect, all the targeted synths are triggered from the same external input. -There are many other variations on that type of routing scheme, including as mentioned having "all" selected in the routing. Basically any MIDI instrument can have multiple MIDI tracks assigned to it, and any external MIDI port input can be assigned to multiple tracks as an input. Choices in the routing can seem confusing at first though, just remember each track, instrument, will have its own specific routing choices, and the various external controller setups have their own MIDI settings, and so forth.

Just a quick addition to think about: I have found over the years that making use of the Drum Map feature in Cakewalk really allows me to do what you are seeming to do within the sampler map, only in my experience, much more flexibly & adaptable - in the long run. I can (and do) for instance, create Drum Maps that only use the note/kit pieces I care to see and deal with on the screen, -entirely eliminating any other ones visually. And once you learn how it works, you can add & remove mapping on the fly when needed. And many more optional uses become available - but only if you want to use them. I also have spent many years dealing with the GM (GS, XG, what have you) note mapping conventions, and never have been quite happy with that drum mapping, other than the interoperability aspect (which can be very important of course). I am glad to have the capabilities of Drum Map creation in Cakewalk for making my own organization.

In bold are comments from what I go by, and have experienced, and I apologize in advance for any errors I may have made! I hope any of it helps. -BTW - I find it great that you are following up on your posts - even if it took some time! Glad to hear you are still at it, and reading the answers & opinions. - More regarding the bulleted items you posted: Almost all the drum sample players I've used so far operate on similar descriptions, but use the same mechanics, if you will, to emulate a physical drum kit piece recorded, and typical variations. There is one notable difference, however, when programming sampled hi hat sounds. In most samplers, there is an option to control hi- hat "open" articulations with a pedal (which is normally a MIDI CC variable), and most of us will input that manually in real time, as you would a real hi hat pedal setup. For the answers to your assumptions, though, that doesn't seem to be evident in your screenshot. so: All the rest of the hi hat sounds, are different "articulations" - not actions - representing actual hi hat samples. Generally those are used in fixed-note playback scenarios, or mostly by programming manually. -I will note that in your example, "Open A, B, C, D" is rather generic labeling IMHO, but you did the best thing by listening to the sounds and clarifying how you would actually name and potentially use them! -Other samplers often use Quarter Open, Half Open, 3/4 Open, Full Open, which may make more sense - but again, listening is usually more accurate anyway. And other than that, HH Closed simply means the sample was played with the hi hat closed - and the various articulations are various versions - articulations - of that, and similarly HH Open means the sample was recorded with the physical hi hat open - and again often you want various positions and styles of that, and again it can all be described many ways in different samplers. - There is no action - just samples being played. The hi hat "foot" samples are recordings of the sound made - generally - by pressing quickly down on the pedal (and closes it from an open position - listen and a good sample should sound just like that), and the "Splash" is the sound you get when you let the foot pedal on a physical hi hat come up - and typically that lets spring action open the cymbals (splash). -But just listen to it and see if it is what you want. -If you have never played drums before, it may not be clear how it all works for many of these sounds though, but once you do, you will know where it usually all fits! -That is of course, if you want to emulate a physical drum kit. -But you could actually just create whatever sound sequence you dream up! -Wonderful thing about drum mapping is that you can make any layout you want. Hard thing about drum mapping is that you have to choose between your own maps - choices, or adapting to others that already exist, depending on what type of MIDI you are working with!

That's a good thing to know - thanks! -Though I suppose you are referring to using 16 Kontakt output channels / pairs per Kontakt instance loaded in Cakewalk technically? I was unsure, because as of 2023 documentation for Kontakt Player: - I don't suppose many of us will try that fully... but I wanted to be sure what you mean here! -On a related note, or actually question: Does the performance of Cakewalk change as more VST3 instrument outputs are engaged - added to tracking? In my case, since about the time of Kontakt 7 release, I seem to have had more system load issues with Kontakt 7 VST3 as I begin to add multiple outputs and use them in Cakewalk. Perhaps it is more a function of Kontakt routing that takes up the resources differently? I am unlikely to have the time to test against older setups, but I know it happens to me now with single Kontakt instruments that have internal routing options. Whereas I used to add multiple Kontakt outputs, and then just use the Instrument GUI to split some elements out with no discernable system load, lately I have not had such good fortune? I have always wondered - how does the multiple output assignment/usage option itself affect the system performance in Cakewalk?

Yeah, rip it into stems, copy it, steal it, use until you're blue in the face - if you are the average broke musician. -Heck, with only 12 major tones in the western scale, you can accidentally happen upon a melody like one produced & sold before somewhere - mathematically, it's not unrealistic, by just chance. -Humming a tune from your subconscious, maybe listening to bird song (who is looking out for their IP..?) music seems so simple. -But if you have lots of money involved, that becomes a whole other thing in the western world. Just ask the spirit of sadly departed George Harrison, and on & so forth.🙊😑

Well.... That's always been rather a gray area in a truly legal sense @John Vere. Be careful, because from what I've seen, it's all a matter of scale (as with anything litigious really). To put it simply - if your use case garners you a lot of money (exposure that leads to that, what have you), then rights holders will come after you. It has always been that way. -And if you were one of the creators, producers, (wait, they are usually last behind) -rights holders of such material, you would look at it that way in most cases as well. With regards to re-using "cover material" - as long as you stay under a certain financial/exposure level, you will be just fine most of the time. -As to using MIDI representations of copyrighted material, and regarding this original post topic - in using AI or otherwise derived "stems" goes, you won't want to be taking that belief to court. I agree with @OutrageProductions that we will see a lot of that kind of trouble to come from this. And at the same time really, from a positive perspective, the average Cakewalk user should be able to use it as another creative tool, as @msmcleod points out, or yes Johnny V -as a great option for creating backing track MIDI & whatnot. As an aside - ever notice how MIDI backing track material is curated? Most of the "free" repositories, versions, are rather sketchy to obtain, and/or just plain bad arrangements that probably are so far off as to avoid major copyright. -There are monetized, official versions, and even services that will provide them for a fee though. -In a related fashion, you will find that playing cover tunes onstage, at a certain level of the business, -or of course for charity or academic purposes, has always been no big deal - right? But you won't find any major venue, or act on a major, making their business playing "cover" renditions, or having that kind of material without paying rights usage fees. -Even some of the small places I played in cover bands years ago had issues with performance rights dues, once they were singled out or became prosperous enough. I've had to advise businesses on whether they could use their own tracks for on-hold music, or general in-house piped music systems. -The point is, taking & reusing existing works can be tricky, but hopefully not for the average user. I look forward to using some of the techniques being talked about here, and hopefully none of us will get tripped up by any of the legal wrangling that will inevitably be involved with "ripping stems from a mixed track", or whatever it gets labeled as. And hopefully, just like with cover renditions, some new & interesting creativity will be involved, as well as continued original material - without AI - maybe?😅

I'm guessing that with the advent of AI processing, this will become a common thing soon. -In my mind, socially/creatively it would seem to be a successor to the DJ remixing trends from the 90's & such. Now we will just have to put up with complete individual tracking remixes put together (and rights fought over) by 3rd and extended parties. Hopefully somehow original content will still remain to be created anew, but for now, a swath of "new" techno remixes of "classic" material "re-imagined" and in Dolby Atmos is on the way! -Don't get me wrong - I am enjoying some of the newer classic remix material & projects. -Just some of it will go a long way though, for me anyway!