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Well, with Bandmate you could drag in a clip that you played, and it would make AI based suggestions. Might be useful for coming up with variations that you hadn't considered... Since I'm not a drummer, I need all the help I can get. Especially the part about a drummer only having two arms and two feet, LOL!!!

From what I can see, IK has recently stepped up with a clever new marketing tool called "V2". IK takes an existing product, adds content but no new features, and it becomes V2. Of course, that's destined for confusion until Peter clarifies all the details...

I think Linux fits somewhere in that theme. The support for old hardware can be found there. FYI, I started out long before personal computers with mainframe computers that took up an entire room, so I've seen plenty of change since those days!!! 🤣

And then read the details in the SOS article on X1 screensets that I linked to above...

That seems to be a common occurrence in general with web browsers going end-of-life for older operating systems. Web developers and browser developers eventually give up on them, plus there are often unpatched security issues that make it difficult to protect your personal information. I had a Windows 7 system that I finally had to upgrade because support for Chrome and Firefox was ending. And a while back I had to replace a Mac Mini for a family member when their bank would no longer connect with the only version of Safari that OS could run. It is what it is. Resistance is futile!

Did you try the suggestion that Canopus offered above? ^^^

I like Melda in general too, but here's a suggestion for a drum track creation option that is a bit more straightforward: give the EZdrummer demo a try, 10 days fully featured with the factory library. If you don't care for the kits, you can use the available MIDI out to drive your own sounds using another plugin to replace or layer them. https://www.toontrack.com/product/ezdrummer-3/ In my opinion, EZdrummer offers a workflow with simple to understand, intuitive tools such as Song Creator and Bandmate for ease in creating drum tracks to accompany your songs. It comes with a large factory library of MIDI drum groove patterns, plus you can import your own user patterns to the library. Use Song Creator to establish a song structure: Use Bandmate to find matching suggestions for your songs grooves by dragging in an audio or MIDI file you are using in your song.

It's probably best to think of the Toontrack EZ line as writing tools. I wouldn't buy them just for their sound libraries. The factory sounds are decent, but you may prefer other instruments, and chasing the sound expansions to get what you want can take money. The MIDI packs are the most interesting for me! In fact you can layer other instruments with EZkeys, EZbass, or EZdrummer or replace their internal sounds completely by muting them & using the available MIDI out to drive other plugins. 👍

The link is good.

It appears that Windows 10 is entering its "Golden Years". No more feature updates, as 22H2 will be the final version of Windows 10. But it will still be supported with security updates by MS until Oct 2025. It will probably be the most stable Windows ever! https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/04/its-the-end-of-the-line-for-yearly-windows-10-updates-says-microsoft/ "At least some of the people still running Windows 10 are doing it because they don’t want to deal with changes, so the end of feature updates isn’t exactly heartbreaking." The understatement of the year! 🤣

Described by Craig Anderton in this SOS article from June 2011: "Sonar X1 screensets dynamically adapt to your project as you work. Find out why this matters, and how you can take advantage of it." https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/optimising-cakewalk-sonar-screensets

You've just given me another reason to stick with Windows 10 for at least another year or two. Have no desire to be an unpaid Windows beta tester, and there is absolutely nothing in Windows 11 that interests me, so I can wait for it to be fully baked! Sorry for your troubles. Hope you find the answer!

Waves Release Notes: https://www.waves.com/downloads/release-notes#v14

Glad to have missed those days!!! 🤣

Oh, hell yeah!!!

Start with the fastest CPU that you can afford, and build on that!

Right! I have confidence in Toontrack this time, because of the smooth transition my EZdrummer products made from v2 to v3.

I mentioned this earlier after observing the changes in v14.1.1, but just received the official email from Waves: Dear Waves user, We are glad to let you know that a new version of the Waves Central license management app, v14.1.1, is now available. The new version re-adds online installation of Waves legacy versions (v10-v13). With this new version, Waves plugins and bundles v10-v13 can be installed and managed online, in addition to offline installers. The new version also includes several other improvements and fixes: See all release notes. For any questions and assistance, please feel free to contact Waves Technical Support. Best regards, The Waves Team

It was just the EZkeys Sound Library for me. I only have the Upright Piano expansion. But I do have a dozen of the EZkeys MIDI packs, and none of them had updates. Agree with the theory that it's a compatibility update for EZK 2.

I find that Waves Central auto updating every time you run it is quite contrary to allowing you to control your own system. Not a good practice!

Not what I said. I recommended the latest Cakewalk by Bandlab. I just added that it's recommended to install Sonar Platinum first if you own it (which he did), then install Cakewalk by Bandlab. Done! Uninstalling Sonar Platinum afterwards is optional. Some do and some don't...

Edit (for clarity): By all means install the latest Cakewalk by BandLab after you have installed Sonar Platinum! If you want the best first-time experience with Cakewalk, it's usually recommended to leave Sonar Platinum installed. I did, and it's not caused any problems here in 5 years! And all of my Sonar bundled plugins still work just fine in Cakewalk. Don't care to risk breaking* any of them by removing Sonar. * Not absolutely sure if it's still true, but there were some plugins that were locked to the Platinum installation.

Off-topic from Komplete Kontrol, but since you have just installed Sonar Platinum after 5 years, be aware that Cakewalk by BandLab is a free upgrade with literally thousands of updates and bug fixes since Platinum was last released in 2017. Recommend leaving Platinum in place and installing Cakewalk by BandLab. It runs an updated Sonar core program, and will import your Platinum extras. https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

I noticed the BJAM is a sampled Fender Strat. That is probably another guitar to avoid if you are doing metal. "I may get some hate for this, but Stratocasters are probably one of the worst choices for metal, unless of course you're buying Jim Root's signature guitar. Even then, that guitar is not made like a typical Fender Stratocaster. Most Fender Strats have three single coil pickups, which are almost always more subtle and bluesy than humbuckers, and aren't made to handle a ton of gain. Their tone is not percussive or saturated, and they don't tend to mix well with high levels of distortion. Instead, think bluesy overdrive and "breakup" instead of heavy power chords and searing highs. There are plenty of far better options." https://www.guitarchalk.com/are-fender-strats-metal/

BlueARP is a good one! The only other arpeggiator plugin I'm aware of that seems to be worth trying is Kirnu Cream. There is a free Cream CM version available in the Computer Music synth archives. However Cream doesn't appear to be actively developed anymore, but BlueARP is free and is still actively developed. Of course, there are also various MIDI step sequencer plugins available (i.e. Stepic, Audiomodern Riffer, HY-RPE2, etc.), https://integraudio.com/13-best-sequencer-vst-plugins/ but that is another topic entirely!!!