Johnbee58

Yeah, I think I'll keep it there for awhile. What you said about pets making the world a better place is so true. There is so much stupidity going on in the world around us and every day it seems as if the world as I know it and grew up in is falling apart piece by piece. When it starts to get too much for me I put on a youtube video of some puppy dogs or pussy cats and I instantly feel better. Sometimes I really think that they are smarter than people. 😀JB

Yes. In every way Ginger was my little girl. Losing her hurts as much as losing a family member, and I've lost quite a few of those in the past few years. Sally is a pretty name for a puppy.

Just wanted to share the news with you guys that the little girl that is on my avatar pick had to be put down this morning because of probable cancer. She would've been 16 years old this coming August 29. She was my "Honey Girl" and I will miss her. It's very painful. Her name was Ginger. She was a good girl. I'm debating whether to replace her pic with a new avatar or keep it there for a memorial. What say you? 😢John B.

I never have either, John. But I always check this forum first, just to be sure and I look for red flags. Haven't seen too many since they started but I am concerning this particular update. There is another little "alert" up today. I think Mudgel's advise on holding off until my project is finished is valid, but I also learned something from Scook about backing up previous versions. I might try that. 😀JB

Two very recent posts-"Hey Bandlab" by Geo524 and "Latest Version of Cakewalk Not Working" by Chazz, although upon checking now it seems that one had a problem with a Mackie Onyx interface that was resolved. I probably just would've thrown caution to the wind if I wasn't mid project. Why an interface would interfere with it I can't understand but maybe they'll address that with the next bug fix. The updates (so far) have never been an issue with my Focusrite. 😀JB

Sorry to waste bandwidth, but I'm just checking to verify that the updates for Bandlab Assistant and the Cakewalk by Bandlab are safe to DL and install. I usually check with this forum whenever one is released to see if anybody is having any issues and I'm seeing some posts with minor issues. I'm in the middle of a project and I don't want to lose time on it because the DAW won't open, but if you guys say it's OK I'll take your word(s). 😀Thanks John B.

Admin, please forgive my double post, but I first tried to post this on the Q&A part and I'm really hoping for an answer on this soon. It seems as if most of the activity is here so I don't know how much the general population of the forum is yet into the concept of a separate Q&A area, but it seems pretty sparse over there, so I'll try putting it here. My question is the type that over on the old forum I would've gotten an answer in about a half hour, (but maybe not). Feel free to send me some hate mail threatening to whip my a$$ with a wet noodle if I offended you. (Mercy though😁) My question: I'm working on a piece that has a piano intro which I'm making in EZ Keys. I don't want the intro too stiff time wise, but rather "breathe" like a human player would. Would I use Groove Quantize for that? I tried it but it only seems to make the velocity louder, which I DO NOT want. I mainly just want the timing to flow a bit. What's the best way to accomplish that? Thanks 😀John B.

Thanks so much, Tommy. I have the acoustic panels, but I don't know how much good they are doing. Maybe an improvement for the vocals but the mix environment not so much. I've been using ARC 2.5 for that. 😀John B.

I'm working on a piece that has a piano intro which I'm making in EZ Keys. I don't want the intro too stiff time wise, but rather "breathe" like a human player would. Would I use Groove Quantize for that? I tried it but it only seems to make the velocity louder, which I DO NOT want. I mainly just want the timing to flow a bit. What's the best way to accomplish that? Thanks 😀John B.

This sounds like Santana meets Van Halen (bands)! Very cool combinations of sounds and styles. Nice mix and use of effects. 😀John B

This is beautiful! Well written, arranged and performed. My only suggestion might be to pan the vocals a bit or widen them out using an imaging plug in. Very pretty. 😀John B

Thanks Doug, but I need to clarify. The pro didn't mix it. I mixed it myself. The pro reviewed my mix. 😀JB

Thanks Daryl & James G 😀JB

Wrote this about a year ago. Some of you might be familiar with the magazine called "Recording". They have a feature called "Reader's Tracks" where you can send in your original tunes and have a pro producer named Marty Peters review it and make suggestions. I pondered whether I wanted to submit this or not but finally bit the bullet and sent it in fully preparing myself for a merciless flame job, but Marty was kind (but still only gave me 3 stars, but I was anticipating less than 1) and gave me suggestions on how to make my vocal sound better. I'll link the reviewed version in the June 2018 issue but since then I added an acoustic guitar track (via Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic Guitar). I submitted the song to Marty before I bought the guitar plugin, but the link here has the complete version. https://johnbowen.bandcamp.com/track/the-twilight-side-of-morning magazine link; https://recordingmag.com/readers-tracks/#1511214487596-8aad1025-bad2 Enjoy 😀John B.

No problem at all with the "cassette sound". It's great no matter where it came from. You did a great job. Nice tune. 😀John B.

I enjoyed this very much. I'm not much into Metal but I like the way you're singing this. Sounds a bit like you're heavy on the compression because I can hear clipping at spots. But it might be more because I'm listening on earbuds. I do very much like the tune and the style. Later, I'll try listening on better playback gear. 😀John B.

Nice, soft rocker. The mix is good but in a few small spots a bit off balance where I have to strain my ears a bit to hear what Daryl is singing. But it's a great tune and a nice listen overall. 😀John B.

This is a bit of a departure for you, ES. Your material is usually more deep and cerebral. But it's a great piece of work, just the same. In fact it shows your sense of diversity. I especially love your synth sounds. The trumpet is very pretty also. I'm not big on pure electronica, but you have a way of making it much more interesting than usual. 😀John B.

A far as your arrangement, it's excellent and that's the most important part. So that's what I'm starting with. I use string & horn libraries too and it makes me so angry when somebody will comment on the sound and not even mention the arrangement, so kudos on the arrangement. I love it! Now, as far as the sounds, I've never been a big fan of Garritan libraries. I use their horns in the Jazz & Big Band library which sounds a bit better than their strings (Personal Orchestra). I think your excellent arrangement would sound much better in something like Native Instruments Session Strings or Session Strings Pro. Their sounds are a bit more realistic, but you've done the best with what you have. 😀John B.

I remember I had this issue when I first started using Sonar X3 Studio in 2014. It resolved when I went to a new computer the following year. Til then I just had to close using the task manager. I know this isn't an answer. Just a observation that may lead to one. 😀JB

Yeah, IIRC that's what they told me too. To be honest, there's something that Miroslav loses in Sampletank. It sounds better in the Miroslav interface. 😀JB

This same thing happened to me back last April when I installed CbB. What you need to do is go to the IK Multimedia site and ask their tech support about it. I don't remember exactly what they did, but the helped me with Miroslav. I think they linked me to an update. Good luck, Bro 😀John B.

Never mind. I found it.

I'd like to use the saturation knob and ReMatrix Convolution Reverb but cannot see them on my Pro Channel. I used to know but forgot. How do I make them (and other Prochan features) appear? Thanks 😀John B.

I stand corrected then. I didn't know exactly how but I knew they degraded somehow. I only realized it recently after watching a guy named Techmoan on YouTube. He buys up vintage audio gear and tries to restore the machines back to working order. Interesting. I also might be thinking about an old stereo system I bought back in '87 or so. It was a Kenwood rack system and the speakers had duo woofers. In 2005 I gave it to a friend and as I was taking the speakers out to his car I heard a thud inside one of them. It was actually one of the woofers that had fallen through into the box because the rubber-ish material that surrounds the outer diameter had actually degraded and dried up after the 18 years I had it. It literally became an ashen, dried up mess on the bottom of the cabinet. 😀JB