Jim Fogle

@yeto, here is a 10 minute video on creating realistic audio tracks using VST guitars:

Olaf, I agree a discussion about intent is a little off topic. I apologize for that even though I'm actually enjoying having a civil discussion. Civil discussions seem to have lost favor as a way to exchange different points of view. You last post gave me an idea. When you create a new topic there are two tabs across the top, one for discussions and one for polls. How about creating a poll for each of the 76 suggestions?

Robert with Home Studio Simplified recently created a seven minute YouTube video that covers some common Cakewalk by BandLab installation issues. I thought I'd post the link so forum members can easily point to the video as a step toward resolving the issue.

Mike with Creative Sauce posted a video demonstrating the steps to enable the disabled plugins. The video is available here: https://youtu.be/CNX2TzX4nAs

@Bill Phillips, To add onto your post, for those that are not aware (like I wasn't) the little box is called the Track Manager Dialog. In the Console View the Track Manager Dialog can be called by pressing the letter "h" on your computer keyboard or "Strips" menu > "Track Manager". In the "Tracks" menu > "Track Manager".

In one respect it is nice placing all your suggestions in one post. It illustrates your desire for change and indicates you have given the post considerable consideration. The issue is I (using the generic I in this case) may not agree with all 75 suggestions. Or I may want to discuss or clarify some of them. Placing all of your suggestions in one post makes it more difficult for me to agree or disagree with each suggestion. My personal opinion is I would rather see one or two ideas presented for consideration in each thread so each suggestion can be debated and rise or fall on it's own merit. However, everyone has their own method of doing things and my personal preference does not make that preference the best way because there is no best way in most cases.

@Starise, Thanks for creating and sharing the video. For one I didn't realize how easy it is to convert from monophonic audio to midi using Melodyne. I know ARA 2 lets Melodyne integrate with Cakewalk but that's the first video where what that means really sinks in. Another user informed me the Assistant, Editor and editions of Melodyne can transform a monophonic audio track to midi. Cakewalk by BandLab offers the demo edition of Melodyne through the add on Cakewalk app button in BandLab Assistant. PG Music's Band-in-a-Box program includes a feature that can convert a monophonic audio track to an audio track but the method is MUCH more complex than the method you demonstrated. Some people may not be aware but all Band-in-a-Box for Windows packages include the identical Band-in-a-Box program. So all have midi from monophonic audio capability.

Great first episode Mike! You have some good ideas of things to do when beginning a song project. I really liked the idea of using tap tempo while listening to a rehearsal track to set the project tempo and using Studio Instrument drums to create a click track that matches the "feel" of the song. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

@Eddie, please leave your link. I'm sure some beginners will follow your link and find exactly the information they hoped to find while my link will not help at all. For other beginners just the reverse will be true. The more links to choose from the more likely a beginner will find this thread useful. Again, thank you for placing the link.

@vlefteris, There presently is not any way for the BandLab Assistant to let users decide where to download the installers, not delete the installers and not automatically install them. The Cakewalk by BandLab developers can not make changes to the BandLab Assistant file manager. BandLab Assistant is maintained by the BandLab Technology Singapore team, not the Cakewalk by Bandlab developers. You can suggest changes to BandLab Assistant by emailing your suggestions to: support@cakewalk.com. Also, I believe forum moderator, @scook, created a utility program that will create a installer back-up. You may want to contact him for a link.

@Skyline_UK, Thanks for detailing your test and posting your test results. Excellent work and nice information for all interested users as well as the developers.

@Eddie, while I agree your link has merit I think that it is biased toward the Mac operating system by using GarageBand for it's examples. Since Cakewalk by BandLab operates on the Windows operating system and is not a cross platform application I believe it is in the best interest for beginners that whatever links provided in this thread be either operating system agnostic or biased toward the Windows operating system. A short internet search revealed MANY "first studio" internet articles ARE biased toward the Mac operating system. In fact I'd go so far as to say the vast majority of articles are based on the reader having a Mac computer or laptop or Ipad as the starting platform. There are relatively few articles that are operating system agnostic or directed toward those using Windows computers. One I found is Your First Home Recording Studio. Take a look and see what you think.

@mu:zines, you've created quite the site and have a whale of an archive to be a one person operation. Really glad to see you're aware of this forum and decided to become a member. Welcome aboard! @Michael A.D., Yep, now that you mention it I believe I did find the link to mu:zines from following the review link you posted. Thanks for posting the link in the first place and reminding me where I ran across it.

@Vernon Barnes, I apologize for repeating your suggestion. In my zeal to post a response I did not look hard enough at the prior suggestions and overlooked your response. My apologies for stepping on your toes. I'm am glad that I provided additional information you were not aware of.

@Starship Krupa, too bad you can't mark this thread - Resolved - 😂 That is about as fast as I've ever seen an idea implemented.

Hopefully the panic button will never go away. You don't need it often but, like any good specialized tool, when you need it nothing else will do. I'm most excited about two way communication enabling property exchange and profiles. To visualize an example of what is possible think of how sound engines like Kontakt, SampleTank, UVI Workstation or Halion can assume the personality of whatever instrument is loaded into a library. Now imagine connecting a surface controller controlling Cakewalk by BandLab which is acting as the host DAW. When the piano roll view is opened the soft synth tells the piano roll view what it is so note values take on the names and colors from the VST. The surface controller will reconfigure from controlling the DAW to controlling the VST. Change the focus to another track and another VST and the PRV and surface controller follow. If the VST uses an Eastern scale so will the PRV. For Cakewalk by Bandlab the possibilities are endless. Connect a midi device and it and the DAW have a dialog that sets everything up. It just works.

Great response. Rompler, sound module, how a software instrument is made - each is worthy of their own discussion.

Timing and sync issues are sometimes caused by audio setting mismatch. For example recording at 44.1K while the prerecorded music tracks are at 48K. An example is a project audio setting differs from computer operating system audio setting. Verify project recording sample rate = project playback sample rate = Windows Control Panel audio setting.

@Matthew Sorrels, When you use the term, rompler, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Does this Wkipedia discussion accurately reflect your use of the term? I'm thinking of this sentence in particular:

One you may want to investigate is Realivox Ladies by Realitone. There are lite and full versions for Kontakt and the free Kontakt player. At this time holiday pricing still in play.

Mu:zines is a non-commercial, labor-of-love archive project to collect, scan and re-publish old music production magazines in an accessible, and searchable form, for reference and general interest purposes. It is also a crowdsourcing effort to obtain the issues we are missing, to help us to build up a complete archive of issues for archival purposes. I suspect forum member @Craig Anderton might find this project interesting since Craig has written for many magazines and been an editor for a few. Of course, BandLab Technologies owns MusicTech magazine which is about music production so BT may have an interest in helping the archive to grow.

At the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) annual meeting during Winter NAMM 2020, MMA members unanimously adopted MIDI 2.0 specifications including: MIDI Capability Inquiry, Universal MIDI Packet (UMP) Format and MIDI 2.0 Protocol, MIDI CI Profiles Rules, MIDI-CI Property Exchange Rules, Property Exchange Foundational Resources and Basic Resources. Here's why that's big news for music technology. MIDI 2.0 Means Two-way MIDI Conversations MIDI 1.0 messages went in one direction: from a transmitter to a receiver. MIDI 2.0 is bi-directional and changes MIDI from a monologue to a dialog. For example, with the new MIDI-CI (Capability Inquiry) messages, MIDI 2.0 devices can talk to each other, and auto-configure themselves to work together. They can also exchange information on functionality. MIDI 2.0 gear can find out if a device doesn't support MIDI 2.0, and then simply communicate using MIDI 1.0. Higher Resolution, More Controllers and Better Timing MIDI 2.0 re-imagines the role of performance controllers, the aspect of MIDI that translates human performance gestures to computer data. Controllers (CC) are now easier to use, and there are more of them: over 32,000 controllers, including controls for individual notes. Enhanced, 32-bit resolution gives controls a smooth, continuous, "analog" feel. New Note-On options were added for articulation control and precise note pitch. In addition, dynamic response (velocity) has been upgraded. What's more, major timing improvements in MIDI 2.0 can apply to MIDI 1.0 devices. In fact, some MIDI 1.0 gear can even "retrofit" certain MIDI 2.0 features. Profile Configuration MIDI gear can now have Profiles that can dynamically configure a device for a particular use case. If a control surface queries a device with a "mixer" Profile, then the controls will map to faders, panpots, and other mixer parameters. But with a "drawbar organ" Profile, that same control surface can map its controls automatically to virtual drawbars and other keyboard parameters. A device can also map to dimmers if the profile is a lighting controller. This saves setup time, improves workflow, and eliminates tedious manual programming. Property Exchange While Profiles set up an entire device, Property Exchange messages provide specific, detailed information sharing. These messages can discover, retrieve, and set many properties like preset names, individual parameter settings, and unique functionalities. Basically, that means a MIDI 2.0 device will discover everything it needs to know about another MIDI 2.0 device. For example, Cakewalk by Bandlab could display everything you need to know about a synthesizer onscreen, effectively bringing hardware synths up to the same level of recallability as their software counterparts.

@Starship Krupa, Thanks for making the request so the idea could be announced, discussed and supported. @msmcleod, Ain't that sweet. WOW!

Both @Morten Saether and @msmcleod have a deep understanding of Cakewalk's features and limitations. At the same time they also are able to produce small, visual aids that simplify new or complicated uses and have published some aids in the forum to explain a feature or provide step-by-step instructions. Please see this or this post for excellent examples of what I'm so excited about. I would like to see these visual aids incorporated into the Cakewalk Help Module, Online Help Guide and Cakewalk Reference Guide. Please note I'm assuming the Cakewalk Reference Guide will be published in EPUB or another file format that supports animated GIFs. Please see this post.

The visuals @msmcleod creates make all the difference in the world. Same for the visuals @Morten Saether creates for the periodic feature overviews. There is some truth in the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. I'd love to see some of these visuals incorporated into the Cakewalk Reference Guide, online help or, best of all, into the Cakewalk Help Module. In fact, I appreciate the visuals so much I think I create a new thread to discuss the idea. I created the animated gif / video thread. If you like the gif and video content and want to see them in the Help module or Reference Guide please visit the thread and express your support.