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Starship Krupa

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Posts posted by Starship Krupa

  1. Been going through Theme Editor withdrawal and kinda liking the new look of Sonar (mixed-case), so I whipped up a facelift for Session Drummer 3 to give it a look inspired by Sonar's Dark color scheme.

    Files and instructions are in the link in my sig. It only replaces 2 files, so easy to try.

    image.png.2fec8171f2271e89197904b113a41efd.png

    • Like 1
  2. I'm not as well-versed in this issue, as I only have a couple of outboard processors, so not in danger of running out of sends. But I've seen the plaintive cries over the years and sympathize with having "if they'd only fix this ONE DAMN FEATURE it would be the greatest thing ever" going around in my head.

    To the extent that the devs have replied, I think they mentioned that mucking about in that area would be opening a can of dusty spaghetti, and they'd likely also want to do it better this time. The current method seemed kind of kluge-y when I tried it. When I've done it in the hardware world, that kind of thing is well-integrated into the mixer itself, not as an add=om.

    From what I've seen, the devs really have their hands full trying to get the initial release of Sonar ready with the vector UI being the big new feature The silver lining with Sonar going payware is that the development will naturally shift in the direction of features. "Now with!" being a favorite marketing phrase. That could be "now with completely overhauled and expanded support for external rackmount signal processors!" Gotta have the word "rackmount" in there.😄

    Payware license-driven software development can hit the pitfall of adding a new feature, then letting it dangle in the wind when the development team is then put on the task of working on the next big set of features before things are fully right with the new feature, and from what I've seen, SONAR, with its various changes in management, may have suffered from that one. At least for the nasty crashy bugs, the current team have been ferociously active about setting that right.

    There are older features that could get some love, like Matrix view and the Arpeggiator. My understanding is that those were grafted on from Project 5. The Matrix isn't as well-integrated as it could be (right click on clip, Send To Matrix cell, eh?), and there's no way to create and edit arpeggiator patterns. They're both features with more potential, especially for current music styles.

    The boom in use of external processors is not a thing to discount. People shell out a LOT of money for those little mono 500 rack gadgets. I hope that BandLab goes back to the NAMM Show someday, last time I was there it seemed like half of Hall D was taken up by people peddling 500 rack stuff. I know from personal experience with my boutique pedal company that musicians LOVE using stuff that not everyone can find/afford/figure out how to use.  It's a segment of the market that doesn't mind opening their wallets. There's no reason not to treat them with the same importance that compatibility with software processors gets.

  3. 23 minutes ago, David Duleroy said:

    I am trying to figure out how to get Stochas working on cakewalk and I really can't... Could you help?

    1. Create an instrument track with Stochas.
    2. Create another instrument track with the synth you wish to control with Stochas.
    3. Set the synth track's input to Stochas, MIDI channel 1 (that's the default for Stochas, although you can change it).
    4. Turn the synth tracks Input Echo on.
    5. Set the Stochas track's Channel to 1.
    6. Enter some notes in Stochas' editor.
    7. Set Cakewalk to loop for a measure or two or however many measures you want it to loop.
    8. Hit Play.

    At this point you should be hearing output from the synth. If you're not, make sure that the synth has a patch loaded, make sure you have input echo turned on, make sure you have some notes entered, and make sure the synth track's audio path is clear all the way through to the output (the usual troubleshooting when you can't seem to get a synth to make sound).

    Make sure that the Stochas plug-in is set to enable MIDI out (which you do using the menu under that "VST3" button in the plug-in UI).

    This setup should work for any generator or sequencer like this that acts as a virtual MIDI instrument generating MIDI information.

    If you want to get results similar to what Stochas does, I really encourage you to try using Cakewalk's built-in Step Sequencer, as outlined above. It does the note probability thing no problem. Once I found that out, I didn't bother with Stochas anymore.

    • Like 2
  4. On 2/27/2024 at 6:01 AM, Fleer said:

    Get that Chromaphone if you haven’t yet. 

    I know that Chromaphone gets the lion's share of love, and it is indeed a great synth, but I recently picked up Ultra Analog VA-3 and like it better.

    Chromaphone sounds "colder" where Ultra Analog VA sounds "warmer" to me.

    So I encourage anyone considering buying an A|A|S synth to try them both (they have fully functional free trials).

  5. On 2/28/2024 at 11:47 AM, Romero JJ Joan said:

    SPL Vitalizer MK2-T

    Absolutely worth it.

    I'm very leery of "exciters," but I listened to a song done by someone here on the Cakewalk forum and noticed a real ear candy sparkle to one of the elements.

    Asked them about it and they said it was the Vitalizer.

    • Like 1
  6. 7 hours ago, freshprince69 said:

    I don't know how to play any instruments so I don't really need to record any input that goes into my computer. Perhaps ASIO is good when I'm using speakers, but I'm new in audio production and I only want to use virtual instruments just to make everything basic.

    If you're exclusively using virtual instruments, samples, and loops to create your music then, no, you don't even need an external interface. WASAPI Exclusive will get you decently low latency and good sound with just your system's built-in audio CODEC (invariably Realtek, they seem to have the market for onboard hardware audio CODEC's completely monopolized).

    I don't know what the problem is with getting an ASIO driver for Realtek's CODEC's. There's nothing inherently wrong with the hardware, it's even capable of doing 192K/32, 7.1 channel, S/PDIF (if the board manufacturer implements those things)  but that lack of an ASIO driver is a big deal for audio work. Why no programmer has come up with one is a mystery. Realtek shipped one for a while, but it was so buggy they pulled it.

    • Like 3
  7. 6 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

    Maybe it's me but giving an answer to the freebie is like piracy.

    It's certainly against the forum TOS.

    Dropping a fiver or finding a way to read the issue via a library membership is a small enough consideration to give Beat and A|A|S.

    And for those who think they have everything A|A|S, they usually come out with multiple new soundpacks in between these freebie deals, so at least check and make sure. Their stuff is so great.

    • Like 1
  8. 5 hours ago, Lemar Sain said:

    Other than breaking Kontakt 6 support have these recent updates added any real value?

    Updates to NI Access always make sure that the NI hardware support services that you've disabled a dozen times because you own no NI hardware get re-enabled.

    So there's that....

    • Haha 3
  9. I've received many (sincere I hope) compliments, but since the topic seems to have gone toward the wah wah WAHHHH.....

    I was in Bath, England, in a small lightly populated pub one afternoon. Was chatting with the barman, a young chap, mentioned that my (proto grunge Faith No More-ish) band had just finished doing a demo in a studio. He showed interest in hearing what was coming out of San Francisco at that time (1990) and asked if he could play it on the pub's sound system. Joy!

    Halfway through the second song, a grumpy pub owner appeared and ordered him to turn it off, snapping "this isn't a heavy metal pub!"

    Well, it wasn't a heavy metal band either....

    As for people's reactions to my music in general, well, I've always tried to remember that I make it so that it sounds good to me, that my own tastes have always been outside the mainstream, and that if anyone else at all likes it, that's a bonus. Even if someone's just pretending to like it, that's nice, that they like me enough to care about my feelings.

    The best/funniest times have been when friends have come to shows or listened to tracks out of a sense of duty, and I can tell that they are genuinely surprised that they like it. 😄

    And @User 905133, I'd take the "good driving music" to be quite a compliment.

    • Like 3
  10. 4 hours ago, Grem said:

    all midi hardware I now have has USB interface

    Except for....

    4 hours ago, Grem said:

    I have a Behringer midi foot controller I want to use with amp sims and synths. It has 5 pin din.

    I have a Yamaha electronic drum controller I want to use also. It has 5 pin din.

    The inexpensive 5-pin-to-USB interfaces on Amazon are fine, just don't be tempted by the under $10 black ones.

    Avoid this type (the one with the body that's black with rounded corners and usually has a staff/clef symbol on it that typically goes for under $10).

    This type (the one with the clear window with activity lights that typically goes for $15 or so) is fine.

    I know the above from (bitter, in the case of the <$10 one) experience. With those, it's common to experience dropped notes and stuck notes. The slightly more expensive one has been solid as a rock for years.

    The only hitch I ever ran into was that the MIDI hardware spec calls for a diode across the input to any MIDI device. This was originally part of an optocoupler, but I think optocouplers have long since been superseded by less expensive solutions. Most manufacturers probably just stick an LED across the input in case there's any legacy equipment that still expects to see a diode drop.

    Of COURSE I wound up with one that didn't have the diode, and OF COURSE I had one of the very very few pieces of MIDI equipment that insists on having a diode drop across whatever it plugs into or it petulantly refuses to operate (this would be the famous Rockband keytar that doubles as a MIDI controller). I solved this by soldering a diode across the input myself. The Rockband keytar is the only device I've ever heard of that won't work unless it senses the diode drop, probably uses it to know to turn of the wireless connection and use the MIDI port instead.

    In other words, unless you need to plug in a Rockband keytar, you should be fine.

    • Thanks 1
  11. 4 hours ago, Grem said:

    What's  the best way to get midi from a hardware unit into a computer these days?

    That would be using whatever cable/connector the hardware unit has available.

    If it's 5-pin DIN, then you need to plug it into a MIDI interface, either built into your interface (most PreSonae have them), or dedicated.

    If it's USB, then straight into a USB port.

    If you're trying to choose a controller based on which type of connection it uses, then it depends on whether your interface includes 5-pin DIN. If it doesn't, then a controller with its own USB connection would be necessary.

    The advantage to the 5-pin DIN MIDI connection is that you can use it to plug bits of MIDI hardware into each other without the need for a computer (what MIDI was originally intended to be used for).

  12. 13 hours ago, freshprince69 said:

    I learned that having an ASIO driver improves the latency or recording in music, but seems like it's only useful when recording through an audio interface or external instruments. do I really need it if I'm only beginning with just virtual instruments?

    If you have an interface that has its own ASIO driver, then use it. There's no reason not to.

    If you are basing an interface purchase on whether it has its own ASIO driver, yes yes, a thousand times yes, only get one that comes with ASIO support, and by that I don't mean ASIO4ALL.

    • Like 3
  13. I go with Intel myself, mostly because it's what I know.

    You can put together a killer system for that amount of money. My system (see specs in sig) can do the tasks you mention without getting anywhere near breaking a sweat, and it's years and processor generations older than what you're going to get today.

    Heck, I could put together a good system for half of your budget!

    Do you have an audio interface? If not, that's really the critical component and the first one to decide on.

    • Like 3
  14. 11 hours ago, Ephraim Isaac said:

    I made this post a while back about CakeWalk crashing when using 2 specific vst's in a project.
    Using the Poise & UVI workstation vst crashes CakeWalk..Help!

    Will this be resolved in CakeWalk Sonar?
    Or maybe still with Bandlabs CakeWalk?

    Very doubtful. Who knows, it may start working in a future Sonar release as the result of a different issue being addressed.

    Your best bet is to find a replacement for one of the three pieces of software that are not cooperating. If it were me, that would be Poise. Speedrum Lite works with Cakewalk by BandLab.

  15. On 2/17/2024 at 6:11 AM, Noel Borthwick said:

    The bigger question to me is why anyone serious about using our products want to use an old unsupported product, when a much better (and affordable) version is made available.

    Rhetorical question, probably, but I think I can at least speculate.

    Pricing: users don't know what is meant by "affordable." Affordable relative to what? Will there be a subscription option? If so, how will the cost of updates be handled for people who choose a perpetual license over the subscription? All of these questions are still up in the air.

    The "much better" is well earned, but pricing and licensing is still a mystery, and we know that it's still being worked out and you can't make any guarantees. Everyone has to trust that you're industry veterans and smart cookies who know where Sonar fits in the marketplace and what you should charge for it.

    Another element might be residual uncertainty about investing time and effort into a freeware DAW. Cakewalk by BandLab has been too good to be true for 6 years now. Many adopters wondering what the catch was, maybe thinking aha, here's where they get us.

    Lastly, the people who use CbB LOVE CbB. Maybe they're not as sure they'll love Sonar as much.🥰

    • Like 2
  16. I am all for squeezing the last bit of usefulness out of older hardware and software. It's standard practice for me. My current main system is built from donor, eBay, and Criag's List components. The only things purchased new are the RAM sticks and the Firewire card.

    But at some point, it becomes more trouble than it's worth. Stuff that used to work fine stops working fine.

    You can get refurbished Dells on Amazon for under $200, fully capable of running DAW software, Windows 11, etc. Mini PC's as well.

    You can do a TON of stuff with free software, but there IS a certain ante in hardware. It's pretty low these days, and then you can run the wheels off of whatever you get for another 10 years.

  17. 2 hours ago, OutrageProductions said:

    are we having a steady stream of new folks joining in this forum?

    That would be nice.

    "Kids these days" have been said to be ignorant of the charms of forums, in favor of more ephemeral means of getting and offering help.

    This of course leads to the same questions and issues being addressed ad nauseum.

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