Brian Walton

8 minutes ago, Doug Rintoul said:

Thanks! Where did these coupons originate from?

This was from PluginBoutique.

7 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

Spitfire Audio - making proprietary a bad idea at every chance.

Edit, spoke too soon.  It seems like they now have a one install limitation on the product, that was not in place previously.  

2 hours ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

OK, so there does seem to be a recent update to the player. You can try updating here:

https://www.steinberg.net/index.php?id=downloads_halion_sonic_se_3&L=1

Sorry for your issues and hopefully this update can help?

Just installed on one of my machines and it looks like it worked!  Thanks!

30 minutes ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

That does look odd.

Try switching to Performance View (Click the “P” near the upper right side) and see what happens?

Also what is your screen resolution.. make sure you are not doing any type of scaling in the Windows display settings. I think there is much improvement that the HALion line could use as far as the GUI. There is not a way to even capture the “window” of the GUI using OBS. If you see my livestream today you will see the problem at the end. I wish I could have caught that before going live. ?

Performance view takes away the image all together and makes it effectively just a keyboard.

1920x1080 resolution in my display settings which matches my 24 inch monitors native resolution.  

Also tried it on two different machines (same problem on both, 2nd computer is a laptop with a lower resolution native screen).  It appears to be an issue with the player, not the sample library.  Though note to others, despite it being a free player, it only allows one machine install.  

Sounds very good.

Annoyingly my edit panel looks like this (and the GUI isn't scale-able)

Here is a "PRO" version of my Theme.

This version removes words like "pro channel" and "in/out" from the console view as this assumes you already know where and what they are.  This also removes the word "performance" from the performance module.

Like the other minimalistic theme, FX Bin, Sends, Pan, and Gain words are also removed.  While the location and knobs remain intact.  

Tones and colors are generally subtle other than "solo" and "armed for recording" as I find these should be flags as I work.    The faders are also a stand out, because if you mix with the pro-channel open, you can see they cross over into the "row of faders" you would normally see on an analog console, therefore I want them to be noticeable and not blend in.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jIikZxT88PjAwsiUj-XfuwQaQwZGClE2/view?usp=sharing (updated for 2021.12 - linked corrected Feb 2022)

I'm calling this one Minimalistic as I've removed a number of the visual elements I consider distracting visually (words Pan, Gain, FX, Sends, on the Console View and The small track icon in the Tracks View)

Now updated for 2021.12 (see the pro version in post 2 for an updated version):

On 2/5/2020 at 3:35 AM, puddy said:

I ? percent feel the same as you do.

Okay for me music making is a hobby (for now) but there's nothing worse than opening cakewalk and glaring at it's UI. Sure I keep updating and hoping for the day that the look would be modernised.

I'd suggest getting the Soft Tones Highlighted Buttons theme from here:   

It has a modernist look and also gets rid of some of the unnecessary text in the console view.  

That being said, this theme is one of the best looking out of all the DAWs on the market.  

Ableton has a flat modern look, and frankly it looks dreadful, IMO.  

1 hour ago, Johnny said:

Hello! Could someone tell me if it is possible for Cakewalk Bandllab in an eventual update to insert new plugs with Cakewalk extensions containing pianos and guitars with high quality samples and wave effect generators, I believe it would be another Up on DAW that would be marked! ?

If you are looking for Free instruments (such as piano + guitar VSTis) check this thread.  There are a few that are excellent, some of which are better than ones I paid for.

3 hours ago, David Baay said:

Got the Boz T-Bone  for $19 based on your March 10 tip.  It's shinier!  ;^)

T-bone rules and doesn't require ilok like softtube does.

Have it installed on each of my computers.  Have been shocked at how frequently I use it.  

29 minutes ago, paulo said:

The "release dates" so far...........Q3 2019........Q4 2019.......will be launched at NAMM.......FEB 20.......MAR 20.......definitely by end April 20......Now May 27th 20.

Forgive me if I refuse to get too excited just yet.

With the company saying the plugin is ready...and Plugin Boutique putting a release date out.  Outside of another major covid market change, I think we can safely count on this one.    All prevoius announcments seems to have some unknowns with PB 's expectations.  

39 minutes ago, TerraSin said:

Heh, the whole reason I bought Scaler last year was because they were saying the update would be soon. I assumed we'd be getting it for free.

During the virtually only time they ran it on sale?  

They made comments suggeting buying it during that time vs. waiting for the actual release would not be more expensive.  

Everything I read suggested it woudl be a paid upgrade, but not more expensive as a total purchase price if purchased during the sale.  If you bought it at full retail, well that is unfortunate.  

24 minutes ago, ZincT said:

Looking good. Wonder what the upgrade cost will be from Scaler 1.

I'm curious as well.

Have been beta testing it for a while now myself and look forward to the actual release (honestly wish it was sooner, since my understanding it is ready...they are just trying to time the release)

I believe they said the upgrade cost shoudl be "reasonable" will have to see if they have the same definition I do.    ?

A the retail price they want, it is fairly surprising they don't offer the "non-all buttons" smahsed option.

Got it last time, but honeslty will get super limited use.  

3 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

 I need some audio cables to hook up my AXE to my mixer.  I don't want to order that online with a GC less than 10 miles away.  If you are a wind player you can't get valve or key oil and reeds.  Sam Ash is also closed.

Guitar center cables are a rip off.  If you are getting cables of any decent quality...even ebay would be a better alternative at this point.  

If you are buying junk with plastic molded ends then yes, GC provides that quick fix for not much more than the cost of shipping.

7 minutes ago, emeraldsoul said:

Other music stores may be essential, but GC? No.

...it isn't just GC that is impacted. , that warehouse system they have is one of the top disto centers in the country.  

53 minutes ago, cclarry said:

I think that they will have legal recourse, as they are an online provider, and as such can continue to 
operate.  Also, being a "Warehouse Operation" and not open to the pubic, that's further vindication
We'll see how this plays out...

Agreed, and also G.A.S might now be listed in the DSM-5 (not sure, as I didn't persue a PHD in Psyhology).  If pharmacies are considered an essential business...those that provide other "cures" should follow under the same umbrella.     

15 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

 

Yes, there are other ways to license plug-ins, challenge and response, for instance, but they are also vulnerable to disk failure, they don't allow for the license owner easily moving from system to system (if I had an iLok dongle, I could buy a single license for a plug-in and use it on as many systems as I could sit down at, right?), etc.

Depends on how it is handled.

It can actually be very easy to move.  I can think of lots of examples where they can be moved effectivly just the same.

A server can hold 2-3 liscences for a user.  A challenge reponse takes one away, it can then be deactivated in the same way and made available again.  I can think of one product that I have 3 seats for.  Two are always loaded on a machine and the 3rd, I activate and deactivate a few times a week for use on the ancilary machienes I work on (3rd and 4th laptop, work computer, etc)

Only thing ilok would provide in such a scenario is if it is autorized to the dongle itself it could be moved without an internet connection or the call and response.  The comes at the expense of an expensive proprietary usb stick, an extra usb port used, and less availabe seats.

8 hours ago, Lee D said:

That's a fair argument.  Never tried Jamstix because I read that it's really difficult to use... Maybe I'll try it.  I do like the sound of AD2 although I'd like some more electronic or hybrid kits available for it as well.  

Still, I think AD3 will greatly improve the MIDI aspect.  I don't need an AI drummer necessarily but I would like much better way to create variations, different complexity levels, fills, etc.  Something more like Groove Agent or MDrummer in that aspect.

Not going to lie, it is difficult to use if you have an exact drum idea in mind - and getting it to tame/match that does take some work and you may never get that result.  

If you are open to having a drummer that has a bit of a mind of its own, then the results can be very impressive.     

I literally used to just have the Jamstix brain installed (none of the samples) to drive other drum programs, it wasn't until I got Jamcussion - which requires you to install ALL samples to really use it properly that I loaded Jamstix's files on there.  The sounds are better than I expected generally speaking.    Would be nice to have an all in one solution, but realistically I don't want the "brain" tied down to a single application  . A translation/mapper is needed but having a program that can run another program in this area is quite useful and means I'm not tied to the drum kits or sounds of any one VST.  

The price of GA, MD, and Jamstix points to how valuable such tools are these days.    Jamstix runs periodic 50% off sales.

11 hours ago, cclarry said:

I have no qualms with iLok.  I've been a Pro Tools user since V7,
so the iLok is not a problem to me.  It's early days had a lot of issue,
but that is all in the past, and it has been quite solid for years now.
Intellectual Property requires protection, because there are a LOT
of "crooks" out there who ruin it for the rest of us, just like ANY criminal
does for society...so I completely understand the need for protection, 
especially on "High End" software.  

There are lots of ways to protect the IP. I don't follow the black market these days, but it seemed like every expensive program (ilok enabled included) would get cracked, so it was only a deterrant for the first few weeks on the market.  I've seen lots of different authorization methods, ilok is the only one that comes to mind that invovles a 3rd party (additional app, potential expensive dongle, seperate account) to use a product someone else developed.  

Related to this thread, the issue is ramped up when only one single seat is granted for a given product.  At least 2 seats means you can avoid downtime on your own without having to get in contact with multiple manufactures to get back up and running.  My experience is most of these companies are  not getting back to me in an hour or two.  I've gone days without an update from WAVES for example, that isn't pretty in the real world.  

12 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

What's the big deal about iLok licensing?

The PACE service is a teeny tiny thing running on my computer compared to Apple Mobile Device Helper, Apple iPod Service, Apple Updater, Google Crash Handler, Microsoft Photos, all this other crap I have running and can't turn off for fear it will break iTunes or Chrome.

I did have to go through the hassle of retrieving the iLok'd licenses I lost on a computer where I upgraded the motherboard and Windows (and therefore PACE/iLok) decided that it was a different computer. I contacted the companies involved and asked them to please deactivate the licenses and they all did without a fuss.

Next time I do major surgery on a computer, I deactivate the iLok (and Waves) licenses first.

Never owned one of their dongles, 'cause I don't hop from studio to studio to work.

The itunes compareson    is a fair one, as it also provides unnecesary bloat to the whole process.  On an android or windows machine a player just plays the file, no import process or cataloing or trying    to sell you something.    The fact that you deal with that bs means you have a fairly high tollerene for pain and invasiveness as a paying customer.    ilok likely won't bother you a bit.

ilok is a 3rd party that just charges the customer for using some other company's products.  If you are asking the manufacutre , not ilok to reset licences, you have to see the point that they could have done the same thing directly without ilok in the process.  I've done this with izotope for example, ran out of installs and told them I've been upgrading hardware and had a couple HD's swapped out as I don't want to wait until the thing dies.  Not a problem, they just gave me another authorization.

In your scenario or if a HD fails, or the dongle tied to it fails you are without pluigns until you get a response and resoltuion across the board.  The problem isn't as much about the protection of the software as it is another 3rd party getting in the way, costing the consumer extra money in the process, and generally not providing any real added value.

2 hours ago, Lee D said:

No way.  AD2 sucks for building drum tracks, the MIDI browsing and making variations.  I want them to make AD3 to address this.  Using other tools to make grooves defeats the purpose of having a drum instrument.

I wouldn't really know.  In my mind/experience everything other than Jamstix is effectivly static loops with some minor buttons to create variation.

Unless they are going to do a drastic overhaul in that department and create something world class and next level.  I don't see the value.  

Give the free JamStix version a test run (never used the free one myself), but once you hear what it does, I'm just not sure how you go back to accepting static midi files again.  The midi files AD or any other program/package offers would only be things I'd end up loading into JamStix to create a groove.  

And I disagree with your premise.  A drum VST can be used just like a dumb synth...you have to play it, mainipulate it, etc to create the sound you want.  A vst piano doesnt' play itself and if I can't play keyboards but still want to use it, there are tools like Sclaer or EZ Keys that can assist with the process.  Drum VST is no different.    Those MIDI loops it comes with are going to get used up and old real quick.  

I agree that MIDI files, Track Building, Groove Creation is in fact the weak part of the software, however - I'm not convinced a company like XLN is going to invest in the AI tech to bring that up to Jamstix level or beyond.  

2 hours ago, Feral State Sound said:

Why would be a paid upgrade? They are still selling the AD1 kits using the AD2 engine. With AD3 for sure there will be more AD and groove packs but the engine is like Kontakt Player. That's because I like XLN, there are no absurd upgrade policies.

@TerraSin

If you like SD 3, just buy SD 3. AD 2 is a completely different product, easier and suitable for almost every hardware. You don't need a powerful computer but it is still a top notch virtual instrument. How can it be improved? The only things missing for me is a more flexible routing system (you can't route, for example... Kick In and Kick Out mics to different tracks as thery are blended) and a scalable interface.

I don't undestand the snobbery with music software. It seems that everything that you own will be crap in 4 years.

I thinking they haven't had enough of these "new products" over the years to know how they will handle a new version.  If they don't charge for AD3 for AD2 users then great, I'm all for it.

I will say they do need an upgrade.  However, it relates to the authorization process which is horrific.  Every Windows update the program seems to think you just got a new computer it is the only program I have out of over 100 that seems to have this problem.  

9 minutes ago, Brian Walton said:

They really don't need to.

More kits could be added to the existing AD2 engine, it has nothing to do with needing a different engine/version.  

My vintage guitars also still play and sound just as good as they used to.    Billboard hits have been made with AD2.  Sorry, I don't think we need something that "sounds better" getting quality sound out of the program is on the person sitting in the chair.    If top 40 hits with mega studios and budgets can use AD for a drum sound, I think we know where the bar is.  

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qnxHbvferhyRDdOD4Loom

 

No, they are not my favorite kits (frankly Drum Core has that, and the samples they used are likely even older than AD2) , but this has more to do with the kits sampled than the actual sound.  AD 2 is capable of playing back drum recordings/samples.  Garbage in Garbage out.  As long as they put a good sounding recording into the AD2 interface it is good enough.  

SD3 is just absurd.    I don't need over 230 gigs of drum samples.  

 

I use Jamstix to run AD.  If I didn't have that my argument against all the programs is we need something that isn't just statically using midi files.  That is where the tech needs to head, not improved sound quality.  Take off all the effects in the program and use your own.  If you cant' get a usable sound out of that, the time to move to a different hobby/profession.  

 

My .02

3 hours ago, TerraSin said:

Can't stay in the past. I'd like them to be better at competing with the current market rather than getting left behind in the dust like they have been. There needs to be more options in AD. I'd like more kit pieces per kit for one rather than having to setup two different instances. Sound and internal processing wise, it's not even on the same level as Superior Drummer any longer. It's certainly not bad but what's the point of not further developing? Not like they are doing much with it as it is.

They really don't need to.

More kits could be added to the existing AD2 engine, it has nothing to do with needing a different engine/version.  

My vintage guitars also still play and sound just as good as they used to.    Billboard hits have been made with AD2.  Sorry, I don't think we need something that "sounds better" getting quality sound out of the program is on the person sitting in the chair.    If top 40 hits with mega studios and budgets can use AD for a drum sound, I think we know where the bar is.  

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qnxHbvferhyRDdOD4Loom

No, they are not my favorite kits (frankly Drum Core has that, and the samples they used are likely even older than AD2) , but this has more to do with the kits sampled than the actual sound.  AD 2 is capable of playing back drum recordings/samples.  Garbage in Garbage out.  As long as they put a good sounding recording into the AD2 interface it is good enough.  

SD3 is just absurd.    I don't need over 230 gigs of drum samples.  

I just Jamstix to run AD.  If I didn't have that my argument against all the programs is we need something that isn't just statically using midi files.  That is where the tech needs to head, not improved sound quality.  Take off all the effects in the program and use your own.  If you cant' get a usable sound out of that, the time to move to a different hobby/profession.  

My .02

1 hour ago, kitekrazy said:

 They have fanboys.  I remember at one time Melodyne was not even attainable for the hobbyist. Now they have a free version packaged with DAWs. The economically smart DAW user can get the best use out of it. 

Most aftermarket plugins at one time were not really attainable for the hobbyist.  $200 for a compressor emulation, etc.    It was crazy.  

Melodyne  I have to kind of respect doing that, both unique and a tool that does a lot of potential damage in non-pro hands.  ?

I got Studio after a couple upgrades since the "free" version , which I don't consider free as Cakewalk Producer was not exactly cheap.    But even with the discount has been a waste of money.  The polyphonic audio to midi was a let down, and I've had major issues with the tempo mapping ARA integration with Sonar.  I basically don't pitch shift vocals, so the features I wanted it for didn't live up to expection.    On the vocal side, there are not many options that really do what Melodyne does at a pro level.

Compressors, EQs, etc that is where I don't understand the idea of a $150+ plugin when other cheap options exist.    The average person can't even blind test between two of them with the accuracy you would expect for the premium price.