Nigel Mackay

Enable MIDI Out is in the Insert Synth dialog, and is on by default. Switch it on once and it will be on always from then on.

With other VSTs, open the GUI, click the VST2 or VST3 dropdown in the top row of the window. If the VST can do MIDI out you will be able to enable it. If it isn't already enabled. Then insert a MIDI track. Set its input to the MIDI out of that VST. Set its output to whichever VST you want.

Also, if you bounce to audio nothing happens to the midi. You can still go back and midi afterwards. A zillion times, if you want.

There is also this

You record, mix. Until you are as happy with it as will ever be. You export it as a wave file. Create a new project, import your reference, import your song. Use the reference as a crosscheck/guide to get the sound you want while mastering your song. The idea is that you want your song to have that sound, and your reference is a professional release, so it will help you get a professional sound to your song.

For an explanation of how one uses a reference track, watch this tutorial. It is about using Cakewalk's stock plugins to master, but it shows you the point of having a reference track and how make use of it.

As was said before: Put the CD in the PC's CD player. In Cakewalk go File -> Import Audio CD. Select the specific track you want. It gets imported into Cakewalk as an audio track. You now have a reference track. You listen to bits of the reference, listen to the bits of your mus, adjust EQ, compression, levels. Compare the two again. And you fiddle with your music until it sounds similar to the reference track.

Have a look at this. When you have something recorded, have a look at this list of tutorials.

It is not stereo as such. 2 inputs to the focusrite, 2 outputs. If you have say a guitar plugged in and it is on the left channel, set the track to record the left channel. If it is on the right channel, set the track to record the right channel. When it is recorded you can pan it. But you are recording mono tracks. If you plug in a mic and a guitar and sing and play at the same time, the mic goes on one track, the guitar on a separate track. Afterwards you can fiddle. Even if you were to plug in a "stereo" mic, you would still need to record 2 tracks, one left and one right. Afterwards, you can do whatever you want.

A MIDI Format 0 file is a MIDI Format 0 file and a MIDI Format 1 file is a MIDI Format 1 file. I doubt he is using something that can't open both. The whole point of your problem is: 1) When you export MID,I all the MIDI tracks get exported in the file. (When you import the file, each track gets loaded into its own track.) If you have bass and drums you can't choose to export only one of them. If you don't want to include the drum MIDI you must delete it before exporting. (Muting tracks, FX, etc is for mixing down to audio.) Deleting tracks temporarily is dicey, you might accidentally save with the track deleted, that is why I said save under another name first. 2) If there are ANY tracks that are not MIDI, Cakewalk will warn you and you will have the options a) cancel export b) export ONLY the MIDI tracks, ignoring everything else. So what you must do is Save with a different name. Delete everything except the keyboards MIDI track. Export as MIDI.

It would be interesting to see what you get for the VST 64 location when you click on the little person and Preferences. Maybe somehow it has changed to a location you don't think of looking for.

Save the project with another name. Delete everything you don't want. Export.

Yes. Uninstall, start again and this time make sure you specify 64-bit.

Watch this video

If you put the keyswitches on their own track (a good idea so that you can use different orchestras if needs be) then you can create a DrumMap that changes the pitch of the note it outputs, so you can easily Make C2 output a C1, etc. You do need to create one for each instrument, because they get routed to a specific Synth. but Save as, Save as, Save as.

I think what has happened is that the OP was using a version of Kontakt 5.1 A few days ago NI announced the release of 5.1 as a free trial. So the OP assumed it was an upgrade and installed it. And now that is the version he Cakewalk offers him.

Deleting the standalone won't achieve anything. The email lets you download the Native Access installer in a zip file. Which you ran. It installed Native Access. Run Native Access (which you did do the first time.) Select the free Kontakt player. Which you did before. This time, during the install process, make sure you select VST and VST3. Then when you run Cakewalk, do a VST Scan, it will be available. You can leave the Standalone selected.

@Keith Dunwoody Don't know about Studio One, but in Cakewalk when you add Kontakt in the dialog you must select All audio outputs, and not leave it at the default of First. @Freyja Grimaude-Valens Check that the MIDI tracks are assigned to the new instances of Kontakt, and not still the original instance.

File Save as midi file. If the project contains non-midi info Cakewalk will tell you and ask you if you want to save without the extra data. Say yes.

When you ran the installer you obviously selected the Standalone version. That is what you see on your desktop. You can load instruments into it and play music with a MIDI controller. People use it for live performances. But when you run the installer you must also select to install VST and/or VST3. You can run the installer again, no problem.

Hmm. Kontakt 5.1 was released in 2012. Not sure what that 5.1 Free Trial is about. You had a higher version and then downloaded and installed this version. Uninstall it. Maybe the previous version will still be there, otherwise you can just reinstall. The latest version of Kontakt 5 is 5.7. And update Cakewalk. 😀

In your first post with screenshots: Track 3 is the instrument audio. The I dropdown must be changed to the SI Piano output, not your MIDI keyboard. In the MIDI track, track 2, you select RMT25V10 as Input. Output is the SI Piano. Track 3 is the instrument audio. The Input is the output of the SI Piano. (It should have been that automatically, but never mind.) The Ouput is Master. So, keyboard goes to MIDI track (2), MIDI track goes to instrument, instrument audio (3) goes to Master. Put the other way round: MIDI track (2): input is keyboard, output is instrument. Instrument audio track (3): input is output of instrument. output is master.

Arranger is a basically linear system for working with parts of a project. You can use it to arrange the sequence of verses, choruses, bridges, middle-eights. Once you have finished arranging you print. Matrix is meant for live performance. You initiate columns as and when you feel like it. You go with the flow.

I presume that GSM piano is TTS-1. You get sound, so that is encouraging. You have to be doing something wrong when you add an instrument. Do a screenshot of the track containing the instrument. A close up so we can see what it says. With that track selected open Inspector and do a closeup screenshot so we can see what it says. Here is what I get if I insert Cakewalk's True Pianos. The instrument track. Inspector. Track 3 shows Input, I, is TrPns.... Obviously True Pianos. And Output, O, is Master, the Master fader in the console. And Master Output, O, is going to my speakers. Open the Piano Roll View, click on the keyboard, you should get sound.

I see now that you talk about loaded samples. Search for Grace in YouTube and watch the demos.