azslow3

Steinberg has not introduced any common instrument/preset selection methods. So each plug-in is using build-in preset selection method, sometimes MIDI assignable but not always. VSTs can save presets, so like preset which you can select in the Cakewalk part of VST window. But Cakewalk (as most if not all other DAWs) has just flat list per plug-in and there is no pre-made list. That is not practical in case of 1000s presets. That is why NI NKS is so popular. They have introduced (as usual proprietary) extended preset declaration method. And as a major player attracted many plug-in producers to provide corresponding lists (other lists are make by users). Resulting preset selection works fine (sure, just on NI own keyboards...). Another movement in that direction was AKAI VIP (without extra extension). For the question which buttons are assignable. That is controller specific. Most keyboards/controllers dedicate arrow buttons for internal operations (only). See the documentation for particular device (they always mention which controls are assignable and which not).

Can CAL script execute commands? And if yes, can it do sequences with significant delays?

Not sure how relevant the answers about quality are in case you can not hear yourself... EQ is definitively not something "if you put a good one the result is magically better" 😉 From technical point of view, ProChannel EQ looks good and as other PC modules is faster/simpler to use in Cakewalk. The only negative aspect is portability. You can not "save preset" and use it in another DAW, which is a big advantage of all free plug-ins (since everyone can download and install them in any DAW). Commercially speaking ProChannel modules was not developed as "free". Cakewalk (when it was a company) was asking significant money for ProChannel features and that was not so long time ago.

Not with standard plug-ins. The problem is not only the sequence but also the delays between commands. F.e. the sequence you mention will not work reliably in case there is no significant (for computer) delays. You can use AZ Controller (I can give you hints for that, delays are a bit tricky there). Or try your luck with some MIDI manipulation tools. As the signal source you can use anything which somehow produce MIDI. F.e. a dedicated boards like Behringer BCF1010, many guitar processors which are able to output MIDI signals when operated or just pedals connected to MIDI keyboard. I have used middle and left pedals of my DP, distinguishing between "long" and "short" presses as well as simultaneous presses that provides more then just 2 commands... But in case you have "extra" pedal on keyboard/DP, you can just use build-in Cakewalk MIDI assignments (keys are sending commands when pedal is pressed). You can not trigger sequences this way, but you can assign corresponding commands to nears keys (C,D,E) so it will be fast.

It depends from what you expect it is able to control and how. Mackie functionality in Cakewalk is documented, but devices usually do not have all Mackie controls. So only a part of functionality can be used. Cakewalk Mackie implementation has some quirks with "compatible" devices, but there are mods which solve that (take one from msmcleod 😉). In general, controlling plug-ins with Mackie is going to be rather disappointing experience. In addition to normal knobs on devices you mention (so there will no automatical catch for current values when you switch controlling target), Mackie plug-in requires manual file editing for mappings (no ACT Dynamic mapping support). For mostly buttons use case, like transport, solo, etc. and/or fixes set of strips (the project has up to 8 tracks) such devices can be fine. As an App you can try TouchDAW and some Apple only staff. The same limitation for plug-ins, but everything is always synced. Also you can overwrite automations with "touch sensitive" faders. Or you can try TouchOSC with custom made preset. TouchOSC is not extremely stable for me, but in such case you can redefine functionality, control plug-ins with ACT Dynamic Map, etc. Prices for apps are around $5, so it can be worse to get TouchOSC just to check Mackie functionality in Cakewalk. Wired alternative is Behringer X-Touch Mini. It can control almost everything supported by Cakewalk, does not cost much, does not take much space and always "in sync" (encoders), you can tune what it does for you (which commands are activated) and how it does that (f.e. encoders resolution).

Behringer produce different audio interface solutions (electronically). Some are more advanced (and so more expensive) then other. No mistake here. And common... the whole discussion remind me about "20Hz-20HZ headphones for $1". $40 interface is not the same as $60 (especially when produced by the same company), and it is not the same as $120, $200, $500, $700...

Can you open a text file in MS Word (or other word processor)? Yes. Can you add a PICTURE of a text there? Yes Do you see the text in picture with original formatting? Yes. Can you save the result as TXT? A kind of... you normally loose the picture. Cakewalk automatically ORC "the text" in picture and put characters into the TEXT file. Extra feature! Can you restore original picture from the resulting TXT file? NO. There is no way to describe a picture in the text. An envelope consist of "control points" and "curve segment types". SMF files do not support them. SMF: Standard MIDI Files. Standard means there is a definition what is inside. There can be different "MIDI file" format, with automation, audio support, something else support. CWP can be perceived as such format. But you want use SMF with features not included into SMF. That is not possible, by definition of SMF. Nothing to "fix" or "improve". ----- You may ask for explicit conversion of envelopes into CC during editing, so without saving to MIDI. But CC lines editing in Cakewalk is good. Simply edit/draw CC if you want to use Cakewalk as a MIDI editor. Also do not use Audio, Envelopes, VSTi presets, separate tracks with the same MIDI channel, more then 16 tracks, etc. That does not fit into pure MIDI.

There is not much to re-visit. Full features DAW is not limited by MIDI files. Inside the part which "does not fit" into MIDI files are audio and envelopes. It can happened something in that part produce MIDI messages, but in general it is not possible not reconstruct original feature from resulting events. In fact you should say "thanks" for automatic saving instrument settings and MIDI envelopes into MIDI file, and automatic conversion of the instrument settings during import. That is not a must, there are DAWs which will not convert that at all (leaving instrument settings as binary events in the MIDI stream and completely ignoring any dynamic MIDI processing on MIDI export).

Sorry, I had no offensive intentions The problem is that many beginners read posts with "low latency" verbatim. And then wonder why they do not get 3ms with under $100 interface. The big part of this thread is about latency (there is no reason to even try ASIO4ALL otherwise, WDM/WASAPI always works way more stable). I am not a pro and I understand you. Most of the time I use 10ms+ interfaces which are permanently connected to my comp and gear and have no problems. But if I want hear myself throw the DAW without dry signal mixed in, that is no go. Also no go for e-drums (throw soft). For many soft amps (which have big latency on there own) that is inconvenient. Quantum is not extra expensive, but it requires quite expensive computer to deliver minimum latency. RME is "a bit" more expensive then Quantum, but works with any hardware. There are also ZOOM (UAC) for $200 and several under $200 interfaces. I mean low latency does not mean expensive, just not "the cheapest on the market"...

"Extremely low" latency has Presonus Quantum under extreme settings (only). (1-2ms) "Low" latency have some interfaces with extreme settings and RME with normal settings. (3-5ms) "Good" latency have most interfaces with dedicated ASIO drivers. (6-9ms) Other interfaces have "Reasonable" latency, can be achieved by WASAPI, ASIO4ALL and sometimes WDM/KS. There are cases when WASAPI is on the level of dedicated ASIO (when the later is not specially optimised). (10-15ms, with a bit of luck can be down to "good", but I have not observed "low" range reports. Note that reported by the DAW numbers in these modes are not real). For testing latency, use WASAPI exclusive. WASAPI shared normally has significant latency penalty.

ASIO is just a protocol. It is simple and so it can be made effective without big effort. Recently MS has improved other APIs. After reading observations that some interfaces work more stable and with lower latency using other methods, I have checked myself with interfaces I have. Surprise, my "archaic" M-Audio Firewire in fact deliver not worse latency with other APIs (while in this particular case not better). So ASIO is no longer "a must", for entry level devices ASIO4ALL is recommended just as a compatibility solutions, in case software has troubles using other APIs effectively. BTW recent Realtek chips have own ASIO drivers. The performance and latency are reasonable (let say not worse then for cheap dedicated interfaces). Those chips which do not have it work with WASAPI not worse then ASIO4ALL. And so even in that case it is not required.

Behringer produce cheap interfaces. And even cheaper then cheap interfaces. UMC-22 is from the last category (f.e. UMC-202HD is from the first). Cheapest interfaces have no ASIO drivers. Other have ASIO driver (logical). ASIO4ALL is a kind of obsolete way. It sometimes was able to produce better results then pure WDM, but that was before Windows 8/10. Note that ASIO4ALL should be configured first, at least the device it should work with has not be selected (otherwise it can take internal audio, all interface together, etc.). But better simply uninstall it...

Not the best videos about the topic... Better just read the documentation, "ACT MIDI" section, it explains everything as far as possible. Tips: * you can not use (the same) pads simultaneously in ACT and for playing drums (till you switch what they send on Beatstep) * ACT MIDI support exactly 8x8x8 controls. So you can set first 8 knobs as knobs and another 8 knobs as faders. * if you configured knobs as encoders (so they do not send absolute position), Ctrl+Click on ACT MIDI cell to set correct mode * delivered ACT MIDI mappings can be broken (depends from the Cakewalk version you have installed as the first). Remove them (%appdata%\Cakewalk\ACT Data) and start from scratch. * mapping can be corrupted, that corrupts all so far learned plug-ins. Backup these XML files often. If you want to understand how all that works and/or do something above ACT MIDI level, read http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,107.0.html

That is when Cakewalk was born. And Cakewalk engine as well. It has survived at least untill now, so good it was written... Cakewalk still does the whole processing in real time, the consequences are PDC and heavy resource requirements.

BTW I have checked HUI with AZ Controller. I could only test with HUI emulation of Novation Nocturn (no display, only part of strip controls). I had to make AZ Controller more tolerant to mixed use of CC messages, but I had no problems otherwise. Logic Control Protocol is officially (and openly) documented (in early Emagic Control documentation), but HUI is still "proprietary". Some manufacturers have failed to find Logic Protocol (f.e. initially Icon), I guess HUI implementation in some "compatible" devices is even worse.

Any reference for such statement? Modern controllers usually do not support old protocols at all on hardware side (Ableton oriented, NI, Nektar), try to mimic completely (Behringer) or partially (Presonus, Icon, NI Machine) MCU. Some specify "HUI" in addition, just as "ProTools compatibility". Unlike "MCU" clones I have not observed "HUI" clones (note that original device has different from MCU physical layout). Mackie and HUI protocols have fixed number of channel, no support for TFT displays, touch sensitive knobs nor colored LEDs. EUCON pretend to be more universal, but it is hard to support on both sides. In practice all that make no sense since controllers are connected with USB/Ethernet and so can follow whatever protocol they want (== what is cheaper to implement for defined set of hardware elements). The rest can be done in a proprietary (or open) driver (including conversion to old protocols, usually with limitations). F.e. Behringer while using Ethernet and sending MIDI messages throw it has not bothered to implement any "common" MIDI over ethernet solution. Why pay money for licenses, develop special firmware and get all sort of complains "your XXX implementation does not work with YYY?". "Proprietary" is the trend in modern controllers. So "we do what we want, you are with us or we do not care about you" style. The openness vary. Some give protocols for free (Ableton), some do not open anything (Nektar), other can allow you to communicated with the device throw proprietary driver if you ask kindly (NI).

a. When using ACT with encoders (so described "jump" behavior), you should say ACT they are encoders (not normal knobs). That can be done Ctrl+Clicking on controls (who reads manuals these days... right? 😉 ) b. ACT support extactly 8+1 buttons (where one is fixed as "shift"). So if you want 8 pads + transport you are out of luck. But just transport will work (in case it is sending "compatible" messages, so CC... original ACT has a bug, Note generating buttons are "leaking" "Note off" into MIDI tracks). c. You may find "Generic surface" work better for you (still you need read documentation to configure it) d. Controlling plug-in with "ACT Learn" almost impossible to get right without the documentation... and after a while the mapping will be corrupted. And so... Use AZ Controller. You will need even more time to understand how to configure it, but it has no mentioned limitation. For Plug-in controlling use "ACT Fix" utility (even in case you use ACT plug-in, will save your time and nerves).

You need "extra configuration", you have to say Cakewalk explicitly that you have MCU 😉 This feature is not "legacy", effects with MIDI input and synthes are effectively the same thing. So I do not think that is ever going to be obsolete. I try to deduct related synth a bit hacky way, from the number returned for the track MIDI output. The track should be MIDI (or "Simple synth") and then it works. But I remember there are situations when that fails (Cakewalk has rather fancy way to reference IO channels, I guess the reason for occasional problems with In/Out assignment inside a project once the hardware configuration is changed). So, explicit API should be added into Cakewalk to do the same "production quality" way.

+ Can be a combined with: * Cakewalk traditionally "likes" the interface is set to the project sample rate. But that rate is fixed only after you have some audio in the project. * Cakewalk traditionally is not the best in enforcing own requirements to the interface * (any) interface is locked to one particular frequency at any time, when several applications running in parallel want different rates, there is no common rules what should happened. Other software can be flexible in that domain, silently "on the fly" recoding audio before sending it to the interface. So that is not an indication something is wrong with Cakewalk. Tip: when manipulating sample rate or other interface parameters outside Cakewalk, stop Audio Engine in Cakewalk (opening preferences is doing that automatically) and do not forget match preferences to the changed settings before enabling the engine.

I guess that is homogeneous (S1/2 and A) MIDI based bi-directional communication. MKI was MIDI based, MKII was/is OSC based and I guess they have understood that is a mess. Not that they make all that a big secret (they have allowed open source projects which are using all these technologies), but for some reason they do not publish protocols in public. Note that these protocols are more advanced then MCU, obvious since "DAW integration" for supported DAW is above MCU level. From CbB side, a reliable way to find which Synth has relations to which track (available on surface API level) still does not exist. On NI side track switching functionality is unlocked for a while (was previously locked to "supported" DAWs). From practical perspective of full integration with CbB, I still do not have any of these keyboards 😉 And while I have found my X-Touch Mini preset (developed without the device) is reasonably good with Mini (which I have bought recently), I for example have found my accessible RME app (developed without the device) far from perfect, since I have misunderstood some concepts of TotalMix and so my imagination how things work was not bound to the reality... (I have fixed that since I have RME now). So there will be no (my) preset till I have the device.

Note that NVME is only as good as the drive behind it. And cheap drives are cheap for a reason... Examples from my own notebooks: * original drive installed in my Dell XPS was not bad, it could really deliver over SATA speeds. But even that drive was not comparable with EVO Pro 970 I put into it later. * Lenovo Ideapad also say "NVME". But practical benchmarks have shown under SATA speeds, all the way down to 90MB/Second. When looking at published performance results, keep in mind that SSD drives know when some space is not allocated. "Reading" empty drive indicate up to full NVME speed, the drive is not really accessing the storage in this case, it generates zeros.

From what I have seen, build-in MIDI supports just one HUI, so 8 channels only.

That means it can not be loaded. Try this one: https://github.com/AZSlow3/Cakewalk-Control-Surface-SDK/raw/dyneq/Bin/x64/MackieControl.dll Put it into the same place you see installed file. It is build with VS2017, has some bug fixes and adjusted to support CbB. Put https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AZSlow3/Cakewalk-Control-Surface-SDK/dyneq/Surfaces/MackieControl/MackieControl.ini into the same directory for ProChannel EQ and Compressors mapping (edit it for FX plug-ins if you want, but other ProChannel modules can not be selected). If you had Sonar 32bit installed before, it can be there is no 64bit MackieControl on your computer or it is not registered (CbB see 32bit registration, but can not work with it). Open console as Administrator (press Start button, type "cmd", right click on console and select "Run as administrator"), "cd" to the directory with DLL and run "regsvr32 MackieControl.dll"

Yet another thread which remind me that my (home) "primary desktop" is a Celeron, with 4GB RAM and 512GB HDD... Not everything I have can be loaded (sure, just one track... other should be rendered), but I am still almost happy (I have invested ~€400 to make it silent). 😀 For "Amienware 17" (and other "big" notebooks), be aware that you will be not allowed to take it on board of (most?) lowcoster European airlines for free. My 15'' XPS is the biggest which fit into the "free box" while in (properly sized) bag. For DELL XPS: these morons do not include MB->SATA cable in case the notebook is originally without the second (2.5'') drive. NVMEs are fine for the case something should be continuously streamed, and that something need the speed. Can save some seconds on computer/program start as well, but that is important for super time constraints only. For most cases SATA SSD is sufficient. It is still ridiculously expensive to build large arrays with SSDs, so HDDs will survive for a while (I mean for 50+ TB systems, not sure DAWs will ever need that). In practice, I have not experienced any noticeable change after replacing "cheap" NVMe to the latest Samsung on my notebook. But f.e. busy SQL server can be busted that way (optimizing end applications can bring much more, but that cost way more money).

Do you use Control Surfaces? They can block individual keys, thinking they are for controlling purpose. Also look at MIDI icon in the system try, does it "blink" when you press these keys? If not, MOX is not sending them or they are blocked outside (unlikely since Sonar is working for you).