JonD

Looks like you have Live Synth Pro installed.  If it's working correctly, can't you use that as your soundfont player? 

Once you unzip the download file, it's a DLL file.  No installer needed.

In Cakewalk, go to Preferences- VST Settings - VST Scan paths to find your VST folders (Where your VST files are located).

Just copy the virgin choir dll file to a VST folder and restart Cakewalk.  It should recognize it after that.

1 hour ago, scook said:

Well you have one...BandLab.

It is the only one I have too but I have not used it much.

Is Bandlab considered social media? Okay, you got me, lol!  But I only use it to install Cakewalk. 

Ken, I'm a happy Cakewalk by Bandlab user, and don't have any social media accounts.  NONE.

Bandlab products require an installer that downloads/installs the programs.  That's it.  Nothing to do with social media.

Many audio software developers have similar installers/program managers (Steinberg, Native Instruments, Toontrack, XLN Audio, Izotope, Waves,  just to name a few).

14 hours ago, kriss said:

no . Just had installed everything in the past and worked everything fine.

So you DIDN'T try running the Toontrack Product Manager again to make sure EZD is still properly installed?

You need to do this first.  None of the other fixes will do anything if the installation  isn't there or has gotten corrupted.

This video covers importing a MIDI file into Cakewalk and using TTS1 (a soft synth) to create an audio file, IOW the middle portion of what you are asking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY5kh6geRZo

You will need to find a tutorial on how to create a MIDI file from MuseScore, then follow the vid above and substitute EW Hollywood Orch for TTS1.

Hope this will at least  get you started.

So this is a realtek (onboard) sound card?  These rarely come with decent ASIO drivers (when they do at all).  Solid audio drivers are CRUCIAL for DAW use, regardless of how powerful your system may be.

If you haven't already, try the free ASIO4ALL drivers.  These are sort of a last resort and can sometimes work well with onboard sound cards when all else fails.

http://www.asio4all.org/

14 hours ago, Tez said:

@JonD ... I'm assuming that the "LatencyMon.exe" is a standalone app not an installer?

It does install on your PC. It is perfectly safe, and will identify the processes by rank of highest latencies and also indicate hard pagefaults. In most cases it will also find the drivers and processes responsible for executing them.  Bottom line, it highlights the processes on your system that could be causing your issues.

You mentioned that DAW optimization guide, but I'm not clear on if you did the tweaks. Some of them are rather crucial (like adjusting power/USB management) regardless of whether or not it's a dedicated DAW.  IOW, you should go ahead do the tweaks.  They won't negatively impact hurt your other tasks.

Have you run latencymon to determine what process(es) might be causing the dropouts?

https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

How about Win 10 system tweaks for DAW use?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FAHqrphv9k

2 hours ago, SynthManDan said:

So would downloading all 5 parts first, then turning off Anti Virus prior to extracting the files be the best route, or are you saying download the parts without Anti Virus running in the background, then extract?

SMD

Disabling the antivirus is advisable when you're seeing strange glitches or your downloads are corrupt.  I'd leave AV on when extracting (I don't recall it ever creating a problem, but of course, if the extracting bombs, just disable AV and try again).

IIRC, you have to download all five parts before extracting since they are essentially one package.  Do this:

- DL all five parts.

- Extract Part 1.  It will unzip all of them.

Yep, five parts.

It's been awhile since I downloaded it, but I don't remember any problems.  Of course, as always, a successful download depends on your ISP connection and system.

Assuming you have a reasonably fast ISP connection, I'd just let it do it's thing and the test is extracting the compressed parts.  If it goes well, you're golden.  If it gives you errors, then the download is likely corrupt.  If that happens, I'd disable any bg processes (ie. anti-virus) and try again.

3 hours ago, fret_man said:

... Which classical/nylon-stringed VSTi instruments include hammer-ons and pull-offs?

There are a number of excellent nylon guitar VST libraries out there.  I'd be surprised if the best of them didn't do hammer ons/offs...

Of course, you should evaluate them for yourself.   Some of my fave devs:

https://indiginus.com/Renaxxance.html

https://www.orangetreesamples.com/products/evolution-modern-nylon

https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=8

https://www.ilyaefimov.com/products/acoustic-guitars/nylon-guitar.html#review

A few tips:

- Try switching to a different USB port.

- If there are dedicated drivers, do a reinstall.

- The "Nuclear Option":  I haven't seen this issue in a while, but on occasion USB devices would stop working and the only fix was clearing out USB traces from the registry with a utility like USB Oblivion.   Then re-attach the USB device and have it "recognized" by Windows again.  Of course after doing this you'll need to reinstall all of your USB devices.

To get the best deal, just wait for Native Instruments' regular summer (around June) or Winter (Black Friday) sales.  If I recall, the prices are as much as 50% off.

Alternatively, you can purchase secondhand, but of course there's some risk involved, and even with a legit sale, Kontakt is usually snatched up pretty fast.

Johnny, I replied to your message.

-J

Johnny,

Open Native Access, click on the little person icon in the upper-right.  Click on Preferences.

Under VST 64 location, click browse AND CHANGE THE LOCATION. You don't have to accept what's there.

It's a bit tricky if you've never navigated Windows explorer.  Otherwise, all you have to do is change the location or create a new folder.

Easiest way is to copy and paste your VST folder location.  I'm running short on time now, but if you need help on this, post back and I'll give you step by step instructions. (Maybe best to PM me).

-Jon

You don't say if you tried to set the buffer size lower (for less latency).  What happens if you move the slider more to the left?

How to install VST Plugins in Cakewalk

How to use Kontakt in Cakewalk by Bandlab

As others have indicated, your Kontakt is out of date at v5.1.  Use Native Access to bring Kontakt up to the latest.

And while it's likely not relevant to this issue, you should update CbB as well.

1 hour ago, Mr. Torture said:

The midi for the drums is within superior drummer, I don't think it allows freezing as there is nothing in the actual track.

You freeze the track(s) in Sonar/Bandlab, not within Superior Drummer.   See here.

Also, you didn't respond to gswitz's suggestion about latency monitor.  That's an important tool to help troubleshoot in cases like this.

1 hour ago, Mr. Torture said:

I closed the project and shut the computer down. Next day I worked on the same mix with zero pops or clicks? Weird things computers...

How often do you leave your PC on for?  Rebooting your PC should be a normal part of any DAW user's routine.  If you leave your system on, with project open, for days at a time, it's not surprising there would be issues.

On 6/30/2020 at 2:44 PM, LasRul said:

Hi all,

... UPD: Almost none of the 8.X drivers get recognized at all. ... Could it be that the issue lies not in the drivers but elsewhere? Like I said, the sound is extremely distorted...

One possibility is, PCI card-driven  interfaces work best with the older motherboards.  While the newer boards have PCI slots, they are often bridged, and that can present its own data-streaming problems.  (This is not an absolute, as some newer boards work just fine with PCI-based audio, but it can definitely be a factor).

On 6/20/2020 at 3:59 PM, AndyB01 said:

I purchased the 12 string and no matter what I tried I simply could not get it to work. I could find the VST, fire it up inside the DAW but all the sounds we're missing and nothing I did would resolve it. After a few robust exchanges by email with both AmpleSound and the reseller, I eventually managed to get a full refund. 

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole after that experience, no matter how good it sounds....

What a bizarre takeaway..... There are probably hundreds of users here using Amplesound without any problems. Did you ask for help here or just assume you tried everything so naturally it was a faulty product?

5 hours ago, HIBI said:

Have you tried reinstalling Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2019 (x64, x86), not repair?

This.  To be thorough I suggest uninstalling then re-downloading and reinstalling all of them.  

Try closing Sonar/CbB, then restart using RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR and see if that changes anything.