Jerry Gerber

1 hour ago, Javadude54 said:

Sometimes I try to close and re-open Cakewalk but the program doesn't launch so I have to use the Task Manager/Processes Tab to close Cakewalk (which is why I have the Task Manager pinned to my taskbar). This has never failed to close Cakewalk. However, I have had problems shutting down the VLC Media Player and the Task Manager/Processes Tab fails to shut it down, but ending the task in the Task Manager/Details Tab will shut it down. So, my suggestion is to see if Cakewalk is active in the Details Tab and end it there.

Yeah, I've tried that (shutting it down from the Details Tab of the Task Manager.)  That's where I get the message "access denied".  I did reinstall Sonar and that seems to have fixed the issue. 

Hi msmcleod,

Native Instruments Kontakt is the only plugin that's being used in the current piece I'm working on and its' definitely 64-bit.  I try to avoid all 32- bit plugins, I don't even have any installed...

The Task Manager is reporting that Sonar is the program that is stuck in memory, I don't see any reference to Kontakt or any other plugins in the Task Manager, but maybe that's normal...

Thanks,

Jerry

Every once in a while Sonar gets stuck in memory and using the task manager to end the task doesn't work.  I tried opening the command prompt and typing:

taskkill /IM Sonarplt.exe /f /t

But I get the message that this program is not in memory (even though it is).  When I go to task manager-details, it shows that Sonar is still in memory and when I click on it to end task, I get a message saying "access denied". When I try shutting down the computer it won't shut down until I do a hard reset.  Then, everything is OK.

Anybody know what's going on and how I can fix this?

Thanks!

Jerry

Thanks people for the comments, glad you liked the composition and the virtual orchestration!

Jerry

2 hours ago, scook said:

Use copy and paste from the context menu

You will need to save the theme under a new name if you are currently using Mercury or Tungsten.

Thanks Skook!

Jerry

Hi Canopus,

I did that, I have the theme editor opened, I went to Control Bar-Modules-tools and I see both the tools as they are and the original tools, but what do I do next?  How do I substitute the originals for the newer ones?  Do I copy and paste?  Drag them?  I cannot seem to do either...

Thank you!

Jerry

Hi,

On one of the themes I use, I'd like to change the Tools Icons back to the original ones, specifically the Smart Tool to the star icon and the Select tool to the arrow icon.

I know a little about the theme editor but not sure how to do this.  Can someone explain how I can revert back to the original icons?

Thanks!

Jerry

Never mind,

I figured it out.

Jerry

Produced in Sonar with the Vienna Symphonic Library.

Listen

Jerry

Scored for medium-large virtual orchestra,  slow, dramatic, dreamy

Listen

Jerry

Thanks people for listening, glad you enjoyed the piece...

SoundBytes magazine did an interview/masterclass with me a couple of months ago.  Here it is, lots of tips for getting better results from your virtual orchestrations:

Read

On 2/15/2020 at 9:23 AM, David Baay said:

This was discussed in the thread below. Ctrl+Right-Click will bring up the context menu without clearing the selection. Affects the PRV as well.

 

I remember  before the last version of Platinum there was a problem with right-clicking undoing the selection, which Cakewalk fixed in subsequent versions. Now, it's broken again.  As I said, new version = new features + new bugs.  It would be hard to believe that having to press CTRL in order to right click was intentional.

Until I find a bug in the last version of Platinum that affects the way I work, why "upgrade"?  Why fix what isn't broken?   Each person uses a DAW a bit differently than others, so for example I wouldn't notice bugs in the PRV because I've never used it in the 30+ years I've been working in a DAW.  The person who doesn't use the notation editor would never notice bugs in that part of the program.   I suppose we all have to pick the imperfections we must live with, as nothing humans do, make or are is perfect...

Well fellows,

I tried the latest version of Cakewalk.   Unfortunately, they degraded the notation editor.  It's now a 2 step process to select a group of notes and perform an operation.

In Sonar Platinum, you select a group of notes, right-click and perform velocity, transposition, note length, etc.   Easy.

In the newest version, you have to select a group of notes with one tool and then change tools in order to right-click and perform an operation on those notes.  that alone is a deal breaker for me since I spend a lot of time using the notation editor.  Unless someone can show me a way to do that in one step, I have no reason to upgrade.

I just finished a new piece in Sonar Platinum using MIDI, audio and softsynths.  If there are any bugs (which of course there are) they had no impact on my workflow. For me good enough is good enough.  My experience with DAW software has been quite consistent over the past 30 years:  A new version adds features, fixes bugs, and creates new bugs.  I've never seen it otherwise.

I'll stick to Platinum as long as I can.  If Bandlab has the time, energy and resources to improve the notation editor, they know how to reach me.  I'd be happy to share my experience.  I am curious though how Bandlab can continue to invest time and energy into new upgrades and still give away such a sophisticated DAW for free.   Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper and DP all cost hundreds of dollars.  How is Bandlab doing this?

Jerry

For SoundBytes Magazine:

Read

A passacaglia is a traditional classical form in which there's a repeating bass line, usually in a minor key and in 3/4, and often slow.  This piece is not in a minor key,  but rather phrygian, and instead of being in 3/4 it's in 9/4, still based on a multiple of 3.   the repeating motive, first heard in the basses and cellos, is used throughout the entire piece. 

Glad you liked it David.

Thanks,

Jerry

www.jerrygerber.com

Here's the last track I produced in Digital Performer, before returning to Sonar after a year and a half.  It's the 4th movement of my 10th symphony that was written for my 14th album.

Listen

Scored with VSL symphonic cube and several soft synths (Dune, Massive, Z3TA and the Yamaha MODX-6).  I hope you enjoy listening.

 Best,

Jerry

How does Bandlab continue to develop and support it for free?  What's the catch?

6 hours ago, David Baay said:

Welcome back,  Jerry! Oldtimers rule! ;^)

It's a good thing I really don't need notation because the triplet issue would kill me. Last night I opened a melody track in Staff View just to watch it play for fun. The whole part is based on eighth triplets, and it was a disaster. 

Actually, 8th note triplets are displayed correctly.  So are 16th note triplets.  Tied and dotted triplets  are not displayed correctly.  Same with 32nd note triplets.  Check your staff view resolution, that's the reason you're not seeing 8th note triplets.

Playback timing of all triplets, septuplets, quintuplets, etc. is flawless.  The problem is a display issue only.  Easy to correct when you export into a notation program whether you export using a MIDI file or an XML file.

23 hours ago, scook said:

Same here, I moved on to CbB.

Glad you got it working.

What is cbB?

When Gibson destroyed Cakewalk I made the decision to move to another DAW, and Digital Performer was my choice as I use MOTU hardware which I'm very happy with.

But after a year and 2 months with DP, I decided to go back to Sonar Platinum.  Here's why.  First of all, there is no "best DAW".  What there is however, is the "best DAW for YOU".

I really missed so much about Sonar:  the sharpness of the text, the beauty and clarity of  the screen,  the ease by which I can move from window to window and the stability of the program.  Particularly under Windows 10, it's running like a champ.  I missed the color-coded event list and the fact that I can see multiple staff views at one time.  I missed how it makes complex operations (like volume envelopes) simple.   Let's face it, DAWs are complex pieces of software.  No DAW that I've tried (Reaper, DP, Cubase, Sonar)  masks that complexity better than Sonar.  The soloing of tracks is a good example.  Under DP it's a mess, very confusing.  Soloing in the track view is different from the soloing in the mix view. That's nuts, it drove me crazy.  Changing layouts and window sets always was sluggish, even with a fast DAW with SSD drives, 32GB of RAM and an i7-9700 CPU and a good graphics card--always sluggish, sometimes taking 3 or 4 seconds just to switch views!  Sonar is instantaneous. 

Obviously Sonar isn't perfect either. It still can't display tied and dotted triplets and 32nd note triplets correctly.  But I can live with this because I create the score in Sibelius anyway.

So what have I been doing lately?  Here's the last track I produced in Digital Performer, it's the 4th movement of my 10th symphony:

Listen

Scored with VSL symphonic cube and several soft synths (Dune, Massive, Z3TA and the Yamaha MODX-6).  I hope you enjoy listening.

I'm sticking with the very last version of Platinum that Cakewalk produced.  If Bandcamp does anything new with notation, I'll consider upgrading.  But for now, I'll leave good enough alone and spend my time writing music.

By the way, on November 26 of last year, my studio flooded during a heavy rainstorm.  I had to remove everything, remove carpets, walls, furniture.  For 8 weeks I had no studio for the first time in 35 years.  Very stressful time.  Now, it's all back after much work, effort and cost.  I am extremely grateful. 

Best,

Jerry

Thanks again Scook,

Opening the Command Center and changing the folders did the trick for me.  I haven't used Sonar in over a year and a half so I'm a bit rusty...

Best,

Jerry

www.jerrygerber.com

Yep!  That did it, thanks a lot Scook.  Weird, though that the themes are now stored in c\users\jerry gerber\documents\z3ta\sonar themes.  You'd think that I'd be able to put them in a more logical place...

Too bad Sonar doesn't let the user choose where to put the themes...

Thanks everyone for replying!   I cannot seem to open the themes in Sonar Platinum (last version before Cakewalk closed down).  I have 10 themes in a folder a c:\Cakewalk Content\Sonar Themes.  I also tried c:\Cakewalk Content\Cakewalk Themes.  The 10 themes are named:

Default 01.sth

Default02.sth

etc.

Yet when go to preferences-customization-themes, these themes are not there!  The only two that are visible are Mercury and Tungsten.  What am I doing wrong?

When I open my themes in the Theme editor they load and I can see them.  But Sonar Platinum can not!!  ;>(

Any other suggestions?  Should I try renaming them?  I tried renaming one theme "test.sth" but that didn't work either....

Thanks!!

Jerry

www.jerrygerber.com

p.s  In Sonar Preferences, there is no folder choice for "themes".  There are folder choices for many other files, including midi, wave and cal files, but no folder choice for themes... urgh!!!

I tried that a bunch of times.  Sonar Platinum (last version Cakewalk made) just doesn't recognize the themes in that folder.  I even reinstalled the program, but it still doesn't seem them.  What could I possibly be doing wrong?

Thanks Scook,

Jerry

Hello,

I am reinstalling Sonar and cannot find the folder to put the themes I have.  I have the theme files (.sth) and have tried about 10 different places, but Sonar fails to recognize where they are.  Can someone please tell me which folder Sonar Platinum (latest version Cakewalk made) these files are supposed to reside in?

Thanks!!!!

Jerry Gerber

www.jerrygerber.com