Terry Kelley

For me, the issue is that you are given many options but no real explanation on which one to choose and when. I had to stumble through each one and there are a lot of them. I still think something is amiss but as long as I follow the above recipe, it works. However, adding and deleting tracks would switch it from working to not working depending on various choices.  Cakewalk itself would usually do what you asked for but the authoring software didn't like certain things. And if you are remixing a stereo project, don't leave the original main/master buss on there ...

So it works now but why the weirdness, is unknown. I can export stereo in the WAVE format and be fine but need to use WAV (Microsoft) for surround. Why? Trying to find some detailed info on surround mixing and format was also challenging. This isn't Cakewalk's fault. It's just not common information. Angle, focus, etc. and how they interact. And as you listen, it's not always what you expect or really what the definitions say.

I will say that Cakewalk tools are all pretty easy to work with for surround especially using stereo plugins on the various stereo pairs. Then you quickly learn to not overdo anything.

Any chance you are running a low block size? I was playing some projects and noticed the audio is out of sync if the block size is smaller than 256. Before I could go as low as 32 (needed when recording.)

Curious if you are seeing the same thing.

BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO SELECT WAV (MICROSOFT), NOT WAVE FOR THE FILE FORMAT!

Somebody get a board and beat me with it!

Maybe someone can try this for me:

1. Take a large multi-track project (20 or more tracks if you have one. The more complicated the better.)

2. In Preferences/Project/Surround, select 5.1 Music/Alternative for the Surround Format and point the 6 outputs to your stereo hardware output. On mine I set

- Left to ASIO 1

- Right to ASIO 2

- Left Surround to ASIO 1

- Right Surround to ASIO 2

- Center to ASIO 1

- LFE to ASIO 2

- Apply and close Preferences

3. Insert a Surround Buss and point any audio or simple instrument track to the Surround Buss (on mine I get Surround D, E, or G depending on how many busses you already have.)

4, Go to File, Export, Audio and set:

Source Category -> Hardware output ( I have tried Entire Mix too but it selects both my Surround Main and ASIO Output and you can't deselect either but this doesn't change the outcome.)

Select Surround Main buss in Source Hardware

Select Multi-channel in Channel Format

Set the Sample Rate to 48000

Set the Bit Depth to 24

Enter a file name (Test SS, or something) and click Export.

Do you get the Extra Encoding Option Dialog? I don't.

But if I start with a simple project with one or two tracks, the dialog appears.

I'll send anyone a $1M that tries this. Once I get an extra million.

Even when the dialog doesn't show up, Cakewalk still creates the mulit-track file (I've confirmed it by loading them back into Cakewalk) but some data is missing or the format is wrong.

Terry

Does anyone know what makes the Extra Encoding Option dialog box show up? I have a single track file I'm working with and it shows up when I click on Export. With the same settings and export options, it won't show up on a multi-track file. This appears to be related to the issue of invalid export files. No dialog, no work.

I've been fighting to create some DVD-Audio 5.1 Surround mixes that will work.

1. I created a simple one track project, added an SS bus (Surround D), set the preferences to 5.1 music/alternative, point the single track to the Surround D bus, do some simple panning to move it around the circle and save the project.

2. I go to File, Export, Audio, set to Entire Mix, Multichannel, 48k/24bit. Export to a file. I set the Extra Encoding Option to 16 bit (Default) ... when this dialog shows up ...

3. Load it into DVDA-author. Do a burn, it works and creates an ISO.

4. Repeat step 2. The ISO create fails. Claims the audio is null and the bit depth is 0 and the file has 65535 channels (I assume it's rollover.)

5 Add a track to the project, and re-export. It works.

6. Repeat export with no changes. It fails.

Repeated exports are creating different results with zero changes. Once  file it good, it's always good so it's not DVDA-author being inconsistent. In addition, the Extra Encoding Option dialog doesn't always show up.

What is going on ... Without a DVD-A burn program you can't really test it. I have tried CDBurnerXP and it complained on a bad file too.

Edit: See below. The issue appears related to the number of tracks and the appearance (or lack of) the Extra Encoding Option Dialog

Check the task manager. 50% at idle doesn't mean it's Cakewalk. Might be anti-virus running fast because you ARE idle.

Just a thought.

That would be cool. I need to read more about the differences between DX and VST. I like the Sonitus suite.

I admit that there are times where the mixdown to stereo *appears* to sound different than listening to the Cakewalk playback. But I also think it's a bit of psychology. I had a friend play both Cakewalk and a stereo mixdown and I couldn't identify which one was which.

But there are days ...

Define excessive. I like lots of options but recognize we could get in a situation where things stop working and figuring it out is overwhelming. But I don't know what excessive is.

I really like the Sonitus reverb but it will go all goofy at times especially if you change a setting while playing.  For DX plugins they otherwise work well.

Damn guys, just damn. It just keeps getting better. 🙇‍♂️

30 minutes ago, User 905133 said:

Just in case it wasn't clear, both expressions of "Thanks" were and still are sincere. 

If you thought I was being sarcastic, I wasn't.  

No, just injecting some levity (tm). I'm the guy that posts a question asking where the Play button is. SCook and msmcleod always come through except for the beer part.

Seriously, I took your comments as positive in that (I think) I asked a questions that others have pondered. Not sure why the thumbs down but maybe it was just a misunderstanding. Without faces, words only do half the job and with faces, words get overworked.

It's hard work being this stupid but someone has to do it.

Thanks guys. What I was missing is that I could use a synth output as an input to a audio track rather than needing a simple instrument or midi. In hindsight I had already done this but it escaped me.

11 minutes ago, scook said:

Add audio tracks

Set the audio track inputs to the appropriate synth outputs.

It's just so crazy it worked!!!!!!!

Thanks as always. And I noticed that all of the synth outputs available (if you did track per output or simple) are all there. Never noticed that before. Like a lot of things ...

I'm sure this is answered on the first page of the manual but ...

Is there a way to add tracks to a soft synth outputs after inserting it as a Simple Instrument Track but switching it to multiple outputs?

Scenario using EzDrummer:

1. Insert EzDrummer as a Simple Instrument Track. You get one track.

2. Go into the Mixer and change the Kick output from 1 to 2 .

3. How to I create a track that is now listening to that number 2 output?

Right now I insert a new Ez Drummer with an Instrument Track per output and then copy over the patterns.

Is there another way? I played with Insert Multiple Track using the Midi section but none appear to be pointed to the EzDrummers second output.

Am I missing something?

1 and 2?

1 & 2?

Cakewalk for Windows white.

;0

I got the opportunity to hang out with Mike Pinder several times trying to help him solve a digital recording issue. We got to talking about the recording techniques of the Moody Blue, mixes, etc. On this topic he did say was that Hayward's guitar was often recorded at extreme volume levels to the point that being in the room with the amps was painful. But the sound was great!

re: Replacing Synth

I'm trying to understand something here. I can replace the synth in a simple instrument track, but there is no indication it changed. The only way to know is to split the track and look at the output. When you first insert/create an instrument track, the synth name appears in the track name field. But when you switch the synth, the name field doesn't change. That does make sense in case you renamed the track and don't want to lose it. But in any instrument track you insert, the name of the synth is lost the instant you change the track name.

But other wise, is there any indication in an instrument track that the synth really did change other than splitting it?

And never mind again!

What I would give for a truly white theme ...

Ah ha! See I tried finding Select in the shortcuts some time back and couldn't find it. I assumed it wasn't available. A quick look in Global and there it was. Thanks guys for helping.  It saves a lot of motion.

You can formally remove my demand.

Minor request. It would be nice to be able to filter the Event View directly from that window. Yeah, I know I can click on View->Select but it would be nice to have it directly on the Event View.

Yes, I'm seeing it too. If I try to run buffers under1024 I risk the audio engine generating tons of static noise just sitting idle. During playback it will dropout or generate the static like its a feedback loop.

Nothing has changed in settings or Cakewalk as far as I know. Only the new Windows updates. No wifi, no conflicting audio devices, no mismatched audio bit/depth settings, no other programs running, no new plugins, no ASIO driver changes. The latency monitor says everything is fine but I haven't been able to run it while its generating the static. Sometimes it just stops. Rebooting doesn't fix it. At times it will be fine for an hour with smaller buffers and then go south.

During record, I can still set the buffers to 64 and be OK with FX off. 32 will work if the project is simple with few effects.  But playback now needs large buffers. I am certainly a VST hog and it could be Windows and that colliding now but it's worked for a long time.

At this point I might play with some Cakewalk setting to see if it helps.