GreenLight

18 hours ago, John Vere said:

That’s a feature I’ve used for a long long time. I am constantly switching between the 2 modes as I work. I can’t see not having that feature. I noticed in Movie maker the space bar always returns to where you started but the Enter key stops where you are.  

I tried switching between them, but I could never remember which state I was in and constantly pressed the wrong combo. So I had to settle for one permanently (space = rewind).

Good find! 👍 I've been using spacebar in the "jump back to start"-mode for some time and find it very useful. But it takes some time getting used to... 😅

The switch shortcut is actually one of the shortcuts that are displayed in the menu (not all are!):

10 minutes ago, scook said:

I did but stopped after a couple tries; figured you had your reasons for the transposition.

😂😂

PVR used to be Personal Video Recorder, if I'm not mistaken. Good to avoid that potential mixup...

I'm guessing they're working on a new Hi-DPi compatible GUI! 💡

Unfortunately, "Archive track" isn't available as a command for keyboard shortcut. This is something I have been missing for years!

I posted a feature request for this in the previous forum years ago... but you inspired me to do so again here. See below!

 See

It would be great if you could please make the command "Archive track" available for keyboard shortcut assignment. 😄⌨️

Thanks for a great product!

A small humble bump so maybe one of the devs will see this. 😊

Hi all!

Every time I enable MIDI sync ("Transmit MIDI Start/Continue/Stop/Clock") Cakewalk just exits, with no warning. What I do: I start a blank project and straight away go to Preferences and enable the setting as per the screenshot below.

• It doesn't have any effect whether I actually have a synthesizer connected to the MIDI port or not.
• I'm running Cakewalk 2022.11 Build 021
• The MIDI port belongs to my PCIe card RME HDSPe AIO

I have minidumps saved for a developer to look at. (I had a shot at loading the minidump in WinDbg Preview myself and found the error code 0xc0000005... 🤔)

Is it better to post about my crash problem here or should I submit a request here?

See screenshot below for the setting that causes the crash when I enable it:

Thanks a lot for any help!

19 hours ago, Base 57 said:

A relatively inexpensive way to add hardware FX to a studio rig is the Behringer XR12 ($419 at Sweetwater). Sure, it is actually a digital mixer, but it works great as a multi-channel FX unit. 12 inputs, 6 outputs 4 separate FX channels, and has dynamics and EQ on all inputs and outputs.

Good suggestion, looks neat and basically in a rack format! Although I try very hard to keep my studio as lean and small as possible, to minimize time spent on tech troubleshooting (this is contradicted by my recent Moog purchase 😂)...

15 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

At 44.1K/256 buffers, the delay is about the same as being 6’ away from a sound source, just factoring the speed at which sound travels. MIDI itself has its own delays.

My system is based on an i7-6950X and I have no special issues with latency delays, but I also have even older systems with even less CPU power that also have no trouble. The code that makes up the heart of Cakewalk goes back many years, and itself tends not to challenge older hardware. The most punishing use is hosting plug-ins.

The thing to watch out for is individual plug-ins that induce further latency. I find that to make a more perceptible difference than where my buffers are set (as long as they’re 768 or under). If I want to have “comfort” FX while tracking (as opposed to ones I want to print), I make sure to use FX that don’t add latency (the Sonitus suite is light on CPU use, as are the Dead Duck FX, Kilohearts Essentials, and MeldaProduction FreeFX bundle processors, all free to use) and I add them to individual tracks, not buses. Then I can use whatever I want when mixing and latency is not an issue.

I can track live guitar through VST FX just fine, but not all VST FX. The ones that are made for processing guitars tend to induce less latency delay. No “trash can slap back” unless of course I want that. 😄

So if you’re getting audible latency that affects your ability to play in sync, and that latency goes away when you bypass all effects, try re-enabling them one by one and take note of which one(s) cause the latency. (And be sure that you stop and start your transport each time you disable/enable an effect to give Cakewalk a chance to recalculate delay).

Thanks for your extensive reply @Starship Krupa! Good points about plugin-specific latency.

To test the effect buffer size has on latency, I started a blank new project, I put a WAV bassdrum loop on one track and another with MIDI notes for my hardware, triggering a short plucky sound. With input monitoring on, and no VST effects, the MIDI hardware sounds start in total sync up to a buffer of 128 samples. At 256 samples it sounds a little off already.

My projects always require a buffer of 256 or more, I guess I'm taxing my 8th generation Intel Core i7-8700K too heavily, even with my PCIe RME HDSPe AIO soundcard. Running 20-25 VST instruments plus probably about 100 effects is not unusual for me.

But! 💡 I just found the control bar button "Override automatic plug-in delay compensation on live inputs"! I've used Cakewalk for 20+ years, but I've never really had to deal with input monitoring and latency, so I feel like a total newbie again. 😂This button (called "Live Input PDC Override" in the manual, p367) feels like the solution! When I enable it, my external MIDI hardware suddenly sounds in sync with my existing Cakewalk tracks AND I can utilize VST effects on the input monitoring!

But there must be a catch!? 🤔

20 hours ago, John Vere said:

It’s true and no doubt about it ITB and all the toys is basically almost free. As your finding out hardware is still a lot more fun but it can grow and grow into a monster.

Haha, true! Working ITB really saves you from the headaches of integrating (one or multiple) external boxes... 😅

20 hours ago, John Vere said:

My son has a buch of crazy hardware stuff including some sort of moog looking one and it’s all hardware no computer it seems to be linked together through a controller/ drum machine gizmo that sync everything up. It pretty amazing what happens when you move knobs and sliders and hit different pads. Play a little riff on the keyboard and go off into space. Too much fun.   

Cool! 👍 I kinda envy those fully OOTB people, but I'm too much of a control-freak to leave the DAW...

3 hours ago, John Vere said:

Are you using this for live performance?  As in playing a hardware synth live and just wanting to use VST effects to morph sounds?  
 

No, it's purely for studio work, trying to write and jam with the hardware synthesizer along my VST instruments and audio tracks.

The story is, I finally got my first analog synthesizer, a Moog Subsequent 37. It's a beautiful instrument, so inspiring! ❤️ But it has no built-in FX, and it really thrives with some FX added. Just playing solo, it sounds terrific with some VSTs in Cakewalk. But using the same setup, trying to sync an arpeggio or sequencer to (existing tracks in) Cakewalk, seems impossible.

So to get super-low latency while jamming along my Cakewalk projects, I think I just need to get an FX pedal with some suitable reverb and delay. Maybe a Ventris or Strymion or something.

Sheesh, going the hardware-route is a really slippery slope! 😬

3 hours ago, Andres Medina said:

I agree.

Anyway, you can get almost unnoticeable delay nowadays, but it requires a powerful system, and proper configuration. Try reducing your driver configuration settings to 128 samples or even less if your system/projects allows it.

True! My DAW build is 4 years old, based on an Intel Core i7-8700K. I use a lot of soft synths and most of the time have to use a 256 or 512 sample buffer when mixing. Maybe I ought to upgrade?

Thanks for your input, @gustabo! Yeah, I kinda figured... Will look into effects pedals!

Hey all!

After being ITB for 10+ years I'm back to using some hardware again, with the classic monitoring and latency issues. 😂

Is there any way I can compensate for the latency that is introduced when monitoring external hardware synths with VST effects? Can I use the Cakewalk external hardware insert plugin (if yes, I didn't understand how) or something else to get it synced?

Or is it just asking for trouble, and I should get an external effect pedal for my synth?

Thanks!

UPDATE: The solution, as I figured out further down, is to enable control bar button "Override automatic plug-in delay compensation on live inputs"! (a k a "Live Input PDC Override"). This eliminates the latency caused by PDC on audio input channels where you are monitoring with VST effects. It makes it possible to sequence MIDI hardware in Cakewalk while monitoring the results via external effects and to have that in sync with existing tracks! 😃 🎵

This would be nice, as they are still very useful!

It would be great if the MIDI Chord Analyzer could have an option to show chords with flats instead of sharps.

A bit similarly to my recent request of an indicator when tracks are hidden, there are some other aspects of Cakewalk where changes can remain hidden in plain sight.

It would be very useful if changes made in Offset Mode were clearly indicated in Envelope Mode. Probably most importantly volume, but it would be very useful for all other supported properties as well.

As it is now, you don't know if a certain property is being changed via Offset Mode unless you switch over and look for it. It is very easy to forget about Offset Mode changes entirely... 😬

Concept art for this feature request below:

Orange would indicate that this portion is the result of an offset from Offset Mode.

1 hour ago, msmcleod said:

You might be pleasantly surprised in the next release.... and it's much more than an indicator.

Woho, sounds terrific! I'm a really curious cat now! 😃

Brilliant ideas, I love everything that enables more keyboard shortcuts! ❤️

On 3/5/2023 at 4:27 AM, Starship Krupa said:

It looks like Radiator has an "output" knob, is that not a true output trim?

Yeah, anything that can change the level needs some way to control the output.

I use kHs Gain, which is part of Kilohearts' free Essentials bundle. If you don't already have this bundle, I highly recommend it. A collection of 31 useful mixing and creative FX. Before Kilohearts came out with kHs Gain, I used BL Gain.

I also like to put an instance of kHs Limiter on synth tracks when I'm auditioning patches. Keeps loud synth sounds from slamming the meters.

About the Radiator output knob: I thought for long it wasn't a "true" output knob, but re-reading the manual now I guess it actually is. 🙃 What fooled me is that the VU meter shows lower levels when dialing back the output knob, and since the VU meter indicates how hard you drive the unit (or does it?!) I thought it simultaneously dials back the effect. But maybe it isn't? (It's interesting that the manual also notes that the output knob is also a source of overdrive/distortion, so that will obviously not be available if you reduce it.)

Good tips about Kilohearts' bundle, will definitely look into it! 👍 Yeah, I also sometimes place limiters on my synth tracks for safety. Often also a compressor on the audio preview bus for the Browser, when previewing loops (for melodic techno) that can be loud/harsh.

I rarely hide tracks because I constantly forget them if I do.

So, my suggestion is for a "Hidden tracks" indicator is placed somewhere, that would light up when tracks are hidden. Exactly like Excel does in the status bar when a view is filtered. This will remind you that there are... hidden tracks.

On 3/2/2023 at 10:39 PM, Starship Krupa said:

Sure. One of my favorite uses is for reality checking plug-ins or chains of them that boost level. Everything sounds better louder, so it can be hard to tell if my processing is really doing something good or if I'm being seduced by a simple level boost. It doesn't help that so many plug-ins' presets toss a bit of boost in there.

Yes, that's a good practice. 👍 And I'm annoyed by processing plugins without output trim controls (Soundtoys Radiator, I'm looking at you!).

What do you use for Gain/Trim?

15 hours ago, scook said:

Of course, Channel Tools may be used for this. 

An empty FX chain can also work.

 

The BC Audio Gain Suite provides a couple of extra features such as the ability to place the plug-ins in groups and very large gain adjustment. 

BC has alternate skins for the plug-ins.

Thanks, very good points, scook! 👍 I'll look into the skins, the default isn't very sexy... 😆

As there was some discussion about gain staging techniques... do you guys use Gain/Trim plugins? I've managed well without those for decades, but recently realized that they can be convenient for making easily reversible (and visible!) changes between versions. But mostly I guess people use them to compensate so that they can set their faders at zero, where they have higher resolutions.

As far as I know, there is no Gain/Trim plugin supplied native with Cakewalk, right? (Maybe Channel Tools could do it...?)

I downloaded Blue Cat Audio's Gain Suite some time ago, which is free and works well but maybe looks a little dated.

On 1/12/2023 at 9:51 PM, Transcendent Thots said:

...even if all you have is a mouse and a dream.

This must be one of the best computer-related quotes ever! 😂🖱️

On 1/12/2023 at 10:13 PM, scook said:

See Snap to Scale

I have never used this, I barely knew it existed! Thanks scook!