mettelus

1969 R-Code Mach I. I actually worked with a guy for 3 years before I even realized he had one. He only wanted 40% of what it was worth at the time, but a friend of his talked him out of selling it Then to add insult to injury, I am following a tow truck going up I-81 near home less than a year later towing one (not R-Code though). As I get closer to it, he had written on the back window, "This is why to be nice to your brother-in-law. He might give you a '69 Mach I!" Oh wait... MUSIC gear... hmmm... I am good.

This is the most concerning part of your post. Have you overclocked your machine at all? I have a Corsair cooler and had to disable the Corsair LINK 4 app because that was actually tweaking the UEFI on its own and setting targets well above what the CPU was capable of (like 5.3GHz) even if it had been delidded, which it is not. The machine was cycling high and low like a roller coaster till I disabled that app. Every time it took off the fans would kick on in about 3 seconds. Based on that experience, check to see if you have a cooler app running. After disabling that and giving control back to the ASUS MOBO, I have had no issues. I picked up on that by checking the UEFI manually, and it kept getting changed to a value I had definitely not set for it. For me, that bun file unpacked and loaded in about 2 seconds, saved as a cwp, closed and reloaded, and was the same.

You certainly could do that, sure, but if you are going to do any post-production, then the baked track is superfluous (you have to run the FX bin anyway to record the other track). There is nothing stopping you from running FX over and over on the same audio, when tracking, mixing, etc.

I would personally be hesitant to bake FX into the recorded audio (i.e., using a patch point), but some audio interfaces have FX built in and will allow you to pass those to the DAW (rather than the raw audio). I am working with someone on with their audio recording projects, so can pass on some quick advice from that. Input side (very important to work this out before any FX parts): A large diaphragm condenser will capture the most, but also has its own associated "clean up," but this can be done with a simple FX chain. For a condenser, check rotation of the microphone with it armed (i.e., sound checking to see where the mic reacts best for your setup). For this application, a 60 degree rotation (yes, I said 60) mitigated a massive amount of sibilants, so the post-production became minimal. Always do a sound check before starting (arm, input echo on, FX bin disabled). Using something with decent level plosives is a good routine, and those should just peak into the orange (will give the best signal-to-noise ratio for what is recorded without clipping). Once there is a good grasp of this for your situation, the post-production FX get lighter and lighter with experience. FX side (FX bin): This may or may not be feasible depending on latency, but if possible, you can turn on the FX bin while recording. This still records the raw audio to disk, but you will hear very close to a "final" render. By not baking in these FX, you can still tweak them in post-production. The FX "typically used" are: Noise Gate: set below vocal level, fast attack, medium release. This is to catch the noise floor only. EQ: HPF somewhere in the 100Hz range. This is to remove the low end before compression. Compressors: 2 were used in this case because the plosives were so strong. First was set to catch plosives, high threshold (~15-20dB), 4:1 ratio, fast attack/release, and very little makeup gain (around 2-3dB). This was just to mitigate the plosive peaks. Second was for the core vocal, medium threshold (~25dB because the first raised the entire track), 2:1 ratio, fast attack, slower release, a bit more makeup for this one. Another EQ to tailor the result, mostly used as a de-esser. Setting the FX chain initially is best after recording a track, then you can tweak it better to a "very close" setting for your voice. Also be sure to save this as a track template as you build/refine it, then you can simply insert your template, sound check, and take off recording. For the above situation, they do not have access to paid plugins, so I went with Sonitus Gate, TDR Nova, and TDR Kotelnikov. These are all free, but also light on the CPU hit, so "should" be able to be used while tracking. I would shy away from any of the CPU-hungry plugins available if you want to use them when tracking.

There is no real complexity to a gate. It is simply a threshold trigger, volume reduction when enabled, and how fast it opens or slams shut (attack/release). A default of around -50 to -55dB is usually good in most cases with a fairly hefty reduction when closed, quick opening (fraction of a millisecond), and slow to close (roughly 200-300ms or even longer so notes decay naturally). Just about every amp sim I can think of has a noise gate built in, but even the built-in Sonitus Gate will perform that function.

Just posted the same thing in another thread... only the version is an upgrade, the dot releases are included in each version. Studio One historically releases the version every 2 years (paid upgrades), with the .5s on the off years (they are free). SO Pro ends up being around $60 a year to keep updated (always a sale on that upgrade somewhere for around $120 every other year).

That seems to slip under the radar for folks, but historically the "upgrades" come every 2 years (whole version releases), with the .5 releases on the off years. Only the whole numbers matter for "buying" the upgrades, but the .5 releases on the past 3 versions have had some heavy hitters in them.

There are tab sets at the top for product groups as well as installed and update pages. Has been that way for a while now.

I guess I should have watched that video before I even started. It never occured to me about new project templates or demos (nice bonus), I just grabbed the first old project that came to mind.

Hey Dana! Wow, long time, no see here. I hope you are doing well! I need to take a look at that video still, but I have not delved into using surround for probably 10 years now. Back then, surround files were truly MASSIVE (over 1MB per second), so I am curious how size and format capabilities are measuring up these days. I have been eager to see this hit more main stream as well, since so many people have surround systems that are doing little more than manipulating a stereo image on the back speakers to "fake" surround rather than actually using it. Gaming engines have taken advantage of this for years (on the playback side), by simply using mono sources and applying distance (dB level) and direction (panning) to get that immersive 3D effect. Pretty simplistic from that perspective. I am still not sure on the best playback mediums for using surround work, but I exported what I just did messing around and VLC Media Player played it back flawlessly. I went with a wav format (still rather huge), so need to explore that further. Then there is the added fun of "collapse to stereo" that I never really thought of before. For things you have done, the surround will definitely add ambience to things for you.

This is interesting, since I didn't catch it sooner, but Studio One used to play back no audio if a surround device was connected to it. If I happened to be working with Windows Audio, I would have to back out and set the system up as stereo then come back in. The system has been set up with surround and I never noticed (maybe a fix with SO6, but not sure here?), BUT I was still using it in stereo. I went in specifically for this piece, and you first need to have a surround system connected, then go into Studio One->Options->Audio-> Song Setup (at the bottom of that page). In the "Spatial Audio" tab, you can choose a Mode of "Surround" or "Dolby Atmos." My system doesn't support Dolby Atmos, so I used Surround, and then simply choose your system (5.1 for me). From there, automation lanes need "direction" added if you want to control pan, and if you want something to pass BEHIND you, it requires another two nodes (vertically added) to go from right to left right behind you. This is because the top/bottom of that automation lane are both directly behind you (i.e., you need to go right->behind (at the top of the lane), vertically jump to the bottom of the lane, then from behind you (bottom of the lane)->left). I actually have a piece that is more like a back-and-forth interaction, so having the other person pacing around (even going behind me) during that is rather nice.

Quite a massive investment into the surround sound world there. Makes me wonder if movie studios are starting to switch now.

True, but that would also require competitors to play nice in the sandbox. You do not see that very often anywhere in life.

Also, please consider taking a look at the Piano Roll View (PRV) mentioned above. When working with virtual instruments (VSTi), many focus their work in that view since it provides easy visual and editing access to the note information that is driving the VSTi. Recording (and editing) in that view will allowing you to capture, modify, and add performances (notes), especially with a mouse when you get into fine editing. Each time you run the transport (hit play/space), Cakewalk is using those notes to play the VSTi(s) you have set up. It is a very complex tool (many, many functions to it), so is something to get familiar with. There are some folks who compose exclusively in that view, and it can be set up to allow you to edit tracks while viewing data in others, which is efficient for building harmonies, etc.

Can you expound on this a little bit please? When you say: do you mean audio that was recorded from your keyboard? MIDI data is only note information, so if you recorded audio from your keyboard that information is not captured (so cannot show up in the PRV). Most keyboards allow both audio and MIDI data to be recorded (highly preferred going forward), but if you have only recorded the audio, other solutions mentioned above are options. You can also try dragging/dropping your audio track onto a MIDI track (if you have Melodyne installed), which will also give you the MIDI notes, but realize that is not always 100% accurate. If that conversion does work, the PRV on that new MIDI track will now have note data for you to see.

Do you have a controller connected? There are snap (and latch) features available, but I have not used them often enough to know where to check them offhand. Hopefully someone will chime in on that specifically. @Promidi had the answer about the audio.

Another thing to check with TH3 when used on an audio track is that the In Source (Master button at the top, then In Source on the left). If actually used to a guitar (mono input) that should be set to match (often the left channel in most cases). It defaults to "Stereo" which will nerf the output in that situation because the missing input is still considered. Be sure inputs are routed properly, and as Byron mentioned, TH3 is an audio FX (it should be on the audio track associated with your VSTi output).

Carl has a good point, and that is something I try to remind folks with subscriptions. If you are making revenue from it, then it is a little different than it falling into the "entertainment" bucket (disposable income). I know a lot of business owners who use Adobe CC to make their business function, but folks who are not going to pull revenue from its use need to weigh its "value" to them. Granted, there are a lot of expensive hobbies out there, so much of this simply falls into "to each, his own." Switching gears (pun intended), I worked next door to a pair of guys into drag racing that were talking about filling an engine with concrete before use (one of the fads there). I just chuckled and said that is a pretty expensive and time-intensive venture for 15 seconds of use, but whatever.

I have never used Cubase, but it has the reputation for being the best for MIDI. I pretty much use a DAW as a glorified, digital, multi-track recorder, so a lot of "new features" are not going to get used by me personally. One piece of advice I have been giving folks is to pay attention to support for VST3 and ARA/ARA2 (the new kids on the block, and needed to use third-party VST(i)s), and one needed Track Templates for their workflow. I had joked with them and said all they would "need" is SONAR X3, but the real problem is getting your hands on a copy. I still use Adobe Audition 4 (from 2011) as my default wav editor as it is quick, one of the best SRCs, batch processing, and built-in iZotope plugins (from 2011, mind you). Studio One 6 didn't introduce anything special for me, so SO5 would be more than adequate; but again, how to get a copy of an older version. Younger generations are in a bad place with subscriptions becoming the standard. Unfortunately, folks who were 15 when the last Platinum version was released probably do not have a copy to "fall back on."

Do you have access to a computer/DAW? If you rename a ".cwb" file to a ".wav" file, it just daisy-chains all the tracks together. Here is a very old post on the format, but if you have access to any DAW, you can split the tracks apart that way.

A friend in high school cracked me up saying similar when I was at his house once. I totally forgot what the subject was leading to it now, but distinctly remember him standing up and saying, "That's it! I am running away. I will be back when I am hungry!"

I use a VPN and clean the registry often enough that it locks out the Product Portal (comes up blank). The way to force that into a log-in cycle is to hold down the SHIFT key when launching the Product Portal. I basically have to log in every single time now; it does not remember anything. Quick Edit: I got that "blocked" message at one point too, and the shift-launch reset that as well. The account wasn't "blocked," it was the Product Portal settings.

That is a good point. My initial take on that was there was no endorsement or gratuities associated with them.

It is not an overly complex plugin either, so not a lot to update there. It just does what it does. The only "nuisance" with it is that it introduces noise even with the transport stopped; one of those things to be aware of before you start troubleshooting your audio interface.

Boy, the very last line in that article is rather painful... "And there are big-name players who don’t play them onstage, but on their records, you hear them."