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mettelus

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Posts posted by mettelus

  1. 53 minutes ago, CJ8073 said:

    So, as you can see the way I've got things; I don't use any plugins on the individual tracks, I run them one at a time through the voice track (when I am exporting them) and then I set the voice bus to output through a corresponding bus for each track where I can tweak the volume at varying amounts a little here and there per track so the end result is that all of the tracks have roughly the same volume.  However, based on the above suggestion from Max, it seems I am doing this a little backwards?  Should I be using the volume control per track to even them out first? 

    The primary reason for normalizing audio to some standard is when using a universal FX chain (from a buss) you want the first compressor in that chain to see relatively the same signal (so the knee is consistent for each track). Many FX have thresholds to them, so that first compressor makes the rest of the FX chain yield a consistent output. You can (and often do) use another compressor/limiter/maximizer on the final result, but there is an audible difference between tracks that were processed properly and those that were not (i.e., if that first compressor did nothing because the knee wasn't triggered and affected the rest of the chain) and just had the volume raised at the end.

    There is no right or wrong for what you are doing, and using a buss has the benefit that you can adjust only one processing chain rather than copying adjustments between tracks. That can be burdensome when the material you are working with is essentially the same anyway and you decide late in the game that you want to change settings. Max's advice on consistent levels is what makes that possible. With a consistent recording setup, you should be able to get away with normalizing a bounced track (once your edits are completed); I habitually will normalize to -3dB since I already set up compressors expecting that signal level, which makes tweaking them simpler.

    Another trick you may not be aware of is Patch Points/Aux Tracks, which let you record the output of your chains to a new track (similar to exporting, but recorded to a new track). It can be quicker than exporting and you can drag/drop those tracks out of Cakewalk  into a Windows folder. Depending on your workflow, this may or may not be beneficial, but something to keep in mind should you need it.

  2. First question is does the audio engine at the top go off and you cannot restart it manually?

    Second is does the bit rate for your device in Windows Sound Settings match the project? You also want "give applications exclusive control" unchecked in properties in Windows.

    If you open another app that uses the same device it may have hijacked the device on you (especially if Cakewalk is back in focus and the audio engine is still off). There are settings in both Windows and Cakewalk audio devices that will causes issues if more than one app sees the device. Sleep/hibernate can also cause this and should never be used when in DAW mode.

  3. A few quick things with narration and long tracks in addition to the above:

    1. Keep your setup and narration as consistent as possible so that variations between sessions are as minimal as possible. Doing a chapter per track is a good way to keep things organized, and you can copy FX chains between them (or run them through a buss), so you can tailor FX as you work and only apply (render) them in a final export when they are set and consistent.
    2. Be sure to always select things properly before editing. This one is important to any workflow, since edits take to what you have selected.
    3. When working with long narration tracks, using something that will insert a visual transient into the wav file (similar to a clap) will make edit locations easy to visually find when editing. I typically bounce each track into a single wav file after level across it is consistent. Pick a standard to work to for all tracks, then the FX chain will also be consistent for them all with minimal tweaking required for final exports.
    4. Another general item is that Cakewalk does not delete audio, so inadvertent destructive edits will still leave the original / prior version in your audio folder. Use track names to define chapters (best habit is to do immediately when creating a new track), then the audio files are also easier to find in case you want to use another wav editor program. This is also why I bounce tracks, so that I will end up with only one wav file per chapter with a proper name. To clean up these audio folder afterwards (they are prone to filling with multiple wavs during editing), it is easiest to do a "file->save as..." to a new folder and select "copy all audio with project." What this does is copies only the audio in use by the project to the new folder, which can help with cleanup when you finish. The original folder will still be there, so can either archive or remove that project folder to your preference.
  4. Another COTS aspect to be wary of is that some of them even have hardware that is proprietary. For users that just use them for "what they are" (target market), they can be okay; but folks who need to tailor a machine, they can become problematic. A lot of machines sold in bulk to companies fall into this category, and are cycled out after 5 years.

    I got a weird call from the IT department 20 years ago saying "We are evaluating workstations and want to see it you can crash it." After the "Um, okay," I went over and it took about 30 seconds, but I told them when you put a stessing algorythm on a computer that has run programs with known memory leaks it will go down. Unfortunately the programs I did that with were commonly used by all engineers at that location, but those issues have since been resolved.

    • Like 1
  5. I loaded the 10 trial on 9/9 so the ticker is running on that. Not had a lot of time to test yet, but did with some tracks I know well. Using "best" to extract stems is far slower that previous versions, and it was actually worse for bleed between guitar and vocal stems than 9 was (so much so that the lead guitar ended up in the vocal track completely in areas). Definitely waiting for a sale on 10 anyway, but need to check out the settings in 10 in more detail before the trail expires (note to self).

     

    • Like 1
  6. If new, another trick specific to the TTS-1/Cakewalk to be aware of is that with no output MIDI device enabled (in Cakewalk preferences), if you open a MIDI file with Cakewalk (right click and "open with" or have Cakewalk set to the default player); Cakewalk will open, add TTS1, and assign the "best match" to each of the tracks (from the normal presets). This is very useful if picking MIDI parts from compositions and/or assigning those to other virtual instruments (can simply reassign the track output from TTS-1 to another instrument available in the project).

    The drop down at the top of the left side of the Track View defaults to "Custom" and needs to be set to "All" to expose the Channel, Bank, and Preset used (for any instrument). Modifications to those are saved with the project (good for default presets), but as mentioned above will not load TTS-1 User Banks automatically.

    • Like 2
  7. Wdf01000.sys is also linked to automatic network discovery. Even with wifi disabled I am not sure if that is still cycling every 4 seconds or so, but worth shutting off anyway.

    There are a truckload of processes set to "automatic" on startup. It can be a grueling task to go through all of those, but a fair portion can be either disabled outright, or set to "manual" so they only start when a program using them is run. Some of those reset themselves to automatic again, so those tend to be pests. With a stock Dell, going through the process list would help but is not a quick endeavor.

    • Like 1
  8. If working with a single track, you can ctrl-drag the right edge of a clip to compress/expand the audio. Not ideal, and gets more difficult with more tracks involved.

    There was an old program called "Riffstation" that was paid for a while, then made free around May, 2018 (there was an unlocked version of v1.6.3.0 posted as a freebie when it was discontinued). I just tried looking for valid links for it, but didn't find one right off. If you are working with one audio track, that has a simple "tempo" knob, along with other goodies to dissect music tracks so you can play along with them.

    This old post has a link in it that seems to still be valid.

  9. Did you check out the link in the log? https://spitfireaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005196074 There is a video on that site walking through the repair on Windows (I inserted the video below). This error message describes exactly what you are seeing... "Error #1 usually occurs when the plugin is unable to load the patches and presets in a library. It may be caused by missing patches and presets, or whenever a library is moved to a new machine and hasn't been repaired."

    That link in your error log is a sub-section of the support page I mentioned above, and focuses on repairing the LABS libraries.

    If you click on "YouTube" in the lower right of the video above, it will take you to the YT video page... he has a link in the comments section about repairing all the LABS libraries (at once).

  10. 7 hours ago, Lord Tim said:

    What I would recommend, rather than trying to solve where everything else, is just uninstall LABS entirely and then reinstall it from scratch, paying careful attention to the installation paths. Make sure Cakewalk is closed before you do any uninstalling / reinstalling, and definitely let it scan for new plugins (if it's not set to auto) after LABS is all back in and installed properly.

    ^^ This is probably the easiest solution for you. IIRC, there was a hiccup with the Spitfire Audio app where one older version didn't automatically prompt an update for itself, so be sure to get the most recent app from Spitfire (in case you kept an older version). To test that re-installation is working properly, I would recommend only downloading one of the LABS libraries, then open Cakewalk and seeing if LABS will insert properly. If it works as expected, you can simply go back and get any other libraries you want from the Spitfire Audio app.

    There is also a list of support topics on Spitfire's Support page for various issues that might be relevant, but try the uninstall/reinstall first.

    • Like 1
  11. On 3/6/2023 at 1:45 PM, T Boog said:

    Btw, I do have a high pass on bass, drums and most instruments so I dont think it's a low freq thing. Also, my soft synths are the same level as my audio tracks so I don't think it's an input recording level issue.

    It is a bit more complex than this, and as soon as you mention "synth" it raises concerns. Each track/instrument should only have its relevant frequency material passed into FX chains. Frequency collisions are commonly countered with slight EQ boosts to instruments that use those, and complementary EQ cuts to everything else (mirror EQ). Another trick is to push colliding frequencies to the sides and leave the focused instrument more center. The goal is to keep frequencies that only add to overall power out of the mix (kills your headroom drastically).

    With synths in particular... presets are often for demo purposes, cover a WIDE frequency range, and are processed internally to no end (so they sound cool solo). As soon as you are mixing a synth, 3-6dB cuts/shelves to anything conflicting with another instrument is advised. Automation can be your friend to bring things in and out of focus as well, but knocking down "extraneous frequencies" (they do add up quickly) gives you a lot more headroom to work with for the overall mix. The "wall of sound" is achieved by filling the audio stage with relevant frequencies that each have their own place so they can be heard. Synths often "take up everything" so be wary of them (especially presets).

    • Like 2
  12. 6 hours ago, bitflipper said:

    I set up my TASCAM DR-07 mini recorder on a mic stand out front.

    Can't you pull monitor feeds from the PA system itself?  Having to deal with all the environmentals is a nuisance, especially those, "Oh crap, sorry I spilled my drink on you! The keyboardist's head flash blinded me there!"

    • Haha 1
  13. 31 minutes ago, Jaden said:

    Unable to find Spitfire.properties - Expected path:  Parent path: C:\Users\Admin2\AppData\Roaming\Spitfire Audio\Settings

    This is the issue. That is where the Spitfire Audio app is telling Cakewalk that it installed the LABS settings. Your issue is with LABS at this point (Cakewalk settings are accurate). A couple things:

    1. Verify the path " C:\Users\Admin2\AppData\Roaming\Spitfire Audio\Settings" in both Windows Explorer and in the "Default Content Path" in the Spitfire Audio app. If the Spitfire Audio app cannot "just install" anything from LABS (at the top), then that path is invalid.
    2. Be sure to use a valid path in the "Default Content Path" in the Spitfire Audio app, and reinstall any LABS instruments you wish to use.
    3. When you open Cakewalk after doing this, it should scan automatically and be fine, but just in case do a "Manual Scan" and "Rescan failed plugins" in the Cakewalk preferences window.

    Cakewalk is running fine, and it only cares about the vst (dll) or vst3 file path. Those are correct from your images above. The issue is in the Spitfire Audio app and that path it is throwing as an error when you try to insert it in Cakewalk (C:\Users\Admin2\AppData\Roaming\Spitfire Audio\Settings). That is the path that LABS is looking for to load its presets/samples.

    Quick Edit: AppData is a hidden folder and may be invisible with Windows Explorer default settings. To make it visible, in Windows Explorer, go to "View->Options->Change Folder and View Options." In that pop up on the "View" tab at the top, check "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" under "Hidden file and folders" and then click OK.

  14. There was a weird news article recently that both Baltimore and Delaware police are offering FREE steering wheel locks for Hyundai and Kia owners since they are the most frequently stolen vehicles (and keeps going up). Left me sort of baffled since 1) that implies Hyundai and Kia have no GPS built into the vehicle (??), and 2) steering wheel locks take all of 15 seconds to bypass.

    I hit that forum bug the other day myself. Editing out an errant "s" in a reply with quotes turned my entire reply into a quote and deleted the quoted material to boot :(

    • Like 1
  15. Cakewalk is only concerned about the vst files, not the presets or samples (those are opened by whichever vst you load into Cakewalk).

    A few things here:

    1. The two entries you made with "Spitfire Audio" in them in Cakewalk Preferences for "VST Scan Paths" can be removed. The others mirror what you have in the Spitfire Audio app, so if installed, Cakewalk will find them.
    2. In the Spitfire Audio app, if you click on the "LABS" tab at the top, be sure you have installed the instrument(s) you want to use. Also be sure that the "Default content path" (on the left in your screenshots above in preferences for that app) are valid paths... those are where Spitfire Audio app is putting the samples.
    3. When inserting a VST Instrument (VSTi), Cakewalk is only opening the instrument itself, and letting the instrument "do its thing" at that point. The simplest method to insert a VSTi is to drag/drop from the Browser on the right edge of Cakewalk (hotkey B opens and closes that). In Cakewalk's Browser you need to first click on "Plugins" at the very top, then "Instruments" directly below that. The Browser will then show which instruments you have installed. Scroll down to "Spitfire Audio" and there should be an entry in that folder for "LABS." Drag and Drop "LABS" to the left side of the Track View into an empty area and you will get the pop up to insert the instrument. To be simpler, select "Simple Instrument Track" in the top left, and then "OK." The LABS instrument should then pop up for you, and you select the instrument/presets from the top of that window.
    • Like 2
  16. If you have never installed it before, Passmark let's you run their benchmarking software free for 30 days IIRC. The reason I mention that is because the only thing that degraded in my old i7-2600K was the graphics card (580 originally and got hot, and I forget what I replaced it with now). Passmark's software will give you good insight on choke points and what is struggling. The graphics card won't help specifically with Cakewalk, but is good to check how things stand in your machine now.

    The 8700K had a nice article about "finally getting the die hard 2600K users to upgrade" when it was released. That model is almost 6 years old now, but what I use. Be sure to consider the costs of options, and if you go with 2600K upgrades, that they will carry forward into a new machine later. Things with a few years under their belt are valid (and cheaper) options in some cases.

    OCing the 2600K helps for mild adjustments, but if you go to extremes with it, it begins to throw page faults and actually performs worse.

    • Thanks 1
  17. No problem. I can be pretty terse if typing on my phone (I hate typing on a phone). CWP files save the location of child windows when they are saved, so if a second monitor was being used for child windows during that save, they will be out of view if opened on only one monitor. I think someone posted a quick trick to reset those to the main monitor a long time ago, but I forget what it was! I have always had to resort to turning the other monitor on as well.

  18. +1, watch the teaser for it at a minimum. MPhatik is more for processing transient material (drums) with the internal FX, but can also restore the dynamic range of that processing (where most FX chains cannot). Of course you can apply it to anything for fun, but transient material is the target use.

    • Like 2
    • Great Idea 1
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