mettelus

NVIDIA can be taken care of when installing drivers. Always do a custom install and only select the graphics drivers and PhysX options, then check "perform a clean installation" at the bottom prior to the install. In addition to the HD audio, the "GeForce Experience" app does a lot of background processes that will interfere with a DAW. A clean installation with the above options checked should show those not present when it finishes.

There are very few entities (companies or otherwise) that police themselves without some underlying self-gain swaying their ethics. The OP really opens a massive can of worms, but my biggest concern has always been that bad actors love to breach companies with large repositories (and not so they can spam you). Google designed a massive censorship vehicle as its "price" for doing business with China, and didn't pull out until they realized they had been hacked. Anything put on the internet is permanent public record, so always keep that in mind.

Casio has a model series with keys that light up (those keys are not weighted IIRC), and there are also digital pianos specifically geared for learning (Yamaha has a few nice ones, but they are more designed to be set up in one spot and heavy (and not cheap)). If you have a Guitar Center anywhere close, it is probably better to take a jaunt there to see what options are available in a side-by-side scenario. If you are moving it back and forth you definitely want to consider weight and durability (or even a nice, sturdy "Z-style stand with casters" so you can simply roll it back and forth at will). With cats, it is also recommended to get a couple yards of thick fabric off a discount rack someplace to drape over it when not in use (this will keep out not only the hairs, but keyboards can also collect dust between the keys that is hard to clean). If your intent is to eventually get a piano, weighted keys would be preferred, but that will also add weight to the unit (under the sofa might become tedious, hence a stand instead). If you are ever planning to use it to record into a DAW, the MIDI capabilities are something to consider as well. All that said, if you are just starting out, it would be better to go with something simple and see if you take to playing it. That way if it ends up being forgotten under the sofa it won't be a massive issue, but if you take to it like a duck to water, you can always upgrade to something better later (and know exactly what you want/need when you do). The 61-key Casios are fairly inexpensive and light-weight, but there are a lot of options available (why checking out a Guitar Center will help a lot to put things in perspective for you).

^^ Especially with a dynamic setup or multiple inputs available. Windows can play havoc on this as well with RealTek chips (or multiple devices available). Over the years I have gotten into the habit of explicitly making that RealTek chip default so that when an audio interface becomes active that Windows will leave it alone (Windows will lock bit rate and assign it to the first application that uses sound if allowed to "automatically" prioritize devices as well). A quick check on DAW preferences before starting sessions is definitely a good habit to get into.

Ouch, sorry to hear that Bit (he the one with the amp you got him?). The up and down sides of the internet become apparent in situations like this... although convenient, they often find people too far away. I am not sure how the community is there, but here (very rural) folks do a lot of socializing with bands between and after sets, and a fair amount of them are either other musicians or aspiring musicians. If that is an option, it is a good path to try since 1) folks you talk to have already heard you and know what you play, and 2) folks they might think of are most likely local. I know you hike a decent distance for some gigs, but just chatting with folks can give a lot of community insight.

There is a good chance drivers like these will reinstall with updates or re-activate themselves if the driver is still present (what is happening to you). Another approach in Windows is to open "Sound Settings->Sound Control Panel (upper right)" then disable any drivers you do not want Windows to use (you can view the disabled ones by right-clicking in that window and "Show Disabled Devices" if you want to toggle them from there as well). As long as they are disabled in that window, Windows will never expose them to any programs (regardless of them being installed), which is what you are really after. Cakewalk relies on Windows telling it what is available and this will stop that for you.

The "suddenly" part of this stands out. Did you do any specific system or software updates recently? There have also been occasions where updates break things (not as common but they do happen).

That is typically a graphics driver issue. Check and make sure you have graphics drivers updated. Is that issue with all vendors or only one? You may also have Windows libraries missing that the VST is trying to call, but trying to narrow down on specifics.

On mobile, the top bar to navigate back to the main forum page is also 1/2 the height it used to be. I tend to use that often after drilling into forums and is a much slimmer target now. By contrast the back button is huge, and all browsers have a back button built in.

The DAW vendors they are working with are not doing them justice if they are conforming to Soundtoys rather than focusing on Soundtoys conforming to the VST3 spec. Noel might be a better influence on them. The whole wrapper idea was a plague to VST3s when they were first released.

On mobile it is gone, the only buttons that seem to work are the top-level forum buttons as before.

Ample Sound uses internal FX processing which can be turned off and allows you to run external FX chains (amp sims and the like). With that in mind, you can pick and choose instruments to widen recording options. If I were to choose only one electric it would be the Hellrazer (has bass covered), then the acoustic side either the Martin or Taylor and probably the 12 string. Depends on your needs, of course, but getting things dissimilar allows for the most bang for the buck. The freebies alone are quite usable (definitely start there to see how you like their ecosystem).

A good FX chain will also help a lot of lackluster samples. I have become a huge fan of MCharacter early on in those chains on the dryest sound possible (FX chain after that tweak). If upsampling isn't available in the player, Melda has it built in. I have started to shy away from wet sample sets because it limits the ability to tweak them. Not sure if the OP is coming back though...

Two things not to install with NVIDIA: the "experience" package and the "HD Audio." I always do a custom install and uncheck those (only need the graphics and Physx drivers). Performing a "clean installation" at the bottom of that window will also wipe prior installations if previously installed.

Quite true. For critical consumables, hopefully there will always be a local alternative, but can't bank on that. AutoZone got the part transferred next day, but they also have a daily FedEx pattern in place already. The guy was laughing at the store since I had a vehicle disabled due to a $5 part. I left the Amazon order in place just to see how long this takes, but also having a spare on hand might be prudent for the future. In ten years there may be none left.

This actually just bit me this week. I have an old van with the fuel filter canister inside a reservoir (both parts are nigh impossible to find). AutoZone had none in range, so I ordered one from Amazon to save time. Three days later, it is first "delayed" then "if not delivered by tomorrow can get a refund." I called AutoZone again this morning and they said they could transfer one to the local store, probably by tomorrow, maybe Saturday. Not had that happen before, especially for a simple part that disables the vehicle. BUT... AutoZone transfers between shops with FedEx! Will see how long this really takes...

Not sure if this was mentioned, but another aspect for me has been that new features are less and less exciting as time passes. I stopped upgrading some software even before the pandemic hit. The old version still does what I need, and I tend to be critical of things that waste my time (updating software falls into this bucket for me). I still default to Adobe Audition 4 (c. 2011) as a wav editor for many things (especially batch work) just for its speed and functionality, so Adobe was the first vendor kicked to the curb when CC was released. After I got the MCompleteBundle a while back, unless an FX vendor can do something Melda cannot, that vendor isn't even considered. Some aspects just boil down to procifiency with the tools you have can be far more important to getting the job done. While you cannot hammer in screws effectively, you certainly can pull screws with a wrecking bar in short order to get to the next phase of the job at hand.

^^ Also be sure to log into your account when looking at prices to see your member discount. The discount ramps up pretty fast when buying things in sets of 3 (almost to 50%), then the discount tapers off the more you buy (peaks at around 63% if you get everything at once). I posted a graph of that several years ago, but found it in this post from 2019.

My first question back to the OP would be, "What are you using now?" As mentioned above, there are actually a lot of free (or even cheap) options that may be a quantum leap over what you are using now. Second question would be, "How many songs are we talking about here?" If this is something you will be doing going forward, it is well worth getting acquainted with better libraries and planning/budgeting accordingly; but if not, the free/cheap alternatives may be sufficient. Even then, you may need to get acquainted with the free/cheap ones to know their pros and cons before upgrading further so you know the gaps you need to fill.

Did you try getting it from the app itself in Options->Check for Updates? That seems to be the most painless from my experience (but of course the app has to be installed).

No one EXCITED about "PreSonus Sphere" being renamed/rebranded "Studio One+"?? Come on... that is original!

The Browser panel to the right of the track view also has a "Plugins" tab at the top. In that picture it is set to "Media," but it is often quicker to drag/drop from the browser (default hotkey B will open/close the browser to give you more viewing space) than to use menus.

Scaler 2 also has some features that are not "obvious," so learning the GUI and functions to their full extent may need to come from reading the manual or tutorials. Transitioning between chords and using voicings can assist greatly for how a piano player would get "from here to there." I have primarily been using Scaler 2 to add tracks to existing songs, so I have been using it to build performances more via drag/drop to a separate MIDI track, then editing nuances in the PRV. Some of the performances are close, but for sheer speed the final track is easier to build that way rather than try to "shoe horn" Scaler 2 to fit perfectly (which it will not in some of these cases).

Ugh, I usually read the forums to wind down before bed, and they lit up almost all the forums with that crap tonight.

The quality of the cable is also important, and the capability of the hardware also can come into play. The issue with longer runs is usually not signal degradation, but a "time out" threshold is triggered by the hardware. Focusrite technical support could give you better details (as well as an absolute max), but recommendations are typically nominals rather than limits.