Toddskins

Last night I bought the updates and upgrades of 4Front's TruePianos which includes 4 new modules (Atlantis, Diamond, Emerald, and Sapphire) and brought the old version I had of v1.5 up to v1.9. I had the base module in X3 Producer called "Amber". The updates all took on X3 Producer, but they are not being recognized in CbB. I did rescan of plugins the same way in both applications. I circled in red on the images the latest version number and you can see the installed modules in both apps. I don't know why CbB won't accept the updates. Can anybody suggest a solution?

Oh. No. That's from a MIDI file I found on the Internet of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's song, and deleted all the other instrument tracks and separated the piano track into Left and Right hands to isolate the piano. Tokyo, eh? Whatchya doin' in the Far East?

No, I do not own any high-end piano samples as of yet. I've been listening and comparing numerous companies' samples on their sites and via Youtube, and the Sweetwater piano VST shootout. I do own Addictive Keys, Cakewalk's True Piano, and an old Young Chang made for my Kurzweil. I want to start recording my own compositions and hope that whatever sample I end up with, will have enough of that "sound" to inspire me with a smile inside.

Well if you could record that MIDI file with Ravenscroft 275, perhaps tweak it to what you think is its bright side, that would be great of you. And even if you don't tweak it, hearing the Ravenscroft played in a ROCK fashion would help me to understand its capability.

If you would, you could use this MIDI file of "Benny the Bouncer" by Keith Emerson, that would capture all the nuances that I would be able to analyze. Benny the Bouncer Piano.mid

That was nice of you to do for me, Michael. Would you mind doing a recording again of some faster Rock riffs in the low and middle registers, like Billy Joel's "My Life" with the alternating bass notes in the left hand, or his Prelude to the Angry Young Man so I can hear if the notes will get bright the way I prefer? That's part of the reason I'm considering their Truekeys collection because the Steinway "American Grand" sounds more like what I am after, BUT it lacks something, I think. I much prefer bright sound, but it cannot be too BRIGHT. It must have depth, too. It has to have a character that I personally know what it is, but cannot find it any longer. The best sound, via internet demos, that capture that sound I am looking for is the inexpensive Waves Rhapsody, but they did not record it with release samples and it's so very annoying to hear the sound cut off instantly when the note is released. Huge mistake on their part. And that other one, by Wavesfactory called Mercury does have release velocities, but did not do enough with the mic placements and it somehow seems duller than the one done by Waves, even though they both recorded the same piano. I think Mercury sounds a bit distant in its natural state, like reverb is on in the raw recording. These companies with their great engineers, keep choosing pianos they think are "it", but I keep shaking my head. "They go through all that effort, and yet chose the wrong piano" is how I think all the time. I've never liked Yamahas.

After a LOT of research and listening to sound files and watching videos, am deciding that the Ravenscroft and also their TrueKeys collection of 3 pianos, seem to me the way to go. What do you mean by "a bomb"? Good or bad? I wrote the VI Labs company and asked if they are going to implement a sale again and they wrote back yesterday saying they are about to do a summer sale so I should keep checking their website.

Practically weekly for me in parochial grade school. My mom joked, "Next time say, 'Hello wall, it's me again.' "

I know the above is a bogus rant. So be easy on me. I figure there is probably a way to edit spliced audio tracks in a way that makes them smooth, that could be beneficial. A different way of doing what filters already do, right? Or if they had taken the time to present an actual example of how to take the too loud "thump" out of the bass being played, kinda like a de-esser (?) or pops out of a vocal, that could be useful. VERY Specialized training will be coming, right?

From the 100% complete lack of an audio demonstration, that seems to me like a complete waste of time. Steinberg could also have called this tool "Microsurgery on Sound" or "Micro Cosmetic Surgery for your Sound". STOP NOW if you are not interested in my rant to follow! It's like Photoshop for the person who loves photography, but most photographers do NOT want to learn a computer and the myriad of editing tools to show off the image he got on his camera. In my youth I loved being a photographer for the school newspapers and yearbooks. But if I was told back then that I would have to become an expert in an image editing program on a computer to show off my action shots taken at the soccer field, I don't think I would have done so. Photography is one thing. Photoshop is quite another. At one time I loved taking photographs. 20 years ago I attempted to learn Photoshop and bought a couple books on it, but it was too difficult. My love for photography got affected by the difficulty of what I was being presented with (you need to know both nowadays to do the job of photography). The number of people using their DAW who have no classical music training, no ear training, no understanding of music theory, are now presented with an audio palet visual that takes you into the Sci-Fi zone. Millions of people who play with synthesizers, but have not a clue on how to produce a great tone, let alone how to play a great song with it, is who this spectral editing will appeal to, is my bet. Do any of us have a clue as to how, what, when, where to begin dissecting sound at that molecular scale? Okay, perhaps there are a few people in the world who might make use of this, and when they speak about what they did to a sound and changed it's timbre in some interesting way, the rest of us will be in awe. Or not. Listen to what that person did to a sound, and then listen to the song he never created, with no rhythm, no melody, etc., and you get my idea. Have a nice day!

Thanks for that post, Warren. When I was impressed with the Sennheiser HD 6xx at Sweetwater I asked 3 of their employees and finally got one to take a more serious interest in me - I asked them, "Is there a preamp behind the wall that is driving the Sennheisers which have a 300 ohm rating, because they sound almost as loud as the others?" They were all pretty convinced that there was not an additional piece of equipment behind the wall, but they said "Let's test". And we were able to pull the cords out and plug the 1/8" plugs of a few of the headphones on their wall into my smartphone which has my entire CD library on it as MP3s. The Sennheiser HD600 still sounded great, but were not as loud (finally) as the 32 and 55 ohms of a couple others. So when I asked a question on Gearslutz on the Sennheiser thread, and explained that I will be using the headphones primarily coming out of the headphone jack of my Mackie CFX-12 Mixer, another user of the HD650 told me that he does not use a preamp and that the signal coming out of the headphone jack of his Mackie Onyx mixer board is plenty. He told me he seriously doubted I would need a separate amp, but "buy them first and try before laying out the money for a headphone amp." Warren, here's my question based on what you just posted, as I too do not understand electronics much: Is there a number I can gather from my Mackie Mixer owner's manual to know how much power will be coming out of the headphone jack, or is it based on which power amplifier (primarily a 100W per channel into 8 ohms) I am using and can you tell me what number on the amplifier I might be able to use to ascertain if my headphone out will have the amount of level I am hoping to have? Basically, how does one determine the power signal (right lingo?) coming out of the headphone out to drive a 300 ohm impedance cans?

I must say that this made sense and I was quite taken with your post. To further understand how to utilize your advice I searched and found a video addressing this very thing for Cakewalk, along with a bit of what Lord Tim wrote about using a Delay, too, but this does not cover sidechaining of that. If perchance there are others who want to learn as I just did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPZl39yIcjM

Just because I can compose on piano and synths, doesn't mean I know a darn thing about professional mixing. And so I have 2 or 3 nube questions I hope the pros will answer: 1a) Is reverb (or delay) supposed to be used at the end of the chain, i.e. Master Buss, so as to create a single atmosphere for everything, or can you use different reverbs with different amounts on various tracks? 1b) If different reverbs and amounts are used, does that cause the end result "atmosphere" to be kinda improper, like competing room atmospheres??? 1c) What if each individual instrument track "needs" it's own program reverb to get the sound you like when using it solo -- can you use the instrument the way you like it best (i.e. with added reverb), or should you turn off the reverb of all the instruments, so that you can then add it in at the end of the chain once and have everything sound like it was recorded in one room all at the same time? ---- 2a) Let's say I have 3 vocal background singers (or one person recorded 3x) and I wish to add reverb. Should those 3 vocals be routed to a submix, and then apply a single reverb plugin to that submix, or use the reverb plugin on each of those 3 tracks (via the Fx Bin)? Is one or the other advised for some reason? 2b) Does using the Reverb plugin 3 times for 3 tracks use up more CPU than using it one time on the submix of the 3 vocals? Thanks

Hey Billy, I'm getting ready in the next few days to drop about $320 (including shipping) for some new headphones. Sennheiser HD 650. I know that's out of your budget (mine, too), but let me just tell you a quick story. My general, cheap AKG K240S are very old and I know I want a new pair. Also, I'm finally at the point in my life where I can, finally, do some recording and mixing. A couple weeks ago I went up to Sweetwater Music for their Gear Fest for all the free workshops (most interested in mixing), and while in the retail store, they had a wall of numerous headphones that you can try on and listen through - all playing the same track. There was absolutely no comparison in sound from the 2 Sennheiser models they had (600 and the 650, and are open cans) and all the others. No comparison. And they were the last 2 pair I put on. I also could not get over how comfortable the Sennheisers (HD 600, and HD 650) were with large cans that go over the ear and not on the ear, and the incredible space and sound dynamics I heard. I was sold instantly. More than I was intending to spend, but I cannot be happy with others now. I could not hear any difference between the two, but the HD 650 goes up to 39,500 htz, whereas the HD 600 goes up to 39,000. I was going to get the HD 600 because they look nicer, but.... One last quick note, just in case I have persuaded you -- The HD 600 (which is prettier, blue) cable comes with a mini (1/8", or 3.5mm) plug and an 1/4" adapter. The HD 650 comes reversed, with a 1/4" plug and a mini adapter. That point alone is making me spend the extra $25 because I hate using adapters, and all my usage will be to plug into 1/4" slots.

Is any of this Kontakt Komplete Start (programs, synths, sampler, etc.) supposed to show up in CbB? I just installed it, and when I opened CbB and did a manual scan, I don't see any of the components in CbB. I always use default settings for location installs and have never had issues. Is this one different? EDIT: SOLVED: I discovered that I needed to add another path to the VST scan.

Craig, thanks so much for that! The video was so great, even to the point of his demonstrating dragging the audio clip by the header to the timeline and it turns blue at the top. And your bit about how AD2 will automatically follow the MIDI Map that will then exist, really put it over the top for me. I'm so stoked now! With my newly acquired knowledge I know I can accomplish what I asked. Thanks, and to all the rest of you, too!

Thanks for the link and trying to help me. I read through the whole page, but I wish the writer assumed his audience was a little more "with it". I kinda understand what he is implying, and I think he expects me to get another app called a Maestrolizer to achieve results. But there are no illustrations of the steps involved, other than a dialogue window of that app, which does not help me to understand the overall process. I need more hand holding. I've composed very complicated works on piano, and I'm not a concert pianist. I've got stuff that I think "needs to be heard" but cannot play some parts of my own compositions as well as I wish I could. So I know I could rework all the MIDI notes from my MIDI recording (move the notes to line up perfectly, change the velocities, etc.), and then use that MIDI file to play a Piano plugin for the audio recording, and then add other instruments and drums, etc. But like has been written so often, it will sound mechanical. I'm not sure what I should do and in what order. I've also considered going to a recording studio with a grand piano, and with the help of the recording engineer, record the composition with several takes in order to get the difficult parts with clarity (my arm will be falling off at certain points due to the speed and I lack the endurance to play it perfectly like a trained concert pianist). Once the piano part is recorded perfectly (and I suspect it will not be a perfect, single tempo), then I need to "somehow" add the drums that I envision. If the piano was likewise recorded on my MIDI controller, while playing along with the audio recording of the real piano (since that's the sound I wish to use), then I would have a MIDI file, but at not perfect tempo. Can I use that MIDI file to trigger AD2 drums?

You mentioned this "Tempo changing" in your workshop last week, but did not go into detail on how to do it. I bought your "How To Create Compelling Mixes" book online and should be getting it in a few days. Hopefully it details the steps. When I open Tempo View on my MIDI song, it simply shows me the bpm (and any changes if there are any). Can this tool be used on audio to make a custom bpm map, from which a MIDI file could be derived, and then add AD2 drums to that MIDI file with abnormal time changes throughout? That's what I'm trying to achieve. And I do have Melodyne Celemony Assistant, but have not learned to use it yet, if that's what I should use to achieve what I'm hoping.

What do you mean?

I cannot recall if there was a thread on here on how to use CbB make a MIDI drum kit like AD2, be used on top of a live recording that slows up and down (not perfect tempo). Is this possible? I kinda think it might have had something to do with using some type of tool that assesses the beat in the audio recording, and then somehow creates a MIDI track from that, from which you then use AD2? Can do??? Please point me to that thread if I'm not dreaming.

Not sure what you are referring to "super synths". The only type of person that can address accurately if one plugin uses unnecessarily more CPU power than a comparable plugin would be one who has used both plugins of the same synth emulation. I cannot, except for the emulation of the Prophet 5 synth, which I have by both Uhe (Repro 5) and Arturia (Prophet V3). But I happen to have a very excellent computer and neither plugin seems to make much of a dent against my CPU (Windows 7 Pro 64-bit; i7 4790k, 32 GB Ram, SSD 500 GB). Not that you don't already know, but having a great system helps much, and also a great sound card. There too, I happen to have a fantastic, but discontinued, internal PCIe card by ESI called the JuliaXTe. Very low latency and good sound quality.

Hey Tezza, I bought into Arturia Collection V v.6 last December, 2018 and don't regret it at all. Fantastic synth plugins, at a bargain. Version 7 just added 3 new synth emulations to the Collection about 1 or 2 months ago, so now the collection contains 24 different synths. If you wait until December, the collection should go on sale for ½ price, making it $250 for 24 synths. That's just $10.05 for each of the 24. There's a long list of posts you can read from others on v.6 here: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1191378-arturia-v-collection-6-a.html And if you do a quick search on version 7 you will find some additional threads on the gearslutz site. If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to help. Regarding buying version 5 from somebody in your town, what price is he asking? Will it include access to having your own account with Arturia so you get entitled to all the free updates? If I am correct, v.6 added the DX7 and Buchla music easel. Version 7 just added Casio CZ, Mellotron, and EMS Synthi. You might want the latest version which includes these great synths. Also, Arturia does an amazing job of improving the legendary synths by adding numerous NEW features and polyphony and Fx to the basic synths making them super cool with the latest software enhancements. Amazing work.

My first time going and I see all the differing workshops at 15-minute intervals throughout each of the 2 days. Do you know if these last longer than 15 minutes? Roughly how long are they, if you happen to know? Are they all at different meeting rooms or do they each follow on the heel of the other in some main room? If so, then obviously I'll need to plan strategically as to which ones I can afford to miss. I'd like to see them all.

My memory is so bad I cannot recall the detailed answer to your question, but I do remember discussing Cakeswalk for DOS back in the day when it required the MPU-401. I did not buy into Cakewalk until Windows 3.1 and I cannot remember what product I got, but I do remember being able to use it to upgrade from that product (thereby getting a discount) when I bought Sonar 3 Producer edition (not X3). Then, I don't know how many years passed before I was able to use "3" to upgrade to X3 Producer. Not sure how many versions there were between 3 and X3, but I think several. Part of the reason I did not upgrade for long periods of time was because I knew, I could foresee, that I really would not be able to do what I wanted until I had a stellar PC which I finally built in June, 2014. I think my first sound card for Cakewalk must have been one of those Creative Sound blaster AWE32 that came on a lot of PC's back in the early 90s, either Gateway or Dell. I think I had to also get a MIDI cable that utilized a joystick serial connector on the other end of the cable. Then when I got Sonar 3, it must have been around 2003 with Windows XP and I tried using first an internal card that was too complicated (famous brand and I cannot remember it now. I think it began with the letter "L".) then I tried an external USB sound card with MIDI, but it was so bad (latency and other issues) that I returned it and got an internal M-Audio PCI card Audiophile 2496 that was actually fantastic. In my current build from 2014 I got a great ESI Julia XTe internal card that I believe has been discontinued (not sure why). Was rated near the very top of the list of best sound cards in Round Trip Latency by that guy who began to publish information on that (can't remember his name).

Ok. I'm going. I made hotel reservations and reserved my place with Sweetwater. There are quite a few presentations I look forward to seeing. I'll see both by Craig Anderton. I'd like to meet Michael Sweet from Stryper. Eric Johnson will be doing a special concert the last night evening. Daniel Fischer doing some workshop on Synth Programming Strategies. Billy Sheehan on bass and Steve Vai, both doing presentations on different days. And quite a few others. Looks like something is going on every 15 minutes throughout both days.