Craig Anderton

Thanks...I knew that function was in there somewhere, but couldn't find it because I kept looking in MIDI-related prefs. And because I didn't know what to call it, couldn't find it in searches.

This is puzzling. With show note names selected, the keyboard on the left shows the same note as the note in the roll. Maybe this relates to the octave name for middle C in MIDI not being standard. The note value for middle C is standardized, and always 60. However, although middle C is called C4 in most devices and DAWs, others call it C3 or even C5.

If you adjust the option to 100%, does the problem go away?

That's a better way to do things in CbB, I didn't realize Exports were always made from the Master bus when you selected Entire Mix. I've always exported using Hardware Outputs as the Source Category, that seemed safest to me. Good to know there's an alternative. In Studio One, you can't route the Main bus to another bus, so that technique wouldn't work in SO. You always export from the hardware outputs.

See my response, both Cakewalk and Studio One have Quick Grouping so that routing one track to a bus routes them all. But there's another advantage to the "dual bus" approach. Some people like to mix through mastering effects, like a limiter or maximizer, to get a sense of what the song will sound like when mastered. However, I don't want to actually export through effects, I want to export with nothing in the master bus because I treat mastering as a separate process compared to mixing. By using two buses, you can have your Cakewalk and eat it too - export a clean version for mastering, but also include effects and Sonarworks while monitoring. And BTW, isn't Sonarworks effing cool? I got the version where I could also calibrate my monitors. I was impressed that the sound through headphones and speakers was pretty much the same. The one caveat I have is that headphones of even the same make and model can vary quite a bit. This is why the Sonarworks profiles are indicated as "averages." If you do this for a living, it may be worth biting the bullet, sending your headphones to Sonarworks, and paying them to run a profile. Since I can profile the speakers, I just use the headphones that sound the most like the sound coming out of the speakers.

Pipeline is absolutely not necessary. scook's advice is similar to what I do in Studio One a described below, and you can do the same sort of thing in Cakewalk. 1. Create a bus, and assign it to the same hardware output as your Main bus (in Studio One, this is done in Song Setup). Insert Sonarworks in this bus (we'll call it Sub1). 2. Select all your tracks and change the output of one track to Sub1 instead of Main. Like Cakewalk's Quick Group, this causes all the tracks to terminate in the Sub 1 bus. 3. When you're ready to export, select all your tracks, and change the output in one track to Main instead of Sub 1. Export from the Main out. A benefit of having a separate bus is you can match levels more easily when Sonarworks is active. BTW I also use a similar technique to get around Studio One's lack of a Dim Solo function - create a dedicated Dim Solo bus that goes to the same hardware output as the main bus. I can switch the track I want to Dim Solo to the Dim Solo bus, and reduce the Main bus to whatever level is appropriate. This can actually be better in some situations than having a fixed volume change for a global Dim Solo function, and you can do it in Cakewalk as well.

Hmmm...last time something took a while, it was revamping the audio stretching.

I remember with SPLAT installs that it would overwrite custom content like track icons I made. I don't recall if CbB does the same thing, but you might want to make sure that anything you created is backed up.

I often mention at seminars there are many things Cakewalk, which is free, can do that most other DAWs can't, like generate stretchable files (I think only Acid and Sound Forge can do this). Even if you use a different DAW, it's worth downloading Cakewalk IMHO.

I just posted a new article on getting the most out of loops and loop libraries in Cakewalk by BandLab, I hope you find it useful. It's a little too long to just put in a post.

I did a search and found this. Does it happen when you open the program? Did something precede this starting, like installing a new program, Windows update, etc.? Do you have the latest W10 update? Error code 0xc0000005 is one of Windows very broad errors. This is because it can be caused by different factors related to an installed program, installed hardware or both. The following are just a few of the many possible causes: An installed program such as the antivirus program that prevents the smooth start of a program. Either corrupt or missing hardware drivers. Incorrect system hardware configuration. Either low memory or damaged RAM Virus/Malware infection. An old program. Corrupt or damaged system registry files. Data execution security feature (DEP).

If you use Windows drivers for CbB, then the volume control should have an effect.

Like other pre-BandLab instruments, where sounds and files are stored is pretty arbitrary. If you moved your sounds somewhere to save space, or moved any of the folders SD3 wants to reference, or messed with the file structure in any way, you'll probably lose things. I ended up moving all my SD3 content over to a separate drive, and added an mklink where Cakewalk looks for the sounds.

Another option is the Pedal Controller, a small box from MIDI Solutions. This accepts an expression pedal input and outputs your choice of MIDI controllers. (For do-it-yourselfers, the circuit board is small enough you can probably mount it in a pedal if you want a stand-alone MIDI pedal.) It can also generate aftertouch and pitch bend, so it's good for more than just control change information.

Cool, I thought it was important to point out to the people who wanted "VCA channels" in Cakewalk that it already has much of what they do anyway. Sure, VCA channels is a good buzzword, but it's the functionality that matters.

Hi Jesse, As the author, thank you for respecting Sound on Sound's copyright. Copyright is what gives publishers and authors the right to decide how their intellectual property is going to be distributed. Buying a subscription to Sound on Sound gives you the right to read it, enjoy it, and use that information in your projects. Posting copyrighted material is no different than cracked software - for example, if you buy a copy of Kontakt, you can't post it for other people to use. Nor does the code used to create Kontakt becomes yours. What you buy is the right for you to use Kontakt. Including a link is definitely the preferred way to handle this sort of thing. You still get to make people aware of the information, Sound on Sound gets some props for running the article (and also for supporting Cakewalk - one of the few publications that does!!), and hopefully, people will explore the SOS site and realize that it's well worth a digital or print subscription. It's no secret that media of all kinds are having problems making ends meet these days. For these resources to continue to exist, people need to feel they offer value, and be willing to compensate the people who work hard to make those resources possible. That said...I'm happy you found the information useful enough to draw attention to it. Hopefully others will benefit from the linked information as well, and will become aware of the great work that SOS does every month.

The track interleave needs to be mono when you do this. If it's set to stereo, yes, the dragged file will be louder. The Browser can do all kinds of cool stuff. There are several tips in The Huge Book of Cakewalk by BandLab Tips, as well as in my Sound on Sound column.

I'm not sure this part is correct: "In summary, whenever the track output interleave is mono and the data interleave is stereo, mono data will be increased in level by 3 dB." I've had mono samples in a track with mono interleave, and the level increase still happens when exported, but not when dragged into the Browser.

I've run into this problem before and brought it up many times, IIRC it has to do with the interaction of CbB being inherently stereo so it treats mono as existing in both channels, then sums as it exports. I've found four solutions. 1. Don't use the export function. Instead, drag the file into the desired folder in the browser. 2. Drop the Gain by -3 dB before exporting. 3. Export the mono file as stereo (although of course then you end up with a stereo file) 4. Export as Split Mono. This creates two mono files, just delete one of them.

Yes, I misspoke! Sorry. I meant to say "run a cab with white noise."

As to the add-ons, I don't know how many of them were either partially or wholly done in conjunction with third-party companies, who may not have gone along on the ride from Gibson to BandLab. Also if Cakewalk had to pay royalties that were covered by charging for the software, it would be difficult to justify spending that kind of money on a free product - although my understanding is that the new stretching algorithms do have a licensing fee, which makes BandLab pretty generous IMHO. I'm still surprised there isn't any online shop so people can accessorize CbB, but I guess BandLab has bigger fish to fry, like resurrecting entire guitar and amp lines.

I've been grappling with this for a while myself. I did an article for Guitar Player called Taming the Wild Piezo, but I guess when they changed platforms they lost the images and audio example. The article describes using EQ to translate a piezo pickup into sounding more like a miked guitar. I did an FX Chain (no longer provided with CbB, unfortunately) that was designed specifically for guitars with piezo pickups. While I'd never say it sounded better than a well-miked acoustic guitar, it minimized the issues that make piezo pickups annoying. If you used Sonar, it may be in your FX Chains folder somewhere - it's called Acoustic Piezo, and is one of the CA-X amps. The main idea is to use the Notch control and the Mid Freq, usually with Hi Q, to get rid of the piezo "quack." Body boom dials in the characteristic low-frequency boost an acoustic guitar has, articulation is more about an upper midrange boost to improve articulation. The Vocal Mode switch dips the mids a bit to make room for vocals. The other controls are "adjust-to-taste" controls. Admittedly it takes more work to mess with EQ than just drop in a good IR, but lately with cabs, I've actually been moving away from cab IRs and using equalization. I run a cab through white noise and measure the spectral response, then try to approximate the same response with multiple stages of EQ. With some cabs you can come really close; with others, you need the detail an IR provides. However, with EQ you don't get any of the phasey/fizzy IR sound, which for me is a huge plus. I've replaced some of my Helix presets that used IR cabs with EQ-based cabs because the EQ sounded more natural.

Yes. Upgrade without fear! I assume you're using a 64-bit operating system, though. CbB requires it.

I always aim for a negative true peak value, along with -11 LUFS. FWIW I like using IK Multimedia's Stealth limiter as the final "maximizing" stage, which isn't used for squashing as much as peak control.

The K-System is great when you want to make sure you're monitoring at consistent levels. Thanks to Mssrs. Fletcher and Munson, we need some consistency - or something that sounds "too bassy" might sound "not bassy enough" the next day. What makes LUFS so important is that streaming services (which are now the #1 source of music dissemination/distribution) make sure the perceived level of any music is the same, whether it's a Bach violin partita or a squashed Metallica master. This has taken away the incentive to participate in the loudness wars. You still have some latitude, for example even if Spotify turns down your master with compression in the master bus, that compression may give the effect you want. FWIW with my own music these days, I master to around -11 LUFS. Although I know streaming services will turn it down a bit to matched perceived levels, I do want a bit of limiting in there.