Craig Anderton

That's exactly the information I needed! Thank you very much. It explains the behavior I'm seeing.

Thanks...I know it's possible to use more than one controller, but I specifically need to use two of the ACT interfaces...that's what seems to be the problem, because each one requires a different MIDI port.

I suspect the answer is no, but wanted to make sure. I'm using ACT to allow an NI Komplete keyboard to control several DAW functions (Play, Loop on/off, Stop, etc.). The NI controller has three different MIDI outs (standard, external, and DAW); the ACT MIDI Controller requires the MIDI DAW output from the Komplete keyboard for (apparently) any DAW functions other than Play and Stop. I can control the NKS plug-ins as expected, and also, I can use the hardware knobs to control any non-NKS synths that have MIDI Learn. However, it seems that controlling (for example) the SI instruments, which don't have MIDI Learn, require being controlled via ACT but they need the standard MIDI Keyboard as the MIDI In, not the MIDI DAW . I've tried using one ACT MIDI Controller for the DAW functions and another for the Cakewalk effects and SI instruments, but they don't seem to get along. When changing presets on one ACT controller changed parameters in the other ACT controller. I figure they were not designed to play nicely together. But if anyone has used two ACT MIDI Controllers successfully to control different things, I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks for the props! One reason I'm doing only eBooks these days is because it keeps the price reasonable. A 411-page, full-color book like the Huge Book of Cakewalk by BandLab Tips would have been totally cost-prohibitive with the traditional publishing model. Even software benefits, because you don't need boxes and distribution media any more...just a place where you can download it. No manufacturing costs, no overstocks, no shipping. Many professional musicians aren't rich, and for others, it's a hobby that doesn't justify taking a lot of disposable income. As long as any income from a product can justify the work that goes into creating something, the lower the price for end users, the better.

I've been playing with it some more, and found out how to use some of the DAW functions as well, as well as assign buttons to features like screensets and views. It's too much info to put in a post, so I'm going to write up a complete description for my Cakewalk column in Sound on Sound magazine.

Picture is worth a thousand words, and all that...MIDI-OX is about routing as well as monitoring.

HEY!! You CAN use the Komplete Kontrol keyboard as a general purpose MIDI controller with Cakewalk! (At least I was able to do so with my S49 Mk2). Cakewalk's MIDI Device preferences should check ALL Komplete Kontrol Options: -1, EXT-1, and DAW. Install MIDI-OX, open it, leave it open, and under Options > MIDI Devices, choose Komplete Kontrol - 1 for MIDI Input and Komplete Kontrol EXT-1 for MIDI output. If you choose the Komplete Kontrol -1 input for MIDI, you can have instruments and such respond to the MIDI. You can even switch back and forth between controlling an instrument loaded in Komplete Kontrol, and something that's just loaded as an instrument in Cakewalk. To control a Cakewalk instrument (or effect), press the keyboard's MIDI button, and choose Komplete Kontrol -1 for the input. To get back to Komplete Kontrol, press the Plug-In button. Now the knobs control the instrument in Komplete Kontrol. Is this cool, or what?

I think there is a way; Cakewalk would need to premix the tracks on which you weren't recording, mute the non-premixed tracks, and open the premix in a variation of the loop library window, where only the pitch control would be exposed. You could then record to your track. Closing the "varispeed" module would pitch up what you recorded, delete the premix, and unmute the muted tracks. It seems like that would take a lot of work to pull off from a software standpoint, though, and it might not be justified by the number of people who want this feature. So far, the workaround works for me!

I have a zillion of them, and custom artwork for the knobs and buttons. I've been thinking of putting them all together into a package, and selling them on my craiganderton.com digital storefront for $4.99.

It can also make a huge difference with synthesizers. Here's an explanation of how it works. I also think you'll find the audio example in this video VERY revealing!

Cakewalk has the Matrix View, which is very much like Ableton Live's Session View. As an Ableton user, though, I have to say the programs are conceptually rather different. In my opinion (which probably no one else shares, LOL), Cakewalk is a recording studio disguised as software, while Live is a musical instrument disguised as software.

I'm with Zo. The point of NKS isn't to lock you into presets, but to make it easy to edit and modify sounds (instruments and effects) to your needs, via tactile control. Which parameters are available for editing depends on the company making the software. Some companies opt for the most strategic parameters, while others make just about every parameter available for tweaking. Another big advantage is that parameters are pre-mapped. You don't have to spend time going through multiple "MIDI Learn" operations (or worse yet, program parameter controller numbers). Of course, you don't have to use NKS. But it's there if you want it. Well, any product is designed to generate revenue. But the more attractive the product, the more revenue it will generate. Note that there is NO fee to become an NKS partner (I do believe the SDK is available only to partners, which is why you need to sign up to get it). NKS used to be NI-only, but the company realized that it would never become a standard unless it was an open standard. I think it's only a matter of time before NKS-compatible controllers are opened up to other companies as well. As to eliminating competitors, adapting plug-ins for NKS means that Native Instruments will promote those products. NI promotes products from Waves, Arturia, AAS, and others due to the NKS connection, even though they compete directly with NI. It's pretty clear NI places more importance on NKS than specific products. You may be confused with the licensing fees for products designed to work with Kontakt Player and Reaktor Player. However, developers get something in return: NI takes care of all serial number generation and managing, copy protection, maintenance to retain compatibility with future OS and Player updates, and a dedicated support channel. Fees vary from 1.5% to 9%, depending on quantity and product pricing, and for most products will likely be in the 5% range. Having been involved in licensing negotiations with various companies, based on my experience this is a pretty standard fee, especially given the benefits.

Glad to help...having an FX Chain with a single knob makes it feel more like a stompbox!

Glad it was helpful. The varispeed thing is one of those Cakewalk "hidden in plain sight" gems

Here's an excerpt from "Build a 'Virtual Stompbox' Sustainer" in The Huge Book of Cakewalk by BandLab Tips. See page 181 for instructions on creating an FX Chain. Hope this helps... Insert the Sonitus compressor into an FX Rack. Here are the compressor’s initial parameter settings: Threshold, Attack, and Gain: These don’t matter as we’ll tie these parameters to the Sustain control. Ratio: 15.3:1 Knee: 9 dB Type: Normal Release: 201 ms Limiter: On TCR: Off

In terms of controllers, note that with the MK2 models, it's best to set up controllers in the Komplete Kontrol plug-in, not the controller editor.

Regarding VCA channels...my Cakewalk column in the January Sound on Sound is how to do various VCA functions in Cakewalk, using the existing functionality. Topics covered include: Bus-Based “VCA” Function, Grouping-Based “VCA” Function, VCA-Style Automation Offset, and VCA-Style Simultaneous Automation Write.

It depends on what you want to integrate. It's a MIDI controller...the biggest issue will be the transport control. I think that requires custom code, as azslow3 mentions above. I know it took a while for Studio One to integrate the NI keyboard functionality, apparently it's not impossible but it's not trivial, either.

All right, here's the audio example, a screen shot, and instructions. Go to the DAWs | Mixing | Mastering section of the library on craiganderton.org, and scroll all the way to the bottom for the article. The audio example has four excerpts: the original file, the original file shifted up 40 cents (a typical amount to use on masters), then to prove there really isn't any aliasing, transposing up 4 semitones and down 4 semitones. You can transpose up or down as far as the Loop Construction view allows; just remember that we're NOT using the Loop Construction view to create a loop. Circle back and let us know what you think.

Give me a day or two, and I can put something in the library on craiganderton.org, with some screen shots. I'll circle back here and post the link when it's available.

No, Transposition is different, because it changes the pitch but not the duration. The trick I described changes the pitch AND duration, exactly as described in the Sound on Sound article that I wrote, and Chuckebaby quoted. I know you said you tried the method in the 7th post, but if you're not getting the effect SOS describes, then something is wrong. Maybe it's the following...make sure you follow these three steps exactly: 3. From the Clip drop-down menu, enable Stretch On/Off. 4. Move the Threshold slider all the way to the left (0%) so all the markers disappear. This is very important. 5. The two right-most fields adjust semitones and cents respectively. Do not enable the Pitch button! That will just confuse things. Cents will adjust +/-49 cents which should be enough. If not, for example if you need to make the pitch 70 cents sharp, set semitones to 1 and cents to -30. (For Chipmunk effects, set semitones to +12 .) I won't keep on about this any further, all I can say is that I do know the effect you describe, I used it all the time back in the 60s/70s. Cakewalk really can give the true, varispeed tape effect that I used to get with Ampexes, Portastudios, etc. - although it will NOT varispeed all tracks in a project, only individual clips and premixes. Still, for speeding up a master a few per cent, or doing the varispeed effect with vocals, that's good enough.

Yes indeed. Wish they hadn't, not so much because you can't do most of what ReWire could do with a plug-in, but because when the originators of something turn their back on it, that doesn't bode well for companies that still use ReWire. I wonder if anyone is going to maintain the .dll

And for anyone else who runs into issues with a version that does support ReWire...make sure you have the current Rewire library .dll installed.

It could be a number of things, maybe it's a sample rate mismatch, or if YouTube wants to use Windows native drivers and Cakewalk wants to use ASIO, they're arguing. Does it work if you choose native Windows drivers for Cakewalk instead of ASIO?

Are you sure that's the case? I just loaded a bunch of CPU-intensive effects and watched the Performance CPU meter. If I turned off the effects with the bypass button, the CPU consumption went to almost nothing. It seems you could load up a track will the effects you wanted to use, and turn off effects as needed when you wanted to save CPU power. You couldn't save individual presets of effects that are on or off, but it sounds like this is something you wouldn't have to change often, just when going from (for example) tracking to mixing.