Alan Tubbs

I haven’t checked it out but bandlab has a sampler that now comes with the daw.  I wonder if it is a vsti and could be used with cakewalk?  Or whether it will be imported?

My first music computer was a Yamaha CMX or something like that in the mid 80s. It used game cards to run music.  You could either edit the 4 op fm synth or run a sequencer.  Only one card slot.  I spent 350$ for a 3.5 inch drive (a step up from floppies.). It was rocking back then and more fun than programing a computer by line code.

I prefer to add a little hair from the get-go.  Not distortion but some nice transformer coupled saturation but not too much.  Same way with dynamic control.  Shave off a few hard hitting dBs that firms up the sound.  Then add more if necessary in the box.

Behringer uses generic drivers and or Asio for all which is a ms driver wrapper.  Lots of problems here.

the easiest thing is to ditch the B and get a TAscam or other cheap interface with real asio drivers.  The quality at the low end mechanically is pretty good as are the drivers.   But you will have to spend over a hundred dollars.

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The pro channels are all good.  The 1176 works esp. well for vol control and can add a little of that 1176 edge.  The pc eq is great, and when you dial in a sound you can jump between eq models.  And the buss ssl comp is my favorite and works great.

most of the time effects included were 3rd party based so you’ll need to supplement cakewalk there, but the native cake channel stuff is good to superb.

Two or three o’clock on the interface output.  For most volume control that is the sweet spot to produce a full signal without distortion.  However, I go through a summing mixer and then to an amp whose vol knob is in easy reach.  That is set about 11 o’clock.

yes,  it was in program file/vstplugins/.  That was in my to scan folders and I had started and restarted the computer a few times.  But now it seems to be running fine.  it is easy to forget what a nice synth it is.  Once I got it up I mucked about w/ it and  some libraries.  Fun stuff.

Thanks all.  And a certain reptilian persistence.  I'll probably need it since registering Rapture Pro is on the list.  I'vde got the solution so I did need any tips YET!  We' ll see.

Thanks again for being such a great Forum.

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I’ll check again on the vsti spot and check off the other suggestions.  Thanks all

The solo version works and the synthmaster folder is chosen for “look in” .  Anybody else have a problem?

No fan on this one.

As Dearing said, recording through hardware works for me.  No much, just a general shaping (which also keeps from mucking up a take).  Software works great esp. for further dynamic control.  You can take a third swing during mastering with more gentle control.  In general, I try to get more tone (including saturation) from analog, and more dynamic control with software.

I am reviewing the new RND Orbit 5057 summing mixer which is a perfect example of the power of analog.  Here at home I never ran a mix through a mix buss analog chain.  I wanted the cleanest version.  But with the orbit I turned up my home interface to 11, trying to get more sound into the mixer since the transformer just got sweeter and sweeter the more volume you pumped in.  I was actually leaning forward into and between the speaker pair.  Fun stuff and sounded great afterwards.

Stations and down sampling can play havoc. I had a lead song for a cd baby project and the mp3 process for apple etc completely removed the big bass that came in on the second phrase of the intro.  A major element just gone.  And there was nothing to do but remix the song or live with it.

Sonar worked great with touch and so does bandlab.

The bandlab daw is more of a prefab looper, as I recall. Cakewalk is a full function daw but only ships with a few instruments and fewer loops, if any (tho it used to have some good ones).

there shouldn’t be much difference between the sound of the daws themselves.

If you don’t get rid of the sound blaster I’d suggest bouncing all midi to audio, disable and archive those synth tracks so your computer can catch its breath and then record acoustic stuff.  I habitually do this even if I’m not pushing my computer so at mixdown I’m dealing with all audio.  If you need to change a track, unarchive it and edit away.  Once finished, bounce and archive it again.

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It is hard to make a go of it without an apple version of music software.  Such as one time owner Roland having to include a different apple daw with their hardware  along with their free sonar.  Being pc only cuts your customer base by half or more.  Most pro studios are apple and there is a natural tendency to look down on pc software and “other” it and think of it as for home use despite Cakewalk being a fully professional daw.  It can do everything other daws do, just not on the Mac.  Bandlab seems committed so be happy you have access to such great software so cheap and don’t worry what others think.

Sometimes my cakewalk freezes etc. and after I close it down the midi activity icon in the bottom right corner of the task bar (the one with usb discount icon) is still live.  Open and shut down cakewalk fixes that problem.  Work around that works.

Unless your drummer is very good or your band very tight and steady you’ll want to record drummer first.

use the snake to hook 8 or as many as inputs as you want and can to the 18 20 and record those to your computer to record.  You don’t need to involve the mixer at all unless you need to feed the master output somewhere via analog.

If you already have those synths installed in x2 cakewalk by bandlab should pick them up unless they are installed somewhere bandlab doesn’t look.

One would think it would be easy to make it drag and drop...

Audient id44, TAscam uh 7000

Mini moog, arp oddessy, ensonic fismo, seil  dk 600, chorus echo

mtg 930, 57, 58, wa 414, 47 and 87

rnd portico II, wa 76; la2a, 73, pultecs and Burgin’s McDaniel’s Komit compressors stereo 

Yea, it is a really nice and cheap all in one synth that does wt, samples pb and fm.

Synthmaster 2.9 is on sale for $29.  No doubt  version 3. 0 Is coming soon.  But a cool deal.

Nothing wrong with assembling prefab riffs into songs.  I mean really, there are probably half a dozen loops the blues use for most  songs..  they just sing different lyrics over the same old tunes.  And it still works great.

you are thinking too much.  There are plenty of reasons your vocals aren’t sharp other than mics and preamps.  Have you ever had anyone with an ear listen to your voice live to see how your recordings sound?  How does your room sound.  How much do you play with the mic to get the best position.  All that can affect your tone more than switching out preamps of one $200 interface for another.  And by the way, the Roland pres are ok.  The mic is old but other people like it, so I don’t think switching out a $200 mic for a $300 one is going to solve your problem.  Maybe, but until you try it you won’t know.

some of your comments about not capturing the vox attack sounds like it comes from the “ sensing” limiters built into the inputs.  I hated the ones on the old Roland interfaces and turned them off.  It is easy to screw up your sounds with such if youre not sure how it works.  You are likely to get all kinds of sonic problems if you are pushing the envelope (pun intended) of cheap electronics.  And switch around cables, you might have a internal kink.

try messing around with your room and mic position with  someone helping you.  I’d start there.

finally, expensive (ie. high quality) electronics do help. Most quality transformers cost $75 or more per, even in quantity.  And you need two to couple a unit in and out.  If you grew up before 90s almost all the pro audio you heard ran through tons of caps and transformers giving a thick, clear sound.  That is why people pay good money for higher end hardware.  It is quite exhilarating to finally hear and  understand your bass having “that” sound you’ve heard on a 1000 songs, or an la2a on a vocal.

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