Jim Roseberry

Getting the new Vermeer AMD CPUs (like the 5950x) is currently almost like winning the lottery. When in-stock, they're gone within a few minutes. FWIW, I still feel the 10900k is a great balance of cost/performance. 10 cores 20 processing threads All ten cores can be locked at 5.3GHz That's a lot of CPU for $500.

CPU speed is certainly an important factor... but there are numerous facets that affect performance. Just because you see "CPU headroom", that doesn't mean the machine is going to perform flawlessly (for DAW purposes). Threadripper's multi-threaded performance is off-the-chain good, but it's ultra low-latency performance is poor (even the 3970x). The new 5950x (Vermeer) is the first series of AMD CPUs where that's finally been resolved. The 5950x can run loads at a 32-sample ASIO buffer size... that the 3970x just can't sustain (glitch-free). That said, the new 10th Gen i9-10900k can run Helix Native (with a substantial patch using two 2048-sample Cab IRs) completely glitch-free at 96k using a 16-sample ASIO buffer size. The first CPU to be able to effectively do this (no glitches). Even with a 10900k or 5950x, if the machine's DPC Latency is high... you'll experience audio glitches/drop-outs. Lets say you want to run Helix Native at 44.1k using a 64-sample ASIO buffer size. That means the machine has 1.5ms to process the next audio buffer and get it in cue for playback. Anything that interrupts this process will cause an audio glitch/dropout. (ie: Poorly written drivers can monopolize the CPU.) Processes constantly running in the background (backup/sync, A/V, etc) can negatively affect performance. There's performance and power throttling: Say you have a typical song structure... where the song starts with maybe 8-16 tracks of drums, guitar, bass, keys, and lead vocal/melody. When the song reaches the bridge, let's say it breaks down to just the kick and a single bass part. At this point, CPU use (demand) is extremely low... so the system decides to throttle CPU clock-speed down to 1/4 speed... as well as parking several cores. When the stripped-down bridge ends, here comes the massive chorus-out-vamp. Huge stacks of backing vocals, synths, etc. That massive CPU load now falls on the CPU running at 1/4 clock-speed... with several cores that have been parked. Glitches at best... or a complete transport dropout. The harder you're pushing the machine (heavier loads, lower latency), the more important all the details. A general-purpose user wouldn't notice a few millisecond hiccup in data-flow. For someone wanting to run at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size, those few extra milliseconds can result in glitches/dropouts.

With proliferation of (live) streaming, many companies don't feel the need to be bound to NAMM's schedule (especially when it's virtual). D.I. from Line-6 (owned by Yamaha) mentioned this recently on The Gear Page.

Gibson was in financial trouble due to massive spending spree acquiring audio/music companies (many out of their realm of expertise). The whole while, Gibson was generating substantial sales revenue.

The IR loading section was licensed from Two Notes. The reactive-load is not made by Two Notes. I have a pair of Captor-X boxes. They're great (especially for the cost). The reactive-load in the Badlander (to me) sounds slightly better than the one in Captor-X The IR loading in Captor-X as far more advanced: Can load/mix a pair of Cab IRs in realtime Can determine the length of the imported IR (which determines latency) Onboard Reverb, EQ, Enhancer, Tuner (which is erratic), Gate

Just picked up a Badlander 50w head. The onboard reactive-load and CabClone IR sound excellent. Lots of features and versatility... and not over-the-top cost wise It's always a little sad to see a heritage company merge or get bought.

Last time I was testing the 3950x and 3970x, I remember seeing a performance boost using the "Aggressive" Thread Scheduling Model. I also remember some issues when using the Aggressive Mode. I've been testing the new 5950x. AMD has ***finally*** solved their performance issue at ultra low latency settings. I'll revisit the Thread Scheduling Models... and give some details about performance.

https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013271/EUCON-Control-Surface-Support-for-SONAR-X1

There is a Eucon control surface plugin for Cakewalk. You need that, the Eucon installer from Avid, and Eucontrol for iPAD. I currently don't have Eucon installed on my machine. I had it installed/working just fine with CbB. It's a little more convoluted to configure (than native support for Eucon)... as you have to manually configure the various options in the Eucon control surface plugin. You can use Eucontrol to control any Eucon enabled application (ProTools, Cubase, Samplitude ProX, etc). Capabilities go far beyond a simple control surface. ie: You can directly access menu items via a single touch. Even setting up some basic things (undo, redo, quantize, Views, Process menu options, etc) can greatly enhance workflow.

The new metering is certainly nice/welcome. Otherwise (to me)... not an overly exciting update. More than anything, I'd like to see Cubase improve on CPU efficiency. That's where they're lagging behind numerous other DAWs.

Need to dig deeper... Not initially seeing a whole lot new vs. the Kronos II

Unless you know a specific fix that your machine needs, your best coarse of action is to wait (for early issues to be resolved)... and then update.

Unless those multiple audio interfaces are running via a single clock source, the aggregate device is all but useless. Audio tracks recorded/played via two separate audio clocks will drift apart over time (due to the small differences between the clocks). A more robust setup is two audio interfaces (same model/series) that were designed to operate (simultaneously) under the same driver (essentially adding more I/O). Those with multiple audio interfaces all running from a single clock-source (those who'd actually/practically benefit from aggregate devices) are a minuscule part of the overall DAW using community. The DAW using community is a tiny fraction of the overall number of computer users. This is why MS doesn't spend development time... to allow aggregate devices.

We've got one client (scores Films) who's running a Cubase template with 2600 (that's not a typo) tracks. He's not running at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size.

Here's hoping 2021 is a much better year!!!

In nearly 30 years, I don't think I've ever been contacted by a client who wanted to work at high ASIO buffer sizes (higher latency)... or at lower CPU clock-speed (to conserve battery-life or power). 😁 Folks have different levels of needs/expectations.

Live Nation recently publicized that they're going to ask performers to take a substantial pay cut. This (naturally) upsets performers... If the venue can only be 1/4 capacity, that means 1/4 the intake. Everyone loses... and ticket prices skyrocket even higher

Fixed x2 😁 In Ohio: Gigs (only large clubs can afford full bands) start at 6-7pm... and end at 10:30-11pm Last-call is at 9:45pm. Alcohol sales end at 10pm. Bars have to be closed at 11pm. I don't mind the early gigs... but does the "Rona" only come out at 11:01pm? People are "loading up" at last call... leaving hammered... and/or going to private after-parties to continue.

You'll need a MIDI Drum Map that changes the MIDI notes (recorded from the TD25)... into the MIDI notes that trigger the desired sounds from EZ Drummer. If one doesn't already exist, I'm sure you could create one in 30-60 minutes. Create a test project with the following: MIDI Drum performance (recorded from the TD25) - on a MIDI Track MIDI Drum Map (to map the TD25 pad notes to articulations in EZ Drummer) Instrument Track with EZ Drummer You could (also) change the MIDI notes the TD25 pads send... to match the desired sounds in EZ Drummer (thus eliminating the need to use a MIDI Drum Map). There are also MIDI Drum Maps in EZ Drummer (there is a "Roland" Map but not sure it matches the TD25). There's no right/wrong way to get to the proper MIDI notes (to trigger the desired EZ Drummer sounds). Pick what makes most sense to you. With the above test project: On the MIDI track with your MIDI drum performance, select the MIDI Drum Map (you created for the TD25) as the MIDI output If you use a MIDI Drum Map in Cakewalk, that Drum Map allows you to select the EZ Drummer instance for the MIDI output of each mapped MIDI note If you use EZ Drummer's MIDI Maps, skip this step. If you changed the MIDI notes sent by the Nitro pads (on the TD25 itself), skip this step. If not using MIDI Drum Maps in Cakewalk, set the MIDI Output (of the recorded MIDI Drum track) to EZ Drummer. The recorded MIDI drum performance should now be triggering EZ Drummer (with the desired articulations). When you insert EZ Drummer into your Cakewalk project, you have two options for the Instrument track. Simple Instrument Track - creates a single stereo output for EZ Drummer Instrument Track Per Output - creates a track for each audio output from EZ Drummer With the first option, you'd have to mix the drums within EZ Drummer. With the second option, you've got individual mic channels that can be mixed within Cakewalk (Kick, Snare, HiHat, Toms, Overheads, etc). There's no right/wrong... just how you prefer to work The Focusrite Scarlett series is OK when it comes to round-trip latency (~6ms at the smallest buffer size). It would be better for triggering EZ Drummer samples in realtime (than the TD25's onboard audio interface)... as it offers lower round-trip latency. Some drummers would find even 5-6ms round-trip latency too much lag to comfortably trigger EZ Drummer samples in realtime. Get that lag (round-trip latency) sub 3ms... and it feels a lot more immediate.

The lower the latency (smaller the buffer size), the greater the advantage of the 10900k's significantly higher clock-speed. The higher the buffer size (higher the latency), the greater the advantage of the 3970x's many additional cores. I don't consider 512-sample buffer size to be small. I wouldn't work at anything higher than 256-samples. Most times, I'm working at 32/64/128-sample ASIO buffer size. Insert a single instance of Helix Native... running with Presonus Quantum set to 96k using a 32-sample ASIO buffer size. That's running at 1ms total round-trip latency. An extreme example... AMD 3950x and 3970x - audio will glitch Intel 10900k - no audio glitches If I'm paying $2000 for a CPU, I want it to excel at ultra low latency performance. 10900k is about 1/3 the cost of the 3970x... and offers a great balance of features: 5.3GHz all-core clock-speed Runs quiet with large/quality air-cooking 10 cores/20 processing threads TDP = 125w There's no such thing as a quiet 3970x machine (TDP = 280w)... unless you allow it to thermal-throttle (which negates the purpose)

Your audio interface will determine the lowest latency you can achieve. Of course, the machine has to be able to keep up with the load (or you'll hear glitches or experience drop-outs). Are you using the TD25 as your audio interface... or are you using the Laptop's onboard audio? The TD25 (if it's like the large TD50) functions as a USB audio interface. Between the Laptop's onboard audio and TD25, the TD25 has a proper ASIO driver (which will out-perform ASIO-4-ALL). If you're after super low round-trip latency, you won't be happy using either the TD25 or Laptop's onboard audio as your audio interface. If getting a dedicated audio interface (that offers low round-trip latency) isn't an option, use the TD25. If you're dealing with an audio interface that doesn't offer 5ms round-trip latency or lower, forget triggering samples from EZ Drummer in realtime (there will be too much lag). In this scenario, I'd record the MIDI performance from the TD25 (monitoring its internal sounds while tracking against the click-track). Once the TD25 MIDI performance is recorded, you can then route the MIDI track to an instance of EZ Drummer. You'll miss being able to play the EZ Drummer sounds in realtime... but it's the most effective work-around (to avoid latency). If you had a Thunderbolt audio interface like the Presonus Quantum... paired with a fast machine, you could trigger EZ Drummer in realtime... with no perceptible lag/latency. Quantum can run at 96k using a 32-sample ASIO buffer size (resulting in total round-trip latency of 1ms). At these settings, the machine has 1/3 of a millisecond to process the next buffer and get it in cue for playback. If anything interrupts this process, you'll hear glitches. This can be done, but (needless to say)... it's extremely demanding.

How does adding more cores affect latency and potential clock-speed? Generally speaking: To make effective use of significantly more cores, you're talking higher buffer sizes. The more cores on the CPU, the harder it is to achieve high clock-speed Super tight enclosures mean low clock-speed (thermal limitations) Long Battery Life means low clock-speed AMD has 32 cores on 3970x Threadripper, but the all-core clock-speed is about 4GHz. Intel 10900k has 10 cores, with all-core clock-speed of 5.3GHz. At large buffer sizes, the 3970x will smoke the 10900k At smallest buffer sizes, the 10900k will smoke the 3970x In my experience, Mac laptops currently provide longer battery-life than most PC laptops. When using a laptop, I'm almost always plugged-in. 🤷‍♂️

Just a couple of points: "Long Battery Life" and "High Performance" are diametrically opposed. You can have one or the other... not both. General-purpose use (Office Apps, Surfing the Internet, etc) doesn't require much in the way of CPU. ARM CPUs are already fine doing these tasks (iPads). We work with a lot of Mac users who were essentially abandoned (as power-users) by Apple. Most often they're professional composers... who need specific components in a high-performance machine; a machine that can be expanded/upgraded as need demands. The new Mac Pro??? 7k for the base model. Specs our composer clients need would be ~$10,000... and still not offer the same speed/performance and custom/expansion/upgrade options.

2020 has been brutal. RIP Eddy Van Halen! 😥

If no MIDI data is recorded, none is arriving at the "Alesis Nitro" USB interface. Just read the User's Guide. You have to set Local Control to OFF. If it's set to ON, the pads will trigger the onboard sounds (but not send MIDI data). If it's set to off, the pads will send MIDI data. If you want to hear the Nitro sounds (while recording MIDI), make sure the MIDI track's Input Echo button is enabled.