aidan o driscoll

Ok, Just tried it on a relatively freshly installed windows 10 system. This has Old cakewalk & Command ctr installed plus had Bandlab Assistant v5.2.0 / BL CW installed. I first updated BL assistant to 6, then attempted to install. BL Assistant sat at progress bar installing. I had to close BLA in the system tray and restart it .. it then went ahead and installed after that. Could it be those of us with old CW/Cmd Ctr installed as this new ver is installing CLASSIC CREATIVE Suite, something already installed by old CW SONAR Plat?

Yip .. elsewhere i stated I had this issue. I solved it - After opening BL assistant to try update it got stuck on Download .. so I closed down BL assistant in the system tray and reopening again and clicked on update once more, that worked BUT it still stuck on download in BL Assistant, i just clicked the x and it then said complete. I also noticed my BL Assistant ver was 5.2.0 so downloaded the latest version from site and it upgraded to v6. In hindsight that may have been the issue?

I launched bandlab Assistant and went to update CW in the APPS tab. It got stuck on Download, went no further. However I Solved this by closing the bandlab assistant app by right clicking in the system tray and quit. Relauched it and then selected update and it worked. My BL assistant 5.2.0 .. does that need updating? EDIT - Aha, just downloaded BL assistant and my v5.2.0 went to v6. Maybe that was the issue

Big difference tween BEATs and MPC 2 is the LATTER has unlimited tracks ( Beats limited to 8 midi/inst tracks, 2 Audio tracks ). Otherwise they are essentially the same. Maybe the start screen thing will arrive to MPC 2 via an update? I would leave both installed but maybe start using BEATS initially to get into the how it all works, there are lots of new tute vids on youtube for Beats, many are linked here further back the pages. Then when you are happy with how whole thing works maybe then decide on what to keep/remove?

Try LOOPCLOUD ( Free month ) .. compare and contrast

BTW as a $10pm Loopcloud subscriber you get to download 25 free samples per DAY ( so multiply that by even a month, thats LOTS ). You also build up ( I think ) 250 points per month that roll over. These points allow you to buy individual samples from all the loopmasters collections/packs OR to buy whole packs in one if you wish. Everything is priced in points. I love the fact you can buy every sample individually so you can mix and match w/o having to buy a whole pack to get just a few Even if you go for the month free you get lots of welcome packs with GBs of samples. If you decide to from Loopcloud after a month the Loopcloud utility and the VSTs all still work with whatever samples you already have / bought AND your own samples on HD

Ken, keep in mind some more history that I sort of mentioned and will expand on now. Only for Bandlab rescuing CW from GIBSON ( which was not a match made in heaven at all and was touch and go for a good while in fact, where many CW users had to go looking for other DAWs before the bandlab intervention as Gibson were pretty much going to drop it and effectively bury it forever ) you or I would not be here getting what we previously would have had to pay lots of cash for but are now getting it free. A pro DAW ( Digital Audio Workstation ) for nothing .. which up to a few years ago and since the 90s I paid for. I have no gripes with this, i am just very happy that Bandlab kept CW alive ( and icing on the cake is they are constantly updating it SEPARATE FROM BANDLAB own products ) and I dont begrudge them us using a UTILITY with there own audio platform + cakewalk for that reason. I would say something if they were forcing me to use Bandlabs own audio platform online or changing / morphing CW into there own software ( they are not ) or if they were constantly emailing me and badgering me, they do not. In fact I have not got one single marketing email from them trying to get me to use there other products. Bandlab are not a social media platform, Im not sure where you are getting that idea from. If you look you will find they have an online DAW so to speak where beginners particularly or casual users can drag drop samples online to create tracks online. There is a bit of integration of this into Cakewalk via import if you want, but not compulsory. CW is no longer just for MIDI, but it can be if you want, ignore the rest. The phrase DAW / Digital Audio Workstation years back came to the fore as an expansion on the word Sequencer which generally just meant MIDI only really in the early days. CW now handles recording Audio and / or importing samples to tracks along side your midi tracks. Its the audio samples end that Bandlabs other business is involved with and also as I mentioned, loopcloud. Instead of back in the day having a harddrive full of space eating samples NOW new cloud services are arising like Bandlab and Loopcloud where you can subscribe monthly, yearly and load these samples directly into your DAW from your cloud space where your samples are now stored vs on your Harddrive. Again I find no issue with this, it makes good use of the cloud concept. Another good use of the cloud as is the case with Bandlabs own offering is it allows amateurs and pro's alike to collaborate in the cloud with your tracks IF YOU WISH, so now you are expanding your base of potential partner muso's in a project beyond your own area and all online. SO tbh Ken ... your issues noted, its still back to your choice whether to use CW in its present form or not, it was either that OR cakewalk NO MORE. As for many others having an issue with the Bandlab Assistant Utility in general, I would very much doubt that ( people might have functionality issues ok, but Bandlab seem to respond to these ) .. as I said its the new way of doing things and again, personally I have no issue with it, in fact for me it simplifies things .. but hey thats just me!! PS - Not alone did Bandlab rescue Cakewalk out of the fire, they pretty much also kept most of the original crew of developers in work right up to this day. Some of them have responded to your thread if you look at the sigs of the replies

Also at LOOPCLOUD if you want All the unity packs that make up this sampler, quiet a few free with the sub

Yip .. sorry, was a bit confused by your message ... So its an Audio I/F with midi in out? A post above, the new KOMPLETT Audio 2 has midi ports at the back. A few of the Focusrite have midi ports too, and a few of the presonus I/Fs also. And then the new M-Audio I/Fs also have midi ports

By that do you mean you are looking for an audio i/f with midi ports? AND you are looking for a controller keyboard?

Installing 2020.08 now and will be trying. Why dont you do the same? I assume you be installing 2020.08 regardless anyway? So worst case is Beats crashes again and we have to wait a little further .. I think the developers are aware of this issue?

Ken, I feel that Cakewalk (or presumably Bandlab are the new owners) have done themselves a disservice. Can I really be blamed for suspecting a piece of software which has such a baffling installation route which obliges me to install and create an account on a social media platform that I don't want? You do have a choice .. dont install Cakewalk at all, try another DAW instead? You mentioned you were away for 20 years so to speak. Well if you look at countless other software these days you will see the vast majority now use a utility like Bandlab Assistant to centralise the install and updating of that companies software. Other examples are Native Access for Native Instruments apps, Arturia Software Center for the Arturia plugs, Waves Central for the waves plugs .. the list goes on and on, its the way things are done now because unlike 20 years ago everything is now connected to the cloud/internet. Also handy in that you never need keep the bulky installation files into the future, simply use these portal type utilities to install wherever and whenever you like. I can read. I got the list of titles with the checkboxes. I'm still at a complete loss, though, as to what any of these items are. It's undeniable that they have the odour, like so many other pieces of "free" software, of something which is trying to tag itself into an installer in the full knowledge that nobody ever reads the EULA! If you HAD BEEN using Cakewalk more recently than 20 years ago when it was known as Sonar you would have ALSO had the option of installing these extras. The reason its an option is because different people use different things .. plugins etc. Its down to whether you see any use for these optional extras. You can always install them, check them out and if you dont likey go into your Windows Control Panel, Programs & Features and uninstall again. They are optional extras not core software. If they're so great, why not just install them anyway as part of the package? As I say, I'm obliged to install Bandlab whether I want to or not. Again they are optional extra's .. up to each user if they feel the need for them or not. As i said, install them, try them, if of no use uninstall them again. Like buying a car with the optionals, however in this case the optionals are FREE to you as is the car itself in this case. The answer is twofold: The circuituitous route by which I had to obtain the software, and its having invited me to also add some previously unknown, and undescribed add-ins. Many freeware authors also have sub installers and some of them are adware. That's not even my point. These are titles meaningful only to people who have used them; meaningless to someone who's installing the software for the first time. IF you were using Cakewalk way more recently than 20 years ago you would be well familiar with these "sub Installers" as you call them. Also since 20 years ago the world of MIDI and Sequencer software ( now known as a DAW - Digital Audio Workstation ) has changed substantially. Almost to a point of being unrecognisable if you were to compare now and 20 years ago. BUT if you install the FREE Cakewalk NOW, it is up to you how much or how little of it YOU want to use. You can use just MIDI tracks as of old if you wish, but as I said things are far more advanced and richer now. So up to you whether you wish to embrace all this change or not .. as always YOUR CHOICE, no one is forcing you to install or not to install. With respect to the Bandlab Assistant utility which I explained a bit about above, It requires an account login, as this or any other forum requires. The same login you used for this forum is the one you use in the Bandlab Assistant utility. Once into that utility and seeming as it was BANDLAB who graciously took over Cakewalk from the brink of becoming no more .. they have sort of stitched it, as is there right into there Bandlab universe .. but as is with other things above, how much of the Bandlab part you want to use is thoroughly up to you. When in the Bandlab Assistant you can skip all the other bandlab related tabs and simply jump to the APPS tab and JUST install or update Cakewalk from there. You will not be troubled by Bandlab badgering you to use there online DAW or sample system, this has been the case from day one. BTW that bandlab online DAW and samples type thing is used by other companies these days .. an example is LOOPCLOUD who do something sort of similar ( i pay a tener a month for this BECAUSE I choose to use it ).

Will do .. I will be coming at it from a Guitar Player perspective. From the vid reviews above the front DI/Full jack sounds great for guitar / bass input. Says it will be with me on 17th BUT I would say alot faster TBH. Maybe mid week next week ( Bought from Amazon.co.uk, Im in Co. Cork, IRELAND )

Well thats it then .. FINALLY I bought the EVO on Amazon just there .. In my case it will not be travelling far. Sitting on my desk with my PC or next to my Laptop, thats it, staying in the house

BTW a review with a difference of the EVO from a singers viewpoint:

@razor7music This would be my exact thought. Where as i would LOVE to spend a good few €100 or €1000+ on an I/F, especially in these pandemic times, I just dont have that kind of cash. With that in mind I think I moght have the answer after a bit of research. I have settled on one of 2 devices from AUDIENT: The ID4 ST£119 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audient-18-90008-ID4-Audio-USB-Interface/dp/B0107YJU8Q/ The brand new EVO ST£99 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVO-Interface-production-audio-interface-microphone/dp/B084BGC5LR/ Have a listen to this review OF BOTH THESE Devices: I have to say i am conflicted .. in a good way. Each day i veer from one to the other for different reasons. The EVO has 2 XLR/Balanced inputs and DI. The ID4 has One XLR/Balanced input and DI. The EVO is plastic, the ID4 is Metal. However the inards and the tech is top notch with Audient bringing circuitry from its high end stuff. The latency is brilliantly low. So have a look .. thoughts here would be great especially if anyone here has an audient I/F

Being discussed over here already, scroll down the page, I also added a video on the matter there:

Once you have a track done in Bandlab mix editor online and its saved it should appear as a project in your Bandlab Assistant app. Open this and in the library tab you should see your project. On right of project name once you mouse over it is 3 dots, click these and then Download stems. It then creates a folder under your Documents\BandLab\Downloads\ .. inside the project folder is a .blx file. Open cakewalk and then IMPORT and BANDLAB PROJECT .. then choose this .BLX File. It now opens inside CW. A bit flakey though. Some of the imported wavs in the audio folder of that BLX project wont open in CW. In my case one of the wavs would not open, I looked in the project folder and saw that the file was around 300KB in size only .. so something to do with the way Bandlab Assistant downloads the .BLX stem file. I also tried the download mix opetion, its opens your page on Bandlab in your browser and chucks up an error. So it looks like WAVS exported at the moment track per track until the mess above is sorted

Hi Guys, For anyone interested this guy does ( I think ) some really good matter of fact and technical reviews of many Audio I/Fs. Check out his Youtube Channel and then VIDEOS for all his reviews on various I/Fs etc - https://www.youtube.com/c/JulianKrause/videos : I am actually looking at the Komplete Audio 1 or 2. Others on short list are: - Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen - Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen - Presonus AudioBox USB 96 - Presonus Studio 24c This guy reviews them all, verdicts at end of reviews. I had a real think about what I need and TBH even the 1 x XLR and 1 x full jack on the Komplete Audio 1 would be OK with me because to be honest my main input from the real world into my DAW is guitar. At some point and at most I would need the XLR for a vocalist I work with using my AKG C 300B. The Komplete Audio 1 has RCA out puts at the back vs full jack. Again this is OK for me as i have my current M-Audio profire 610 rigged to my Sony Amp where I have to use full jacks converted to RCA anyway. About the presonus audiobox unit .. it seems to be well aging at this stage, it appears the better bet is the Studio 24 in that range which is newer. An advantage is they have MIDI ports BUT I am not using them these days. Only thing maybe at some point is I might dust off my old roland guitar synth / pickup unit BUT thats not a priority. Another reason now for demoting my M-Audio firewire is because I have a newer Core i5 system procured recently which is a mini tower that uses low profile cards, so no go for firewire card unless I buy a decent one which on average are all costing about €56+ .. better put that cash into a new I/F tbh. Having the I/F as USB also allows me to move it around from my new Desktop to my laptop and occasionally for travelling with .. the Komplete is small and light. So there ye go. And just in case .. has anyone tried the Komplete Audio 1 or 2? Thoughts?

So a Q? The workflow I have discovered is this. We start with a 2 bar SEQUENCE ( essentially a PATTERN, can be nore than 2 bars, thats up to you, it defaults at 2 ). You can add up to 128 Sequences ( top left under MIDI / AUDIO tabs ) Each SEQUENCE has up to 8 Midi Tracks + 2 Audio. Each track has a PROGRAM or a VST or a SAMPLE etc. Then to finish the workflow idea for anyone interested, to create your full track/song you go to SONG MODE ( this is under the downarrow to the right of all the modes listed up top left starting with that HOUSE Icon ) and arrange your sequences accordingly. Same idea as FL Studio with its Patterns and Song modes. SO the Q - just wondering as I have not looked at this yet. Does this mean each SEQUENCE has 8 midi tracks + 2 audio .. separately so to speak? So for each SEQUENCE you could load 8 different vsts, programs etc? OR is it 8 midi and 2 audio tracks in total? If its the former, then happy days .. this is not a huge limit then ..

How To Use MPC Beats in Cakewalk | Tutorial | What You Can And Cant Do Does a bit on the subject but also does a general tute on MPC while inside CW At 9.50 on .. he shows us how to crash CW and Beats

Back on page two I mentioned a SONG MODE. There is such a mode under FILE MENU, VIEW, then Mode and SONG. This is also available via a drop DOWN arrow at the end of the mode icons at the top left of the GUI ( Starting with the House Icon ). A song is an arrangement of sequences you create which are listed under MIDI top left of GUI under the mode icons. Another way of arranging a song is using the TRACK MUTE Mode. Here you can record the muting and unmuting of specific tracks into a complete song. If you have a keyboard with pads ( like the MPK Mini ), each track is assigned to a pad that you can tab to toggle track on / off.

OK Im going to say it .. this thing is the DOGS PROVERBIALs

@Wibbles That Ave McRee vid is very good .. Some real nice quick tools in MPC Beats to get drums and chords and sequences up fast especially if you have an AKAI Board like the MPK Mini. The PADS can be setup to play whole chords with just one pad pressed for a whole chord.

I see over at CAKEWALK for Bandlab Group on Facebook people having difficulty with MPC Beats in CW as a plugin: https://www.facebook.com/groups/333570523387557/ Posted by Jon Piro: "Does anyone use MPC Beats with Cakewalk? I just can`t make it load kits. It hangs forever and i have to force it to quit which crushes the daw, of course..." A response: "Same issue here.. I can get it to pull up but cant load anything.. It does work stand alone and in my FL and Reaper.. But cakewalk freezes then crashes.. I even loaded the 2020.7 version that just released same issue.."