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I'm surprised that I didn't address this a couple of years ago. In my varied career (I'm like @bitflipper in that regard 😊) I've worked for software companies both tiny and huge. Hardware/software integration, bundling deals, etc. were invariably the bailiwick of the marketing department. The marketing people would get together and schmooze, do lunch, hang out at NAMM, and either work out concrete deals, or just do what they could to convince their colleagues that mutual support would be beneficial to both companies. Anyone who's worked in "shrink wrap" (as we used to call it back when software shipped in boxes on CD or DVD ROM's, but it meant "consumer" rather than corporate developed-in-house software) can probably attest to this. Despite the many benefits of BandLab's stewardship of Cakewalk, this is one area that at least up to this point, doesn't seem to have been covered. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but CbB has always relied on the simple fact that it's free to do its marketing (along with the stalwart advocacy of many YouTubers). I recall one appearance by the team at the 2019 NAMM Show, but there was a long gap between NAMM Shows, and these days, fewer and fewer companies even participate. As it transitions to payware, along with the revenues I hope comes greater attention to marketing, in this and other areas. I, and probably anyone else who's worked in development for shrink-wrap, used to roll my eyes whenever a marketing person would approach, because they were known for sometimes having unrealistic ideas about what would be possible and desirable. In retrospect, though, I realize more of what value they actually did bring to the table. They are the "boots on the ground" out there researching what (they think) people want, what new features might be important to add, etc. What they say of course should always be....reviewed, but there's great value in having a dedicated person or staff to do that stuff. Even if the developers are all musicians or whatever, they may not be working in the latest genres, etc. There have recently on this forum been more requests for better controller integration. This may be due to more younger people adopting the software and wanting to use it with pad controllers and the like. I'm an older people and I want to get more into realtime control, don't have a pad controller yet but I will someday. I need to crack my knuckles and spend some time in the woodshed with Ableton Live and Matrix View. I have one control surface, a Korg nanoKONTROL 2, and it's been an absolute pain in the rear to get it working with Cakewalk, despite the fact that one of the developers uses one in his own studio. For any who might question whether "official" support by the hardware company is that important, it would be good to know that both Cakewalk and the other company have your back if you have issues. I don't worry about this with plug-ins, because the companies I spend money with either state CbB compatibility or are reputable and established enough that if anything goes wrong, either the Cakewalk engineers or the plug-in developer will fix it pronto.

Hi everyone, We had an amazing NAMM 2019 show and it was so great to meet so many long time Cakewalk users as well as our business partners there. BandLab had a a beautifully designed space showcasing all the brands and Cakewalk had a very prominent presence at the show. Here are a few pictures. We had stage performances from several artists showcasing all the BandLab brands throughout the day including Heritage guitars, Harmony amps and guitars, and Tiesco pedals. We had a mobile recording rig set up and Cakewalk was used to record all the performances. Ashwin from BandLab and @Mike Balzarini did a fantastic job on the live sound and recording setup at short notice and everyone commented on how great the performances sounded. We recorded 8 channels for all the sets and I would upload the projects at the end of the day for @Jon Sasor and @Jesse Jost to mix and upload the finished tracks to BandLab using the new Export to BandLab feature that we just added in CbB. Jon did an amazing job mixing and mastering these at short notice. To listen to all the great music recorded live check out our NAMM 2018 feed. Jesse also posted some more information about the artists playing. Thanks again to you all for your support and for all our users who took the trouble to come to NAMM and meet us. It was great listening to your feedback and meeting you face to face. PS: I forgot to mention. This year all the demo songs played at NAMM came from Cakewalk users. It was great showing real world production projects at the show. Some of these were were full projects with all the plugin's intact. The Silverlight tune had tons of Slate plugins as well as an MP4 video clip synced to it. It played with no problems even at 256 samples on a Surface Book. Also some NAMM Videos that Meng shared in another thread:

You're probably saturated with reports & reviews of the 2019 Winter NAMM but here's a nice overview from KVR that's not mono-focused on just guitars or synths or something else. https://www.kvraudio.com/focus/winter-namm-2019-show-report-44260

Hi all - sharing some live recordings of a few of the inspiring artists who performed at the BandLab booth during NAMM! ❤️ All tracks recorded w/ Cakewalk and posted to our BL account. Check 'em out in our NAMM 2019 collection! Artist links: Angie Swan David Becker DMD the Band JayLeonardJay Mark Lettieri and Pals Michael Humphries Sarah Lipstate

Daryl and I with Noel at NAMM 2019 picking up the pieces.

We are excited to announce another significant update of our flagship software synthesizer Omnisphere®. Version 2.6 adds an enhanced Arpeggiator and dramatically expanded Hardware Synth Integration, with support for over 60 Hardware Synths! This update adds brand new profiles for such iconic synths as the Roland Juno-106, Alesis Andromeda and the Roland D-50, to the very latest synths like the Korg Minilogue XD and Moog One - as well as dozens of other user requested models. The FREE update will also include hundreds of inspiring new patches for all registered Omnisphere 2 users and will be available in March. Major Arpeggiator Update Omnisphere’s renowned Arpeggiator has been greatly enhanced with all new creative tools, a brand new preset library and much more. The musical possibilities are vastly expanded, making it one of the most flexible arpeggiators ever, while still being fun to use. Best of all, Omnisphere 2.6 can now capture the MIDI data of what the arpeggiator is doing as a standard MIDI file, which can be dragged to any DAW for further editing! Expanded Hardware Synth Integration Omnisphere’s unique Hardware Synth Integration feature bridges the physical experience gap between software and hardware, giving users intuitive control of Omnisphere by using the familiar layout of their hardware synth. With the new 2.6 release, many requested hardware synth profiles have been added, including support for over 60 popular hardware synthesizers from Moog®, Sequential®, Roland®, Korg®, Novation®, Nord®, Behringer®, Access®, Studiologic® and Yamaha®. The supported hardware synths cover a wide array of form factors and price ranges for different types of users. New Sounds Omnisphere 2.6 features a newly expanded “Hardware Library” with hundreds of new patches created by Eric Persing and our renowned Sound Development team. Notably, this update takes Eric’s classic sound design work from the original 1987 Roland D-50 into completely new sonic territory with Omnisphere’s vast synthesis capabilities. New Hardware Synth Profiles added in v2.6 include: • Roland Juno-106 • Roland D-50/PG-1000 • Alesis Andromeda A6 • Behringer Deepmind • Access Virus Indigo 1 • Access Virus Indigo 2 • Access Virus C • Access Virus TI • DSI/Sequential Pro 2 • DSI/Sequential Prophet 08 • DSI/Sequential Mopho • Roland JP-8000 • Roland JP-8080 • Roland Gaia • Roland JD-Xi • Roland SH-201 • Nord Wave • Nord Lead 3 • Nord Lead 4 • Nord Lead A1 • Nord Stage 3 • Moog One • Moog Minitaur • Korg MicroKorg • Korg MicroKorg XL • Korg Minilogue XD • Korg MS-20i • Korg MS-2000 • Novation MiniNova • Yamaha Reface CS *complete list of new features and supported synths will be announced upon the official release in March 2019. Pricing and Availability Omnisphere 2.6 is a FREE update to all registered Omnisphere 2 users! Official Release March 2019 All specifications subject to change without notice. All trademarks are the property of their respective holders

Just wanted to wish the whole Cakewalk and Bandlab group well wishes for a great NAMM show. Go break a leg😉

First of all, kudos on a great job with the new website/forum. It took me a bit to get to how you insert a picture on the avatar, but I finally figured it out. Second-I saw in Meng's announcement/introduction to the forum that Bandlab will have a booth at the upcoming NAMM show. Does this mean that some new products pertaining to Cakewalk (ie, new DAW's, plugins, hardware etc.) are on the horizon? 😀John B.

Soundtheory Announces Windows Version of Gullfoss Debuts Windows version of Gullfoss Intelligent EQ at NAMM 2019 with special introductory pricing Soundtheory announces the Windows version of their intelligent automatic EQ plugin, Gullfoss. Windows users get a first look at the 2019 NAMM Show in the Anaheim Convention Center from January 24 through January 27, 2019. Gullfoss is an intelligent equalizer based on a highly advanced computational model of auditory perception. It makes objective decisions on equalization around 300 times per second. The user can increase the perception of clarity, space and dimension of any input signal — with low latency (22ms), and no artifacts or phase destruction. Additionally, Gullfoss eliminates annoying resonances and cancellations and retains dynamics and reduces the need for multiband compression. Gullfoss is an easy-to-use tool for everyone from the amateur musician to the professional mastering engineer, delivering exceptional results in a matter of seconds. Key Features Automatic equalization in real-time, based on simple input parameters Highly advanced computational auditory perception model makes objective processing decisions Intelligently treats sound elements in the mix separately Improves clarity, detail, spatiality, definition and presence Eliminates annoying resonances and cancellations Retains dynamics and reduces the need for multiband compression Mixes translate much more consistently between listening environments Improve your mixes by watching the real-time EQ graph display Price and Availability Gullfoss for Windows will be available at a special introductory early access price of $99 USD at Soundtheory - Reveal your sound from the end of February 2019 (regular price: $199.00). https://www.soundtheory.com/home

MIDI Association Feb 23rd news on MIDI 2.0 MIDI 2.0 prototyping session at Winter NAMM 2019 At the MIDI 2.0 prototyping session at NAMM, a number of MIDI 2.0 features were demonstrated. There have been over 100,000 people who have visited the MIDI.org site in the past month viewing the information on MIDI 2.0. We have been monitoring the comments on various websites and wanted to provide some more information about MIDI 2.0. to clarify several points. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will MIDI 2.0 devices need to use a new connector or cable? No, MIDI 2.0 is a transport agnostic protocol. -Transport- To transfer or convey from one place to another -Agnostic- designed to be compatible with different devices -Protocol-a set of conventions governing the treatment and especially the formatting of data in an electronic communications system That's engineering speak for MIDI 2.0 is a set of messages and those messages are not tied to any particular cable or connector. When MIDI first started it could only run over the classic 5 Pin DIN cable and the definition of that connector and how it was built was described in the MIDI 1.0 spec. However soon the MIDI Manufacturers Association and Association of Music Electronic Industries defined how to run MIDI over many different cables and connectors. So for many years, MIDI 1.0 has been a transport agnostic protocol. MIDI 1.0 messages currently run over 5 PIN Din, serial ports, Tip Ring Sleeve 1/8" cables, Firewire and Ethernet and all the different variations of USB cables. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can MIDI 2.0 run over those different MIDI 1.0 transports now? No, new specifications need to be written for each transport. There is a new Universal Packet Format that will be common to all modern transports that will help make this work move quicker. The new Universal Packet contains both MIDI 1 .0 messages and MIDI 2.0 messages plus some messages that can be used with both. The most popular MIDI transport today is USB. The vast majority of MIDI products are connected to computers or hosts via USB. USB is the first target for MIDI 2.0. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will MIDI 2.0 provide more reliable timing? Yes, and not only that the timing for MIDI 1.0 can also be improved. One of the new messages that can work with both MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0 are Jitter Timestamps. Goals of JR Timestamps: -Capture a performance with accurate timing -Transmit MIDI message with accurate timing over a system that is subject to jitter -Does not depend on system-wide synchronization, master clock, or explicit clock synchronization between Sender and Receiver. Note: There are two different sources of error for timing: Jitter (precision) and Latency (sync). The Jitter Reduction Timestamp mechanism only addresses the errors introduced by jitter. The problem of synchronization or time alignment across multiple devices in a system requires a measurement of latency. This is a complex problem and is not addressed by the JR Timestamping mechanism. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can MIDI 2.0 provide more resolution? Yes, MIDI 1.0 messages are usually 7 bit (14 bit is possible by not widely implemented because there are only 128 CC messages). In MIDI 2.0 velocity is 16 bit and the 128 control change messages, 16,384 Registered Controllers, 16,384 Assignable Controllers, Poly and channel pressure and Pitch Bend are 32 bit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can MIDI 2.0 make it easier to have microtonal control and different non-western scales? Yes, MIDI 2.0 allows direct pitch control of individual notes ( see video) More MIDI 2.0 info...

The "release dates" so far...........Q3 2019........Q4 2019.......will be launched at NAMM.......FEB 20.......MAR 20.......definitely by end April 20......Now May 27th 20. Forgive me if I refuse to get too excited just yet.

Up to 70% off IK's most popular software titles Summer NAMM is in session and so are the savings! Now through the end of July 2019, save up to 70% off on some of IK's top music software, including hits like AmpliTube 4, T-RackS 5, Syntronik, and more - including our huge suite of music creation software Total Studio 2 MAX. Save big on the following music software: AmpliTube 4 $/€149.99 $/€79.99 T-RackS 5 $/€149.99 $/€79.99 SampleTank 4 SE $/€149.99 $/€79.99 Miroslav 2 Classik Edition $/€149.99 $/€79.99 Lurssen Mastering Console $/€159.99 $/€79.99 Syntronik $/€299.99 $/€79.99 Syntronik (boxed) $/€329.99 $/€89.99 ARC System 2.5 $/€199.99 $/€99.99 Total Studio 2 MAX $/€999.99 $/€549.99 Total Studio 2 MAX (boxed) $/€1,029.99 $/€574.99 Total Studio 2 MAX Crossgrade $/€699.99 $/€374.99 Total Studio 2 MAX Crossgrade (boxed) $/€699.99 $/€389.99 Total Studio 2 MAX MAXgrade $/€499.99 $/€269.99 Total Studio 2 MAX MAXgrade (boxed) $/€529.99 $/€284.99 Total Studio 2 MAX Upgrade $/€249.99 $/€149.99 Total Studio 2 MAX Upgrade (boxed) $/€279.99 $/€164.99 All purchases from the IK online store are subject to VAT in the EU and may vary by country. Although IK strives to provide accurate product and pricing information, unintentional pricing or typographical errors may occur. IK reserves the right to correct, change or update information such as pricing, availability and product descriptions, at any time without notice. Sale through 7/31/19.

Premium Plugins For Only $15 Gatey Watey ONLY $15 (REG $49) Get Gatey Watey Gatey Watey is a lightweight but clever gate plugin. Unlike traditional gates, Gatey Watey lets you choose which frequencies get attenuated when the level drops below the threshold, making for a much more natural sounding gate. Little Clipper ONLY $15 (REG $49) Get Little Clipper The essential clipper. Little Clipper includes all the features you need from a clipper, and lays it out in a way that makes it simple to dial in. BONUS OFFER! GET 75% OFF ANOTHER PLUGIN! Purchase either of the two plugins above and receive a personal code valid for 75% off any additional plugin of your choice! Coupon code valid for one week from date received Get ready for NAMM 2019 the right way with BOZ!

Since I won't be able to visit NAMM, I hope you all post lovely pictures and blog posts about the booth and your participation at 2019 NAMM.

150 GBP Compact MIDI controller with transport controls, illuminated function keys, rotary encoders and a single 100mm motorised fader. We’re pleased to announce that the Icon Platform Nano is now available in the UK. First announced at Winter NAMM 2019, the latest addition to Icon’s series of compact USB-MIDI controllers takes a selection of features found on the larger Platform M+ and re-packages them in an even smaller footprint. Designed for recording and mixing on the move or where space is at a premium, the Platform Nano is the perfect studio tool for engineers, musicians and producers looking for advanced control of their mobile recording sessions. https://www.synthax.co.uk/latest/2019/07/26/icon-platform-nano-now-shipping/?utm_source=Now+Shipping%3A+Icon+Pro+Audio+Platform+Nano+(USB-MIDI+Controller)&utm_campaign=Newsletter+-+26-07-19&utm_medium=email

Been using the arranger track in Studio One for two years now. So glad to see CbB finally get this feature after Noel and I discussed it in great deal at NAMM in 2019. Now how about nested folders and a Chord track?

Finally something worth having. 😀 Anyone know what the latest is with Scaler 2? Was going to be November 2019, then NAMM, but still no sign of it and they've put the price of v1 UP.

I am a non dues paying member of the MIDI Manufacturing Association (MMA) and subscribe to the MMA newsletter. The January, 2019 newsletter indicates several manufacturers plan to show instrument prototypes using MIDI 2.0 at the 2019 Winter NAMM (National Association of Music Manufacturers) show. The newsletter describes MIDI 2.0 as follows: Anyone can become a non dues paying member of the MMA and subscribe to the MMA newsletter at: https://www.midi.org/

Awesome, I'll be at Namm with GHS Strings, looking forward to saying hi again Noel. I have two for you, both released 2019: Voyager at the Heliopause Ambient instrumental, with lyrics in morse code. Here's a music video with 3D animation I did - all of which are scientifically accurate recreations of Voyager's journey through the solar system. Drive Synth heavy dance track with vocals.

Congratulations Cakewalk 2019 NAMM!! Hope to see some more nice updates as well as plugins & add-ons in 2019.... P.S. Send me one of those awesome T's 😉 Cakewalk user since 2005...

Dear users, We are proud to introduce our new dynamic processor plug-in: PSP Twin-L - a dual algorithm classic limiter. The aim of this plug-in is to provide a wide variety of shaping options. The plug-in is able to emulate the main features of two types of limiter: VCA-limiters, which is a modern type of analog limiter, and Opto-limiters which are vintage optical limiters. The new fully featured 30 day demo version is available on our download page. To see the PSP Twin-L in action you can visit our booth 19203 at the Winter NAMM show, which begins tomorrow. Introductory offer! Until the 3rd February 2019 you can buy PSP Twin-L at the special introductory price of $49*. As a registered user of our other processors plug-ins you can get it at an even better price (up to 44% additional discount). To see your final price for the PSP Twin-L: log into your user account, go to the store and put the PSP Twin-L into your cart. Starting from the 4th February 2019 the regular price of $69* will be applied. (* all prices include taxes) https://www.pspaudioware.net/register/store.php www.PSPaudioware.com

We are indeed entering the final phase of the year, which is always the busy sales season. Traditionally "all Fridays in November are black" at PA, but this year November even has 5 Fridays! We will start the madness that is Black Friday with our Week 1 Offer, which will be a very special offer for the MEGA Bundle Annual plan. In my mind this plan is the most affordable way of having permanent access to ALL our current tools and toys. It is also easily the perfect solution for all of you who may be tired of chasing plugin deals every week. Are you already a monthly subscriber and are thinking about committing for a year and switching to the annual plan? If so, do it now! Well, in 12 hours from now... the yearly savings you can get from this upcoming MEGA offer will easily be worth it. Stay tuned, we're launching our 1st Black Friday offer of the year at midnight today (California time, PST). BF Weeks 2-5 will have more traditional offers for those of you who prefer buying a few plugins once in a while rather than subscribing to the big bundle. We'll have lots of great deals for all our best selling plugins for you during Black Friday - and even more offers during the upcoming XMAS sales. The prices will not change within this quarter btw, so if you see something you like at a price you like, you can go ahead, knowing this very plugin will not be sold cheaper just a few days later! The one thing we will not discount is the monthly plan for the subscription bundles. We have thousands of satisfied users for that bundle, and the only way to save even more is to commit to an annual plan. Another topic to address is the upcoming loyalty voucher codes. Traditionally we are not sending out any loyalty vouchers in December, so the November vouchers will be the last ones of that type to go out this year. All future loyalty vouchers will have a minimum order value attached to them, as we are seeing way too many people (ab-)using them in ways that they were never intended for. We see users selling them, trading them, using multiple vouchers from various users in one account within a month, etc. Obviously, this is something we cannot accept. We want our loyal customers to get some of their dream plugins at really affordable pricing, but we are not in the business of giving away multiple free plugins each month to users tricking the system. So, while all our future loyalty vouchers will of course still be worth every Cent they represent, they will be tied to a certain minimum spend in the future. The minimum spend for the popular $25 loyalty voucher for example will be $32, so you can even still use them to activate 2 or more used licenses you may buy somewhere, or for any $39.99 deal and more. We imagine this won't be the most popular decision we are presenting here, but we hope you will understand. What else? Well, one thing I get asked about on social media and at trade shows (I love meeting you guys at AES and NAMM shows) all the time is upcoming releases. Yes, we have plenty of them planned! The two that are planned for 2019 still are the new Dear Reality dearVR Pro major update (FREE for all existing users and for all MEGA Bundle subscribers!), and the Lindell Vintage Neve TMT console emulation! The dearVR Pro is scheduled to be out within roughly a week now, and the Lindell Vintage TMT Console should be out before the end of the year as well. Let's hope final testing goes fine for Lindell and the PA beta test group. So far things look very promising. The new TMT console emulation by Lindell will be the first time Brainworx is officially licensing the patent-pending TMT concept to a 3rd party, and I am excited to share this new plugin with you all very soon. It definitely adds a different flavor to the line of PA console emulations. Will the new Lindell plugin be included in the MEGA Bundle for FREE / at no extra cost? Yes, it will. We'll also have great intro offers for the new plugins, even during the promotional season. Then, one weird thing happened last week, and I want to share it with you as a side note: for the first time ever we have released a product that I decided we won't actively promote like all the other launches we do! It's the "forever license" version of the MEGA Bundle. In general I am super proud of this collection of currently 108 plugins from almost 30 brands with a total list price value of more than $17,500.00 (let that sink in!). But, even at the way reduced bundle price of "just" $6,999.99 I just don't feel like proposing to anybody to really go out and simply buy that bundle. Why? Because unlike the subscription bundles, which offer you future additions or updates at no extra cost, this perpetual MEGA bundle is just NOT the best deal out there in my mind. And I want as many people as possible to be able to get onboard with our best deal. This is why we created the subscription bundles in the first place. So, for those who have asked about it, you can buy it now. But I'd rather ask you to get a $24.99 subscription or our annual plan instead! You could be subscribed to the MEGA Bundle for roughly 30 years (!), instead of paying for the bundle in one payment. Please, do the math, and think of what will be coming in the next few years! Can you imagine how many new plugins, services and updates we will release in the next 30 years? I mean, the Plugin Alliance has only been around since 2012, but we have released well over 100 plugins in these 8 years already... and I don't see us slowing down in the future. Anyway, whether you join the thousands of people who have signed up to the new subscription bundles right away, or whether you prefer to get a "steal deal" once in a while during one of our current or future promotions, the PA team and I really do appreciate your being around. Thank you for your continued support. I mean it! Please stay tuned, there are more emails going out in about 12 hours from now! Lastly, I wanted to invite you all to my new personal facebook page: NEW! Dirk Ulrich Facebook Page Best wishes, happy mixing, and have a great holiday season!

Official, yes. Shipping yet, no. https://www.musicradar.com/news/namm-2019-toontracks-ezbass-promises-to-do-for-your-low-end-what-ezdrummer-did-for-your-beats 4th Quarter this year.

Dear Cakewalk by Bandlab developers @Noel Borthwick Please implement the two MIDI standards released during the January, 2019 NAMM show. MPE stands for MIDI Polyphonic Expression. This specification is designed for MIDI controllers that allow the performer to vary the pitch and timbre of individual notes while playing polyphonically. It is an expanded message set that provides more nuanced control of individual notes while maintaining 100 percent compatibility with the previous message set. MIDI-CI, or MIDI Capability Inquiry, improves MIDI capabilities in several key areas. MIDI-CI allows devices to use an expanded MIDI protocol with high resolution and multiple per note controllers. MIDI-CI assumes and requires bidirectional communication. Once a MIDI-CI connection is established between devices, query and response messages define what capabilities each device has. MIDI-CI then negotiates or auto-configures to use those features that are common between the devices. MIDI-CI provides test mechanisms when enabling new features. If a test fails, then devices fall back to using MIDI 1.0 for that feature. Specifications to implement the new features are available for download here: https://www.midi.org/specifications-old/item/the-midi-1-0-specification

I am not sure if it was because being Windows only since Vegas Pro is hugely popular despite not being cross-platform (The same applies to Logic Pro and Final Cut). In my opinion, The Bandlab move is extremely clever, because they just converted a losing ground DAW into a no brainer DAW for Windows users (cost-functionality wise). Here you can see the number of times that people have shown some interest on Cakewalk during the last two years: the first remarkable point is coincident with the Cakewalk closure, the second is coincident with the Bandlab resurrection and the program going free and the third is maybe mainly because of the Bandlab NAMM presence. https://trends.google.es/trends/explore?date=2017-01-01 2019-04-02&q=Cakewalk It is not crazy to think on a new big press announcement from Bandlab during this year, specially since they already own the Music-Tech magazine. In my opinion, Cakewalk future looks promising and probably more than ever.