Lost my Microsoft GM driver with CbB 2023.09 - help please

[John Speth]

Today I installed the recommended last no-cost CbB update (2023.09). It seems to have disconnected my Microsoft GM driver. Can anyone help me get it back?

Minutes prior to installing 2023.09, I was listening to a project in which all tracks output to Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth. After installing, I restarted CbB and reloaded the same project. The Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth was missing and output was sent to a different audio output. I've always taken it for granted the the MS GM driver is loaded. Now I don't know how to recover it. I have ASIO mode selected.

Please help! - John Speth

[Starship Krupa]

Snark aside, I suspect that you'll have better luck using the included TTS-1 synth for playing back General MIDI. It should work, and it will definitely sound better.

[Promidi]

See:
 

 

[Glenn Stanton]

32 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said:

Why on earth would you want to use the world's worst sounding GM synth is beyond me though....

wait, what? have you missed the entire modern music thingie going on?  lol 🫣

[John Vere]

And seem hundreds of people are installing this version which is not the actual final release it’s the test version. Why on earth did they put it in the toaster? 
Actually the toast never popped up on my main DAW but it did on the other 2. 
I installed it on my office computer and really haven’t had time to use it. 

[Lord Tim]

I seem to recall EA releases being advertised in the toast before though. Was this not always the case? 🤔

[Will.]

3 hours ago, Lord Tim said:

I seem to recall EA releases being advertised in the toast before though. Was this not always the case? 🤔

I've installed my EA 9mins after it was release on the site. I immediately fired up CbB, went to the HELP TAB and it couldnt find the update. There were no breakfast toast for me. 

So, i downloaded mine from the google drive given in the Link. 

[Mark Morgon-Shaw]

13 hours ago, John Speth said:

I was listening to a project in which all tracks output to Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth.

They probably figured nobody used this relic from a bygone era. It harks back to the Win98 era and sounded horrible 20 years ago. I remember buying a Yamaha TG300 so I didn't have to listen to such awful sounds but that has long been sold.  TTS1 sounds markedly better and even that is relatively terrible sounding in today's landscape although I guess it has it's uses ( like making click tracks ) 

There are tons of awesome souding free virtual instruments out there or if you want to stick with naff sounds use TTS1   

Edited September 7, 2023 by Mark Morgon-Shaw

[John Speth]

Thanks, Promidi, for the only non-noise answer. It's unfortunate news and I don't even use Win11.

The reason I want the MS GM driver is simple. By default, Cakewalk uses the MS GM device for MIDI output when cakewalk opens a .mid file. This default behavior made it fast work to preview .mid files without any configuration hassles - just click to open and listen. That's no longer possible. I admit the MS GM sounds are not great but they're good enough to help me decide if I use the .mid file or abandon it.

 

[Byron Dickens]

TTS-1 accomplishes the same thing.

[Starship Krupa]

On 9/11/2023 at 10:48 AM, John Speth said:

Thanks, Promidi, for the only non-noise answer.

So you consider suggestions to substitute a superior synth that you already have to be "noise?"

Well, whatever. Using TTS-1 in Cakewalk will allow you to play back GM files and have them sound better than the way that has stopped working.

[John Vere]

You can use the TTS-1 as the default for Opening a midi file All you need to do is unchecked all the midi outputs in Preferences/ Midi/ Devices including the MS GM player 

Details found here 

 

[Byron Dickens]

Why on earth would you want to use the world's worst sounding GM synth is beyond me though....

Edited September 6, 2023 by Byron Dickens

[John Speth]

On 9/13/2023 at 9:17 AM, Starship Krupa said:

So you consider suggestions to substitute a superior synth that you already have to be "noise?"

Yes, I do. I asked for a way to get the named driver working again. A work-around doesn't answer the question.