John Vere

Ok, I see you actually use your outputs for hardware. No problem, just open a music player app and drag and drop the file to the playlist and it will play ( using the MS GM synth ? ) I just tested this on W10 22H2. Both Win Amp and Windows Media player play the file. I notice that Cakewalk no longer has the MS GM synth as an option so it would seem that this utility has been removed only from Cakewalk and not other apps yet. Other DAW's have built in GM players like Cubase uses the Halion synth. If you really want to use Cakewalk you would have to OPEN the midi file from the Menu or the desktop. If you have the outputs selected you will get all the midi tracks but no TTS'1. The midi tracks will be assigned to the output that was the top of the list. This is the default and why you have to de select the midi devices listed to trigger the insertion of the TTS-1. This can work if that device can play GM files. I have a Sound Canvas and a Korg 05/rw as example which are both GM. Then if you add the TTS-1 to the project you now have to change each tracks output. So it's much faster to simply uncheck the outputs first. This is Win Amp playing a midi file I just downloaded. It was how I previewed midi files a long time ago until I discovered the TTS-1 trick.

Rex I just read through this whole thread and I apologize for parts of my earlier comments. It’s funny how we read what we have said at a point in time and see how ignorant we were about certain things. I just bought the Zoom L8. Firstly because the mixer is perfect for my Solo act. Finally built in effects that I can actually use! But this 32 bit thing had me turn off my Motu M4 and connected the L8 and try it as an audio interface. This is with out a doubt the best interface I’ve owned. So far it is a big improvement over the Motu. No more loud thump on boot up. No more random garbled audio or just stopping for no reason? Excellent monitoring system with no fuss to get the balance in the headphones perfect and keep it that way. The list is long and I made a video about it so I’ll stop here. And yes I’m slowly learning about achieving a higher quality sound using a DAW that I was not even aware might be possible seeing as things have sounded pretty good to me more or less. But the other day I was listening to some of my new tracks with headphones and I started hearing crap I hadn’t noticed before. WTF Then I played a song I recorded on my Yamaha MD8 20 years ago and was blown away with the overall quality and dynamics of the sound! No computer was involved in that song. Real drums, bass, guitar and me singing into a very basic signal chain. A SM 58, Into the recorder which featured Yamahas top of the line pre amps due to a favour from a Yamaha service tech. A Yamaha compressor and a touch of Alesis micro verb. It was the energy and the performance that made this a great recording. I was also very good at engineering with this gear back then. After that Yamaha pre amp experience I’ve never been happy with the pre amps of any of my interfaces. I’ll see how the Zoom does but so far it seems about what you can expect at this very low price point. Then in the DAW I’ve learned that every time I add some stupid effect to my vocal track it immediately sounds weird and I end up removing the effect. I haven’t had to use Melodyne much for pitch correction because like you I have a million miles on my voice and I’m close enough for what I’m trying to accomplish. But I’ve been using it a lot for timing and loudness correction. After reading what you are saying I think you are totally onto something that needs a second look. Melodyne is probably yet another stupid effect I need to stop using and stop being lazy when I lay down vocals. I’m breaking my own rule number one - Don’t record crap and think you can just fix it. Im not sure still if going 32 bit will compensate for the so so pre amps but that’s what I’ve set up now 48/32 no dithering. Someone asked about the Round trip latency. The L8 is a little behind the Motu but the that said I can’t run the Motu at even 128. I tested the L8 at a 64 ms buffer recording with TH3 and a few midi instruments no problem. Having super low latency is useless if you can run at a lower buffer anyway.

I guess you haven’t watched my tutorials. I highly recommend you do and then you will see what is common practices for playback of Midi GM files in Cakewalk. Nobody who understands and uses Cakewalk or any DAW for that matter, has used the ( Dreaded) MS GM synth since 1994 or something. Most DAWs include a GM soft synth. Cakewalk has had the TTS1 for so long now it’s becoming worn out. As said the MS GM synth is sooo outdated it has been discontinued. You don’t see anything on the list because of its removal from supported apps as well as I guess you don’t own any midi hardware. That list is now exclusively for choosing midi hardware devices. Including the midi ports of Audio or Midi Interfaces I’m afraid a Realtek sound chip is not a midi device and never was. Do you see midi ports on your laptop? Only midi hardware comes with midi drivers. But you don’t need a midi device to play and use midi in any Sequencer including Cakewalk. Please watch the tutorials and then let us know how you’re making out And for sure ask questions.

For other who might find this thread in the future. There’s some misleading comments I feel need clearing up. First the title would imply that the update is faulty. If this was true then thousands of people would be here complaining. It’s theoretically the ultimate best version of Cakewalk ever. The only reason why an update might cause minor issues with some users is that something was never properly set up to begin with. So it reset to a default. The normal default is what you will see if you open a Basic or other Cakewalk template. The tracks are assigned to the Master bus. The master bus is assigned to 1/2 outputs of your interface or It will be Speakers if you are using Computer audio. Simple. This is the first thing you check if there’s no sound. The OP said no sound from midi tracks. Of course, midi doesn’t make sound. It is possible they were using the MS GM synth. They didn’t say there was sound from audio which is important. Midi doesn’t make sound on its own it needs an audio/instrument track to do that. That’s why I pointed to the videos because there can be infinite amount of things not set up properly and the videos take you step by step to achieve the correct set up to work smoothly in Cakewalk. The OP’s workaround possible solved the problem because apparently the MS GM synth is now unsupported. So to other new users starting out, take the time to watch the videos from the beginning to the end and as I said you might have to do this a few times before you get it. You will save yourself a lot of waisted time trying to sort things out on your own Cakewalk is complicated. This is the playlist that is best to watch in this order. Watch for end screen link to view in order.

Guess the OP never did read this post or the users manual.

This. I just worked on a similar project where it was a young bands very first live show. They had never used a PA other than for the 1 singer so the family asked if I could help them. I offered to also record the show as well. There were the occasional bass boners and wrong guitar chords etc. overall they played way better than I was expecting. And for a young band it was a surprise to hear them cover Southern Rock. But I thought it best to use the tools needed to remove any blunders. I mostly used my copy paste trick where you delete a bad note and see if you can copy it from elsewhere in the song. If that didn’t work then I used Melodyne. I’ll say that the reason overall they had no timing issues is the drummer was very focused on tempo and was not flashy at all. I also showed them how to put the bass player and amp right next to him so they can lock in. It also was a perfect venue. A huge stack of hay behind and an open Barn around them. They were very receptive to the idea of purchasing in ear monitors for future gigs. If you’ve never played in a band that uses them there’s one aspect not always mentioned. Stage latency. In ears tighten a band up if set up properly. Just use one if you like, that’s what I do. It’s like being in the studio at gigs. Modern mixers like the Behringer x18 are perfect for this.

I gave you the keys to the car ( The Video). But you can choose to push it still if you like. I think the keys would be an easier way to get to were you want to go.

If you have Cakewalk installed and set as Windows default for opening midi files you most certainly don’t need to suffer the MS wavetable synth. If you have nothing selected in preferences/midi/devices/ output. The TTS-1 will automatically open with Cakewalk when you double click an Midi file. TTS-1 is a GM synth so plays all GM files no problem. It is 10 x the sound quality of the MS wavetable. I only use it to preview download midi files. If I like file I replace the instruments with better stuff.

I’ve used them all as I started in 1985 with a Roland 505. So a basic step sequencer. Next I got my Atari DrT KCS and a Korg Poly800 which was only velocity 64. I had to learn how to edit in what is now the event list in Cakewalk. I created about 200 backing tracks which I still have the original midi files for. Still with the Atari in mid 90’s I bought a Roland P200 controller which had full velocity. So this was a breakthrough as now my parts could be played with proper dynamics and to this day it is my preferred method of creating drums. You get real good at it just like any instrument. I also own a Yamaha digital kit but my playing is worse on that and velocities and timing are all wrong so it’s 3 times the editing. Not a fan of metronome so I often draw the pattern that has the correct feel for the song in the step sequencer. thanks to my 505 knowledge, this creates a short midi clip and you just drag it out to fill in to end of song. You need to bounce this to be able to edit it. I carry on and get the other parts done and at some point come back and work this into a convincing part. Lots of options for this. Example delete the snare and re play it on the controller. Last thing I would ever do is waste time manually drawing nots. I just re enter using controller and then go in and edit. I don’t fuss a lot with having a zillion velocities. Just the basics. Like above mentioned Surf beat that’s snare on 2_and. With the and being softer.

I imagine they made it as an option because there will be many people who are not interested in using them so why include what would be considered bloatware by those users. It has always taken just a little bit of an effort on the users behalf to gather and install VST effects and instruments. I have my office computer that only has free stuff on it. It’s stuffed to the hilt. I test freebies and demos there before I install to my main DAW or laptop. I think I have 6 different free VST drums on it. XLN AD 2 demo, SSD , Power kit. Mondo. Session Drums was cool because you could sample your own drums and plunk them in it. I sampled my real kit once and it was spooky to hear it Via midi tracks.

https://www.solidstatelogic.com/support-page/downloads https://youtu.be/opDwsC4_llg

Had to laugh at some of what has been said because I think it just points out that one man’s Cheese is another man’s ?? Steak dinner?? Anyhow I just have to agree with Mark I had a rip off copy of BITB back in about 2004 just before I got Cakewalk. To me it’s a Mall organ. I’ve used cheap Casio keyboards that sound much better. The bass especially sounds like a tuned fart. And ya I tried it again in around 2015 and nothing had changed much. Just more styles And those drum rolls are almost a dead giveaway that a download midi file was created with it. It is a great tool for the folks who wish to create music that was based in 1958. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. But myself it would take 10 times longer to finish a song using it than just playing the parts ( badly) on my keyboard controller and then editing them. For me the best part of making music is actually playing it. No matter how bad I might be,I know I can fix it with midi and good old Cakewalk just the way it is. This feature as said is already well covered in other software and $150 keyboard workstations. I’d rather do it the hard way. It’s more fun.

You need to watch a few tutorials because things don’t work like that anymore. All DAWS including Cakewalk are totally capable of recording any midi keyboard, be it 5 pin DIN or USB and editing and playing the midi data back in sync using either VST soft synths or hardware sound modules. The ones on midi come a bit later but if you haven’t used Cakewalk before best to start at the beginning.

Session drummer came with pre SPlat versions of Sonar. Splat included Addictive Drums instead. That’s when I stopped using Session Drummer. It was Ok but sort of outdated now. If you have your old installers from the x series look for it there.

More than sage advice. I just recorded a live band a couple of weeks ago and not only the 14 tracks into Cakewalk but I had also set up a couple of video cameras. One Camera was right behind the drums about 8’ away. My overheads were the typical 3’ above the kit. Turns out the drummer rented the kit because his drum kit was worth a lot and he didn’t feel comfortable taking it out on the road. The cymbals were garbage. Anyhow my overheads only revealed this fact 100% and I had to almost kill them in the mix. but this one cameras audio track which of course was muted apparently seemed to have done a better job and was not as harsh. I grabbed the audio track from my video editor and plunked it into the multi track project. Yes it was totally late to the game. And yes I used my ears not my eyes to get it aligned with the other tracks. That track made the whole mix come alive because it added that room sound which was missing because I closed miked everything. So what Byron just said is very true in my little world. Ears not eyes. Your eyes will get it in the ballpark but your ears will make it musical.

With invasive drivers you cannot change the dialogue. The other device will show and you can select it but after you hit Apply the invasive driver returns. I was surprised my Tascam invaded the box as it never did this with Motu or Focusrite. But I guess Zooms driver isn't as robust.

Best to rule out all possibilities first. It is covered in the Audio Set up Video but I go over it all anyways. This is what we call an invasive ASIO driver and you will need to remove it using the REG EDIT app. ( see screen shot) I also posted what my preferences look like just to double check that yours look the same. The devices share a very similar driver. I have a few other audio interfaces and the Motu and Focurite do not take over the Latency adjustment. But I had to remove my Tascam driver from the Reg Edit list as it took over that dialogue. Ultimately only your Zoom device should be listed. Important! But once again I ask- Do the Master Bus and Hardware bus show meters moving, this is important as then this totally rules out that Cakewalk is not set up and that the issue is a setting in the Mixer or even a faulty USB cable.

I need to switch to using one monitor for Cakewalk and second monitor for viewing other apps a lot. Solution is simple. A workspace saved with one monitor set up multi dock at bottom and a workspace saved with multi dock on second monitor. It’s actually the only 2 workspaces I have. 2 seconds to flip over.

This is why I said turn on Ripple Edit. Then everything in the project will move including the tempo track. Remember to turn it off when done.

A screenshot of your console view showing the bus section and the hardware outputs might shed some light on things. Nothing has changed in the update that would cause this other than a possible reset to default. Default output from master bus is 1/2 output. If you check this is correct and the master is showing signal then next step is to check the hardware strips on the right of the bus section. It might be hidden drag it into view. The 1/2 Hardware strip should also show meter action. If this is all good then it’s a routing issue in the mixer. Example my Zoom L8 uses channel strip 7 for 1/2 outputs from DAW. That’s why I keep asking what the master buss output says.

You really need to watch my video I posted above as we should not be talking about HDMI connections with using Cakewalk in ASIO mode. ANd did you check your master output. ASIO mode is essential to using your mixer. I have a Zoom L8 and I'm just in the process of creating a video about using it as an audio interface and I am using the latest update version of Cakewalk.

Did you check your master bus output? If you play a project and the master bus meter is moving then it’s the output is assigned somewhere other than the output your speakers are connected to. And just to check. You did download and install the latest Driver and are using ASIO mode. https://zoomcorp.com/en/ca/digital-mixer-multi-track-recorders/multi-track-recorders/r24/r24-support/ if you are not dead sure on the set up watch this https://youtu.be/opDwsC4_llg?si=8VnKyG-S43r08iHu

A lot of download midi files start the count at zero and if you use the metronome you don’t notice the missing or quiet first click until you export it. I’m using them as backing tracks so I need that first click. So Ripple edit and Select All and drag the project 1 measure. Or I fix it in Wave Lab.

This has been requested since the beginning of time. We all have just gotten used to starting at either 1 or 2. I often put the count in on measure 1 and song starts at 2. The reason is you can’t have midi notes at zero or they might not trigger properly. A negative measure option has been asked for many times and everyone agreed it’s a great idea but it has yet to be seen. It especially bugs people who rely on the notation view.