John Vere

I just pulled the tempo from Creedence's Cross tie walker today. It drifted from 94-99BPM. There was just one little spot that glitched and jumped to 150 due to a funky guitar riff he was using in the 3rd verse. Easy to fix if you know how. But basically I recorded the song directly from You Tube using my Loopback input and then drag it to the timeline and use percussive algorithm. Then I turn on ripple edit and drag the whole song until it lines up with the grid and leave room for a count in. Then I run the metronome and listen for any drift. It's amazing how tight the metronome stays. If there's a drift you just move a node up or down until it's right. Then I play along and build the song part by part and because it's on the grid I can quantize parts. This one was easy because it is just Bass and drums . I added a piano for the heck of it too. After I'm done I just deleted the audio and the tempo map and set the tempo at 99. It's a great way to copy the exact arrangement of cover songs and add the correct little pieces like drum fills. I had to add a better ending as it was a fade out which doesn’t work for live music . I have successfully done this for many fully mastered songs including rebuilding my own that were recorded pre DAW era. I've actually never tried audio snap method. Looks like too much work to me when I watched the videos. I think the Melodyne tempo detection has improved a lot with version 5. But the material needs to be dynamic. I don't think it will work on brick walled stuff. Needs the transients. The Creedence song worked because you can see every snare hit in the waveform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxLhvKJGjvA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_2jZ5Qw_s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2izQxY_x3Q

Yes I don't look forward to the day it dies as I use it like many people just to pre view downloaded midi files. I guess you could use the dreaded MS wavetable out of desperation. I also have a real Sound Canvas as well as my Korg 05R/w has a GM mode. And my Yamaha DTX drum module has a GM player built in. Cubase has the Halion Synth which is GM and I also have that somewhere as I own Cubase 5 on a DVD I never bother to install anymore. I think I can just install Halion and it gets licensed via the Dongle I have plugged in so I can use Wave Lab. So I have a few options. Seems the only GM synth you can purchase is the Roland Cloud version of Sound Canvas VST. If it sounds anything like my hardware version it would be a waste of money. I like the Korg much better.

I don’t think there’s a limitation as far as Cakewalk goes. It’s really more to do with how many USB ports your computer has. In the end all midi goes through USB. Nothing wrong with older keyboards they are built like tanks and yes most are repairable if you can still get the parts. What wears out are the silicone contact strips that trigger the keys. I just bought some for a 1987 Roland controller. If it’s got midi ports it’s good to go. I was looking at controllers the other day and the one I wanted the Roland A88 MK2 is $$$$$. So I’ll just keep using the old one. Only thing to be aware of is older midi gear often has more latency than newer stuff. https://youtu.be/CwJ1Ibo1wcE

I used to live in a remote area with only limited expensive bandwidth so I can sympathize. I simply worked my way around it by lugging my DAW to my brothers house in town every once in a while and updating stuff. Or I would take a USB drive there. It was a prime motivator for moving to town which I did a few years ago. Life is all about bandwidth and cellular data plans now. You can't even park your car in the city without a cell phone. It's just how civilization has evolved. The majority carry on, pay the price, and take no notice of these things. I am always amazed at how many people my age ( real old) are walking around the grocery store texting or looking stuff up on cell phones. The cell phone has totally replaced outdated entertainment like TV's now. It's where your music will be played too. But yes there are still many people in remote location who have little if any options for this wonderful connectivity most take for granted now. Canada is a huge country and we are not exactly hard done by, but only a very small percentage of it is covered by cellular service. Only towns and cities have hardwired or fiber optic internet the rest rely on a very underbuilt satellite system where you need to be very carful about downloading anything. And that pathetic service will cost you 3 or 4 times more than what you get in a populated area. Cakewalk is free and they are under no obligation to make life perfect for every possible life situation. All they ask for their free software is that we remain connected to them. So Cakewalk is not very off line compatible and they have no reason to change this. What's in it for them? Nothing. A few more users. You need to get you mind around this and not complain. Simple solution- Go to the Music store and buy a DAW in a Box with a DVD. I think Cubase still is available this way. Many DAWs once installed never need to go on line again. Pro tools even has a free version and I don't think it requires to be on line after you authorize it.

Actually your problem is probably not solved as audio will not be in sync in any driver mode other than ASIO. You might have gotten a little closer but it is probably still late.

I have a Fast Track Pro and when I attempted to install the driver in W 10 it said it was not compatible. No big deal it's a pretty old interface I was going to use it to play music from my laptop. It was always kind of undependable and would loose connection all the time so I bought the Scarlett. It did work better when plugged in to a wall wart but that was in the USB 1.0 days so those issues might have been resolved. I haven't used it with a DAW for 12 years. It's actually a good design and has all the features I like. I have an interface from 2004 that still works fine on W7. Here's from the driver page : Windows Releases (click on a version # to download that installer) 6.1.11 Jan 19. 2016 This is the final driver release for the Fast Track Pro Qualified with Windows 7, 8, 8.1 Note that Windows 10 (or later) is not compatible and will not be qualified Fixed noise or pops/clicks when streaming with Fast Track Pro's S/PDIF output enabled

I was still using my Yamaha MD 8 track in 2005. I only used Cakewalk to play my midi sequences I composed on an Atari. I couldn't get used to the Piano roll after 15 years of using an event list midi editor in Dr T, I hated the whole thing. And all the audio was out of sync whenever I tried that feature,, It took until around 2010 before I was sort of getting Cakewalk to do something. But all software is like that. There's no escape. You either take the time to read the instructions or sit there being stupid and mad that nothing works the way YOU think it should work. Software is made by Geeks, you have to be a Geek to get it to work. If you are not a Geek, find something else to do with music. like play in a band or busk in the subway. The people who get things going faster take the time to learn using the widely available instructions. There's no way you will learn how Cakewalk works by jumping in blind.

Heck of a deal if you ask me and the rep on E bay seems real good. I'd jump on it. I found that the only VST for my Korg would cost me about $145. $10 is a steaL.

This topic got me thinking about how it would be cool to have samples from my Korg 05r/w instead of it cluttering up my workspace. Then I saw the price for Sample Robot and that’s way too much for me for the few sounds I’d really like to keep. But if you figure out what your time is worth it’s a bargain. Here is one way to do it for free. Create a project and insert a midi track. Record or draw all the notes chromatically and edit to 1/2 ? notes at a set velocity spaced 1 measure apart? Copy the track a few times and change the velocity so you have as many velocity options as needed. Set these midi tracks to output to the hardware. Mute all but one. Now insert as many audio tracks as needed and save this as a template. Now record the hardware using a track for each velocity and save as naming the project for the patch. Make sure to check the copy audio box. Option at this point is instead of saving just export the tracks as stems and name those. Delete the audio and start again with new patch. That was easy. Now the fun part. You will have to chop those exported wave files or with in the project into short clips of each note and top and tail them correctly. Probably quicker in Wave Lab than Cakewalk. I’ve made my own samples before and the most important part is topping it as close as possible to the waveform starting point. I guess in cakewalk you could do this with splitting and then drag the clip to a folder outside of cakewalk and name it. But anyway it will be a huge amount of time to sample even a few patches. I think I’ll just keep my hardware alive.

Personally I think you are risking future headaches with depending on the one synth that is now causing crashes for many of us. I guess is in a few years TTS-1 will not even be included with Cakewalk as they developers can no longer support it in any way. The Code belongs to Roland who make the Sound Canvas which is supported still as a VST. But Cakewalk team can do nothing about the TTS_1 becoming unstable. There are so many better sounding instruments available and you can do this for free if you want. Tell us what instruments you like using and we can make recommendations.

People miss out on a few features that become important when they buy an interface. My first 2 interfaces had the Blend control on the front. When I got the Scarlett 6i6 I was surprised to find it missing and almost took it back. But reading the manual I then saw that it was now done with the Software mixer so I carried on. But I found it a PITA to have to keep opening the Mix Control while tracking, so I came up with a solution which was I used my Yamaha 01V and the SPDIF connection for tracking. I used that system for a long time. The 6i6 was just a little red box that only controlled my Monitor level. Everything else was done in the 01V. Bummer was it is only 44.1kHz. I later figured out it was real simple just to turn down the Master or any bus. They are always at unity so easy to reset. I only used the mix control once when I did a session with a 4 piece band and needed the extra headphone cue mixes. I still used the 01v and then I figured out all about those DAW 1, DAW 2 etc things you could send to the 2 headphone jacks. Focusrite have since replaced Mix Control with a new software mixer and it looks easier to figure out now.

First SAMPLING RATE Very possible that this is due to the unorthodox sample rate. Both your interfaces are entry level. My research into higher sample rates is they should be avoided by home studio set ups using entry level gear. There's nothing gained sonically and you are pushing the system much harder which can cause audio issues. 48kHz sampling rate is the most widespread format used . 44.1kHz is a dead issue as it serves no purpose these days and will cause conflicts if you try and open the internet with Cakewalk running. All the stuff on the internet is 48khz. A common myth is to use 44.1 if you still burn CD's. Nope- I burn CD's using Nero and I just drop my 48/24 wave files in there and it converts them to 44.1/16 and burns the CD. I don't even make MP3 files anymore once I discovered Sound Cloud will upload my 48/24 files. I recommend setting everything to 48. Including Windows. Audio Drive Bit Depth Do not confuse Computer bit depth with audio bit depth. Computer stuff like our VST plug ins use 32 bit and 64 bit. Audio uses 8, 16,24 and 32 bit. A CD and older interfaces used 16 bit. Most all audio interfaces use 24 bit with only a few out there might use 32 bit now. Anything that only uses 16 bit will be totally obsolete. When you install the ASIO driver for your interface you will see that as displayed in my screen shot above 3rd box down Audio Driver Bit Depth 24. You cannot change this it is set by the driver. If you look in Windows setting you will see even there it cannot be changed. It can often be changed in none ASIO modes like WASAPI. Cakewalk works using 32 bit floating point for all it's background processing. Cakewalk could care less about the Bit Depth of an audio file. A project can have only one Sample rate but can contain multiple bit depth files. Cakewalk will accept any imported audio files and will convert them to the projects SAMPLE RATE but will not change the bit depth. Therefore if you drag a 44.1/16 bit file from a CD into Cakewalk and the project is using 48kHz sample rate, the file is now 48/16. All new audio recorded will be at 24 bit depth. Because Cakewalk works at 32 bit I do all my bouncing using 32 bit depth no dithering. And this is how you can take your project and convert it to 48kHz and see if that solves other issues. Midi tracks that are not frozen are not involved, They work at any Sample rate. Open the export dialog and set everything the way I show here. Uncheck all Midi and Midi instrument tracks. NOTE: I forgot to change the Stereo to Mono. If there are a combination of stereo and mono tracks you will need to export twice, one for each type. Now delete all the original audio tracks from the project. Everything. There cannot be any hint of audio in the project. Now change the Sample rate to 48kHz ( or ?) by clicking the Sample rate box ( 48/24) in the Transport Module as shown above in my first post. This will open your interfaces control panel. Make sure the Sample rate box changes to the new rate. You might hear a click. Now drag the exported audio back to the project. It will be clearly named. Just make sure to place it correctly at the very start.

The screen shot is not what I was talking about, 48 kHz is a common Sample rate for projects, it will show here. 44.1kHz is another common sample rate too. The default sample rate can be set for new projects in audio settings shown in my screen shot. You can also set it in your audio interfaces control panel. Both your audio interfaces come with ASIO drivers, make sure you download and install the latest drivers. Make sure they are the only device you are using for Cakewalk. Check that your Master bus is set to outputs 1 & 2 for both systems. If it is not, then you will have an issue as described.

Bit depth is actually 32 inside Cakewalk. That setting is irrelevant. But the Clock rate should always be set to be the same . I find 48 is never an issue as movies are 48 etc. I switch computers all the time including going from using an audio interface to using on board audio. My guess is you have too many audio systems active and Cakewalk doesn’t know what to do with that. Uncheck all audio devices you are not using in windows sound settings. Then make the device you are using is selected in Cakewalk preferences and Apply the settings. Make sure the master bus is then using that output

Yes mine is the 1st gen 6i6. it's prime use is for the "Studio B " laptop I have loaded up to clone what my main DAW has installed. I bought the Motu because I figured the 6i6 was soon to fade away but right after I bought the Motu, Focusrite updated the 6i6 driver again. But It doesn't have loopback and I do prefer not having a software mixer. The Motu has very well thought out monitoring system with the blend and then there's toggles to shut off inputs. But the 6i6 is still a great interface so I'm getting my moneys worth out of it still. ( and my Tascam us1641)

Het Larry, Yes the Mix Control is frustrating to learn but it has a reset toggle if you get into trouble that puts it back to the factory settings. Those factory settings are the input will be monitored in a 50/50 balance with the playback in the Monitors and both headphone channels. This is normal. A lot of interfaces like my Motu have a blend control on the front which when at 12 o'clock are a 50/50 mix. Scarlett just used software instead. This is good and it is bad. Good if you play in a band and need to set up 6 different monitor mixes, bad if you hate overly complicated systems. The knob system is idiot proof. Software mixers require the flight training of a airline pilot. I don't recommend using input echo for tracking vocals or guitars. You will hear the RTL which on my 6i6 and system is I think 16ms at 256 buffer. The very lowest RTL is about 7ms at an unusable buffers which cause drop outs. This is exactly why direct monitoring exists in the first place. Otherwise you will hear a slap back echo in the monitors as you listen to your guitar or vocals. I do believe if you have never changed anything in Mix control then you have been using direct monitoring all along. I do understand mix control but instead I use the method of turning down Cakewalks master bus if I need the guitar louder in the mix if I use the Scarlett. The Motu of course doesn't have the problem as it has the blend control, So does my Tascam and M Audio interfaces.

I don’t understand why you would not use the arranger? That is exactly why they added it a few year ago it allows you to listen to different arrangements of your song. I’m guilty of never even reading the instructions yet but it seems intuitive how it works. And it’s none destructive to the song you can delete the whole thing if you’re finished with experiments. It basically an extra track that can control the timeline of the project. Its brilliant for re arranging backing tracks using a download midi file when you want to make it longer by adding extra parts . I also used it once to place the lyrics in the song . You need the correct zoom level but it works great .

I’ll mention that I would avoid Akai. They don’t have replacement parts. I found out when I developed a dead key on mine . This is something that I’ve fixed in the past on Korg, Roland and Yamaha keyboards. It was only 4 years old and now it’s useless

Yes this is what the arranger does. Create your sections in your case it would be only 3. Now drag the 1st to the arranger at the bottom and then the 3rd. Click the playback and just those 2 parts play You can also export that version

https://youtu.be/Ih_eY-TpcDA

Old Obsolete Interface and a new one that has lots of complaints about the crummy asio driver. You need to spend a tiny bit more cash and your issues will go away. Think Focusrite, Tascam, RME, Motu etc. Behringer makes good stuff once you get away from the bottom end stuff.

To make the above video I did a lot of testing and reading on the topic. There can be either Midi or audio or both involved. It depends. Generally midi latency is not enough to be noticeable but people tend to point a finger at it and wrongly call it Midi latency when it might actually be the audio system that is at fault when it becomes noticeable. 99% of the time it's because we have CPU hog plug ins active. But Midi can have latency too. So without much info from the OP we can only guess. But one thing for sure they defiantly have not set up the audio system correctly at all. Same old same old.

You would need Melodyne Editor to convert any audio that is polyphonic ( chords) to midi. It is $399 USD but goes on sale for less from time to time. You might want to ask the people you bought the file from if it is available in midi format. Audio files are not as useful as far as any keyboard parts go. Hope it didn’t cost you too much if you can’t even use it.