msmcleod

I rarely use video with Sonar/CbB, so I can't say I've see the issue. I think the last time I did, it was an AVI file and as you say, AVI files are fine. My first suggestion would have been to check your codecs, but I see you've already done this. Although remember MP4 is just a container, so the codec could still be the issue. Some codecs can be particularly CPU intensive, and the CPU usage changes constantly throughout the video. I doubt if Cakewalk's PDC takes account of this in the same way it can with VST's. The only other suggestion I can think of is to convert your MP4 / QT files to AVI before working with it within Sonar. I've used this in the past, and it's worked ok for me: http://www.effectmatrix.com/total-video-converter/ , although nowadays I tend to use ffmpeg from a command line: https://www.ffmpeg.org/ It would be interesting to see if just converting it to AVI (but keeping the codec the same) actually fixes the issue. If it doesn't, try re-encoding with a different (or no) codec.

Current setup: I need to redesign the whole top of part of my studio desk. I'll be removing the 2nd Mackie C4, and adding a Yamaha 01X and Alice 828... and I still need to find somewhere to put my GA Pre 73 & Joemeek preamps. And at some point I need a decent electronic kit, rather than my DIY one.

To fix this: Open up the dialog for the Mackie Control, by selecting "Mackie Control 1" under the Utilities menu (note NOT the XT or C4) Click the "Configure Layout" button on the dialog You'll now see the channel numbers appear on your Mackie devices: - If the XT is to the left of your MCU, turn the 1st rotary knob on the MCU so that it reads "9" for channel 9. - If the XT is to the right of your MCU, turn the 1st rotary knob on the XT so that it reads "9" for channel 9. Now click the button again on the dialog (it should now say "Press Again When Done") Save your preset

Yeah, this isn't really an issue for me per se, but as you say, it's odd. It may be that this is just how it works, which is fine. I thought I'd highlight it just in case it's not supposed to do this. It does mean however that Cakewalk isn't fully closed down when I close the application - so something to be aware of.

AFAIK TM-D8000 doesn't use any standard protocol (like Mackie or HUI). Azslow3's AzController can be configured to work with just about anything though: http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,7.0.html download is here: http://www.azslow.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=63

Unfortunately this doesn't apply if you've got more than one copy of a plugin I've got two of everything, so it quoted me over £400.

It's a VERY clever marketing technique. It's at $29 for a short time, then goes to $49, then goes to $299 or whatever the RRP is. I normally only by Waves plugins at $29, but on occasion I've missed the boat, but really wanted it and paid the $49. Where we'll really get hit is when they upgrade everything to v11. The upgrade plan is based on the RRP.

It's highly unlikely any Win 7 updates will have any affect on SPLAT. Win 7 is practically unsupported by Microsoft, with only security updates now being delivered. Cakewalk Inc. was pretty good in writing a "well behaved" DAW - by that I mean it uses the Windows API they way it should be used, and avoids hacks. I've got Pro Audio 9, Sonar XL, Sonar 3, Sonar 5, Sonar 8, Sonar 8.5, Sonar X1, Sonar X2, Sonar X3 & SPLAT installed on my Win 7 32 bit. All work without issue (well, none I've found in any case). [Edit] - It's worth adding, I hardly ever use my Win 7 boot nowadays. It's only there for old projects that have had issues migrating (which I've all fixed now), and for the odd hardware synth editor that is 16 bit. CbB works like a dream for me, with only very minor quirks that don't cause me any issues.

Watch out for this one... if you're style-dial directory is compressed, they stop working. It took me a while of searching through the old forum to find this out.

Nice interpretation. I used cover Hotel California in a duo, and also as a solo act about 15 years ago. My Roland VG88 was invaluable for switching between 12 string and 6 string guitars. I used it to end the first set - I needed to give my voice a break afterwards as it's just at the edge of my range. Talking of different versions though, I love this Amplesound demo of the live acoustic version (starts around 0:45):

After previewing audio in the media browser, the progress/status indicator continues to show for up to 30-secs or so after closing down CbB (depending on how many media files I previewed?

If you copy the backup Cakewalk Core directories on to a flash drive, you should be able to copy them back to C:\Program Files\Cakewalk. All the required registry entries will be made by the latest install on your new machine, so the older versions should work fine. I've actually tried this - another user requested an older version back in August '18, and my copy of that directory worked fine for him.

What I tend to do, is after installing I make a copy of the Cakewalk folder within C:\Program Files\, and keep them there for each version eg: If there is a problem with an update, I simply run the Cakewalk.exe within one of the older backup directories.

Craig Anderton wrote a post on his tips blog, explaining the pros/cons from a resource view when using a single synth in the synth rack vs separate instrument tracks: http://www.craiganderton.com/tips.html (scroll up from the bottom to the "180713 Multi-Timbral Instrument vs. Multiple Instances—Which is Better?" article). The general gist of the article is (for Kontakt anyhow): Multiple instrument tracks: CPU processing is spread evenly across the CPU cores Memory usage is higher than a single instance A single instance of a synth with multiple MIDI tracks feeding it: All processing is done on a single CPU core Memory usage is lower Some VSTi's can make use of more than one core (e.g. Omnisphere), so these pros/cons might not always apply. Note that CbB's internal "Plugin load balancing" only applies to VST effects, not VSTi instruments, so this setting won't make a difference here.

MIDI tracks CAN be routed to the synth rack. Some soft synths can have multiple audio outputs, because they are multi-timbral (including TTS-1). Multi-timbral means they can play more than one sound at once, by listening in on more than one MIDI channel. When you insert a simple instrument track, it always gives the synth a single stereo output. However, when you insert it with: Simple Instrument Track unchecked; and either: All synth outputs (mono) or All synth outputs (stereo) checked This will create separate audio tracks for all the outputs available. In this case, you can route MIDI tracks to the synth on the rack using the MIDI channel on the MIDI track to determine which sound it will play, and which audio output it'll end up on. The advantages are: You only have one instance of the synth loaded, saving resources You can apply effects separately on each audio track The downside is the instrument's audio tracks & MIDI tracks are now separate, which means you've twice as many tracks to wade through, and you need to be aware of which MIDI track is associated with which audio track. This multi-timbral behaviour still works even if you insert it as a simple instrument track. The only difference with an instrument track is that you've now only got a stereo output, so you can add different audio effects separately to the different instruments. So for your example in Kontakt, you could load Jay bass and it'll be assigned MIDI channel 1. But if you then also load "The Gentleman" piano, it'll be assigned MIDI channel 2. If you insert a MIDI track outputting to channel 1, it'll play the bass. If it's set to channel 2, it'll play the piano.

I don't think a 5400rpm hard drive should cause any issues for audio, if that's all it's used for. In the past I could easily record / playback 24 tracks of 24 bit/44.1Khz audio off an old IDE hard disk on an old P166 with 2 x Yamaha DS2416 PCI cards. Simultaneous recording of up to 16 tracks was no issue. What might start to cause issues is if: You're also dynamically loading samples from that drive during the performance Your audio drive is the same drive Windows is installed on Due to only having 4GB of RAM, it's using the page file on the same drive during audio recording/playback. IMHO the page file is likely to be the main issue here, so upgrading to at least 8GB RAM would be my recommendation.

Cakewalk will only re-scan a plugin if thinks the file has changed. Have you got a virus scanner, or cloud sync app scanning that plugin directory? It sounds like something may be changing some file attributes. It may be worth making sure your plugin directories are excluded from any scans.

It may be, but it only ever happens in Cakewalk. I've never experienced it in any other DAW. Like I said though, it's a minor irritation. It takes less then 20 seconds to switch the audio engine off/on and it's back to working again.

Anything under C:\Program Files requires admin rights. I put all my 32-bit VST's in a separate directory, and add this to the VST folder list in preferences. In other words: create a directory C:\VST Copy the DSK Electrik GuitarZ directory there Add C:\VST to your VST folder list in the VST Settings area in CbB preferences Rescan

I have done that, but usually as a means to an end. By that I mean, say I've got a MIDI part in an old project that was originally written for a hardware synth, I might feed that to an existing instrument track. But I'd usually just end up dragging the MIDI on to the instrument track if I'm happy it fits in. For other projects that were exclusively written using my old Yamaha XG module, I'll use a single instrument track with an XG VSTi, and feed all the MIDI parts to it. Again, this is usually because they're unfinished and it's easier to pick out the parts and use them in other projects if needed.

I use instrument tracks almost exclusively. Even if a VSTi is multi-timbral, I'll usually opt for having separate instrument tracks and accept the overhead of having more than once instance of the VSTi running. My reasons are: I can easily swap out one synth for another on a per track basis I only have to worry about one track instead of two and I can freeze them separately if needed.

I get that buzzing noise fairly infrequently. And it's on a Scarlett interface also. I'll get it maybe once or twice in an 8 hour session, but then it won't happen for a week or so. So it's not often enough to be a big issue, just a mild annoyance. I've not managed to find a pattern to it, as it happens on the smallest of projects and may or may not happen on bigger ones. ASIO buffer size doesn't seem to make a difference either. I've got a modest spec machine: Win 10 on a 3rd gen 3.4Ghz i5 with 16GB RAM. When it does happen, switching the audio engine on/off fixes it for me.

There's always this: https://www.dskmusic.com/dsk-electrik-guitarz/ The youtube demo on the page is not very complimentary - you can get much better results. Alternatively, you could try some of these soundfonts: https://freepats.zenvoid.org/ElectricGuitar/clean-electric-guitar.html There's quite a few sf2 players around, e.g.: https://www.dskmusic.com/dsk-sf2/

Can you provide some details about your setup? e.g. PC specs, audio interface and whether you're using ASIO, WSAPI etc?

Really good free guitar VSTi's: Acoustic Guitar: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=7 Electric Guitar: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/shreddage-3-stratus-free/ In both cases, the paid versions offer more articulation options, but the sound quality of both free versions are top notch.