JnTuneTech

First - pick a path. For some relevant info already in this forum, I can suggest something like the following: Starting A Project In Safe Mode Remove Project From Start Screen You can do it!

Just to be clear - are you saying that none of the default instruments, as well as your own imported, do not show until you import something? That would be odd.

That is often quite true, and most of that seems to be realized only after the fact... However, I find that music relies a bit more on inspiration & creativity, which don't often work hand-in-hand with studious organization. -I will completely fess up - many of my own faults lie in laziness. I still fight it to this day. -I also found myself tearing apart automotive engines (in fact entire cars) to learn what made them tick (even landed a few jobs throughout my life due to that fascination). but I never experienced the particular creative light in working with them. It became just a job in the end. Not enough interest to dig deeper into manuals there. -For me anyway. Music, on the other hand, seems to always be something that pulls me beyond laziness (though my family never thought so, of course!), and then I want to read the manuals to figure more out (again, similar to what @Lord Tim mentioned), -but it still doesn't always work that way with all the musicians I have been around. And that doesn't make them bad - hell most of them are way better than I could ever be. You do have to have an affinity for it. The music mojo is often separate from the technical mojo. Looking back, I realized I had different views on music than some in my days right after high school. One time, we went to a recording studio (on a special deal for amateurs that would allow booking open slots for cheap, but with only 1 engineer..) and in the session, I knew the cover tune we were doing had an organ part, and the studio had a Hammond in the corner. I had never played one, and our vocalist had only begun to try some monophonic synth parts (we had no keys really at that point), but I looked at the organ, and just somehow knew what the basic functions were - the Leslie for accents, etc., and so I showed her the (maybe 5) chords to play, and how & generally when to use the Leslie... Technically I just understood it on a basic level, no manual required. -That time. But using the studio gear, the board, effects patching... - way beyond my depth then for sure. And in similar ironic fashion, for years I had no reasonable way to understand proper overdriven guitar sounds - it's so sad to look back now. No one I knew then had ever played on, or let me use a plexi-style amp in my early days. I thought for the longest time it had to be special pedals or studio tricks that got that sound. Couldn't figure that one out - go figure. I could patch a bunch of pedals together, even began recording & mixing back then, but without instructions, or examples to follow, -basic metal & heavy blues guitar sound creation just eluded me. If I had encountered access to detailed discussion and how-tos like there is here (or can be anyway) earlier in my life, who knows what I would be recording now. Laziness aside, if information is passed on, presented properly, I think there is more opportunity to get past that than if we just expect people to always think like we do. -Technical manuals are great, but not always interesting for everyone with the creative urge. But peer sharing, like we do here, can be different. (Oops, I'd better watch stepping off the edge of this soapbox... doh!)

Isn't it amazing, that the more options we get as musicians, the more complicated it gets to just "find that sound"? Of course, it's also a complication of the evolution in audio electronics, -nay - the entire personal computing advances, of the past 60+ years now, in reality. But yeah, reading manuals on things in general has been a weak spot of many of us. -And I know, even posting guides here won't always stop that, but one can at least try! I have to digress for a minute: I am of the similar musical generation as @Lord Tim - and as such, passed through times when I was lucky to find a computer audio interface I wanted at all, -much less a choice of ones that worked better or worse! Local PC shops were my only source then too. -When I began getting together my 1st music-related PC add-ons, I thought I wanted a Turtle Beach Multisound Classic card - only to find they had stopped making them a few years prior. Then, I had to learn what MPU-401 compatible was, then backwards to General MIDI standards, and see if anything compatible with that, (and which I could afford) existed! Now, there are so many audio interfaces available out there, and although the standards have coalesced into some easier groups, it still bewilders many casual creators, and even gung-ho gigging musicians wanting to record their own stuff, -not knowing what to expect or start with, for computer music interfaces & software. And we are still so, so far away from plug & play, with both even mid-quality audio interfaces, and the software that is used with them. -Hopefully apps like Cakewalk, and forum use like this can help push that forwards some more. Nowadays it is at least quite easy to create specific, illustrated guides, and keep them relatively current with regular keystrokes, instead of compiling & distributing printed manuals. -I'd like to see more of the former done here. -Although, I don't necessarily want it assumed that folks will figure out all these things "intuitively" (I'm looking at you, Apple...) as they go along- so some effort has to be put into coordinating it and getting it easily available, even promoted within the DAW as well, I might add.

In listening to those examples, it sounds to me as though the reverb is coming from a pre-fade send source - perhaps? Is the track volume dropping at the end of those tremolo examples?

FWIW - I do have some software manuals, here & there, that have Sonar-specific instructions for install & setup - but very few. I suppose if a manufacturer finds it their interest to attract buyers with compatibility claims, that perhaps contributes to that type of info being created. -My hope would be that, if it were posted publicly here, some vendors might actually use that information readily, or at least link to it. -Best case scenario, of course. Worst case scenario is if things just go the way of negative comments and one-upmanship, like "such & such hardware sucks", etc., which really helps no one. And of course without some curation and user input, these things can go stale, and then folks just put the blame on the information supplier... But perhaps all we can do is try to at least give topical, directed guides, especially when the forum posts reveal a certain need in some new hardware, or after a major update, for instance.

That is great to hear, it's good that is working for you. -I suppose most of the suggestions here were only meant to help, but it can be confusing, as each person has a different sound device, and system, and probably different auto-tune software. Try not to take it too personally, as most folks here really just wanted to help. In that vein - if it helps any, when I use auto tune, and vocoder fx software live on my Cakewalk performance projects, I always use ASIO drivers with Cakewalk. And then, I test the auto tune software at low latency settings on my audio device - using the audio device settings app, to see how little latency I can get away with - in each specific case (project, plugins, latency settings). Once I know what combination works without dropouts, I stick with that, and practice it before performing or presenting it to others, to be as sure as I can about it being reliable. -That's what works for me, anyway. FYI - In the past, on older systems, I tended to use higher latency ASIO settings to escape audio dropouts, and just mix the fx wet-only output with the audio interface direct monitoring, and just factor in the delay compensation needed manually. -That doesn't always work well though with fx like auto tune in general, but on the other hand, it can add its own unique effects, and in fact is often an option that can then be subtracted from the fx mix itself (amount of delayed dry signal). -Again though, there are many, many ways to go about it, and most all the comments here are directed at trying to suggest solutions - even if they don't seem to apply to what you are experiencing - so, just hang in there, use what works for you!

@Byron Dickens - Of course, but please, let's not try and scare people to death before they get comfortable using Cakewalk! ? -For this forum here , especially when Cakewalk went to a free licensing model, I have assumed we need to allow for general public access, including new users & casual creators, so maybe let's offer some basic help first? -But yes, links to the hardware manuals would be on the top of the compatibility listings sections - I would think.

Thanks for the info on what you are working with, -very helpful! -So, I am stuck on one of the terms you keep using - wet/dry level. In a typical audio mixing scenario, wet/dry usually refers to having an effect process that in itself routes both the dry audio feed it is being sent, and the amount of effect added to that, -used either in the primary signal path, such as an inline fx bin routing, or in a separate audio process fed by a send, such as a bus, for instance, that then is usually mixed back in with the main mix, and so by nature creates an element of parallel processing of any "dry" signal in most cases. -In your case, what do you mean - does the internal game audio engine have a separate reverb fx unit you need to control & mix back with the original audio? As a note - in GM MIDI - CC91 is only "commonly" referred to as Reverb Send - it actually can be almost anything at all, and it really has no literal connection to being a send or just plain level, so don't let the general terms confuse you. In your case it looks like CC91 refers to a certain level of what you say results in reverb, and it is assigned per channel individually. Otherwise, there are many ways to use a separate reverb fx that offers wet/dry mixing in Cakewalk if you think you need that. It might be difficult to do however from a multi-timbral synth, you may want to use separate synths for each MIDI instrument in that case. -How many individual instruments are defined in the MIDI you are using?

So many posts here seem to be primarily involving non-Cakewalk native issues, that it seems like there would be a good use for more specific sub-sections in these forums. The existing subsections are fairly robust, but I would like to see a more specific sub-section for the information & troubleshooting using Cakewalk with audio interfaces specifically, since as it stands right now that category is lumped under "Gear", along with things like headphones, etc. Much of that probably should remain as is, but there is so much happening each day with posts relating to specific audio interface problems & Cakewalk specific setup issues, that it might be best to have a full Audio Interface sub-section, and perhaps even major manufacturer categories in that. I would also recommend, once Cakewalk again becomes a paid-for product, that there be some curation of the audio interface section(s) of the forum, to include organized hardware compatibility lists - testing notes, and hopefully basic Cakewalk-specific setup guides where possible, with appropriate caveats & links to the manufacturer's direct information and support. -Without trying to give preference to any particular manufacturer, there still should be some easy groupings, or at least tags, to easily reference the most common interfaces, and a place for various lesser-known interfaces and legacy hardware notes, most of which can be user-provided.

Indeed. I have used a UFX (1) for about 10 years now, mostly with Cakewalk software. It has gone onstage, indoors, outdoors, and still works flawlessly back in the office setup. The driver options & stability are, from what I have been reading in these forums, very robust, and of course TotalMix, -once you get a handle on it anyway, is very much a part of the pro options that can be implemented on a computer audio interface being used to the fullest. -Almost every one of my mixes in Cakewalk includes a track to set the desired TotalMix options & change direct monitoring dynamically during playback. -And, I even get a fair amount of use out of the Durec - direct to USB recording that the UFX series has - really can come in handy for live recordings, troubleshooting & alternate DAW output mixing. Great stuff!

Yes - and it almost always is master-controlled by the mixer/driver interface of the sound device you are using. I was going to say that this is getting off the topic of the OP, but really it is still relevant, because unless you understand & have full control over how your DAW sounds are routed through your interface, getting live input monitoring to work the way you want can be difficult. -Generally speaking, the more i/o options your interface can provide, the more you need to discover how it works and how to route the options. -If you only have a 2-channel interface, it can be simple, but add separate headphone and/or line outs, etc., and your routing paths can get hard to understand, unless you spend some time learning your specific interface mixing options. @JohnnyV -On my particular current interface, for instance, I chose to route the WASAPI feed from Windows outputs to a mix that always appears in my headphones, via a driver setting and an interface mixer routing. And for me, it causes no obvious problems with Cakewalk so far as I can tell, to run both driver paths simultaneously, but that varies from interface to interface, so it is not a general answer for everyone. The same goes for how I route my interface options when using live input monitoring, versus the interface direct monitoring, for instance. As I always seem to say - it's all about the routing, - understanding, often testing that, is key for many things beyond simple recording & playback.

You know, with a multi-out interface like the 18i8, you can actually get quite creative with your monitoring options. Of course, it may require a lot of adapter cabling, and experience with your various devices, but options abound, since Cakewalk can use any or all of the available outputs on an I/O device like that. The key is in the routing, and your use of it. -But unless you have a real need for it - I still recommend simplest as the best. So - for instance: I currently use my 2ond headphone output as a feed for audio to an AV mixer for streaming or recording from my audio interface while using Cakewalk. That could just as well be routed to a boom box, or any other device with line input, with a bit of experimenting, and again cabling. Or, the line outputs on the 18i8 could be used that way just as well, and though I can't recommend it, even plugged back into the laptop (if it has an audio i/o jack and you get the impedances to match, etc.) audio for that lo-fi comparison (probably very lo-fi in that case!). -All of that is only experimental though - (like for when you are really bored ? ), and watch out for mutli-out latency issues, of course, so again, simplest is usually best. -But sometimes it's worth the adventure! Use those multi-outs! And @charles kasler - it's great to have people that follow up on their posts! Great to learn from all these good suggestions & info here.

As has been said before... "Humor - It is a difficult concept." -Goes well with music though, for me anyway. ? ?

Also, if you use the default multi-timbral synth in Cakewalk, TTS-1, note that the defaults loaded for all tracks have reverb level set at 40. -So, unless you have a different stated MIDI command at the start of playback, reverb on any default instrument will start at that level. -It used to really throw me off! My solution when loading a MIDI track, or assigning a new one, to a TTS-1 instrument, is to toggle the reverb setting (in the inspector for instance) to zero - or whatever you really want to start with, before continuing to play and program. -Of course, any later MIDI changes will override that, but starting out it may not be obvious. For some reason, I usually have to do that with chorus as well, but the TTS-1 GUI says the default there is zero - maybe it was just me! - FYI.

Can't tell from your initial description, but perhaps input echo on a MIDI track might do that. -If those are MIDI tracks - Check and make sure you have only the MIDI routings you want selected in the tracks, as they change when you move the project to a new system most of the time. Also, maybe the input echo follows track selection preference was off on the old system?

Simplest option (IMHO) - occasionally export your current mix to a stereo file, play it on the laptop media player, or VLC, etc.

From your 1st post, it sounds like you are dealing with some possible custom MIDI implementation, and I think tools in Cakewalk could certainly help work with that. It also sounds like it may take somewhat of a learning curve, it's good you have been checking out tutorials! MIDI can be confusing at 1st. Can we get more information on your situation? What type of MIDI file are you using to bring the material into Cakewalk? Does the game engine use any kind of MIDI standards for the rest of the controls, such as instrument/patch selection, even perhaps any system exclusive or other of the in depth stuff? You mentioned CC 91 as being used for a reverb level, which is an optional command within the GM standards, are the volume levels for the mix also using standard CCs?

{The Cakewalk forum admin gets an urgent alert from one of the ad bots. Immediately afterwards, they chat with the upper-level data silo AI: "Hey, we have a possible opportunity here, you'd better spin up the legacy Noel simulation, and get it ready again - we may have someone wanting to actually use the old school, pre-AI approach to Cakewalk products! -Oh, and also rack up that Anderton module, just in case they go the um, what did it used to be called... Do It Yourself sort of way of thinking. I'm sure we can handle that, we have the digitally signed EULA from when they first used the free version at some music & computer club memorabilia show..."] ***Complete FICTION!*** - (We hope!) ? ??? ?

(NotBot) - Hey, are you going to help me with my problem, or not? -Read the room here! I think that AI plugin you have in Cakewalk doesn't like my song, you need to fix that! (Hapy2Help) - Well, not to be rude, but did you thoroughly read through the AI plugin documentation? I believe there are very specific pre-requisites and procedures when using the sexy time mode. It's not just automatic you know! Certain things also have to go in the proper order, and as I mentioned earlier, in the right place. Do you have the proper interface to be sure everything connects right? Did you get that pitch corrected as @craigb also suggested? [no immediate response, or perhaps a network error gap ensues...] .................... (Hapy2Help) - Hello - did you get our recent posts - is everything OK? -By the way, I should ask, what is the title of the project - song that you are experiencing the AI engine failure with? (NotBot) - Well, I named it after one of the really old titles in my grandad's pre-AI banned audio collection... I think it was something called an album, and I liked the name. -"Machine Head". The picture with it even looked like some kind of liquid metal stuff - would that be offensive to the AI plugin? (Hapy2Help) - Well. "Machine Head" - you say? That might be rudely interpreted - I would suggest turning off the AI plugin for that track, just to be safe. -In fact, all the AI tools. (NotBot) - You've got to be kidding? -How do you make a song without AI?? That's like singing without auto tune. -No way. ? ? ?

Yes, -I can even envision the emoji track forum complaints now... (NotBot) - Hey, the second verse in my project is supposed to be the hot & sexy movement, but the emoji AI keeps messing up the eggplant emoji I inserted. (Hapy2Help) - Maybe you didn't insert it in the right place? (NotBot) - That's not it. You don't understand. That's the hot part of the song, but the AI put my emoji in laying down, and I can't get it up. How do I fix that? (Hapy2Help) - Um, -It did what? -Are you sure you put it in the right place? Did you install the plugin correctly? ? ?

After a few rounds of responding to what was probably trolling in another part of this forum, where someone (ostensibly) asserted that Cakewalk should be able to create rests in a MIDI track in PRV, I got philosophical about the current state of where musical understanding & performance is going. - Yeah, OK, I was being a grumpy old dude. Then it occurred to me, what's next? If we want to program music that way, shouldn't we add an emoji track to Cakewalk? -In fact, we can even get AI programming involved to have it "respond" to the beats & loops automatically, and then add it and post it to your latest TikTok video! -Oops - I hope Next isn't actually going to go that way, -respectfully... I'm all for easy content creation and expression, but I think that this idea gets the poop emoji from me!

Timed gaps in MIDI are one thing, but what instrument is playing is just as important, because if the instrument doesn't naturally follow the gap, it is not going to work in the way you seem to want. In fact, if you've worked in music notation and conducting, you will know that rests are handled differently by some instruments (and often hired players, but I digress). In any case, MIDI - which is what the PRV is for entering & editing, is not the same thing as the actual note that an instrument plays. MIDI is only the command being sent to the instrument. Some MIDI instruments, primarily percussion, include specific "mute" notes & rules, to create a gap, in a fashion natural for that instrument. In that case, you can specifically design when the previous note ends with a series of MIDI entries in the PRV. But in most cases, you simply must program the note length on the PRV according to the result it gets from the instrument it is sequencing. The answer to your specific question would have to be answered in context with the instrument you are programming. There are no generic rest entries for using the PRV MIDI note entry. -Yes, you can create designed gaps, down to the tick, in MIDI commands. But that will not necessarily be what the instrument plays. Lots of music works like that. Creatively, you can work with your instrument, and the tools Cakewalk has, to figure out how to put in those gaps correctly, manually, that is the only single answer to your question that I can see.

One procedure that Cakewalk, and other DAWS can offer, -one that is in fact often working under the hood already, and often not as easily understood by those of us who started on analog consoles and recording devices, is to reference data in a single track in multiple ways within a project, without duplicating or modifying the original data, and also then keeping it in sync across multiple routing choices. It has taken me some time to begin using that more in my own mixes, and I wonder if perhaps there might be better ways to make that function more obvious and quicker to use? A lot of other recent posts lead me to thinking how Cakewalk might offer that better than it does now. Primarily on the subject of multiple routing options for a recorded MIDI track output, but it also applies to audio, and that may be even more overlooked because audio is typically just routed in analog fashion to a bus, as well as have sends routed, -again as in the analog world, already. Perhaps an option to create a multi-out track could be one option. If it could bring up a second dialog - similar to the insert soft synth option, which can allow for track creation options - including the number of reference tracks, and perhaps the initial naming, so that it would be clear the tracks are all related (name + -Ref + number), and have the option to populate them inside a track folder, for instance. -I'm not sure if the complications of associated clip and arranger options would get in the way there though, but if it can be done, more of us could quickly route a new track to multiple outputs using the same data track source. -I suppose that might be a track template use option? That still may be too buried, and too many steps. How many of you have used the track view - right -click option to "Duplicate Track" - and used the pop-up options to include "Events" - "Link to Original Clips(s)" - and worked with that functionality? -For me, it is the simplest native option to have recorded MIDI tracking output to multiple devices, and along with keeping one master edit version, gives opportunities to add different levels, fx, etc., to each routing, and the option later to unlink the duplicate(s). -I do it with audio too, for various patching options, which, if I was trying it from an analog console, would take a lot of work... You get the picture. In any case, might there be a better way to implement this in Cakewalk Sonar, or perhaps I am already missing something and it just needs better exposure as is?

Typically, MIDI input assignments in Cakewalk, in fact device assignments in general, change when devices are unplugged and/or added, and even when drivers are updated, and that is mostly a function of how PCs deal with various device driver loading, before it even gets to Cakewalk. Although it can be tough, my approach has always been to make sure you start the PC with all desired devices plugged in and available, or at least made available in the same sequence in the OS before starting Cakewalk. -However, in my experience, sometimes even that cannot guarantee updates or other non-Cakewalk related events will not change the device startup - listing order. As per @57Gregy mentions - you may save yourself some hassle by not leaving inputs assigned all the time in saved projects - I follow that same rule. In regards to fixing the changed inputs in bulk: When I want to switch, or assign multiple MIDI inputs to the same device, I use track view and inspector view together, and ctrl-select all MIDI tracks I want to (re)assign, -starting in track view by holding down ctrl starting with the first track, and then at the final selection, -without letting go of the ctrl key-, selecting the MIDI output device I want in the inspector. -There are also other similar procedures. As a note - once in a while if I notice a major change in MIDI input assignments, -before saving the project again-, I have had luck simply restarting the PC with all devices connected in proper order, and re-opening the project, or sometimes even disabling the MIDI devices in Cakewalk preferences, closing the app, then restarting & re-enabling... but I know all of that can be a pain. -And - the results could sometimes even be worse, so be careful! -Still - if you have that many projects that could be affected, those methods may be worth a try in a pinch.