JnTuneTech

I have used Cakewalk to control PODxt, Eleven Rack, and many other external devices successfully over the years, and the only tough part for me was setting up patch & control mapping (I used Instrument Definitions for that eventually) to make it easier to use. -The only time I can remember having issues with similarities to what you describe, is when I had a very poor MIDI output device & driver setup. -Bad MIDI I/O setup will definitely cause timing issues - check your latency, but garbled commands would likely point to bad MIDI communications between Cakewalk and your devices in general. You might try using a different MIDI output device, and see if that clears things up.

Unless there is a problem with file permissions, locks by other processes (AV, auto-backup, what have you), -in the location that you saved the backup file to, which then got cleared when you renamed it, I can't think of what would cause that. Very interesting!

In case it helps, that sounds like you may have selected to save as MIDI type 0, instead of type 1, in the Cakewalk save as dialog. -Type 0 saves all MIDI in one track, with only MIDI channel data per event as a differentiator between all the data you had originally created. Type 1 will save each MIDI tracks' data referenced by its original channel assignment, as a track, as you had originally organized them in Cakewalk - normally. Though if there is corruption, maybe that is also not working right - hard to say from here.

To add to @Promidi 's suggestion regarding pre-setting the MIDI controls: While I mostly like that approach too, I have recently begun to deviate from that with Kontakt instruments in Cakewalk, because of the unpredictability of mix results when I change the project tracking to another Kontakt instrument and/or version, especially when I have opened old projects that had referenced a different version of Kontakt I no longer have installed, and in the upgrade process (opening a hopefully saved .nki), the volume settings in particular seem to mismatch. In my recent projects, I have taken to using no MIDI track volume (cc7) in Cakewalk, -which seems to only happen if I use the default track volume of 101 (or do a reset to that), and let the volume settings saved in the .nki determine the starting point. -On a case by-case basis anyway, as of course if later, I want to program using CC7, I make a note of that, and carry on as usual. -So far, most of my instrument volumes seem to stay put more often that way, when switching things around and back again, to open on other systems, etc. -Maybe that's just me though. @Jim Stamper - Did you mention what volume control in Kontakt is affected for you? Does the volume slider in the instrument GUI, or the Kontakt instrument header, show the change to zero as well? Or is it more like a mute button function reaction? -If you, for instance re-load the .nki of your instrument, does the volume return to normal that way? How are you dealing with the aftermath? What control do you use to bring the volume back up again, and does it stick? -Also, I would highly recommend not saving a mix right after hitting the Cakewalk reset function - though I know that can be problematic on its own...

I know I keep referencing this link, but again - if you don't mind also changing the tempo of a performance, Cakewalk can natively adjust audio pitch in cents & semitones, in a way that mirrors the varispeed tape technique in the analog world. -P.S. I have only used it on 3-4 minutes of audio at a time, but never had an issue so far, even though the tool is mostly designed to adjust loop clips & such. And the numbered directions start somewhat assuming you are using the tool (Loop Constuction) stated in the preamble after having selected the loaded audio clip... https://craiganderton.org/how-to-do-true-tape-type-varispeed-in-cakewalk-sonar/

My own top tools/techniques in Cakewalk change for almost every project, as it depends on the workflow needed for the particular project. But I guess when starting projects in general, using custom project templates, & stored custom ProChannel presets for fx and instruments would be in my general top 2.

@John Vere I think you are missing points on this one, and perhaps audio is more your specialty. -MIDI, as the OP here is experiencing, can have many options and levels of programming and usage. Just pointing (no pun intended!) a MIDI track to an input, is not even close to being the only thing you have to do for all of the options to work as expected. @Jack Barton - You mentioned having tried the MIDI file with several other VST instruments, with varying results. You may want to think of it the other way around, and test your VST instruments for the capabilities you seem to be missing, as compared to playing them with say TTS-1 - first. -Take a MIDI keyboard, and route it to your MIDI VSTi of choice, then play a few notes, and then see if the pitch wheel/lever does what you expect, and what the mod wheel/lever does - in that particular synth. -You may be surprised. Then, you may have to dive into the synth properties - settings, or possibly even the documentation, to find out why and how to change things if needed. This may be overkill for the original topic, but if you are interested in using older MIDI files in your Cakewalk projects, read on. If not, that's understood, but do be aware that Cakewalk itself is heavily designed around MIDI functionality & the related logic. -And FWIW - MIDI 2.0 will not change these issues, only add more options & streamline some functionality. It is more of an evolution, as opposed to a change up or even an update & fix release of some kind. -Far from that. -But, I digress! MIDI files you download casually, especially ones created during the emergence of General MIDI (GM) standardization approaches that were undertaken by major players in early MIDI, such as Roland, -who provided the programming for the TTS-1 synth currently supplied with Cakewalk, can and variously will include many, many other MIDI messages than just notes and channel information. -What each synth, -whether real or virtual matters not-, will do with that "extra" MIDI information is up to the designer(s) of the synth itself. -If you are dealing with those downloaded files, it can be important to understand that. -Did you know that a multi-timbral synth, such as TTS-1, or the Sound Canvas series synths it is based on, can be programmed and played with a properly created MIDI stream, that in effect performs an entire mix? Not just notes, but multiple, individual instruments with their own track assignments, FX send & receive settings both per track and globally in the mix, as well as patch changes. I could go on and on, but by the time we discussed system exclusive MIDI options, hardly anyone here would likely want to deal with it, understandably. But, again, Cakewalk here was actually designed to work with and actually create this type of MIDI - so if you are aware of it, you are in luck if you have to deal with it. And currently it is free. - I simply find it amazing that much under the hood is here, and often simply ignored. -Until there is a problem. So: Someone opens an old MIDI file, TTS-1 just pops up and lets you play it, and well, probably some of it sounds a bit "cheesy". -Fair enough. The next step often tried, it to take one of the instrument tracks, and re-assign it to a different synth - right? You have cultivated a few "modern" synths that could do a better job, -no problem. But, all of a sudden now your new synth won't play the track in nearly the same way as TTS-1 did, or maybe won't even play at all. To keep it simple, there are 2 main approaches I recommend, to loading & re-using older MIDI files that you don't exactly know the content of: One - If you don't care about anything other than the notes in the performance, -at the most basic level-, I tend to use the event viewer to strip all MIDI except notes from the track. -Several major exceptions apply-, such as piano parts that contain hold pedal events, or any of the many performance-linked events we all forget about once we hear the file play back without, such as pitch bends, expression, even patch changes when they are crucial to the performance. -That first approach is usually the fastest, and in many cases I already plan to recreate the additional performance events myself, and in fact in most cases, I have to re-work a lot of just the basic note events themselves anyway. Sometimes, MIDI files only consist of maybe 3 or 4 tracks of Piano 1, each playing a very rough melodic representation of the major instruments, and the decisions there are very simple. -But sometimes not. Actually, the "good" ones are usually much more complex. Two - If I feel that the MIDI file contains a lot of helpful content that I like, and don't want to re-create, I will analyze it first - then decide what to keep, and surgically remove the rest. Cakewalk is great for this, but it is often time consuming. But, as mentioned earlier, some performance elements can be very importantly tied to the note events, because as we know, making music is not just about the notes all by themselves. Knowing how that works with MIDI can be very important. -Some other quick notes about GM formatted MIDI files: Most of the older, full-featured MIDI files, were intended originally for playback with a specific multi-timbral synth (or series), -in fact some of them even contain notes on blank tracks in the file, that can contain synth info, along with other such text information. -More importantly, they can often contain "blocks" of MIDI setup commands at the beginning, and sometimes later in the file, in each track. Some of that MIDI will be harmless, but sometimes various synths (both hardware and virtual) will react unpredictably (until you know the synth capabilities anyway) to those commands. One such example is the "reset all controllers" command, which Cakewalk itself has an important option for, in fact. -You need to know how that all works within your project goals & choices. Even if you re-assign the Cakewalk MIDI track output filter & fx settings in the Inspector, for instance - Later inline MIDI will "Overwrite" those initial settings - just like a change in an envelope will change the initial value, etc. (That is why I often suggest the conversion to MIDI envelopes above). -'Doesn't matter what track you drag the data to, if you drag it all you may get all the embedded MIDI commands as well, and many will still change your new track settings. Especially important are embedded MIDI volume and expression events, as many "modern" virtual synths respond to that. -You think you set the volume level at the beginning of the track, for instance, but somewhere in the playback - it re-mixes itself... You get the picture. Especially important to find out in advance - if your virtual synth(s) actually respond to MIDI events other than notes, the way you expect. -Just because it plays fine in TTS-1, doesn't mean your newly downloaded super-synth-sampler AI plugin will respond to the pitch bends, or mod wheel events, the way you expect. -Or even at all. Each synth has to have matching MIDI input for its settings & capabilities, -they are not all just "plug & play". (Though in the future, MIDI 2.0 will address some of that...) -There is often a lot more to loading MIDI files & swapping tracks & channels, than what you might expect. -But Cakewalk is actually built for this stuff, so get in there and dig around, until you find how it works the way you want it to. -At the very least, it can be a fun adventure!

-Interestingly enough, I have found that using "Convert MIDI to Envelopes" - from within the MIDI track controllers view in PRV, for instance, really helps - by converting & later modifying those wheel events (from old "back in the 00's" MIDI files for me too!) in what I find to be an easier fashion. -Now, it takes more time than the "bulk" convert method you originally asked for, but since envelopes seem to be a commonly used method for automation & editing, you may find it easier to work with in the longer run than editing inline MIDI CC message flows. -It's another choice that can work for changing those wheel events you mention, if you really need to. To explain - here is a screenshot with some examples present to hopefully help with the concept: In the screenshot, I have taken a bass MIDI passage with some pitch wheel bends, and converted some to MIDI envelopes. -You can see the last wheel bend of the series, which was not converted, in the view behind the selection box pop-up, for comparison. -By converting the wheel events to envelopes, I now have the facility to edit and/or add events with the mouse easily. -On top of that, if I right-click the envelope, I can choose to assign the envelope to another channel (as in the example above), or in fact to many other MIDI control choices, as well as copy, etc. So, if you want to selectively re-assign the inline MIDI CC events, using this method you could change the selected CC channel info, on all or part of a MIDI track, if that is something you really need in order to get the results you want. -I simply find using this method for editing pitch wheel events just much better in CbB workflow generally, once you understand how wheel events work (they are different than standard CC values), and have them converted from say, initial pitch wheel manual entry, or of course those passages you want to save from existing downloaded old files. -Again though, you may find other ways to get your synths responding properly to the existing CCs you think they should, first! -There are always choices, hopefully these will help you, as they have me.

As with any VSTi situation, MIDI handling will vary in actuality. Though a majority of them will simply accept any channel data, and in theory changing the track filter to redirect the mapping should work, I too find that sometimes it doesn't quite cover everything. For instance, some Kontakt instruments have internal layers of control settings regarding MIDI control mapping. You might look into that. I have had to use MIDI - Omni for input on some organ synths, for using the default multiple keyboard layers & controls. And in Rapture Pro, for instance, each program can often have the pedal input set to only accept pedal MIDI on channel 1, all while the rest of the program will accept any channel. -So, it can get confusing. -It really is on a case-by-case basis. I would suggest using either the above-mentioned method of Process> Find/Change on the tracks that need that (it can take a learning curve, but it works), or using MIDI FX to change the CCs/Channels in the stream dynamically, which can be done without changing the original data. Again, only for problem situations.

Not to be a bummer, but that is not the question of the original post. To be clear, and to repeat what @msmcleod answered, the internal polyphony of a given external keyboard has nothing to do with the polyphony of a VSTi in Cakewalk. They are indeed independent. -When you use an external keyboard to control a software instrument in a DAW, you are only using the keyboard MIDI output of the hardware device, not its internal synth software, in most cases. As to MIDI 2.0, it won't be likely to matter for this question. Not only does properly formed & connected MIDI 1.0 data work quite well with typical polyphonic keyboard connectivity, and has for years, it is so trivial to modern processing & chipsets to manage, that only poorly designed systems, or ones with other problems present, will encounter such limitations when performing with the keyboards mentioned above. And yes, MIDI 2.0 is a wonderful step up, which I am certainly looking forward to. However, it is highly unlikely any of the keyboards mentioned above, or most any we own now in fact, will be by able to upgrade to the newer hardware interface requirements in order to use it, let alone also implement the software changes that the manufacturers would also then have to somehow add to legacy devices & provide us with. I doubt the OP here will need that info to start properly using polyphony in a VSTi in Cakewalk right now. Regardless of bandwidth limitations, a properly connected MIDI keyboard will easily be able to take advantage of polyphony in most common situations with a polyphonic capable virtual instrument. Independently of the keyboard's own internal instrument implementation.

Glad that you find it useful, as many of us do. -As to other places, I still find trying things out in the DAW itself is one of the most productive things I can do to learn, and heck it's free, nothing blocking that. Then, if there are any other specific questions that come to mind, don't hesitate to start a topic here!

@Billy86 -Are all the notes happening off the beat, or just the one note value you have in the square? -If it's just the one note, what instrument is it mapped to?

Yes! And I recently learned from coming here, that you can put text notes in both Track Inspector and Take Lanes, which I really plan to start applying to multi-take projects. So, between folder names, and track information, I can remember why I (did it (!) and) put take number 36 in that folder... ?

It sounds like a workflow issue to me. -Kinda like getting mad because the fridge door keeps trying to close on me when I'm grabbing a beverage from the back shelf... If you don't want to use the Start Screen, -just close it. Then drag & drop to your heart's content!

You might post just that in the Feedback section here. -In the meantime, one workaround I use when track counts exceed my view in Cakewalk, is to make track folders in logical groups. That way, when I want to move a track without dragging, I just right click and select to move it to a sort folder. -I don't know if that helps, or even if it works reliably with so many tracks, but it's something you might try, if you haven't already.

@Joel Pixton - I can only speak from my personal experiences, but I do also know it is always a matter preference, and highly dependent on your choice of drum samples - kits, etc. For me, there is no easy answer, it always depends on the sound I want to hear, compared to how it plays back at a certain velocity. -And sometimes I will revisit a MIDI track after adding other parts, and try another pass at adjusting velocities, to be quite honest. -I am glad though that MIDI makes it so easy to do that after the fact, or at least it's more flexible than having to make multiple takes of an audio recording. -Usually, anyway! I haven't used Addictive Drums as much as some other software, but recently I began fiddling with some tracks that I thought might work well with some of the default kits. They seem fairly forgiving on the velocity curves in their samples, maybe not as much dynamic range as some others, -which has its uses. As in your example with the supplied MIDI clips, the range of velocity can be fairly wide from lows to highs, and in Addictive's default kits it doesn't sound too abrupt. -That of course is just the defaults, as all that stuff can be modified, but that usually is just too much for me to want to deal with at that level, unless some MIDI file or input has some glaring problems I can't quickly fix any other way. I still find playing the samples, -"hits"-, on a keyboard - or a touch pad set (I have 8 pads on one of my MIDI keyboards) to be very helpful in quickly getting a feel for what the sounds - velocity levels, etc., are going to play like, especially for auditioning in a mix, and especially when tweaking settings in a custom kit. -Trying to do that with a full set of pads, sitting on a drum stool is rather difficult! Otherwise, MIDI velocities in PRV - mostly help me to see any glaring errors, and sometimes point to whether a particular track is going to have enough human dynamics (or not, depending on your goal) and help decide if it needs editing. -Especially if I think a note or two seems to be missing, or way out of place. Velocity tails can even alert me to small glitches I might have missed in note view. -But generally, you have to play it all with the specific sample set you want to try, and evaluate how it all works together, to judge what velocity levels are "right" - it all depends. I have only used supplied MIDI "grooves" when I really am bored - but that's just me. I noticed long ago that for me, they are definitely tailored to the specific sampler & kit for which they are targeted, the velocities & mapping often only work best with a certain kit, and for a very specific feel. -But, that is what they are supposed to be. if you build a project using them it will probably work great, but mixing them with real input can be confusing. -I do like to see some of the extreme examples of mapping in the samples that get presented, as sometimes that's a good guide to re-program your live input to get a more realistic feel - since you can really only map pads to 1 or 2 initial samples. Things like hi-hats, toms, even the snare, can have so many variations available in a sample set. -It can get real time consuming though, between mapping and adjusting velocities... be careful not to let it take away all the fun of just playing!

Have you tried opening an empty project, and loading the OP-X instrument, and then making sure it runs and lets you enter the serial on the new setup? As mentioned above, not enough information here yet. -What did you do to "transfer" the OP-X instrument? The different plugins all have different methods of licensing setup, sometimes that needs to be done before opening a project that already has the plugin running. -Just guessing, as that may be your issue with any Sonic Projects VSTi.

FWIW - There are many variations in quality & balance even in the sources you get your reference tracks from, so it can be difficult, even incorrect, to use some of them to master, especially using tools like Tonal Balance, etc. In many cases, you may be much better off using material created locally, as mentioned above, that you already like the results of. -Just using commercially available tracks, from say a CD, are great for getting arrangements and mixing cues from, but not always tonal balance. In my workflow, for many years, I have used a lot of commercially available song material as reference, and the quality & usefulness of them varies widely. Also, having worked in and around record stores (remember those?) for many years, I have literally heard dozens of versions of the same, always "remastered" material. -Right. Typically, as per much of the conversation here, I will either rip a CD track, or if I can lately, source a BD audio or download version I want as reference material. Then I use an old free audio converter to re-sample the track to my project profile. -This is simply a personal preference, as Cakewalk does a great job of resampling on its own, when I have used it that way, to be clear. Then, I will import the track into my project and point the output of that track to my primary audio output. -I also make sure the track has no FX or sends, etc., in case those might have snuck in from using a template of some kind. It's disappointing how many versions and quality levels of material you will get, from say one artist's works, in available commercial audio. -And then there's the alternate "popular" source - online video renditions, most not even official, much less professional transfers, that get in the way... -In any case, be careful of what you use for a reference, and how you use it. Trying to analyze tonal balance from mud will produce mud, so try and trust your ears first. And/or find a real, good-sounding mix or track you managed to create on your own, and reference it, as mentioned earlier. -Personally, I love using commercial tracks as a general example, and primarily to get closer to the arrangement and mixing balances, -if that is the goal. -But not really for exacting tonal matches. -Of course, your mileage may vary!

@Joel Pixton - Also, continuing in my ramblings about things you will encounter using DAW & VSTi drum recording/editing: Now that you've cleared up the long note issue, it is also worth mentioning that some MIDI input will need adjusting, if you get further into playing instruments like Addictive Drums. -And though you can just use an on-screen keyboard, or even the preview you get by clicking on a note on PRV, I find it useful to have a keyboard when mapping out your virtual kits. In virtual kits, there are some instruments that do need more than just a quick pad hit. Then there are some instruments that have to be used to link with another, and not just for layering. -The Roland modules and pads probably have some presets for some of that, but you will need to do it differently in VSTi instruments most of the time. In the VSTi, many samples - kit pieces - are made for variations, that may not even be useful on the pads, but will be in editing. Things like built-in snare rolls, flams, and often melodic percussive instruments need more than just a "hit" - they need to have the note value long enough to trigger them fully - and for the duration you want - and you can test that by using a click in the PRV or using a keyboard - hold down the note and test the results. -They don't always say which ones need that in the maps & documentation. And then there are things older pad kits may not have triggers for - but can be essential. Cymbal mutes are one of those for me. I always have to search the VSTi mapping for the note number they use to mute each of the cymbals, because every sampler, and kit has different mappings. -Anyway, good that you are getting it all to work, sounds like a good project! Keep at it!

Before you delete any of your work (-if it's not too late already) - you can fix all the already entered long notes without taking too much time. -First though, make a backup - save as, copy, what have you... Look for - or add - the "Event Inspector" module to the toolbar in Cakewalk. Then select one of the tracks that has the too long notes, and make sure that all the notes are then selected (highlighted) in the PRV view - or at least any that you want to fix. -Click to bring down the Events (Event Inspector) module from the toolbar. -Click once on the section that is labeled "Duration". -In my example, 30 was selected automatically, but yours will probably say some other number. Clear that and type in 30 - as in the following screen shot: -Hit enter on your keyboard. Doing that will change all the selected notes on the track to a duration of 30. -In my drum editing, I use that, or sometimes 15, as a typical note duration for drum sample triggering. -Anyway, then you should have a much better chance at being able to edit & copy things you've already entered - FYI.

In the back of my mind something says you might want to try connecting just one module, and one pad connected to that, to see if the MIDI notes from just one of them get recorded properly. -Also, I can't tell, but did all of the notes have the same long timing? Or is it just certain pads?

I know this just adds to your woes... but the zero controllers setting - which I understand the reason for including as a CbB default for the casual user - is really tough to allow across the board, -especially if you are using MIDI in your testing. Not only does that command work differently than expected on synths & such that won't use the original MIDI standard it comes from, but I realized a while back that CbB sends it out across all my active MIDI ports - not just the one I may be concentrating on at the moment. It can cause really unexpected results on a project with a lot of MIDI implementation. -Not great for testing, let alone some complex projects. Hopefully, you are at least testing with a MIDI file you created, so that you know it is clean of anything other than basic data, because without understanding the layering of MIDI commands (like volume in @John Vere's post), and how each DAW handles them, that will really always be a wildcard. I would highly suggest testing with only audio files themselves, not MIDI & VSTi combos. -FWIW.

In event view, normally you will only see note messages that by nature don't have an "off" - just duration, along with of course the note number and velocity. -Looking at event view may not clarify what is causing the long duration - but that again is probably in the drum module settings - gate time. -And yes, make a test with your system - make sure you can record normally with a keyboard - notes should only be the duration for which you hold the keys down, etc., or something else is wrong here. FWIW - Going forwards you will get used to the note durations and proper uses for them in percussion samplers. As the quoted material states, some events may actually need a long trigger, although most percussive samples do not. For instance, if you choose to use a snare roll or flam sample in Addictive, they are actually loop-able samples - and will require triggering for the length of time you want them to last. Generally though, the pads should only trigger a short note length for most uses - certainly not much more than the length of the initial hit - reverberation and such is taken care of with other parts of the sampler playback in most cases.

To add to the good info above: Longer - earlier MIDI notes overlapping into a "Now Time" start point will get triggered by default project settings that are included in the Project - MIDI - Other Options preferences, such as MIDI event chase... But my question is - where did those long notes come from? Usually, a drum pad never puts out such long note on messages, in fact most of the time I have to modify pad inputs to make them visible lengths, -when I use normal note view. -Did you purposely stretch them, or somehow record them that way? -I would fix that 1st.

My first guess, as I have never tried it, would be that the CbB Master setup with no output routing would probably not provide the NDI plugin (or anything else in the chain) the proper signal, and the only thing coming through might be straight from the live input monitoring... It's not designed to work that way. -Software mixing is different in some ways than hardware mixing (even though it's almost moot nowadays with many mixers being mostly software controlled.., but I digress) But maybe you've got that straight now. Input echo is what passes hardware audio -live audibly- into a software DAW. -Anyway, it sounds like you may be getting things figured out, and that's awesome. You have 6 mics and still not much room in the mix? I used to do a lot of video of open mic sessions I did a few years ago, and with only 3 or 4 mics, I never had that problem, but maybe you need to add a mic specifically for ambience. With that board... but I guess that does add more complications. Not sure what to say, but you will figure it out better hands on anyway. -Have you recorded streams already, and they are too dry? -Also, I had a few extra minutes on YouTube searching earlier, and just searching X-32 + Streaming Live got several links titled specifically from people doing just that. -If I knew more about that type of board & fx options, etc., plus how it works with Cakewalk, maybe I could make some better suggestions, but hopefully what we have gone over so far helps. -Keep at it, there is almost always a way!