Amberwolf

FWIW, the Z3TA+2 is a nifty synth; I wish they could make it available for purchase again for new users. I already have it from (what feels like) ages back; I use it in virtually every project for one thing or another, some using existing presets (usually modified in some way), some "scratch" sound creation. My one beef with it (and every other RGC synth I've ever used, and some others like Algomusic) is that it doesn't respond to the panic button (the old kind, in my ancient SONAR version before the new panic options were added), and I have to turn the arp on and off in each instance to kill stuck notes. (there are other things I would love to change about it, especially in the Arp UI, but that's the only really annoying / problematic one).

I don't know a way to do it to a whole project, only individual MIDI clips or MIDI tracks. There is (or at least used to be) an MFX plugin included with Cakewalk / SONAR called Quantize, which has a swing option. Inserting this into the Fx bin of the track in question (or just a clip Fx bin if only some parts of the track need it) will let you add swing to the track. Then once that is setup the way you want it, create a preset in the Quantize plugin, and then load the same preset in each other instance you insert into each track, to save time setting them up. It's not as easy to do as you want, but it does get you the eventual end result. The displayed MIDI doesn't change, only the output. If you want the MIDI itself to change, you can apply the Fx, or bounce the track or clip, etc.

"plugin requires an internet connection to generate basslines". Pass.

Is this something that applies to everyone here? Just asking because I haven't seen anything of mine that needed approval after I posted it; it just showed up wherever I posted? (unless we can always see our own posts even if they're not really "there" yet?)

Maybe sink some deep deep posts around the house with cables from them up over the roof as a "net" to keep it on?

That's why I built a trike instead. (still have a pile of parts in the shed to rebuild the old bike version as a backup, but dunno if I'll ever be able to get back to it).

Doesn't have to be; it all depends on your own needs and desires. These days I do almost all my stuff sitting or laying in bed, most often just drawing things into the tracks rather than playing them in, because I don't have the energy or time anymore to use the big ASR88 keyboard at the "workstation", or the piano on the other wall, or even the guitars hanging over the piano. Sometimes the dog(s) come over and "help". Sometimes I'll grab my little Rockband Keytar (cheap from Goodwill some years back) to play stuff in, or if I need a two-handed input the even older MK-4902 (also cheap from goodwill even more years back), but it's a bit heavy and awkward compared to the keytar and has a worse feel and less consistent response. But both lean on the shelf nearby within reach... For the most part I listen to it all with a Vizio soundbar (cheap from Goodwill a few years back...you might notice a pattern) glued to the top edge of my big "TV" monitor (can't see the regular size computer monitors well enough anymore) that's on a swingarm so I can move it where I need it depending on how I'm positioned. I used this process for the current WIP here: https://amberwolf.bandcamp.com/track/the-skaergaard-intrusion where the only part played in so far was the "guitar"ish piece (a synth played in using that MK-4902), while everything else was drawn in or modified from copies of what was played in on that track, or from percussion clips I'd already made using various methods in previous projects, and the "bassline" from a modified arp pattern from Z3TA2+ dragged into a midi track and edited significantly to make what you hear. Took just a few hours to get it basically in there, and it's just been details since then. (most of my projects take a lot longer than that, but some "just work"). I used to use the workstation (which has a bunch of stuff in a rack, the multiport audio and midi interfaces, the ASR88, TG33, etc) all the time, but have developed better ways of working entirely within the computer. You can hear the difference in how I work now vs then, if you listen to stuff like my recent ones from http://amberwolf.bancdamp.com posted up in the Songs subforum vs the older stuff like what's in The Elder Sounds I album on Bandcamp, or the older stuff I have at the bottom of the ~120 listings on my http://soundclick.com/amberwolf page; up to about the ones dated 2017 and earlier.

Thanks! The "bassline" / synth originally started out as a (factory preset) arp pattern from Z3TA2+, but received significant alterations and edits throughout the song once I dragged the pattern from Z3TA into the MIDI track. Especially because it came out as all velocity 100, which must not have been at all the velocity it uses inside the synth and doesn't make the synth sound anything like it was supposed to--I had to bring them all down nearly to zero to get that sound back, for whatever reason. IIRC it's the DanceBass1 preset with various tweaks to get the sound you hear. The wind instrument is MiniDizi's ChineeWinds DiziBass1, for now. There's a better sound for this on my old Ensoniq ASR88, which includes various styles of playing that would better fit this song (it's the same flute you can hear in various tracks on my Uncommon Ground album from 1996 over here; https://amberwolf.bandcamp.com/album/uncommon-ground-full-album , though there's only a couple notes here and there that use one of the short percussive styles I want for this one). I have a way to convert the instrument into something I could use on SFZ; have to try it out to see if it still sounds the same that way. There's also something on my ancient set of Rare Instruments GS cd's that someone here sent me many years ago (Jerry Gerber?) that will probably help, but i can't recall the name of the instrument; I'll have to poke thru them if I can dig out the cd's and load the .gigs into Vsampler.

.

R is Read Only. Uncheck this in the folder properties dialog box to be able to write to it. (right click on the folder in Windows Explorer and choose Properties to get this dialog) D is Directory. This might be helpful if the above doesn't work https://community.spiceworks.com/t/cannot-remove-read-only-attribute-from-certain-folders/398650/5

The only two times I lived in a house that was flooded was as a kid in rural Texas during some bad storms that kept coming (probably hurricane leftovers, but I paid nearly zero attention to the rest of the world back then), back in the early 80s (look up the story about Gerry the Elephant washed into and stuck in a tree; the water was so high she had to use her trunk like a snorkel; that was the Gainesville Zoo a few miles up the road from us), and in the mid-late 80s here in Phoenix during the flooding rains back then (I almost got washed away walking home from school that day). The texas house had wood floors that were already damaged and after that there were spots that collapsed under our weight stepping on them, down into the crawlspace. The phoenix house was all brick and concrete but the carpets were ruined, as was a lot of our furniture; we had to rip it out ourselves because of the smell. Neither landlord was really the type to fix anything, so....

Hope all the important stuff stayed dry, or is recoverable. This weekend we're likely to get some of the leftovers, but having travelled all the way across the country to get here, it's unlikely to be more than a sprinkle (even though it says up to half an inch or more, which is a lot at a time even for Phoenix).

.

I wonder why it happens to some but not others? What the specific system differences are? I don't *think* I've ever had it happen. The only time I know I got duped notes recorded, softsynths didn't exist yet, and I had just re-wired up a bunch of external MIDI gear in a "loop" so they were all able to send and receive data to / from the computer, and at least one of them was still setup internally as MIDI Thru when it shouldn't have been, so I got a continuous stutter of notes whenever I hit a key (teeny tiny delay due to all the cabling and devices in the loop).

A couple of decades ago, a friend's mother was shot in the head thru the wall of her home by a drive by shooter (actually a whole group of them in a vehicle). She lived for a while but never woke up. When they caught the shooters (some of them at least), turns out they went to the wrong place and decided to shoot it up anyway. 😠

MIDI doesn't make sound, it just tells something that does make sound which notes to play, how loud to play them, and how long to play them for and when to stop each note. (and a lot of other data but those are the ones you're concerned with at the moment). So you have to use a synth (software synth, softsynth, VST, etc., usually in one or more of the tracks of your project) to take that info and make the sounds you want with it. Some probably come with your version of Cakewalk; if not there are free ones you can use, depending on which specific sounds you want to hear. You can also use a hardware synth (keybaord, rack, etc) but those are rarely free and usually require other hardware to connect them to the computer (MIDI interface, etc). If you open the Synth Rack (by icon or menu), and insert a synth, the default options should open the synth window, and create you a track to put the MIDI into. Then you can use the synth window to choose a sound or sound set that will be played by the MIDI track. If the synth is "multitimbral", it can play several different sounds at once, each on one of the 16 different midi channels. In this case you can just set each song part (lead, bass, drum, etc) to the right channel for each sound as you set them up in the synth, and they can all be on the MIDI track(s) for that synth. If the synth is not MT, then it can only play one sound, and you'll have to use the synth rack to add as many synths as you need for each different part. (this is the usual way projects are done, as it makes a lot of things possible that aren't with a single synth doing it all). Then each song part's MIDI goes into the MIDI track for that synth.

If you're interested in finding the root cause, you might want to look at the MIDI driver list in Cakewalk, for all the ones that are checked (enabled). It might be that there are duplicate or broken drivers enabled, or a loopback (virtual midi port). In this case, if you disable all but the ones you are actually using, then you can continue to use the Omni input.

They're not useless, they hold the bits down in the drives so they don't fly off when it spins up. FWIW, the only "deal" I'd love to get ouf of stuff I've found on the many posted websites is Vocalisa on APD, which would be like $40 with the "rewards" they give you for reviewing stuff (even free things, which themselves can give you rewards)....but it requires the full version of Kontakt, and that's $300, which I can't swing or even justify saving for. I really wish they made a version for something like Decentsampler, or the Kontakt Player. Even if they just had the bare samples available with purchase, I could work with that. 💡 I did get a couple of the super-cheap sample-box deals from APD; for $8 there was almost certainly something usable in five+ "libraries", and indeed I did find some I've already used (the voices in TT # Nex Ool, some of the tympani in The Skaergaard Intrusion), and there are quite a few things in there I will end up using even if it's just single percussion hits out of loops, or sound snippets from other loops, etc. So it was worth the $8, saving me probably weeks or even months (over a long time period of making music) on creating those sounds some other way.

Even 1.6-2gb (vs 16-20gb) would be a tremendous amount compared to the installer size....

Not having used them, but given the installer for the whole pack is only a couple hundred MB, that sounds like some sort of file or folder corruption? Let us know what files you actually find in there.

The Skaergaard Intrusion https://amberwolf.bandcamp.com/track/the-skaergaard-intrusion 101424: 101424 000001 000030a -- first public version This one took about eight hours to get to the first public version, but it was nearly "done" after only three or four hours; at that point I had it's arrangement, sounds, etc all in place, and just did note editing for timing and mistakes playing, along with mix and fx tweaks. To speed the process, I did borrow some of my hand percussion that I'd created for Ookami no Kari no Yume, as well as the base blank track template with synths and fx and buses. More details for the description later; too tired to think right now. EDIT: replaced generic artwork with something more representative Only one partial listen so far (<10% of it played thru, guess they didn't like it at all since that's less than about 30 seconds). New version 101524: 101424 000001 000045s --mix edits, intro edit, add reinforcement parts in some sections, remove extraneous bits in various sections. Still working on it, as usual; building some string and wind instrument modulations, bends, etc. Some percussion transitions to work out. 101624: 101424 000001 000057w -- added further intro bars, fixed missing tymapni taiko etc track (didn't render anymore, reason unknown), numerous other edits. New version 101424 000001 000088E -- numerous mix changes (track envelopes), sound tweaks, added new percussion elements and removed certain perc notes here and there, added certain new sound elements under existing ones. Lots of envelopes for volume, pitch, etc., added or tweaked to mix all the elements in there. Most of the sound elements came from that QL RI cd set, using Vsampler to convert them into folders full of wave files (import into Vsampler, then use Windows Explorer to copy the temporary wave file folder elsewhere, then close vsampler without saving) that I can then drop into the project whereever needed, and use SONAR's assorted tools to pitch up or down or stretch. The sounds used so far are the Irish Low Whistle, the Gadulka, and the Duduk, as well as some Chinese Gong 34" to accent the few crashes in the MisFitKit(modified). I also added some tiny accents out of sounds I've collected over the years called "bigpot5" and "grater"1-4. I would kinda like to use the HurdyGurdy (I like the sound) but I have to read up on how to use it (there's a booklet with the QL cd set), then setup the wave files in a track to work correctly (since it has drones and whatever notes you play). I think I have another version of the HG that might be playable, but I have to look thru my off-system sounds and instruments, in the "i might need this someday" collection of "free stuff". I do that because Vsampler doesn't usually convert anything completely / correctly, and leaves assorted notes (keys) unplayable (silent) even though it has the sample there, and all the settings for that specific key are identical to other keys next to it that use the same sample and *do* play. The zones above the keys correctly play if clicked on, just the specific key(s) doesn't, either via MIDI or via the onscreen keyboard. Vsampler is very unintuitive and clunky to edit things in, so I don't ever try to fix such problems, I just use the wave files directly; it's a lot faster than trying to fix the instrument and then play in parts the way I want them. *** I still haven't located the right wind (flute-like) instrument for the percussive playing I want here and there. Probably going to have to get the one from the ASR88 into the computer. (I think it's on one of the "CDR" collections, so it shouldn't be too tough, just have to do an import process from that). ***building a basic instrument from scratch isn't nearly as hard as fixing a broken import / conversion, but it's pretty tedious, so I don't usually do that either, though I used to try a long time ago. 102524: 101424 000001 000097I -- numerous note changes, mostly in "bassline" track, some in accent tracks. Matched certain sections of bassline to "lead", small mix changes.

Just curious: If you are already familiar with it, and want to save money, why not just use the Sonar you already have? My ancient version still works just fine (even if it doesn't have a number of features the newer ones do) for the music I make, running on a Windows10 machine (it would probably run on 11 as well if my hardware/interface would). And as well, if you already have Reason, then there's no reason to not use it as well; whatever tasks a program is good at (or that you prefer the process in) is a good tool to keep around and use for. I also use Cooledit (even older than SONAR) and Audacity for editing tasks that SONAR isn't useful for or good at, and various other bits and bobs for conversions, etc.

Sound creation is entertaining and fun, and there are a bajillion ways to do it, so if you find that one way doesn't suit you or you don't have the things to do it (and can't find an affordable or free one) in one way, you can try out other ways that accomplish the same end, once you discover the essentials of how to do a particular thing. (that part may take some research, but there are a lot of resources, starting with the internet, and then there are physical books about sound design as well, that can be found at libraries in some cases). Some things are "obvious" once you start playing wiht the controls of synths and fx, and some you kinda have to learn what is actually happening with a specific sound to know how to recreate it...but it is possible to rediscover it without researching others' info if you spend enough time poking around at things (and you could discover a new process that's all your own for your own "sound" while you're at it). I started long ago (80s) with microphones and thrift-store-find reel-to-reel and cassette tape machines, then really cheap casio and yamaha "toy" keyboards, and because I was just doing what I could think of rather than researching anything, reinvented a bunch of processes that had already been known for decades :flushed face: . I started learning electronics and physically altering those cheap machines to do things they werent' intended for, and it was fun, but time-consuming (and sometimes disheartening when I would unfixably break something accidentally, and have to find a new (used) item to replace it. This century, when it started to get really cheap and easy to do stuff in the computer instead, I had even more fun because I could create sounds as presets, save those, experiment more, make chains of fx to do things that just one couldn't, and best of all everything can be saved separately and almost evertything has "undo" so if you make a mistake and didn't save as a new file yet you can go back to what you had before. These days it's even easier, since there are so many freebie synths and fx and sound manipulation programs, there's almost certainly already one around that already has a preset to do a specific thing you want to do.... I don't design all the sounds I use these days, because so many synths / etc come with good usable presets, but I hardly ever leave one exactly as-is, and "twiddle knobs" to see what i'll get sometimes when it isn't quite what I wanted (if I don't already know how that synth "works inside" to make the sound I want directly). For examples you can listen to stuff on http://amberwolf.bandcamp.com where most of the synth sounds I use are from or made on Z3TA2+ with assorted fx chains (mostly stuff that came with SONAR at one time or another), often automated to evolve the sounds over the time of the piece.

It *is* annoying. I use the Sonitus MBEQ, EQ, Reverb and Delay all the time (and the others now and then), at least one of them in every project (essentially since they came with SONAR the first time, perhaps a couple decades back). So I end up automating the band gains in the EQ, for instance, and the individual band bypasses in the MBEQ, the Mix in the reverb and the L & R Mix in the Delay (since the L/R link retardedly only affects the sliders and not external automation you have to use two separate envelopes to do it). In some cases it is easier to have two separate tracks (or buses) with the fx in only one, and either have clips that need fx in appropriate places in each one, or use automation on a track to send or not send to one or the other bus, etc. Or use per-clip fx bins for certain things, though I dislike doing that as it's very difficult to remember which ones have them and I can't automate those with in-track automation that I can copy and paste around. (a process which is difficult enough as it is, as is drawing in the envelopes to start with; though I'm sure that's improved since my version was created). Would save significant time if there didn't have to be workarounds like these. FWIW, I've had this issue with numerous plugins (and synths); almost nothing I have ever used has *all* the parameters I require to be automatable; it's almost always something obviously needing to be (like a bypass, or a mix, etc). My opinion is that if it has a controllable element, it should be automatable, *and* it should correctly expose the value ranges for the automation to the host, so the host correctly labels both the envelope itself, and the values displayed in tooltips/etc (rather than a name that's different than what the onscreen control shows, and values or units that are not related to those the control itself uses).

Sorry for the necropost, but seeing the artwork in the thread, I felt these belonged here (if they belong anywhere ). They were created in an attempt to make an avatar for use in various places; none of them are really what I was after, though, since Google's AI Test Kitchen ImageFX frequently ignores specifics in a user's input description, and is very inconsistent in "understanding" various terms.