abacab

I agree for one DAW. Less clicks. But since I have 4 DAWs, plus Akai VIP in standalone mode, I'd rather edit in my VST2 and VST3 folders. Each host has its own plug-in hiding/exclusion process...

I went for Drumazon over Animate, since I already have Brauer Motion. Is Drumazon worth downloading?

Another option if you have more than one DAW installed, rather than excluding them in each DAW, you can rename the plugin extensions that you do not own in the Windows folders (like add a '.xxx') so that they will not be picked up by any scans. Same result, just more global. They are still installed, so just rename them as you license them. ?

Yup!

A HDD typically starts dying slowly. If you pay attention to your S.M.A.R.T. stats you can probably see a warning for that event, and backup your data, which you should be doing anyway. I'm not sure that you can recover an SSD, except from a backup image. Regarding SSD dropping dead, I had a friend that went out of town and left his computer on. When he returned he was looking at a blank screen on his monitor that said no boot device available. We did some basic troubleshooting over the phone, swapped SATA ports, cables, etc., but no dice. He brought the SSD over to my place and I tried hooking it up to my system. Dead as a brick. So it was a new SSD drive and fresh Windows install for him (he didn't have an image backup).

I imagine that if you pull the plug, Waves will disappear your licenses until you plug it back in... I'm not using that method yet. But when my Waves licenses were associated with my on-board Ethernet adapter, that is exactly what happened when I disabled the adapter.

Bulent (KV331 at KVR forum) says he has been busy putting finishing touches on 2.99 to prepare for 3.0. I think it will be worth the wait... ? Every once in a while he posts an update on KVR, but I think most of his development activity and testers are on his Facebook group for SynthMaster.

WUP means you are pwned.

Dang, that's a good price for that drive! Deal ends in 2 days... I'm using the 500GB version as my system drive. Muy bueno! ?

Kontakt full version only...

Maybe color and cook until next year when Pro 5 actually goes on sale?

3.5" HDDs were traditionally used in desktops and servers, and 2.5" HDDs were for laptops. The 3.5" HDDs are available in higher RPM (faster data access by the read/write heads), such as 7200 and 10,000 RPM. 2.5" HDDs are typically slower, for example many are 5400 RPM, although 7200 RPM laptop HDDs are available. The SSD is supplanting HDDs and is preferred for internal use. SSD drives became popular in the 2.5" form factor which can be a direct swap in a laptop, or used in a desktop with an adapter bracket. They use the same SATA interface as HDDs. M.2 SSD drives are available for motherboards with slots supporting them. Using SSD for external backup/archive is not cost effective when a slow mechanical drive can get the job done, and is potentially more stable than SSD (which can die suddenly).

Windows 10 Home does not include Group Policy Editor. That is only available in Pro, Enterprise, and Educational editions. Highly recommended for anyone using a DAW or any other professional workstation on Windows 10. There are some registry hacks for Home but I prefer to use the tools designed for the job. Pros: Group Policy Editor allows you to easily control Windows updates Set to be notified of monthly updates, but not to download until you request Defer semi-annual feature upgrades for up to 365 days Decline to receive driver updates via Windows Update BitLocker full drive encryption for system drive Various other useful one-click policies to control Win 10 behavior. I won't go into detail here because this has been discussed on blogs and web forums for years. Cons: $99 upgrade from the Home edition via the Microsoft store. Exception if you upgrade from Win 7/8/8.1 Pro you will receive Win 10 Pro. Best way to get Pro other than upgrading an old Pro license is to buy a computer with it pre-installed by OEM.

Waves allows 1 license at a time unless you are covered under WUP, then it is 2 while covered. To avoid license recovery due to issues with PC hardware, it has been recommended to move all licenses to a USB storage device. Also, that has the advantage of allowing the license to be used on ANY computer that the Waves plug-ins are installed on by simply moving the USB drive.

You do realize that you are responding to a thread over a year old? Besides it's up to the VSTi vendor. Cakewalk supports the feature if the plug-in is capable.

You can do this easily in Studio One by dragging and dropping any MIDI track in the song to the chord track, or by selecting any MIDI track in the song, then in the right-click context menu, select instrument part > extract to chord track.

And I actually almost picked up Cubase Elements a few years ago for their chord track. That was v9 at the time. It's been a while so I'm not sure how Cubase and Studio One now compare in that regard, but personally don't recall the Cubase details. Cubase was probably the one of first, if not the first, to offer the feature. I own Studio One Pro now as a result of a crossgrade deal that I took advantage of back when Gibson/Cakewalk shutdown. Studio One added chord track to v4, and I'm assuming PreSonus borrowed some ideas from Cubase (as well as some developers).

That's what I was subtly implying... ?

I would encourage avoiding a simplistic approach. The essential idea of a chord track is that it is global to the project, and all tracks are capable of being aware and following it (follow on/off). So you can re-harmonize the entire project just by a simple tweak to the chords and progression in the chord track. Another benefit to the chord track is that it provides clear chord markers. Studio One is a proven commercial success. I think the bakers should follow that example of chord track, with a Cakewalk spin, of course!

Closet.

I got the CZ-1000 with the full sized keys. But it was my first synth! Later on I wished that I had gotten a higher end CZ model. But with the Virtual CZ, you can use any controller, and programming is now much easier than using the front panel and tiny LCD on the hardware. Ha!

I have the Virtual CZ, as well as a real one that I bought back in the 80's. The virtual sound kicks the same butt... ?

There's samplers and then there's samplers.

I followed your comments regarding getting suggestions for alternate chord voicing and for chord progressions with interest. That would be very useful! But I'm not sure that having styles, timing, and rhythm generated for you would be a core feature of a chord track. That sounds a bit more along the lines of something like Band in a Box, and not a typical core DAW feature. Which although might be nice to have, in my opinion that's not really a necessity for Cakewalk.

I think that is an excellent point! I would even add the suggestion that a versatile chord selector be considered as a first step on the roadmap towards a fully fledged chord track! Just having the ability to add chords from a selection tool to an instrument track would be indispensable.