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Yes! I have that one too, and I think it is my #1 delay! https://soundbytesmag.net/review-objeq-delay-applied-acoustic-systems/

My #1 go-to reverb for ambient, spacey, sounds is Eventide Black Hole. Based on the demo video, RAUM may become my #2. Still waiting (hours) for it to be added to my account... I have other, conventional reverbs, but I love how this type can creatively transform simple sounds into lush soundscape pads...

Just curious, but how would one authorize a legacy Cakewalk product such as CA-2A with the retail redemption code, since new account creation is no longer available at the old Cakewalk website?

You probably don't need it, as many other options exist for metering. I wouldn't waste any time on that for a free plugin! Anyhow, I jumped on the Studio One Pro crossgrade deal back when Gibson bailed on Cakewalk. PreSonus has some cool plugins and instruments that are locked to Studio One. I am glad to see them finally offering some plugins in VST format, as I have been reluctant to learn their proprietary plugins that are locked to Studio One. I hope that PreSonus continues this trend with their instruments! I have CbB, Studio One Pro, and Ableton Live, and I only want to use plugins and instruments that are portable to any DAW that I wish to work with. The exception to that is that Ableton has some cool creative tools that I may make an exception for! Best regards!

You probably don't need it. I was just trying to offer some helpful tips. Cheers!

Do you have another host you can try? You list Studio One and Cubase in your signature. If the plugin doesn't show up in another host, that would imply that the plugin is not installed correctly on the PC. In that case I would try reinstalling it. If it works in other hosts, then suggest contacting support@bandlab.com for assistance with the CbB plugin scanner. It's scanned OK here and working in CbB, and I am running the latest version of Cakewalk, 2019.11, build 63. Bear in mind that there is no VST2 version. When I open Cakewalk Plugin Manager and select "VST3 Audio Effects", I can see "VU Meter" listed under registered plugins. When I select that item and look under filenames it shows "c:\program files\common files\VST3\PreSonus VST3 Shell.vst3\Contents\x86_64-win\PreSonus VST3 Shell.vst3".

Mainstream support for 8.1 ended last year (Jan 2018). That means no new feature support for developers. Just security updates and such, per Microsoft Windows official lifecycle FAQ regarding "Extended support" until 2023. Over on the PreSonus Studio One forum it was stated that the reason that their developers are throwing in the towel on any further 8.1 development is because they no longer get any feature support from Microsoft for that platform. But like you said, it won't suddenly stop working. I do see their point about Studio One development needing feature support.

As chuckebaby just mentioned, the .sfz file in question references the following .flac files. Agree on the reinstall... The big difference between sound fonts .sf2 files, and .sfz files are that sound fonts .sf2 embed the sounds in the file, where .sfz are just text files that reference external sound files. //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- // sfz Definition File // Version 2 // // © 2005 Cakewalk Music Software // All Rights Reserved //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <control> default_path=Trumpet 1 Muted V\ <group> polyphony=1 <region> sample=001.flac key=52 <region> sample=002.flac key=53 <region> sample=003.flac key=54 <region> sample=004.flac key=55 <region> sample=005.flac key=56 <region> sample=006.flac key=57 <region> sample=007.flac key=58 <region> sample=008.flac key=59 <region> sample=009.flac key=60 <region> sample=010.flac key=61 <region> sample=011.flac key=62 <region> sample=012.flac key=63 <region> sample=013.flac key=64 <region> sample=014.flac key=65 <region> sample=015.flac key=66 <region> sample=016.flac key=67 <region> sample=017.flac key=68 <region> sample=018.flac key=69 <region> sample=019.flac key=70 <region> sample=020.flac key=71 <region> sample=021.flac key=72 <region> sample=022.flac key=73 <region> sample=023.flac key=74 <region> sample=024.flac key=75 <region> sample=025.flac key=76 <region> sample=026.flac key=77 hikey=80

This is the correct location for the PreSonus VST3 plugins: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\PreSonus VST3 Shell.vst3". The individual VST3 plugins do not appear in that folder, but they scan into CbB just fine. I have them working here in CbB, where my PreSonus tab under AudioFX lists: Ampire, Fat Channel, Pedalboard, and VU Meter. (Ampire, Fat Channel, and Pedalboard came with Studio One Pro 4.6). I used the PreSonus Hub to install the plugins.

I agree, since Win 8.1 doesn't reach end of extended support until Jan 10, 2023 (3 more years).

Windows 8.1 falls under the same lifecycle policy as Windows 8, and will reach end of Mainstream Support on January 9, 2018, and end of Extended Support on January 10, 2023. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/18581/lifecycle-faq-windows-products

The XLN Audio Studio Grand demo is free, and has no expiration. It is limited to four octaves, rather than the full 88 keys. Full version retail is $89.95 not counting possible available discounts. https://www.xlnaudio.com/products/addictive_keys/instrument/studio_grand For cheaper alternatives, I would suggest the Sonivox Eighty-Eight, or the AIR Mini-Grand. Most of the other decent options will be > $100. And I just looked at that Waves deal. Looks interesting for $25.

I have had this happen before, and then when I power cycled my audio interface off/on, the driver was released. This leads me to believe that sometimes when Cakewalk has a sudden crash, that drivers somehow get left in a state requiring cleanup that didn't happen.

I have the Cakewalk CA-2A showing up as VST3 and working in CbB. It was not included with the Sonar Platinum installer, and was a separate product. If you already have a license, it's available from your legacy Cakewalk account with either Cakewalk Command Center, or from the "My Products" page at the original Cakewalk site. CA-2A isn't locked once installed, and in fact works in other DAWs that I have installed, including Studio One. For those that never had licenses to the legacy Cakewalk plugins, other than those included with CbB, it's still a wait. BandLab has never committed to re-releasing them, and after a couple of years, there have still not been any related announcements. So it's likely to be a good while yet, if ever, to see them for sale again...

Where's "Weird Al" Yankovic? He's probably got something to add... But good job anyway!!!

Don't forget to put the serial number in IK Authorization Manager in order to unlock the library in ST4.

VST2 or VST3 plugins are both compatible with CbB. Recommend 64-bit plugins only, but Cakewalk will also open 32-bit. There are literally thousands of virtual instruments available, both free and paid. Have fun!

All good! It's automatically added to your account if you own ST4.

I have an older version of Midi Quest that no longer operates on modern Windows computers. But since I rarely use external MIDI hardware any longer, I could not see paying the upgrade fee for the latest version. But if I was a serious external hardware power user, it would probably still be my first choice. It offers a feature set that would eliminate the need to develop StudioWare Panels. Big time saver! https://squest.com/Products/MidiQuest12/ That said, I have not used it in many years, so have no idea how well it integrates with the recent versions of Sonar Platinum or Cakewalk by BandLab. Demos available.

This appears to be true in my case also! But I always check the content path before I click 'next' on the installer, and by default it had selected my "Sampletank 3" content path. So I politely re-directed it to my "SampleTank 4" content path. All good here. But this behavior could catch an unwary user by surprise.

That will probably be my next one. I like the ease that you can edit drum parts with that. I have Addictive Drums 2 with plenty of kits and patterns, and love the sound. Just wish it had some of the features of EZ.

On my 2 systems, a custom desktop and a plain off-the-shelf budget consumer laptop, Windows 10 and the other things that run at boot take up about 2.2GB of memory. Cakewalk memory use runs a little over 300MB here with just a new blank project open. So that adds up to 2.5GB memory used, just to get started. On my 8GB desktop that leaves me with 5.5GB available, and I don't think I have ever maxed that out. But my laptop only has 1.5BG memory free, before I add anything to the project. I only have some DAW stuff loaded up on the laptop to play around with when traveling, as I much prefer a desktop for DAW use. You could probably run a project with audio tracks only, and very few, plugins and/or virtual instruments. You would have to try it and see the actual results, based on your intended usage to see what could work. And as was mentioned, your CPU is a little below the specs, but my laptop only has a 1.7GHz Intel i5. It can run a few tracks and/or virtual instruments OK, but it can get quickly bogged down and maxed out by CPU hungry plugins!

Instability is often driver related. Not always, but often enough that it needs to be ruled out 100% through methodical step-by-step troubleshooting.

I wouldn't worry about the laptop monitor if you will be using it at home/office. Just plug it into a good external monitor that meets your requirements!

I have all of them, as they were included in the Everything Bundle, but I had been shying away from them, mostly due to the "EDM" in the expansion name. Nothing against that, but just not my "thing". But a quick run through them reveals that there are some quite good basses, leads, and pads that could be used with many other genres of synth music. He has many presets that are clearly intended to be emulations of vintage gear, particularly in the Rob Lee EDM Expansion 2, 3, & 4. Representing Buchla, Juno, Jupiter, Korg, JX 3P, Moog, Oberheim, Roland, Waldorf, and others. I own none of that vintage gear, so not eligible to compare them.