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Update to the latest:

Baby steps... But the proof of them "getting" it would require a bigger change to their download policy. I archive all of my downloads locally, so no big deal for me. But I have seen so many complaints about this, that I can only conclude that they are shooting themselves in the foot with their reluctance to change policy. Alternatively, a friendlier way for them to limit bandwidth use would be to offer a couple of lifetime re-downloads before charging, rather than a time limit. But with modern large scale content delivery networks available, how big a deal could a few extra downloads be to their bottom line vs. potential lost goodwill? They have to host the content somewhere anyway for the new customers!

Komplete Start gives you the latest players, Komplete Kontrol, and some additional free Kontent.

I will first ask if you have tried opening the MIDI file in Cakewalk, before trying to insert any instruments? Do you end up with either (1) a project showing a MIDI track per channel (so 7 MIDI tracks), or (2) is all of the track data on one MIDI track? In scenario (1) above you could easily just insert two Xpand!2 instrument tracks below the 7 MIDI tracks, and route them individually to the respective Xpand!2 instances and the desired channel and preset. This is fairly easy to do. Since Xpand!2 will not respond to MIDI channels 5-16, use MIDI channels 1-4 only. So you would be using a setup like this in the track view/inspector: Track 1 / MIDI track 1 > Output: Xpand!2 1 / MIDI ch 1 Track 2 / MIDI track 2 > Output: Xpand!2 1 / MIDI ch 2 Track 3 / MIDI track 3 > Output: Xpand!2 1 / MIDI ch 3 Track 4 / MIDI track 4 > Output: Xpand!2 1 / MIDI ch 4 Track 5 / MIDI track 5 > Output: Xpand!2 2 / MIDI ch 1 Track 6 / MIDI track 6 > Output: Xpand!2 2 / MIDI ch 2 Track 7 / MIDI track 7 > Output: Xpand!2 2 / MIDI ch 3 Track 8 / Xpand!2 1 / MIDI ch 1-4 Track 9 / Xpand!2 2 / MIDI ch 1-3 Alternatively, the 2nd scenario with all of the MIDI data in one track would be far from ideal. To make this work with your MIDI file scenario (2) above, you would need to have the MIDI channels 5-7 in a separate MIDI file with those parts converted to MIDI channels 1-3, respectively. Then you could put the new MIDI file on the track with Xpand!2 2 and the other 3 channels will respond there. In truth, Xpand!2 is probably not the best choice for this scenario, and it would probably be simpler to use a VSTi that is 16 part multitimbral if you plan to use pre-recorded MIDI files with more than 4 channels. Cakewalk TTS-1 will do the job for up to 16 MIDI channels (GM compatible), and is included with Cakewalk. Some other paid options to consider might be Garritan, SampleTank, Kontakt, or Halion.

Just FYI, but SampleTank 4 MAX has 20 Euphonium preset articulations, plus one preset with a dozen keyswitch articulations.

It's a step forward, but read it again. This does not include the sounds downloads themselves.

I agree that Reaper seems to stand out from the crowd as unique in this regard. But I don't think the plugin developer can have any more control over the DAW side of things in this situation. With Reaper it's as simple as routing a send from the source audio track to the sampler track, then pressing record inside the sampler plugin. So the plugin is ready to receive an audio signal. Therefore my assumption is that TX16Wx is programmed correctly for the task, and exposes an audio input, but most DAWs don't accept an audio input directly into an instrument plugin. I also tried it in Tracktion, and could not get any audio into the TX16Wx plugin, even though I could send audio to the track that the TX16Wx plugin was inserted on and I could record audio directly onto an audio clip on that track. But it appears that the same issue here is that the DAW will not receive the audio input to the sampler, even if the sampler has an available audio input.

Also: https://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm

It is due to design decisions in the Cakewalk architecture. For example: https://www.tx16wx.com/

I believe that some VSTi synths will function in "FX" mode when you do that with the track's FX bin. I have tried that, but if you can find a way to do that with a sampler in Cakewalk, please post a video showing us a how-to. Until I see it working that way, I am afraid that I will have to defer that method to the "urban legends" category.

Who needs another synth??? (said no one ever)

And as far as I can tell, when you insert a 3rd party sampler into Cakewalk as an instrument, you cannot live sample directly into the sampler, even if the plugin is capable of exposing an audio input. Cakewalk will not allow you to route audio into an instrument track, as that function appears to be undefined in this DAW. Instruments in Cakewalk do not have audio inputs, like insert effects bins or audio tracks have. A sampler can only live sample if an audio signal is present for it to sample. In Cakewalk, a workaround is to place pre-recorded samples into the sampler. Although you could first record an audio clip onto an audio track, then drag and drop the recorded clip into the sampler. So that would prevent any type of workflow where you might want live sample directly from an audio input, such as from a microphone or other external instrument. I think that this is a good usage case for an integrated sampler in the DAW. Note: I have compared this scenario in Reaper, and you can live sample with a 3rd party sampler in Reaper, because you can route an audio source directly to an instrument in that DAW, if the instrument plugin is capable of exposing an audio input.

I never understood why Behringer referred customers to ASIO4ALL for some of their devices, rather than releasing dedicated ASIO drivers for them. Because it is not really ASIO, just a wrapper around the Windows audio drivers. I guess it's a price point thingy, but still...

It's definitely worth 4 bucks... So yeah, I would be mostly using string ensembles for tracks anyway, as solo strings aren't really my thing. I'm not a string player, so don't think I could pull that off in a convincing manner anyway, LOL!!! From the SONiVOX product description it's clear what the product is intended to be: https://sonivoxmi.com/products/details/orchestral-companion-strings ...snip...

KV331 Audio is ok and trustworthy. Been in business for a while, but they are a very small shop with only a few employees, not a big company. I'm not even sure they have a full time web guy. You probably found a glitch in their recently redesigned home page. If you have any concerns or questions about their website, just contact them. Here are the privacy and terms links: www.synthmaster.com/PrivacyPolicy.aspx www.synthmaster.com/TermsOfService.aspx https://www.synthmaster.com/contactus.aspx I would ordinarily agree that the payment page being insecure might be a concern, but since there is no payment method required for free. it's not as big a deal in this instance. They probably do need to lock that page down, as it does have the potential to hurt sales.

If you have already bought the license for the full player, you should have the 1800, or whatever quantity they were offering at the time you purchased it. Otherwise, the standard free version only had the smaller subset of presets. I would send a support email to KV331 Audio with any questions about your account if you are not sure. Or open the browser and count them.

I would say that audio playback should work fine with Cakewalk using the on-board RealTek audio. WASAPI should be fine for this, especially if you are running Windows 10. Alternatively, there is "asio4all". I use it for soft synth and audio playback with RealTek audio on my laptop, just for playing around, with no issues whatsoever. Disclaimer: I would not use asio4all if I had any other ASIO drivers or pro audio interfaces installed on my machine, as it has been known to conflict with them. http://www.asio4all.org/ So if you are only recording MIDI from the external keyboard, that should be fine as well, as that only uses MIDI drivers, not audio drivers, if you are not actually recording audio via an external input. But if you actually intend to record audio via the laptop line/mic input, you might have issues recording audio from an instrument, and I would have to agree with Chuck E.

I have run across many VST plug-in instruments that do not expose their presets to the host, and instead use a proprietary internal preset manager/browser that does not use the legacy MIDI bank/patch method. In these cases, using a separate MIDI track/plug-in instance for each preset in the project seems to be a preferred workflow. But if this gets too "expensive" with resource usage, then freezing the tracks is a great option! That converts the track to a wave file with minimal resource requirements, and is easily reversible if a change is desired. Just unfreeze the track!

For a limited time, if you click on the link above for the FULL $29.95 version with 1800 presets, it will be added to your cart for $0.00. Dealio!!!

I would recommend this! The great sounds of the SynthMaster 2 factory library, in a UI similar to Cakewalk Rapture Session. Very playable using the "easy parameters" knobs (MIDI learn capable) assigned by the sound designer to tweak the selected preset parameters.

Just use the free SaviHost and you will have a mini-host for standalone use of any VSTi .dll plug-in. Select your MIDI input device, and your audio output device (ASIO compatible) the first time, and then you're up and running! I have it working with Xpand!2 and I have saved a number of copies to use with many of my other VSTi plugins. Light and fast! I downloaded the savihostx64.zip file (VST2, including keyboard). It unzips to "SaviHost.exe". Seems to work with all of the VST2 plugins I have tried. https://www.hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm

I don't recall seeing any solo strings, just sections. But true for the brass and woodwinds.

But I sees ya ain't selling Xpand!2. Ha!

Some stories that really cracked me up in the past were told by some studio operators that preferred Sonar as their go-to DAW, but kept Pro Tools in their studio just to tell prospective clients that "yes, we have Pro Tools". So if Cakewalk works for you, just follow your own path and don't cultivate an inferiority complex about a tool that may not be as well known or popular than the "cool kids" are.

Exactly!!! +1