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The IK dude said they will allow the pre-release intro pricing to remain in effect for a limited time to accommodate folks that requested to compare the released versions instrument lists before making any decisions.

Another comment he made was that the SampleTank 4 SE edition will come with more content than SampleTank 3 full version did.

25 minutes ago, scook said:

That said, I seriously doubt you have ever created an empty instrument track and only used it to play an existing MIDI track.

That is typically how I roll with VST instrument plugins, especially if they are mono-timbral. I just find it easier to stay organized that way. But hey, maybe it's just me.

And I started over 20 years ago in Cakewalk with external MIDI synth hardware and rack modules, so I know a thing or two about inserting synths.

That is an interesting coincidence it was released on the same day that SampleTank 4 is released!

19 minutes ago, ZincT said:

Yes I have been following that thread on KVR (and contributing myself). So far so good with the download and the speed keeping up OK at the moment.

Got about 40Gb so far..

I have an unanswered question about the download part numbering, for example, the download list shows ST4 Acoustic Drum Kit Sample Part 1 and then Part 4. I would like to know whether that is because you only get parts 2 and 3 with the MAX version or is there something missing from my downloads?

Good to know about the download speed!

But that question about missing files is the reason I am holding off. It appears that the official release date was rushed, and there may be some inevitable growing pains as a result. I think I'd rather just heave to and wait for this storm to blow over!

For example, what if they pushed the wrong download files in some cases, and they may have to replace or correct some of them? The download and install is a long tedious process that I would rather not repeat.

I'll probably just download the ST4 app and have a play with my existing libraries, to satisfy my curiosity for now.

I'm running with Win10 on a desktop with  8 GB of RAM and never run low on memory. And if it did ever hit the swap file on my SSD, I probably wouldn't notice it.

So yep, I would suggest 8GB RAM and a SSD for Windows 10. Maybe the budget route.

But before I did anything else, I would assess the audio hardware being used. The cheapest USB audio interface would be miles better than the onboard audio chip.

I also have a cheap laptop running Windows 10 with only 4 GB of RAM. It quickly hits the memory limit, mostly due to what Jim described. Windows 10 eats up a significant amount of that RAM even at idle.

1 hour ago, mibby said:

That's a pretty expansive looking bundle of synths.   It looks like I can get it down to $36 bucks with Jam Points.  Is this product any good?

Jam points can be used for sale prices, but as always they can only be used for 30% of your cart, or in this case $20 off making it $49.

I got this at the pre-order price when it first came out and I like it. You can also use it in the SampleTank 3 and 4 instrument.

The thing with Cakewalk is that there are always like 4 ways to do something, and everyone has their own personal opinion of "best"  or "correct".

I stated that there are no rules, and I'm sticking with that!

Signed,

"Down and dirty"

4 hours ago, ZincT said:

I went with ST4 standard so I have a 100Gb download! 

 

Same here. But think I will wait a bit to start the downloading. Some comments over at KVR seem to indicate early  issues with a few downloads.

16 minutes ago, Sergio said:

No better deal than free, of course, but... I don't know what's my problem with Syntronik ?

 

I have no idea either. Syntronik sounds great!

But some folks just prefer modeled sounds rather than sampled ones.

I will admit Syntronik does have limited editing options, but I will put up with that to get the sounds. But I think that is the only shortcoming.

I have been demoing the Arturia V Collection and Analog Lab, but I just cannot bring myself to go there. The buttons and knobs look very cool, even the patchcords on the ARP2600 look authentic. But the sounds for some reason are not very inspiring to me.

If you want great modeled sounds stick with u-he Diva and Repro!

37 minutes ago, scook said:

Uploaded images get resized making them difficult to see if they contain too much data. Use an image server (ex. imgur.com) and post links to the images bounded by img tags to have images display without resizing.

 

What I can tell from the image is track 11 is an instrument track. An instrument track is a hybrid make up of a MIDI track and audio track where the MIDI input section and audio output sections are displayed as a single track. If you want to use the instrument track as is, select the MIDI clips in track 4 and while holding the SHIFT key drag the clips into the instrument track 11.

Another way to use the existing track is right-click in the track 11 header and choose split instrument track, delete the MIDI track created from track 11, set the track 4 output to the DSK Electrik GuitarZ and set the input on the audio track created from track 11 to DSK Electrik GuitarZ

 

There's no need to move the MIDI clips anywhere, or to fuss with the instrument track.

The easiest answer is to just point the original MIDI track to the  new instrument track.

To do that just look in the MIDI track header at the "output" selector and switch it from the current instrument to the new one.  Note: If the output selection is not showing, you can adjust the track control layout to either "All" or "I/O" to see them, which may require expanding the track view height to see all options.

Done!  

I watched that show faithfully!

Go to the XLN website and read the descriptions there, and listen to the demos. https://www.xlnaudio.com/products/addictive_drums_2/midipak

Most will work with any kit, but there are a few designed  to work best with specific kits, such as the percussion, mallets, or jazz brushes kits.

3 minutes ago, Piotr said:

For long time barely nothing new from they just as if they were focused on something big

Yup. Like AIR Music Tech. They have been absent for so long, they must be getting ready to drop something really big any day now!

I have discontinuity anxiety...

Oh, wow! RIP!

And just a footnote for anybody attempting to substitute TTS-1 with Xpand!2 (or any other synth that responds to patch change messages).

If you are using  a GM MIDI file, be aware that bank and patch changes in tracks that worked fine in TTS-1 can mess with you elsewhere.

To fix this, set your track header view to "ALL" and clear out the bank and patch changes in any tracks you intend to route to Xpand!2, or any presets that  you have assigned in the synth will change as soon as you hit play on the Cakewalk transport. Don't ask me how I know, ha!

These patch changes got loaded from the GM file header into the Cakewalk track headers when you opened the MIDI file. But if you stop using a GM synth for the tracks, it can become a pain if you forget about this when using another synth that responds to patch change messages.

1 hour ago, msmcleod said:

There's always this:

https://www.dskmusic.com/dsk-electrik-guitarz/

The youtube demo on the page is not very complimentary - you can get much better results.

Alternatively, you could try some of these soundfonts:

https://freepats.zenvoid.org/ElectricGuitar/clean-electric-guitar.html

There's quite a few sf2 players around, e.g.:

https://www.dskmusic.com/dsk-sf2/

 

I  auditioned the electric guitars in AIR Xpand!2, and they work OK in this mix. I ended up using the guitar preset named "Les Paul Lead" for all 3 guitar tracks.

Xpand!2 is a 4 part multi-timbral ROMpler synth with over 2500 presets to choose from. It is a quick way to replace TTS-1 sounds, without spending big bucks. It is on sale right now at JRR Shop for $14.99, or in the cart with discount code "GROUP" for $12.59. https://www.jrrshop.com/air-music-tech-xpand-2

I setup one instance of Xpand!2 using all 4 instrument parts with MIDI channels assigned 1-4. I put parts 1-3 as that guitar preset and assigned the distortion guitar MIDI tracks to them using MIDI channels 1-3. Then I used the 4th part for the synth brass stabs "Bright n Bendy".

I went back and gave both bass parts their own instance of Ample Bass P Lite. Sounds much cleaner and more realistic than TTS-1 bass.

Then I finally added XLN Addictive Drums 2 to replace the TTS-1 drums, using the "United Heavy" ADpack, and set the AD2 drum map to GM mode.

TTS-1 all replaced in the song! Not too bad, but could use some mixing now, LOL!

So if you were just looking for some backing tracks to jam with, you could mute the parts that you had live players for, and run with the rest of the mix for the absent players. 

Could be that XLN Audio is just a hobby for the owner.

The company is co-owned by Max Martin, one of the most successful music producers and song writers in history.

https://www.xlnaudio.com/about

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Martin

I already have 9 AD packs, and I cannot imagine how I would ever use more than that.

But more MIDI paks are always welcome!

7 hours ago, msmcleod said:

Really good free guitar VSTi's:

Acoustic Guitar: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=7
Electric Guitar: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/shreddage-3-stratus-free/

In both cases, the paid versions offer more articulation options, but the sound quality of both free versions are top notch.

Thanks for that info about the electric.  Looks interesting. But unfortunately that one would cost me $249 to crossgrade to the full Kontakt.

I love that Ample stuff!  I have both the free Martin acoustic and the P-Bass. I liked them so much that I even bought their StingRay 5 with the riffer module. Good sound & big fun!!! The StingRay is picked samples and the P-Bass is fingered, so they complement each other well. Plus you can send MIDI out from the riffer module and play another instrument with it.

Not every DAW is going to be great at everything. That's why there are so many of them, as people have different needs.

I also have Ableton Live 10.  It is great for some things, but sucks at others. I don't think I would ever be happy with just one DAW.

You should seek a tool that already works the way that you want to work. Otherwise you face an uphill climb if you choose a tool that doesn't fit your needs, and try to change it to fit.

I noticed that this guy in the tutorial was using Ableton Live as his main DAW, but still had to go out to Reaper to slice the audio.

Those Reaper tricks are very cool, and look very unique. Thanks for sharing this! Don't think I have an answer for your question though. Maybe one of the audio braniacs around here will show up and give it a go!

1 hour ago, msmcleod said:

If you use SI-Bass, remember to transpose +12.

While that is often the case, I did not encounter it with track 3 in this song. I tested it. The picked bass part is written from B-3 and up so it clears the cutoff. Just trying to keep it simple!

And since there is a good chance that the OP reading this might get to track 6,  I just checked on track 6, and the fretless bass part is written from E-2 and up. The E-2 thru B-2 notes are silent in SI-Bass without transposing the part. So +12 transpose in the track inspector fixed that!

Good looking out! Thanks!

While avoiding getting into a discussion on 3rd party instruments earlier, I would highly recommend the free Ample Sound Bass P Lite to anybody needing a decent bass to fill in for TTS-1.  It still needs to be transposed +12 in Cakewalk for some reason, but it sounds so much better! https://www.amplesound.net/en/download.asp

But finding good electric guitars might take  a bit more effort, LOL!

Is this going to turn into another 30 page thread?