abacab

You are probably OK to skip the latest Windows updates, but do be thorough about updating the Windows Redistributables. The redistributables always contains code that Windows applications (and plugins) are dependent on to run correctly. I have heard of other problems being fixed by updating them. That can't hurt in any case. And a clean refresh of Waves can't hurt either, but may very well help. I have also heard that this fixed other plugin issues with Waves that some have had. I would focus on those two things, and see how it goes!

This suggestion from Waves support makes sense! Verify that Windows has everything up to date, and then clean re-install your Waves environment. See how that goes...

Aha! OK, I saw this and assumed the free plugin was for any version, apparently that's just for the 25% off deal: "From September 22nd until September 29th, existing u-he customers can claim a 25% discount coupon applicable to Bitwig Studio, Bitwig Studio EDU, Upgrade From 16-Track, and Upgrade From 8-Track." Don't really need another DAW... so nevermind the BIG toy, LOL!!!

I've got Bitwig 8-Track. The 2 VST limit is a bit annoying... Was thinking about upgrading it to 16-Track, and getting u-he Bazille for free (normally 129 €). Already have Bazille CM, and quite like it! With the u-he/Bitwig 25% discount, it looks like that upgrade to 16-Track would be $75. Not a bad price for Bazille, with a less crippled version of Bitwig tossed in!

It is my opinion in general that plug-in makers need to test their plug-ins in all DAWs. Cakewalk is sometimes overlooked... ? So it follows that logic that it's not the responsibility of the DAW maker to adjust to the shortcomings of a plug-in maker. Let Waves hear about it!

If you go back and read Meng's (BandLab CEO) posts in the old forum, he wanted to give the BandLab web community a full desktop DAW to "graduate" to. That is why he was happy to buy the Cakewalk IP off of Gibson's hands, and he committed to this community that the Cakewalk DAW would always be free. He is a musician himself, and heads up a large Asian music conglomerate that includes BandLab, Cakewalk by BandLab, Guitar.com, Harmony Company, Heritage Guitars, lab.fm, MONO, MusicTech, NME, Swee Lee, Teisco, The Guitar Magazine, Uncut. So CbB is sort of a sideline that he invested in for his other 50 million users... BandLab Technologies is now Caldecott Music Group. https://caldecottmusic.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BandLab_Technologies Business model: "BandLab Technologies doesn't charge for its software or digital musical content, but instead focuses on retail, manufacturing and media advertising sales." https://www.bandlab.com/

Yes that was Ed/Bapu. And he finally shut that domain down after Cakewalk by BandLab looked like it was going to survive, thrive, and get a shiny new forum!

Good luck! ?

You are the marketing expert. My background is 30+ years in IT. Agree to disagree, OK?

Ride around and eat ice cream?

So you are a seeker on the bleeding edge?

Whatever... ?

I didn't do the deal, because I am happy with my Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen, a flawless unit with great ASIO latency. Don't need the extra audio ins and outs. But comparing the overall specs on the 18i20 2nd and 3rd gen units, the improvements on the 3rd gen seem marginally better. I would go for the 2nd gen if I needed the extra capacity today!

On the contrary, XLN could be sitting on a cash cow with the existing products, and a cost benefit analysis may show that continuing to milk the cow could produce more revenue than expensive investments in new product development would. Just look at the market saturation for plugins these days, products that used to sell for $100+ now going for $29, or $10, or even for free! It's a big business risk to bring new products out in a market like this. Just look at Soundwide, and the consolidation in the music software industry, i.e., Native Instruments, iZotope, etc. https://www.soundwide.com/

I have heard that only the insider editions of 22H2 have been released to date, and that MS has committed to the 4th qtr for a public release. Probably anytime now, so I have my computer locked down to 21H2. Have no desire to be a public beta tester for new Windows feature releases, and will wait to see how the general release goes first!

Agreed that it would be cool to see some new XLN developments, as their products are solid. But I really wouldn't worry about their status as a thriving company. They are backed by co-owner, Max Martin, who is one of the most successful songwriters and music producers in history. This is probably just a hobby for him! https://www.xlnaudio.com/about Max Martin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Martin "Martin is the songwriter with the third-most number-one singles on the chart, behind only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26)."

The real thanks goes to @User 905133for giving me the heads-up on the VM Plug-in Host feature! This turns VM into an almost self-contained host. I have also been able to load complete external FX chains via plugins like IK MixBox, Kilohearts Snap Heap, IK AmpliTube 5, and NI Guitar Rig 6. FYI: Some plugins don't always display correctly when first inserted, but I have found that by clicking the "View Editor" button on the module twice, usually closes/re-opens the plugin and then it renders correctly in the UI.

Just don't try to load the Vital VST2 plug-in into the VM Plug-in Host module. VM went POOF, crash on me! VST3 seems to work fine though.

Yes, and Addictive Drums is a great MIDI drum machine!

XLN's loss... But they haven't abandoned ship. Still pushing out maintenance updates to their software.

I think most studio pros around here moved on when Sonar Platinum Lifetime was shutdown. If their livelihood was based on their DAW, they probably wouldn't want to deal with the uncertain future of Sonar, which really looked dark before BandLab came along. There were many threads in the old forums during those dark days discussing the best DAW to migrate to. Even Bapu set up a external forum for ex-Cakewalkers in case the forum was going to be completely shut down. So yes, I think that Cakewalk is mostly used by musicians and hobbyists these days. There may be a few exceptions, but I haven't seen anything around here lately to make me think otherwise. It's possible that the "Deals" forum is unique, in that it's not exclusively for Cakewalk users, so I am including the forums "upstairs" as well in my observation.

The developer of Abyss and Novum, Peter V (Dawesome Music) is a very creative guy! https://www.dawesomemusic.com/who-i-am/ Tracktion is just the distribution partner for Dawesome Music, aka "the label", but this is exclusively the work of Peter V.

And just to clarify this statement... Having less memory than you need will definitely slow your computer down. Best to observe the Windows Task Manager to see what is using your memory and how much. If it appears low when you are using the PC heavily, add memory! Otherwise, relax!