Roy Slough

Thanks Greg, I didn't mean right clicking on the icon. I am only triggering the notes from midi. Once I have a good groove going I can open the SI-Drum GUI und tune the drum/cymbal up or down, Alter the reverb (If I want to utilise this reverb as opposed to adding one I have more control over. etc.) I understand Glenn's comments above and this is pretty much what I expected = a basic 8 piece kit. I also use a drum map to split the kit as I need for panning and fx on certain areas, which works for me. I was curious about how a side stick snare or bell ride cymbal was achieved (other than the midi note number) this knowledge could assist my programming of the drum patterns.

Hi, I am using SI-Drums in Cakewalk by bandlab with a drum map and it meets most of my needs (there is a separate post about brushed snares) However, I am finding some midi notes trigger "other" drums or cymbals OR the way they are hit within the SI-Drum kit. I have less control of these "others" within the GUI interface. E.G note 49 triggers a crash cymbal, so does note 57 and Note 55 does a Splash cymbal. They appear as one cymbal and They do sound different but the SI-Drum interface only gives one set of controls (Volume, panning etc. for one crash cymbal) similar is true for rides = Interface has only one ride cymbal, note 51 triggers one sound note 59 triggers another and 53 triggers the bell. Same true for sidestick and snare (possibly Elec Snare) Toms there are only 3 in the GUI so some notes just trigger the same drum 48&50 45&47 41&43 Therefore may I assume different midi notes are assigned as to how the item is hit with the stick - is this correct and where can I see more info about this (in case there are other variations I am missing) or ways to manage their sound? Thanks

Hi, John Verre advised in a related thread, it would be better to copy the audio files into the project, which I appreciate is better but need a little more advise on the best way to achieve this. This was not the main topic of the other thread so I thought I would post a new one. It may also assist others to keep their projects organised. This is my current process: I am provided stereo wavs of tracks in a song (he calls them stems as I think this is how his DAW refers to them) I download these to my laptop I begin a cakewalk project using my preferred template Save it with the name of the song, which creates a folder of the song name with sub folders. Import the Wavs One at a time, Convert to mono (in reality they are not stereo tracks) Rename the track with the imported wav from Track x to a better name e.g. Vox Main Edit and mix the song (replacing drums with digital, replacing the Bass (my instrument) adding some keys etc..) Export MP3 for listening and WAV for mastering. When finished, move the folder containing all the cakewalk project info, tracks etc. to offline storage. In step 5, I do try to tick the box "copy to audio to project" as suggested by John, but I have noticed this is not consistantly ticked automatically and hence I may miss some. I also believe this duplicates the track's files and wastes space. Also many file names in the project audio folder are labelled Track x (bounced 21) or similar. this will not assist me in the future should I need to re-edit or re-import the files. Question, how can I improve my process to reduce duplications and avoid "odd" names e.g. If I create the project first and download into the Audio Data file, would this be better? I could also skip the copy to audio folder option at the import stage. Should I rename the track BEFORE importing the wav, would this avoid the Track x (Bounced 21) naming issue. etc. Any advice on improving my process would be gratefully received - thank you

Thanks Glenn, I had never looked at matrix view, I will investigate and play with it. It will be useful to trigger other samples also - not something I do much but I can see it's benefit

Thanks - I have other soft syths (ample Guitars, Keyzone Classic etc. in addition to the SI synths) I am looking for something simple have as a brushed snare. Lots of advice about samples, session drummer etc. but I don't want or need to go off on a huge tangent just for this. I am happy programming Midi inside cakewalk using a drum map to split drums into seperate tracks - each having the same (or different) soft synth. I just need one of these to be a brushed snare drum.

Yes it is the latest Cakewalk version 2024.02 Build 098 (Almost the latest, there is a pop up for an upgrade but no item in the upgrade list applies to me = it is more about the app) hence I don't have TTS-1 built in (that's my understanding)

Thanks pwal, Where would I use these samples should I download (or Create some)? or is this a virtual instrument (I didn't get that impression from the website. Placing them as clips would be hard so I would prefer some midi driven thing.

Thanks Mark, But where is this TTS-1? I have often seen references to it but where do I find/add it to Cakewalk by bandlab. I don't know anything about SONAR etc. Only started with Cakewalk this year.

Hi, I am working on a blues track which could benefit from a brush snare. Is there one easily available in Cakewalk using built-in or free plugins, VSts etc.. I am running Windows 11 and using Wasapi shared (Asio doesn't seem to work for me). I have read posts about TTS-1 but they also talk about TTS-1 crashing Cakewalk. It isn't so important to me to damage my working setup but if there is something easy (&free) I will give it a go. Thanks Guys

I don't think I own the name Blue Cactus any more as a business in the UK but I do "own" the domain so keep that for myemail etc. So Melodyne 5 is more restrictive than 4 in its licencing and usage, having worked for over 30 years in I.T. I have become very wary of upgrading all the time. If I have something that is working for me and meets my needs I tend to stick with it. I only look at upgrades etc. if there is a product or feature I need. Many friends call me a luditie for not wanting the latest OS, phone etc.

Dear John, Thank you for trying things out for me. My experience has been different, When I first installed Cakewalk (in March) the first thing I wanted to try was convert to midi but it didn't work, I got lots of dialogue boxes to select percussive, melodic etc. but no end result. It was because Melodyne hadn't activated the trial period, I say this because as soon as they correctly activated the trial everything worked!!! Now the trial has ended it seems to be back as before = I get dialogue boxes but no end result. Same with the tempo, ATM it looks like it's going to do it, but no end result. The technique of SM/BAN explained to me will work for tempo until I get a working Melodyne that I can afford to experiment with. So thanks to all who gave me that advice. In the meantime for vocal tuning I am trying out a couple of free plugins. However, so far these have proven to be in-line fx so it isn't easy to observe (with your eyes) what has been adjusted, also it is very easy to over apply and get "Cher" like vocal gymnastics which I don't want (or like much) So thanks again and I will wait for a bargain. As an aside how/why did you choose "Cactus" in your name. I have "Blue Cactus" because in the late 80's I set up my computer consultancy company and had to give it a name. I had a really good gif of a cactus for a logo which was slightly amusing and off beat (I had to remove the sleeping mexican below the cactus as this wasn't the impression I wanted to give) AND it would also work if my music career took off (Which it didn't). So that was my choice of "Cactus"

Dear John, Thanks, Can you point me to where Melodyne is under $50. Celemony want to charge me £99 (yes thats UK pounds!!!) for the essential Package. I have seen lots of upgrades cheaper but I don't have anything to upgrade. I even looked at buying an old version to upgrade it but it ended up near the same price. Apologies for being a cheapskate, I am even considering trying to postpone until Black Friday but thats in November...... LONG TIME TO WAIT.

Dear John, Yes that was very helpful and interesting. Do you know which version of melodyne is needed? I got 30 days free trial when I started using Cakewalk but that's finished now. This is only a hobby for me so I have to spend my money wisely. I was going to go for essential as I can always convert Audio to midi outside the DAW using one of the free online websites. However the timeline thing would also be useful as I am mainly working on mixing stems given to me by my singer (we were in a band 30 years ago). So IF assistant is needed for both Audio to midi & timeline stuff it might be worth the extra. I definitely do not need and cannot afford the whole studio melodyne suite. Thanks for the advice and my response may also help others understand that melodyne has different levels. Roy

It has been a while but I thought I would add some information for anyone else trying to match a tempo to imported material. The whole SM/BAN advice is still good and will help when aligning Bars and beats to a song - But I also discovered in the AudioSnap feature a set tempo from clip. This worked well for me (even though it calculated 62.5 when I thought it was 125) then I could use the SM/BAN technique to set the bars as I needed (This song had a couple of 2/4 and 3/4 bars ) . So AudioSnap is something to look at and play with also. - it worked for me....:-)

Hi, The question is mostly in the title. With a limited budget I am trying to use free plugins and only purchase stuff I really need. So I am using either SI-Bass or Ample P Bass lite, many sections require a palm muted bass to drive the song, so I either use SI-Bass with a muted amp prg OR I am trying to use the Ample Sound P bass lite with the palm mute function - however nothing I do seems to work, so maybe it is not available in the Lite version. If I can't get the palm mute working I will have to use 2 different Si-Bass tracks = one with muted amp and another with a different prg. Can anyone direct me to where it shows which features are excluded from lite versions (I also am dabbling with the Ample sound Martin lite, so knowing about that too would help) Thanks (apologies for being tight with my expenditure) On that note I have been considering this Ample Guitar bundle https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1632840366/ample-sounds-mega-guitar-bundle-2023-for?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_a-books_movies_and_music-music-musical_instruments-stringed_instruments-guitars&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAjwgpCzBhBhEiwAOSQWQaLmreorrGHUVyBAZacxvwxe3p2AWtpxt1qJEqQepZlfeAPx6eDCLBoCdNAQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_12603393578_128415440868_508772827879_pla-316238738805_c__1632840366engb_102858184&utm_custom2=12603393578&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgpCzBhBhEiwAOSQWQaLmreorrGHUVyBAZacxvwxe3p2AWtpxt1qJEqQepZlfeAPx6eDCLBoCdNAQAvD_BwE Any advice - it seems to have 7 Bass and a dozen Guitars (also some ukelele etc. - not so interesting)

Thanks, When I get time I will look at Custom Module settings

Thanks sjoens, Nomalising in CbB worked for me and I will use this and re-Gain Stage low volume tracks. I had not found normalise in CbB so gave up thinking I was looking for something that was not there. When you confirmed it I searched harder and found it. Thanks again.

Thanks John & Pwal.... OK In future I will allow it to copy to project - then I will delete originals (these are big Wavs) There was no unseen peak - Audacity did raise the level significantly with noralisation then I exported back replacing the original - but this doesnot seem to reflect in CbB

Some of my audio wavs in this current project are extremely quiet. Even with full gain they barely hit 0db. I thought if I normalised the original wav it may fix it but alas not and I do not understand why, Can anyone help/advise? I was led to believe the Audio remained outside CbB This is my process. Import the stereo Audio wav as Mono and choose not to copy audio into project folder (why have an extra copy) Delete one of the resulting Audio tracks in the project - Even thought the wavs are stereo the instrument is mono Repeat until all tracks for song have been imported Check Clips are aligned musically Sort out the tempo with tempo mapping. Begin arranging, mixing etc.. This is when I found THIS song had very low audio levels. I used Audacity to normalise one of the Wavs outside of the project as a test but it does not have any effect (yet) on the track inside the project. So, I have been looking for some sort of re-import or re-analyse the audio to avoid starting again. Yes I could begin by normalising all audio and start again in CbB but I thought I would ask. It would also clear up my confusion as to why it didn't work and help me better understand CbB. Also. it would prepare me should I wish to perform some other process outside of CbB - there are many features in Audacity etc. not within CbB. Thank you

OK I found the best solution for me was to use note names. Right click on the piano roll beside the "Use the assigned Instrument Setting" is a configure button. Follow this and define a new instrument. Add a new instrument - Add note names then change from "Use the assigned Instrument Setting" to "use these note names instead" and select the new instrument note names. Then the piano roll appears as in the attached screenshot. I do not know where the new note names in the new instrument are stored so I cannot export them for anyone else - you'll need to create your own. (If anyone else wants it)

I have been experimenting with Ample Guitar MII Lite, because it is free and I can't play a real guitar (Bass player) I have discovered the strum mode and it enables me to do some things I thought I could never do E.G. Set a Chord then strum it in a variety of ways, pick notes on the string or even play a sequence (and there's a large library of choices Or make my own) However, the manual is a generic for All Ample sound guitars and the Key/Note to initiate things are different in the Lite (I attach a PDF of those that interest me) I have used an Articulation Map to set the chords and that is good visually as it shows the chords along the time line However placing notes to strum or play a sequence in the midi section is not helpful visually. When I use a drum map there is a drum pane above the Piano roll which shows the drum mapped to a specific note. I do not know how/why this works but it could be useful with the guitar to translate a note into what is played e.g. C6= DownStroke, D5 = E string (Actual note depends on chord selected) Now the Question....... Can I/Should I create a Drum Map to create this translation? Or will having multiple drum maps in a project confuse things? OR is there something else similar to a drum map which would show some text instead of notes? Thanks N.B Apologies the PDF is not yet correct nor complete (there is no note E# !!!!) I will amend and upload a new one when I have made changes

Thanks John, Unfortunately it isn't on the grid and I don't want it to be. I am trying to keep it loose - Think of The Small Faces in the 60's. Therefore when I return it is difficult to "see" if they have moved, but I doubt it - why would they? I have frozen the synth, moved the audio to where I want it and now it remains in place. So I will move on and remember this should I use Drum Pro 32 (but it isn't really my style. The only Audio I have recorded so far is a bass guitar through a USB interface (Behringer UM2) it didn't give me much trouble. What problems should I expect if/when I record some vocals (I am not a good singer and mostly I am re-mixing someone else's recordings)

I wanted to add some hand claps to a song, Found some decent sounding ones in the Drum Pro 32 drum synth (Drum Hip Hop 6) . So I used these. However, now they often seem to be delayed when I play the track. I have gone back into the midi several times and moved the notes around and they seem fine for a while then later they are wrong again. It really isn't much midi info = 2 notes played about 8 times in 8 bars of music. In this song I also have several other soft synths Si-Drums, si-Electric piano, Si-Electric bass, so I think I might becoming processor/memory over stretched - but I don't know. None of these others are having troubles only the Claps. I don't have an elaborate PC setup, It is just a laptop but I managed my previous track well, (Only Si-Drums in that) Cakewalk is set to WASAPI Shared not ASIO, this is because when I first installed Cakewalk WASAPI worked and ASIO didn't, but I did not investigate why because at that time as I wanted to get on with my first project to see if this DAW would suit (and it did) I am tempted to bounce the claps to an audio clip, delete the Drum Pro 32 and paste the audio where I need it - unless you can help me to A) identify what IS the problem & B) the best way to fix it Thanks

Thanks, The mix knob works. I will experiment with the GPU version in due course.

I am trying to use the GSatPlus plugin to provide saturation just on the chorus of the song. I have added it to the master bus. The track for the master bus shows the automation for the bypass switch. The master channel is set to read automation as is the plugin itself, but it does not switch the bypass. I have occasionally seen it switch the bypass on and off but not consistantly and not now I am watching it. It is very difficult to hear if it switches on and off as it is a subtle effect designed just to lift the chorus so I am relying on watching the UI. This is the NOGPU version as I do not have a soundcard (all work being done on a laptop) Any Advice thanks - If there is a GSatPlus forum I should use please also advise but I come here as I always get good advice.