Robert Bone

Is W10 up to date on maintenance? Drivers? BIOS? Have you tweaked W10 for anything? Thanks, Bob Bone

I liked the product called Forte, better than Cantabile - too bad they went out of business a couple of years back. Cantabile works OK for me, it is just different in how to set up the layering and such, so the terminology is different, but it seems to work OK for what I do. Kewl that you checked it out - whatever works for you is what is best for you, and if Cakewalk meets your needs for live use, that would be kewl. Best of luck and success with whatever path you follow. There may also be additional VST hosting software for Windows - just not aware of any, but I have not looked either. When you get yourself all figured out love to hear back how it is all working for you. Bob Bone

Yes - per scook's posted info, you can set things like that up - I would suggest you look at a VST hosting program, called Cantabile, for controlling layered sounds from multiple VST synths, as it is specifically designed for live performance where layered sounds from multiple VST synths are created as snapshots, and then you can switch instantly from combination of sounds and effects to different combinations of sounds and effects, all with zero delay in changing from one snapshot to the next. The have a free trial available. I use Cantabile all the time for live performance - I used to use a functionally similar program, called Forte, from Brainspawn, but they went out of business, so I switched to using Cantabile for live performance using VSTi's. Cakewalk CAN do some things for live performance, however it is a bit unwieldy to switch to different combinations of layered sounds, as Cakewalk is really best suited for its strengths - recording/mixing/mastering, which is excels at. VST hosting performance software, such as Cantabile, is much more capable for layering sounds and switching between combos of layered sounds, and can provide pretty much instantaneous switching between complex layers and routing, even with using sample-based sounds. Please understand I am not trying to take away anything from Cakewalk - I LOVE Cakewalk, and have used it since the days of DOS and Twelve Tone Systems. And, I am not suggesting abandoning the use of Cakewalk - all I am saying is that for live performance, it is rather unwieldy to bring along all of the recording engine and editing overhead of Cakewalk to a live performance. Yes, you can perform live with Cakewalk - I just think it is not what it is best at, and you can have a vastly greater setup for live performance, using programs such as Cantabile. Bob Bone

So, with Cantabile, you could load load up snapshots that send midi info to your external keyboard, to set up channel changes, volume changes, etc., in addition, you could also load up multiple instances of VST synths (and/or effects), and also include any combination of active or muted sounds from any of the loaded VST plugins, as well as setting up virtual zones to map out different combos of sounds to specific key ranges, so that when you played on your RD 2000, you could have the Cantabile snapshot set the sounds on the RD 2000 to just how you wanted them at that moment, for that song, AND have additional sounds layered up to be triggered when you play the RD 2000 - perhaps with strings from Kontakt playing only for the middle two octaves of keys on the RD 2000, while perhaps flutes from Dimension Pro would play on the 3rd octave up from middle C on the RD 2000, and maybe have a nice bass sound from Rapture Pro play on the bottom 2 octaves of the RD 2000, etc..... So all of the above could be in a single snapshot in Cantabile, and then another snapshot could have a completely different configuration on sounds and ranges, and midi channels, and different effects, and different volumes, etc.... PLUS, you could send midi data to control lighting, or trigger MP3 files to play when you hit the lowest key on the RD 2000 keyboard (you would set a particular key or other midi-enabled button) to start/stop playback of a song file, to function as a backing track while you played along to the backing track... Cantabile is amazingly powerful - check out their free trial. It does NOT replace Cakewalk - Cakewalk is fantastic for what it does best - recording/mixing/mastering (and some performance capabilities), but a program like Cantabile is specifically designed for live performance, and for instantaneous switching of sounds/channels/effects/volumes/routing of all kinds of VST plugins (both synths and effects, as well as controlling whatever external controllers/keyboards/midi-devices that you want to tie into it). Bob Bone

Also, yes Cantabile can do that, where you can layer whatever sounds you want, from any number of loaded VST synths, creating snapshots of each desired combination of actively layered or muted sounds. Bob Bone

There is a Pause function that outputs info to a message box, and a Format function to construct text strings from numeric data, etc..., that might work: (from a CAL guide): (pause <operand1> [[<operand2>]……]) This is similar to the “message” function and again you can combine strings, integers (“int”, “word”, “dword”), or functions. The difference is that “pause” halts execution of the CAL program and displays a dialog box in the middle of the screen containing the information the user provides in the function statement plus ‘OK’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons. The user must click ‘OK’ or hit the ‘Enter’ key to acknowledge the “pause” box before the program will continue. The user can also click the ‘Cancel’ button or hit the ‘Esc’ key and abort the CAL program completely.9 Besides displaying information critical to the user’s decision to continue the program or cancel, the “pause” is a great troubleshooting tool for programmers. If a CAL program is not acting quite right or if you want to verify the operation of some part of a program, you can place “pause” statements at key locations in the code to display the contents of some important variables and see if things are running as planned. Note this example: (if (> something somevalue) (do (pause “Reached first test. somevalue = “ somevalue) (go on about your business..... Here a “pause” has been placed at the ‘then’ part of an “if” function to help verify if that function is being called. If it is, the “pause” tells the programmer where the program currently is and what the current value of variable ‘somevalue’ is. After the programmer hits ‘Enter’ or clicks ‘Ok’, the program goes on as if nothing ever happened. By the way, there is a limit of 128 characters for a “pause” message, so if you have allot of information to give out, it may require more than one “pause” box to deliver it Bob Bone

It has been years since I have done anything with CAL scripts. but I dimly recall the ability to construct messages with dynamic content, such as telling the user to enter some figure - like maybe a percentage, or a range, or whatever, so if my memory is correct, then couldn't any CAL script be modified to output things that used to go through the message function, to instead be put out like the text I refer to? It wouldn't be too difficult to alter a script to try it. Is there any particular CAL script you want to run? I would be happy to try to modify it to output message content as line output. Bob Bone

I would like to apologize for not getting back to this sooner - it has been a rough couple of days for me - today included (70 miles of driving, and multiple hours out and about kind of ratchets up the pain levels when already disabled) - anyways - I have a couple of hours of work to do, now that I am back, and then (finally), I can circle back and see if I can look into this as I had hoped. Bob Bone

Yikes! Sounds like at their end though. I will look when back from errands.

Thank you - I was getting ready to start digging into your reported issue. Glad they got it fixed so quickly. Bob Bone

I will do some digging into this, after a couple cups of coffee, and will circle back and post whatever I can find or figure out. Bob Bone

I suggest you consider using something like Cantabile, for layering sounds for live performance. Cakewalk is fantastic for recording, and can be used for live performance, but I always found it too slow at loading different projects, or even just switching to different layering of different instruments. Cantabile lets you load up all kinds of VST plugin instances, and then you can load up sounds to each of the synths and then create snapshots with whichever combinations of sounds you wish, with the ones not involved for a given snapshot muted. You can insert effects at the bus or plugin level, or both, and one of its strengths is that you can tell it to leave plugins with sample-based sounds loaded, so that when you switch snapshots, it is instant, because it doesn't have to reload those samples as you switch snapshots. So, each snapshot instantly switches the combinations of sounds and devices with a single program/snapshot change. You can also control lighting, via midi as part of each snapshot, plus you can trigger midi files to play, and if you find and load up any of several different free vst media players, you can even then play audio backing tracks that are triggered for each snapshot, with a couple of ways to start or stop audio playback as desired. They have a free trial, for 30 days, and they have one free lite version, and a couple more feature rich versions. I love using Cantabile for vst hosting for live performance. Anyways, check it out. I use and love Cakewalk, for recording, mixing, and mastering. I additionally, but separately, love using Cantabile, for setting up and playing synth sounds in live performances. Bob Bone

I have some additional info, on an AD2 project template, and on mappings, and such.... After I deal with laundry and some household resurrection (tore it up Friday, looking for a teeny tiny external hard drive, to no avail), I will circle back and provide that info. Bob Bone

Forgot to mention there are some quantize setting you can apply, that might make a difference for you - I will circle back later and expand on that for you. I have to go deal with some VERY non-musical household chores (laundry, dishes, more laundry, and some laundry)..... Bob Bone

Yes - please provide details on why you have to restart, as well as details on your audio interface, and your audio driver settings. We should be pretty quickly able to help you get past your current issues, once you describe them, and provide the info we are requesting. Bob Bone

Hey, Noel - it might make things a lot easier for folks who are not running online, for whatever reason (like yesterday, for me, as I was recording remotely), if there was some sort of pop-up toaster message giving us some number of days advance warning that we were going to need to re-validate ourselves - like a 10-day out warning that validation would be required in 10-9-8 etc., days, where we/they wouldn't be suddenly surprised that we went into demo mode, when getting instant internet access could be difficult or impossible. That validation date must be already being examined, to decide that we are out of scope on the date - so it would just need a bit more logic at that point, to compare that validate-required date - 10 or whatever, and then start popping up a message - 4 days left until required validation, etc.... Perhaps something like that would make it less frustrating. Bob Bone

Howdy - I don't know if these were posted in the past - I just stumbled across a downloadable collection of drum maps for Native Instruments Battery 4, at: https://www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=97845 Thought I would pass these along, in case they had been shared here by anyone else, Bob Bone

Hi - I meant to choose the Run As Administrator option for Cakewalk, to see if it made any difference. This option is different than simply running a program from a Windows user account that happens to be an Administrator account. Run As Administrator assigns a higher level of 'execution privileges' than you get when launching a program from a Windows user account that is of type Administrator. (I think Microsoft could have made it less confusing, but well, they did not). And, curiously, does Dimension Pro run OK in stand-alone mode? Lastly, is there anything in the unhandled exception error message, that identifies where the error occurred? (does it fail in Cakewalk, or does it fail in a plugin?) Bob Bone

Is it possible your antivirus/anti-malware software could be interfering with things? (easy test is to temporarily disable that software - just long enough to see if things work better when it is suspended - turn back on as soon as you finish testing, and don't go surfing while it is suspended). For whatever the worth, I have my Cakewalk paths excluded (white listed) from my antivirus software, as everything is scanned when it gets downloaded anyways. Also, just for grins - try running Cakewalk with the Run As Administrator, just to see if that has any impact on things. Bob Bone

Sounds like maybe you have software (Windows, audio interface drivers, plugins), or maybe even the BIOS, that are not up to current maintenance levels. What Windows edition (Home, Pro...), and version, and build are you running currently? What is the make and model of your audio interface (if you are using one), and what is the current driver version on your system, for it? Bob Bone

Oh - SampleTank 4 is pretty good, by the way, and $150 seems like a decent price for it. I believe Kontakt 6 is also available on sale at the moment, from Native Instruments, at $199, if memory serves. Kontakt and EastWest Play are the two heavyweight sample-based synth engines out there, but SampleTank 4 is also pretty good. But, let's see if we can't get your Cakewalk instruments that you already have working for you, as a starting point. Bob Bone

If you don't mind detailing your issues with trying to get the included synths to work in your projects, I am pretty sure us forum folks can help guide you through whatever is interfering with them working. Can you please explain how you bring them into a project, and what steps you go through to try to get them to work? And, as far as pretty much any soft synth works, they nearly always (and might actually be always), respond to midi channel 1, by default, and if you do not assign a midi channel to a midi track that is connected to a soft synth, Cakewalk will also default to using midi channel 1. But let's start with taking a look at the steps you currently go through to try to get one of the included synths to work properly in a project. Thanks, Bob Bone

You could turn on the Auto-Hide Task Bar option, to give a little more room. Bob Bone

Well, you CAN select multiple track folders, if each folder contains at least one track, HOWEVER, and that only offers the option to delete the selected tracks - there is no option presented, at that point, to also/instead delete the track folders themselves. If deletion of the selected tracks is chosen, then only the selected tracks are deleted, NOT the track folders themselves. If there are no tracks in a track folder, that track folder can be deleted, HOWEVER the track folder will not display an indication that it has been selected. Nonetheless, it can be deleted. If a track folder DOES contain tracks, then when the folder is selected, the track folder and all tracks within, are shown as selected, and if the track folder is deleted, then a pop-up asks if Cakewalk should also delete all tracks within the folder, in addition to deleting the track folder. Please note that even if one or more tracks within that track folder are NOT selected, if the track folder itself is deleted, and the pop-up option to delete all tracks within that track folder is given the OK, then even deselected tracks in the folder (and the folder) will be deleted. If a track folder does contain tracks, individual tracks can be selected, or all tracks in the folder, and the folder, can be selected, the track folder itself will not be deleted if only the selected tracks within the folder are deleted. SO - in any case, I do not believe there is any current way to delete multiple track folders. Bob Bone

@Starship Krupa - Yup, the OP provided his feedback - and in the course of discussion, seems to have also either learned or relearned about moving tracks around, so all to the good. Feedback is indeed what this forum is for - giving input to the Cakewalk folks on how folks feel about the product, or particular features, etc., ya know - feedback. Bob Bone