Glenn Stanton

i used my Behringer MX2004A w/ inserts into my patch bay so i could easily tap off each of the 8 channels into my IO unit (TRS to dual TS). just need to make sure the loop back on those dedicated cables is set right - tip & ring shorted on TRS. shielding is normal.

Ozone 8 (if that's the version the OP is using) has a weird issue with the VST UI and screen resolution. the problem is the Ozone VST UI has to have a very specific resolution (i think it was 1920x1080) and anything outside of that (e.g. 1920x1200) the performance was horrible. it was fixed with a later version (Ozone 9).

maybe try a few things - export the mix with the listen live setting on so you can hear it and agree it has no distortion or timing, then check the output file with a couple of different players and see if it is definitely the file or perhaps a player setting. if you're not hearing it during the export, then maybe the output levels or a player setting is the culprit. if you are hearing it during live listen, then i'd recommend checking your levels and any compressors / limiters etc which can be pumping too much and/or the gains are not set correctly. in general, when i listen to the export live, i am not disappointed in the output. but i have over time run into weirdness on exports (not recently) where turning off the region FX (rendering, removing, or freeze) kept things as expected.

even more weird - without technology, recorded music isn't possible ? even using the old wax cylinders on spring or hand driven gear drives is technology ?

as a general note: i don't leave region FX (or equiv) on during an export - so i render it or freeze it. this avoids the potential for "recalculations" that may happen during a new run with settings which my adjust on each time you hit play. effects like modulations and so i on also check as sometimes the playback can vary so i try to set those when possible.

hold the shift key when loading the project -- safe mode -- and see if it loads after saying no to the plugins

yeah once you decide to tweak it you need a phone or tablet for the BT connected app. but out of the box it works ok. my preference would be the BOSS. last band i was in the rhythm guitarist had the Katana 50 which could hit all kinds of power levels and awesome effects. if i didn't have a bunch of other guitar amps i would have picked one up. i have 2 Roland 40W Cubes from 1980 or so - still kicking. i use one in conjunction with the Orange 50W bass amp to make it powerful enough to operate in louder environments ? so in my mind the BOSS / Roland products are really nice quality. but the Blackstar looks like it might be the right fit for your needs.

one option i use is to sync files to a cloud service (in my case i mostly use the Google Drive) -- i use a sync program to keep the cloud updated from my local SSD. and when i switch devices (PC or laptop) then i simply sync from the cloud to the device. as i have 2TB of cloud storage, space is not a problem. even with using my phone data sharing, since the sync program is only moving changed files, the updates are reasonably quick, and with high speed network, it's just a few seconds. as a note: i keep all my content off of the cloud drives as they often create contention for file access and causing crashes or file corruption when using my programs (whether DAW or design tools). so that is why i use the sync method, it can double some of the storage needed but is much much safer, plus the cloud drives are on a separate SSD (both laptop and desktop devices) so there are 2 local copies on a given machine plus the cloud. however, if purely doing composition or independent tracking - i'd suggest using a composition tool like BandLab or Hookpad etc which is web based, and if independently tracking, just share a stereo mix MP3 for people to perform to and then share those recorded tracks into the master mix / record project.

i use mine mainly as a single mono source for monitoring mixes, and secondly for my uke bass and my guitar when i need something to plug into quickly and just play around on. but it is a bit pricey but nicely made with decent LF response (and of course the epic stadium rock god setting is awesome for those times needing to crank the stratocaster for an imaginary crowd of thousands ? )

also - the physical disk allocation is a single audio file (WAV) for all takes. this may also introduce some complexities if the IO pointer to the underlying file position vs the take virtual position data vs whatever Melodyne is doing via the ARA communications, its pointers, and its separation file allocations ?

my son bought me a "Spark Mini" - small cube amp with BT and USB options + direct input and lots of fun setting options via the phone app. https://www.positivegrid.com/products/spark-mini

that is so 20th century, c'mon man! lol

so one option - is use the export dialog: 1) all tracks w whatever effects are on each one 2) all tracks w effects OFF each one 3) a stereo mix of the "master" - all effects on 4) a stereo mix of the "master" - all effects off basically 4 tasks setup to run. make this a template. when you start a project, open the template (which should have all your stuff setup and routed etc), do your drum kit selection, do the performance(s), and then run your export tasks. one suggestion - standardize the naming of your tracks across the templates so exporting them and importing them is quick and easy and mostly aligned right from the start. once you're in the habit it should be quick to get started and quick to export for the mix phase (with all options available - stereo for quick mix for client ok, and full set for detailed mixing later if needed). this way your time is spent on the kit selection & any effects, composition, and performance. and you're keeping your mind out of the mix complexities until later.

couple of options - use a two track of the band recording to perform and record your drums to. then option one: mix down your drums, export as stereo, and import the stereo track of the drums into the overall band project --- or option two: export all your drum tracks as separate audio files and import those into your band project and mix -- all depends on what you're needing to do from a mix perspective - 2 tracks of drums, or 12 tracks of drums. ? then upload the project + audio files to your shared location.

because buss 2 has those in its FX?

true enough but my read was his moving transients around was causing overall tempo issues which is why i had suggest checking the settings.

if its recent - i'd run the Cakewalk redistributables exe to make sure any other updates on the system are not conflicting... How to repair a Cakewalk installation with missing or damaged Microsoft redistributables - Frequently Asked Questions - Cakewalk Discuss | The Official Cakewalk by BandLab Forum

ah. you have a very different workflow than me. i do all my recording in a much simpler recording template and only tweak the reference track to use as a performance guide for subsequent tracks. almost no effects in that template. those recorded tracks are exported and used in my mix template where the mixing is performed -- same way as if a client sent me their files -- so from a vocal recording process, i have no region FX active - on rare occasion i have used my Waves RT pitch correction on the monitoring buss FX for the vocal feed. in this case, it sounds like the ARA bits are not working on the take level correctly.

so, then just be quiet and press the "fix it" button and move on! ? people (you know who they are) are only listening to 30-45 seconds at a time anyways via their phone speaker or via the mini BT speakers, to share with their friends who are all sms'ing anyways...

perhaps you're not rendering or removing the region FX before trying to do the new take, and Melodyne because it has created a whole bunch of "separations" (short audio snippets) it uses to perform its magic, those are getting overlaid because Melodyne is still an active region FX? if you create a new vocal track and mute the old one, do you still see the Melodyne issue? i've been using Melodyne for (15 years?) and have not seen this issue. then again, i don't use it in comping take activities, i use on either a raw reference track (where i typically do the entire track at once, then render it), or on a completed comp track copy to do the final fixes, and usually only on sections that need it (and render once done). since the source track and comp track are still intact and muted or archived, the copy is where i do the region FX work - Melodyne primarily.

or just have them play it right in the first place ?

what level did you calibrate your monitors to? this plays an important part of the monitoring and thus mastering stage. then understanding the differences between peak values and RMS (short term and integrated LUFS) will impact the perceived loudness. some guides on this: https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/bs/R-REC-BS.1770-4-201510-I!!PDF-E.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBU_R_128 https://youlean.co/loudness-standards-full-comparison-table/ https://transom.org/2021/the-audio-producers-guide-to-loudness/ some reading that may be useful: Mastering Pros: How Loud Should My Master Be? (izotope.com) https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/how-loud-should-my-master-be.html

make sure you are set to "clip follows project" and not "set project to clip"

to Will's point - if you set the track to stereo and record either a single side or both, you get a stereo interleave track. to Bass Guitar's point, if you set the track to mono and record a single side of the IO, you get a mono track. note: the meters will only show L+R (or more in surround), no mono meter... track 1 = mono track setting and L side of IO = mono track track 2 = stereo track setting and stereo of IO (i only recorded a mic on L) = stereo track track 3 = mono track setting and stereo of IO (i only recorded a mic on L) = stereo track (so in these examples since the R side is blank, it won't elevate the level when summed to mono, but in an actual stereo recording the summed result can be as high as +3db higher) files (track 2 & 3 same size)

wait, what? have you missed the entire modern music thingie going on? lol ?