Starship Krupa

Okay, here's the full tutorial, including the A|A|S safety copy folders:

(Note: The following assumes that you know where your default VST2 directory is. If for some reason it's on this list, do not delete the files in it unless they are duplicates of plug-ins that are installed as VST3's) Some of my favorite plug-in companies use installers that unfortunately, install versions of their products that I won't use and/or duplicate versions. I only ever wish to install 64-bit plug-ins, and I give precedence to VST3's if they are available. The installers will install 32-bit versions, VST2's alongside VST3's, (Pro Tools) AAX (and RTAS!). I can be persuaded to party like it's 1999, but I do not wish to produce like it's 1999, so I have no hosts that require 32-bit plug-ins. Nor do I use Pro Tools. Why clean up these directories? If you've never deleted these redundant files, it can free up as much as 2 or 3 Gigs of space on your system drive. I do it after every A|A|S install/update, and most Meldaproduction and iZotope as well. Native Access will indicate an error condition if you remove their 32-bit versions, but this won't affect anything in the actual use of the software. Typically, NI's duplicates take up almost 400M, and the rest can make it add up to about 750M, so if, like me, you have a system disk you'd like to keep clean, this is a good thing to do. For the 32-bit VST3's and any other duplicates that Cakewalk and your other audio programs scan, scanning them can slow down program startup times while the plug-in subsystem sorts out the duplicates. Some programs, Cakewalk included, will only hide duplicates if the manufacturer has given them the same VST ID, and only about half of developers do that. So you run the risk of using the wrong version in a project It's low risk, if you delete a redundant version of a plug-in and it stops working, just reinstall it and it should work fine. Otherwise, opinions are only those of me and if you are the sort that complains, delete nothing and move along This is a list of directories where A|A|S installs copies of its software that I have no use for. I use A|A|S as the example, but Meldaproduction, iZotope, Native Instruments, and IK Multimedia are all guilty of installing redundant versions of their software. First, the ones I find least necessary, the Pro Tools versions. A couple of them are also 32-bit, so doubly useless to me. If you don't use Pro Tools and have no plans to, you can delete everything any manufacturer puts in these: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Digidesign C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins The next are where they install 32-bit versions. If you use 32-bit plug-ins, heaven help you, but you probably know what to leave alone and what to keep: C:\Program Files(86)\Common Files\VST3 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins C:\Program Files (x86)\Native Instruments\VSTPlugins C:\Program Files (x86)\Cakewalk\VstPlugins C:\Program Files (x86)\Applied Acoustics Systems\VST Plug-ins (A|A|S and NI put copies of their VST2's in their program folders, presumably so support staff can restore them from that location) Clearing out the above will gain you back the most space and eliminate the scanning of redundant plug-ins. Do the below ones if you are the ornery sort (like me) who just doesn't like installers cluttering up their drives. The following are quasi "standard" locations for VST2 .DLL's so the installers put them in these directories as another "just in case." If one of these is your own VST2 directory, or if you have plug-ins in it that Cakewalk scans (that aren't in your default VST directory), then leave them alone. Otherwise, they're just duplicates, and you can get rid of whatever .DLL's you find there: C:\Program Files\VSTPlugIns C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins The next are manufacturer specific and likely only exist so that their support staff can copy them over in case the user deletes them from the main location: C:\Program Files\Applied Acoustics Systems\VST Plug-ins C:\Program Files\Native Instruments\VSTPlugins Last, A|A|S, maybe due to their former bundling relationship with Cakewalk, stick extra copies of their .DLL's here: C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\VstPlugins (do NOT delete the folders you may find here, they contain Cakewalk's own bundled plug-ins. Only A|A|S' are likely to be safe to delete, to my knowledge) Post how much cruft you've gotten rid of, and especially post if you know of any other locations where installers put redundant plug-ins.

?Good heavens, this is why I wanted to write them all out. Well-spotted, sir. Also, this just in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Native Instruments\VSTPlugins This is ridiculous. The list now actually goes to 12. I'm going to compile all this and post it in Tutorials.

My favorite for the first is Cinémathèque. For the last, any of Masala, Masala 2, or Journeys would likely yield hours of fun. Fortunately, they have Swatches so that you can demo a dozen or so of each, so make sure to get the latest version of Swatches and give 'em a listen.

Wow, I just download the latest version of Surge Synth. It now comes with a nifty multieffect that can be used separately from the synth itself: I haven't checked out all of the modes, but dang, there are lots of them!

If you tell us what kind of music and sounds you're into, maybe we can make recommendations. I'd love to see this. My corner is ambient downtempo, so I know which ones of those I find most useful.

All right! Epicycles is mine! Here's a public service announcement to all A|A|S users: If you, like me, only use the VST3 version of the plug-in, you may be able to free up half a Gig of SSD space by going to these directories C:\Program Files(86)\Common Files\VST3 C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Digidesign C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Avid C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins C:\Program Files\VSTPlugIns C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\VstPlugins ....and checking to see what useless cruft has been installed behind your back. If you've never done it, you'll find out that you've been harboring duplicate and 32-bit and Pro Tools versions of certainly A|A|S products and likely iZotope, Meldaproduction, and Native Instruments as well. Deleting NI's duplicates alone was almost 400Meg. Even if drive space is not a consideration, Cakewalk (and others) enumerates every plug-in on startup, so having to log these and then eliminate them adds more startup time, as well as plug-in menu clutter. As far as I can tell, A|A|S' installer looks for every folder with "vstplugins" in its name and drops a copy in it (maybe not, but it seems like it). Of course, if you know that another program needs 32-bit versions, or VST2 versions, leave them alone, delete anything at your own risk. I've never had trouble caused by deleting every file (not folder) in all these folders (except the one under Cakewalk, leave the Cakewalk native stuff alone). If you somehow mess something up and a plug-in won't load, delete it and reinstall and it should be fine.

I've posted this heads-up before, but the soundpacks have been remastered for the new versions of the synths. I did some A/B testing with the new ones vs. the previous packs just using the player, and they seem to be making use of the new algorithms and FX. Download the new versions of whatever soundpacks you have where the "parent" instrument has been updated. The pages for the individual soundpacks will indicate that they've been remastered. You'll get the newer version of Swatches as well. So far I have no email (and I also didn't get the Waves one, and I want a good dbx 160/5 clone). Yet you/we use Cakewalk. ? Kidding aside, the biggest issue with A|A|S content for me is that there's just so much of it, and the player has no facility to "favorite" a patch. I got the charity deal many of us did a couple years back where you got licenses for 10 or so soundpacks, and a couple of Pluginboutique freebies, so I have about 15 of them. I've only ever paid for the Session Bundle (and lord do I love Lounge Lizard Session). The player/soundpacks are my go-to for big ambient sounds. Nothing does it better for my uses.

@chris.r has definitely weighed in on those threads, I believe he is the one who first brought up and posted the video about the sampler track.

I just wanted to say ? to being able to get one's DAW on without having to lug around a monitor and pointing device like most of us schlubs. Heck, I even have to have one of those gamers' keyboards that lights up 'cause I don't trust my touch typing.

I click on the "+" sign in an FX rack and decide once I see the list that I would rather have it sorted by Category than Manufacturer. So I move my cursor up and to the right to select Plug-In Layouts, then Sort by Category. The the friggin' menu closes and I have to open it again to actually insert the plug-in I can now choose via Category. Why does it close, when (I would assume) the whole reason for opening that menu is to insert a plug-in? I don't open it just to change the sort method. Ever. Never ever. I propose that the menu should stay open to allow me to complete the task I opened the menu to perform. (This happens quite often for me because I am a plug-in 'ho and install new ones all the time, which end up in Uncategorized, or in non-specific-enough automatically assigned categories like "Dynamics," which is supposed to be where I look for compressors, gates, limiters....)

I finally got around to exploring W.A. Production's KSHMR Essentials Kick and I must say that I am impressed with what I'm able to do with it. I'm usually not one for all-in-one mix FX at this stage of my development because I'm still learning how to get those sounds via individual plug-ins. But it's a plain fact, my processing ends up being a pretty standard chain in a standard order, and what these gizmos usually are is someone's taking EQ, compression, maybe a bit of transient shaping and widening, and putting them in one package. Often, some of the presets sound too "hyped" for my taste, as in, initially wowzers, but revisit the mix in a week and wondering why I thought so much low end on my kick drum (or sparkle on my vocal) was a good idea. However, the good presets can give me a target for my own education: can I get it to sound even more to my liking using individual meat-and-p'taters EQ, compression, transient shaping, delay, and mid-side FX? Once I was able to "beat" the Ozone Elements mastering assistant, it felt like a real achievement! Anyway, I put KSHMR Essentials Kick directly on an instance of SONIVOX Blue Jay Drums and walked away from it for a week, and just came back and dang that is some slammin' phat body drums. I decided to try my beat scrolling through all the drum kits in Xpand!2, and it really brought them to life (along with a spoonful of Phoenix Reverb). Just 'cause it says "Kick," don't hesitate to try it on a stereo out drum machine or even a full drum bus. W.A. has three free plug-ins for the downloading. Last time I tried, downloading one of their free plug-ins also qualified me for their montly freebie, usually a (quite good) sample/template/MIDI loop package, but sometimes one of their quite worthy payware plug-ins.

You can also use a loudness matching plug-in such as GainMatch, which I use and can endorse. There's also HoRNet's TheNormalizer. Either may be had for $9. They both work by being inserted on multiple channels. The way they work is that you choose the first track you wish to use as the source, then the other instances will follow it. Also, if you have that many tracks of the same instrument, check into iZotope Visual Mixer. It's free, and I've found it to be quite the thing for panning multiple vocal tracks.

Mark, since you are the nanoKONTROL wizard, I hope you can answer this. I have a nanoKONTROL 2, which is mostly relegated to "start and stop recording when I'm at the drum kit" duty, and sometimes when I want to close my eyes and work a fader. I'd like to be able to control plug-ins with the knobby-slidery bits while still being able to control the transport with the buttony-arrowy bits. Is there a way to do this, and if so, how? I'm willing to manually map controls for individual plug-ins rather than using a learn mode. It's only a handful of plug-ins I want to do this with.

Ohh, my bad, that’s what I get for watching the Grand Prix on the other monitor. I had it in the other direction. ? Yes, that’s silly.

Hmm. Works a treat on my system, but then I have a registered Melodyne Essentials. Do you? I found this functionality via a mouse slip. Imagine my astonishment.?

This is true, but there's an assumption that the people who develop Cakewalk are concerned about "market share" or getting people to switch DAW's as the payware developers are. What if the focus is on making Cakewalk better for the people who use it, whether new users or veterans? People would like to have this workflow available. That's all there needs to be.

And I recently discovered that I can drag clips directly from a Cakewalk audio track onto Sitala (and Speedrum Lite) pads.

I've been getting good results from Stagecraft DJ Delay, a filtered delay with a really nice graphical representation of what's going on, including a spectrum analyzer.

I like the Studio One example(s), probably because it's the same thing that I'm already familiar with from Mixcraft: Alpha Sampler is equivalent to Sample One and Omni Sampler is equivalent to Impact. I'm pretty easy to please as far as features, I guess, I'm most interested in having a phrase sampler where I can drop existing audio into the sampler and then have filters, reversing, volume, and trimming. It might be fun to be able to have individual "pad FX" like we now have clip FX.

It is strange that the 32-bit versions still work, and that Digital Synsations works, because UVI use PACE/iLok. If you recently did change your system disk partition, that is likely what has caused iLok to start causing problems. There are programs other than Cakewalk that can host these plug-ins, such as Cantabile. Do you have any you can try, in order to make 100% sure that you need to take the step of resetting your licenses? Also, we want to make sure that resetting the licenses will result in you being able to use your software as you were before. If you must reset your licenses, there is the advantage that both AIR and SONIVOX are now owned by the same company.

And this is not currently possible, to route live audio directly to a sampler in CbB? I know if you say it isn't, it ISN'T, but I'm trying to clarify. I'm relatively new to this, to say the least. Yes, that is "sampling," but that feature isn't important to me. I'm fine with doing my audio capture into a track and then transferring it to the sampler and then controlling if from a MIDI track This illustrates why I've been so keen to try to define what "sampler" means, not wishing to seem pedantic, but it seemed to me that "sampler," when talking about specific functions, can mean different things to different people. I think it might serve the interest of advocacy for this/these feature(s) for people to be more specific about what features they're talking about rather than just saying "we need a sampler." What if the developers added a "sampler" that only allowed for recording into tracks and then importing it into the sampler from there? Or if the "sampler" didn't allow the user to take audio and spread/stretch it across multiple notes, or if it were an .SFZ player/creator? For some people, those would each be what they think of as a "sampler." We did hear from at least one longtime power user who was opposed to inclusion of a "sampler" because he had already invested in large amounts of sample libraries and didn't want to deal with "another proprietary format." I don't think he and I were talking about the same thing. Hmm, this gives me an idea.... To me, Kontakt and Sampletank are sample players that can also perform other operations. They cannot help me in my quest to drop heavily-effected dialogue phrases into electronic compositions.

For those waiting for an integrated phrase sampler, I just discovered that with both Sitala and Speedrum Lite, you can drag a clip directly from an audio track and drop it on a pad. I don't know if everyone else knew that this was possible and I just missed it or what, but this is going to help my workflow in a big way.

Well, this is kind of embarrassing, although in a pretty great way. I was working with pitch shifting some imported audio in CbB this afternoon and reading the Reference Guide. In amongst the various nuggets, I spotted this: "You can drag and drop clips from Cakewalk to another application or to a directory in Windows." Um, say what? I knew you could drag and drop into Cakewalk, but not the other direction. I opened an instance of Sitala and grabbed a clip from an audio track and dropped it onto one of Sitala's pads, and it worked perfectly. Between Cakewalk and Sitala, and I tried Speed Drum Lite and it worked just the same, they already do what I most want a phrase sampler to do.

I would say that when you get to Wave Shell, don't load it, because it looks as if it's a Waves plug-in that's causing the issue. Use Waves Central to check and make sure you have the latest versions of your Waves plug-ins. Cakewalk doesn't just crash like that from putting too many plug-ins in a project and running out of memory. The sign you've got too many plug-ins in a project is that playback will start to have crackles or the audio engine will keep stopping. It's a Waves plug-in or a combination that's giving you this issue.