Starship Krupa

I understand being on a budget, but you didn't mention any. Based on the prices I see, you'd probably have to spend about $30-$40 to get not really enough RAM on a not really fast enough computer with a spinning drive. Add another $40 for an SSD and you're up to $70 to end up with a system with specs from 12 years ago. Whatever you're trying to cook up with such old parts, how about a very capable, built like a tank system for just over $200 instead? Refurbished Dell Optiplex, i7-6700 (which is, BTW, the processor in my main DAW is an i7-6700), https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7040-Bit-Multi-Language-Supports/dp/B07GNDFSB8/ Free delivery with Amazon Prime, plug it in and go. You'd be able to throw anything at that system. Video rendering, orchestral VST's, anything. It would be a real pleasure to use for slightly more peanuts than you'd spend on the pain in the a55 system.

See my quiz on "desert island" FX. I wrote out my list, then looked at it, all 15 of them, and asked myself why I have 20X that many. Yeah, some of those are one-of-a-kind sound design-y things from the likes of Glitchmachines, Freakshow Industries, and Unfiltered Audio, but the list in my "compressors" category is huge.

Yeah, I'm not so sure that having the default workspace being Basic is best.

Oh yes, this.

This, sadly. Sorry I didn't make that clear. I wonder what triggers Cakewalk enumerating available arp patterns.

Okay....it's set to the correct folder.

I've had this sort of thing happen on older systems with certain plug-ins that have animated displays but that don't take advantage of OpenGL or DirectX to render the display. This leaves it up to the CPU (by way of the audio engine) to do the display rendering. The sure sign is that when I close the plug-in UI, I stop getting so many dropouts. Sometimes, it seems like they don't even stop their CPU eating when I close the UI. The only solution I know of is the same as with any other resource-hungry plug-in: disable them one by one until you find the one(s) that's eating the resources. As far as tuning your system to be more tolerant....the usual. Experiment with plug-in load balancing, extra plug-in bufs, etc.

Okay, here's a mystery. I just got a new laptop and I'm in the long process of installing all the ancillary goodies. One of which is the Alesion arp patterns. I followed my own instructions, placing the folder in C:\Cakewalk Content\Cakewalk Core\Arpeggiator Patterns\ and restarted Cakewalk. They don't show up in the arpeggiator's preset browser. It's worked as it should on two other computers. What's going on?

Ah, this is something I do on my systems. I increase the pointer size and turn it yellow. Glad you found a solution! Happy to help fire the neurons.

Yes. The quiz is about third-party FX.

Wow, these replies are even more fascinating than I thought. And proof of diversity of technique: some categories that I used others leave blank and some categories I omitted others find essential (so please do fill in the blanks). I did miss Channel Strip. I sorta think of them as multi-FX, although I know that for many people, they're something you use on every track to add character. I use Cakewalk's Console Emulator. I'd probably go with the bx_Focusrite or the Lindell rack that houses their preamp, EQ, and compressor. I'd say UltraChannel, but it's really a multieffect unit. Sandwiching a bunch of FX between two transformer emulations doesn't make it a "channel strip," or does it? Lots of love for Fabfilter and Melda so far, almost none whatsoever for Waves (man, how times have changed!), and how can I be the only one so far to mention T-Racks? I couldn't help asking myself after I wrote out my list "okay, that's 20 FX, why do I have at least 15X that many?"

Scenario: in rehab for plug-in hoarding, you are sent to a desert island (with wi-fi for updates, of course) and given the choice of a single 3rd-party plug-in in each FX category. No suites, individual FX only. You can take individual plug-ins from your beloved iZotope suites, but not the whole suite. Which FX do you choose? For me, versatility will be an issue, so it's going to skew toward Meldaproduction. Reverb: MTurboReverb. Covers it all. Not as simple as just slapping Phoenix/Nimbus/Stratus on the reverb bus, but more versatile. Track Compressor: elysia mpressor. Sounds so sweet. Bus Compressor: T-Racks 670. Magic bus. Does M/S Multiband Compressor: MDynamicsMB. Versatility. M/S Precision EQ: T-Racks Equal. Plenty of bands and filter types. Character EQ: Lindell T-100. If I have to choose just one, this one seems the most versatile. Delay: MTurboDelay. See MTurboReverb. Covers it all. Chorus: Acon Multiply Pitch Shifter: kHs Pitch Shifter. The simplest possible, but it also works the best of any I've tried. Basic Filter: Soundspot Fat 2. Glitcher/Stutterer: MRhythmizer. Easier to navigate than Stutter Edit 2 Limiter: MLimiterX . Does the M/S Stereo Imager: OzSoft Xpander (it's a freebie, do check it out) Amp sim: bx_rockrack Vocoder: MVocoder. After a pretty exhaustive search, this is the one Saturation: Waves BB Tubes. Pretty nice freebie, I must say. Restoration: ReaFIR. Criminally overlooked and underrated, I've found no single plug-in that can do what this venerable freebie does when it comes to cleaning up camcorder footage or other noisy audio Clipper: T-Racks Classic Clipper Bonus round. As time goes on, you are allowed to expand with utilities and combos: Utility: Trackspacer. Edges out MAutoAlign because I won't be recording drums on the island. Multieffect: Unfiltered Audio TRIAD. Covers a LOT of ground in the realm of sound design. All-in-one Mastering: bx_masterdesk

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MTurboBundle22 MTurboReverb, MTurboDelay, MTurboComp, MTurboEQ, MTurboAmp. Good through the end of the year. Effective price is $318. However, for first-time buyers, sign up for their newsletter and get $10 credit, use a referral code (mine is MELDA1923165) and get 20% off. By my calculations, this would get you the bundle for $245. IMO, though, if the MTurbo line piques your interest, I'd suggest you check out the MEssentialsFX bundle first. It gets you MTurboReverbLE, MTurboDelay, and MTurboCompLE along with 7 other FX. With the current 50% off sale, it's $132. Apply the same new buyer discounts and it comes out to $79. Yikes. That leaves plenty of room to throw in the pro upgrade for MFreeFX bundle and get about 50 FX for under $100. The most useful MTurbos are MTurboReverb (the LE is fine for me, designing my own reverb algos is not on my list of things I want to learn), and MTurboDelay. Both of those are my "Desert Island" FX in their categories. The rest of the MTurbos are great, but haven't seen nearly as much use.

I guess if I had to choose only one that would be it. I can vouch for the sound design-y usefulness of the Unfiltered Audio range as a whole. I have SpecOps, Fault, Sandman Pro/Instant Delay, G8, BYOME, TRIAD, SILO, and Dent/Indent. G8 is the best gate ever. Dent/Indent is the one I use least, because Trash 2 has that covered. The rest are just great weird sound warpers of one kind or another. Collect 'em all!

That is a LOT of processors piled up. We each have our own techniques and styles, and there's no "wrong" way unless it doesn't sound good, but in your case, it's not sounding good (to you). The first thing I do if I'm getting unwanted noise or distortion in a plug-in chain is go through the plug-in rack one-by-one bypassing and then turning them back on until I find the one that's causing the problem. Unlike others in this thread, I'm less sure that you're getting too much level into a processor because your overall level is pretty low. -12dB is low. So unless one of the FX is boosting it too much for the next one in line to take, that's not a problem. I would record hotter, though. I examined "problem.wav" and had a hard time hearing the "distortion. Examining your FX chain....I will say that one should only ever use one instance of a de-esser on a track. That's best practice. Over-aggressive de-essing can create distortion and a lisping sound. I can't help but want to comment on your (long) FX chains. What you're doing is....unusual. 4 compressors is excessive. One fast one (Molotok or maybe MCompressor) to take the peaks off and a smoother one (LALA) for leveling should do it. MEQualizer is a great plug-in, but 3 instances of it on the same track? If you're feeling the need to de-ess, then de-ess again after going through 2 EQ's and 2 compressors, you've probably boosting the highs too much on one of the EQ's and are compensating for it with the second stage of de-essing. There's no reason to boost highs if you're just going to shave them off again with a de-esser. You are doing a lot of carving that might not be necessary. One or two 3-6dB cuts at the "honk" frequencies and a highpass can all be done with one instance of MEQualizer. Maybe also a lowpass rolloff at the very top. As a general guide, the fewer FX I can use to get results, the better. Each one comes at a price in fidelity, in the form of phase distortion, aliasing, etc. As for your de-breath plug-in, perhaps using a pop filter when recording vocals, then editing your vocal into phrases and trimming the clips to eliminate the breath intakes could get you better results without the need for yet another plug-in. Remember, when we're mixing, we're mixing, that is, the idea is to get multiple sounds to sound good together rather than sculpting each track into sonic perfection and then putting them all together. In a good mix, some if not most or all of the tracks are going to sound like hell when solo'd. This applies greatly to vocals and acoustic guitar, which carry a lot of unnecessary sonic information at the lower end. We have to solo for some tasks like finding and cutting the aforementioned "honk" frequencies and chasing down breath intakes, but most of the time, it's best to work with all the tracks together.

I have both Kontakt Player 6 and 7, and they show up just fine. In the plug-in browser, Kontakt 7 is listed as "Kontakt 7" and 6 is "Kontakt." So it can be done. My aging laptop also shows a black box in the Kontakt 7 UI which happens when your system doesn't support a high enough level of DirectX 3D. It has a separate nVidia GPU, but it's just too old. 'twould be nice if they had an OpenGL option, but they don't.

If you just want it to turn on at a certain point, a gate that can send a MIDI note, like Unfiltered Audio's G8 (and freebie G8CM), might also help you accomplish this. G8 sends a MIDI note whenever it opens (or closes, it can be set either way).

Download and install the freeware Acon Digital Multiply and you might change your mind about your old favorite being "best of its kind." There are many other freeware options available. Get the Kilohearts and Meldaproduction free bundles. The Meldaproduction one has MFlanger, which allows chorus settings, and the Kilohearts bundle has a chorus. Between them, you'll get over 50 new plug-ins to experiment with. The longer you cling to deprecated technology like 32-bit plug-ins, the more likely your favorite tools will stop working. At some point, you have to let it go.

Doesn't Reason do this? Or is that just in the "rack?" I had to kinda get used to the virtual patch cable visual metaphor, didn't care for it at first. Working with my beloved Glitchmachines and Unfiltered Audio FX finally made it click.

Hmm. And here I thought I already had every PA product that I wanted.

I suspect development resources are devoted to Cherry Audio synths at the expense of Mixcraft.

Acoustica are very much a "sell no wine before its time" outfit.

Fascinating question. The scenario you lay out actually sounds appealing to me. I recently became aware of Snoezelen, and applying that kind of AI to your environment to enable highly personalized snoezelen rooms seems like a logical step (I want one NOW). My answer: what's left to value in human-created art at that point is the communication I mentioned earlier. Your scenario is one where music (and decor) serve the purpose of complementing or changing your mood. But it does nothing to give me a glimpse into another person's feelings or worldview. AI will have to go pretty far before it can come up with something like "Rhapsody in Blue" or "Subterranean Homesick Blues." As you said, AI could be fine for "wallpaper" music, but when it can come up with words and music that can make me cry like "Casimir Pulaski Day" or exhilarate me like "Teenage Riot," by that time the AI would have to be sentient. At which point, we're back around to music being created by a living, thinking creature.

Here is proof that this forum also needs an eyeroll reaction.

? Wellll, that's been up for debate for a long time, hasn't it? I already mentioned Andy and his soup cans, there's Marcel Duchamp's Fountain from 1917. That's the one where he bought a urinal and submitted it to an exhibition whose policy was to accept all works by their members. The moment you see it or think of it and ask "what the hell was he thinking, was he pulling a prank, making a statement, or being a dick?" then it's made you think about a lot of things that you don't normally think about. Further complicating things with Fountain was Alfred Stieglitz taking an excellently composed black and white photo of the urinal. If the urinal wasn't art, what about the photograph? Can of worms, ain't it? The source of art and how humans see it are only as important as we want to make them. I remember when The Monkees weren't a "real" rock 'n' roll band because they first met each other while trying out for roles playing musicians rather than by placing ads in the local underground weekly or however "real" bands were supposed to form. Now we appreciate the artistry involved, from the individual members as singers and players and from the writers and producers. The Monkees' music is great pop music, excellently written sung, played and produced. Whether they like the music or not, nobody cares about the backstory that once mattered so much that they made a whole movie about their being "manufactured." Here's what Wikipedia says about "art:" "Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas." So by that definition, an algorithm can't produce art....unless you consider the creation of the algorithm to be the qualifying "human activity." In my view (which has been and remains subject to change at any time), art is about one person or a group of people expressing something to other people that must be expressed in that way (the idea/feeling may be "the way the reflections of the lights on the puddles looks breaks my heart" or it may be "I wonder how people would react if I applied my fine art skills to painting a stack of food cans."). The big outstanding questions: who is the one doing the expressing? Who is a part of the group doing the expressing? What about art that someone does only to please themselves (plenty of that on my hard drive!)? Does it even matter at all (except for copyright enforcement)? Who gets to say whether it matters? I don't think these questions can even be answered definitively, only raised. I dunno, can we compare it to the advent of photography as an art form? It once was if you wanted a portrait of yourself for the office lobby, you sat down in front of a painter with training in that fine art. Then it became that all someone had to do was set up a tripod and push a button. Ah....but. The person pressing the button has to point the camera in just the right direction, get the lighting set, and very importantly, wait out the subject's changing facial expressions until just the moment that the person the photographer "sees" will be captured on film. Then they take multiples and choose the best one. When hip hop began to gain more widespread popularity, we as a society had to make decisions about ownership rights. My favorite argument on the producers' side said that collage was a well-established art form and that hip hop songs based on samples from a variety of sources were similar to that sonically. Someone has to first listen to all of those bits of music, then have the idea that they might go together to form something else, then actually put them together, and so forth. I guess we finally settled on the idea that if your collage contains so much of someone else's work, you must credit them, which seems fair enough. Maybe everything that's meant for human consumption needs some sort of human input and intervention in order to be useful. Even if it's only editorial. Someone has to listen to that algorithmically-created song and decide whether to keep it or to let the algorithm do another "take." The description you gave of someone telling Alexa what kind of chamber orchestra piece they wanted....it made me really curious to hear what the AI would make of that. I like melancholy chamber orchestra music. ? Very enjoyable discussion, BTW. Thanks for raising the questions.