Steev

Shout out to Dire Straights & Romance Stories with REALLY BAD ENDINGS. ?? Romeo & Juliet

I'm REALLY liking the multi outputs on the instrument tracks! My AMD FX 8370 CPU based Workstation does NOT like Aggressive Thread Scheduling

Devil Went Down To Georgia YEE HARR!?☮

Thank you Tom, That's a great observation. And very helpful because I really didn't realize it until you pointed it out, and now I'm certainly inclined to agree.

? Go Your Own Way ?is a fun little Bandlab jam between Jenny from England singing into here cellphone and Steev from NY using Cakewalk in Binghamton, NY. Is is perfect? No, and it's not supposed to be. Knock all the flaws out of Rock Music then it wouldn't be Rock Music anymore now would it?. ?

Thanks Gary, I just sent you the Cakewalk Project.cwp MIDI files in a message attachment. Have FUN!

The Cakewalk TTS-1 is probably the most over looked tool in the box. And Second Is the Ultra powerful selection of "ear candy" goodies provided Sonitus Plugin bundle. Yeah, I know, not much eye candy, but don't let that fool you, there are some great models of some great vintage and modern FX gear there, AND the TTS-1 is powered by a genuine Roland GM/GS SoundCanvas synth engine capable of out putting to 4 separate audio channels in the mixer per instance. I used 2 instances of the TTS-1 each instrument voice it's own channel for mixing with ProChannel modules as "inserted" FX chain and applying different "Sonitus" FX on Aux. chain treatments to each instrument. And instead of just using a "Brass" patch preset, each horn part was performed one at a time and played from it's own respective instrument patch for the "human" touch as opposed to the MIDI sounding all horns being played from one patch at the same "time", in the same "space" with humanly impossible dead on accuracy of everyone hitting each note at the exact same time to the mil·li·sec·ond. This song was created with Cakewalk by Bandlab pretty much with using mostly all the plugins and instruments that come with the free download offer. Only the Drums, which I'm using XLN's Addictive Drums 2 DXi that shipped free with a SONAR Platinum update no longer comes with CbB. All other instruments you hear are coming out of a couple instances of the Cakewalk TTS-1. This is not a perfect finished mix, it's a 4 track buss mix of a 47 track RECORDING SESSION optimized for Bandlab.com & created with Cakewalk by Bandlab running flawlessly on an high powered AMD 8 CORE Windows 10 Pro Full Tower workstation. Bandlab.com's very VERY cool Mix Editor only supports 12 tracks, and that leaves 8 tracks free for anyone who would like to mix, criticize, or collaborate if you desire.. You are more then welcome to... Feel free to have at it. and jump on & take a ride on the SPINNING WHEEL ? https://www.bandlab.com/steveschreiber/spinning-wheel-5c638902

Over all really NICE and very wide stereo field mix Batman! Listening thru my Atom near field monitors. Long live ProgRock! I'm detecting a slight peaking on the right side seemingly being caused by build/pump up somewhere midrange frequencies, and which at times makes the hard panned right guitar seem too peak bright & loud in places, and only the right channel VU just barely peaks at 0 dba on my monitor controller, and that's a little weak for an analog output signal. While it's certainly never OK to exceed 0 db on a "digital" track or buss, it's very much OK to bounce peaks on the VU's up to +3 dba (amplitude), especially for power rock such as this. I don't believe the bright & loud is in the overall mixing and EQ itself, perhaps just needs a tweak'in with a multiband compressor on the master buss, or better yet, if you have one, an Adaptive EQ which can be adjusted and tweaked to only add limiting to the trouble "PEAKING" spots and let all other freq's alone. The Waves F6 is ideal for that job, and no I don't work for Waves, but the F6 is great for zeroing in on the mid, either side, stereo, and or L/R.

I totally agree, ACT was a God send for creating MIDI maps back when every vendor had the own ideas how and what to control from their hardware. Mackie Control (MCU) and HUI are pretty much cover the universal industry standards today. And I think it would be nice and or cool if Cakewalk did bring ACT and or MCU up to speed or modernize it if you will.. For instance, Propellerhead includes a very large selection and vast array of different preset MCU configuration maps for Reason. Even and on/off switch which is very handy to use before "Rewiring" Reason to another DAW such as Cakewalk. Believe me you DON'T want to see and experience what happens when you have 2 different DAW's fighting and competing for control over one MIDI controller. Saying things get unpredictable is an understatement. And so the best that can happen is you crash and or lock up both Reason and Cakewalk and don't lose or destroy your projects. And that being said, I'm not sure it would be wise to try to run both MCU and ACT at the same time in the same project either, even with 2 separate DAW controllers?? Anyone here ever have any success with doing that?

These are really REALLY KILLA GREAT for deep in depth control and parameter automation of hardware synths and synth modules!

Well maybe you should just buy one and find out. ????

Well almost sliders, more like 1/2 throw sliders which I found are kinda awkward in real life hands on mixing control. The X-Touch CAN do anything and everything else and can be easily and instantly switched back and forth from DAW controller to Plugin controller to Instrument controller with the push of a single button. One separate button assigned to each in the "Encoder Assign" section in the very top right hand corner of the X Touch. You don't need to clutter your desk with another device. And if you want to create any elaborate exacting customized MIDI map(s) that you can't find in Mackie MCU for the X Touch with Cakewalk ACT, simply boot the X Touch up in MIDI mode and start programming away. """!!!DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR CUSTOMIZED MIDI MAPS IN A SAFE PLACE LIKE DOCUMENTS FOLDER!!!"""

The X Touch Mini is only $58 (us) https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XTouchMini--behringer-by-touch-mini Also it works "Out of the Box" off Mackie MCU protocol so you don't have to use Cakewalk ACT to create MIDI maps if you don't want to.

Wowzer, I never thought I'd live to see the day when I could jam and collaborate with anybody, anywhere, anytime, anyway, anyhow over the Internet on a "Cloud" based multi track DAW, complete with an ever growing and sizable selections of FX plugins, that literally SHATTERS and breaks the chains of recording on any one specific platform. It doesn't matter if you're recording on a Mac or PC, doesn't matter if you work in Pro Tools or Cakewalk, and it doesn't matter if you have either DAW or even know how to operate a computer, you can record your tracks or compose with loops directly from your Android or iPhone smartphone... And invite, work on & share your ideas with like minded musicians and artists.. Then PUBLISH your music projects and share them with EVERYBODY! And it's almost too much fun doing exactly that and meeting, jamming, and collaborating with artists from all around the world in all types of genre with all artists on types of skill levels. From jamming on our favorite classic cover songs (the best way I know how to meet like minded artists), to collaborating and developing original songs (with your favorite like minded artists). Anyone here like "The Eagles" and would like to join in and jam on Ly'in Eyes (an Eagles Jam by Steev w Jenniferwren) Be our Guest(s) The Bakers Team at Bandlab have come a long way developing the Mix Editor, it has AMAZING power and functionality for a DAW that isn't even installed on my computer..

You guys are funny.... Why would anyone put out a massive not to mention expensive marketing blitz for something they are giving away for free? Cakewalk has ALWAYS been HUGELY POPULAR. A Veritable household name ever since Cakewalk DOS started being bundled with Windows for Workgroups 3.1 to Windows 95 computers. And then came the big break thru the bundled trial version of Cakewalk Pro Audio with Windows 98. Well maybe they should have called it Pro MIDI, Pro Audio was a bit exaggerated, more of an oxymoron, being the early Baker's heads where in the right places, me thinks they over estimated the brutal new power standards of the 400 m/Hz Pentium 3 with a whopping 16 megs of RAM could do. Cakewalk Pro Audio was utterly abysmal at handling audio. and while E magic Logic users blew Cakewalk users off as "Cute" Cubase users ridiculed Cakewalk users, Pro Tools on the Mac was they only real player for audio. But by the time Intel Pentium 4 And AMD released the Athlon CPU came around and SONAR 4 was released, everything changed, the world of affordable reliable DAWs turned upside down and inside out. SONAR HAS WON SO MANY AWARDS they haven't had to market it for decades, and so popular and reasonably priced it was barely to NEVER mentioned by sales reps working for commission at any music retail stores until it was asked for and requested by a customer. And far as I can see, and I've been watching, the only other DAW that has kept up with new cutting edge development and innovation in DAW technology and may have only recently stepped past SONAR since, would be (at least in my opinion) Presonus Studio ONE with their newest release of version 4, has comping features I really wish were added to Cakewalk I really like and am impressed with. But certainly not enough to jump ship. And then I happen to stumble upon this post and became rather festinated and mildly confused. The guy seems to know what he's talking about, I noticed he almost instantly recognized the amazingly realistically authentic similarities between ProChannel's PC 76 U-Type Compressor sounds and responds to that of a hardware Neve 1176, A novice would never pick up on that, proving to me he knows his way around some very fine vintage recording gear and modern plugin tech and has made quite impressive progress in the learning curve for a first time trial of a new unfamiliar DAW. And his opinion that Cakewalk sounds better then Studio One while working in it kind of struck me. I always thought sessions I've worked in with Studio One sounded a tad harsh and brittle to my ear, but I always chalked that difference off to working in a different studio room, different monitors using a Presonus audio interface. It most certainly didn't sound anything close to bad, just "different" from Cakewalk does thru my Focusrite.

I'm pretty active on Bandlab when time allows and have actually been Evangelizing Cakewalk for decades, well before Bandlab.com existed or was even technologically possible, and am currently involved with quite a few collaborative efforts on Bandlab, as well as various music websites and several groups on LinkedIn I frequent, and as well locally with some decent yet mixed results. Many people flatly refuse to accept the fact that anything free could be any good, and most certainly is some sort of a trap. Yeah, I get that, and I also and fully realize that it always pays to be skeptical because conspiracy theories do exist, as do ulterior motives. And I also realize that even though it's quite often the case, NONE of these things are essentially bad or absolutely built upon evil intent. And as a long time Cakewalk user I am a bit more then grateful to Meng for salvaging my favorite DAW from being thrown under the bus of obscurity and providing continuing support. At first I was quite surprised when I read about it being offered for free, but certainly not as shocked as I was about other users angrily complaining how unfair that was, because they had spent hundreds of dollars per year for SONAR Platinum. Well so did I, in fact I shelled out thousands of dollars over the past couple of decades for yearly upgrades, every year thinking since around the time SONAR 4 Producer was released, OK this freak'in ROCKS steady and stable, THIS is going to be my LAST UPGRADE! But every year Cakewalk not only offered more functionality and smoother workflow, all of which I could honestly live without, but more importantly and much more useful to my workflow, some really great 3rd party plugin bundles that would easily cost me 3x the amount by purchasing them directly from the 3rd party vendors. I would have to be stupid, crazy, and or both NOT to purchase the upgrade for $150 (US) when it included something like a fully licensed $300+ version of XLN Audio's Addictive Drums, plus many extra's along the way. For YEARS I was wondering how Cakewalk was making any money, and it wasn't until Gibson threw it under the buss, it wasn't worth the effort and expense to keep up paying all the licensing fees. And what's Bandlab's ulterior motive for providing such an EXCELLENT matured DAW less all these 3rd party plugins and tech for free? Well, not that it's anybody's business other then their own, or that it's an inherently evil conspiracy theory to steel our souls.. But I would assume, considering Bandlab is in the retail music business based in Singapore, and maybe, MAYBE Cakewalk by Bandlab just a really, REALLY nice box of tools given to us in good faith to be used to support and record the instruments and 3 party software they sell to their present and hopefully future customers??? Ya know, as any professional working musician from the US knows, how Sweetwater from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, built their reputation as America's BEST music equipment retailer by offering state of the art services like personal sales engineers, instructional and product review videos, HUGE 600+ page semi-annual very informative catalogs, FAST and free shipping and even still throws in bags of candy in the box with every purchase.. Always puts a smile on my face. ? I really love that candy. My last purchase from Sweetwater was a Warm Audio WA 414 lg diaphragm condenser mic, which is a bone chillingly accurate clone of a world renouned vintage AKG 414, yeah they are great, blah, blah, really needs no detailed explanation as we've all heard them 1000's of times on 1000's of hit records, blah, blah, blah, when I opened that Sweetwater box I was happy I got my new Microphone, but only excited and interested in the free Tootsie Rolls.. I never even tried to get someone to switch or change over from their preferred DAW, for what should be obvious reasons that are very much in line with trying to talk a life long Dodge pickup truck owner into buying a new Ford pickup truck, it's just not worth consideration. Yet some got curious enough to try it out to see what all the fuss was about, and some trashed mouthed after 5 minutes from everything for being blank and ugly to not having any demo songs automatically open for them to jam along with to get inspired enough to get started, stupid DAW, LoL, I wouldn't even know how to respond to that, so I never did. But others, typically the musician creative types who've had even relatively modest experience with Studio ONE, Pro Tools, Cubase and the like actually really liked and respected Cakewalk enough to pursue and continue dabbling with it as a secondary DAW, based mostly on almost instantly falling in love with ProChannel. I take that as a decent sign and a true plus for Cakewalk's Integrity. All that being said, I do believe that Cakewalk has been the most recognized popular, widely used, and most award winning DAW in the WORLD for 2 DECADES!

There is no reason. You can render to 24 bit 44.100 k/hz 'till the cows come home and sound GREAT if you now how to record, you can mix down to industry standard 16 bit. Rendering to 32 bit isn't going to change or prove your skill level. Quite the contrary.

And this will be mt last post to this forum. Goodbye

Here is a printable overlay attached

Not really sure where to bring this topic up, but I do have several issues with Bandlab.com with my Windows computer, that don't seem to happen with my Mac. Strange because Cakewalk isn't supported on a Mac, but Bandlab has more controls and functionality using Chrome on the Mac then it does with Chrome on Windows. Until yesterday I have never tried to upload any music projects made in Cakewalk from my Mac for obvious reasons, but the process went along very smoothly, fast, and good results. I have had several issues, unexpected results, and failures doing so from my Windows 10 computer on more then one occasion. Both computers are using Chrome continuously kept up to date, and currently running the latest Windows 10 Pro 1809 and Apple MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6. For instance, There is no emoji button in the comment section with my Windows computers. Not exactly important, but it was a surprise to me to even notice it was there before using my Mac for the first time, and always thought other Bandlab users who use emojis had some add on emoji plugin or something. On the Mac there is an emoji button for writing comments. I typically only use the Mac for work using Pro Tools, and if I wasn't uploading a Pro Tools project to my Avid Account at the same time, I would have never even tried or have noticed the differences.

Another super DUPER ultra fun and great Fishman product that can be installed on ANY guitar without modifying it is the Fishman Triple Play MIDI Controller for guitars. Anyone here using one of those?

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm 99% sure Taylor buys it's electronics from Fishman in bulk. I am certain that they concentrate on build guitars and don't manufacture any electronic components, and NOBODY can do that better then Fishman. Even Fender uses Fishman electronics. I have a Fender T-Bucket acoustic electric Bass with a factory installed Fishman strictly Paizo. I LOVE it, and actually use it more then my vintage Fender P and Jazz basses because I can dial in the sounds of either + mic it acoustically with an Audio Technica AT 4050 and by recording and mixing 2 mono tracks together, I can also get a very convincing Upright bass sound. Click HERE to hear an example, and please note to get a more fingered plucky sound prominent around the 1:00 minute mark, all I really had to do was change my seating position to change the proximity "Angle" of the AT4050 from pointing the 12th fret to pointing towards the bridge. I was able to use my position and "Ears" to make the proper adjustments without having to touch any EQ or any controls what so ever. I wouldn't be able to do that if the mic was built into the Bass guitar's Fishman Presys I'm a hobbyist grade luthier (builder) and modifier of cheaper guitars (only) for several decades now. I modified and installed the Presys in a mid level Alvarez that didn't come with any electronic Paizo/pickup/transducer installed at all so I had to cut a fresh whole in the body and "route" out a hole for the 1/4' inch output jack. Never drill into the body of a guitar, to avoid splintering use a router such as a variable speed "Roto Tool". And also when cutting a hole to install a Fishman Presys, cut it smaller then you need it to be, and use a file to bring it up to shape and form is MUCH less risky then trying to cut it to size in one shot, because you DON'T get a second chance. My only reason for doing it was for live performances, and seldom if ever use it in the studio, and when I do it's only because I'm going for the particular world famous "Ovation Grunge Folk" type sound. I'll have to give Neil Young full credit for that, good or bad, it's a staple sound stamped into all out brains that at first offended me, but when I got used to it I simple realized it was just another genre specific sound on my production palette, and actually a great tool to be used with Melodyne if you intend to convert audio to MIDI. However, in your case, it would be a and irreversible modification that would most certainly devalue a KOA Taylor that has a "Square" hole already carved into it for the control panel, it would have to be elongated into a rectangle. And if your Taylor sports the 3 knob configuration as many Taylors do, you would have to carve a fresh hole for installation and be left with at least 2 unsightly holes or 2 useless knobs where the Taylor's pots are located. Either choice is rather undesirable in my opinion, and you can still get the Paizo/mic sound of the Presys by plugging in direct and placing a super cardioid mic(s) in front of your guitar to achieve the same effects. I would strongly advise against modifying and installing a Presys into any fine higher end expensive guitar such as a Taylor, Martin, Guild, or Gibson because it WILL devalue it. I would also strongly advise not installing a Presys in a cheap acoustic guitar either because it won't make a guitar sound better then it already does, it will bring out all the guitars flaws up to front and center. ?

Not at all a fan of using quantification and if I do it's in very small sections phrases or scale fragments of the timeline and typically under one bar. But ONLY if it's an easy fix when a new take or punch in performance isn't feasible. I spent decades trying to humanize and knock the machine feel out of MIDI and I'm not about to intentionally quantize it back into human performances. I have a friend and long time collaborator who composes predominantly in MIDI with Reason and programming drums and perc with a step sequencer, usually creating music about 4 bars at a time, and STILL insists on quantizing all the parts he performs from a MIDI keyboard before moving on to the next 4 measures! Drives me crazy, as he's one of the best performing keyboard players I ever met, and he's jamming along with a step sequencer!?!? And when he's finished He'll pass it on to me for collaboration which always starts with a first session of me having to apply MIDI "Swing" editing on my part to get as close I CAN to try re-humanizing his performances with reverse engineering to apply all the human sounding error that makes him so good to translate back into his own natural expressions and feelings. One of my favorites and profound "Quotes" of all times is by Ray Davies of the Kinks when he said; "If you knock all the flaws out of Rock and Roll, then it's not Rock & Roll anymore."

@BRainbow Taylor doesn't make pickups, and if you buy a low end Taylor you're going to get a low end pickup. I'm a huge fan of the Fishman PREsys. It has both Piazo pickup and a adjustable condenser mic built in "preamp" with gain, EQ, notch filter, phase switch, tuner, and blend knob. It is extremely adjustable and tweak-able. and works greater for performing live plugged into my Line 6 Spider V120 which also has 5 very usable presets for acoustic guitar that didn't require much tweaking to get what I want out of my Alvarez to sound very authentic and VERY LOUD. Works surprisingly well for recording and getting very close the the authentic sound of natural beauty the Alvarez acoustic, and of course a touch reverb for "room sound" is always needed for direct in recording if you don't want your recording to sound like you have your ears pressed up to the sound board of you guitar. And dialed in properly the PREsys is close enough to sit pretty well in a mix with comparing it to micing the Alvarez with a matched pair of Rode NT 5 small diaphragm condenser mics (a.k.a. Pencil Mics) placed in a stereo X/Y position approx 2 feet to 4 feet away with one pointed towards the 12th fret and the other pointed at the bridge is doable, and certainly close enough for rock & roll, but a pretty hard to improbable act to replicate for serious natural sounding audiophile results of the air between the mics and the guitar itself. Mic placement it critical. The "Nicer" 'softer' and 'flatter' your room sounds, the farther away you can place your mics. But if you have a lot of untreated hard surfaces like bare walls, hardwood floors, you will want to keep your mics closer, and small diaphragm condenser mics are great for taking advantage of proximity effects for this. At close distances their proximity effect is naturally narrowed down (super cardioid) a few feet away for natural sound acoustic guitar and the cardioid pickup pattern naturally and smoothly increases by distance, 6'-10' away great for recording a natural sound of a group of background singers, 10' and beyond they will capture the natural sound of an entire band. By be careful with that, because they will also capture the natural sound of the room, and that includes room sounds us humans are naturally inclined to ignore without even thinking about it. Until we hear it being played back in another room environment, like you car, or just another room, you will hear all the faults of the room in your FACE that you naturally originally ignored. But using "pencil mics" to record acoustic guitar is one of my favorite ways to capture a very natural acoustic guitar sound in almost any room environment quiet enough to hear the acoustic guitar properly. And the Behringer C2 matched pair of pencil mics are mind boggling GOOD and selling for a retail price of $60 (us) had earned the solid 1st place for my ""!!! WTF?? !!!"" AWARD of 2016. Do I think they are as good as my $300 Rode NT 5's for recording acoustic guitar? YES! But not for all recording applications. Do I think they are as good as my $700 Shure SM81's? No, but either are $1600 Neumann KM 184's, and I'm talking about ALL recording applications. Now we're just comparing peaches to nectarines. I have half a mind to think it should be illegal for Behringer to sell the C2's for only $60. ? If you can't get a natural acoustic guitar sound you won't be happy with with Behringer C2's then I'm sorry, but I'll have to assume you won't ever admit to being happy with anything However if you are the type who loves the sound and likes to jam with a large diaphragm condenser inches from the sound hole of an acoustic guitar, you will LOVE the Fishman PREsys plugged direct in, and before you know it you'll be using the Lg Condenser for something else.. And the best and most amazing part about the Fishman PREsys? You can find very capable great sounding discontinued PREsys's on eBay for around $20 (us), and IF you are capable of installing them, and that includes "Precisely" cutting or enlarging a whole within +or- 1mm to 2mm margin of error. This is not a job for the impatient or those who like to rush results with power tools, because you do not get any do overs. Installing the PREsys in my beloved Alvarez was the scariest thing I ever did since getting married for the first time, which unfortunately didn't work out as I expected. So before you try and cut into your precious acoustic guitar, I'd highly recommend try cutting into something else first to see if you like it.? Practice makes perfect, and nobody is perfect, so measure at least twice and cut once.

Ah yes, the oldies but goodies. Brings back memories of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Yes, Kansas, and Styx to name a few..? I'm thinking you are trying to use too many very old and outdated DXi's at once that write written well before DX v12. These synths are indeed all powerful and kind of reigned supreme for me with SONAR Producer 8.5 but I started noticing getting weak on performance and stability after X3, at which point I started using another computer a Dell Inspiron running windows XP, SPRO 8.5 more or less as a dedicated hardware instrument. Simply because the great old synths were built to run on XP when 64x computing was still a futuristic wet dream, when we all wondered if it was even possible at all. And I'm not entirely sure, but I have a bad, bad feeling that running softsynths created in 32 bit DX 9 world might not be up to speed in traversing to a 64x DX 12 universe? I still use TTS-1 today and it works excellently in projects set up to 24/48 but have stability issues with using any one of the others Cyclone GroovePlayer PSYN II Pentagon I I completely forgot about Roland GrooveSynth. I never used it, but owning a Roland JV synth module there was never any point. Hmm, can't remember the last time I used that either. A great alternative to achieve the old school analog synth sound for me is either, and yet still vintage Dimension Pro, Rapture, or better yet, which I guess have just recently slipped into the vintage category, the Rapture Session or Pro version is more my cup of tea because I can dig deeper into sound creation and design, but if you're just choosing and selecting patches then the free included Rapture Session is more them powerful enough. Not sure if Rapture Session or Pro will continue to slip down the spiraling drain of obscurity, I certainly hope not, but we can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up first... Or, I'm thinking Native Instruments puts out some nice stuff? You don't need to go broke going overboard and be a Complete MACHINE head if all you need is one of their synths that can do all of the above, perhaps, I was always kind of fond of Absynth years ago which is still on my Dell laptop. I never upgraded it so it won't work well on on my Win 10 computer if at all.