Brian Walton

I've only messed around with InstaChord for a few minutes, but as someone that has played guitar for over 25 years and only spent hours with a Keyboard.....it seems like a good tool for individuals that lack keyboard skills and knowledge to easily play more complicated chords with a more realistic feel. Altering the timing of when each note is hit within a chord that is played takes a bit of time on the "programming side" and quickly switching between some complicated chords (and strum/picking) style patterns takes actual dedication to learning the instrument. To me, tools like this are aimed a little more directly at the non-keyboard players that still want to get some of those parts down, or the experienced keyboard players that want to better simulate guitar parts. I think the Youtuber's I watched fall into the latter that rave about it. The "guitar voicings" with picking patterns certainly gives a feel that from a keyboard player perspective is more difficult to pull off. Those of us that have played guitar for 20+ years, sit here and think, well it doesn't sound that authentic and wouldn't that be easy to play on guitar? That is the crux of a plugin like this, to assist in an area where one's skill might lack in a area. For me, I likely don't have a lot to gain from the guitar voicing piece, but do have something to gain from the Keyboard voicing and chord + action programming. Will see how that works out when I actually invest time with it. Just as I use EZ Keys on occasion to work out an idea from a different perspective. It is easy to fall into ruts when you play an instrument (such as guitar) for a long time and nothing feels new or interesting.

I've had problem after problem with Waves authorization. However, if you upgrade that often, I'd think you would have the deauthorization process that many manufacture's require down to a science. It isn't just WAVES that requires deauthorization to keep your license intact with hardware changes. And yes, I think it is annoying. As for the once a year recovery, I'm wondering/betting on the fact that you would have to be WUP'd for them to give you the time of day. I had one plugin that was stuck on v9 which should have kept working along my v10 ones, but it didn't and the only way they would provide assistance was if I WUP'd that one. So the notion they will continue to work, is false.

Welcome! I've paid hundreds for Sonar over the years with the standard package and upgrades. It is full featured and well thought out. It is amazing Bandlab bought the program and released it for free to the world. It was (and is) my DAW of choice even with money as no object. I personally think you are right on the money that the Chord Track concept is the primary feature that is lacking to draw in more users. However, I think the changing the key on the fly function is far less needed than the basic idea of having a compositional tool that doesn't rely on the user's ablity to play a midi-keyboard or analog instrument to get basic song ideas and structures down. That is what is needed (in my opinion) to bridge the gap for the entry level music creator and a fully professional DAW (which Cakewalk is). This tool would also be valuable to intermediate - and even advanced musicians.

Back in the Gibson owned days I always had the grandiose idea of Using Reason as a rewire plugin in Sonar. However, the reality was the few times I tried it always felt clunky and the synths I had with Reason at the time really sounded more dated than I remembered them being. With so many good (free and cheap options) that can work as a VSTi within Cakewalk, I ended up moving on. That being said, I do not have the latest and greatest full blown Reason version. The general concept is a good one and I'd imagine Craig has a workflow that is much improved on my own personal experiment with it. I did not realize Reason removed Rewire on the recent "lite" versions. I think I bought 8 to get the functionality in the 64 bit environment. Previously I was using an old, but full blown version in 32bit land. After moving strictly to 64 bit, I got the lite version to see if the concept would work for me. As noted above, it didn't seem like it was worth the hassle and I never liked the idea of basically the recource hog of effectivly running two DAWs at the same time. (Did not run tests to determine how much that idea is rooted in reality)...perhpas another area Craig could shed some light on. I even have an unopened Reason Essentails box that should be in the Rewire era. Bought two at the time given I work in multiple environments (and didn't want to have to rely on the included Reason dongle. (note I bought lifetime updates with Sonar, so I had more in the box synths than the current free Cakewalk offers currently).

I don't think you would have lasted a week there. The "deals" are not good enough and the bottom floor they let the customer service reps can work with do not get agressive enough. You would have spent your day pointing customers to better sales. Think about how many times you have posted a "sweetwater" related deal..... ?

I'm not convinced that is the only reason. Selling hundreds at $30 to people that would never ever even consider a $200 single plugin also adds up fast. I think they did enough reseach to figure out what the market really is these days.

Spitfire Audio LABS https://www.spitfireaudio.com/labs/

Love Boz's stuff and the Sidewinder I think was my introduction. I used that all the time. However, when Izotope came out of the free Imager, I found that became my go-to and Sidewinder the backup. Both are excellent.

Exactly. Anything goes in this sub forum (within the rules), but I expect the other places to be on-topic.

I'd agree the MEqualizer is very feature rich for a free EQ. I didn't find the interface to be as welcoming but see value in using it for more surgical and unique tasks. The Pro-Channel is straight forward and easy to dial in without a lot of clutter and its place in the PC adds extra value. MEqualizer would be my suggestion though if I was using any other DAW, excellent addtion to the thread.

PC EQ beats any free EQ I've ever seen. Both ReMatrix and B-Reverb are top notch Tape, Channel Emulation good (but expensive alternatives sound better, IMO) The compressor is ok, but a number of Paid compressors I'd argue are a noticeable improvement (if for nothing else versatility). Pro-Channel as a whole is fantastic and can easily produce pro quality results in the right hands. I'd love to see more effects and options added as the format certainly beats VST windows.

Not related to the product itself, so I think not "Provide feedback on features, ideas and requests for future releases of Cakewalk by BandLab"

Have access to the real thing this is modeled/sampled. Demo sounds pretty good for those that don't have the access or need the editing functions that Midi can provide. For the demo songs, oddly enough the bass is a little low in the mix, IMO.

The amount of threads not related to "Discussion focused on all things related to Cakewalk by BandLab software, the DAW formerly known as SONAR Platinum" are getting out of hand. I've even posted within a few of them, but wondder at what point I should be posting the "this is the wrong forum" instead of providing advise and direction.

All 7 of mine say 2 activations and there does not appear to be an option to deactivate On-Line. Yes, you can deactivate on a working machine, but the point being if that machine does down, there is not option to then free up that seat via the portal (from what I see). Thus you lose a seat if your HD fails, unlike many other plugin providers. I do recall a long time ago that ilok would let you lose and replace your dongle liscence once a year at a max, but I'm not sure if that applies to the local authorization as well.

I think we disagree on what "effectively drive" means. Will you hear sound that comes out? Yes. Will that sound be as rich sounding as it would with something of the same fidelity but drives it better? Nope, it won't. Thus they are not a good match. 250 ohms is too high for the way that particular interface is designed.

I'd like to think there are far more than 1K users (the number in that poll) ? My point is I think many of those that voted don't even know what they are talking about. I'm a heavy "audio" user, but I also realize that Cakewalk doesn't have a whole lot they could develop there, so what would be the point voting for that? So few people use Standard Notation in an digital enviroment, I understand why it wouldn't get much attention. Both MIDI and Audio are at the forefront of modern prodcution and the tools to make composition easiser/better seems like low hanging fruit for a company that wants to make music production accessable to all. A great composition has universal appeal, "technical" improvements to audio editing - seems like things that are unnecesary considering the tools we have now. Is it concerning to me that the majority of users don't understand what is of value in music production? Maybe a little bit. ?

I had not seen that. Good call. Though it seems interesting to me that the community that did vote put Audio Editing development as #1. Outside of something like Spectral Editing, note quite sure where I expect Cakewalk to go with that one. There just isn't that much more that is out there (considering effects such as noise reduction, is a seperate catergory). Glancing through a number of comments on the subject, I'm not sure all of the users understand the scope of what that audio editing catergory would encompas. I'll also note that the vast majority of music production doesn't need better technical mixing, it needs better music and composition. Most people don't seem to grasp that is the real improvement they need to make the music actually matter. The technical tools we have are so far beyond what was used to record long term impactful recordings. The challenge is far more a creative one than a technical one with what we have at our disposal.

Right most permit 2-3 authorizaitons. However, iLok in theory you don't get that "lost authorization" back if the HD fails since there is no on-line deauthorizatoin available like other providers offer (XLN Audio is one example). I personally use 2-3 authorizations in my environment, thus losing an authorization outright equals a decision to either pay for more or switch to a provider without such problems. Thus why I tend to never use iLok applications unless I feel there is a real need to, and that is fairly rare.

+1 what Cakewalk offers is plenty for the future already. The only thing I'd really like to see is some simple arrangement "chord" type of tool built into the interface. Would be helpful to see, create chords and song structure in an easy to setup and with a sizable view. This kind of thing (Kind of Like EZ Keys) is harder to work with as an "external" tool. I think this would also help bridge the gap for newer composers. Not needed of course, but is one of the view things I could see as a real value add to the way the whole tool could be used.

True, but last I checked I was thinking the "local" ilok manager requires deactivation from the PC. So if that HD fails for some reason, you just lost hundreds, or thousands worth of virtual gear. And yes, I can't see any possible scenario where I'd pay for a Slate like system. You can't resale Slate either??

Word of warning my black official Senn headphone bag....black rubs off on the Cream headband of the 598s. I baby my headphones and they basically look abused b/c of that bag. I also imagine this might be the reason for the color change on the 599 headband.

I only have about 6-7 of the smaller Soundtoys plugs but the Bozbplugs I have get used on every single project. Soundtoys sound great but seem like the every now and then use for the ones I have. I also never use an ilok plug if I have an equal with a more liberal authorization process. Mongoose, Pan, T-bone, manic Comp Clipper, delay, Sasquatch, gate all are go tos when the effect is needed.

I'd look for a lower rating. You won't have the output the phones are capable of using 250 Ohms headphones with it. They would benefit from adding an amp to the stage. With a much lower rating an amp wouldn't be necessary at all.

A friend bought a pair and we did side by side testing with my 600 and 650s. All 3 were a little different. They are not made down to the "t" the same. Excellent headphones, no question about that. Not sure how well they do with resale haven't tracked that. The 600s or 650s are more relaxed, like sitting farther away. The 590s series are more upfront. While the drop phones are a good value compared to the 650s, they are still quite a bit more expensive than the 599s which I prefer and I've done a few listening sessions in a studio with friends and I'm not alone. I like 600s for classical recordings, but tend to prefer 590s for just about everything else.