bitflipper

Yes, there are music sites that offer 96 KHz and even 192 KHz wave files - for a premium price. It's a scam that unethically takes advantage of consumer ignorance. Given that the material was in all likelihood simply upsampled from the original source, whatever perceived benefit from the higher sample rate couldn't possibly be in there. You're paying for the placebo effect.

I haven't seen this before, where all settings on all synths are lost after unfreezing. I have, however, seen it many times with specific synthesizers. And after moving a project to another machine. Since then, I make a habit of saving a preset with the same name as the project. That's a surefire safeguard, and also makes it easier to find previously-created favorites for re-use in new projects. I just tried unfreezing a soft synth to make sure it wasn't a new bug. Good news is that it isn't. Sorry, that's all I can offer for now.

Have you made any hardware changes to your system? Amplitube's license is tied to your hardware configuration and has to be re-licensed if you change the motherboard or network card. Run the scan with the debug log enabled. It may yield a clue as to why it failed.

You would have to convert every file in your project to 96kHz, import it into a new project and re-mix. Most likely to no benefit. The only good reason to convert on export is if you'll be sending the files to a third party who has specifically requested 96k.

Start with Matt's advice, as it's always the first step and often solves the issue. However, there are many potential reasons for dropouts, clicks and pops. Wifi adapters, for instance, are notorious for eating CPU cycles and should be disabled during audio sessions. Kontakt alone has its own extensive set of issues and solutions, but mostly it's just very resource-hungry (CPU, RAM and disk I/O). For example, 8GB should be plenty but some Kontakt libraries gobble up more than 2GB per instance and it's not impossible to run out of memory and start paging. So try increasing the buffers first, then report back if that didn't resolve the problem.

The BSOD message should include the name of the driver that raised the error. That could be an important clue. It could be any device driver, not necessarily audio-related.

Even if I could reschedule, there's no way to predict earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. More eruptions are predicted, perhaps a Mt. St. Helens-style explosion. Anyhow it's a non-refundable ticket that I got through a promotion from Asiana Airlines that knocked $600 off the usual fare. The good news is we won't be going in the direction of the volcano this trip. Bad news it's only 60 km from the airport, and the ash cloud is so huge it's dusting Singapore. More bad news: they just had a series of earthquakes today up in our neighborhood in the north. There could well be some excitement. I visited the Philippines in 1992, just after the big Mt. Pinatubo eruption. I will never forget the shocking scenes of desolation I saw. No hyperbole, it looked like frickin' Mordor. Gray ash everywhere, up to 80 feet deep. Entire towns completely erased. The highway had been obliterated so we had to navigate with the help of locals with flashlights along the path. Felt like we were navigating the Sahara with no landmarks, bridges or signs. It was the most surreal experience I've ever had that didn't involve psychedelics. My best friend - we've been playing music together since we were 18 - is coming along this trip. Well, he wanted an adventure. Looks like he may get it.

I am headed there in two weeks. Will pack some surgical masks...assuming the airport is still open and we don't get stuck in Seoul.

Same here. I ignored the band for decades. I thought of them as something the kids listen to. What little I had heard on the radio (e.g. Tom Sawyer) I found grating. What brought me around was a documentary about them called Beyond the Lighted Stage (which might still be on Netflix). I had no interest in seeing where they went to grade school, but the film featured some music segments that impressed me. So I came here to the Coffee House and asked around. Which of the 20-some albums were the must-haves? I ended up buying 6 of them, and love them. Especially Snakes and Arrows, which Rush fans always list among their least-favorites. Neil inspired more than one generation of drummers. And good as he was, they guy continued to take drum lessons. He made a series of video tutorials on drumming, which I found helpful even though I'm not a drummer. They helped me fake sampled drums better. Rolling Stone magazine named Neil the worst rock lyricist in the world. I guess we know now why Rolling Stone is no longer relevant. He was a great lyricist.

The good news is that it probably hasn't anything to do with the upgrade. "Static" is often used for many meanings, so it's not a particularly helpful description. Do you hear garbled playback, or a steady hiss? Are you using WASAPI or ASIO, and what are your buffer sizes?

Here's the bit you're missing: create a tempo map after the fact. Then you can then edit tempo changes if you like. Speed sections up or slow them down, change the entire song tempo, smooth transitions, whatever you want. Designate one track as the tempo master, since multiple tracks recorded freehand may not be in sync.

I was skeptical. After all, big-attack bass tones are bread-and-butter to anyone able to program and layer synthesizers. But after listening to the demos I have to concede that some users will find enough value in there to justify the $44 price.

I'm still waiting to come across that irresistible product that requires an iLok and thus prompts me to get one. Haven't found one yet. What was it for you?

The version of Cakewalk is probably not relevant, as it's not the DAW's job to discover audio devices; that's Windows' responsibility. If the DAW can't see the device, it's because Windows cannot see it. Actually, Windows doesn't look for devices but rather for device drivers. Your problem is therefore most likely a driver issue -- unless it's faulty hardware, anyway. Has this interface been used successfully on this machine in the past? If you can use it to listen to music or watch movies on this computer, then you can assume that the hardware and USB port are functioning properly. (Note that I am assuming you use this audio interface for all audio, not just with Cakewalk.) If you've never used this interface with this computer before, then I'd suggest going to the manufacturer's website and downloading its ASIO driver. (Re-)installing the driver may solve your problem.

If your project hangs every time, the folks at CW would be able to tell you why if they had a copy of it. Unfortunately, most hangs are nearly impossible to diagnose unless they can be reproduced consistently. Most are intermittent. If the project came up OK in SPlat, it could well have been purely coincidental. Most end up being hardware- or driver-related or the result of software conflicts and are rarely directly caused by the DAW itself. That said, a couple days ago I experienced my first hang in many years. I did not report it because I had no idea what I'd done to trigger it. But it was definitely a hang and not just a slow process - I let it run overnight to be sure, fearing a corrupt project if I forced-closed the application. Fortunately, the project was not corrupted and loaded up fine the next day.

Take if from me: once you've gone Asian, there's no going back.

Been watching music videos all morning...this one was particularly hypnotic. What a unique combination of musicianship, athleticism and dance. Makes me want to pull up that taiko library and do something creative with it.

I really like the sound of the bass trombone. Add in 8 tubas and some euphonia (I think that's the plural of euphonium) and you've got Epic...

It was started by a bass player. He just wanted to convince his bandmates that this was how the instrument was supposed to sound. It has to be, because the guy at the music store tuned it for him when he bought it three years ago.

I don't drink. Or eat grapefruit. Both make me ill. No cannabis for me, either. At least, not today. As it was I ate so much I thought I'd burst. Had the munchies also been factored in, I would surely have eaten myself to death. Like the final scene in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

It's not a bug, it's a feature! Really. Some Kontakt instruments use the mod wheel to control volume, especially orchestral libraries but many others do it as well. That often confuses users when they first try out such a library. It even bites me now and then, even though after 15 years as a Kontakt user I should know by now that CC #1 is the first thing to check, right after verifying the MIDI and audio routing. The easiest way to insert a CC1 event is via the controller pane in the PRV. I'd recommend that method because now that you know what CC1 does for this instrument, the next step is to use it in the way it was meant to be used, and to start adding in some CC automation. It's fun, and it's how you make a faux instrument sound more realistic.

I prefer to have one master and multiple sub-busses, which achieves the same result. It's useful any time you want to apply an effect or automation to a subset of the full mix, such as running all instruments through a flanger for an Itchykoo Park type effect. Or to fade out some elements and not others. But to answer the question, your technique is perfectly legit and there is no real downside to it other than lacking a true "master" bus (for example, where will your mastering limiter go?).

I'm a fan of Rick Beato and Adam Neely's instructional videos. Adam is a gigging gun-for-hire and Rick is a longtime producer, so both are able to spice up dry theory with real-world experience. Here's an example...

They are similar and both sound great. The Sonuscore product is more sophisticated. It has more articulations, lots of presets plus some surprisingly useful arpeggiators. I'd suggest going with that one if you're really into orchestration. But if all you want are simple backing tracks for pop and rock tunes, ASO gets you there very quickly.

$119 through the 31st. This is a really good general-purpose orchestral library for those who are more casual orchestrators (no exotic articulations, just the basics). Even though I have big full-featured string and orchestral libraries, this one has become my go-to for easy pop string backgrounds and such. The strings sound very nice (both solo and ensemble), but it also has decent brass, percussion and woodwinds. Even has your basic aah choir. An affordable alternative to the big libraries.