bitflipper

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.

Anything helpful in the scan log? (Preferences -> VST Settings -> Generate Scan Log). Also make sure sandboxing is enabled (the checkbox immediately above Generate Scan Log). Hidden dialogs can be sneaky; Alt-TAB or Task Manager can sometimes reveal them when they're being especially devious.

This is it in a nutshell. Look around at the people you know or come into contact with regularly. How many of them would break your window and rip the TV off your wall? Probably very few, if any. Those that do are an aberration, a statistical anomaly. Which is what makes them newsworthy. Unfortunately, even a small number of miscreants can make a lot of trouble. Police say that arresting just one burglar will often result in a noticeable drop in local crime statistics. This Christmas, when burglaries historically go up, instead of leaving cookies for Santa, leave a syringe with a lethal dose of heroin on the kitchen counter. They get what they want and we depopulate the criminal community, it's win-win.

Interoptability challenges can be a nightmare for developers, including the legions of folks who make Windows itself. And it's been that way for as long as I've been in the business, a span that predates not only VSTs and DAWs but even Windows, TCP/IP and the World Wide Web. We take it for granted that you can watch Netflix on your phone or embed a picture of your cat in an email, but most users are unaware of the years of late night hair-pulling sessions and negotiations that ultimately birthed such technological miracles. A great many musicians and DAW users are also software creators. You'll find the makings of a band in any office full of coders (as evidenced by Mr. Borthwick, who is himself a great picker). Consequently, many Cakewalk users and forum participants are also propellerheads, geeks and bit-flippers. And across that particular subset of CbB users you will find unanimous respect for Cakewalk, its processes, and its dedication to quality. That should say something to the less-informed masses who continually whine about the most trivial bumps in the road. But sadly, it doesn't seem to.

He just shaved his head.

Same experience here, even though I did have serial numbers and receipts for at least two of the four items I spotted at the Lynnwood, WA Guitar Center. I naively thought they'd just hand them over. Nope. I asked the store manager if I could review their security footage, since they'd bought those items from the thieves and there are cameras above every register. They said sorry, they couldn't allow that because it's a privacy issue. They were worried about thieves' privacy! The local cops refused to even talk to me, since the store was not in the same city where the theft had taken place. Like fencing stolen property isn't a crime, too. Yeh. Useless.

An often-overlooked gem, I forget sometimes that I even have it. If you aren't familiar, GlissEQ is like a dynamic equalizer, but has its own internal logic that makes it sound different from all the other dynamic EQs I have. Even if you don't use the dynamics part, it's a great all-round EQ with one outstanding feature: the ability to show multiple tracks' spectra within its GUI. Great for complementary EQ.

I've done that. Carrying too many things under my arm at once, I dropped the drive on the pavement and it was toast. Couldn't even access it to run any diagnostics. It just sat there making clicking noises. When I replaced that drive, I also bought a sturdy carrying case and attached a lanyard so that whenever I'm over encumbered I can hang it around my neck. It was easier in the days when I just kept the backup drive connected to the computer all the time. Of course, that didn't work out too well, as it was stolen along with my computer. So now I keep the backup drive in the house or car. In a padded hardshell case. I also back up my most critical files on a laptop. But rather than trying to figure out which files are worthy of regular backups, I just got a big enough drive to hold the entire contents of all my hard drives - and let Acronis worry about what needs to be backed up. And yes, I do make a habit of compacting libraries, although I've been slacking off on that lately. As a consequence, my 1 TB sample drive is now 98% full. Thanks for reminding me.

Compression and automation. The former to raise the quiet bits while limiting the loud bits, but using gentle settings, e.g. 2:1 ratio. Mostly, though, use automation to level the overall volume changes. If you're happy with the mix and are mainly concerned with overall dynamics, put a volume envelope on the master bus. If you want to get tricky, you can automate the limiter instead, but that technique takes some time to master and Christmas is fast approaching, so the volume automation is probably your best quick 'n dirty approach.

I just save up all the little chewy candies that come in every Sweetwater shipment, then eat them until one finally grabs the foreign object. It's not always easy. Sometimes, it can take more than one bong hit before I can truly get the job done.

In the old forum, whenever I'd come across a memorable post I'd paste it into a text file. Got some doozies in there. But not a single entry has been gleaned from the new forum. Here's a reminder of how it used to be... And let's not forget this classic: We just don't see that sort of humor around here anymore, and I have to agree with Mike's assessment: "noice!", indeed. Fortunately, we still have Gearslutz for our daily doses of entertaining malarkey. Yes, I said "malarkey". Not a political endorsement.

Also, Keni, have you considered a GoFundMe page? I've never done that so I don't know how effective it is, but you've got a lot of friends here. I know I'd gladly throw something into the hat.

Nothing at all this year. Came close to clicking on Fabfilter Pro-R, but decided I didn't really need it. The only Black Friday purchase I made was a copy of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Video games: the anti-productivity marvel. I actually resented having to put the game on hold for Sunday's band rehearsal.

My burglary took me completely by surprise. Even if I had anticipated it, I don't think I would have been adequately prepared. For one thing, I couldn't even list all my stuff. Lots of little (but still expensive) items such as stompboxes, cables and software. So first step is to make a list. Create a spreadsheet that you can continually add to as you acquire new items or think of things you'd forgotten you had. Make sure you regularly back up that spreadsheet offsite, e.g. a thumb drive that you can stash in your car's glove box. In the list, note descriptions, price originally paid, serial numbers, model numbers and the date you acquired it. The insurance company will want all that information. When the cops arrive, they'll want that list, too, so keep a printed copy on hand because it's hard to think of everything when you're still in shock. Next, take photos of everything, front and back with a closeup of the serial number. Again, back those photos up in case the thieves make off with your computer and/or phone as well. Photos taken with you in the picture, e.g. at a gig or during a recording session, carry more weight than just a static photo because they lend proof that it's really your stuff. Assume the police will be little or no help. Theft is so rampant these days that they'll usually come right out and tell you that your gear is gone for good. Even if you find items at a music store or pawn shop, in most locales they are not obligated to give them back to you, even if you can prove ownership. So just let it go. In fact, the worst outcome if you are insured is that the police do recover your stuff, but after you've already been reimbursed by insurance. At that point you have to pay back the insurance company, and now you have duplicate gear. That means having to unload your old stuff on Craigslist, which could be complicated because all that stuff has been already been reported as stolen. My advice to Keni: think of it as being magically transported back to your 20's, a time when you also had nothing. Now you get to start over, this time with decades of wisdom to inform your choices about what's truly essential. Maybe that's a second-hand Chinese Strat copy and a no-name amp. What's important is that you still have the ability to make music - with two sticks if that's all you have - and that can't ever be stolen from you.

I'd have to test this to be sure, but my guess would be that the mono plugin is still forcing mono even though it's disabled. And no, not all plugins work the same way when mixing mono and stereo. Some are smarter than others. Some get downright flaky when you send the "wrong" interleave to them. When in doubt, if the vendor offers both mono and stereo versions, use whichever is appropriate for the track. In the case of a stereo effect such as ping-pong delay, it's best to set the track interleave to stereo, even though the audio itself is mono.