bitflipper

Recopying the project files should fix your problem. Hopefully, you still have the old computer handy and aren't relying on an external drive to transfer the files. If that doesn't do the trick, rename the project folders (don't delete them) and recopy the project folders.

I like your attitude. Don't lose it by doing things the hard way. Using the virtual keyboard is very clunky - timing can be tough and it won't register velocity like a proper MIDI controller. Take Byron's advice and get yourself a keyboard controller. A very basic one can be had for 50 bucks. If you're going to be programming drums and you're not a keyboard player, spend a little more for one that has pressure pads, which are more intuitive to most people. You might have fun with something like this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LaunchK3mini--novation-launchkey-mini-mk3-keyboard-controller

I've found a way to keep my foot off the sustain pedal: play standing up. Can't play a four-hour gig standing on one foot. First determine if it's really the pedal that's causing the stuck notes. It's not the only reason for stuck notes. Open the PRV and the controller pane and select CC64. You'll easily see if there is a pedal-down event (CC value > 64) in there. If there are none, then it's probably not a problem with the pedal. (Gotta say "probably" because it's not impossible - but only if there is another MIDI track routed to the same instrument, which would be rare.)

Every DAW has to be told where to look for VST2 plugins. If one DAW finds it while another doesn't, it's just because the latter wasn't told where to look.

Plenty of bruises on my forehead from beating it against the proverbial wall. Not from anything music- or recording-related, though. Those hard-earned badges of honor came from trying to understand people, not technology.

I had a similar puzzle once. It turned out there was a duplicate clip buried behind the "real" one. That's why you need to examine the project - it could turn out to be something totally unexpected.

To be fair, you have to first be familiar with the concept of assigning different MIDI channels to key splits before you can even begin to look it up in the manual. In any endeavor, knowing what can be done is 90% of the process; figuring out how to do it is the easy part.

Try inserting the synth with just "MIDI Source" and "First Synth Audio Output" checked. See if that works. Dim Pro isn't actually a multi-timbral synth, but does allow layering. Are you trying to direct each layer to a separate track? I don't know if that's even possible, but it would be the only reason I can think of for using multiple mono audio outputs with this instrument.

What you'll need to do is go into the Launchkey's settings and find where it lets you assign different MIDI channels to the lower and upper portions. Any MIDI controller that supports splits should have that capability. You know what they say: when all else fails, read the manual.

That does indeed look like it could be a bug. Unfortunately, I was unable to duplicate it. I followed your (excellent!) video as closely as possible, first overlaying two clips and then muting one of them via the clip context menu. Then I bounced to a new track. The muted clip was not included in the bounce, having been ignored completely, as expected. Does it act the same way if you bounce to clips rather than to a new track? By that I mean select all clips, right-click on a clip and choose "Bounce to Clip(s)". Technically, it's the same as bouncing to another track except the new clip stays in the original track.

It's probably not a plugin, either. Easy way to check: create a new (empty) project and see if the noise is still there.

You can also CTL-drag plugins from one track's fx bin to another track to duplicate them.

^^^ This. Not an EW Play user here, either, but I assume it has a visual representation of the mod wheel in the UI, and that it is animated to reflect the value of either CC1 or CC11. If it's not moving, that would be a clue that the instrument isn't seeing mod wheel events. There may also be an expression slider that determines how the instrument responds to CC11. When it's all the way down, CC11 would be ignored. I don't know if this particular instrument offers that feature, but it is a common one with orchestral libraries. I'd guess it's probably not a MIDI channel problem, since the track does play, which indicates the notes are on the right channel. If you're putting CCs in manually via the PRV, they should automatically go on the same MIDI channel.

That pop is unavoidable when the audio's numerical value at the split point is anything other than zero, because otherwise you're telling Cakewalk to go from X to nothing in an instant. Speakers can't go from X to zero instantly, but they'll try to comply and move as fast as they can. That results in the pop you hear. It's the sound of your speakers being kneecapped. Ouch. The term "zero crossing" just means a point in the waveform where the sample value happens to be zero. It's called a "crossing" because unless the clip is silent that zero value occurs as the waveform is crossing from a positive to a negative value, or vice versa. Open Preferences (press "P") and scroll down to Customization -> Snap to Grid. There is a checkbox labeled "Snap to Nearest Audio Zero Crossings". Even if you don't have grid snap enabled generally, with this option selected you'll always select a zero crossing when splitting a clip. No more pops.

Could be a lot of things, unfortunately. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from a nearby appliance, for example. We'll need more clues in order to help. One thing it's definitely not is a Cakewalk bug.

^^^ Well, there ya go. gustabo saves the day! Sounds like Play's version of Kontakt's DSD preload buffer adjustment. It determines how hard your disk drive has to work to stream samples.

I have experienced similar problems in the past with various instruments. Not with EW Play, as that hasn't been part of my toolkit for a very long time. But it's not necessarily specific to any one instrument. It's a speed issue with streaming buffers and/or disk I/O (e.g. if you're short on RAM). Unfortunately it's probably not something a DAW can address. If Play has an option similar to Kontakt's preload buffer size setting, that might help (depends on whether the issue is slow disk I/O or too-little RAM). Easiest solution: turn off 64-bit processing. Trust me, you will not be able to hear any difference. But you'll be using half the memory. There are some instruments that just don't like fast bounce, but having to wait on a real-time bounce is annoying. Fortunately, in your case 32-bit processing apparently gives your system enough of a breather to mitigate the symptoms, so that's a better solution.

"I'll read the manual. Maybe she can make me a sandwich." Glad to see the return of humor to the genre, which has always suffered from taking itself too seriously.

Another tip: when you are hand-planting drum hits in the PRV, turn grid snap off. Some of them will be noticeably "off", and they can be nudged - using your ears, not the grid - to correct them. One more: if you must quantize something, make it the kick. You can't advance the snare unless it has something to advance relative to. A steady kick sets up the listener's expectations when anticipating the next beat, so that when the snare or ride cymbal doesn't exactly coincide with the kick it'll have the desired effect. And yes, as Cactus notes, you can "play" drums with nothing more than a drumstick and a microphone. Or even just your hands on the desk.

For your existing drum track, try this. In the PRV, click on the left pane to select every snare hit, and then hit Delete. Now record a new snare track and manually play along on your keyboard controller. Do it a few times and you'll gradually refine your timing to not only fit the song but to enhance it. Don't have a keyboard? Pick up something like this for fifty bucks. What I don't recommend is using your computer's keyboard as demonstrated in the video above, because timing isn't the only factor in humanization. Velocity is just as important. If deleting all your snare hits is too scary, mute them instead. That way, they'll still show up in the PRV as a guide but won't play.

The only thing guaranteed to make your drums sound just as fake as quantization is "humanization". Don't do it. Someday, some clever programmer will invent a smart humanization tool, but it doesn't exist at the moment. Inserting random timing swings does not make the rhythm more human. Yes, human drummers are naturally inconsistent compared to a PLL oscillator. But the variations are not random. A good drummer advances or retards hits in order to add excitement or to relax the groove. When hits don't land on the grid with microsecond resolution, it's for a musical purpose. A random number generator cannot do that. If you want more natural-sounding drums, and learning to play drums or enlisting a real drummer are not options, you can still enter MIDI data by hand. You don't have to be a keyboard player, either. Anybody can tap their fingers. Watch this for some inspiration (note: the presenter is not a keyboard player). Here's something similar but using Cakewalk and SI-Drums:

You're in luck. MMultiAnalyzer for 15 EUR at VSTBuzz. Time to check under the couch cushions for change!

Yeh, you're good. Noel was able to come up with a clever fix, and it works. And no, I don't have a magic formula to squeeze 16 instruments into one instance of Omnisphere. It's 8 tracks times 2 patches each = 16 patches.

Maybe you're thinking of the sidechain kludge that lets you show use multiple inputs of SPAN to display two tracks. It's a clunky kluge, though, and more trouble than it's worth, IMO. There are a number of products out there that do a much better job of this, and while not free they are fairly inexpensive. The best of those would be MMultiAnalyzer from Meldaproduction. It's $72 but periodically goes on sale for half that. Then there's the multi-channel version of SPAN, called SPAN Plus, for $45 and does 95% of what MMultiAnalyzer does. Both are very easy to use. Bluecat Audio's FreqAnalyst Multi is similar but adds a couple unique features for $99, and has been on sale in the past but less often than Melda's.

You're right, that really is worth a look. It would certainly be a time-saver for anyone who regularly mixes other peoples' tracks.