bitflipper

Unfortunately, I no longer have either Rapture or Dim Pro installed, so I can't check. But both are quite popular, so I've no doubt somebody will come along to answer your question. You might have a problem, given that those are sample players rather than synthesizers. As a general rule, samplers don't handle pitch as well as true synths because they're reading back prerecorded content rather than generating tones on the fly. Consequently, shifting a sample's pitch more than a couple semitones tends to sound funny.

Let's not forget that so many of our favorite records from decades past were EQ'd solely on a console channel strip with just bass, mid and treble knobs. So yeh, knowing what you're doing is way more important than what tools you use to do it.

To answer the first part of the original question, the ProChannel EQ is as good as or better than any free equalizer. It is also as good or better than many paid EQs. Even if later on you decide to spend money on a high-end EQ, having first learned the process using what you already have you'll be a better-informed consumer and might prevent future buyer's remorse. You're taking the right attitude about learning about EQs first. It's a far deeper subject than simply discussing EQ features or comparing different products. I'd suggest some of Dan Worrall's FabFilter tutorials. Most of what he explains is applicable to any EQ.

Pitch bend data is just a number, like any other MIDI data. The only difference is the resolution, because pitch bend is 16-bit data and can therefore offer 16384 different values rather than the usual 128. But it's entirely up to the instrument as to what pitch wheel data actually does. As noted above, most (almost all) instruments present the maximum pitch bend as a user-selectable parameter. Some let you automate it, so the amount of bend can change during a song. If you tell us specifically which synth you're using, I'm sure someone here has used it and can tell you how to configure it the way you want.

That's boring. Wait a minute, lemme light this bong and warm up the lava lamp... Dude! That sh*t's f*ckin' amazing.

Did you install the VST2 or VST3 version, and did you run the VST scanner utility afterward? Any time you install a new plugin, the DAW has to then discover it before you can use it. That's what the scanner does. It looks everywhere that a VST might be (you have to tell it what folders you keep VSTs in) and adds any new ones to the list. I usually invoke the scanner from the Plugin Manager (Utilities -> Cakewalk Plugin Manager). Alternatively, you can run it from the Preferences dialog, which offers more options but essentially does the same thing. If you've already done that (you may have Cakewalk configured to do it automatically every time you start it up) and the plugin(s) still don't show up, it may be that the scanner isn't looking in the right places. That's why I asked about VST2 vs. VST3, as the latter always stores files in the same place, whereas with the former they can go anywhere. So if you installed VST2, and the installer put it into a folder that's not included in the list of places the scanner looks, you'll have to add that location to the list and re-scan. Sounds complicated, I know. But it'll quickly become second-nature once you've caught the notorious G.A.S. bug and start installing new plugins every other day! (G.A.S. = Gear Acquisition Syndrome, the obsessive compulsion to keep buying more and more plugins, or guitars, or whatever.)

My band actually covers "Country Roads" - with a sax solo. And this is exactly how we keep him motivated.

Someone once told me I had great piano chops. At the time, I took it as a compliment. Now I'm not sure. I still have confidence in my pork chops, though. Barbequed over mesquite, mmm.

So I went to the website to try and find out what the product actually is, and right at the top there's a button labeled "What is an Orchestration Recipe?". Wow, like he was reading my mind. But if you click there you get the same video Mathew posted above. Fortunately, there is more explanation to be had there. Each recipe is a video + text tutorial with MIDI files and notation for how to achieve some common orchestral technique. Great idea, actually. (Could have saved me thousands of hours (no, more like 69 years) of closely listening to orchestral music! Nobody got time for that, right? J/K!) The tutorials are as generic as possible, as he doesn't talk about specific libraries or DAWs. Which is good. You could in fact do these lessons using nothing more than Cakewalk and the TTS-1. (OK, the choirs would sound pretty lame, but you could do it.) I watched the first video, and I gotta say it again: it's a great idea. Brilliant, in fact, and I'm surprised no one has thought of this before. I think if you're new to orchestration it would be a great way to fast-track the learning curve. Even if you're an old hand at this stuff, you'll likely still come away inspired to add some of these techniques to your arsenal. I know I did.

I'm still not sure what the product is, but golly, what a great marketing video! Now I really want that "Finely Chopped Piano".

CC11 and CC7 are both defined as volume controls. The MIDI spec does spell it out clearly, but instrument developers often stray from the official spec in order to suit the dynamics of a particular instrument. Some want CC11 to have a dramatic effect, some want it to be subtle. Others completely ignore CC11. I've seen these controllers implemented in three different ways: CC7 is a full volume control where 0 is silence and 127 is maximum volume, and it's the only volume controller CC11 replaces CC7 and works exactly as above (Most common) CC7 and CC11 are additive. Sometimes CC11 will be scaled, serving as a fine volume control with less effect on volume than CC7 . This is common with orchestral libraries, where CC11 is intended to be used for swells and decrescendos. It's also useful to note that usually, CC11's effect is to lower volume, i.e. CC11 cannot make it louder than CC7 says it should be, only quieter. That means CC11 at zero might result in silence. However, I have instruments where CC11 only makes small adjustments to volume and cannot silence the instrument completely, in which case forgetting to set CC11 merely results in a quieter - not silent - instrument. I was unaware that TTS-1 used Expression this way (ya learn something new every day if you're lucky!), because I usually automate volume on the audio track, only automating CC11 on certain Kontakt string and orchestral libraries.

50 bucks is about right. Like most of their products, it's built around an elaborate step sequencer. I haven't used this particular product, but I'm familiar with others such as Cinematic Guitars Motion and can say that they are definitely fun to play around with. Atmospheres appears to be more pad-oriented than the other CG products.

To reverse the phase on a ribbon mic, you just have to turn it around.

Volume automation will always work on the audio track, but there are legitimate reasons why someone might want to do the automation in MIDI instead. How I'm reading the OP is that there are two instruments that aren't responding to CC7. I can think of a couple scenarios where that might happen. Most likely is that the instrument is designed to use CC11 rather than CC7 for volume. I have a several Kontakt instruments that work that way. Some of them won't even make any sound at all until you put in at least one CC11 event. A less-likely scenario is that CC7 has been reassigned, either by design or by accident. And of course there's always the possibility that automation has been inadvertently disabled on those tracks (make sure the Automation Read button is lit).

In theory, MP3 encoding (or, more specifically the steep low-pass filters it employs) can cause peaks to increase by up to +3dB. Therefore, you'd have to limit to -3 dB true peak to be perfectly safe. Even then, streaming platforms may still raise the overall level if your average RMS is below their recommendation. So if YouTube says -14 dB and yours comes in at -20 dB, they'll raise it up by 6 dB or thereabouts - including your carefully limited peaks, which will then have to be limited again by their algorithm. The end result may not be what you'd have preferred. That said, I limit to -1 dB. It doesn't guarantee absolute protection from overs, but it's conservative enough that any clipping will be probably short enough in duration to slip by unnoticed.

Had to throw in my favorite Filipino band, Fuseboxx. Props for playing keyboards, Chapman stick and singing at the same time!

And of course, my favorite Asian country hasn't been slacking, either. Sorry, it's in Taglish and no subtitles, but I think you'll get the gist.

Love this stuff. When I was 4 years old, my father spent time in Japan and brought me back some interesting gifts. My favorite was a stack of 78 RPM Japanese pop records. Something about how they blended traditional techniques with European classical sensibilities really resonated with my toddler brain. Good to see they're still doing that.

I love Sample Logic. Their products aren't clones of anybody else's stuff, and always high-quality. But sheesh, they need to get a grip on reality when it comes to pricing. As good as they are, these libraries are primarily ear candy, not the must-have bread 'n butter instruments that people are willing to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for.

I wouldn't worry about having the same sonic imprint on every track. It just doesn't have an identifiable character, being transparent like all FF products. That's what I like about them: they do exactly what you tell them to do, no more and no less.

And yeh, Q3 is the best place to start. I've got everything except the de-esser, but it's the EQ that gets plopped onto every track.

You're still West of the Netherlands, so the accolade remains geographically relevant.

I don't know how many times I've thought "Sul Ponticello would be just the ticket here!". Then I'd think "what the hell is Sul Ponticello, anyway? Larry, the advantage of JB over Friedlander appears to be that the former has this nifty "intuitive" mode that apparently inserts articulations automatically based on things like note length, overlap, and intervals.

The "Essential" version gives you half the articulations (but the most useful ones are still in there) for just 50 bucks. Granted, not everybody needs a solo violin, but I've found that subtly adding one atop a string ensemble really brings out the definition, regardless of the context. If I wasn't already covered for solo violin, I'd jump on this. The ones that I have aren't nearly as good, but I can't justify adding another one. To fight off the GAS, I had to take TUMS (Twice the Usual Modicum of Self control) for this one.