mettelus

Also bear in mind you do not need to limit yourself to one track to create a riff similar. With unlimited tracks available, take advantage of those (and you can keep them separate till the end or even bounce them to a new track to create a loop as desired). The pads may also be layered, a portion of it replicated a vocal chorus for "Mmmm," but you can also tweak pads to be similar. Some synths allow for multiple sound layers, so that tweak is simpler with one of those synths if trying to replicate in "one track." Being new, the two things to focus on most with a synth are "Cutoff" (a steep low-pass filter), and "Resonance" (akin to the frequency range that gets focus). If you play with synth presets (best way to start learning), focus on Cutoff/Resonance first, then tweak extreme values of other parameters to hear what they do. The LFO and modulators can get immensely complex, so play with those, but back burner the idea of setting them up "from scratch" till you understand them better (they can get so complex they will make your head spin). The stutter portions require setting those up (in a one-track scenario), but you can also achieve similar by a loop on a separate track and adjust the pitch on it to follow the chord progression. I noticed you have a lot of Melda plugins... do you also have any of their instruments (like MSoundFactory or MPowerSynth)? MSoundFactory in particular has quite a few patches with layered sound inputs to play with that can get close relatively fast (focus on pad presets and once you find one "close enough" you can tweak that into a better fit). When you want to delve into the detail of modulators, search for some YouTube videos on that. Melda products in particular have a very powerful set of modulators built into (almost) everything (call "MParameters"). Although there is not a lot of quick and dirty documentation on them, there are several tutorials on their website on how to set them up.

There are a handful of VSTs that process effects (especially inserting noise) even without the transport running, so I am more inclined to think that was an FX on the synth's internal rack rather than the synth itself. iZotope's Vinyl is another such VST to be aware of.

Take Melodyne out of the FX bin, then select the portion of the clip you want to edit and choose "Create Region FX" from the screenshot above. If you put Melodyne in the FX bin you completely bypass its ARA functionality, which is its biggest feature. When finished editing, Bounce to Clip(s) as mentioned above.

You want to direct monitor as close to the source as possible (i.e., the headphones out on the TD-27 itself when tracking), and disable input echo (and even mute) the tracks in the DAW. Stupid side note here but need to state it... there is sometimes a vast difference between tracking and post-production (just listen to some raw stems of production work). Even simple FX can add latency... the point of tracking is not to hear the "final product" but to capture the performance (just need to capture the (raw) audio from the kit that will feed post-production).

Neither of those files image since they are not required to make Windows run, but when the image ended up being less than half the "consumed space" of the drive it made me wonder. I totally blew off Windows updates resetting features so I brought that one on myself. I just wanted to bring this up because creating/updating the hibernation file itself is totally wasted resources if you have hibernation disabled.

Another side thought to keep in mind is the return window for the HA400 if still active. One-off issues with electronics will typically occur very early on during regular usage, so if that window is still open you may also have return/replace or outright return as an option if you cannot close the loop on this. As mentioned early on, a common power strip for all devices that steps down 230 to 115 would be worth trying if you have one available (or could borrow one to test). I *think* everything you mentioned can be run off 115, but not sure.

This is worth mentioning, since these two files consume memory and can make driver issues persist on reboot. The Windows Hibernation File (hiberfil.sys) is used to capture current state of the machine in order to essentially "shutdown" and return to its current state. Because this has often had issues with DAWs, it has always been recommended not to have your computer hibernate, but that does NOT remove the file or keep it from rebuilding itself in the background. I just did an image and had a WTF moment, since that file was 43.5GB! That file is hidden from view on the main C drive, but you can either show protected files to see it in Windows Explorer, or use a utility like TreeSize Free (recommended). If you never use it (which is recommended), in order to delete it and make it not rebuild itself, here is a nice article on how to do that. Win10 and Win11 are identical, and is a simple command prompt (directions to re-enable it are also there if desired). The Windows Paging File (pagefile.sys) acts akin to virtual RAM on the hard drive (also in the main C root directory). On warm boots (restarts) this can reload RAM quickly but has the caveat of "carrying things forward." Even on a cold boot (shut down, then power on), this can stay resident for the same purpose. Unless forced to be purged on a shutdown, it can carry driver issues forward (and also things you might not want in RAM). This article goes through how to force the Paging File to purge on each shutdown. Again Win10 and Win11 are identical and editing the Group Policy is the preferred method (if on Pro), but it also includes the registry edit method. Again, this also shows how to re-enable it if so inclined.

This actually adds to potential issues, since you are also running at 230VAC there, correct? If those adapters are not specifically designed for 220VAC, the adapter you are using to bridge the wall wart to the outlet is critical (not sure how you are plugging them in?). Even some gear with a 115/230 switch may still be designed for 115, so the wall wart transformer is humping to deal with a 230VAC feed (can you feel/hear the transformer hum on the HA400 adapter?). IF that gear wants 115, you definitely want an intermediate power strip solution that is designed to step that down 230 to 115 (and "power condition" as well). I suspect more the HA400 is the culprit if you can replicate the hum with the laptop on the battery. That might be worth reaching out to Behringer about, since you may be lucky to get a design engineer involved.

If creating a riff for a backing track, @sjoens solution would probably be simplest. It may be easier to just initially set it up as a 6-string track, duplicate it and move the lower 4 strings up an octave on that duplicated track. To the VST, they will just play higher, and is should sound fine. You may actually need 3 tracks and isolate only the bottom 4 strings for the duplicate, because a VST won't play 2 notes on the same string once raised an octave (they will conflict with the upper two strings). The only "realism" lacking with that is the low register... i.e., AmpleSound (and others) will play the low E through F# on the D string, which is wound... everything above the low F# will play on an unwound string, which will replicate the 12-string more accurately.

This could be the adapter(s) interfering with each other, but may also be a shielding issue with the laptop internals (pretty rare case). Do both adapters have ferrite beads on them? Again, all cables are antennas and can transmit as well as receive interference if not properly shielded. Another thing to try to test that specifically is to get the wiring from those two adapters as perpendicular to each other as possible (even if coiled up, this gives the lowest interference... same as a single coil guitar pickup in front of an old CRT monitor), or even play with the wiring orientation while monitoring the hum so see if close proximity in parallel makes the hum louder. If those adapters are feeding off each other, also bear in mind the HA400 may have the weaker shielding (i.e., the bigger transmitter)... the diameter of the outside of the cabling is a sometimes an indicator of how much shielding is on a cable. Ferrite beads can help mitigate interference issues with cabling, but they are not always 100%. Is that hum also getting into the DAW if you record (or input echo) something? If so, you can put something like Voxengo's SPAN on the signal and instantly see what it looks like (as well as how loud it is when moving wiring around). AC hums are going to have a dominant hum at 50/60Hz (depending where you live) and probably a tail of harmonics/partials on them.

Another SSD would be simpler, BUT.... IIRC that MB will only support 2 drives running at SATA 3 speeds, so extras would run at SATA 2 only. Some of the PCI slots also share bandwidth with others, so the more you plug in, the less throughput you get. Is replacing an existing SATA 3 drive with a bigger one an option?

This is a good question. You need to update the group policy in Windows (Pro) to prevent updates, but every so often you get a release of something that requires the latest build. I had Windows locked out for a couple of years, but then installed software requiring 22H2. Because I had locked it out on 20H2, I actually had to force the update because Windows Update would fail out (not a big deal, but Windows wouldn't update itself at that point). It really boils down to an installer requiring X build (although a lot less common than in the Mac world, it does exist).

Although, it is an option if you are facing several hours of intense boredom and suddenly wonder, "Just how could I fill up the remaining space on my sample drive?"

Windows also needs to match the sample rate that Cakewalk is trying to use (Cakewalk cannot override what Windows tells it). Open Sound Settings->Sound Control Panel (upper right), and in that next pop up select your device and then the "Properties" button. The next pop up has an "Advanced" tab at the top... click that and be sure the bit depth/bit rate match what you were trying in your Cakewalk project (24/44.1K, and 24/48K are most common). Also, while in there, uncheck both options in the "Exclusive Mode" box right below where you selected the bit depth/sample rate. *IF* you have that device set for default playback, Windows will not only lock bit depth/sample rate on you, but also give the first app that uses it exclusive use... be sure those are unchecked.

Also check proximity to any digital/electrical interference (any powered equipment not necessarily "connected" but in close proximity, particularly a cell phone). The USB cable itself is an antenna, so interference may be getting through the shielding. If you do not use that USB port often, it may also be a dirty connection (this one is uncommon). That will typically clean itself by plugging/unplugging the port several times, but I would do that with the equipment unpowered (since USB can carry power itself and not good practice to cycle a live connection). The AC adapters may also be feeding each other being in close proximity, so a quick check of unplugging the laptop and running it on the battery may also shed light on the source of the issue.