mettelus

+1 to the above, you will typically only see issues with power management on some "efficient" profile, or running on a laptop without it being plugged in. I only use desktops for connections, so cannot speak to the laptops much. As always, ground loops need to be considered. I am, however, more curious about how you got from there to here? Initially it seemed your setup was fine, but you wanted the ability to monitor FX. Is that still the case or has that expanded? Also, how many channels do you record in one go? I have a similar setup to yours that I use most often (AI->PA system), but record only 2 channels of audio at most (vox and guitar) in one go. Unless you are recording multiple channels, the SSL 18 might be extreme overkill, and that is in the same price range as the HELIX Floor. The reason that caught my eye is the HELIX Floor also has a single mic input, and can be set up to record DI and FX channels for both guitar and vocals. Again, that may be extreme overkill for your situation (just to monitor FX but not record them). I may have missed a post where you explained more what you are seeking.

His comment is accurate. The term "riding the fader" is another thing you might find interesting. Prior to compressors, engineers needed to manually adjust gain (real time) via faders alone. Compressors eased a lot of that need (and are one of the most used FX), but it is also important to understand compressors and their application. Rather than get a plugin the "does things for you," it is often far better to understand "common" tools and how to use them properly.

CyberPowerPC was probably the one you cannot recall... they also sell pre-made ones to brick-and-mortar stores. IIRC they have a monthly deal on things, so is worth monitoring their website and playing with build options (although they often only have a few CPU variants available). Overall, a "gaming" PC may be extreme overkill for a DAW, but the advantage to CyberPowerPC is you can dumb down things like graphics card and bump up RAM (or buy aftermarket). Dells and HPs often have proprietary hardware in them, so be careful of that (one HP laptop I saw even had the RAM soldered in, so it wasn't swappable/expandable). I got an i7-8700K from them 7 years ago and is still going. Noise is primarily from the fans (both case and GPU), but you can tweak those, and the GPU design is something to consider (a few are designed to blow air out the case like a jet engine rather than circulate air internally in the case). If you are using it as a DAW, the fans shouldn't be cycling hard. In general, most "gaming" PCs are focused on intense graphics, so have expensive GPUs and can be overclocked. Neither of these are required for use as a DAW, but the ability to add/remove hardware is a benefit for a desktop variant.

I think I sent you down a rabbit hole with the Control software. I just looked at a couple videos and the 18i20 doesn't seem to have any hardware FX with it (I bookmarked the video below where he stated this point blank). That pulls things back to either using FX on tracks in the DAW (if latency is tolerable), or using hardware FX on the mixer (if they are available).

Years ago I had a similar issue with the Staff View and one of the bakers posted the font used (for the SV note data) on the old forums. Font issues can easily arise if a person using an app doesn't have that exact font installed (Windows will choose the closest alternative it "thinks" applies; but may not fit, or even look remotely accurate in my case). Something the bakers would need to answer specifically is exactly which font is being used in these affected fields, so users seeing that issue can check to see if they have that font present on their computer (as it may not be).

That is a good point. I didn't realize the software changed over with 3rd gen, but the Control software is listed on the Focusrite download page for it. Another thing someone with that unit would have to speak to specifically is if DSP FX are included(?). The Saffire PRO 24 DSP unit I have (FireWire) specifically has "DSP" in the title because there is additional hardware in the box... I am not sure if the FX processing is available for other units that were made or not. As far as setup (and FX specifically), track FX used in CbB do not print during recording; so another option is to run FX in CbB, but I am not sure if that will introduce undue latency in your system (you want only minimal/CPU-light FX in play in CbB when tracking). Another more viable option (I am not familiar with your mixer), is that many mixers also include hardware FX (not the greatest, but often there... typically can choose 1 of 16 presets and have an FX dry/wet knob for each channel), so you can run the vocal output through a separate channel on the mixer that does have FX applied. Being on the output side, that will not be recorded, only monitored. You would need a specific output mix from the 18i20 that you only want the mixer FX applied to on that channel (e.g., vox only).

There is a really old video on how to set up MixControl that is nicely done. IIRC it was done using an 18i20. MixControl can be intimidating till you understand it so a tutorial video is highly recommended.

Doesn't the Scarlett also use MixControl software? I have the Saffire, and the routing in MixControl lets you set up various mixes (and has internal FX), so you can monitor/record mixes as you see fit. On a cell here, but Focusrite's download page shows a Scarlett MixControl for the 18i20. Have you tried that?

Depending on the caps used, the range of the tone knob might not have the same effect for sure. The bridge pickup specifically is located closer to the bridge node, so there is a higher concentration of harmonics (which will give more high end than the strings will see at the neck).

To expound on the above and give you terms you can Google for help. MIDI data (what you are using in the Piano Roll View (PRV)) is simply note data (essentially pitch, velocity (loudness), note on/off timing). MIDI is not audio, which is why MIDI files are so small. The most common method starting out is to insert a Simple Instrument Track (SIT) into a project, because the routing to connect the MIDI to the audio output (via a virtual/VST instrument, or VSTi) is done for you. "Input Echo" is another term to be familiar with, which lets you monitor live MIDI input even when not recording. The key thing for you is that MIDI is not audio... you will never hear it unless it is sent to an instrument to play it. For searching, things like "setting up a virtual instrument in Cakewalk" will focus on what you need to do. Below is a video that is referenced above for convenience.

We will see. I am still not sure if it will host/record audio tracks yet (making it more of a "full DAW") or how much functionality is embedded. Upside is that being a VST host, it "should" be lighter weight than a DAW so might be a simpler way to noodle with VSTis that don't have a stand-alone version with the added bonus that you can roll any work done into a DAW project later on.

All Overloud products you have registered show up immediately (and are available to download) by logging into your account at https://overloud.com/

The C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 directory is hard-coded for use. While some of the subfolders "can" be junctioned to another drive (I have done this with iZotope, but specifically at the subfolder level), the main VST3 directory cannot. Some apps are hard-coded to seek that directory specifically without junctions in place (e.g., Melodyne), so the main directory (and any VST3s in that main directory) must be left in place. If you want to go to the hassle for working with subdirectories, it may work with the Overloud subfolder, but you probably have other options to junction things on the C drive. To "fix" your issue that you are seeing, move everything back to the proper VST3 folder location. I use TreeSize Free to hunt down things on the C drive, and while the VST3 folder meets my "over 4GB" criteria, that one is best left alone. A new one I found after updating Windows was the the Windows Hibernation File is created and maintained even if you have it disabled (and resets on updates). Here is a post I made about that last month if interested. I work with various multimedia, and that file when I noticed it was taking up 20% of my drive.

Amplitube will accept MIDI input, so you can either use a MIDI controller/stomp box to assign program numbers (for live usage, via MIDI learn), or use a MIDI track to feed Amplitube with the program changes you want (this won't work for playing live, but will do what you are asking in the OP). In Cakewalk, after loading Amplitube, create a new MIDI track and have it output to Amplitube (if it doesn't have that option, be sure Amplitube is set to accept MIDI input.... click on drop down at the top of the Amplitube VST window where is says "VST2" (or "VST3") and select "Enable MIDI Input").

Another thing to ask is what version of "SCSI" it actually is. My hunch is that it is more likely a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drive if only 2 years old, so is not the parallel SCSI drives that we remember best (can tell by the connector on it). That link above has more information on both types if interested. I do not know of any parallel SCSI drives that are 4TB, but weirder things have happened (you can find 4TB SAS drives online, but not parallel SCSI). You may need to actually talk to the person that installed it to know exactly what it is.