mettelus

The only real difference I have read is that the body on 339's resonates more focused on mid-range due to its smaller size. I have never played one, but that can be compensated with EQ. I have bought a few guitars online and as long at the bridge and truss rod are easily adjustable and you know how to set them up properly, they can save a lot of money. The electronics can be hit or miss (especially for the pots), so I always make the assumption I will need to replace electronics. That being said, the pots in the 335/339s are the biggest PITA to swap out (you literally want to run a few feet of heavy thread with the pot when you pull it so you can get the new one to feed back into place easily). The bridge pickup I typically replace, and I had one where the bridge was pot metal, so replaced that with a Wilkinson Locking Roller Bridge. It is about $100 more to replace all those parts. Tapping/dressing frets is another possibility, and the nut might need to be filed down (I have noticed the nuts are way high from some places for some reason, but posted a quick fix for that here (very bottom of that post)). All that said... besides the pots, another quirk with the 335s is that they are head-heavy, so want to floor dive when standing up. There are straps which have enough friction to counter this, or you can simply run a string to the peg side of the nut rather than use the neck joint strap mount with them.

Part of it is browser and real estate on mobiles. There are dev apps that will let you see desktop/mobile/tablet renderings side by side as changes are made, but not sure if you can edit in that environment for a canned package.

Please check what I said previously again. Rendering is what not to do if you have adjusted the tempo within Melodyne. That video snippet is only 40 seconds long and marked at those two steps. Adjusting tempo markers in Melodyne doesn't affect audio, so the render is simply passing the original audio to the tempo track rather than the edits you made.

Check out this video at roughly the 10:40-11:20 part. Melodyne doesn't "assign" the tempo to the file it is using until you switch out of Note Assignment Mode into another (Track Mode in the video). From there it is actually not rendered before dragging that RegionFX into the timeline (which basically copy/pastes the Melodyne info into the DAW). I have not tried this in CbB, but it should be the same mechanics as in the video.

Any driver reactivating itself is still present in the system. Windows does a sweep on driver directories and will "recover" them if present on the machine. Some are pests and reinstalled just by running the app they are associated with, others can be calls to msi files associated with them. The disabling option mentioned a few times now is the best method to resolve these. I have 6 or 7 audio drivers on my machine disabled (I only use 2). Installed or not, Windows is not going to use or expose drivers when disabled.

This has come up from time to time as a feature request. Exception handling within programs requires extra coding, but will identify and prevent crashes. It also can give detailed feedback via the program itself rather than make it guess work or put it on the user. I forget which plugin it was now (or even the host... I think it was doing video), but I actually got a pop-up from that host years ago that said "[X plugin] tried to perform an illegal operation and has been blacklisted." It didn't give more detail than that unfortunately (would need more detail than that to make it useful), but the host didn't crash or scan that plugin again.

Rewind for a second here, please. Is your Alesis a USB cable connection (I am assuming it is, rather than a 5-pin DIN connection)? If so, there is no reason not to plug that directly into your computer that comes to mind. For the older 5-pin connections, that was a reason to get an audio interface with those connectors, but it carried the possibility of nerfing keyboard features. If that Alesis plugs directly into the computer via USB, that is what you want (and you will see all the functionality of the keyboard). An audio interface is only needed to get audio in and out, not MIDI. MIDI can go in separately, get processed and come out as audio. If running MIDI through an interface, it is pretty much a pass-through. The interface will be visible to the DAW, and see the MIDI passing through it there, but again the functionality may be limited.

NVIDIA can be taken care of when installing drivers. Always do a custom install and only select the graphics drivers and PhysX options, then check "perform a clean installation" at the bottom prior to the install. In addition to the HD audio, the "GeForce Experience" app does a lot of background processes that will interfere with a DAW. A clean installation with the above options checked should show those not present when it finishes.

There are very few entities (companies or otherwise) that police themselves without some underlying self-gain swaying their ethics. The OP really opens a massive can of worms, but my biggest concern has always been that bad actors love to breach companies with large repositories (and not so they can spam you). Google designed a massive censorship vehicle as its "price" for doing business with China, and didn't pull out until they realized they had been hacked. Anything put on the internet is permanent public record, so always keep that in mind.

Casio has a model series with keys that light up (those keys are not weighted IIRC), and there are also digital pianos specifically geared for learning (Yamaha has a few nice ones, but they are more designed to be set up in one spot and heavy (and not cheap)). If you have a Guitar Center anywhere close, it is probably better to take a jaunt there to see what options are available in a side-by-side scenario. If you are moving it back and forth you definitely want to consider weight and durability (or even a nice, sturdy "Z-style stand with casters" so you can simply roll it back and forth at will). With cats, it is also recommended to get a couple yards of thick fabric off a discount rack someplace to drape over it when not in use (this will keep out not only the hairs, but keyboards can also collect dust between the keys that is hard to clean). If your intent is to eventually get a piano, weighted keys would be preferred, but that will also add weight to the unit (under the sofa might become tedious, hence a stand instead). If you are ever planning to use it to record into a DAW, the MIDI capabilities are something to consider as well. All that said, if you are just starting out, it would be better to go with something simple and see if you take to playing it. That way if it ends up being forgotten under the sofa it won't be a massive issue, but if you take to it like a duck to water, you can always upgrade to something better later (and know exactly what you want/need when you do). The 61-key Casios are fairly inexpensive and light-weight, but there are a lot of options available (why checking out a Guitar Center will help a lot to put things in perspective for you).

^^ Especially with a dynamic setup or multiple inputs available. Windows can play havoc on this as well with RealTek chips (or multiple devices available). Over the years I have gotten into the habit of explicitly making that RealTek chip default so that when an audio interface becomes active that Windows will leave it alone (Windows will lock bit rate and assign it to the first application that uses sound if allowed to "automatically" prioritize devices as well). A quick check on DAW preferences before starting sessions is definitely a good habit to get into.

Ouch, sorry to hear that Bit (he the one with the amp you got him?). The up and down sides of the internet become apparent in situations like this... although convenient, they often find people too far away. I am not sure how the community is there, but here (very rural) folks do a lot of socializing with bands between and after sets, and a fair amount of them are either other musicians or aspiring musicians. If that is an option, it is a good path to try since 1) folks you talk to have already heard you and know what you play, and 2) folks they might think of are most likely local. I know you hike a decent distance for some gigs, but just chatting with folks can give a lot of community insight.

There is a good chance drivers like these will reinstall with updates or re-activate themselves if the driver is still present (what is happening to you). Another approach in Windows is to open "Sound Settings->Sound Control Panel (upper right)" then disable any drivers you do not want Windows to use (you can view the disabled ones by right-clicking in that window and "Show Disabled Devices" if you want to toggle them from there as well). As long as they are disabled in that window, Windows will never expose them to any programs (regardless of them being installed), which is what you are really after. Cakewalk relies on Windows telling it what is available and this will stop that for you.

The "suddenly" part of this stands out. Did you do any specific system or software updates recently? There have also been occasions where updates break things (not as common but they do happen).

That is typically a graphics driver issue. Check and make sure you have graphics drivers updated. Is that issue with all vendors or only one? You may also have Windows libraries missing that the VST is trying to call, but trying to narrow down on specifics.

On mobile, the top bar to navigate back to the main forum page is also 1/2 the height it used to be. I tend to use that often after drilling into forums and is a much slimmer target now. By contrast the back button is huge, and all browsers have a back button built in.

The DAW vendors they are working with are not doing them justice if they are conforming to Soundtoys rather than focusing on Soundtoys conforming to the VST3 spec. Noel might be a better influence on them. The whole wrapper idea was a plague to VST3s when they were first released.

On mobile it is gone, the only buttons that seem to work are the top-level forum buttons as before.

Ample Sound uses internal FX processing which can be turned off and allows you to run external FX chains (amp sims and the like). With that in mind, you can pick and choose instruments to widen recording options. If I were to choose only one electric it would be the Hellrazer (has bass covered), then the acoustic side either the Martin or Taylor and probably the 12 string. Depends on your needs, of course, but getting things dissimilar allows for the most bang for the buck. The freebies alone are quite usable (definitely start there to see how you like their ecosystem).

A good FX chain will also help a lot of lackluster samples. I have become a huge fan of MCharacter early on in those chains on the dryest sound possible (FX chain after that tweak). If upsampling isn't available in the player, Melda has it built in. I have started to shy away from wet sample sets because it limits the ability to tweak them. Not sure if the OP is coming back though...

Two things not to install with NVIDIA: the "experience" package and the "HD Audio." I always do a custom install and uncheck those (only need the graphics and Physx drivers). Performing a "clean installation" at the bottom of that window will also wipe prior installations if previously installed.

Quite true. For critical consumables, hopefully there will always be a local alternative, but can't bank on that. AutoZone got the part transferred next day, but they also have a daily FedEx pattern in place already. The guy was laughing at the store since I had a vehicle disabled due to a $5 part. I left the Amazon order in place just to see how long this takes, but also having a spare on hand might be prudent for the future. In ten years there may be none left.

This actually just bit me this week. I have an old van with the fuel filter canister inside a reservoir (both parts are nigh impossible to find). AutoZone had none in range, so I ordered one from Amazon to save time. Three days later, it is first "delayed" then "if not delivered by tomorrow can get a refund." I called AutoZone again this morning and they said they could transfer one to the local store, probably by tomorrow, maybe Saturday. Not had that happen before, especially for a simple part that disables the vehicle. BUT... AutoZone transfers between shops with FedEx! Will see how long this really takes...

Not sure if this was mentioned, but another aspect for me has been that new features are less and less exciting as time passes. I stopped upgrading some software even before the pandemic hit. The old version still does what I need, and I tend to be critical of things that waste my time (updating software falls into this bucket for me). I still default to Adobe Audition 4 (c. 2011) as a wav editor for many things (especially batch work) just for its speed and functionality, so Adobe was the first vendor kicked to the curb when CC was released. After I got the MCompleteBundle a while back, unless an FX vendor can do something Melda cannot, that vendor isn't even considered. Some aspects just boil down to procifiency with the tools you have can be far more important to getting the job done. While you cannot hammer in screws effectively, you certainly can pull screws with a wrecking bar in short order to get to the next phase of the job at hand.

^^ Also be sure to log into your account when looking at prices to see your member discount. The discount ramps up pretty fast when buying things in sets of 3 (almost to 50%), then the discount tapers off the more you buy (peaks at around 63% if you get everything at once). I posted a graph of that several years ago, but found it in this post from 2019.