mettelus

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.

My first question back to the OP would be, "What are you using now?" As mentioned above, there are actually a lot of free (or even cheap) options that may be a quantum leap over what you are using now. Second question would be, "How many songs are we talking about here?" If this is something you will be doing going forward, it is well worth getting acquainted with better libraries and planning/budgeting accordingly; but if not, the free/cheap alternatives may be sufficient. Even then, you may need to get acquainted with the free/cheap ones to know their pros and cons before upgrading further so you know the gaps you need to fill.

Did you try getting it from the app itself in Options->Check for Updates? That seems to be the most painless from my experience (but of course the app has to be installed).

No one EXCITED about "PreSonus Sphere" being renamed/rebranded "Studio One+"?? Come on... that is original!

The Browser panel to the right of the track view also has a "Plugins" tab at the top. In that picture it is set to "Media," but it is often quicker to drag/drop from the browser (default hotkey B will open/close the browser to give you more viewing space) than to use menus.

Scaler 2 also has some features that are not "obvious," so learning the GUI and functions to their full extent may need to come from reading the manual or tutorials. Transitioning between chords and using voicings can assist greatly for how a piano player would get "from here to there." I have primarily been using Scaler 2 to add tracks to existing songs, so I have been using it to build performances more via drag/drop to a separate MIDI track, then editing nuances in the PRV. Some of the performances are close, but for sheer speed the final track is easier to build that way rather than try to "shoe horn" Scaler 2 to fit perfectly (which it will not in some of these cases).

Ugh, I usually read the forums to wind down before bed, and they lit up almost all the forums with that crap tonight.

The quality of the cable is also important, and the capability of the hardware also can come into play. The issue with longer runs is usually not signal degradation, but a "time out" threshold is triggered by the hardware. Focusrite technical support could give you better details (as well as an absolute max), but recommendations are typically nominals rather than limits.

The performing before farming it out is a good point. Then you encapsulate the intent rather than handing a lyric sheet to someone. "One Night in Bangkok" had the music completed first, so they sent a partial with those lyrics to the lyricist to give them something to show the intended melody, but the lyricist liked it so much they kept them and ran with it. The human voice is the most complex instrument there is so focus on that instrument (be it yours or another's), rather than a program. Some programs are so complex they take forever to get the nuances in them that a human "just does." One cannot learn to walk (or run) for themself relying on crutches.

It is even simpler than that. The maintenance required on an aircraft is significantly more than a car (which is a questionable skill for many as it is). A disabled car just rolls to a stop (or might crash into something if unlucky), but with an aircraft gravity always takes over, so any crash will have significant extra energy behind it. The potential for misuse alone could be overwhelming.

I have seen some horrific accidents over the years, so "flying cars" just makes me realize how many Darwin Award contestants are coming. I worry more for the collateral damage that will result.

+1, You will always learn best by doing. Studying will only get you to a certain level before experience will allow you to go further, and experience will provide tools to accommodate gaps you may encounter. Never fear making mistakes either; those are often the best learning tools.

I was going to tack this on to the 10th Anniversary thread, but this is from Humble Bundle and looks like it includes everything Escape Motions has for $30, except Rebelle 6 (Rebelle 5 is included in the bundle).