mettelus

FYI - there is a typo in the main header on the Deal 1 page that reads "820GB DOWNLOAD SIZE"... it should be 82GB. Edit: Has been updated.

This "deal" made me chuckle... Black Friday is just around the corner, a little patience is good this time of year...

I think this is the most important part of your question. Unless you have a grotesque workflow gap, another DAW (any DAW) may throw a learning curve at you that will impact production (for a period). SOP includes instruments and plugins that are useful, but not necessarily useful for everyone, and I think the proficiency with whichever DAW can benefit more (sometimes with 3rd party stuff thrown in). Bottom line is really your personal preference. With Artist you can certainly judge if you like the workflow or not, then go from there. I bought SOP the Christmas before the "Great Debacle of 2017" (best deals for cross grades are typically the holidays), and use that more these days; but I do swap back to CbB for "sheer speed" at times, yet there are niggles in both. I have found if you spread proficiency too thin, you will start to lose it everywhere, so that is something to keep in mind as well. Unless there is a "must have" in there someplace, sticking with what works for you isn't necessarily a bad thing.

To my knowledge, the cwp file structure has never been published (and probably never will be), but I assume that the class structure is consistent over time with the only "break point" being when Patch Points/Aux Tracks were introduced. CWPs with those included will not open in older versions of SONAR, but everything else will (with the warning that the cwp was created in a newer version of SONAR). I misspelled @azslow3's user ID so just corrected it in the post above. He had drilled into the cwp structure enough to make a conversion tool for projects to another DAW, so if I was going to bank on anyone who would know the class breakdown, it would be him.

Some of that work was done in a utility called Project Scope a few years ago. The author might be available if you want to add on to it. Azslow3 is another member who did similar work towards translating cwp files to another format and might be another resource for you.

The generic smart phone ear buds would just need an adapter (3.5mm to 1/4") to use with an interface. Foam buds are roughly $5 and the adapter should be around $3.

Iris 2 is a bit more powerful than it appears at first glance. It is worth downloading the content for and learning. The front end (sample space) alone will let you import samples/captures, define regions to use, tailor the spectral content, and define the root note on the keyboard (which adjusts global playback speed). You can independently do 4 layers this way, and that is all before you get to the rest of the synth. If you isolate/pull samples you want to use, you have most leads you would want already in Iris 2.

MDrummer Small was the free version of Melda's MDrummer... last updated for version 6, but still available to use. If you get that, be sure to download the "Essentials" pack under "MDrummer Packs" on the left. I am not sure if the Studio Packs will play in MDrummer small (I assume they do not); but if they do, there is a lot of extra material there. It has a pretty nifty "Generate" button for both kits and grooves that is useful to jam with.

It would also help if the OP could shed some light on your expectations and what exactly you are trying to achieve. Notion is essentially a stand-alone DAW, but is not MIDI as much as it is a scoring tool. I want to clarify that point, since you cannot dig into the MIDI information like you can in Studio One or CbB. Depending on what you want to achieve, it can be convenient in that you can score to VSTs (Notion is a DAW host) then port that information into Studio One (for MIDI editing), and it will also port in the VSTs/presets as it does. If you are hoping to drill into MIDI information on a staff view, you will probably be disappointed. When you said "MIDI scoring" I just wanted to clarify the above for you. If your purpose is to compose via staff view, it is worth doing a trial of both Studio One and Notion to understand it better. You can also download the user manuals prior to the trial, so you can maximize the trial period for evaluation (both can be complex, so this will allow you to focus your trial time without fumbling around too much). Also, if you have SONAR X2 or better, there is a standing cross-grade to Studio One, and that goes on sale during the holidays (sometimes with Notion included), so can "usually" pick them both up for somewhere around $200-225ish if you wait for that sale. Quick Edit: Notion is also hard-coded to tap into Garritan Personal Orchestra, but was done for version 4, if you have GPO5, you need to actually insert the ARIA Player to score with it (same VST addition you need to make for everything else). BUT... Notion actually has a very robust stock set of sounds native to it that you can quickly score with (no VST addition required)... you can do this, port to Studio One, then feed those MIDI tracks into other soft synths within Studio One. If you trial Notion, there are some demo (classical) scores you can download that rely on the stock sound bank.

Here is a nice post bitflipper made 6 years ago. Nicely written, and still applicable. The old forum has a lot of nice insight which you can still search in Google by preceding a search with "site:forum.cakewalk.com" (no quotes), which will lock the search to a given site (can do it for any site that way).

Much is personal preference, but the advantage of 3rd party (especially the ones that will internally chain and save the preset) can be used in any DAW. Not that the chains are better, but portability options are if you have that scenario.

This link would be worth looking at, as well as other comparisons. You would not be getting much "real-world" improvement (+1%) for the cost, and they are both listed as "2nd of 1182" for speed (I found that odd, but may be a typo). More real-world feedback... I upgraded from a 2600K to an 8700K last year and the improvement in the machine was not so much the CPU as the system architecture. Neither CPU was really taxed unless doing video or encryption (two processes that will fully max out a CPU to its limits). For DAW purposes, you wouldn't see much benefit if any from that extra money spent. As you noted, audio processing is linear, so you can run smaller buffer sizes with certain plugins, but the ones that are heavy on the CPU may not get any improvement from threading since they are going to govern the whole buffer queue. Bottom line, a lot of computer "limitations" can be countered with efficient workflows, and the heaviest CPU hits will most often come from synths. If they come from FX, I would be a bit leery about them. DAWs are not that stressful to a computer system.

^^^^ Sorry about the confusion, the (#) was meant to represent anything with a number in parentheses - (1), (2), (3), etc. as scook pointed out. Just be sure there is one without a number as well (the original one in most cases should not have a number, but that is not always true, especially if you have "cleaned" things before). Basically, you want to keep just one file that is the same name and size. Circling back to the OP quick... if space on your machine is the real issue, external hard drives are relatively inexpensive and large (you can get a 4TB+ for under $100). That allows you to move things off the computer (quick and easy way to "clean" the OS drive), then "potentially" sort them later (slow and painful at times)... you can always sort them later on if desired, but searching that drive (via Windows Explorer) may be all that you need (it takes a lot of duplicates to fill up a 4TB drive). My bigger concern is not spending too much time to achieve the purpose of slimming down your OS drive, which "seems" to be the point of the OP.

+1, I retired a 2600k a year and a half ago that stills runs fine, but that machine above is a little light for power supply and has no HDMI video connection. I am assuming you are planning to use hardware from an older machine with it? Can you share what you are using now?

You may be confusing that with Speed Comping as mentioned previously. Shift-dragging moves clips vertically while keeping time (the CTRL makes a copy), but that process is all manual and to be fast you need to have some mouse precision depending on track height. Speed Comping does have all of the "assembly" functions you speak of and has gotten a little more polish with even recent updates. It would be worth kicking the tires on Speed Comping with an open mind. The work flow is different than doing the same with tracks, but the tools it offers are worth knowing. Below is the original introduction of Comping with X3 from 6 years ago (6 minutes), but the assembly features you are asking for existed then.

The newer versions do have EQ matching, but you need to repeat the process each time and have the reference available. They will not save/load "snapshotsets" like O5 did though, which is a reason I keep O5 installed as well. O5A was the last "fully loaded" version, reverb, insight, etc., which sort of fell apart until the bundles upgraded. If you still have the reference material, a trial of a newer version would also work, just be sure to bake it if you go that route. Melda also has a few plugins with this feature you could also trial.

Pete Brown chimed in on this other thread with an interesting comment about NVIDIA. Doing a "Custom" installation of the most recent NVIDIA drivers will allow you to only install the Graphics and PhysX drivers (which has been common practice for a while now for non-gamers). After seeing a lot of "protected" activity on NVIDIA's telemetry stuff, I went and disabled that a year ago or so now. I just updated to 1903 yesterday, and the "KB4505903" reference was already baked in, but that is the first thing I would check (it will tell you it is not applicable to your machine if you have it and try to run it). After that, re-installing NVIDIA with only the Graphics and PhysX options selected may be helpful. His post was a nice confirmation that NVIDIA includes a LOT of bloat in their generic installation package (ShadowPLay, 3D stuff, User Experience, etc.), which is not useful for a DAW.

As Mark mentioned above, the download folder is sort of a temporary repository, so if you have installed things from it, those files are no longer necessary. The caveat is also what he mentioned - If you need to reinstall at a later date and do not want to re-download things, moving them to another drive will allow you to just install from that. I tend to keep mine so that I can rebuild my OS drive from scratch if needed. To your question specifically, you can delete the (#) files in your screenshot. Those are duplicates of the ones without any number at the end (keep the "ProducerX3ePatch.exe" and delete the other two). Same with Native_Access_Installer.zip (you have one duplicate), and ProducerX3bPatch.exe (also one duplicate). The thing to watch out for is you *may* get into a situation where they all end with a number (but be the same size), so for that situation, you can keep one of your choice, then rename it to remove the (#) at the end. Also in the downloads, failed downloads sometimes remain with a "_part" at the end (meaning a partial file). Those will not run anyway, so are safe to delete. The same name (without the (#)) and size are good indicators of duplicates. Smaller files are often a nuisance to track down without a "Duplicate Finder" style application and rarely contribute to space issues, which is why I suggested "huge" or "gigantic" (files >16MB) previously. Those will eat up hard drive space quickly. If you do not use Beatscape, you can delete those files (or move them if desired). The "Loops and One Shots" replaced it, as scook mentioned previously.

Barring the "how" you got there (which you would want to understand down the road), the easiest way to fix an already exported mix would be to start a new project, drag/drop that file into a track (either from the internal Browser (B) or Windows Explorer), trim/fade to taste, right click and "Bounce to Clip(s)" to commit changes to a new wave file, then drag/drop that file back to the Browser or Windows Explorer.

As John mentioned, unless you get heavy-handed with plugins or synths, using CbB as a "digital tape machine" isn't going to stress a system meeting the minimum requirements for CbB. Bumping up audio buffers for post-production is pretty standard, and if/when you begin to hit hurdles on the system, there are ways to reduce system load (bounce tracks and archive originals, freezing synths, etc.). If the work flow of tape is your preference (or what you are most familiar/started with), you are actually going to be less challenged than someone who is just starting with music on a DAW.

This is an interesting observation, and most recommendations have been to only install the Graphics and PhysX drivers for the NVidia installation (not the personal experience or 3D stuff). I have gone so far as to disable the NVIDIA Display Container LS and NVIDIA Telemetry Container services... I found that NVidia is quite adamant about that telemetry service, so much so that it will not allow users to do anything with the files that it creates. It removes all of the control panel drill downs into NVidia settings, but Win10 hasn't seemed to have any issues using the drivers.

LOL, yeah, I just perked up when it mentioned those two symptoms. The *real* condition is actually an extremely serious one, so that took the fun out of the whole situation as is progressed further. It went from funny to rather morbid in under two minutes.

Doctor's offices tend to run a lot of Discovery Channel style medical stuff in the background while waiting, but this morning I perked up as it was going over "blah, blah, blah [tuned that out until]... the confusion of common words, or the confusion of words with similar sounds..." I had never heard the term before, but made me think of the CH for some reason.

LOL, if I didn't already own Iris 2, I wouldn't care wasting the $2 to get it. Makes me wonder if Iris 3 is on the horizon now too.

Couple quick notes: 1. Installation files are safest to move to external media (or another internal drive that isn't the OS drive). That puts them in a safer place, and frees up space on your OS drive. The contents of the "Downloads" folder I move religiously, and then sort the important stuff. 2. Watch for files ending in (#). Those are created when you move/copy files and elected to keep both versions. You have 3 copies of the X3e patch showing in that screenshot alone. [Edit: Had to log into my computer since the mobile version is inserting annoying emojis.] You can find those files by: In Windows Explorer, if you type ~="(" into the search field it will filter the search for only things containing the ( character (i.e. what is in the quotes; you can chose other things). Another alternative is to search your OS drive for anything "huge" or "gigantic," then make the call on why they are there, and if they should be.