norfolkmastering

Does anyone know of a simple MIDI soft instrument I can load in Cakewalk and which could produce pure test tones for level checking purposes. Thanks.

Yes I have the return MIDI Cable connected. I get sound okay but I can't change any of the following on the Yamaha when I'm replaying MIDI from Cakewalk into the Yahama: - VOICE - BRILLANCE - REVERB - EFFECT TOUCH

I used the MIDI output of my Yamaha CP33 electric piano to record a piano MIDI track into Cakewalk ( I recorded in the key of C alongside a guide track) Then I replayed the MIDI part back into the Yamaha piano to hear the part again. Why MIDI? Partly to be able to correct any performance errors and partly to be able to change the playback key from C to Bb (which is the key I want to sing the vocal in). It works okay apart from one issue. When I playback from Cakewalk to the Yamaha piano I am locked out from making any tonal changes on the piano. Eg, I wanted to try a different piano voice but it is locked out from any changes. If I disconnect from Cakewalk then the Piano functions normally again. Is there some MIDI setting in Cakewalk which takes control of voicing back to an external MIDI instrument such as the CP33?

Yes I use ASIO. The MOTUs are all Ultralite with Firewire which allows multiple devices to be connected. I use two Firewire interface cards in my PC to spread the load. They are stable and work reliably. I was going to upgrade to the newer MOTU AVB networkable interfaces but MOTU had some sort of catastrophic chip supply problem and the model I wanted has become unable.

I'm using both CbB and Sonar at the moment and I can confirm that certainly, forward compatibility, is perfect. I use CbB for my song composition work with a single stand-a-lone MOTU interface and work entirely in the digital domain. It's quick and easy when composing. I move over to Sonar when I have the song arrangement sorted out and enough guide tracks already laid down in CbB. Then the project gets moved across to Sonar. My Sonar set up is quite complex with eight MOTU interfaces and simultaneous recording to Sonar and my 24T tape machine. Mixdown can be done entirely in the digital domain using Sonar, or hybrid using the much improved Sonar external inserts to bring in analogue effects, or fully analogue using Sonar to control the tape machine and an external analogue mixer. Which of these I chose depends on the song and the type of sound I'm trying to achieve. For me the stability of CbB and Sonar, together with the best DAW GUI I have ever used, makes composing, recording and mixdown a real joy!

One of the strategies that Bandlab might consider is to totally revamp the very limited marketing which Sonar has on the website at the moment. I did a comparison with its major competitors and it just doesn’t do justice to this fantastic product. Hopefully this is going to be addressed soon.

I know this is a well worn topic but … It looks like the original ‘get advance access to Sonar in Beta form’ has been replaced by ‘get access to Sonar’ via the monthly or annual payment options. So I guess I have three questions: Is Sonar now officially released or is it still officially in Beta testing? If I start a monthly subscription then at some point stop, are all my Sonar projects trapped? Is there any hope of getting a statement from Bandlab about future pricing intentions or do folks think the current ‘rental’ option is likely to be it for the foreseeable future (I’m not a fan of renting software)

I have heard these comments quite a bit over the years but I have never really understood why Cakewalk/Sonar has this stigma of being semi-pro? Are there actually features which Sonar lacks compared to the other major DAWs? (With the exception of being PC only which is bound to limit its appeal to Mac enthusiasts)

Just to say a big thank you to Noel and the rest of the Sonar development team for doing such a great job on the external insert enhancements. Not only are true mono port send and returns now possible but you can also configure send only and return only inserts. Absolutely great for those of us with hybrid digital/analogue setups. Also … being able to wrap one or more external inserts, each with custom names, within an FX Chain preset, means you can call up a preconfigured external insert already pre wired (in the analogue domain) to your favourite mix down chains. E.g. I have an external insert FX chain for main vocals, another for drums, one for piano and so on. Being able to call these up by ‘friendly’ name and have those names appear on the track and bus means I no longer forget which external FX are allocated to which tracks and buses. And of course you can preset send and return levels so the external insert is matched to the external FX chain. Fantastic!

I quite often want to move an automation note to a different timeline position but can’t find any way to lock in the node’s volume level as I move it left or right. Is there any way to do this?

Thanks for trying. I had no problem getting Inject to install so I'm not sure what's going on there. AudioMovers have started a dialogue with Bandlab to try and get to the bottom of the Save issue.

Thanks for information Noel which I will pass on to AudioMovers. They are planning to contact Bandlab/Cakewalk support next week to have a dialogue which can hopefully get to the root of the problem.

I tried running Process Explorer and Process Monitor. It does look like a Sharing Violation between cakewalk.exe and inject-feeder.exe. As soon as I kill the inject-feeder.exe app in Task Manager, the Save function works again. The guys at AudioMovers have agreed to contact Bandlab with their findings. Hopefully we'll get a solution from that dialogue. Fingers crossed.

To answer your question: If I was just creating the odd "pre-FX send and Return" then the two channel approach would be okay, but I want to create 24 pre-FX sends and then 24 separately switchable, pre-FX returns. I need the pre-FX sends to be active, even when the returns are not switched in. This cannot be done using Cakewalk's own external inserts; but the combination of the INJECT VST plug-in and the VB-Matrix does the job really well. It also means that the Cakewalk track meters are an accurate indication of the audio level being returned into Cakewalk. So I have a great solution except for the save issue!

Thanks for the suggestions. So I tried running CbB as an "Administrator" and still the same issue. Checked and found that all my drives had the 'Use Sharing Wizard' ticked. I've had a response from AudioMovers that Cakewalk is the only DAW they have found with this issue. They have tested it on Logic Pro X, Cubase 10, Pro Tools 12 and up, Ableton Live 9 64 bit, Ableton Live 10, FL Studio. It would be really helpful if you could download the demo version of INJECT and see if you get the same problem. If there is no obvious workaround then I'll need to try and get the Bandlab guys to have a look. I really want to get this plugin working properly. It solves a big studio audio flow issue I've had for years!

I'm hoping that someone out there has experience of using the AudioMovers INJECT VST plugin with Cakewalk. It allows audio to be routed in and out of a track via an FX which (for me) allows a true pre-FX send. Only one problem. When I try to save the project I get a sharing violation error and the project won't save. For some reason 'Save As' works but is not practical for sessions where you are saving a large project frequently. msmcleod suggested disabling the audio engine before saving but this didn't fix the problem unfortunately. I'm trying to get AudioMovers on to this but if anyone has experienced the same issue please me me know.

Does the 276 ASIO devices mean 276 ASIO inputs PLUS 276 ASIO outputs?

Tried disabling the audio engine before saving but still got the same violation message. For some reason using Save As to a new file name is allowed (but not practical except for testing). Any other suggestions welcome!

After removing the three VB-Matrix drivers from the registry, I got CbB to open with VB-Matrix'. I actually left all the VB-Matrix VASIO drivers unchecked in Cakewalk. This allows me route to/from the Audiomovers VST plugin 'INJECT' to/from the VB-Matrix Virtual Inputs and Outputs. Why? I have been trying to get pre-FX send and returns in Cakewalk tracks for years but never found a way. I need these for a rather obscure purpose in my hybrid studio setup. So to generate a track preFX output, I insert an instance of VST INJECT to that track, route that to a VASIO (virtual audio ASIO) and then (using the 'Matrix' router) I can route that virtual output onwards to a real MOTU ASIO output. The setup seems quite happy for Cakewalk and VB-Matrix' to route to and from my MOTU audio interfaces which is surprising but great. The only problem I have is that Cakewalk sometimes won't allow a Save Project if there are instances of INJECT in the project. I get a sharing violation message. I'm talking to the folks at Audiomovers about this but if anyone has a fix, please let me know.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try removing the VB-Matrix entries as suggested and report back. To reply to the earlier question, I got the Cakewalk by Bandlab splash screen, then that disappeared, then nothing.

I just installed VB-Audio 'Matrix' which is quite a neat audio router app. I had hoped to use it with CbB for a routing solution which I can't do in Cakewalk alone. Unfortunately CbB won't load with the Matrix app installed. Has anyone got experience of the Matrix app or any other VB-Audio apps? And has anyone got it to run with CbB?

Really useful if you use multiple external analogue interfaces in your sessions. So you can name the Sonar External Inserts to match the gear, e.g. 'Vocal WA-2A' or 'Drum Bus FX' etc.

Just to say that a new feature for External Inserts has been included in the latest Sonar release. It allows you to rename any instance of an External Insert, which is really useful if you use several within a session. So you might have a track with an external insert named 'Guitar FX' and another track with an external insert named 'Vocal WA-2A' etc.

Radio silence from Bandlab. That’s the most disappointing aspect of this important conversation. Let’s put out an appeal. Talk to us!

As we can be reasonably sure that the Bandlab guys will be keeping some oversight of this discussion, it would seem to be a good time for them to make some kind of clarification statement about how Sonar is going to be made available in the future. It is confusing to see the pre-release being made available on a paid for basis via Backstage Pass, without (as far as I can see) any confirmation that this paid for access is going to count for something when the full release is done. I say this, in part, because of the amount of additional 'beta' testing feedback which those folks accessing Sonar via Backstage Pass are providing to Bandlab. I'm not suggesting that firm pricing needs to be announced now (although I don't see why not) but at the very least some clarification as to whether Back Stage pass is the final 'purchase' route to Sonar or not; and if not, how we are going to be able to purchase Sonar.