aidan o driscoll

Well, it depends in the way you look at it. As a basic tool and now with the song starter feature its a great ideas machine which you can use on the go anywhere via laptop, table, phone etc. Then when back home and for serious work load the idea into your local CW and have at it. In my view its not so small on the functionality either if you dig into it. All the basics are there and sometimes less is more, less clutter to get side tracked with. As you saw in my example above I turned the original idea track in the BL Daw into an 80s type thing in CW As I said you can go both ways BL -> CW and CW -> BL ..

This is the track above in the Bandlab DAW ( I renamed it as BL-80s1 from the whale name Notice top right is the INVITE Button. If your other band members or other muso's you work with also have a FREE Account with BL, you can invite them to collaborate with you on the track. No issues with cross platform as it is all in the browser. Double clicking a track clip opens up the midi window for that clip BTW nothing stopping you from going the other way either - From CW project up into the BL Cloud Daw via midi OR wav

I think its a bit more than fun TBH, the workflow is really useful, even more so when you chuck in the collaboration aspect also in the online DAW with other band members or other musicians ( they do not need to have CW ). Work with the song starter tool in the online Bandlab DAW. Here is one I did earlier: BL-80s1.mp3 Then go to your CW and via the FILE menu / Browse Bandlab projects and load the same track up locally in your CW. Then change the instruments with your own VSTis. Here is that track above using NI Studio Drummer ( Kontakt ) + Cherry Audio Mercury 4: BL-80s1_CW.mp3

Would I be right in saying not too many of us CW users of old DO NOT use Bandlab Cloud DAW that much? And why is that if it is so I wonder? I will confess I have sinned in this regard but this new Song Starter tool has got me using it more in the last few days. The integration with CW is excellent also and I am just collabing with the band Keyboard player via the Cloud DAW by simply clicking INVITE and choosing his name ( he also a member ). It really is a great way to get over the cross platform thing, kbrd player is mac only

I should have thought of this. Its even easier. When you have your song starter idea done and saved in the online daw, open CW, go to file menu and then BROWSE BANDLAB PROJECTS. Select your new song starter track and it will load directly into CW as a new MIDI project, no need to export from the online DAW. If using another DAW you simply save the midi track in CW and open in Reaper or Ableton etc

Forget all your Chordjam, Playbeat, Insta composer plugins .. now we have our very own FREE song starter tool at the bandlab site online https://www.bandlab.com/songstarter https://blog.bandlab.com/introducing-songstarter/ So you can access it from above ( logged in ) OR via your Bandlab account feed when logged in and right of bandlab logo up top is the circle with 4 dots icon that shows the "apps" inside Bandlab that you can use. So open SongStarter, go Random, keep doing so until you hear a tune you like then click OPEN IN STUDIO which will open the online DAW with your new song starter project tune. At this point you can noodle with it there OR select the tracks and right click / export region as a Midi File or Wav file .. then open same in cakewalk and create further, change the instruments etc. THATS IT, enjoy! Aside from EXPORTING from inside the Cloud Daw - Its even easier. When you have your song starter idea done and saved in the online daw, open CW, go to file menu and then BROWSE BANDLAB PROJECTS. Select your new song starter track and it will load directly into CW as a new MIDI project, no need to export from the online DAW. If using another DAW you simply save the midi track in CW and open in Reaper or Ableton etc @Robert McClellan posted about this over at the tutorials section along with a quick tute/review vid on this, but I thought it might be better in Deals as it is a deal of sorts & ITS FREE https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/43695-new-bandlab-songstarter/

So even at $29 is it worth the punt? Or more to the point WHY IS IT down to $29? Amongst other things BLOAT v Usableness?

An FYI. On to Fathom devs. Only Fathom Vector is VST3. PRO is not and will never be VST3. So if you have Pro and want to have VST3 it be a new purchase it seems - $125 ( apparently on sale at the moment for $90 )

Is the MERCURY 4 and the STARDUST worth a punt? I have all those in the screen shot below

https://www.akaipro.com/mpk-mini-play On Amazon its £104 sterling, probably $99 in US, about €124 "Musical inspiration can happen anywhere and MPK mini Play mk3 is the perfect portable companion to capture those melodies and harmonies, anytime and anywhere. With battery-operated performance at 14+ hours, MPK mini Play users don’t have to worry about power adapters, chargers, or cables when it’s time to play music. The upgraded built-in speaker delivers increased output and added low-end response, making for more enjoyable playing and jamming. With an improved listening experience, users can dive into the 128+ onboard instruments and drum kits including acoustic and electric pianos, synth leads and pads, and more. MPK mini Play also houses a 1/8th” headphone output jack for quiet practicing or songwriting without disturbing others." I wonder can the sounds be changed / uploaded ..

I am finding the lightest and very good Soundfont player VST is this. No pressure on resources with multiple occurrences inside a project : http://falcosoft.hu/softwares.html#bassmidi_vsti

An FYI - This is not a VST plugin, its a standalone app to edit and create soundfonts. You will need another VST that allows you to play soundfonts in your DAW

If you want no fuss quick retro 80s generated Drum grooves / loops ( inc midi drag ) then $19 worth it. I have this for a while and have used

No registering required. ZIP file password is capital C. Its using SF soundfont audio files. Its a VST3 instrument only

Yeah it looks like they are just Windows 10 performance enhancements .. for example "Hybrid_3.0.10.21000_Setup_Win-GM.zip" https://www.airmusictech.com/virtual-instruments/hybrid3.html Scroll to end to UPDATES section. Nothing new re VST3 etc.

no @cclarry BUT I emailed them to ask what the story was. They said go to the AIEP site and the individual product page for each plug, scroll down and you can download latest version and reinstall over old .. free

Comparison page between Music Studio and Pro X6 https://www.magix.com/us/music-editing/samplitude/samplitude-music-studio/version-comparison/#c1426209

Like me you might have picked up Samplitude Music Studio recently enough on a Humble Bundle. I noticed it was an older version ( about 2018 ) and had a look for a newer version on Magix site. Here it is for $49 bucks .. upgrade to Samplitude Music Studio 2022. Includes a load of plugins and samples / soundpools https://www.magix.com/us/music-editing/samplitude/samplitude-music-studio/

Yip: 83% off for the 4 - https://audioplugin.deals/acousticsamples-4-in-1-guitar-bundle/ 82% off for the 4 previously at VSTBUZZ - https://vstbuzz.com/deals/82-off-the-acoustic-samples-guitar-bundle-by-acoustic-samples/

32 bit only?

Dont forget the very capable GRACE sampler - FREE 64 bit. https://www.onesmallclue.com Scroll down the page. Also there you have FREE Poise: Percussion Sampler

@azslow3 Belated Thanks for this BTW. Works enough to get CW projects direct into Reaper. As I said my band scattered across world are using REAPER to bridge the platform thing, some use Macs, others PC ( PC users use CW ). I noticed it does bring across extra tracks and folder tracks etc, as you said I think its to do with busses etc? Any way i wonder of just getting across track per track .. keeping it simple

Reason needs somebody like BANDLAB to take it over and make it free, similar to CW Otherwise it is going to die TBH. These numerous offers are not being taken up much I imagine and smacks of desperation

There also is the FREE version, still useful https://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-kotelnikov/

Rather than sifting through the unorganised pages at that link just go to THE SHOP menu up top and filter by instrument types, format etc. To see just VSTs go to Format/VST AU AAX All the prices seem to be full and discounted https://audioplugin.deals/format_type/vstauaax/