What Am I Missing???

[Scott Lindstrom]

Midi track ---

Set Midi Channel -      Set Bank (None is only option)        Select Patch from drop down  (since they're listed, I assume they exist)

And nothing happens.  The only way I can get it record events at all is to set an output to a drum map and then it reads and records  the mini input.  Which is not what I want.  And the selected instrument doesn't play.  EVER.  I also tried recording as an audio track using the midi input.  Output is set to the Realtech driver and internal speakers.

Demo songs play perfectly.

What have I missed? What's the secret handshake?  Help please...

Scott

[Jonathan Sasor]

You need to check what your MIDI track is going to. A MIDI track in and of itself will not produce sound as MIDI itself is only note/controller information. In the demo projects, the MIDI tracks should be routed to a virtual instrument such as the General MIDI synth, Cakewalk TTS-1. When your track routes to the TTS-1, you'll see different bank and patch options. Other synths will work via their own patch browsers. If you're using external synths, make sure you have your audio monitoring from those devices set correctly. 

[Scott Lindstrom]

The part that confused me is that when you add a Midi track, there's a dropdown in that track that lists instruments (Church Organ, Marimba, etc). Since that's there, I expected it to create that sound for incoming midi. Why else would it be there?

Since my original post, I found "Add Instrument" which might be a work-around except that I get 15 piano tracks and one drum track and haven't found any way to change the instruments or presets. 

I'm not a complete novice - I started with Cadenza 25 years ago and have used Steinberg, Cubase, Cakewalk (from maybe 10 years ago) and the internal sequencers in my boards to run various modules.  There's always a learning curve but this is starting out slower than I expected.

[Jonathan Sasor]

Nomenclature can be a hurdle when getting going. In this case, an Instrument Track refers to a track that has a MIDI input patched to a virtual instrument (soft synth) with an audio output. It's a streamlined combination of the old method that required having a separate MIDI source and Synth Audio Output track. 

[Storm Strom]

Hey,

Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud. ha!

I really can't follow what you are talking about, it may be simpler to to start fresh.

Load a new project. insert an instrument, select a patch or sound then use the virtual controller to test the instrument. make sure you have the track selected. if you get that to work then next thing. set it up with you controller. you don't really need an added Midi track just use the instrument track. just keep adding you're soft synths on each track. If you're using a external controller make sure it's selected (midi devices). I know you get most of this anyway but sometimes starting from scratch is the best way to roll.

 

     

[Scott Lindstrom]

I appreciate the input and agree - starting over often works.

I'm making progress but it's two steps forward, one step back.

Turns out, all those instruments in the drop-down did NOT exist - MIDI worked, there just wasn't anything for it to trigger.  I was fooling around in Preferences/VST, did a manual scan and suddenly I've got hundreds of WORKING instruments, even in a MIDI track. But it's not all good news. With VST Scan set to AUTO, it doesn't find anything on startup so, every time I start the program, I have to go there and do a MANUAL scan.  Is there a fix for this?

Another problem that has come up - if I try to DELETE a track the program becomes unresponsive and has to be shut down. Meaning I not only have to restart it, I have to do that manual scan thing.

Thanks to both of you for your input on this.

[Scott Lindstrom]

I keep experimenting and I've got the VST thing figured out. It's a matter of doing things in the proper order. So, disregard.

But the DELETE / CRASH thing continues. 

Additionally, I've tried to add plugins from eMu and I get a "streaming engine could not initialize" error.  Any thoughts on that?

 

[Starship Krupa]

It's convenient to do as I've done and add your system configuration to your signature so that people can see what kind of hardware you're dealing with. Or at least mention it in your first post. Processor, RAM, disk, video, etc.

With things like your issue with deleting a track, you have the right idea to try it with one of the demo songs, so what happens when you delete a track from one of the demo songs? Does CbB lock up?

[Storm Strom]

Well, Nothing left to do but throw the computer at the wall. ha!

I would uninstall Sonar/Cakewalk and related then reinstall.  if you use CCC with last Sonar ver., start there. See if everything works then Install BandLap. Don't change any properties or directory's and see what works. :)

 

[Kalle Rantaaho]

The word "instrument" is sometimes used in a little confusing way in Cakewalk/SONAR. I assume what you want to accomplish is simply to be able to record MIDI for a soft synth.

So I'd suggest you start with opening  Synth rack and inserting a soft synth (TTS-1 or whatever there are in CWbB (in don't have it so I don't know) and picking "Firt audio output" as the output choice, not Simple instrument track. The necessary MIDI track and audio output track are created automatically.

[John Vere]

You should really follow my tutorials on how to use midi with Cakewalk, That will get you up and running. You need to understand the basics first See my signature for the links on my web site. I just put up part I and Part II of the videos I'm making. There will be about 7 of them and once someone has viewed those they will be a "expert".  

http://www.cactusmusic.ca/tutorial-videos

http://www.cactusmusic.ca/sonar-tutorials