Calum Findlay Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Hi everyone! I will start by saying I'm a COMPLETE newbie to this. Like, I only just learned what a DAW is. I downloaded Cakewalk because I was hoping to have a go at composing some music (like something for a film maybe), but now I realise it isn't as simple as downloading and doing. I've got the basics of Cakewalk down now, but there are like 5 instruments. All I want to do is have a go at composing with a modest selection of instruments, like an orchestra or something. Do I have to download a bunch of separate VSTs to do this? I hope I've given enough information, thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlChuck Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 You can start with the Cakewalk TTS-1, which is a General MIDI synth (see here if you don't know what that means). It's got 128 instruments available, 16 categories with 8 instruments each. The categories are Piano Chromatic Percussion Organ Guitar Bass Strings Ensemble (things like String Ensemble, Choir Aahs...) Brass Reed Pipe Synth Lead Synth Pad Synth Effects Ethnic Sound effects Percussion So, plenty you can do with that! The sounds range from not too bad to pretty awful, but there are many software synths you can get later that are much more realistic, some dedicated to a single group of instruments like Addictive Drums or Addictive Keys. Hope that's helpful! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeGBradford Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Check out these free sample sets / instruments Also DSK make some ok orchestral and other free VSTis https://professionalcomposers.com/best-free-orchestral-sample-libraries/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Findlay Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 Thanks very much for your replies! @AlChuck I've found the Cakewalk TTS-1, and that seems more than enough to get me started! However I'm not sure how to actually find and select any of the instruments... All I'm getting is about 128 pianos! @JoeGBradford I will check those out thank you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeGBradford Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 There's lots more to go at but best to focus on a few instruments to start with otherwise you'll be overwhelmed - I know I still am ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Here are two ways to set the instrument in the plug-in UI. Each one of the 16 channels may have its own instrument assignment and there are up to 4 outputs set in the system > option buttons on the Plug-in UI. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlChuck Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Calum, try selecting the Bank named 15488-Preset Normal 0 at the top of the list... then you should see all the proper instrument names appear in the Patch list: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Findlay Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 Thanks @scook, just what I needed @AIChuck, I don't seem to have this option. These are my drop down options from the track dashboard: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 The track drop downs are not there because of the workspace setting. The are visible in the instrument (MIDI tab) and MIDI track inspectors regardless of the workspace setting. I prefer using the TTS-1 UI to setup the plug-in just like most other plug-in synths. Few soft synths support general MIDI and do not take advantage of the track drop downs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Findlay Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 I've got as far as this: But I just need the C, B and P to go into that track, is this easy to do? Also, if I'm not asking too much, what's the difference between the instrument tracks (with the keyboard icon) and MIDI tracks (with the paint pallet icon)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 There are two basic track types in CbB: Audio and MIDI. The signal flow of a soft synth is MIDI > Soft synth > Audio So soft synth need at least one MIDI track to hold its data and one Audio track to capture the sound produced by the synth. An instrument track is a hybrid track created from a MIDI track and an audio track with a soft synth routing. IOW, it is a simplified version of the minimum setup needed to use a soft synth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Findlay Posted May 21, 2020 Author Share Posted May 21, 2020 Thanks everyone for your help, I got this sorted a few weeks ago and finished my first project! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Findlay Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 If anyone would like to see how it turned out, here is the project Spotify link below too https://open.spotify.com/album/5UAJPVnEk04ly4y2FC3fmb?si=jAKYzKyjSIi37CT01d2msg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeGBradford Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Hey that's great - better than anything I have managed! Did you just use TTS or other sounds? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Fogle Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 @Calum Findlay, You might find +++ THIS +++ freeware thread useful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Findlay Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 19 hours ago, JoeGBradford said: Hey that's great - better than anything I have managed! Did you just use TTS or other sounds? Thanks! I started with TTS but eventually replaced them with better free VSTs I found. A couple of TTS I left in but the important ones I replaced with products from Spitfire LABS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeGBradford Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Ah - the Labs sounds are excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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