Step Sequence Feature/Request

[FJ Lamela]

The step sequencer was a great feature that many developers have copied for other DAWs.
I have no complaints about how it works...
But I've always missed the fact that you can't load samples and make it work as a drum machine.
I think that feature would give the step sequencer a fresh and functional look, confirming its genius since its development.
Thanks.
 

[Will.]

3 hours ago, FJ Lamela said:

The step sequencer was a great feature that many developers have copied for other DAWs.
I have no complaints about how it works...
But I've always missed the fact that you can't load samples and make it work as a drum machine.
I think that feature would give the step sequencer a fresh and functional look, confirming its genius since its development.
Thanks.
 

Lol. This request has proven to be futile over the years. I, myself along with many others have tried. I think it's just meant to be a regular step sequencer for your drum machines/plugins.

It's still a great idea. 

[FJ Lamela]

50 minutes ago, Will. said:

Lol. This request has proven to be futile over the years. I, myself along with many others have tried. I think it's just meant to be a regular step sequencer for your drum machines/plugins.

It's still a great idea. 

Well, it's a shame because other companies like Steinberg and Presonus have already adopted the idea.

[David Baay]

FWIW, if you have Session Drummer from purchasing a copy of SONAR at some point, you can use that as the sample host. You can drag-drop samples directly onto the pads.

[murat k.]

14 minutes ago, David Baay said:

FWIW, if you have Session Drummer from purchasing a copy of SONAR at some point, you can use that as the sample host. You can drag-drop samples directly onto the pads.

Everyone knows that this can be done with the help of a Sampler Synth; here, the aim is to use a Sample directly with a Step Sequencer. This can be achieved by selecting a Sample via Drag-and-Drop from the Browser or using the File Explorer in the Step Sequencer menu. Additionally, any existing Sample in the Project can be used in the same way through Drag-and-Drop. Depending on how these files are added, they can either be read from their Original Locations or integrated into the Project Folder as soon as they are added.

[David Baay]

But not everybody knows that Session Drummer can be used as a drag 'n' drop sampler. And being a dedicated drum machine with 12 outputs, tuning, panning and level mixing, it's especially well-suited to the task.

Never hurts to offer a reasonable alternative to a requested feature.

[murat k.]

15 minutes ago, David Baay said:

But not everybody knows that Session Drummer can be used as a drag 'n' drop sampler. And being a dedicated drum machine with 12 outputs, tuning, panning and level mixing, it's especially well-suited to the task.

Never hurts to offer a reasonable alternative to a requested feature.

Yes, you're right. Not everyone knows that Session Drummer can be used as a Drag-and-Drop sampler, but everyone who uses it does. However, Session Drummer isn’t relevant to the topic here, especially in a discussion about using Samples directly in the Step Sequencer, not Samplers.

Giving off-topic advice hurts the discussion of the main subject. Therefore, it would be more helpful if we try to focus on things that support the original poster's request as much as possible.

[David Baay]

1 minute ago, murat k. said:

Giving off-topic advice hurts the discussion of the main subject.

Hardly off-topic. I any case, it's not your call how I choose to contribute to any given thread unless it violates forum rules in which case you can report it. Your constantly taking issue with the posts of others is a greater distraction.

[murat k.]

8 minutes ago, David Baay said:

Hardly off-topic. I any case, it's not your call how I choose to contribute to any given thread unless it violates forum rules in which case you can report it. Your constantly taking issue with the posts of others is a greater distraction.

Not constantly. Only with those who are off-topic, or those who claim it's hardly off-topic.

My general advice: please, if you're not going to contribute to the topic, choose to remain silent.

[murat k.]

8 hours ago, FJ Lamela said:

By the way, I really like not only the request itself but also the way it was presented. It directly expresses the topic.

[Starship Krupa]

1 hour ago, David Baay said:

FWIW, if you have Session Drummer from purchasing a copy of SONAR at some point, you can use that as the sample host. You can drag-drop samples directly onto the pads.

Whoa, what?? I've been using Session Drummer and had no idea that I could drag and drop samples directly onto its pads. With the endless requests for samplers, why didn't the devs ever mention this?

I'm gonna have to try that out immediately.

I've been waiting for the pad sampler companion to XSampler to come along, but doesn't NuSonar already come with Session Drummer? I have a SONAR Platinum license, so I'm not 100% sure about that.

I even made a skin for Session Drummer 2 to update it to the NuSonar flat dark look. Link is in my sig.

This is material for the Tutorials forum.

[Starship Krupa]

31 minutes ago, murat k. said:

if you're not going to contribute to the topic, choose to remain silent

This applies especially to lecturing people on what constitutes contributing.

[FJ Lamela]

2 hours ago, David Baay said:

FWIW, if you have Session Drummer from purchasing a copy of SONAR at some point, you can use that as the sample host. You can drag-drop samples directly onto the pads.

Thanks for the tip, but in my opinion

its interface and workflow are a bit outdated.
I think that by bringing ideas that are already implemented in other DAWs, CakewalkSonar can be competitive among other DAWs.
Staying stuck in 10-year-old technology and plug-ins without improving the workflow is nonsense in these competitive times.

I believe that a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[David Baay]

8 minutes ago, FJ Lamela said:

Thanks for the tip

You're welcome. That's all I intended. I realize that the ideal is to have a full-blown modern drum sampler integrated with the Step Sequencer into a single UI. It's not something I would personally have the Bakers prioritize, but if it's needed to keep Sonar competitive with other DAWs, so be it.

 

 

[Starship Krupa]

9 hours ago, David Baay said:

if it's needed to keep Sonar competitive with other DAWs, so be it

It's a long-requested, much-needed feature. The XSampler is maybe halfway to the goal. At this point, Sonar is the only DAW that aspires to be mainstream that lacks a phrase/pad sampler.

Freeware ones are, oddly enough in this time of abundant free plug-ins, still kinda uncommon, and of course they're such a joy to use when well-integrated with the DAW.

For me it's not all about a build-your-own drum machine (although I would use it for that) it is for my beloved dialog samples. Being able to just "play" phrases from the keyboard wherever I want them in the song, that is really the way to do it rather than dragging clips around on the timeline.

And dialog phrases can be fun to trigger with the step sequencer....

To this end I tried loading some dialog phrases into Session Drummer 3 and it dutifully played them back when clicking on the various pieces of the drum kit and from the keyboard. Sort of weird to see the kick drum wiggle as a 5 second spoken word phrase plays, but I could get used to it. It doesn't have the versatility of a full-featured sampler, you can't set the individual samples to loop or reverse or retrigger. You can do some fun echo-ey effects with it if you load a long sample.

[murat k.]

For a start, it would be enough if the Step Sequencer only reads WAV files in the assigned steps, without the need to link the loaded WAV file to any MIDI note—this would meet our needs sufficiently.

However, with the new Built-in Sampler feature in Cakewalk, this functionality could be much easier than before to implement with MIDI support in the initial phase.

Basic additions can make a big difference; other controls can be added over time. I don’t think anyone expects a full-featured Drum Sampler right from the start. The goal here isn’t so much to compete with other DAWs, but rather to make our DAW more practical and enjoyable for making music.