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Recommendations for Synth software compatible with Bandlab Cakewalk

Rick Derer

By Rick Derer
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Rick Derer

Rick Derer

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I sometimes like to add violins or some other instrument to a song. In  prior versions of Cakewalk I was able to use Sound Center. But now I just can't get it to work.

I get this error IDS_GENERIC_ERROR  loading a previously created project that has a Sound Center track. I can open up Sound Center but no sound.

Re-installing doesn't help.

The Knowledge Base recommendation is confusing.

I thought maybe if I start fresh with a different virtual instrument with good installation instructions I would have better luck.

I wonder if it is a 32 bit vs 64 bit issue? I am running on Windows 10.

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Rick Derer

Rick Derer

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I have learned that my Studio Instruments works fine in Standalone mode. So the problem lies in how it is connected to Cakewalk.

Now I am confused. What is the difference between Sound Center and Studio Instruments?

 

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jude77

jude77

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I think the leader in Samplers right now is Kontakt.  It works fine with CW, and there are a TON of third party people developing sounds for it.  There's a paid version (called Kontakt 6) on sale right now for $199 https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-6/ It comes loaded with some good sounds.  There's also a free version (Kontakt Player https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-6-player/) that is limited but still worth checking out.

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Vernon Barnes

Vernon Barnes

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If you are looking for something reasonable and cheap try Sonovox Orchestral Companion  You can get it here for £4 at the moment.

Its not going to compete with the big boys toys for Kontakt but its useful and some of the instruments have key switching so you can change articulations without needing to load another instance.

Edited by Vernon Barnes
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mettelus

mettelus

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Sforzando is a free sfz player (the format used by Dimension Pro and other instruments). The engine to it is the ARIA player, and there are more free libraries people have made for those. I like Sforzando for a couple simple reasons, it will tap into installed programs that have the sfz file structure, and shows you which keys are mapped for a given sound bank. Not all keys are mapped for some instruments, so it is a royal pain to find which keys truly have sounds associated with them.

Sforzando itself includes some free samples (scroll down that page to the Sforzando section, and is the "Sound banks for sforzando" link on the far right). Additionally, the ARIA Engine has many sound sets that are also free.

On to the paid stuff...

You can also buy sample libraries which also use the ARIA engine (Garritan is probably the most popular set, with Personal Orchestra 5 being the most well rounded version). Please note: If you buy any VSTs, be sure to check the deals section or ask folks there... the best deals are not always from the company, and some deals are at ridiculously low prices, especially this time of year.

Lastly, with all of that said, Kontakt is considered the best sample player, but many free libraries require the full Kontakt player (be sure to check this on each library), which may be cost-prohibitive depending on what you are trying to achieve.

Edit: Spitfire Audio LABS is also a nice freebie. They put out a new instrument each month, and have enough out now that you can browse what they have done to date. They have a few string libraries already. You just need to sign up and use their audio app to download them. The playback engine is not robust, but you can easily add FX to the tracks you play them in.

Edited by mettelus
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Mánibranðr Studios

Mánibranðr Studios

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I'd recommend AIR Music Tech plugins, they have a variety of really good virtual instruments that can help you get started with music production. You have Hybrid 3, which is a hybrid additive/subtractive synthesizer with a very deep learning curve, and a large palette of sonic possibilities, you also have Vacuum Vintage and Vacuum Pro which is an emulation of a hypothetical vintage synth running through vacuum tube circuits, XPand! 2 which is a 4 voice polyphonic ROMpler and had a bunch of great sounds, other plugins include Boom, Strike 2, DS 500, DB-33, Velvet, Mini-Grand, The Riser, Transfuser 2, Structure 2, Loom Classic and Loom 2. The best part is that they're all on sale right now at Plugin Boutique.

Another great synth you can get right now on sale is Sektor, which is a lot similar to Hybrid 3, but has a lot deeper customization options. Sektor is a synth that I have used extensively in my projects.

However, my absolute favourite synth in my arsenal has to be Ultra Analog VA-3. It may not be as extensive with the modulation and envelope capabilities as Serum, but there is something about having two synth engines per instance, each with ability to set up different modulation options puts this over the edge for me. Oh yeah, the the factory sound library is massive and awesome, and it's actually quite easy to get started making your own presets.

One more recommendation, and it's probably something only I would ever recommend, and it's the Roland Sound Canvas VA. Yeah, it's expensive at $125 and never goes on sale, but honestly, there is a charm to just loading it in a VST player like the Falcosoft Soundfont MIDI Player with loopMIDI and playing old DOS games with it as the sound engine. The SC-55 emulation on it is pretty decent, and it is also a very good no-frills GS ROMpler in its own right.

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Mystery Were

Mystery Were

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On 11/23/2019 at 9:13 AM, Rick Derer said:

I have learned that my Studio Instruments works fine in Standalone mode. So the problem lies in how it is connected to Cakewalk.

Now I am confused. What is the difference between Sound Center and Studio Instruments?

 

Sound Center is a 32bit synth using multi samples from Rapture and Dimension bins. Studio Instruments is 64bit (physical modelling?) synth.

I have solved problems like yours by first starting a new project and see if Sound Center launches okay. If it does, then start your preexisting project (in safe mode might be necessary); create a new instance of Sound Center then move or copy the midi data to the fresh track.

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Rick Derer

Rick Derer

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3 hours ago, Mystery Were said:

Sound Center is a 32bit synth using multi samples from Rapture and Dimension bins. Studio Instruments is 64bit (physical modelling?) synth.

I have solved problems like yours by first starting a new project and see if Sound Center launches okay. If it does, then start your preexisting project (in safe mode might be necessary); create a new instance of Sound Center then move or copy the midi data to the fresh track.

Hmmm. I did as you instructed and I now can open Sound Center in the new project and I get sound.  But every key I press sounds like a weird electronic sound, not like any instrument. Getter closer.

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