more on Cakewalk by Bandlab

I had some issues with crashes and was trying to get some answers from tech support. When I didn't hear from them, I decided to go into the forums and see if I could find some answers there. To get answers, I had to sign in or create an account for the forums. Apparently my account with Bandlab wasn't good enough so I had to create a separate account so I did what was needed to do so. Lo and behold after clicking on send, I received a message stating that I was not allowed to create an account on the site, in other words, I was banned.

I tried writing them to find out why? Never did receive an answer. I guess these people at Bandlab don't want to hear about problems with the program nor are they interested in helping out. Maybe I needed to kiss some ass first before attempting to report problems. I mean common guys, a company is only as good as the support team behind them. Sure I get it, the program is free so what gives me the right to complain about issues? Get answers in the forum right? But if I can't even do that because they banned me for trying to get answers in the first place, what am I supposed to do?

Cakewalk by Bandlab still has a lot of potential once they get many of the issues resolved such as crashing when using 2 TTS-1 soft-synths in the same project, or similar effects imported from third parties. Using just one TTS-1 doesn't always work especially if I want to add special effects on just one instrument because the way it's set up is the effect will affect all instruments. To resolve that problem, I had to solo the instrument and then bounce the entire project to bounce to tracks. By doing it this way, I now have a wave track instead of midi and can add whatever effects to it I want.

I had initially imported some effects from another music program I had and used them successfully on several projects. The other day, once I opened up Cakewalk and the project I was working on, it crashed. It asked me first, should it save a backup file for the project. I clicked yes because in the past I lost the entire project after clicking on no. It also showed me which of the effects was the problem causing the crash in my project and then created a mini dump. I was puzzled as to why this particular effect would make the program crash so I opened up another project with that same effect and no crash.

I decided to open up the backup file it had just created thinking that it might now work properly. NOPE! It too crashed and had to start all over with the same nonsense. Each time I opened up either the original project or the backup, Cakewalk would crash. This is what I've been dealing with since I downloaded Cakewalk. I had over 30 mini dumps and after inspecting each one, I still had no clue as to why this was happening. Musiclab certainly wasn't about to give me any help. They obviously don't give a rats ass! I couldn't find anything in the forums. Plenty of kiss ass stuff in there but nothing dealing with my issues.

There was no way I was going to open my project file without it crashing and I was furious and frustrated. I had spent days on it and was almost done. Now I'm going to have to start from scratch, no way, there's got to be a solution to this. I decided to go into Utilities\plugin manager and click on each of the plugins on the left column until I found the particular fx, causing the problem, in the right column. I highlighted the fx by clicking on it and then clicked on exclude plug-ins. My problem fx disappeared from the registered plug-in list and then decided to press the scan vst plugins. I closed the window once it was done and went to open up the project file which wouldn't open without crashing.

No problem opening it up and no crash! I located the now defunct fx and replaced it with a different but similar fx. The fx giving me issues was no longer on the list of fxs in my project.  I finished my project no thanks to Bandlab. No wonder it's free! Hurry up and get out the product, we'll worry about fixing it later seems to be the norm these days with anything you get!

Interestingly, they just came out with a new version of Cakewalk...2019.05 with many of the issues fixed I told them about and was trying to solve. We'll see how the new version works out in the coming days.

Features & Enhancements

• ARA 2 (Audio Random Access) plug-in support. ARA 2 provides tighter, more efficient app integration of next generation ARA plug-ins such as Melodyne 4, including sharing tracks, regions, selection, as well as other project settings
• Improved editing of ARA 2 regions with a shared view across all plug-in instances
• Multi-clip slip stretching (hold down CTRL+SHIFT, then drag any selected clip edge to stretch all selected clips, or use the Stretch tool)
• The global Timing tool has been renamed to Stretch tool
• The Gain knob in the Inspector controls either audio Input Gain or MIDI Velocity Offset for Instrument tracks, depending on whether the Audio tab or MIDI tab is selected
• Updated zplane élastique v3.3.0.23501 audio stretching and pitch shifting with bug fixes and performance enhancements
• The Stretch tool (available by right-clicking the Edit tool in the Control Bar) now works on multiple selected clips, and also supports lasso selection and time selection

Bug Fixes

• Clip Properties Inspector shows incorrect M:B:T clip length (actual length + 1 measure)
• Step Record continues to record to the original track after you switch focus to another armed track
• Arpeggiator Rate control fails to update when the parameter is automated
• MIDI only projects are immediately marked as dirty on file open
• Accessing menu commands can unnecessarily mark a project as dirty
• Bounce to Clip(s) results in mono data if a clip envelope is selected; Bounce to Clip(s) is now unavailable if the selection does not contain MIDI or audio data
• Intermittent crash when opening projects
• Closing a project immediately after opening can cause a crash
• Staff view fails to persist on project load
• Opening lyrics view when transport is playing causes crash
• Slip editing allows clips to be made zero length
• Clip waveform sometimes disappears while slip stretching
• Waveform display in split audio clip appears to adjust crop when slip stretching
• Slip Stretching MIDI clip causes clip data to disappear
• Slip Stretching cropped MIDI clip causes clip data to change unexpectedly
• Undoing slip stretching of audio clips could sometimes not restore the clip to its original state
• Slip Stretching clip to max, then dragging in opposite direction causes clamp to fail
• After stretching a clip to the max 400%, releasing the mouse, then attempting to stretch the left edge further causes all stretching to get lost unexpectedly
• Drag copying an ARA Region FX clip to create a new clip can result in a crash
• Tracks still visible in Melodyne after deleting or freezing tracks with Region FX clips
• Melodyne UI doesn't show slip stretching preview while editing until mouse up
• Canceling from a slip edit or slip stretch doesn't restore ARA regions in Melodyne
• When slip stretching a Melodyne Region FX clip from the left side, Undo does not restore the Melodyne data to its original location
• Undoing a copied Melodyne clip leaves blobs visible in Melodyne
• Cropping a stretched Melodyne clip causes blobs to shift unexpectedly
• Melodyne does not update when changing clip start time or duration from Clip Inspector
• Melodyne doesn't show preview while dragging Melodyne Region FX clips
• Clip loses focus in Melodyne after dragging to a new track

There are still some display issues with some softsynths Even tho I can hear it, it shows that I've done nothing to the controls. Aria player for example shows the instrument tracks as being empty after choosing one. I can hear the instrument when I play the project.

Cakewalk-band lab

I've been using Cakewalk/Sonar for years and now that my desktop quit working, I'm going to need to start all over on a different computer. I had plenty of files in Sonar and was just working on a project before my desktop stopped working. I went to cakewalk.com home page expecting to download the most current version/upgrade and found out that a new company had taken over. Sound Lab from Singapore took over Cakewalk/Sonar and is giving a free download to the new version. I had to download the soundlab assistant which after installing the app, asked me to sign in with either my face book account or Google account.

I chose my Google account as it was already open. I could not log in and just kept getting "please try logging in again" with no success. I tried contacting band lab only to go thru the same B.S. as it asked me to log in to my e-mail account. I found an e-mail address for band lab Admin@bandlab.com only to find that my e-mail came back to me. The reason? "We're writing to let you know that the group you tried to contact (Admin) may not exist, or you may not have permission to post messages to the group"

So...I'm wondering why is it that I can't even contact these people? Is Cakewalk by Sound Lab just a scam? I think that I will find another DAW to download as this one has definitely been disappointing!

All those great reviews you see on the internet regarding the DAW are probably phony! There are too many so called good reviews and not one reveling any negative aspects. Let's face it I've never come across a perfect software program yet alone a DAW . 

I decided to give it one more try at it, this time using my Facebook account and it worked. I was able to download the actual program and install it. There were a few problems in getting the right driver set up as it recognized an Asio driver and not the MME. There was no sound until I discovered the MME driver and switched it.

It's got nothing over on my Sonar 8.5 Producer DAW and for me it was a bit disappointing. To me, the new Cakewalk is perhaps a mediocre version without too many frills. I had installed 27 vst plugins and none of them were recognized. I did manage to record a new tune on it using 5 tracks and using some fx on the tracks and the Master Bus. I decided to export my new made tune as a .wav file but lo and behold it allowed me to export it as an mp3 file.

So far my observation is that the new Cakewalk by soundlab maybe okay for the beginner but I need something with a bit more meat to it.

I finally got a hold of support@cakewalk.com and have been corresponding with them regarding my issues with the DAW. I received some suggestions and after completing it and re-scanning for VST plugins, it shows that I have 162 of them. I have no idea where they are as they don't show up in the fx section nor in the insert softsynth area. The only ones that show up there are the plugins that came with the program.

The DAW is unstable and keeps crashing. Yesterday, it crashed 4 times. It's frustrating when you are in the middle of a project and the program crashes and then you have to start all over. Thus far this DAW is nothing more than mediocre at best with little help from support. I tried contacting support again only to find out that they put me on the spam list and now have no way of contacting them. I even tried to sign up for their forum only to find out I've been banned from their site. Ha Ha I guess I' m on my own! That's what I get for trying to solve some issues with Cakewalk's DAW. The DAW has a lot of potential to be a good one like Sonar but what do you expect from a DAW that was free?

There are a few good points in the DAW. Some of the softsynths, such as the drum and bass are awesome. There is even a string synth which I use often. The cakewalk default  softsynth which we saw in Sonar has been improved with some better sounds. My favorite is the jazz guitar. You can even add an amp simulator that comes as an fx to make it sound even more realistic.

There is also a piano softsynth which is missing the acoustic piano but the electric piano is okay and needs a bit tweaking which you can do. There's a couple of other softsynths which I haven't gotten into because I don't use them nor do I need them, however I will check them out and give you my thoughts on them a bit later.

How well does Canson's water color paper work with acrylics

I had run out of my usual paper for acrylic/oil paints and stopped in my local Walmart to get another pad. Naturally, they had run out but had the water color paper. Since on the inside cover, Canson give this paper 2 stars and an excellent rating for acrylics and it was a little heavier weight paper, I thought I'd give it a try.

When I got to my studio I was eager to see how well it performed. I was disappointed! I
don't know where they came up with 2 stars out of 3 as I would only give it 2 out of 5 mediocre. The edges began curling and the center buckled and got worse the more I painted on it. After a while things leveled off after the paint dried up along with the paper.

I figured out how to eliminate some of the issues I had using it and am about 80% successful in doing so. I still get some curling edges initially with some buckling in the center but once the paper dries I have an easier time painting on it.

I prep both sides of the paper with either gesso or a thin coat of acrylic paint. I use water to thin either down even more than it is it and let both sides dry. To hurry things along, I use a blow drier. The paper is okay in a pinch, a bit larger than their acrylic/oil:11"x15" and a bit heavier #140.

I'm not one to waste anything nor my money so I continue using the water color paper until I run out. Later I found my normal paper at the same store and decided to hold on to it until I run out of the water color paper.

So....what was the outcome of my paintings after sealing them? Here, judge for your self.

acrylic painting on 11"x15" water color paper

acrylic painting on 11"x15" water color paper

Yup, all I use is AppleBarrel acrylic paints and gesso.