Subject:Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Posted by: luces1

Date:1/3/2006 7:59:50 PM

Okay everybody, I know I may get slammed for this statement,but....if ANY of you cats are having a problem with Acid/midi AND IF you are using AP5, do yourselves a favor and throw down a few $$$ and get either Cakewalk Music Creator 2(supports 24/96) or Cubase SE and simply Rewire Acid to these hosts. I have used BOTH of the above mentioned programs and they work great with AP5. I prefer the Cubase route (it seems a bit more stable..just my opinion) but Music Creator 2 is like 29-39 bucks at your local Best Buy etc.
If you are using AP4, then SERIOUSLY consider the upgrade to 5 no matter what. I used 4 since it's release and was HIGHLY stoked about the stability and added features of 5. I thought some were just fluff(groove pool,media mgr, etc)but I can really appreciate where they are coming from or going to!!!! No I am not a Sony plant or spy. I am just a guy who spends 7-10hrs a day using the above mentioned combos, and I am telling you that I do not believe that Sony will restructure midi any time soon because that is not what Acid is about. Sure, as a consumer we should get better alternatives, but I am here to tell you that many on this forum whined about having Acid as a Rewire slave and now that that has been done, I believe that the powers at be at Sony will believe that their consumers should do what I mentioned above, get an inexpensive midi sequencer and run as fast as you can!!!!! As I said, I am sure there will be some with a few words on this matter (let's be civil and kind now), but for now do yourself a favor and take my suggestion to heart. Not only will you be happy creating all those groovy ideas in your little 'noggin', but you will become familiar with a midi interface that is more widely used by others in the industry and hopefully this will make you a more sought after tradesperson(a politically correct word... I hate 'em, but oh well). That's my rant, and I am sticking to it!!!!
luces.

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: Spectralis

Date:1/4/2006 2:38:54 PM

I think that musicians should be able to use any combination of hosts that they like but I also think that we are entittled to an all in one solution as well.

ACID Pro is an expensive host that offers midi. I hope that midi will be improved in ACID in line with other expensive hosts. My concern is that half-hearted midi implimentation will not attract new users and this may impact on the ACID user base. The more people who buy ACID the more likely it will continue to be developed.

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: Illogical

Date:1/5/2006 9:54:40 AM

^ agreed

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: luces1

Date:1/5/2006 11:12:59 AM

^ agreed


With who?

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: kbruff

Date:1/5/2006 2:18:14 PM

OK -- just my input here....

FLSTUDIO / Cubase / Sonar or any other midi/audio all work very well with ACID.

I think having ACID just means you have one more, tool to work with it is not a comlete solution but it helps to construct a wide range of audio arrangements, especially those which rewuire surround sound.

Now here is my work flow...

FLSTUDIO + Large Sample Libary + Native Instruments + Sony Sound Foundry Apps = Musical arrangments.

This is a flexible modular way of working with audio since they work independently outside of one another. I dont have to worry about some issue preventing me from accessing some vital part of my DAW's development system.

Often times a select my samples -- edit in Sound Forge then dump to my directory -- arrange in FLSTUIO -- render tracks with ACIDIZED and SLICED features into ACID. Arrange and MIX and then master in Sound Forge. Then apply other audio layers via either Vegas or even guess what --- FLSTUDIO or ACID.

Affordable + Simple + Modular and effective.

I have experienced the limitations of many DAW environments, often times I can do some mentally in a fraction of the time it takes someone else who works in a large all in one tool.

But that is just my input.

By the way ACID and FLSTUDIO are great scratch pads and you can audition files very easily and organize them in a way that supports other audio apps.

Am I pushing FLSTUDIO -- yes because it works so well and it is supported by a very well managed forum where bugs and issues are addressed professionally.

See - Ya.
Kevin

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: Hitime

Date:1/6/2006 2:56:31 AM

The problem I face with Acid as slave is the loss of the video monitor
-- otherwise -- yes works well -- i use Sonar

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: Hitime

Date:1/6/2006 2:56:40 AM

The problem I face with Acid as slave is the loss of the video monitor
-- otherwise -- yes works well -- i use Sonar

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: StuRS

Date:1/12/2006 4:22:04 AM

I agree with this. I have the same problem, although with Audio rather than midi.

I currently use Reason 3.0 and Sound Forge Studio 8. Reason cant record audio so my soloution would be to buy Sonar home studio £79 which offers audio recording and the use of acid loops.

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: Spectralis

Date:1/12/2006 10:52:23 AM

I find that Sonar crashes unexpectedly on my system where as ACID is rock solid. Having two hosts running at the same time eats a lot of cpu which means less softsynths.

Modular solutions have their place. eXT is a fine example of this way of working but I prefer a main host that can cope with most tasks. ACID is nearly there which is why I probably go on about the upgrade so much because it would be ideal for me to have an all in one solution.

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: MusicLine

Date:1/12/2006 2:00:58 PM

I need to correct luces1 regarding the Cakewalk Music Creator 2 he recommends.

I just bought the software few weeks ago: it DOES NOT support 24/96. For that, you need to buy Music Creator Pro, which retails for around USD 80. Music Creator 2 does not provide VST/VSTi support., neither (Cakewalk provides the adapter for extra charge)

The worst thing, Music Creator 2 does not allow connection of external (hardware) MIDI devices, since there is no way (as confirmed by the Cakewalk's tech support) to add instrument definitions ( a feature normally available in any other sequencer that I know of) - This info is not published anywhere on Cakewalk's website or in the manuals.

In other words, with MC 2 you can kiss goodbye your external synth/sound modules...

That's why I'm in process of requesting a full refund from Cakewalk.

Going back to the subject, ReWire is a nice option. It's great when it works, but when it doesn't you're stuck. Each software's manufacturer will tell you that it's the other side's fault for not functioning... I will always seek an integrated solution, if available.

Subject:RE: Rewire for your midi woes!!!!!

Reply by: luces1

Date:1/15/2006 5:54:43 PM

First off let me apologize for misleading anyone. As I stated, I usually use Cubase. I keep MC2 in case clients have a project done in Cakewalk( MC2 will open up bundle files in all Cakewalk up to Home XL and I have heard it will open Sonar 4 bundles as well, I have never done this). I do wonder why MusicLine felt the need to purchase MC2 when he already had a version of Cakewalk(at least according to his reply in the "Midi in Acid sucks" thread. I guess maybe it was an older basic version.

Anyhow, let me say that the title of my thread says it ALL...(Rewire for your midi woes).I was NOT saying that MC2 is a pro solution to anyones problem, but I was saying that it is a workaround for the lack of midi in Acid.How about this.....rewire AP to MC2 and simply work on your midi stuff while being able to demo/preview your Acid project in syncronization and THEN save your midi info as a midi file and simply open up in ACID if you prefer to work in Acid. Yes, it is NOT ideal, but it IS an immediate solution to a SPECIFIC issue(namely midi). And it IS between $20-$30! (at least it was 6 mos. ago).

As for the other issues regarding MC2.....EVERY VSTi(synth) I own has the ability to install a DXi version which WILL work in MC2. Granted MC2 does NOT support VST fx, but it will support most soft synths. Regarding the instrument definitions....I do not usually go through the hassle of using those in any software ( just me, but it seems like a huge pain when all I have to do is move 2 feet to my left, pick my sound and record a program change...very old school, but that's me!) But, if others choose to work that way...more power to them! I think it is a very pessimistic and extreme thing to say that you can kiss your external synths goodbye! Every sound card worth it's price has a midi output, don't they? What else do ya need to trigger external synths?! Let me further say that if THIS is the type of midi implentation everybody is hoping for, I CERTAINLY believe that you will be waiting a LONG time for this to happen in ACID.

Also, let's keep things in perspective, most all-in-one DAW's (Sonar, Cubase SX) are about $500-$700 and AP5 + other rewire hosts (MC2, Cubase SE,etc) will set you back about $300. THAT's a deal as far as I am concerned! Granted, I DO prefer an all in one solution, but I also HAVE to get a job done NOW!!!! So..... that's my rant and I am sticking to it! My real suggestion is to get Cubase SE and REWIRE!!!!! It is solid and GREAT!!!!! Once again, that's just me!!!!!