Using various Cakewalk DAWs and tools to build MIDI timing around audio recordings of guit

[font="'times new roman'; line-height: normal; font-size: medium; "]I found a thread that discussed MIDI arrangements, they were discussing among other things, Band in a Box. I need to know if I can use it to set up the structure of my tracks. Once the MIDI is set up in Band-in-a-Box or something like it, can that MIDI timing be imported and embellished in Cakewalk?[font="'times new roman'"] 
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The deal with me is that I purchased a MIDI keyboard, and Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 4 to get MIDI for completing my guitar audio recordings in to completed tracks. I am having a lot of trouble with getting my synth to work, but I've figured out why it does this in Cakewalk. I had expected more inter-operability (if that's a word!)


At this point, my biggest weaknesses are MIDI drums and timing working with my riffs that I now realize are a bit unusual. I was always spoiled by a live drummer, now I need to either figure out how to set up the drum patterns or the MIDI timing of the track itself to complete my riffs. The other choice I have is to start with basic drum patterns and force my playing to match, but that is totally different in terms of creativity and really defeats the purpose of doing vertical production (one person I mean).

The reason I went with Cakewalk is to start with, I already had a UA4FX, and I knew that I could get my MIDI keyboard working with Cakewalk, since it's a Roland family product. Once I started running in to trouble, I investigated further in to Sonar X1 (I have the OEM LE version, which is cool, but doesn't have the tools I need).


I'm at a frustrating crossroads, because I feel let down by Cakewalk in hyping the Guitar Tracks Pro product, when it's really a very limited DAW that does not scale up. I really would have spent the money on X1 Studio or Producer had I known more about the limits of GTP4.


What I think I need to make it work is either learn a lot more about how to program MIDI with months of practice,  or get the tools that I thought were included in GTP4, which in Studio and Producer is called "Audio Snap 2" (I expected the same functions but less sophisticate, but I find no way to do this at all, even though it seems like every other cheap DAW like Sony Acid can do this, but I might be wrong). Anyway, no audio snap.



I think with Audio Snap my problems are solved because my workflow would do like this:


Record riffs
Choose which to use
Pull out MIDI drum instrument, laydown the MIDI drum track, and snap the MIDI to the nodes from the peaks identified by the Audio Snap tool. The tool also works by moving the audio nodes according to MIDI, which I did not expect. I thought that might be one of the reasons why you'd get version 2.

But I'm also wondering if I can change MIDI timing in my tracks by manually identifying the peaks in the displayed wave forms. Can I do that, can I drag or somehow edit the MIDI timing with mouse selection?

I really need to buy a book and some videos, but the MIDI market is so incredibly large and confusing in terms on knowing where to start. I need to get instrument too, but it's enough for me to get drums the way I want, then I can worry about the rest I guess.

I'm using the X1 producer on the 15 day trial and I can't afford it. I can't even afford Studio, but if I can't work out the drums, I am screwed. I just don't know where to go or what to do. I think the right book that I know covers the topic would be ideal to find ASAP.

And should I try B-i-a-B? Is that or some other tool able to somehow get drums or midi timing to match my riffs?


One last thing was I looked at Alesis PercPads (percussion). There is at least one model for under $100, and if I can get a MIDI pedal to tap my timing while I perform guitar, that would also be a node to build my timing on, wouldn't it?

So my choices are 
1) Band in a box or some external tool to record and structure the MIDI timing to import in to Cakewalk DAW
2) Using Audio Snap or some function like it, drag the MIDI timing in to place with the nodes created by the tool
3) Use my own manual process to identify timing, build MIDI timing around those nodes
4) Use a pedal for MIDI drum timing to constrain the timing in Cakewalk as I play/perform

Related questions:
1) Where can I get a very basic, cheap pedal for tap timing the MIDI? I have an Alesis QX49, and I am prepared to spend up to another $200 on software and hardware, so if I end up buying X1 studio, I will not have any budget left for drums. IOW, it has to give me enough tools to do everything

2) Is there a Cakewalk product, or a third party author writing about Cakewalk that covers how to perform in MIDI in Sonar X1? What is the most likely place to start my book or training search?

3) I hate to ask this because it will be a long time before I can afford this, but what is the best way for a budget synth to allow practicing without having to use my computer with the active window in focus? Is there an alternate way to configure the MIDI instruments so that it just plays until you tell it not to? In Cakewalk, and I'm not sure about others like VSTi in Reaper, since I haven't been able to try that yet. I need to hear the instruments so that I have feedback on timing with key velocity, etc. I'd like to get a nice keyboard with aftertouch, but wouldn't we all?

Any other suggestions will be hugely appreciated, and I promise to keep notes that should help other users who follow.


Thanks, desperate in the SFBA

The way I do (what you have suggested above) it is to lay down a rhythm track, that could be an acoustic guitar, bass or even an electric guitar riff (of course you need to work out time signature and tempo and play to a click track).  I then tap in a basic drum pattern of kicks, snares and hats. 

Now depending on what sort of track it is I either continue laying instruments down or I start to lock in a groove.  Now hopefully I have nailed the initial rhythm track but it may be slightly out here and there.  I then get the audio snap palate and move the rhythm track accordingly to the drum(so this answers your question about the audio snap palate it does do what it says it does). 

Remember it does not have to be perfect, sometimes notes should be in front of the beat and sometimes behind and not all of the instruments need to be in front, behind or on the beat.  it is about creating space for each instrument and this is done by sometimes playing outside of the groove.

It just has to sound in time but the timing of the track can be slightly fluid by this I mean keep the kick on the beat and in time but if you have an acoustic guitar as a rhythm track that track can be slightly in front or behind the beat, when it gets too noticeable either shift the note with the audio snap palate, or move the hat slightly to correspond with the strum.  I hope you are getting what I am talking about??

This technique can be used for any recorded instrument and how much you quantize the track is up to you and what sort of music you are recording.

Here are two examples, a new track that I just mixed and mastered,  the intal acoustic track was recorded a couple of years ago and then the rest of the track was recorded a bit later.  I was never happy with the end results, the acoustic guitar was slightly out of place here and there and so was the bass.  I never got a decent drum part from any one either.

So I went back wrote very basic drums listened to the drums with the acoustic, decided were I needed to fix a couple of notes and then the track had a groove that I could measure the rest of the instruments by:

Have a listen to this http://soundcloud.com/aaudiomystiks/thekillingsong and see if you can hear and see where I have shifted notes to make the track feel right, note that I have not made a perfect track, I have allowed the timing to drift slightly, this gives the track a more realistic feeling.
 
Here is another example: http://soundcloud.com/aaudiomystiks/nowandthen

And finally if you want to get really creative with the audio snap pallate, there is this: http://www.aaudiomystiks.com/mystik_music


I hope this has answered your question of about the audio snap palate and what you can achieve, if you know how to use it, it will do what you want to do.

Peace Ben