Insert Soft synth Options - total fail

Hi, here is a problem I can't solve. I have some old music I created in the 80s-90s (pre-soft synths)and when I open the files in Music Creator 7 the only output option is the not-ideal Microsoft GS wavetable synth. There are no other options. Not knowing what to do I open the browser window and select TTS-1, up pops the dreaded 'Insert Soft synth Options' dialogue (the descriptions do not make any sense to me) so I move on to . . .
Create These Tracks: I don't understand any of the options so I go to the step-by-step instructions - Inserting soft synths. - I then go to 'To insert a soft synth from the synth rack or menu' the fourth option 'If you want to use existing MIDI and audio tracks to play the soft synth, uncheck all of the Create these tracks options.' would seem to fit what I'm doing. I select either the TT-S1 or the Cakewalk Sound Center as the output, then listen to . . . NOTHING! The meters show activity but there is no sound output. 
 
I've tried work-arounds like creating a SI-bass, drum, guitar etc. track, and copying and pasting the MIDI events into these tracks, I've even had it working fine, until the next time I open the file and am greeted by the usual silence.
 
I have had this software for several months now, I can do all I need to do MIDI editing wise, I get the results I need mainly by using my external MIDI synth and the Microsoft GS wavetable synth. The software synths are hit-and-miss to say the least, whenever I think I've figured things out they stop working. Is there something wrong with the original file? Is there something wrong with the installation or setup? Basically I can't get the soft synths to work, consistently, or predictably. A friend tells me to switch to Cubase but I've tried it in the past and didn't like it.
 
What to do?
 

Okay, thanks. I will attempt to do as you say. First off, how do I Disable the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth? I am using a windows machine.

With all due respect, this is a lot more work than just assigning a sound to a midi track!  I realize there are tons of perfectly valid reasons why all-this is done in such a complicated manner. I, however, am not in the category of users who would realize benefits from this. I hereby give up. I will switch to a much simpler program. Thank you for your time.

I  understand that these DAW programs are suppose to mimic the workings of a 'real' studio, only instead of plugging in a device via a wire you do it via software. Fine. I appreciate the fact that I don't have to go out and buy equipment, however if I didn't have an external sound module hooked up to my physical interface with a midi cable, I wouldn't be able to use it at all, at least not effectively.
 
I'm familiar with many types of software, I'm a video editor, animator, etc. and yes, virtually every program has it's own quirks and challenges, but generally there is a reason other than "Just cause it is" which I firmly believe is the case here. Back in the 'old days' in the 1990s I was able to get my sequencer up and running in 20 minutes. I know this software is much more capable, but. . .
 
I will continue to use it with my external module, once in a while I will try to figure out the soft-synths etc. - I have recorded some audio with it which seems fine, although I use another program to record audio. If the principles are the same on all DAWs then I'd probably be better served by one that scales properly to my Windows 10 desktop and 24" monitor instead of being forced to add an extra monitor to see everything as the interface doesn't scale!

I find the online documentation very frustrating and at times patronising. It was not written for the entry level user it cannot have been. I have used Cake products for nearly 25 years on and off and I found CPA 3 up to 9 very easy to work with but that is because a manual the size of War and Peace was provided with each one (hard copy) and made very good bedtime reading and was presented in a logical manner. The online docs are stand alone stuff and written with ones peer in mind not a new user.
 
For example I dont understand what the following means when loading a softsynth and I fear this is the reason i cannot get my sounds to work perfectly or without freezing, cutting out etc. "A single synth track that acts as an output for output 1" is a prime example. This is mentioned below copied from online docs. I could operate CPA 9 in my sleep - the move to Sonar then back to MC has been a frustrating one and one I still cannot get myself going with. Yes as mentioned above there is no one button fixes all but there is no (apparent) logic to some of the things we have to do in order to get a software sound to play (correctly). I used to use Soundfonts all the time and there was nothing simpler it seemed. Must be an age thing but to do the same thing now one has to learn it by trial and error and that is not even proving successful. I wish i was 'as close' as the user above but I have persevered trying to get a few simple midi tracks to play successfully through softsynths (all provided by cakewalk) and to no avail.
 
Copied from online docs - loading a softsynth
Choose options from the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog box according to the following:


If you want to create a MIDI track that uses the soft synth as an output, select the Create These Tracks: MIDI Source check box.


If you want to create a single synth track that acts as an output for Output 1 of the soft synth, select the Create These Tracks: First Synth Audio Output check box.


If you want to create separate synth tracks for each of the soft synth’s outputs, select the Create These Tracks: All Synth Audio Outputs check box.


If you want to use existing MIDI and audio tracks to play the soft synth, uncheck all of the Create These Tracks options. Music Creator adds the soft synth to the audio track input and MIDI track Output menus. You need to set an existing MIDI track’s Output field to the soft synth, and set an existing audio track’s Input field to the soft synth (the audio track will then become a synth track).

 

I hear you, Brandon. This is a very complicated and counter intuitive program. I've been told that all DAWs are like this, and if that is the case the non-industry-standard ones days are numbered. Like you I'm confounded by the tutorials and 'help' for the most part.
 
Advertising something as "Quick and easy for beginners!" when nothing could be farther from the truth doesn't make sense. There is a lot of "This is the way things are done, so just do it." Sure, I've had a mixer and a few rack mounted devices so I know the principles behind a lot of this, but it's on a COMPUTER and it doesn't HAVE to be like this!!
 
Different programs are adding MIDI features all the time, I'm experimenting with one now. If it works out I'll let you know. I am still plugging away with MC-7 but that's because I have an external device for sound and I don't HAVE to rely on soft-synths at all, I'm still trying them out though, when I have nothing better to do. :)

The only logic I can see in the way things are done is if you're using an old computer (a 486?) with 512K of ram! I use a i7 Quad core with 8 gigs of RAM, I can edit 2o tracks of video and should be able to run countless virtual instruments, why can't I just set the track perimeters and move on?
 
This is more of a rant. :D

I think he means do not select 'Create MIDI Source Track'.
That will insert the synth's audio output track without an associated MIDI track. You then would change the output of your already-created MIDI track to the just-inserted synth and it's audio track.

No. A simple instrument track is a MIDI track and a soft synth track with it's audio output all in one track.
I don't think there's anything "simple" to it and have never liked them, or used them.

Brandon2000
Hi Scook,
 
You mention above;
 
Disable the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth and MC7 will automatically setup TTS-1 to playback MIDI files (IOW files with .mid extention). From there if you want to replace the TTS-1 for a track,

• add the synth
• in the "Insert Soft Synth Options" add an audio track only
• change the MIDI track output to the new synth and
• selected a program on the new synth.

However in MC6 there is no option to 'add an audio track only'. Have I missed something?
 
Thanks

The above assumes there is a single TTS-1 instance with multiple MIDI tracks pointing to it and you now want to change one of the MIDI tracks to use a different synth. For example, say one instance of TTS-1 is currently playing drums, strings and bass from three MIDI tracks, one for each instrument. And now you want to use SI-Bass instead of TTS-1. Here are the steps.
 
1. Add SI-Bass to the project.
To do that, insert SI-Bass either from main menu Insert > Soft Synth > VST2 > SI-Bass Guitar or drag SI-Bass Guitar from the instruments in the Plugins tab of the browser or what I would do is click the + in the Synth tab of the browser and Insert Synth > VST2 > SI-Bass Guitar. When the "Insert Soft Synth Options" dialog appears, select only the "First Synth Audio Output" option, like this

This will add the synth to the synth rack and create an audio track pointing to the synth.
 
2. Change the Bass MIDI track output to SI-Bass

 
Now, if each MIDI track had it's own instance of a synth and you wanted to use a different synth, right-click the MIDI or Audio track header and select "Replace Synth" and navigate the menu to the new synth.
 

Brandon2000
Is that the same as adding a simple instrument track? There doesnt appear much difference. 

An instrument track is a hybrid track containing the input features of a MIDI track and the output features of an audio track. It differs from audio tracks in that instrument tracks are used exclusively by soft synths. An audio track may be used to record audio from an external source, play audio loops or play the output of a softsynth. A simple instrument track only records MIDI like a MIDI track and is intended to play back the audio from the synth associated with the track. The alternative to using an instrument track is using a MIDI track AND an audio track.
 
When instrument tracks were introduced they did not work very well. They have improved through the years and work much better now. The only issue I am aware of with instrument tracks is they cannot be cloned. On the other hand, they reduce clutter by presenting the synth as a single track. Instrument tracks are only appropriate when the synth has a single MIDI track for input and single audio track for output.
 
 

Thanks for the info - it is much appreciated. it also seems  along way of doing something simple. Its a shame Cakewalk couldn't do things in a user-friendly manner. For example a button that says - "I want to" and then link this to a drop down that says for example; "create a single midi track linked to the TTS", or "create a single midi track linked to the CSC" and so on. These commands could then trigger the above processes and voila  -a track appears as requested. A simple drop down in each midi track could then have a list of instruments to choose from. It certainly isnt rocket science and is probably one of the easiest things in computing to arrange. No hard calculations just a plain set of choices. 
 
 

I agree to Scook.
This is a matter of learning how the program works, instead of expecting the program to work the way one expects to/wants. When you learn the basics of the program these things really aren't that complicated. Sometimes, though,
the documentation would be the first thing to bet improved.
 
Clicking the "I want to..." + the desired option requires two clicks just like clicking "Insert Soft synth" + synth name.
Selecting, say,  "First synth output" or "All outputs" would be the third click. Not that much more work.
As Scook writes, you can also skip the "Insert Soft Synth" dialog.
 
An "I want to.." -drop down list of scores of options would be far from practical, IMO. It would require further clicking anyway. Are there instances of the particular synth open already > To which instance is the new MIDI track routed > + whatever different alternatives there could be. In the present workflow you take certain defined steps that offer you all the alternative paths as you go.
 
I'm not saying things couldn't be improved, but IMO the present workflow is logical, compact and gives the user all the control.