Anderton
[incredible temptation to get really political but I'll leave it at this]
 
Now, about playlists...I'm going to start checking out the subject to see what I find. In all my years of Sonar, I've never used playlists.

Back in the day when Cake (TwelveToneSys) came on a 5.25/3.5" floppy as a sequencer, I loved the playlist feature.   I know that focus turned to Audio but MIDI continues to be relevant/uselful in so many areas - I've always felt that Cakewalk should be head and shoulders above other programs when it comes to MIDI implementation because of it's history.
 
Yes, I know we're not talking here about MIDI specifically but what power & flexibility with todays technology for live use there is for using Audio & MIDI in tandem and usefulness of Playlists specifically for musicians who need/desire to perform as efficiently as possible in a familiar software enviornment!
 
I for one look forward to reading up on how you view playlists in it's current state Craig - perhaps another SOS article, Tip O' the Day, or perhaps some insight for Cake to possibly have a looksee possible update (if needed).

fwrend
 
I for one look forward to reading up on how you view playlists in it's current state Craig - perhaps another SOS article, Tip O' the Day, or perhaps some insight for Cake to possibly have a looksee possible update (if needed).

Well, I have been known to take requests 

Hey, Sock. We have the same legal statutes about clubowners being responsible here in Georgia as well. And I agree that it did have some what of an impact but not near as much as just the plain fact that you can't afford to go out anymore. Back when all our kids were living at home even before the markets fell it could cost close to 100 to 150 dollars just to take in a meal and a movie for us all. Nowadays, I couldn't even consider it.
Now the kids are grown and gone but the grand kids keep us hopping. I heard a comic once say," The good news is your kids are gone. The bad news is they're coming back. AND THERE'S MORE OF 'EM!"
It is a comfort to know, though, we are resilient and always find a way to adapt and continue making our art. Even if the technology forces us to find a way to continue. Thank heavens we have the tools that we do now. 

One place where regulations had a definite impact was in choking off the EDM scene back in the late 90s/early 2000s. While it was thriving throughout the world, several state laws were passed (IIRC New York state was the first in a series) making clubowners liable for drug use on their premises. The joke at the time was every high school principal would have to be arrested, but the laws had a chilling effect on dance clubs.
 
Having seen what drugs can do I'm certainly not in favor of a drug culture, but I don't think it's correct to deprive the majority of people something enjoyable because of the actions of a few. In any event it was a crucial time in the evolution of EDM, and it was like slamming on the brakes.
 
I do think live performance will make a comeback within the next 10 years, possibly through unanticipated media (e.g., pay-per-view live streaming in movie theaters).

Ironic comment about the drug culture. Now our doctors are our dealers.
 
I worked for a guy who did this back in the early 1990s. He had his 3.5 floppies ready to load into two different MC500 MkII machines and a whole lot of gear. I always wondered what playlists were. Now I know.

Just wanted to chime in and say that the PLAYLIST feature is how we run our live productions. With it we can send midi time code to our lighting board to fire lighting cues, send program changes to our mixing console to turn mics on and off and of course play the music and sound FX. To me it is essential. Yeah I think it could use a little more tweaking to be perfect, but I'm using it. ALOT.

JCody
Just wanted to chime in and say that the PLAYLIST feature is how we run our live productions. With it we can send midi time code to our lighting board to fire lighting cues, send program changes to our mixing console to turn mics on and off and of course play the music and sound FX. To me it is essential. Yeah I think it could use a little more tweaking to be perfect, but I'm using it. ALOT.

Ever consider writing an article for the Cakewalk blog? I for one would be really interested in more details on how you use the program.

Sidroe
The good news is your kids are gone. The bad news is they're coming back.

 
The upside of this, from a purely selfish point of view, is that we get to keep our girls around a lot longer than would have been the case 30 years ago.  At their age (early twenties) I was gone and wouldn't have dreamed of going back, but they can't afford to  (and neither can we).
 
It's nice to still have them around.  Soon it'll be pretty empty.
 

Anderton

JCody
Just wanted to chime in and say that the PLAYLIST feature is how we run our live productions. With it we can send midi time code to our lighting board to fire lighting cues, send program changes to our mixing console to turn mics on and off and of course play the music and sound FX. To me it is essential. Yeah I think it could use a little more tweaking to be perfect, but I'm using it. ALOT.

Ever consider writing an article for the Cakewalk blog? I for one would be really interested in more details on how you use the program.

I'd love to, but I'm currently in a time crunch getting our next production up. This time we're using Sonar to run video clips as well as the above mentioned things. Let me know how to add to the blog, and maybe when I have time I'll chime in.

Sidroe
I have tried using playlists to play individual projects one after another. It works fine except that you have to leave a few more blank measures after the playback starts for the samples to load in to the vstis. As I'm sure you are aware, long load times mean dead air! That extra 10 seconds could mean the difference between a packed dance floor and the Sahara Desert. Once you've lost them, you have to start winning them back over again. That scenario can be plain exhausting and frustrating. Over the years of playing a lot of the venues over again, I have made lists that are assembled from files that are custom EQed and tweaked for certain rooms.
It is so much easier to convert mixes to mp3s and make playlists in Media Player than being bothered with Sonar. It's a lot easier to locate that one requested song in the middle of a set and insert it in there. I still prefer using the original project files but sometimes the show needs to move faster and more flexible than Sonar will let you. 

I also mix my stuff down for use.  However, I send the tracks to an iPad, and use ForScore to play them back.  If you don't know it, it is primarily a lyric app ($7).  But, you can associate a track (or more) with each song, and it will also send out MIDI when you select the song, for me that means my POD, Vocal Live, Looper, drum machine and Keyboard(s) all get set up for me when I pick the song - huge time saver - no between song setup time.( I am a modern one man band - play guitar and keys and sing over tracks or loops etc.  The OP can use this to set his digital mix patch.  It will respond to bluetooth so it is easy to use a page turner for hands free operation.