BTW....Doesn't it open automatically when you click on the help tab at the top of the screen?

Is the manual available? I don't see a help tab. I checked support, but it's not there. I'd love to see the manual if it's available to be sure MC4 does everything I need/want. I know it's only $35, but when you get a few duds, it starts to add up!

Thanks.

Nutty

Your secret's safe with us


HEY MOM!!!!......Guess what Herb does???!!!!

Your brother's exceptionally well behaved, too?

ORIGINAL: Nutty

BTW....Doesn't it open automatically when you click on the help tab at the top of the screen?

Is the manual available? I don't see a help tab. I checked support, but it's not there. I'd love to see the manual if it's available to be sure MC4 does everything I need/want. I know it's only $35, but when you get a few duds, it starts to add up!

Thanks.

Nutty

I believe the download version does not come with the manual. but I have it available for download from my website. check my signature for the site.

Okay, I have surfed the complete manual. I thought I had read that you could generate harmonies in MC4? Also, I often use Band In A Box for accompiament for my songs. Does MC4 support this program? If I import the midi file, will it separte the instruments into separate tracks? Other then these questions, I think MC4 does everything I'm looking for.

Thanks.

Nutty

If it's any comfort, there have been others who struggled to simply BUY the program. And then many of us (well me anyway), struggled to get it going. But once it works, it's great. (and it only works cause so many here were able to help me!) Good luck!

Okay thanks for the information Beagle. Glad I asked.

Right now I'm using PowerTracks (PT) as my sequencer. It does work well with Band In A Box (BIAB) (same company of course). The unfortunate part is that BIAB will only do one audio track, so I add all my audio in PT. I import the BIAB as midi and convert it all to audio in PT. I'll have to check, but I don't think PT exports the same way as BIAB. I believe you have export track by track. I suspect I would have to export the vocals and harmonies from PT into MC4 as a midi. I should be able to do that? What I'm missing from PT and BIAB is the notation. I really want to do real time notation with the keyboard. It would also be nice if it would do the vocals and harmonies, but I'm not sure if that could be done (notation). I can get the notation from BIAB of tjhe parts that they add, but not the melody. That's what I wanted to put in with the keyboard.

Maybe MC4 is not the right program? I did look at Sonar Home Studio 6 as an option. There is Sonar 7 as well, but I can't afford it. I think Sonar 6 is around $100. I couldn't find a download site for that program though...it bumps you up to Sonar 7. Which version of Sonar are you using?

Thanks.

Nutty

Thanks Robomusic...that helps.

I was referring to vocal harmonies. You were probably creating this post as I was responding to Beagle. You will see in that post what I'm hoping to do. I use PowerTracks as well.

Thanks.

Nutty

Nuttster, i see the post now, you might have a basic misunderstanding, if I am wrong i appologize, but you can not export vocals and harmonies as midi, they are audio. Midi is information to tell a synth or sampler what sound to make and how. Audio is pure digital wave file from an audio source, or from the output of a synth after midi triggers it. PT will export as bothmidi and audio, it will convert to audio your midi tracks. Cakewalk, or MC will do both as well, it has the .bun file extension, that handles this, but ulitimately you need to mix down to a stereo file and all of them will do that.

Also PT and MC4 are basically the same, both are audio/midi sequencers. PT has a few features MC does not have and vise sersa, I would say they are good contemporaries. MC4 has a tad better Plugs with the exception of TC Helicon, and PT has a tiny bit more midi tools. Both will do notation, PT has chord wizaed, MC4 has more built in instruments.

Realy there is no need to take a file from PT and open it in MC unless you just do not like the work flow in PT. Home Studio, and Sonar are nothing different as far as capability, they just have more feature, and better plugins.

I don't have sonar, i use MC3 still as it does all i want from cakewalk. I don't use just one program, i have never found one that is the swiss army knife of sequencing. I use BiaB as a live band, and to make basic songs for me, I use MTS as my main sequencer cause it does a quicker and better finished result of audio and midi to audio work, I use MC3 as a midi maniputlator, i do midi surgury in it, as it really excells at that media, and occasionally I will track a whole song in it since i have a softspot for it from days gone by. I use PT for any vocal harmonies, but i have not found it to handle VSTis well enough to track projects in it yet. If they ever get it to handle VSTis as well as MC does it would most likely use it far more, as it is a very easy to use program with some very powerful midi and audio toys. The chord wizard is amazing, and the ability in version 12 to use real drums intrigues me (still on version 11).

No many of my projects are existing midi files of cover song that i like to record for my own entertainment, or to play live, mostly use BiaB for that I have used MC3 at times, I also use MTS which is Multitrackstudios. I seldom move from MC3 or PT to MTS, because i like it's work flow the best, it does not handle midi nearly as well as MC, not due to lack of tools, it has both staff and piano roll features they are just harder to use for me personally, more for small adjustments. But MTS buss and effects routing is far superior to most everything else on the market. So I find all of them useful.

Well I finally made a decision. I've ordered MC4 through Amazon Canada. Cakewalk never got the link fixed to download the program. My guitar teacher uses a lot of Cakewalk products (not MC4 though), he said TTS-1 was worth the price of the software alone. So, I may still have to use other software for some stuff, but I think I'll be happy with MC4. We tried the notation with PowerTracks and it kept crashing his system. I should be able to render to wav the files individually in Band in a Box and import them into MC4?

Thanks.

Nutty

Hey Nutty....

You posted about vocal harmonies.... I recently went to a site...I don't remember which one...to look at what was claimed to be "the best vocal harmonizer" available. They had the original vocal track and then the processed tracks as well.....in my opinion...don't waste your money. The harmonies sound......well.....un-natural... they still have a ways to go before this thing will produce natural sounding harmonies.

I guess, for some, it might work and be OK... but it's not my cup of tea.

If you can sing at all....you have the ability to multitrack your vocals and do as many takes as it requires to get the harmonies right....think punch in/out....also...another option.....become friends with a singer if your vocals are not up to the task.

I did see a group live one time that used the hardware version, and I have to admit, it did sound good....I thought their stuff was on a backing track, but after speaking with them (2 guys) ...they showed me the rig they were using....it was an old early version of Cakewalk and it was running on a 286 or a 386 computer (for you young ones....that's pre-pentium) ....they were using it to sequence ALL of the hardware on stage. Including the vocal harmonizer and the guitar module as well. They had 2 vocals, guitar & bass live....everything else was sequenced and controlled by the cakewalk computer. Pretty impressive 18 years ago.

Herb it is so true that any old system will run a sequence that will fire a good rack or full synth, for live work.

My preference is oh natural as well Guitarhacker. However, it's nice to get the notation of the harmony it produces and then reproduce it yourself. I'm looking into trying that.

Thanks.
Nutty