Sound Card Compatability

Change your driver mode to MME. MC4 and all Cakewalk products default to WDM, which the AC97 usually doesn't support well, if at all.

I have only visited a few forums, and there's always someone there ready and waiting to pounce on the latest newbie. Their anonymity seems to give them the power to berate total strangers who are only looking for help.
It's easy to say "read the Help file, idiot", but I know when I started out, I had no idea of the terminology used, so it would have been hard to find the answer to a particular problem when you didn't know what to call it. Here, you can explain the concept of what you're looking for without getting your head bitten off, and someone will get the gist of your problem and try to fix it.
I like it here, and with 3 days off a week, I visit often.

ORIGINAL: 57Gregy

I have only visited a few forums, and there's always someone there ready and waiting to pounce on the latest newbie. Their anonymity seems to give them the power to berate total strangers who are only looking for help.

Greg, the SONAR forum, and to a lesser extent, the Home Studio forum on this site seem to be exacltly as you describe here - I cannot for the life of me see what the point is of just typing RTFM in answer to someone's question. Why not just give them the answer (which they will invariably know) or don't bother.

I used to call these pillocks out for doing it but their stock answer seems to be that before they will get involved in really answering a question, they expect the questioner to have done some research of their own and have reached a certain level of competence with the software.

He he - I believe I still have the last (i.e. unanswered) post in a thread where I was battling single-handed against a couple of the RTFM brigade which went along the lines of 'why have a forum in the first place' if nobody wants to chip in with some answers! I also pointed out that if the manual was so bloody good then why does nearly every SONAR user seem to also own a copy of Scott Garrigus's SONAR Power book! The silence was deafening!

I know this has been discussed before but it is uncanny how many of the RTFM crew don't have a single measure of music posted for the rest of us to critique.

Staying with the SONAR and Home Studio forums, contrast the attitude between these wasters and the likes of our very own Beagle and RobertB, who both frequent and contribute positively to both these rooms.

Bob won't mind me mentioning a recent thread in the SONAR forum where he was settling down for an hour or two to literally walk someone through a particular set-up problem - the two-way conversation was going fine until a couple of the regulars decided to poke their oars in and seemed to actually berate Bob for employing this particular (and very successful may I add) method of giving assistance; their general thrust being that the poster should have obtained a certain level of competence and shouldn't be needing Bob's help in this way.

I chipped in and explained that this method was often employed in the 'friendlier' forums around this site and had helped a lot of folk to actually 'understand' what they were doing instead of just following a list of instructions without actually knowing why they were doing so.

Plus those of us (I count myself lucky enough to be one of them*) who have learned the techniques by having some time and effort lavished on us are, in my opinion, more likely to be those, who in turn, are prepared to offer the same level of help and advice to others.

Steve


*Bob's tutorial on 'Using Busses' allied to a few basic questions transformed my whole way of recording (for the better) and helped me to transform my workflow and mixes overnight - all for a couple of hour's effort on Bob's part.

I occasionally run across a new user in some other (hardware or software) forum asking questions.... I normally send them here to MC because I know regardless of what platform they are using, they will be treated kindly and get the answers they are seeking.

ORIGINAL: Guitarhacker

I occasionally run across a new user in some other (hardware or software) forum asking questions.... I normally send them here to MC because I know regardless of what platform they are using, they will be treated kindly and get the answers they are seeking.

Big +1 to that Herb - IMHO there's more knowledge floating about in here anyway, as well as a far more friendly manner in which it is shared.

ORIGINAL: Tap

Curious, though, was it just the divide and conquer aspect of using busses that "helped you to transform your workflow and mixes overnight" or are there some additional tid-bits that you can share about your revelations ---- Thanks in advance.

He he - workflow really James, I sort of knew how to run busses to a limited extent but Bob's tutorial just made everything click into place - I now knew the why part of the equation which meant I could set up my own bussing systems correctly and more efficiently.

Thanks for you honesty Steve, and your comments Wood...

I thought for sure there was something else I was missing out on ........

... I'm Not always the Brightest Crayon in the Box ...

I was an Amateur Recording Engineer in the Day of Mag Tap and there were always tricks and tips with that stuff.

-TAP-

Yeah... I remember a few new users coming here with bad attitudes.... like we were cake staff and owed them working software and hardware.....even after informing them that we were not..."and please answer our question about your system" they keep posting the same demands.... oh well...

I think since coming here the only thing I wish this particular forum had is stickies. Quite a few of you have done some amazing and simple walkthroughs that get pushed back a few pages until you remember to bump them again. These walkthroughs (along with the "Please post your system stats in your first post") should always be at the top in my opinion. They've really made me delve farther into the program than the tutorials did, and they are also nice to have to go back through to catch that one little check mark I forgot to put in.

As far as the quality of help and people this forum has, it's probably the best out there. The RTFM crowd on forums are the pits, and it seems like the past 10 years they have gotten progressively worse and more widespread. You think Sonar is bad, head to the AutoCAD site sometime. How some of those people haven't been "randomly" run over by a car is beyond me.

Wood,
Mine was only 1/2" Grand Master (only 8 Tracks) .... Which today costs probably about 3 times what I paid for MC4 .....
I never striped a tape .... But this was only for Home use !!!! I never got the DBX units either.

Kevin,
Actually, a lot of the good stuff posted here has been archived over at music town...... Run by Robo and Beagle...

Music Town

If there is anything here you think should be added just let Robo or Beagle know.


-TAP-





-TAP-

And if anyone is interested in real-time help, register at Music Town, and there is a link at the bottom for 'DAW Chat' or something like that. A chat room where you can receive direction as you work with MC. No one as yet has taken advantage of it, though.
Just post here that you have a problem or want to know how to do something, and if any regulars are willing, you might get instant help!