Ableton co-founder and general visionary Robert Henke (also known as Monolake) gave a full-length workshop in New Zealand recently. If you’re up for 90 minutes of discussion of musical and sonic techniques in Live, plus a look at his unique Monodeck controller, the whole video is there. But that’s not the main reason the video is making its way around the Interwebs. It’s because there’s a bit of a bombshell right at the beginning of the footage:

He says, outright, you don’t need 64-bit sound to get “audio quality.” You don’t even need 16-bit all the time.

Okay, maybe that’s not such a radical thought in and of itself. Oh, yeah, except for one thing — the 64-bit summing engine he’s talking about happens to be the one in Ableton Live 7.

Video by Tom Cosm, via AudioLemon

Some people are already assuming this means Ableton has somehow betrayed them (well, in fairness, Robert does say the summing engine is just a marketing gimmick). And what about Cakewalk? Robert doesn’t mention them by name, but the only DAW that’s been trumpeting 64-bit mixing and signal processing is SONAR.

In fact, far from conflicting with Robert’s vision of sound, Ableton Live 7 really embodies it. And as for the Cakewalk thing — well, that’s complicated, because the term “64-bit” applies to a number of basically unrelated topics dealing with sound and computing. But none of that matters as much as one thing: if it sounds good, it is good.

Craig Anderton is easily the most prolific music technology writer on the planet. We got an exclusive interview with him at Cakewalk at the NAMM show to talk about the technologist who has had the biggest impact on him: Bob Moog.

Craig talked to us about two projects, each a tribute to Moog’s legacy. First, there’s The Minimoog Tribute, an inexpensive expansion pack for Cakewalk’s Rapture and Rapture LE synths. Why another set of Moog samples, given there’s a fake Minimoog patch or thirty in just about every synth? Craig tells us he wanted to do something different: really create patches that “cover” the classics rather than duplicate them, taking advantage of samples of his personal Minimoog but blending them with Rapture’s digital capabilities.

Craig also talks about why he chose Rapture, because “it basically says twist my knobs, man, have a good time.” (I won’t touch that one.) In all seriousness, he describes the relationship with the synth as being a personal one.

And this isn’t just a preset pack. It’s got gear porn in it, too — cue the Moog porn bassline.

Craig Anderton’s MiniMoog Tribute Expansion Pack [Cakewalk]

Liz interviewed Craig for CDM at the Cakewalk booth:

NAMM08: Craig Anderton @ Cakewalk - Moog Tribute for Rapture [cdm@blip.tv]

But the real reason Craig wanted to have this interview wasn’t just to talk about his product — it was to make an impassioned plea for The Moog Foundation, which is working to save the vast archival materials Bob Moog collected through his life. They’re not just the history of Bob, or the history of Moog synthesizers: they’re a chronicle of the history of electronic music. And they now have met a formidable foe: humid southern weather. But you can help:

NAMM08: Craig Anderton @ Cakewalk - Moog Foundation [cdm@blip.tv]

A portion of the proceeds from the Minimoog expansion pack for Rapture will be donated by both Craig and Cakewalk to the fund, but even if you’ve only got $10 or $15, consider giving something directly to the foundation — or volunteer or contribute in other ways.

Moog Foundation Call to Action

Donation form

Have Moog synths influenced the way you use non-Moog synths and software? We’d love to hear how — aside from the obvious ways, of course. I know my approach to sound was deeply affected by using both the Buchla and Moog modular systems, even applying thinking about sound and synthesis to very different digital systems. Let us know in comments.

Music software maker Cakewalk is now “Cakewalk by Roland” after Roland acquired a majority stake in the company. While the new logo raised a few eyebrows around the show floor, especially after full acquisitions of Steinberg and Emagic by Yamaha and Apple, respectively, this deal is more of a smaller evolution than a big change. Cakewalk’s history has been intertwined with Roland’s since the early days of its first sequencer — founder and CEO Greg Hendershott talked with us over the summer about those early days and noted early versions relied on and were even engineered specifically around Roland’s MPU-401 MIDI interface. Formal business collaborations began as early as 1995, with a specific commitment in 2003 to work on joint products and an investment by Roland.

The message from Cakewalk: it’s not a buyout, but you should be able to expect some joint hardware/software products in 2008. (What form that’ll take, they’re not saying yet.)

Greg posts a letter to customers on the Cakewalk website. The bits you won’t want to miss:

Although Roland now owns a bigger share of Cakewalk, they didn’t acquire the whole company. Cakewalk is not becoming a “division” of Roland. On the contrary, we remain committed to developing stand-alone software, as well as hardware/software products…

Our discussion forum will remain open. You will have the same high level of technical support and customer service you have come to expect from Cakewalk. And furthermore, we will stay committed to our belief in open standards, collaboration with other leaders in our industry, and not using intrusive copy protection.

Cakewalk has some additional resources, but mostly things seem not to be changing significantly. We got to hang around the Cakewalk booth a bit today, and it was mostly business as usual. The big question is what these joint projects look like — we’ll have to see later this year.

It’s been almost a year since Windows Vista was released to consumers. We know that nearly half of our readers use Windows, so the future of the OS is something we take very seriously — even if many of you, for now, are staying cautious and working (happily, in many cases) on XP. We’ll be examining Vista from various angles over the coming weeks, both measuring the OS and telling you how to make the most of it if for music you are giving it a go.

To start out, we’ve again caught up with Noel Borthwick. Noel CTO of Cakewalk, and one of the most knowledgeable experts on Windows technical details. (He’s also a veteran Linux developer, so his perspective on operating systems goes beyond those from Redmond.)

When we talked to Noel this time last year, a lot of what was new still hadn’t been tested in the real world. Now, Vista has been in the hand of users, and there’s both some good news and bad. A year of Vista has meant a year of improvements, both from Microsoft and third parties. In my own testing, for instance, what began as a disastrous experience running Vista earlier in the year has now become more comparable to XP. (I’m currently on Vista SP1 release candidate on a modest PC desktop.) But there are still areas that could use improvement — and while general Vista improvements were welcome, I think there’s still the real question of whether Vista offers enough that’s unique to compete with its real rival, XP.

We’ll revisit some of those broad issues, but first let’s actually get the technical story, and clear up some misconceptions.

Sound modules of yesteryear rarely earn much love today: now that we’re spoiled for choice with soft synths, ROMplers are unlikely to inspire the same passion. Not so with the E-MU Proteus. These rack modules of sounds were virtual candy stores for sound lovers, beloved by composers and musicians for their broad range of perfectly-crafted sound sets. If you’re an E-MU lover, there’s just no real substitute for some of these sounds.

That means the latest news from Cakewalk should get your attention, whether you’re an old Proteus pro or discovering these for the first time:

E-MU Proteus Pack

For a trip down memory lane:
Proteus 1/2/3 modules at Vintage Synth Explorer
Cakewalk actually got the producer of the original Proteus sound set, Timothy Swartz (now of Digital Sound Factory), to do the sound design. The library uses Cakewalk’s Dimension Pro sampler, so it runs on Mac, Windows, VST, AU, RTAS (for Pro Tools), the lot — and supports 64-bit Windows, as well. If you buy a module, you even get a download of the quite-nice LE flavor of Dimension free.

In the lineup:

• Proteus 2000: Multi-Purpose Professional Sounds
• Mo’ Phatt: Hip Hop / Urban
• Xtreme Lead 1: Dance/Electronica
• Planet Earth: World
• Virtuoso 2000: Orchestral
• PX-7: Drums Percussion

Pick any one a la carte for US$79 or get the whole set for US$299.

I’m downloading these now to review them. Since I get to talk about this before the review, I’d love some feedback. Anything you’d like me to look at specifically for the review? Any sound libraries you’re interested in? Or have you moved on from E-MU to bigger and better things? (Or maybe you’d rather eBay some hardware…)

It was 20 years ago today …

It’s easy to take for granted the mature tools available for music creation, and forget their history and the folks who made them real. While today it’s one of the biggest music software developers in the world, Cakewalk’s first sequencer of the same name started as a college project for a Philosophy major. Cakewalk founder, CEO, and original author of the Cakewalk sequencer Greg Hendershott was that student. For the twentieth anniversary year of the founding of his company (then known as 12 Tone Systems), Greg sat down with me in their Boston headquarters.

This was a personally meaningful meeting for me, as Cakewalk 4.0 for DOS (pictured above) was the first software sequencer I ever used — and remained my favorite some time after going to Windows. In those days, programmer’s names were front-and-center more than they are now, and so Greg’s name popped up every time I sat down to work. Greg also studied with Gary Lee Nelson, who was my first electronic music instructor (albeit for me at a summer camp). Of course, part of the reason it’s meaningful is that I’m far from alone — over 1,000,000 users have used Cakewalk’s software. A look at Cakewalk is also a look at the computer music software industry’s brief but fast-moving development, and the design of the tools that have evolved alongside it.

This winds up being a huge interview — you’ll believe me when I say this is basically a transcript of what Greg said. But it’s also a genuine slice of history, and also a glimpse into what the industry’s next 20 years might be like, so we’ll have at it.

The UMPC may not have caught on with the masses, but the idea is terrific: a full-featured Windows PC in a space only slightly larger than a smart phone. Loyal followers continue to love their UMPCs, especially when they’re as tiny as the Raon Digital Everun. And as we predicted when Intel first announced the UMPC, this is a workable little music machine. After all, just a few years ago computer musicians would have described these specs as “high-end”, and there’s USB for input.

To prove the point, Steve Paine, from UMPCPortal.com writes in with video evidence: a clip from him running a vintage version of Fruity Loops from the late 90s, plus another featuring an M-Audio Ozone keyboard plugged into an Everun hosting a synth and sequencer in the not-very-old Cakewalk SONAR 4.

First up, a little Fruity (now FL Studio):

And thanks to Sophocha from the UMPCPortal forums for this SONAR clip:

Some of my favorite audio interfaces are now available for Windows Vista. The INSPIRE 1394, FireBox, FP10 and FirePod are now all available for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista. A bit late? Yes, but at this point, I care more about quality than punctuality. Anybody with the PreSonus boxes and Vista, we’d love to know how they’re working.

PreSonus Vista Downloads

Note that when you’re talking about FireWire, you’re talking ASIO and the new driver model under Vista. “WaveRT”, technology that allows greater audio performance of some hardware under Vista, is a feature that’s not supported by any FireWire or USB devices. (GearWire posted a splashy headline saying Native Instruments wasn’t supporting WaveRT, when really that just translated to “NI Only Makes USB Interfaces.” I can forgive the confusion, given the various Vista driver complexities, but let’s just say — look for Vista-compatible and leave it at that.)

I still can’t see running 64-bit Vista, even for a marginal performance gain, as it knocks out some significant hardware and software compatibility. But, as Craig Anderton just observed in his preview of Cakewalk SONAR 7 for EQ, one advantage of the new SONAR is that it’s basically a complete 64-bit music toolkit, with some decent bundled instruments and the awesome Z3ta+ synth.

Not to be outdone by Logic Pro 8’s launch last week, Cakewalk has let slip the basic feature set of their latest version of their flagship SONAR DAW, with upgrades available immediately. What’s new — with an interesting emphasis on MIDI:

• A new step sequencer, looking reminiscent of tools like FL Studio (Fruity Loops), though fully integrated with a traditional DAW (read: not as confusing to DAW users and traditionalists as FL Studio can be). Cakewalk claims it’s the “most powerful step sequencer found in any DAW”; we’ll have to try it out and see.
• All new MIDI tools: Yep, it’s time to party with your sequencer like it’s 1989. Some of you complained that Logic Pro 8 seemed to largely ignore MIDI editing. Not SONAR 7: there are new “Smart MIDI Tools”, split, fine editing tools — again, some reminiscent of FL Studio, and some very Cakewalk-like. It’s an interesting return to Cakewalk’s roots as a MIDI sequencer company, and from what we’ve heard from users, these are things that matter to you — provided they’ve done this right.
• Internal sidechaining: Sidechaining is beloved in drum compression and many other applications — even DJs dig the sidechain. So it’s great to see it in SONAR. (Ableton, Live 7, perhaps? Is seven a lucky number for sidechains?)
• New mastering plug-ins: Linear phase mastering, no less.
• More bundled instruments: The superb Z3ta+ is now bundled with SONAR, and perhaps alone makes this worth the upgrade price, plus Rapture LE, Dimension LE with Garritan Pocket Orchestra, and a drag-and-drop sampler that’s very reminiscent of the ones in Ableton Live.
• Pitch to MIDI translation in Roland V-Vocal: Yep, you heard that right: you sing in, you get MIDI. (Hope this works in real-time?)