Fl Studio midi piano keyboard help

"Personally, I'm just looking for a smaller footprint than Cubase for this, but don't know if I'll find it. I don't have any sound drops or driver glitches, but I know I'm right on the edge of that. Playing live, I'd prefer to be sure I won't ever have any"

Just an observation from an old valve amp jockey Fingerz but, instead of ditching Cubase, which IS the Dogs for MIDI, why not look at the computer? Have you done all the optimizations? I assume it is a pretty dedicated laptop? I.e. you don't do your tax on it or let peeps play games on it? Make sure ram is 8G or over and remove any programs you don't need. I would suggest an SSD but I guess it has taken you a piece of work to get it "just so" and you don't want to mess with it? I trust you have the configuration imaged and backed up externally?

Dave.

You aren't the first to suggest that, and it would be the logical thing to do. But, I can't upgrade my computers more than they already are. I'm an old computer tech, so I know what would make them more accommodating to NEW software, but my problem is a lot of my VSTs are free and software I've purchased is too old to work on a 64 bit computer, an OS newer than XP and one software that won't work on anything newer than windows 7. One driver won't work on anything newer than XP. So, you can see why I can't update my computers, or I'd also have to purchase nearly $1,000 worth of new software and hardware, too. I would love to do that. Maybe if I become a regional musical success, I'll have enough money to upgrade. But not right now. I don't even play the lottery, so I can't win.

I'm from the school of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My recording hardware is old, but it's capable of very good quality recordings with many inputs and outputs. I have a recording computer and a sounds computer. They are connected via the SP/DIF. Everything is midi except for my KORG MS20 and like I said, all works quite well.

I am going to get a new computer for playing live, making it a small box. But, more than likely, I'll load XP on it and it will be 32 bit with 4gig of RAM. No need for 8 gig with 32 bit. It is likely that I'll have a solid state drive, though. All of the software I use works well with XP. It has it's limits, but I can live with that. Neither of my music computers are on line or networked. Nothing on them but XP and music.

Yes, I have all of my computers imaged and also backed up on an external drive. I'm going to get another one, too. I also need to get a stereo amp for my keyboards with powerful enough speakers for the synth frequencies. It's not really for a PA, but it could be used for a small one, too, I think. My VSTs are all stereo. Not planning on much singing, but some. I'm thinking active speakers. I already have a small stereo mixer.
Sorry, TMI?
 
You aren't the first to suggest that, and it would be the logical thing to do. But, I can't upgrade my computers more than they already are. I'm an old computer tech, so I know what would make them more accommodating to NEW software, but my problem is a lot of my VSTs are free and software I've purchased is too old to work on a 64 bit computer, an OS newer than XP and one software that won't work on anything newer than windows 7. One driver won't work on anything newer than XP. So, you can see why I can't update my computers, or I'd also have to purchase nearly $1,000 worth of new software and hardware, too. I would love to do that. Maybe if I become a regional musical success, I'll have enough money to upgrade. But not right now. I don't even play the lottery, so I can't win.

I'm from the school of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My recording hardware is old, but it's capable of very good quality recordings with many inputs and outputs. I have a recording computer and a sounds computer. They are connected via the SP/DIF. Everything is midi except for my KORG MS20 and like I said, all works quite well.

I am going to get a new computer for playing live, making it a small box. But, more than likely, I'll load XP on it and it will be 32 bit with 4gig of RAM. No need for 8 gig with 32 bit. It is likely that I'll have a solid state drive, though. All of the software I use works well with XP. It has it's limits, but I can live with that. Neither of my music computers are on line or networked. Nothing on them but XP and music.

Yes, I have all of my computers imaged and also backed up on an external drive. I'm going to get another one, too. I also need to get a stereo amp for my keyboards with powerful enough speakers for the synth frequencies. It's not really for a PA, but it could be used for a small one, too, I think. My VSTs are all stereo. Not planning on much singing, but some. I'm thinking active speakers. I already have a small stereo mixer.
Sorry, TMI?


Hey guys, I just logged in to buy cubase because my trial expired, and they are having 50% off sale. Should I buy the artist version or elements, Thankyou
 
Sorry - only just seen this. Buy Artist, it's very close to pro - my friend that I work with (for our livings) uses artist, sends me files and we work well this way. For us - all it means is he doesn't have VCAs, a few instruments and he has a track limit. I often end up with 50+ tracks because we organise them into segments once I start my work - he just records normally and rarely has that many. I have artist on my MacBook and to be honest, I take it to do live 16-24 track recordings, and it works brilliantly. rob
 
Fingerz...Just re read this. CAN you run an SSD on XP?

Again, just an old PC numpty valve amp jockey askin'!

Dave.
 
Fingerz...Just re read this. CAN you run an SSD on XP?

Again, just an old PC numpty valve amp jockey askin'!

Dave.

Unfortunately, when it comes to technology, most companies don't seem to care about the older systems, when they come up with fancy, new stuff. I'm old enough to remember the old days of DOS and the first version of Windows that actually was just another software that you'd install on your DOS based computer. Win 95 was the first independent version of Windows.

Most people don't care about the antiquated versions of Windows, when they upgrade to the new fancy stuff. Windows XP has it's limitations and I can't say I like living with them, because I'd much rather take advantage of 64 bit technology as well as the way a newer OS uses RAM, and allows installed software to also use it. That 4 gig limit is a pain, especially when Windows itself uses much of it.

When it comes to an SSD drive, you have limitations, too. But, there are ways around those limitations. Sure, you can't just go out and get any SSD drive, because of how XP can get confused by it. But, Intel is one company that allows for those of us who are limited to XP to upgrade to some of the fancy stuff.

Newer versions of Windows have the TRIM command as part of their normal integration. XP doesn't have that. But, being an old tech, I normally investigate things before I proceed with them, just because XP is so um...basic. You'd think the SSD is just seen as another drive to your computer, but that's not so. In layman's terms, the TRIM command is how the drive tells Windows that certain blocks of the drive are open to be used for new data. So, when you delete something, the computer knows that space is then available for new data to be written on. Without this, your drive would work, but it would soon act like you're running out of disk space, because the drive and computer aren't talking to each other, like they should.

You can install an upgrade program that takes care of the TRIM function, but it's best to have a pretty recent motherboard, so you can enable specific features in the setup to allow said upgrade program to function properly. Even if you don't have a recent motherboard, you can install another package to allow you to use an SSD drive. All of these programs are from Intel.

I was lucky enough to get a recent motherboard, with latest firmware and an Intel quad chip, too. When building the computer, I didn't think about the SSD drive needing special features. I just lucked out, there. Everything kind of took care of itself. The computer saw the SSD drive and enabled the necessary programs to make it work.

I wouldn't advise using some of the newer technology with an older OS, but some things do work. And I wish I didn't have to think about this stuff, when something new comes out that looks inviting. It's partly my recording hardware and partly drivers I have installed that keep me in the dark ages. But, I've added so many things to my setup that I'd actually lose quite a bit. if I decided to upgrade my OS. What I'd gain in RAM usage and maybe some VST programs, I'd lose in recording hardware and my rather large set of VST sounds.

You see, after a while, people tend to give away their old stuff, when it's no longer useful for them to sell it. They see it as making friends with new customers. And people who create VSTs for fun, always like to give them away, just to get people to use them. I've got quite a little setup with my system, when looking at the performing aspect of it.

I first started wondering if Cubase was too much of a memory hog for me and thought about looking at something else to use, but it's so good at allowing multiple VST sound modules to work together, I really would hate to try something new and lose some of what I have with Cubase. Memory isn't that much of an issue, but similar to recording headroom as an analogy, I would like to have a bit of extra RAM space. I'm like everybody else. When I have a good thing going, I just want more of it.

But, I have the potential of running piano, synth, organ and three sets of multiple VST sounds (approximately six sounds in each) all at the same time, if I want. And in each of these, I can tweak all of the VSTs to my liking, group different sounds into ensembles like strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, etc. so I'm more than pleased with what I have, literally at my fingertips.

The piano program has probably 30 preset piano sounds, but I can edit each of them. The free VST synth is very similar to a minimoog, but polyphonic and the organ can sound like Emerson, Wakeman, etc. Each of these freebees can be assignable from my keyboard with 10 banks of 10 sounds each, so I have quite a few options, just in the freebee area.

I also have orchestra VST software that I purchased and most of those sounds I've tweaked, too. The attack and release of the strings for instance, didn't suit me, and I changed that, making it all more realistic. That software is compatible with win7 and 64 bit, but my freebees are all 32 bit.

I do wish my keyboard was more of a midi controller than it is, but I'm thinking about an upgrade down the road. But, even with that, some of those controller aspects run on software and some of them assume you have a newer OS. I do have a lot of control via my keyboard, but still need to keep my mouse handy for changes. So much of what I've acquired isn't compatible with the new and I'm just not ready to lose that for the sake of what I'd gain. I'm an old stick in the mud, with some things and the key word there is OLD.

It's unfortunate that many new things new aren't backwards compatible. Microsoft isn't a company that cares to look back. They are always looking forward and forcing the rest of us to do that, too. But, Apple is the same way. You know that, if you have an iPhone.
Sorry for the length of this. I can type very fast and as you can see, I like to talk. Did I answer your question? :wtf:
 
Fingerz...Just re read this. CAN you run an SSD on XP?

Again, just an old PC numpty valve amp jockey askin'!

Dave.

Yes, you can. The trim feature isn't supported so the drive may slow a little over time,
but there are apps out there that let you optimise every so often as an alternative.
 
Yes, and I bet you touch type like my son? He is SO annoying! I used to shout say a web address at him and without looking, BANG! He had typed it!

I was going to ask about TRIM? No need now. I actually am looking for an XP PC myself. I have been given a rather good Canon camera with some interesting looking software but it only runs on XP or Vista (and who wants Blista!!)

I did try to install XP on an old laptop but got stuck when it trying to finish installing SP2, said "file Xx missing" Found several down loads but none worked. Has to go onto back burner for now but might PM you one day?

Dave.
 
Sure. I learned to type in high school, many years ago and touch type quite well. When I was a computer tech, it helped quite a bit to be able to type so fast. I could type out step by step install procedures and learn sheets for users faster than I could write it out long hand. AND it was readable!

I do think that installing XP on a laptop is more difficult than on a PC. I used to work on computers and I've always HATED laptops, mostly because of the smaller keyboards and placement of the keys, but they do need specific files that PCs don't. And yes, I know there are some out there that have full size keyboards, but you still have the function keys, in many cases.

I'm just an old school kind of guy and sometimes wish I wasn't. But, it all started with a lack of money, but still the drive to do things that required money.

I don't know if you'll have any more success installing XP on a PC, but I think it's worth a try. Just keep in mind that you can't assume anything fancy and you also have to think back to when it was the current OS, in some cases. Computer technology advances lightening fast, and you can assume something was around back then, when it really wasn't. That old laptop might not be as old as you think, when speaking in OS terms. But still, I'm not that friendly with laptops and never will be.
 
Strangely enough the laptop I was trying to put XP on was a beatup Dell from my grandson and has about 7 keys missing! I therefore ran it with a USB qwerty, the track pad was ok.

I had no idea that laptops were different from desktops in respect of installing a another OS? I started with a desktop with 3.1 and moved through 95,98,98se (I had a mate in IT!) I stuck with 98se for much longer than mate Rich said I should and eventually got me to change to XP. Hated it! To add I2I my printer would not work, no drivers for it in XP so for a long time I had a wee mini PC of crap spec under the desk networked to the XP jobby, JUST to run the printer. (all setup by Rich. I never moved much past Numpty grade. One REALLY great thing about XP was Restore! Save my ass more times than you can imagine.)

I eventually got a W7 DT and HATED it! There were things in XP 7 did not do or V/V. To this day I cannot get files, downloads say, organized as "last in at the top". BTW I did get the free install of W10....And HATED it! Rolled back instanta.

I have to confess, for a long time, when I got this i3 HP g6 laptop I did not like using it for long typing. This drivel e.g. would be done on the "big" machine in the "studio" (poxy wee bedroom)

But, "Hia learn Mr Fawlytey. Hai learn"

Dave.
 
Strangely enough the laptop I was trying to put XP on was a beatup Dell from my grandson and has about 7 keys missing! I therefore ran it with a USB qwerty, the track pad was ok.

I had no idea that laptops were different from desktops in respect of installing a another OS? I started with a desktop with 3.1 and moved through 95,98,98se (I had a mate in IT!) I stuck with 98se for much longer than mate Rich said I should and eventually got me to change to XP. Hated it! To add I2I my printer would not work, no drivers for it in XP so for a long time I had a wee mini PC of crap spec under the desk networked to the XP jobby, JUST to run the printer. (all setup by Rich. I never moved much past Numpty grade. One REALLY great thing about XP was Restore! Save my ass more times than you can imagine.)

I eventually got a W7 DT and HATED it! There were things in XP 7 did not do or V/V. To this day I cannot get files, downloads say, organized as "last in at the top". BTW I did get the free install of W10....And HATED it! Rolled back instanta.

I have to confess, for a long time, when I got this i3 HP g6 laptop I did not like using it for long typing. This drivel e.g. would be done on the "big" machine in the "studio" (poxy wee bedroom)

But, "Hia learn Mr Fawlytey. Hai learn"

Dave.

That's something else I hate about laptops...that little two inch square thing they have instead of a mouse. I guess you get used to it, but never could. And I forget what manufacturer had it, but that damn green dot in the middle of the keyboard that you move with one finger. It was suppose to be a mouse, too. After a while, the green dot would wear off, and you were hosed. Was that an actual IBM?

And I should say a laptop isn't different, in terms of the OS itself. XP should be the same on a laptop as it is on a desktop. But, there are other files that laptops use, that a desktop doesn't. I guess I should say they are proprietary files. That's a good computer term, I guess.

Kind of like how Dell computers have their own special files for whatever they do, like maybe diagnostics or restores. I remember years ago when a computer manufacturer (Compaq) had such a massive CMOS for their computers that it used up 5 meg of disk space on the computer. What was the worst of that was if the hard drive died, you were dead in the water with anything and you were required to get a replacement from them. It would have the CMOS already installed on the drive.

But, I'm going way back. Back then, megs were considered huge and you'd have an 80 meg hard drive. People wanted all of their disk space and when they saw they didn't have 80 megs, they weren't happy. I must say that Compaq thought they were being innovative and starting something all other companies would soon follow.
 
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