A possible solution to the MIDI problem with Audition 5.5

Question

Hi, all.
In searching for other answers to my Audition 5.5 questions, I've been seeing lots of complaints on these forums about the lack of MIDI compatibility with this version.  If you have an external MIDI sequencer, I offer a solution that you might find useful.
Go into Audition's Edit > Preferences and change the time display from minutes and seconds to bars and beats
Specify the time signature to the closest beat value of your song (exampe:  if you're using both 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures, go with 4/4)
Set the tempo to match your song
Lay down a full length click track with at least a 4 measure click intro
Insert the same length click intro into every track (which, when working with previously sequenced tracks, is just a matter starting the machine in sequence-record mode with the metronome on, counting the appriopriate beats and turning it back off just before the song starts)
Mute all but the track you intend to record
Record each instrument track to its own file, save and open a multi-track session
Position the first beat of the click track far enough into the session to preclude needing to trim intros (you can trim the silence out with the click intro after mixdown)
Zoom in until a single click fits perfectly under the time indicator line
Drag or snap all the other tracks underneath it so that the first click of each track lines up
I use lots of instruments with slow attack (such as strings), or tracks where the instrument might only be in a few measures, so the 4+ measures of click intro are particularly useful.
Pretty low-tech, but quick and painless nonetheless.  It suits my purposes, though I'd love to know if someone has a better method.  Thanks for reading.
Sue

Answer 1

Bob Howes wrote:
The other problem is that, even among the "music creation" market, there can be big differences in the perceived importance of MIDI. 
I'm not a musician myself but have worked closely with two very different composers.  One of them does practically everything in MIDI (using Sonar) then tends to hand me the files to work with in Audition (after conversion to wave format).  Some tracks are left in the form they came but others are replaced with live "real" instruments.
The other person is much more traditional.  He plays more instruments than I can count and I help him by recording as he lays down drums, guitars, bass, brass, etc. etc.  He owns a lot of keyboards but, even with these, he sends me line out and uses the actual keyboard sounds rather than laying down MIDI data. 
So, if you asked these two how important it would be to have MIDI functionality, you'd get two very different answers.  From some of the recording forums I frequent, I get the impression that my friends are a microcosm of the whole market .  Some use MIDI a lot while others prefer the feel and sound of recording live instruments.  (And, I'm sure, others inhabit a middle ground.)
True dat.  Up until about a year or so ago, I didn't use MIDI, and so Audition was for me music production software par excellence.  Then about a year ago, I started getting into MIDI, and now I'm not only using MIDI for creating keyboard-based tracks for overdubs, I'm actually writing songs using MIDI (whereas before songwriting almost always involved a guitar).  MIDI has become huge for me, in other words.  And whether I go to sites like Studio Central and read Tweakhead's guide to homerecording in which he tells people that modern music-making either involves MIDI or is MIDI-based, or whether I read articles in Sound on Sound magazine which constantly reference MIDI in their articles, have regular features about sample librairies that use MIDI, or look at the countless ads touting MIDI keyboards and controllers, it's clear that MIDI is as much a part of modern recording as guitars and mics.  Before, I never used to get what Steve was on about when he'd say that Audition isn't music production software, because I had produced five albums of stuff using either CEP or Audition.  Now, I understand what he means when he says that.  When he says Audition isn't a music production software, he means 'Audition doesn't have MIDI'.  However, the truth of the matter is that Audition is a wonderful music production software if you don't use MIDI, and a partial music production software if you do.   You know, I've tried out other softwares - Reaper, Studio One, FL Studio (ha!) - and none of them come close to Audition for me.  Sure, I can get by using Reaper for MIDI, but knowing how Audition does things, I know that I'd be happier doing it inside Audition.  Hence, the continued lobbying.  I want the best.