You know, I'm still uncertain what to request exactly in this situation.  l want to be able to record MIDI stuff in Audition, and if I could edit it, that would be splendid.  But the reason that I'm not sure whether to request MIDI or Rewire, is that I'm not sure how much development time each would take.  So, I think my request is like this: I want to be able to record and edit MIDI, but I don't want it to take so much development time that other important features get the axe.  See?  My guess is that IF the developers did it, they'd prefer to build MIDI right into Audition, make it an organic and integral part of the build.  But my guess is also that, considering how few Audition users actually need that functionality, that it would be more cost-effective to go the Rewire route.  That's why I'm asking for the functionality, any way they care to provide it.

Here's something I was reading in SOS yesterday:

"I think it's inevitable that DAWS of all kinds will converge in functionality over time.  The evidence of that convergence is already plain to see in many cases.  However, in the early days of digital audio editing and workstations, the complexity of these new technologies meant that manufacturers tended to specialise in specific areas of functionality.

"The original MIDI-based sequencers - such as Notator (now Logic), Cubase and their ilk - have all gradually added audio recording and editing tools, while the originally pure audio-editing systems - such as Sound Designer, SADiE, Sonic Solutions and Pro Tools - have gradually added MIDI facilities and plug-in support.  So the difference between systems is far less clear now than it once was.

"However, the inertia of change has meant that some systems still retain strong specialisms and are favoured on that basis.  For example, CEDAR started as a largely off-line post-processing platform for audio restoration, but its current incarnation includes sophisticated audio recording and editing facilities to improve the conveninece of using it as an 'on-line' tool.

Okay, two things.  First, Audition actually gets mentioned in the paragraph AFTER the last one I quoted above, but the thing is that SOS, Adobe, and many of its users seem to think of Audition primarily as one of those 'specialised in specific areas of functionality' softwares, and not really one of the 'converging in functionality' softwares.  Too bad for the likes of you and me.

Second, Audition HAS in the past nudged itself toward being all things to all people, all the while maintaining that specialisation it's famous for.  In Version 3, it tried to embrace basic MIDI, but it didn't work so well for some users.  (eg me)  So if it's tried to include music-makers in its userbase in the past, maybe it will continue that direction in the future.

So I see the situation as gloriously inconclusive and ambiguous.  I need MIDI.  The best situation for me would be for Audition to develop that functionality.  Second best would be for Audition to develop Rewire functionality so that I could run something like Reaper (which handles MIDI very nicely, thank you very much) inside Audition.  Third best would be for Audition to ignore the issue completely.

The question seems to be whether enough of the developer's time can be devoted to this to get it working, after they've taken care of the main thrust of the program's development trajectory.  With Version 6, they've really come up with a strong, strong software in terms of its primary functionality.  So maybe there's development time available for stuff like MIDI or Rewire.  Maybe.  We'll know by Version 7, I think.  In the meantime, there's no alternative but to explore alternatives.

Hey, did you ever get MIDI working satisfactorily for you in Version 3?