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Cakewalk Prepares for Musikmesse 2009

Cakewalk is preparing for Musikmesse 2009 – Live for the Music! starting Wednesday April 1, 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany. As suspected, we have some huge announcements that are once again going to shake up the music industry. In addition, we are pleased to announce that SONAR 8 has been nominated for a MIPA (Musikmesse International Press Award) in the Recording Software category and SONAR V-Studio 700 has been nominated in the Recording Hardware category!

Cakewalk will be exhibiting at:
Edirol Booth, Hall: 5.1 Walkway: B Stand: 65
Ludwig-Erhard_Anlage 1, 60327 Frankfurt
April 1 – 4, 2009
More info on this year’s show!

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Best of YouTube: SONAR User Tutorials

Here’s a few of our favorite SONAR tutorials created by three talented SONAR users on Youtube. Watch the videos to learn more about SONAR’s new features and tools. Just hit play on one of the clips below:

Using Beatscape and Step Sequencer:

Editing MIDI Notation:

TS-64 Transient Shaper & 3rd Party Plug-Ins:

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The Fine Print III: Sidechaining in SONAR

The term ‘sidechaining’ refers to the manipulation of one signal by another where signal B (typically referred to a key input) effects signal A (primary input). Sidechaining is most often found in compressors, limiters and gates. Examples of sidechaining include ducking, voiceover, de-essing and pumping. For more information, check out this article on the Basics of Sidechaining.

Cakewalk’s CTO Noel Borthwick discusses the implementation of Sidechaining in SONAR is his latest Fine Print article. Since version 7, SONAR has supported side-chaining for both VST and DX plug-ins in all of its applications. This article describes how SONAR communicates with side-chain capable VST and DX plug-ins as well as how SONAR can be used as a guide to write a side-chain capable plug-in of your own.

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SONAR 8 Featured on Intel's Gaming Microsite

As the annual Game Developers Conference gets under way in San Francisco, Intel releases a new portion of its website to coincide with their Gaming Industry magazine called Visual Adrenaline. SONAR is one of two featured products on the new site for its superior performance using multicore processors.

Intel’s new site features an article entitled “Composing Audio for Video Games – Art Enabled By Science and Cakewalk Software,” which discusses how the software is used to score and edit audio for games. There is also a solution brief on how to optimize your DAW for superior performance written by Cakewalk’s CTO Noel Borthwick and a video interview with Cakewalk’s VP of Marketing Carl Jacobson and Director of Business Development Gina Garda.

SONAR’s popularity among today’s most-acclaimed video game composers is evident as the new site also hosts interviews with award-winning, SONAR-using composers and audio engineers including Doyle Donnehoo, Shawn Clement, Justin Lassen, Rob King, and Timothy Michael Winn.

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The :90 Music Show Interviews Platinum Producer Mark Needham

In this episode of The :90 Music Show, host Scott Austin chats with Multi-Platinum Producer Mark Needham in the Cakewalk Booth at NAMM 2009.

The pair discuss Needham’s favorite technologies on display at the show as well as his history developing artists. This year, he brought new acts, Iglu & Hartley and Divide the Day, to share in the nation’s biggest music industry tradeshow.

Mark Needham has produced and mixed award-winning albums for a wide variety of recording artists including Michelle Branch, Cake, Fleetwood Mac, Chris Isaak, and The Killers.

Click here for more episodes of The :90 Music Show.

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Idol Finalist Scott MacIntyre Vies for Next Seat

As we get closer to this week’s American Idol episodes, we can’t help but note the viewing audience’s fascination with Scott MacIntyre, the young, blind contestant from Scottsdale, Arizona. Each week, Scott plows his way through the competition, doing a stellar job both singing and performing. As one of AI‘s Top 10 finalists this season, Scott will tour cross-country with the other 9 finalists this summer.

While Cakewalk doesn’t root for any one performer, we have a soft spot in our hearts for Scott. In fact, we have worked with a number of visually-impaired musicians, from Ray Charles to ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover’s Patrick Henry Hughes, through SONAR’s assistive technology. We wish Scott the best of luck as he continues with the show.

Follow Scott MacIntyre’s Journey here.

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Britain's Pub Landlord Composes Music for U.K. Tour

British Comedian Al Murray ends every show with a song and dance. On this year’s tour, he’s featuring a self-composed track, “Broken Britain Boogie” as the finale.

The track was recorded and produced using SONAR with V-Drums and legendary guitarist Brian May (Queen) makes a guest appearance. The track was recently the center of a remix contest as Murray allowed music students enrolled at Brooklands College in Surrey to concoct their own twists of the tune using SONAR LE.

Although Murray states that his composition, “sounds like a sloppy bar room band playing a sub-Oasis style,” ‘Broken Britain Boogie’ is no joke and will surely be on ITunes in the near future. We wish Al Murray the best of luck on tour in the UK.

Visit Al Murray’s website to check tour dates.

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Free Club Presets Available for Z3ta+1

Need new sounds for your mix? There’s a new library of club presets now available online for Z3TA+. Check out the video and grab the presets at Synthtopia !

Whether you’re looking for luch, warm pads, slowly evolving atmospheres, searing leads or sparkling FW sounds, Cakewalk’s Z3TA+, delivers the goods and includes hundreds of professional presets. Z3TA+ is an award-winning analog-style synthesizer with incredible sound-shaping capabilities. The exclusive bandwidth Waveshaping technology makes Z3TA+ one of the best and most respected synths in the industry.

As a complete instrument, Z3TA+ is oriented to the professional musician and sound programmer looking for uncompromised sound quality and features. Z3TA+ ships with DWi, VST, and stand-alone versions.

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Microsoft's Ex-Vista Chief Records New Album In SONAR Producer

Jim Allchin, former Co-President of the Platforms and Services Division at Microsoft, just released a new album, Enigma, now available for purchase online and in retail stores worldwide. Allchin received recognition from once-rival Itunes as a ‘What We Are Listening To’ recommendation to customers.  As described on Amazon, Enigma’s “pop sensibility, with a touch of rock, blues and country, keeps the listener intrigued with great arrangements and toe-tapping grooves”. A longtime Cakewalk user, Allchin recorded and mixed the new album in SONAR Producer.

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The :90 Music Show Explores V-Studio 700 and Cable Interfaces

In a recent episode of The :90 Music Show, presented by Music Connection magazine, host Scott Austin gets an exclusive look at SONAR V-Studio 700 and UA-1G cable interface recorded live at The NAMM Show 2009. Regularly airing on Youtube, The :90 Music Show captures exclusive interviews with top industry players and emerging artists.

Scott Austin is a regular contributor to Music Connection magazine. He writes ‘Insider Commentary’ for aspiring musicians exploring the music business. As one of the industry’s youngest CEOs, Austin manages Authentik Artists, an artist development company in Los Angeles, California. Austin is also credited with discovering musicians such Michelle Branch, All-American Rejects and music/tv/film heavy-hitter Tyler Hilton (Austin’s first signing to Madonna’s Maverick Records in 2002).