Posted on

Cakewalk Attends Unique Beats Festival in Scotland

On Saturday May 30, 2009: Cakewalk and Edirol will show off their latest gadgets at the Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh, Scotland at the first annual Unique Beats Festival. This all day festival – sponsored by Red Dog Music – is dedicated to promoting all forms of electronic music making and will include many spectacular live performances, audio-visual displays and workshops. Some of the industry’s biggest names will be on hand to display their cutting-edge tools for music production while live sets will be performed by some of the best electronic artists around!

Throughout the day, Cakewalk product specialists will be demonstrating the SONAR V-Studio 700 and SONAR V-Studio 100 music-making systems while Edirol will be showcasing it’s video products including the V-8 mixer and P-10 visual presenter.

Live appearances throughout the day and evening will include Europe’s budding musicians; Christ, Frog Pocket, Joe Acheson Quartet, ESPion, Morphamish and many more. There will be plenty of audio-visual treats scattered around the event. Unique Beats attendees will benefit from exclusive deals on gear from Red Dog and will be entered to win a myriad of music making equipment, including Cakewalk’s Sonar 8 Producer!

Visit the Unique Beats Festival official website for more information.

Posted on

V-Studio 700 Featured On 'Into Tomorrow' Radio Show

Cakewalk Product Specialist Seth Perlstein chats with Into Tomorrow’s Dave Graveline at the 2009 Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, California. Into Tomorrow is a syndicated radio program featuring the latest developments in consumer electronics and technology. Over 100 AM & FM radio stations across the US, on Sirius / XM satellite radio and around the world broadcast the 3-hour show on a weekly basis. The pair discuss Cakewalk’s role in outfitting video game developers with the best tools to create music for their projects.

Being eyed by the video game industry’s top composers is Cakewalk by Roland’s flagship product in the V-Studio line of integrated software / hardware solutions, the SONAR V-Studio 700.

Winner of the 2009 MIPA Award for Best Recording Hardware and Keyboard Magazine’s prestigious Key Buy Award, the SONAR V-Studio 700 matches SONAR 8 Producer with the VS-700C multi-function control surface and the VS700R V-Studio 100 I/O audio interface which includes Roland’s Fantom VS Hardware Synthesizer.

Continue reading “V-Studio 700 Featured On 'Into Tomorrow' Radio Show”

Posted on

MIX Nashville 2009: Town Talents Check Out SONAR V-Studio Series

Day 2 of Mix Nashville started out great but you really can’t go wrong when you are in a town that has top notch music, weather and of course the most important element; BBQ!

In between the panels at the conference, I found myself having some great conversations with local Nashville songwriters, producers and musicians about “all things music”.  I have come to the conclusion that there are more home studios in this town than there are BBQ joints.

Mike Lawson from Lawson Media stopped in to say hello and check out the new SONAR V-Studio 100 and he brought a friend of his by the name of Bob Welch.  You may or may not have heard the name ‘Bob Welch’ but I can guarantee that you have heard his music, if you have listened to the radio and especially if you are a Fleetwood Mac fan.  Bob was the original guitarist for Fleetwood Mac and was also a solo artist chalking up three massive hits from 1977 – 1979 with the songs “Sentimental Lady”, “Ebony Eyes” and “Hot Love, Cold World”.  I had an amazing conversation with him about the digital music age compared to his experiences as a successful musician and artist in the 70’s.  I have always been fascinated with that era of music so I really enjoyed and appreciated talking to him.  I was also psyched to find out that he is a PC user and will be recording some of his upcoming projects in SONAR 8 Producer.

Later in the afternoon while my co-workers and Product Specialists Rich Curtis and Mike Trujillo were exemplifying all the features of the V-Studio 700,  I caught up with Producer / Mixer / Songwriter / Musician Chris Trevett who is a friend of mine that I haven’t connected with in a while.  Chris is an amazingly talented music guy who has two Grammys under his belt (yep 2!) and has worked with many iconic artists such as Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and R. Kelly (to name a few).  He was stopping in to check out the new V-Studio 100 as well and I was psyched to catch up with him.

Chris relocated to Nashville from New York about a year and a half ago so he was able to fill me in on what the local music scene in Nashville is really like.  He is also working with some great international artists and I was able to get an interview with him, which will be featured on my Cakewalk Artist Spotlight series in the near future.  In the meantime, check out Chris Trevett’s website for more information on his work.

Later on in the afternoon things started winding down a bit as most of the people were attending the panels and performances.  I did get a chance to meet with new SONAR user Tiffany Shea and also the very talented Nashville Producer / Musician / Songwriter (and Artist) Nathan Meckel who has been busy working with LA-based Singer / Songwriter Sara Hayes as well as his own project “Upside of Envy”.

Nathan was checking out MIX/Nashville with his father Mark Meckel who owns Street Singer Music Publishing. Besides producing and writing for other artists, Nathan has got a great work-horse story and has played shows from Nashville to Israel and I think we will be hearing and seeing more from him in some bigger pictures soon.

To wrap up the conference, I was invited to check out a band called Pico vs. Island Trees and was pleasantly surprised at what I heard and saw.  I highly recommend you check them out.  The band has a very unique sound coupled with great songwriting and an authentic image that works well.  It was an exclamation point on a great trip and also a confirmation that this town is filled with ridiculously talented people.

Thanks to everyone who stopped in to check out the new V-Studio 100 and thanks to MIX Magazine for holding such a great event.

Thanks for reading,

Jimmy Landry
Cakewalk Artist Relations Manager

Posted on

Cool Videos About Vocal Editing With SONAR

Hey Everyone! We’ve been getting a lot of questions recently about using SONAR for vocal tracks. We thought it would be cool to assemble together a few of the demo videos that have been released over the years, showing different ways to edit and mix vocals with SONAR Producer. If you have a video tutorial of your own, don’t be afraid to share it!

Advanced Vocal Editing Techniques with V-Vocal

Basic V-Vocal Editing

Using AudioSnap to correct vocal timing

DJ Johnny Juice on using the VC-64 on vocals

For more information on SONAR, visit the SONAR product page.

For more videos, check us out on DailyMotion and YouTube.

Posted on

Live From Mix Nashville 2009: First Stop, The Legendary Sun Studio

Hello, Hello from Memphis and Nashville!

I used to be in Nashville and Memphis from time to time in my past life of a touring musician, but I really forgot how amazing this region of the country is; especially in terms of music. The trip started out early yesterday (3am) when I left my apartment for Newark Airport and then magically found myself in Memphis 5 hours later. I’m not too much of a plane-sleeper but I knew I needed some ZZZ’s for what was going to be a very busy day in “The South”. I met up with Cakewalk’s PR head Steve Thomas at his hotel and we both found it funny that we have more face-to-face business meetings in random cities than we do in the Cakewalk Headquarters. The afternoon rolled in and we headed over to Sun Studio in Memphis.

If you are not familiar with Sun Studio, it’s one of the most famous studios in the United States and has turned out some of the biggest hits in our time some including tracks from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, BB King, Roy Orbison and U2 to name a few. You might be wondering at this point why we would be visiting Sun Studio on a business trip and I can proudly tell you it’s because Sun Studio is powered by SONAR and as of yesterday, the new V-Studio 700 is at the helm. I had never been to the studio before and Steve has always mentioned how great of a vibe it has… and he wasn’t kidding.

First of all, head engineer James Lott is such a great guy and it was a pleasure to meet him finally. When he brought me into the studio, the combination of the room itself along with the gear and the memorabilia on the walls gave me an overwhelming sense of music history. I can totally understand why people still love to record in this room as it’s one of those places that triggers creative inspiration. Between the way the natural light hits the room, the décor (including authentic and rare photos of Elvis and other iconic artists) and the materials from which the studio was built, there is something very unique and inviting about this studio that I have never seen or felt before. The VS-700 looks great in the room and I’m looking forward to hearing all the tracks in the future that will be recorded on this system.

Continue reading “Live From Mix Nashville 2009: First Stop, The Legendary Sun Studio”

Posted on

Musicians Behind "Guilty'' (project demo in SONAR 8) Release New Album

On Purpose, the sizzling 4th album from Unified Tribe (nominee for ‘Best Live Band’, American Black Music Awards) and leader / front man Magic Mendez (winner, ‘Best Neo Soul Performer- Male’, American Black Music Awards) is a soulful R&B explosion. The new release showcases exquisitely-produced tracks recorded in SONAR.

The group’s new single, ‘Guilty,’ is the featured track in SONAR 8’s project demo. ‘Back and Forth’ (Funktional Family album) and ‘Do You Wanna Come’ (On Purpose album – Rap version) were also featured in past SONAR versions.

Mendez describes the group’s latest album, as “a rhythmic power play that delivers major musical mojo.”

“Its songs fuse jazz, blues, pop and soul, and range from sultry slow jams to blazing dance tracks. Def melodies, rich harmonies and themes from challenges to enchantment make ‘On Purpose’ a musical and emotional joyride that bridges genres and generations.”

The album was recorded at Magic Muzik Studios in Las Vegas, mixed by Rick Camp at Reeltyme Productions — Rick is also the live sound engineer for Chris Brown —  and mastered by Ron McMaster at Capital Records in Los Angeles.

Unified Tribe (www.unifiedtribe.net) was nominated in 2007 for “Best Live Band” and is described by Richard Searling, DJ of Smooth Radio 100.4FM UK: “Getting a one class album together is one thing, making a second to take the breath away is rare, but to succeed with a third awesome soul set is just unheard of these days… but check this, Unified Tribe have the hat-trick, blessed with the gritty aura of a Will Downing or David Porter take… it’s most definitely hip and heavy, its the real deal… right on now, Unified Tribe, keepin the faith alive in 2009.”

Unified Tribe represents R&B, heart and soul – and they do it “On Purpose.”

Posted on

Altsounds.com: SONAR 8 is 'an Audio Mechanics Dream'

Chris Maguire, record producer and owner of Altsounds.com, recently re-wired his studio to run SONAR 8 Producer. After using SONAR to record various session work, Maguire published an extensive review of the new upgrade, giving major props to the DAW’s versatility and sound quality.

“SONAR 8 Producer is intuitive and makes complete sense straight out of the box but is MUCH deeper than meets the eye and holds gems for users as their skills progress.”

“There is so much packed into SONAR 8 in fact that even a seasoned user such as myself never really touches the surface of what it can do…”

“LP-64 Multiband – Excellent Multiband Compressor that will allow even novices to get mastered mixes at levels expected.”

“TL-64 Tube Leveler – Awesome for adding Tube Warmth to your mixes or two individual entities in a mix.”

Macguire also compliments SONAR’s new workflow enhancements including the improved transport controls, the audio engine optimizations (arm/disarm tracks, ability to change audio settings without restart) and the endless array of VSTs and effects  hosted in one package.

“(It’s) a mechanics toolbox worth of useful tools, fx and instruments. It’s an audio mechanics dream.”

Posted on

From The Studio, To The Moon!

SONAR users, Tim Tully and Kathy Marty, make learning fun for the whole family with Universe Productions’ DVDs on outer space.  

Journey through the galaxy from your seat on the sofa with The Universe, a wondrous video tour through space.  Experience over 200 amazing astronomical phenomena as seen through the lenses of the Hubble, SOHO, TRACE, and other NASA orbital telescopes.  Watch Saturn change seasons, stars being born and see galaxies from the dawn of time, complemented by an amazing surround sound music score and narration.

Also released by Universe Productions is a DVD just for kids (ages 4-9) about the wonders of space. With The Astropuppies In Space: An Amazing Adventure for Young Astronauts, blast off on an incredible adventure from the moon to the sun and out to the planets. Join the Astropuppies on their quest to meet real astronauts on an exciting Space Shuttle launch, as they visit the remarkable International Space Station, and go on an amazing space walk.

Read reviews for these titles and pick up a copy at Amazon.com.

Posted on

Day 2: The Future Producers of Hip-Hop Battle It Out

Live From One Stop Shop Music Producers Conference Phoenix, Arizona, Day 2 (May 9th… 1am overlooking Phoenix city lights from a Jetblue red-eye to NYC)

Hope everyone had a Happy Mother’s Day! Day 2 technically starts at 12:00am from yesterday so I will pick it up from there. We found ourselves at Club PHX with Sha Money and many of the talented producers and artists who attended One Stop Shop. I have to admit, I had no idea that Phoenix was such an after-hours kind of town. The club was packed and as always when hanging with a bunch of musicians after midnight, the conversations flowed candidly about gear, projects and the state of the music industry.  Everyone I spoke with agreed that no matter how much turmoil the music industry is facing, it’s an amazing time for musicians who want to take control of their own music (and future) by empowering themselves with tools such as Cakewalk. As you will read later, this proved to be true from the OSS Beat Battle.

My wakeup call rang early. Seth Perlstein and I caffeinated up and prepared for what was to going to be a very busy day. The second day of the “V-100 Challenge” brought new talent early and with fury as MC’s jumped on the Cakewalk mic like it was nothing. I was amazed with some of these cats when I asked them if they wanted to hear the beat first…  or warm up… or something…  nope – these dudes would just step up to the mic and throw lyrics like they had been there all night practicing. Today we had some MC’s representing Boston, Phoenix, Florida, Dallas, Queens, Brooklyn and even Mississippi.  I’m glad I’m not the one deciding on who is walking away with SONAR 8 Producer. Thanks to all the cats that participated and please check Youtube this week for a V-100 video montage.

In between the action of the rap battles, we were pretty psyched to connect with some great producers in the game who stopped by to say hello and get a 1 on 1 taste of the new V-700, that is creating quite a buzz in the Hip Hop world. Neither Seth nor I had ever met Pete Rock and it was a pleasure to connect with him as well as Don Cannon, Just Blaze and Drumma Boy.  Throughout the day there were some pretty heavy panels going on as well.  Sway moderated a panel I caught in the afternoon with RZA, Just Blaze, Pete Rock, Steve Lobel, and many other pioneers in the game.  It was interesting to hear these guys comment on modern production and the state of the music industry.

Later on in the afternoon, we were approached by Microsoft Technical Evangelist, Arif Gursel, along with Sha Money who offered us an opportunity to demonstrate the V-700 right before dinner in front of all the conference goers.  It was a bit of work breaking down our booth and setting back up on stage but it was well worth it.  Seth Perlstein took the stage and did a great job going through some of the main features of the controller, interface, phantom synth and also fielded some questions from the crowd.

In the evening, I interviewed Lee Bannon who has been using SONAR and Project 5 on his recent project with Talib Kweli. Then we checked out the finals of the beat battle and it was crystal clear to me that we are in the middle of a music revolution.  Basically, any undiscovered producer could submit beats for this competition and it was ridiculous how crazy-good the final four contestants were.  Some of these new age producers are really thinking outside the box, that is outside the box with how they are constructing the beats, and the sounds were very refreshing to say the least.

Thanks again to Sha Money and I definitely recommend this conference to any up and coming Hip Hop producer for two main reasons:

1) It’s a great place to easily network with some name brand guys because the vibe is “we’re all in this together”.

2) It’s a great place to get your work out there if you really have an amazing talent.

Posted on

Summer 2009: Boost Your Sound Library At The Serious-Sounds Network

Cakewalk has teamed up with The Serious-Sounds Network to bring you a summer of endless sound-sculpting possibilities!

Over the next three months (May, June, July) we will be giving away free copies of Z3TA+ and Rapture, along with Craig Anderton’s New Electronic Guitars Expansion Pack. At the end of each month Cakewalk and Serious-Sounds will draw two lucky winners at random.

Serious-Sounds.net is a massive members-only community for music producers providing tutorials, help, and advice on the world of music production and more- all available for free!

TO BE ELIGIBLE to win the contest all you have to do is either log in or register at Serious-Sounds.net(registration is quick, free & easy) and answer a few simple questions located in the exclusive competition thread. Then simply email your answers along with your member username & number to the address provided within.

PLEASE REMEMBER: You must be a registered member at Serious-Sounds.net to view content on The Serious-Sounds Network. If you’re not already signed up, then register today!