Electronic Musician caught a glimspe of the new A-PRO Series MIDI Controllers at the NAMM Show 2010. In this video, Cakewalk’s Alex Westner shows off the velocity-sensitive keys as well as the assignable sliders, knobs, pads and transport controls featured on each controller. The A-PRO Series controllers will be available for purchase in April this year.
NAMM 2010: Creative Tools for Independent Minds
Jet-lagged and exhausted, the Cakewalk crew is slowly recovering from a monumental Thursday through Saturday at the NAMM Show. The weather was beautiful, the show floor was packed and the Cakewalk booth was the place to be.
Each year, the National Association of Music Merchants hosts an industry-wide tradeshow at the colossal Anaheim Convention Center. If you’ve never been to the NAMM Show, it’s a musician’s paradise, with thousands of exhibitors, live product demos, impromptu jam sessions, and celebrity sightings galore.
The theme for our booth was ‘Creative Tools for Independent Minds.’ As our product line continues to grow from recording software to complete studio solutions, we encourage musicians on every level to take production into their own hands and have fun making music.
Cakewalk Artist Relations Manager, Jimmy Landry put together an all-star roster of artists who appeared and performed in our booth while demonstrating how they use our products on the road and in the studio.
One of Rolling Stone’s Top 5 Up & Coming Female Artists, Cori Yarckin, acoustically performed her hit single, Everything You Said, and recorded a vocal track in SONAR with the V-Studio 100. Cakewalk’s Brandon Ryan showed the audience how to use the VX-64 Vocal Strip to process her vocals as well as the Matrix view to creatively remix her track.
Continue reading “NAMM 2010: Creative Tools for Independent Minds”
Sonic State Gets First Look at A-PRO Series
Sonic State was first on the scene at the NAMM Show this weekend to get an exclusive look at the new USB Keyboard Controllers. Brandon Ryan demos the 49-key controller, the A-500 PRO, along side SONAR 8.5’s Session Drummer 3 virtual instrument.
Whether you’re using SONAR, Logic, Ableton Live, Cubase, Digital Performer, Garage Band, or Pro Tools, these keyboards and the included Production Plus Pack instruments are Mac and PC compatible. If you’re using SONAR, exclusive Active Controller Technology keeps you in the flow and focused on your music. If you’re using another DAW, the keyboards ship with a variety of built-in control maps designed to get you using the A-PRO as a control surface quickly.
New Products Announced At The NAMM Show 2010
The 2010 NAMM Show is off to an exciting start as Cakewalk announces several new products to our line of fully-integrated software and hardware solutions for music creation and recording! Click the links below to learn how these products can benefit your music production needs:
New Line of Keyboard Controllers
Cakewalk introduces the new A-PRO Series, USB MIDI Controllers for Mac and PC. The A-300 Pro (32-key), A-500 Pro (49-key) and A-800 Pro (61-key) are brand new keyboard controllers developed in conjunction with Roland. The A-PRO series focuses on intuitive real-time performance and ergonomic playability, making it a must-have controller for soft-synths in a live or studio setting. This new line gives musicians the best of both worlds: Cakewalk’s legendary ease of use and Roland’s world-class engineering and keyboard expertise.
FA-66 Firewire Audio Interface
Cakewalk introduces the FA-66, a compact and portable 6-in/6-out FireWire 400/800 audio interface designed for mobile recording and performance professionals. This unit has two XLR/TRS combo inputs with phantom powered mic preamps, with one offering Hi-Z for recording electric guitar or bass, plus two RCA inputs — all with zero latency direct monitoring. The FA-66 package includes Cakewalk’s Production Plus Pack, featuring SONAR 8.5 LE recording software (Windows only) and 3 high quality virtual instruments for Mac & PC: Rapture LE, Cakewalk SoundCenter, and Studio Instruments Drums. The FA-66 is a must have for a wide range of applications, from recording guitar or vocals in mobile or studio settings to connecting a mixer to a computer.
New Mobile Studio Canvas
Cakewalk’s Mobile Studio Canvas for Mac and PC, and standalone performance is the first of its kind in the Cakewalk hardware family. Capable of producing over 1,000 sounds, the Mobile Studio Canvas includes the Roland SD-50 Sound Module, redesigned GM (General MIDI) 2, and Roland’s Solo Tones sounds. Fitted with a USB memory drive, the studio canvas can playback MP3, WAV, AIFF, and MIDI files without a computer. It’s a 2-in/2-out audio interface as well as a 1×1 MIDI interface that ships with SONAR 8.5 LE recording software (for Windows only), perfect for musicians looking for a multi-purpose sound source and/or playback device.
Visit the Cakewalk website to view our NAMM Press Releases
CES 2010: Music Creator Shines During Intel's Core Processor Launch
Cakewalk’s Gina Garda recently traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to take part in the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). “Although the taxi lines were longer and the halls more crowded than last year,” remarked Gina, “the bustle of this year’s CES is a sure sign that 2010 will be a phenomenal year for the consumer electronics industry.”
From the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, Intel launched their new 2010 Intel® Core™ Processor Family. As part of that launch, Intel featured Cakewalk’s Music Creator 5 running on a new Core i5 laptop.
In addition to the Music Creator software, the setup also included Cakewalk’s MA-15D speakers and UA-1G audio interface, a PCR-300 MIDI Keyboard, a Blue Microphone as well as a Les Paul guitar. The Cakewalk space was consistently full of musicians and non-musicians alike wanting to learn more about recording on the newest computers. Guitar players were particularly interested in Cakewalk’s Studio Instruments Drums and IK Multimedia’s Amplitube X-Gear software. These tools are part of the Music Creator 5 package making it easier for the solo performer to boost their sound and add a backing band to their project in just a few clicks.
Visit Cakewalk’s Flickr to see more photos from the event.
Click here to learn more about CES 2010.
Artist Appearances at NAMM 2010
Visit with Cakewalk at The NAMM Show 2010 from January 14 through January 17 in Anaheim, California! Stop by our new booth location (Hall A, #6700) to see live demonstrations on SONAR 8.5, the V-Studio 100 and the V-Studio 700. Be sure to grab an official Cakewalk Passport then take a short tour of our booth, to win a free t-shirt and be eligible to win a V-Studio 100!
Also, Cakewalk will be hosting a series of special artist presentations and performances throughout the show. Our confirmed artist appearances (dates and times) are as follows:
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
2:00-2:45 Justin Lassen
4:00-4:45 Javier Colon
Friday, Jan. 15, 2010
11:00-11:45 Steven Slate
1:00-1:45 Cori Yarckin
3:00-3:45 Casey McPherson of Alpha Rev
4:00-4:45 Norman Matthew
5:00-5:45 Justin Lassen
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010
11:00-11:45 Norman Matthew
12:00-12:45 Steven Slate
1:05-1:45 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
2:00-2:45 Shifty and the Big Shots
3:00-3:45 Cori Yarckin
4:00-4:45 Javier Colon
Visit our Special Event page for more information: http://www.cakewalk.com/events/namm2010/
Preparing for The NAMM Show 2010
There are just two weeks left until The NAMM Show 2010! Join us at the colossal Anaheim Convention Center in our brand new booth (#6700) to see live product demonstrations of SONAR 8.5, the V-Studio 100 and the V-Studio 700 by Cakewalk’s own technical service representatives. Thinking of upgrading your studio? Swing by our booth to see the latest innovations for music production including Intel’s brand new Core i7 processor-powered computers. We’ll also welcome a slew of talented musicians – Javier Colon, Cori Yarckin, Justin Lassen, Norman Matthew and Steven Slate – who will be performing at our booth throughout the weekend.
See our official NAMM page as we get closer to opening day to learn more about these artist appearances and special events.
Join NAMM to purchase a show badge today!
Meet Cakewalk Representatives This Holiday Season
During this Holiday season, we would like to take some time to personally assist you with any questions you might have about our products.
During the coming week, our technical sales representatives will be at select music retailers across the country with the sole purpose of helping you learn more about SONAR 8.5, V-Studio 100, V-Studio 700, our audio and MIDI interfaces, desktop monitors and more.
Find a location near you on Cakewalk’s Tour page.
We look forward to meeting you!
DJ Johnny Juice Joins Cakewalk V-Studio Tour
As the Fall V-Studio Tour featuring SONAR 8.5 heats up, we are pleased to announce that Cakewalk artist, DJ Johnny Juice of Public Enemy fame will be on hand to partake in the V-Studio and SONAR 8.5 demos during tonight’s Guitar Center – Manhattan tour date.
Cakewalk Product Specialist Rich Curtis will be including DJ Johnny Juice in his demos as Juice talks about his long-standing relationship with Cakewalk and how he incorporates Cakewalk in his productions. Additionally, DJ Johnny Juice will be talking about his latest track “I am a king” featuring none other than hip hop legend DMC.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Guitar Center Manhattan
25 W. 14th Street
Manhattan, NY
(212) 463 – 7500
Time: 6:00 – 8:00PM
Plus: Tony Grund from IK Multimedia will be on hand to show off their latest mastering software, T-RackS 3 and how it works in conjunction with SONAR 8.5. All event attendees will receive a complimentary copy of IK Multimedia’s T-RackS EQ, plus if you purchase a V-Studio 700, or a V-Studio 100 the night of the event you will receive a $100 mail-in rebate.
Register for this and other V-Studio Tour events today!
Cakewalk Travels to Japan for SONAR Premium Day
A few weeks ago, Cakewalk traveled to Akihabara, Japan (a district of Tokyo) to take part in the Fourth Annual SONAR Premium Day. To locals, Akihabara is known as ‘Electric Town,’ as it’s where all the technology stores (carrying everything from LED TVs to music production software) are located. Cakewalk’s CEO Greg Hendershott and Product Evangelists Brandon Ryan & Robin Kelly introduced the new version of SONAR to 870 guests at the event, giving live demos on how to record, mix, edit and more with SONAR 8.5.
The event kicked off with a video featuring SONAR Product Manager Alex Westner discussing the latest features in SONAR 8.5. Greg then gave a great speech on new technologies in the industry, such as the release of Windows 7. Brandon and Robin rounded out the day with a number of demos. Brandon used a Intel Core i7 machine running Windows 7 to demonstrate a few tasks on the V-Studio 700, while Robin ran a Quadcore Vista (32-bit) computer to show off the many features of the V-Studio 100. Throughout the day, attendees gathered around one of three stages to share tips and techniques on Cakewalk’s latest products.
Although we couldn’t see these events live in action, Robin added some video highlights of the trip to his unofficial Cakewalk blog. Click on over to see footage from the show floor.