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How Chris Standring Used SONAR X1 to Hit Two #1 Chart Positions

The success of SONAR X1 user Chris Standring’s groundbreaking 2010 CD Blue Bolero, which topped several year-end lists and produced a No. 1 single, made it tough for him to create a follow-up record; but all early indicators are showing that he managed quite nicely with the new Electric Wonderland recording which came out yesterday.

As of this morning, Chris woke up to find out that Electric Wonderland has hit #1 in its genre on the Amazon.com sales chart, as well as #1 on the BDS Radio Tracking Chart (Billboard) for the same genre.  I would say that’s a setup for a pretty great day, especially considering the “sales” climate of the music industry in general.  Electric Wonderland is a 10-song CD of original songs that fuses elements of the last record Blue Bolero’s orchestral touches with a deft jazz-pop touch that’s been a hallmark of Standring’s stellar career.

One of the changes Chris made on Electric Wonderland besides going from SONAR 8.5 to X1 was mixing the record on his own.  Continue reading “How Chris Standring Used SONAR X1 to Hit Two #1 Chart Positions”

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Musikmesse Preview And New ProChannel Module

If you thought NAMM was something, wait until next week when Musikmesse 2012 opens itself to the world in Frankfurt, Germany from March 21st – 24th. The planet’s largest Music Industry trade show is looming just over the horizon and we’ll be there to show off our latest wares, gadgets, and goodies, including a new brand new, yet to be released ProChannel module.

We’ll formally announce the new module at the show. In the meantime, check out the picture below to spot the module in action. But don’t tell anyone I gave you the drop, OK?

Hidden in this sea of ProChannels is the new module we’ll announce at Musikmesse 2012

Continue reading “Musikmesse Preview And New ProChannel Module”

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Cori Yarckin's New Record "Part of Me" Released in Japan Today: See How SONAR X1 was used in her living room…

After a long road of hard work and perseverance, the new Cori Yarckin record titled Part of Me was released today in Japan on Spinning Records.  Cori is a busy international singer/songwriter who is also signed to BMG publishing in the United States.  In the past, she has toured extensively, being known for her powerful voice and stage presence, and has even been seen in Rolling Stone magazine and the ever-famous MTV show TRL.  This new record, which was recorded and produced in SONAR X1, is initially available in stores and here in Japan and eventually will be released in the United States.

I’ve had the privilege of working with Cori on a few different records/projects as a producer, mixer and co-writer, and I think this record was the most fun out of them all.  This record has an interesting twist to it as we recorded and produced most of the tracks entirely in SONAR X1, with various people jumping in to assist.  Brandon Ryan did a lot of the preproduction and bed tracks, while Robin Kelly laid down a lot of the synth and drum programming. Then it was my job to take everything and completely mess it up…  I mean put it all together 😉  Continue reading “Cori Yarckin's New Record "Part of Me" Released in Japan Today: See How SONAR X1 was used in her living room…”

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Remix K'Naan's New Single to Win $1000 and SONAR X1 Production Suite

Hopefully by now you have a version of the award winning SONAR X1 running on your machine, because A&M/Octone recording artist K’NAAN wants to hear from you; musically.  With this exclusive opportunity through Cakewalk, Roland, Indaba Music and A&M/Octone, you can sign up for this contest and download the actual stems to craft your own work of art.   If that work of art is chosen by K’Naan and his label, it will result in a nice chunk of cash or a Cakewalk/Roland gear package for you. Continue reading “Remix K'Naan's New Single to Win $1000 and SONAR X1 Production Suite”

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How Building Cost Effective Acoustic Treatment for the Music Studio Will Help Your Music Production; Part 3: Wall Panels

[Click on any picture for higher resolution] For the last couple of weeks I have been writing about how I’ve been building custom acoustic treatment panels for my new project studio which is running SONAR X1 Producer Expanded.  I started with the sound cloud over the mix position and then showed how I basically cut out all the corners of my room (a square room unfortunately for me) by building corner traps.  This week I’ll dive into probably the most important component; the wall panels.

The wall panels are really important for me for a few reasons.  (1.) They absorb the first sound reflection from the speakers so that the frequency waves are tamed down, and (2.) They absorb the sound in the room in general to control echo and reverberation.  I do a bit of professional moonlighting work on the side including songwriting/production for ESPN Sports Center as well as other commercial stuff, so it’s important for me to have a controlled environment to listen to my mixes and productions on SONAR so that what I deliver is the real-deal.  As I stated before, it’s pretty much impossible to create a perfect listening environment unless you are building a room from scratch (floating room, sound proofing inside the walls, etc…,) but it is possible to greatly improve your surroundings.  In my own opinion, I think the way to look at it is to figure out what it is you are trying to accomplish before you purchase or build anything.  I think some of the important questions to ask are:

*How much can I afford to put into the project?

*Is it important for the place to look professional?

*Will a vibed-out room make you or whoever is using the room feel more creative?

*What are the basic sonic trouble elements to the room?

*Will the room be used for mixing or recording?

*What genre of music will the room be used for (i.e.> Hip-hop with a lot of low end, Jazz, etc…) Continue reading “How Building Cost Effective Acoustic Treatment for the Music Studio Will Help Your Music Production; Part 3: Wall Panels”

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Cakewalk Artists on Both PC and Mac Are Off to an Enormous 2012

Cakewalk Artists on Both PC and Mac are off to an Enormous 2012

We are well on our way into 2012 and many artists relying on various Cakewalk products are off to an enormous year.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent some time with most of these artists recently, and even more fortunate to have worked with a few in some creative capacities using SONAR X1 in the recent past.  There are some common threads that these artists share, but I think the most important element is that they are all working ridiculously hard in their own circles.

Murray Daigle

[Toronto, ONT, Canada]  Murray Daigle is a very talented Canadian Producer/Mixer/Songwriter out of Toronto Canada.  He just relocated to a new space in Toronto and opened a new studio running SONAR X1 Expanded.  A big “congratulations” goes out to him on a “Certified Gold” record for Neverest’s track “About Us” along with a SOCAN #1 Award (co-written and mixed on Cakewalk Sonar X1.)  Murray also produced and co-wrote other tracks on the Neverest release which came out in January and is already working on material for another release later this year. Continue reading “Cakewalk Artists on Both PC and Mac Are Off to an Enormous 2012”

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SONAR X1 Wins Electronic Musician's Editors' Choice 2012 for "Extreme DAW Makeover"

“SONAR X1 was the obvious choice”  – Electronic Musician Magazine

We were thrilled to pick up our Editor’s Choice award at the NAMM show last week. SONAR X1 won for “Extreme DAW Makeover” thanks to the new Skylight user interface. Thank you to all the editors at Electronic Musician who voted for SONAR X1 – we appreciate the support.

Upon picking up the award, we displayed it proudly at our booth, for the whole world to see (well at least the NAMM attendees). Here’s a photo with the only caption I thought was fitting:

 

EM Award
Winning!!!
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Cakewalk's 11 big product releases of 2011

2011 was a big year for Cakewalk and featured some major product releases. Here’s a quick recap of some of the most popular product releases of 2011 with links to each, in case you missed it. We’d love to hear your feedback on which was your favorite by voting in our Facebook poll.

SONAR X1  Free Trial: For those of you that want to try it before you buy it, we released a free 30-day SONAR X1 Web trial. The SONAR X1 Web Trial is a fully functioning version of SONAR X1 that will work for up to 30 days if registered.

SONAR X1a update: The first free update to SONAR X1 includes fixes for Skylight, ProChannel and more.

SONAR X1b update: The second free update to SONAR includes control surface updates for the V-Studio 700, V-Studio, plus more fixes.

SONAR X1c update: The third free update includes is the current update as of today with all the updates and hotfixes included.

Music Creator 6: Music Creation just got even easier! Based on Cakewalk’s acclaimed professional studio software, Music Creator’s elegant design and drag and drop interface makes creating and sharing music fast, easy, and fun.

Z3TA+ 2.1: Nearly a decade after its initial release, Z3TA+ is back with a brand new version that builds on its already legendary status.  New filters, modulatable waveshapers, flexible effects, expressive control and a gorgeous new interface make Z3TA+ 2 one seriously powerful synth.

SONAR X1 Producer Expanded: SONAR X1 Producer Expanded takes SONAR X1 Producer even further with exciting new production tools and delivery options. ProChannel modularity, a new Softube Saturation Knob, MusicXML export, and SoundCloud are just a few of the new features.

PC4K S-Type Expander / Gate: When we introduced ProChannel modularity with SONAR X1 Producer Expanded, we also released a brand new ProChannel module. The PC4K S-Type Expander / Gate Module is expertly crafted by the Cakewalk DSP team and rounds out our legendary, vintage-style, ProChannel modeling.

PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor: The only thing left to complete the 4K modeling story was a channel compressor. In late 2011, we released the new PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor which provides full emulation of the classic, large-format, mixing consoles used by professional engineers to make hit records.

SONAR X1 Advanced Workshop with Craig Anderton: Craig Anderton and Cakewalk teamed up for the most unique SONAR tutorial ever created. SONAR X1 Advanced Workshop with Craig Anderton is a ground-breaking collection of advanced SONAR X1 techniques,and is also Cakewalk’s first official video tutorial.

SONAR X1 Advanced Workshop: The Next Level: Don’t call it a sequel. This is unlike any other video tutorial on the market today (even compared to his first, universally-acclaimed “Advanced Workshop” video) as Craig shows you amazing, one-of-a-kind techniques that truly take SONAR X1 to the next level.

Vote for your favorite product release in our Facebook Poll.

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Cakewalk Artist Javier Colon Making His Mark on "The Voice"

A little over a month ago we featured Javier Colon on our blog the day before “The Voice” premiered.  I don’t think anyone had a doubt that he would be anything less than stellar on the show, but I don’t think anyone realized the impact he would have on viewers around the world.  If you have seen the show you know what I am talking about; Javier’s voice is undeniable, and combining that with his first-class demeanor and composure has authentically gained him millions of fans around the world.  Since the premier, Javier has been on a whirlwind ride and we have been fortunate enough to keep in touch with him even though his schedule has changed…  just a bit;) Continue reading “Cakewalk Artist Javier Colon Making His Mark on "The Voice"”

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Cakewalk's own Dan Kaplan on the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch"

SONAR has always been the “working man’s DAW.”  From inception, it was built on the foundational theory that musicians should not be held back or creatively limited.  From electronic beat-wizards to the most authentic acoustic musicians, SONAR has always been a DAW that creative musicians turn to for empowerment.

With the financial troubles of the Major Labels, a common trend is showing more and more very credible artists representing various genres who have the DNA to be on a major label, but successfully continue other career paths while keeping music on the forefront.  Between the troubled economy and the state of the recorded music industry, many people are turning to SONAR to record “major label” sounding tracks on their own to tap into the licensing market, which has enormous potential not just in terms of making money, but also with obtaining national and international exposure. Continue reading “Cakewalk's own Dan Kaplan on the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch"”