Keyboard Shortcuts are at the heart of any DAW’s workflow, and SONAR X1 is no exception. And the QWERTY keyboard is still the central way in which we use those shortcuts and interface with our DAWs in general.
Traditional keyboards aren’t labelled for anything other than a particular language. However, the custom made, slimline, SONAR X1 LogicKeyboard has SONAR’s default Keyboard Shortcuts printed right onto its 125 multi-colored keys.
When we designed SONAR X1 we took many of the old, not-so-logically organized Shortcuts, threw them onto the table, and reorganized them into Shortcuts that we thought would be not only easier to remember, but also into groups of like Shortcuts that go together, which we call Key Clusters.
Congratulations to Bobbi Tammaro (aka “Funkee Boy”) who is seeing some great Billboard charting success with his new self-produced/mixed full-length album titled “Philosoulphy” which was created entirely in SONAR. The album is also currently the #1 most selling Smooth Jazz CD in the world on CDBABY.COM. Bobbi has an interesting SONAR story and is also a great example of the sign of the times in the modern day music industry.
Ever wondered how to use sidechaining in SONAR X1? Look no further as this step by step, how to video shows you how to achieve professional results with sidechaining using the ProChannel in SONAR X1 Producer.
Examples include sidechaining a midi track to control a gate on an audio track, broadcaster style vocal “ducking”, or sidechaining the voice track to control the volume of the background music track, and more!
Learn more about the world of SONAR X1 and watch more tips and tricks videos in full HD on CakeTV
A couple of years ago we started SONAR University with a bang by releasing a fourty-plus minute long Master Class on drum production. Since then we’ve released two more Master Classes and dozens of Get Started and Go Deeper videos. And right now we’ve got one more Master Class video in the works.
Our first three master classes were released when YouTube had limits on video length. It started at ten minutes and eventually became fifteen minutes, but we were forced to break up our Master Classes into multi-part videos since they all were longer than fifteen minutes.
Thanks to YouTube now allowing videos of any length to live on their site, and in anticipation of the release of our next Master Class, we’ve decided to refresh our original three Master Classes as single, individual videos. Now you can watch them from start to finish with no interruption. Enjoy, and stay tuned for the release of the next Master Class.
So you’ve purchased and installed SONAR X1 and now you’re ready to get in and start making music? Let us make it easy for you with free step by step videos that cover every step of the setup process for all versions of SONAR X1. Available any time you need it, the Get Started series on CakeTV is your on demand resource for the information you need presented in full HD. Watch as we show you everything from setting up your audio interface to recording a track, applying effects and everything in between!
There’s no doubt that SONAR X1 comes with a lot of great content, but one component that I think is sometimes overlooked is the Beatscape content. Beatscape originally came with SONAR 8 and it’s a great sampler machine for mixing and mashing up content. And now with the power of the Browser, Drag and Drop and the ProChannel, anyone who is looking to make creative drum beats that really stand out from the crowd can utilize all this content right at their fingertips in SONAR X1.
The Beatscape content is great for creating drum tracks from scratch, or embellishing existing drum tracks. Whether or not you have Beatscape installed does not affect the ability to utilize this content in X1. In fact I prefer to use the content in X1 without Beatscape at all. Here’s how easy it is to utilize the Beatscape content.
1.If you do not have Beatscape installed, copy all of the “Beatscape Factory Content” from your SONAR X1 install disc or from the file in your download purchase and place it somewhere on your hard drive.
*If you do have Beatscape installed, you will navigate to the Beatscape Content folder in the next step. Your Beatscape folder is usually in these locations depending on whether or not you are running a 64bit system:
If you are running a 32bit system of Windows:
“C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Beatscape\Library\Beatscape Factory Content\” or you can search for the folder easily in Windows.
If you are running a 64bit system of Windows:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Cakewalk\Beatscape\Library\Beatscape Factory Content\” or you can search for the folder easily in Windows.
2.In the SONAR X1 Browser, navigate to where the “Beatscape Factory Content” folder is and save that location by simply clicking the “save content location preset” button. You can also rename this location by double-clicking inside the text rectangle.
3.In the “Media” tab, make sure Auto Preview, Preview at Host Tempo and Loop Preview are all checked.
4.You can preview any loop by clicking on it. With the Beatscape content file system; the word “combo” is used in the files that have the complete loop. The great thing about this content is that for most loops, the parts are broken apart so you can use them all together for the complete “combo” loop, or you can pull in just single elements of the loops. When pulled in separately you can combine them with other loops or you can pull them all in and then layer them on separate tracks.
5.Experiment with different individual loops by simply dragging and dropping them into the track view and layering them on different tracks.
You can get quite creative with the Beatscape content, and it’s just another quick and simple way to get up and running fast on SONAR X1. Next week I will show some of my favorite tips and techniques to get unique sounds from the Beatscape content using the ProChannel and other effects.
Survey: What content would you like to see more of in the future?
Since the release of SONAR X1, Cakewalk has stepped up its’ efforts to provide more free and paid content for SONAR X1 users. That started with the creation of CakeTV and SONAR U, and continues in 2012 with more blogging, videos, and content. It’s now time to capture your feedback on these valuable resources and see what you want more of (and less). Please take 5 minutes to fill out this special survey. The information you provide is confidential and will not be shared with any third parties. Thanks in advance!
V-Control Pro provides a fully-featured, multi-touch control surface for SONAR. V-Control Pro uses WiFi to control transport, editing, and mixing functions. V-Control Pro provides advanced control of sends, automation, groups, auditioning, plug-ins, jog/scrub/shuttle, I/O assignment, and other controls within an easy-to-use interface.
Keyboard Shortcuts are at the heart of any DAW’s workflow, and SONAR X1 is no exception. And the QWERTY keyboard is still the central way in which we use those shortcuts and interface with our DAWs in general.
There’s no doubt that SONAR X1 comes with a lot of great content, but one component that I think is sometimes overlooked is the Beatscape content. Beatscape originally came with SONAR 8 and it’s a great sampler machine for mixing and mashing up content. And now with the power of the Browser, Drag and Drop and the ProChannel, anyone who is looking to make creative drum beats that really stand out from the crowd can utilize all this content right at their fingertips in SONAR X1.
