In case you missed part one of this two-part series, Cakewalk’s Seth Perlstein shared his favorite SONAR X1 music production tips, tricks, and techniques like using the Mod Matrix in FX Chains 2.0, Groove Matching with AudioSnap, creating variations with the Loop Construction View, and much, much more.
Plus, he gave a sneak peak of the X1d patch, which is now free for all SONAR X1 users.
Congratulations to Paul Oakenfold and TC Spitfire who found themselves at #3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs this past week with the track Surrender.
The track was written by Paul, TC and J Hart who also sang the track. TC Spitfire who is a passionate SONAR X1 Expanded user co-produced and mixed the track using a combination of all the ProChannel modules. “This new era with the ProChannel and X1d [Expanded] is on a serious elevated level. The combination of the modules has me staying more and more inside SONAR natively,” TC told us.
On a daily basis, TC is very busy individual. Between writing new music, producing, mixing and remixing, he finds himself a bit overextended these days and “taking it and enjoying it while it’s there.” Most recently, he has worked with artists such as Cher, Matt Goss, Matt Morris and Jean Baptist – and that is just in the recent past. “On a daily basis I will jump from remixing a track for 4 hours, to writing in another studio for 4 hours, and then back to our lab for another however-long-it-takes-session – for the next barrage of musical craziness.”
For the track Surrender which is currently charting on the Billboard Dance Club Chart, TC collaborated with both Paul Oakenfold and J Hart on the writing side and then built and mixed the song completely in SONAR X1 Expanded.
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CW AR: This vocal sound is huge in this track. What was some of the processing involved?
TC: On the vocal track I used the new Hybrid mode in the ProChannels QuadCurve EQ. I cut quite a bit of the low end off and had quite a bit of mids popping for this track around 1.8k. I was able to surgically cut out some other frequencies in the mids to get the vocals away from other keyboard parts in that range.
On top of that, I used the PC4K channel compressor along with a slight touch of the Softube Saturation Knob with the switch on the “high” setting. I also sent multiple lead vocal tracks out to a lead vocal bus which had the PCCL Limiter on it for a slight boost and some tightening.
CW AR: This track and all your tracks for that matter are really tight, what are the main factors for you in achieving this sound?
TC: It’s pretty simple, but it’s also pretty complicated. It’s simple, because most of it has to do with compression, EQ and limiting, which are 75% from the ProChannel in my tracks. It’s complicated because carving the frequencies, making the decisions on where to compress and how much, and what to use a limiter on – all factor in. Sometimes, over compressing and using too many limiters will just make a song sound flat-lined and not breathing. I think another factor is not using too many of the same compressors or EQ’s on every single track. I really like mixing up my inserts. On some tracks I will use the 76 and others I will use the Softube compressor. I even use the PC4K bus compressor on tracks – call me crazy – haaa. There are no rules in the digital world and use my ear and the tools SONAR X1 Expanded provides to get the sound to where I need it to be.
In the next year you will be hearing a lot more from Paul Oakenfold and TC as a new deal was just signed with Sony Records. As soon as the details are released on that we will keep you posted. Until then, you can check out SONAR X1 for free here.
SONAR X1 is the most intuitive D.A.W. on the market today. It’s easy to get up and running, and it’s just as easy with practice and experience to become an advanced user. If you are running windows, and you are a musician, now is a great time to pull the trigger with the SONAR X1 Advanced Workshop Giveaway Promotion.
“SURRENDER” [Completely recorded, mixed and mastered in SONAR X1 Expanded:]
Did you know that you can use the Event Inspector to easily edit multiple data events (such as MIDI notes) simultaneously?
In SONAR, right-click the Control Bar and choose Event Inspector Module to make the Event Inspector visible. If you don’t see it appear, you may need to hide some of the other Control Bar modules. Next, select some data (such as a group of MIDI notes) and then click a field in the Event Inspector. Either type in a new value or click the spin controls to change the value sequentially.
In addition, you can use modifiers (+/-) to change values. For example, if you want to add 23 to a velocity value of 37, type +23 for the Vel parameter and SONAR will automatically change the value to 60. The plus and minus modifiers work for all parameters, but the Vel (velocity) and Duration parameters can also accept a percentage for scaling values. For example, with 100% representing the current value, if you want to lengthen selected notes by 20%, enter 120% for the Duration value. If you want to shorten the same notes by 20%, enter 80%. For even more details and to see the Event Inspector in action, check out the following video. Versions 8.5 (and earlier) as well as X1 (and later) are covered.
In part two of the series let’s take a look at another crucial element for recording guitars, the microphone.
Just as a speaker plays a large role in the sound of an amp, the microphones used to record it are just as important to getting that tone into a recording. And just like speakers, all microphones have a different sound. Huge differences in sound can be heard even in mics that sell for the same price so experimentation is key when looking for a mic (or mics) to capture your golden tone. Continue reading “Recording guitars- A survival guide pt2: Microphones, your DAW's ears”
You’ve seen it before. That painful scanning procedure on startup that makes many DAWs seemingly take forever to let you start actually making music with them. Is it a necessary evil? I mean without it you wouldn’t have all your plugins available to you.
Or would you?
SONAR X1 has a very sophisticated and clever mechanism that only scans your plugin folders for changes – and it does this with incredible speed. In fact, it’s almost imperceptible. With “Scan VST Plug-ins On Startup” checked in SONAR’s preferences you get the best of both worlds; newly installed plugins ready and available and yet a blazingly fast startup time without the painful wait of other DAWs. Who wants to wait for an excruciating VST plugin scan when all you want to do is rock? Continue reading “Why you should use "Scan VST Plug-ins On Startup" in SONAR X1. Really.”
Anyone who has used the Matrix View in SONAR X1 can attest to its awesome music creation powers. But it can also be used in combination with the Browser View’s flexible audio preview routing in a DJ setup to make instant remixes on the fly!
I love to use mono slapback echo to support lead vocals or guitar solos. This classic effect has been used for decades and continues to be an important music production technique. Slapback has its roots in reel to reel tape and is characterized by the vocal or guitar part mixed with a single, audible echo.
While, you might associate this effect with late 50’s rockabilly, slapback echo is probably more common than reverb on modern pop and rock mixes. I often use a slapback delay along with other beat synced stereo delays as an important part of a lead vocal sound.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to set up a master slap-back delay effect in SONAR X1 is to use the Channel Tools effect. Channel Tools is the swiss army knife of effects offering a range of stereo imaging tools that are more handy than glamorous. For this application it’s the simple left and right delay controls that get the job done with minimal complexity.
Here is the setup:
1. Create a bus channel and insert the Channel Tools effect. Label the bus “Slapback”
If you’re a SONAR X1 user then you’ve probably already seen that the free SONAR X1d update has been released for all versions of SONAR X1. And if you’re a SONAR X1 Producer Expanded user, then you’ve probably already noticed that you’ve got a shiny, new EQ in the ProChannel called the QuadCurve EQ.
However, you might be wondering what exactly the deal is with the new EQ and and what the differences are in the four modes.
Have you ever wanted to create a drum kit from your own samples and make your own drum loops? Part 1 of this Drum Production Master Class shows you how to create a drum part from scratch with Session Drummer 3, Step Sequencer 2.0, and other tools that come with SONAR X1 Producer.
Watch the video and follow these 5 easy steps:
Browse for Loops: Find audio loops with the right drum sound for your track.
Harvest Drum Samples: Slice up the loop into clips to add to your custom drum kit.
Build a Drum Kit for Session Drummer 3: Drag and drop clips or add pieces from other kits.
Create a Pattern: Customize your drum pattern using Step Sequencer 2.0.
Arrange Your Patterns: Add variation to your pattern to create a multi-part drum track.
Congratulations to Paul Oakenfold and TC Spitfire who found themselves at #3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs this past week with the track Surrender.
