Sidechaining With SONAR's ProChannel

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.

 

Watch and listen to several different techniques of sidechaining using the PC4K Expander/Gate, PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor and the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor modules in the ProChannel.

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

 

Got SONAR X1? Get up and running with our free Get Started series of videos on CakeTV!

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!

Watch the full Get Started series here

Visit the Get Started with CakeTV page to watch individual videos on setting up your SONAR system.


How Building Cost Effective Acoustic Treatment for the Music Studio Will Help Your Music Production; Part 1: Sound Cloud

(Part 1: Sound Clouds)

Just as important as having a killer DAW such as SONAR X1 Production Suite 64bit running on a good machine, one needs to take a good hard look at their recording and mixing environment.  If you are starting to get to the point where the word “professional” (as in making some money) comes into play, you should probably start to think about your sonic room environment as well as your environment’s presentation.

The beauty of the music industry today is that you CAN make extra money as a part time job utilizing tools such as SONAR, but there comes a point in time where you need to step it up if you have what it takes to succeed on certain levels.  In my personal situation, as a writer/mixer/producer I take on some decent paying side jobs once in a while when time permits such as recent tracks that I sold to ESPN Sports center, but I can tell you that if I didn’t have SONAR X1 Producer Expanded and a decent mixing environment, there’s no way I would have been able to deliver those tracks.

In the upcoming weeks I am going to be talking about, as well as be demonstrating how I recently treated my new music studio room with great looking acoustic treatment panels.  I built all the custom panels myself so it cost me a fraction of what it would have been to order these panels online; and in my opinion they look better because I elected to design them with exposed natural wood where the cheap ones online are just basically fabric-wrapped.

The three types of panels I built which will be discussed on this blog were wall traps, corner traps and sound clouds.  Today I will go into detail on how I built the sound cloud that goes over my mix position. Continue reading “How Building Cost Effective Acoustic Treatment for the Music Studio Will Help Your Music Production; Part 1: Sound Cloud”

NAMM 2012 Backstage Pass: The perfect computer for SONAR X1?

Live from the Cakewalk booth in the Roland arena, take a look inside the perfect computer for SONAR X1 as HP’s Dan Bennett opens up and tears down the powerhouse HP Z800 workstation.

Featuring a BMW designed, tool-less chassis, an incredibly unique power supply, a plethora of powerful under the hood options, and so much more, the Z800 truly is a dream machine for making music with SONAR X1.

Upgrade to SONAR X1 or or find a dealer to become a new user today.

 

How do I record audio on a Windows PC?

While recording audio is one of  the most basic function in SONAR X1, it still remains among the frequently asked questions. Within one minute this get-started video demonstrates the 4 basic steps necessary to record audio.

1.) Insert a new audio track

2.) Select your input

3.) Arm your track

4.) Hit record

If recording audio is this easy, you’ll be accepting your Grammy in no time!

Haven’t tried SONAR X1 yet? You can download your free trial today!

Or you can check out more videos to help get you started with the basic setup and operation of SONAR and its features at CakeTV.

SONAR X1 on a Mac? Yes, you can!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A question I am frequently asked is, “Do you guys make SONAR X1 for the Mac?” The answer to which is no, SONAR X1 is made for Windows. But do not despair, there is a solution! For Macs with Intel processors there’s an application called Bootcamp which will allow you to install the Windows operating system on your Mac.Unlike some of the other applications that allow you to run Windows inside the Mac OS, Bootcamp allows you to boot exclusively into Windows or Mac OS on startup. This is the optimal method of running Windows as all of the Mac’s resources are available. Continue reading “SONAR X1 on a Mac? Yes, you can!”

Intel's Core i7 980x Processor Brings Unbelievable Performance to Computer Music-Making

Slow and steady may win the race but it does not make creating music on the computer any easier!

Accelerate your music-making experience on the PC with more power and better stability, check out Intel’s new Core i7 Extreme Edition Processor. Code-named “Gulftown” the Core i7 980x is the first 32nm, six-core processor with 12 computing threads! In short, it brings a whole new level of performance to your computer’s workload. See the video below, produced for the Core i7 980x’s launch, at last week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, CA.

“The Core i7 Extreme and SONAR 8.5 equals UNBELIEVABLE performance.”

Hot Deals for SONAR 8.5 Customers

SONAR 8.5Though we do not normally post offers to the Cakewalk blog, we thought these special deals for SONAR 8.5 customers were worth the mention.

Due to the unprecedented success of the Elite Guitar Pack for SONAR 8.5 featuring Guitar Rig 4 Pro, we have renewed our agreement with Native Instruments and will offer this Elite Pack as a download for only $99 (while supplies last)! Visit the Cakewalk E-Store to see all of the Elite Pack deals for SONAR 8.5.

Looking to upgrade your computer? Now through November 30, SONAR 8.5 customers can save 20% off any Windows 7 computer in PC Audio Lab’s Rok Box Series OR take $300 off any PC Audio Lab’s Custom Shop audio computer. Click here to grab your PC Audio Lab’s redemption code from Cakewalk.

Cakewalk Develops New Windows 7 Resource Page

windows7logo1Microsoft’s latest effort in the OS department, Windows 7 dropped yesterday after much anticipation. Windows 7 promises to be a much more robust OS than its predecessor, Windows Vista, making it an ideal choice for audio production. With Cakewalk winning Microsoft’s prestigious Partner of the Year award, you can rest assured that SONAR 8.5 and many other Cakewalk products are fully supported and compatible with Windows 7.

To keep you up to date with the latest information regarding your Cakewalk products and the new OS, we’ve created a Windows 7 landing page on our website.

Cakewalk's V-Studio 100 Gets New Snow Leopard Drivers

Mac-Snow-LeopardToday, Cakewalk continues Mac compatibility with the release of new Snow Leopard Mac Operating System (version 10.6) device drivers for the V-Studio 100 portable music production system. The new Snow Leopard drivers are also available for the UA-1G audio interface and UM-1G, UM-2G, UM-3G MIDI interfaces. More hardware drivers will be announced soon.

Cakewalk’s Vice President of Products & Marketing Michael Hoover states:

“Mac users are loyal, and very much looking forward to the new version of their OS. In turn, Cakewalk is loyal to its Mac customers, and supporting them means staying ahead of the development curve and anticipating customer’s needs. These new drivers are just the first step in our planned support for Snow Leopard and our Mac-based consumers.”

To download the drivers for your hardware, please visit our website. Click here for more information on Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100  and Audio / MIDI Interfaces