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CakeTV Live: SONAR X2 Webinar

Last week was our fourth installment of CakeTV Live, which we broadcast bi-monthly, live, from Center Staging in Burbank, CA. In this latest episode we showed over 450 live viewers the new features of SONAR X2. In case you missed it, the webinar is now available for viewing on CakeTV (or right from this web page, below).

During the webcast we did our best to cover all of X2’s new features like Smart Grid, ProChannel FX Chains, and R-MIX SONAR. However, there were a few new features that we didn’t have time to demo that we think are worth mentioning.

Continue reading “CakeTV Live: SONAR X2 Webinar”

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How to Record and Playback Audio in Cakewalk Software

cakewalk_tips-sm1Recording your music on the computer is an adventure. There are thousands of different tools you can choose from, all with their own perks and obstacles. Recording your vocals, guitar, keys and drums is a process that takes time to learn in order to do it well.

Before you attempt to record, make sure you have all the equipment you need to connect your instrument of choice to the computer’s soundcard (such as cables, preamps, interfaces, speakers) as well as enable both for recording and playback. In this tutorial, learn how to use Cakewalk’s software to setup a track for recording and playback. Remember, pressing F1 while inside of the program will open the help guide.

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Amplify your Home Recordings with Guitar Tracks Pro

GTP4_TrackViewFretbase.com’s Brian Stolte, mainly a Garageband / Mac OS user, pulled out his Windows XP laptop recently to try out Cakewalk’s Guitar Tracks Pro 4 and was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of tools available for the guitar player turned home recording guru. “As compared to Garageband from Apple, one of the first things I noticed was there were a lot more options and features for each track,” he wrote.

Stolte was impressed by the wealth of ‘extras’ Guitar Tracks Pro offers. “Beyond the recording software, Cakewalk has included a demo version of Guitar Rig 3 to provide you with a ton of amp modeling options,” he noted. Later, he found that “the ability to generate tablature or notation from any MIDI track is handy for exporting individual parts for band mates.”

Apple and Garageband customers are notoriously loyal to their OS but, even Stolte had to give some props to Guitar Tracks Pro: “Overall I thought Guitar Tracks Pro 4 performed very well on my laptop and provided a very good solution to a guitar player looking for a way to create and record new songs. I found myself using the application to record guitar parts and riffs along with some backing drum tracks.”

Read Brian’s full review at Fretbase.com

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Recording Magazine Features USB Interfaces in Gift Guide

Recording Magazine, Dec 09 COVERIn a few days, Recording Magazine will release their annual ‘Holiday Gift Guide’ (December 2009) with 30+ reviews on today’s most desirable audio products. Cakewalk is honored to have made the list with our new line of affordable USB Interfaces.

Compact and versatile, these Audio & MIDI interfaces are perfect for those just starting out with home recording and those looking for another piece to add to their gig bag. Priced just under $100, these items feature a variety of I/O options, included software bundles and are Snow Leopard & Windows 7 ready!

Pick up Recording Magazine at your local bookstore (US only) or visit online at RecordingMag.com

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'Inside Home Recording' Reviews Music Creator 5

IHR logoInside Home Recording (IHR) is the longest running podcast to date that covers the latest in home studio recording, hosted by web guy / ‘podsafe’ musician Derek K. Miller and keyboardist / composer Dave Chick. Derek and Dave are both professional musicians involved in performing, teaching, producing and recording music. Based in Vancouver, Canada, IHR strives to bring the latest news, reviews, examples and techniques to musicians around the globe.

A few months ago, we sent over a review copy of Music Creator 5 to the IHR team. Dave immediately gave his first impressions. In their latest episode, Derek conducted an extensive review on the program- running it on a Windows 7 test candidate.

Click on the links above to hear their thoughts.
Visit IHR.com for more home recording news!

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Cakewalk Announces New Line of Studio Hardware Products

Cakewalk announces the newest additions to the growing line of affordable, high-quality hardware products, designed in conjunction with Roland. These three new USB audio interfaces, the UA-4FX, UA-25EX and UA-101, provide a simple solution for the mobile musician and/or recording studio to connect and capture audio to Mac & PC. 

ALSO Cakewalk announces a new line of powered stereo monitor speakers. The Cakewalk MA-7A Stereo Micro Monitors and MA-15D Digital Stereo Micro Monitors deliver superior audio in a myriad of settings; the home recording studio, classroom or media lab, college dorm room, even in your living room entertainment system without stressing your budget.

Click on the links above for more information on these products
Check out Cakewalk’s Youtube page to watch the new videos

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Configuring the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in

Setting up Active Controller Technology (ACT) with your software through the ACT MIDI Controller plug-in requires 6 basic steps. This tip will take you through 6 essential steps:

– Enabling the correct MIDI input driver for your controller/surface.

– Enabling the ACT MIDI Controller plug-in in the Controllers/Surfaces dialog.

– Loading the correct preset in the control panel of your hardware controller/surface.

– Opening the ACT MIDI Controller property page, selecting the name of your controller/surface in the Presets window, and enabling the Active Controller Technology Enable button.

– This step is optional if your controller/surface has a preset in the ACT MIDI Controller property page (not optional if your controller/ surface doesn’t have a preset): Mapping knobs and sliders on your controller/surface to cells in the ACT MIDI Controller property page.

– Optional: Mapping the cells in the ACT MIDI Controller property page to various parameters in your effect and synth plug-ins.

Watch the More Reasons to Love SONAR- ACT Part 1 & 2 tutorials

Use our Step by Step Guide to Configure ACT with your MIDI controller

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The How-to Geek.com Awards Music Creator 5 Four Stars

Cakewalk’s Music Creator 5 gets 4 stars and an excellent review at The How-to Geek.com!

Judged in five categories – Installation, Ease of Use, Features, Performance and Product Support – Music Creator 5 scored 8s across the board as ‘the affordable and powerful multitrack recording program perfect for beginners.’

The program’s help guides, simplified project views, and professional quality virtual instruments garnered much attention from the reviewer as he states:

”There is a bit of a learning curve to begin using Music Creator 5 and they offer a detailed user guide in the software and also videos on their site.  Once you start getting the hang of it everything falls into place.”

“While geared at beginners, there is a large amount of professional and studio quality features included in this package… there is a complete set of virtual instruments you can program to make the sound of your song huge.”

The How-To Geek.com features ‘how to’ articles on all things computers from operating systems and internet browsers to computer games and Microsoft Office™ tools. Need advice on running a certain program?  Just ask for help from a fellow geek on the site’s forums and wiki pages.

Get the full review, complete with installation instructions and screenshots, at the How-To Geek.com.

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SONAR 8 Review: Make Music Professionally At Home

Today’s musicians face a tough job market and an even worse economy. To cut the production costs of making and recording their music, many musicians are building their own DIY recording studios at home. These studios are creating some of the industry’s best tracks with off-the-shelf yet extremely powerful software and hardware solutions.

In response to this growing trend, Mark Eustace from This is Tamworth (an all things local publication of the Tamworth Herald, UK) recently took a look at SONAR 8, calling it “a raft of virtual instrument, effects, plug-ins, and all the production tools you would ever need to record and master your own hit record.”

Discover the power of SONAR 8 with Mark Eustace in the latest edition of This is Tamworth.

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Cakewalk Featured on Internet Radio Show

On Thursday, January 22, Cakewalk Product Manager Samara Krugman and Consumer PR Manager Dave Lubell joined ‘Digital Chef” Ralph Bond on Host John Iasiuolo’s Computer Outlook Radio Talk Show.

The live talk show airs on affiliate stations across the US and can be heard on the internet worldwide. Samara and David spoke about SONAR Home Studio 7, the new cable products and the recent NAMM tradeshow for the entire hour-long show. If you’re new to music production, this show will loosen all the tension!

The show is archived on the web. Listen to Computer Outlook here.