Recording Music On A Laptop With the UA-4FX

UA4FXAsk any artist, they’ll likely tell you their best work comes when they least expect it. Inspiration knows no schedule. With the UA-4FX you are no longer tied down to the computer desk, forced to be creative while sitting at your home PC or Mac. This USB audio interface sources its power from your laptop and is small enough to fit inside a backpack, giving you the freedom to record your tracks on the go, wherever and whenever the mood hits you.

Fitted with a variety of I/O options, the UA-4FX makes it easy for you to plug in your microphone, electric guitar or instrument of choice, add the desired effect and start recording. You can also connect external synths, sound modules, and MIDI controllers to enjoy an ultra-fast, stable performance with FPT (Fast Processing Transmission) technology. As summarized by Gear-Vault’s Mike O’Cull:

“The UA-4FX is a worthy contender for anyone seeking an affordable and portable interface for laptop or desktop recording. If you are considering a unit like this, make sure it is on your short list.”

Get the artist’s perspective on the UA-4FX at Gear-Vault.com

New Products Announced At The NAMM Show 2010

NAMMThe 2010 NAMM Show is off to an exciting start as Cakewalk announces several new products to our line of fully-integrated software and hardware solutions for music creation and recording! Click the links below to learn how these products can benefit your music production needs:

New Line of Keyboard Controllers
Cakewalk introduces the new A-PRO Series, USB MIDI Controllers for Mac and PC. The A-300 Pro (32-key), A-500 Pro (49-key) and A-800 Pro (61-key) are brand new keyboard controllers developed in conjunction with Roland. The A-PRO series focuses on intuitive real-time performance and ergonomic playability, making it a must-have controller for soft-synths in a live or studio setting.  This new line gives musicians the best of both worlds: Cakewalk’s legendary ease of use and Roland’s world-class engineering and keyboard expertise.

FA-66 Firewire Audio Interface
Cakewalk introduces the FA-66, a compact and portable 6-in/6-out FireWire 400/800 audio interface designed for mobile recording and performance professionals.  This unit has two XLR/TRS combo inputs with phantom powered mic preamps, with one offering Hi-Z for recording electric guitar or bass, plus two RCA inputs — all with zero latency direct monitoring. The FA-66 package includes Cakewalk’s Production Plus Pack, featuring SONAR 8.5 LE recording software (Windows only) and 3 high quality virtual instruments for Mac & PC: Rapture LE, Cakewalk SoundCenter, and Studio Instruments Drums. The FA-66 is a must have for a wide range of applications, from recording guitar or vocals in mobile or studio settings to connecting a mixer to a computer.

New Mobile Studio Canvas
Cakewalk’s Mobile Studio Canvas for Mac and PC, and standalone performance is the first of its kind in the Cakewalk hardware family. Capable of producing over 1,000 sounds, the Mobile Studio Canvas includes the Roland SD-50 Sound Module, redesigned GM (General MIDI) 2, and Roland’s Solo Tones sounds. Fitted with a USB memory drive, the studio canvas can playback MP3, WAV, AIFF, and MIDI files without a computer. It’s a 2-in/2-out audio interface as well as a 1×1 MIDI interface that ships with SONAR 8.5 LE recording software (for Windows only), perfect for musicians looking for a multi-purpose sound source and/or playback device.

Visit the Cakewalk website to view our NAMM Press Releases

What do Garageband & Cakewalk Have In Common?

We stumbled across this video on Youtube and thought it answered the question quite well! The creator of this video, Versyke, shows off his very first song created on the computer. He recorded his guitar solo using Cakewalk’s UA-1G USB Audio Interface and brought the track into Garageband for final editing.

Whether you’re using Garageband or SONAR to create music, Cakewalk’s new audio and midi interfaces can be used to record great tracks with today’s most popular music programs on Mac and/or PC.

Quite Nyce Records Beats On the Road with V-Studio 100

As one of the North East’s most prolific MCs in the game today, Quite Nyce has completed three world tours with legendary hip hop acts such as Das Efx, Onyx, Lords of the Underground and Afu-Ra. He continues to be successful and 2009 is perhaps the biggest year of his career. Nyce just released a hugely popular downloadable mixtape alongside MC Seek called ‘RADIx Mixtape’, launched a critically acclaimed collaboration album with Raydar Ellis entitled, ‘The Champs vs. The League’, and began recording his album with Geoff from Portishead. Today, Quite Nyce announces the release of his digital solo album, ‘Through My Eyes LP’.

Pegged as having one of the most recognizable voices and flows of hip-hop today, Quite Nyce uses his words to embody life through music. Watch the video below to see him, spitting his soulful lyrics in action, with the SONAR V-Studio 100!

Create Digital Music Looks 'Under the Hood' of V-Studio 100

Create Digital Music’s Peter Kirn takes you on an extensive tour of the SONAR V-Studio 100 as a mixer, interface, control surface, digital recorder and more in his latest review. This all-in-one portable studio for Mac & PC charms Peter with its durable shell, touch-sensitive controls, and many included features. Small enough to fit most backpacks and carrying cases, this unit is a great addition to the travelling musician’s gig bag.

Peter takes an in-depth look at the VS-100. Read his entire review at Create Digital Music.com

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

Future Music Captures Demo of V-Studio 100

Future Music Magazine met up with Cakewalk’s Brandon Ryan in Frankfurt, Germany at Musikmesse 2009 in March. Brandon was demonstrating the many functions of SONAR V-Studio 100, giving them a tour of all the knobs, buttons and controls. Watch the video below to get a close up look at Cakewalk’s own Swiss Army Knife:

Sonar Studio VS100 demo at Musikmesse from will seelig on Vimeo.

Please see our latest post about SONAR V-Studio 100 for more information on this product.

V-Studio 100 Hits Store Shelves Worldwide

The portable music production studio, SONAR V-Studio 100, is now shipping worldwide!

The second product in the SONAR V-Studio line of integrated hardware and software by Cakewalk and Roland is a compact, feature rich, music production studio that enables musicians to create, record, produce, and perform music with or without a computer. SONAR V-Studio 100 is ideal for the musician, singer-songwriter, MC, producer, or engineer on-the-go, regardless of whether they use a Mac or PC.

How will SONAR V-Studio 100 fit your production needs? Read on to found out:

Continue reading “V-Studio 100 Hits Store Shelves Worldwide”

NAB 2009: SONAR & V-Mixing System Wow Crowds

For more than 80 years, The NAB Show, produced annually by the National Association of Broadcasters, has served as the premiere event for broadcast technology professionals. But there’s more to the show than just tv and radio broadcasting, it’s the ultimate educational experience! Technology professionals and solutions providers from every corner of the world, come to the show each year to explore every stage of the audio / visual content lifecycle, from creation to consumption.

Cakewalk is one of this year’s exhibitors showing off their state-of-the-art creations at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 20 through April 23. Follow along with Robin Kelly live from the show, here on The Cakewalk Blog.

Here’s his first post:

At the Roland Systems Group booth, Zac Kenney and I were presenting the SONAR V-Studio 700 as the mixing and editing solution to the V-Mixing system. At the heart of the system, is the M-400 Digital Mixing Console from RSS by Roland. Add to that the personal monitoring system, allowing each live performer to have up to 40 individual monitor mixes and the digital snake whick allows up to 40 channels of audio over a single CAT-5 cable, and you have an extremely impressive live mixing setup.

So how does Cakewalk’s SONAR integrate into this system? You can split the signal coming down the CAT-5 cable and connect it to the network card on your PC. Using the REAC driver, you then have 40 discreet inputs going into SONAR to record each channel individually to their own track.

After the live show the VS-700 becomes the platform for mixing and editing the 40-track live performance. From live venues and houses of workship to broadcast customers, the feedback was extremely good. They were all impressed with the flexibility and depth the SONAR V-Studio System provides. Add to that the ability to harness and control all the power of SONAR via a hardware inferface, and you have a ‘perfect solution’. The Fantom VS is an added bonus as this provides the added ability to add extra synth tracks after recording. The ARX slot was also wowing the customers when the ARX-01 Drum card was added.

In Las Vegas, people seem just about willing to bet on anything, but one thing no one I spoke to today was willing to gamble on was their audio. All through the day, customers were coming up to me explaining bow they prefer to mix in SONAR because it ‘just sounds better’ than other programs. Of course, it is always nice to hear such positive compliments about our flagship DAW but in a way it is extra special to hear this coming from folks who have very high (if not limitless) budgets, allowing them to choose any audio platform they wish. Even with that they are still using SONAR because of it’s quality.

It makes sense if you think about it. SONAR has a 64-bit double precision audio engine, multiple gain stages, and 64-bit/convolution plugins to sweeten the mix.

So YES. In Vegas, people will gamble on just about anything, anything but their audio quality!

That’s it for now. Day 2 starts tomorrow!

Robin Kelly
Cakewalk’s Director of Worldwide MI Sales

As Seen On TV: Cakewalk Featured in 'Gear Spotlight'

Guitar World’s Gear Spotlight is a new segment about the latest and greatest gear available to guitar players, airing now on Comcast’s On Demand programming. The segment aired for the first time this past Friday, featuring Cakewalk’s new USB Audio & Midi Interfaces; UM-1G, UM-2G, UM-3G, and UA-1G! The segment will air on Comcast’s Life & Home channel until Monday May 4, 2009.

For those of you sans Comcast, see the video clip here on Guitar World’s Gear Spotlight

For more information on the products seen above, visit the Cable Products web page.