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Using Multiple MIDI Controllers in SONAR

cakewalk_tips-sm1Managing input from multiple MIDI devices, such as keyboard controllers and drum pads, through your DAW can be frustrating. Staying on top of all the cabling, routing and software settings is enough to make you throw in the towel and go back to point and click.

However, with SONAR, you can choose individual MIDI input ports and channels for each of your MIDI tracks. This means that you can use several different MIDI controllers simultaneously, each triggering its own synth or controller parameters. You can also choose to trigger several different synths, each on its own track, with just one MIDI controller.

The following tech tip will walk you through these common multi-controller scenarios using SONAR.

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Recording Magazine "Covers" V-Studio 100

vs-100-top-playrecordSince its release, Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 has received high acclaim from leading music industry publications worldwide. This month, V-Studio 100 made the cover of Recording Magazine. Along with their great advice for beginners and tips on recording solo, Recording Magazine tells how the V-Studio 100 is no longer just for the SONAR user. It’s durable design, cross-platform functionality and affordable price point make it a great companion for the gigging musician. Here’s a few of our favorite quotes from the issue:

“Yes, even on a Mac—this interface won’t fail to please you with everything it can do.”

“I found the quality of the converters to be excellent, if not on the level of an Apogee or Benchmark box costing many times more.”

“I used it to quickly and reliably capture stereo mixes of live performances.”

“Ideal for the solo recordist who might want to sing and play guitar while having a keyboard or drum machine handy or for a small group that doesn’t have to mike a drum kit… this interface won’t fail you with everything it can do.”

Pick up your copy of Recording Magazine at fine music retailers and newsstands today!

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Receive Instant Savings On SONAR 8.5

Thinking about upgrading your DAW to SONAR 8.5? Now may be the best time to do so! As a leading choice in music production software for professional musicians worldwide, SONAR 8.5 has everything you need to compose, record, edit, mix and master your music. Its extensive array of virtual instruments and audio effects, gives you the freedom to create all sorts of compositions. While its double-precision, 64-bit audio engine and unwavering Windows support, gives you more power to play!

    S8 5_$100rebate_420x229

When you purchase SONAR 8.5 Studio or Producer during the month of March at select retailers, you will receive a $100 instant rebate. Click on over to Cakewalk’s Special Offers page to enjoy your new studio today!

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New SONAR Update Enhances AudioSnap Functionality

audiosnapWe’ve just announced another free update for SONAR 8.5 Producer and SONAR 8.5 Studio. The SONAR 8.5.3 update focuses on AudioSnap 2.0, providing usability enhancements, optimizations, and overall improved stability for performing complex audio timing tasks.

In conjunction with this release, we’ve created four new video tutorials on some of the key features in found in AudioSnap including aligning audio to midi, changing project tempo, groove matching and sound restoration.

Watch the AudioSnap 2.0 videos to take full advantage of this innovative technology.

Registered SONAR 8.5 Producer, SONAR 8.5 Studio, and V-Studio 700 customers can download the FREE SONAR 8.5.3 Update today.

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Add A 'Mixing Machine' To Your Gig Bag

vs-100-top-playrecordYour band is working on a new EP. You’ve got four shows lined up for the month of February. It would be really cool to record your performances to add a few live tracks to the new release. With Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 you can record, edit, mix and produce those tracks without missing a beat.

The V-Studio 100 is a cross-platform, 8 in + mix/6 out USB Audio Interface that also functions as a SD Recorder, Digital Mixer and DAW controller. On stage, you can use the V-Studio 100 to play pre-made backing track, mix vocals and other instruments, and record your performance directly to an SD Card. Back in studio, dump your live tracks into your favorite DAW and start the production process. V-Studio 100 acts as a control surface for any program using Mackie Control (SONAR, Ableton Live, Logic, Record, Digital Performer). It’s 100mm motorized fader, five rotary encoders, 11 general purpose buttons and transport controls can all be re-assigned to control your DAW and soft-synths. For those musicians just starting out in digital music-making, the V-Studio 100 comes with it’s own DAW software — SONAR VS (Windows only)–  as well as cross-platform plugins (VX-64 Vocal Strip, Channel Tools, Boost 11, Guitar Rig 3 LE, Studio Instruments, Rapture LE and Dimension Pro LE).  

Check out the feature in the February issue of EQ Magazine which notes the V-Studio 100 ‘wears many hats but one says ‘mixing machine.'”

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SONAR 8.5 Goes Above & Beyond Typical Update

New features screenshotTo upgrade or not to upgrade? That is the question for many SONAR users concerning the latest product release, SONAR 8.5. Although, it’s not your typical point release, Craig Anderton calls version 8.5 “another welcome step forward, it delivers more than it promises”. With its new tools for creativity and added support for Windows 7, SONAR 8.5 gives today’s musicians the best recording environment at an affordable price.

A long-time SONAR user, Anderton gives his reasons why SONAR 8.5 is an ‘overachieving’ point upgrade in his latest review for Keyboard Magazine.

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NAMM 2010: Creative Tools for Independent Minds

NAMMJet-lagged and exhausted, the Cakewalk crew is slowly recovering from a monumental Thursday through Saturday at the NAMM Show. The weather was beautiful, the show floor was packed and the Cakewalk booth was the place to be.

Each year, the National Association of Music Merchants hosts an industry-wide tradeshow at the colossal Anaheim Convention Center.  If you’ve never been to the NAMM Show, it’s a musician’s paradise, with thousands of exhibitors, live product demos, impromptu jam sessions, and celebrity sightings galore.

The theme for our booth was ‘Creative Tools for Independent Minds.’  As our product line continues to grow from recording software to complete studio solutions, we encourage musicians on every level to take production into their own hands and have fun making music.

Cakewalk Artist Relations Manager, Jimmy Landry put together an all-star roster of artists who appeared and performed in our booth while demonstrating how they use our products on the road and in the studio.

    Cori Yarckin Acoustic Performance

One of Rolling Stone’s Top 5 Up & Coming Female Artists, Cori Yarckin, acoustically performed her hit single, Everything You Said, and recorded a vocal track in SONAR with the V-Studio 100. Cakewalk’s Brandon Ryan showed the audience how to use the VX-64 Vocal Strip to process her vocals as well as the Matrix view to creatively remix her track.

Continue reading “NAMM 2010: Creative Tools for Independent Minds”

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Sonic State Gets First Look at A-PRO Series

Sonic State was first on the scene at the NAMM Show this weekend to get an exclusive look at the new USB Keyboard Controllers. Brandon Ryan demos the 49-key controller, the A-500 PRO, along side SONAR 8.5’s Session Drummer 3 virtual instrument.

Whether you’re using SONAR, Logic, Ableton Live, Cubase, Digital Performer, Garage Band, or Pro Tools, these keyboards and the included Production Plus Pack instruments are Mac and PC compatible. If you’re using SONAR, exclusive Active Controller Technology keeps you in the flow and focused on your music. If you’re using another DAW, the keyboards ship with a variety of built-in control maps designed to get you using the A-PRO as a control surface quickly.

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AudioMidi.com Likes the Sound of the V-Studio 100

audiomidiAudioMIDI.com’s Dee Davis gave the V-Studio 100 a workout recently and came away very pleased with the results.

Dee hooked up the VS-100 to a PC running Windows XP Professional, with 4 GB RAM and two 1 TB Hard drives, all powered by an AMD Phenom X4 Quad processor. After installing SONAR 8.5, Dee pulled up some recent SONAR-produced projects and found them to sound terrific , “perfect” in fact.

After checking out projects in higher sample rates and getting positive results, Dee recorded some vocals using the mic pres and was also “pleasantly surprised with the sound quality.” But the true test came when s/he recorded his/her Musicman StingRay Bass with the VS-100. Initially skeptical — “I am very hard of audio interfaces, as I feel they never truly get the real tone” — Dee was delighted when the resulting sound turned out to be “the best I have ever heard on any recording system!” S/he also went on to highlight the VS-100’s Windows 7 compatibility, solid control surface functions and use in Mackie Control Function Mode.

“Ultimately, I found the V-Studio 100 an excellent device to work with,” she concluded. “The sound quality was great! The mixer and effects were solid and very easy to use.” Finally, she noted that “This compact unit will serve many of your needs with just one purchase. With the included software, you have everything you need to start recording right away.”

You can read the full review on AudioMIDI.com