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Beginner's Guide To Setting Up SONAR

Booting up music production software for the first time can be a daunting task. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the menus, tools and buttons. If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to learn the basics of SONAR, check out this brief Getting Started Guide by the folks of the JSONAR Project. Here you will learn how to incorporate SONAR into your studio environment by choosing the correct options for audio setup, MIDI controllers and hardware, and default locations on your computer for your audio files. You’ll also get a simple tutorial on SONAR’s various project views and how to setup your first multitrack recording project.

The JSONAR Project is a one-of-a-kind resource for finding JAWS scripts for SONAR. JAWS is a visual aid for blind SONAR users. The program provides the visually-impaired  with a screen reader and Braille display, assisting them in the music-making process. This page is full of great tips and links for all SONAR users.

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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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Choosing The Right Audio Hardware For Your Computer

Cakewalk makes setting up your computer for audio production easier as our software products are designed to work with any audio hardware that supports standard Windows drivers; providing you with the widest range of hardware choices available. These day’s its common for the audio device to be built into your PC’s motherboard, which is commonly referred to as an integrated audio device, such as a MME or WDM.

Whether your PC came with an integrated device or has an actual audio card installed by the factory, the results are about the same. These devices are usually designed for very basic media playback, such as playing an audio CD or listening to MP3 files. We’ve created the What Audio Hardware Do I Need? guide to help you find the audio hardware best-suited for your Cakewalk-based recording system.

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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.

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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”

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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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Turn Your Riffs Into Hits With Guitar Tracks Pro 4

Cakewalk announces a clean, new look to the guitar-based software title for PC with Guitar Tracks Pro 4 and Guitar Tracks Pro USB!

Designed for guitarists and singer-songwriters, Guitar Tracks Pro 4 is the recording solution that takes your music from riff to hit! You get an amazing virtual guitar amp, a backing band of virtual instruments, precise editing tools, mixing console, over 2GB of sounds and effects, and more -for less than a few hours in the studio.

New Features Include:

• A simplified multi-track recorder interface makes it easy to record, edit and mix your music

• Create, edit and print your own notation and tablature; an included fret-board view makes it easy to match notes to the guitar neck

• A suite of pro effects including Cakewalk’s Boost 11 Peak Limiter and Native Instrument’s Guitar Rig 3 LE to give you an arena sized sound right in your own studio

• Over 2GB of audio loops and samples spanning rock, blues, country, and bluegrass from Smart LoopsTM, Digital Sound FactoryTM, and Groove MonkeeTM

• Perfect your chops with a collection of Guitar World instructional videos featuring: Steve Morse, Dave Mustaine, Jimmy Herring, Paul Gilbert, Joe Bonamassa, and others.

• Play along with loops recorded by world class drummers including: John Blackwell (Justin Timberlake, Prince), Jerry Marotta (Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Tears for Fears), Ed Greene (Steely  Dan, Barry White) and Danny Gottlieb (Sting, Pat Metheny Group) courtesy of Sonic RealityTM

• Burn CDs and upload your finished projects directly to the web with Cakewalk Publisher; share your music with friends and family on websites, blogs or social networking sites

PLUS Guitar Tracks Pro USB includes our portable, high quality audio interface, the UA-1G. Optimized for guitarists, the UA-1G features a special 1/4″ jack with Hi-Z option for recording and 24-bit/96-kHZ Stereo I/O for playback!

For more information:

Watch a Live Demo From Sonic State

See the full Guitar Tracks Pro press release

Please visit Guitar Tracks Pro 4 and Guitar Tracks Pro USB online

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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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'Making Electronic Music' Gets A Whole New Meaning

We came across this video on Youtube posted by BD594 in Toronto, Canada and thought we’d pass it along. It’s a fantastic representation of how difficult creating music with the computer once was.

Although, there are times when you’d rather throw the computer out the window than lay down one more track, using software has become much easier than making the old hardware sing.

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Bonjour! Roland Europe & SONAR V-Studio Systems Visit France

Across the pond, Roland Central Europe has been very busy showing the new SONAR V-Studio 700 and 100 systems to potential dealers and aspiring producers. On April 23rd, Roland’s Cedric Verchere visited the world-renown school for multimedia, the SAE Institute in Paris, France.

French R & B Producer, Zoheir Mokkedem, was on hand giving live demonstrations, showing the audience how to make beats in SONAR 8.  Zoheir is most known for his work with French chart-topper, Nadiya.  He co-wrote, programmed and produced two songs on her platinum-selling, breakthrough album, Flashback. Both songs were tracked in SONAR.

Also in attendance was Loic, the founder of the first French SONAR users community, www.sonarfrance.com. Cedric was glad to finally meet him.

Like Zoheir and Loic, professional producers and musicians worldwide choose SONAR for its 64-bit audio engine, intuitive user interface, ease of creating tracks and beats, and ability to control EQ, effects and synths with ACT for their music production needs.

Roland Central Europe will make two more stops in France this spring. Check out the schedule below for more details:

Univers Clavier Percu
3, Rue du General de Gaulle
Brumath, FR
Clinic: Monday, May 25 at 3:00pm
+03 88645911

Aux Guitares
63 Avenue de Belgique
Illzach, FR
Clinic: Tuesday, May 26 at 3:00pm
+03 89464638

ALSO…  Watch for Nadiya’s new album, Electron Libre, featuring former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland and the “Latin Casanova,” Enrique Iglesias.