Over the years, we’ve posted hundreds of videos to Youtube and Dailymotion. We check the ratings, read the comments and enjoy getting feedback from our users. We also search these sites to check out the tutorials and music videos produced by our fans and we love to share them with you. Below are videos highlighting projects produced in SONAR 8 Producer by a few very talented individuals:
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.
Play Along Jazz Contest Gets Your Music Heard By Jazz Pros
Take the next step in your musical journey this summer at PlayAlongJazz.com. Devoted to giving Jazz musicians the tools they need to succeed, Play Along Jazz gives you the chance to play with some of today’s finest musicians, to learn from their live playing, and to combine your musical voice with theirs.
How does it work? At Play Along Jazz, you will find a list of Jazz standards from which to select: you have the option to choose your tracks (stereo drum track, mono bass track, stereo guitar track etc) and mix the session yourself (what we call “Mix Your Own”) or download a stereo file that has one of the tracks omitted: drums silent for the student drummer; guitar silent for the student guitarist, etc. Downloads are priced for students and each month you will have the chance to play along with a new stream for free. There’s also an email request link so that you can suggest the addition of tunes that interest you.
Through August 31, 2009, when you purchase 15 downloads at Play Along Jazz.com, you will have the chance to submit one of your Play Along songs for review by some of today’s top jazz professionals. This acclaimed panel will select one special song from one aspiring artist that shows the greatest potential in creatively improvising in the play along environment. The winner will also receive a complimentary copy of Cakewalk’s most intuitive digital audio workstation, SONAR 8 Producer!
Cakewalk Attends Unique Beats Festival in Scotland
On Saturday May 30, 2009: Cakewalk and Edirol will show off their latest gadgets at the Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh, Scotland at the first annual Unique Beats Festival. This all day festival – sponsored by Red Dog Music – is dedicated to promoting all forms of electronic music making and will include many spectacular live performances, audio-visual displays and workshops. Some of the industry’s biggest names will be on hand to display their cutting-edge tools for music production while live sets will be performed by some of the best electronic artists around!
Throughout the day, Cakewalk product specialists will be demonstrating the SONAR V-Studio 700 and SONAR V-Studio 100 music-making systems while Edirol will be showcasing it’s video products including the V-8 mixer and P-10 visual presenter.
Live appearances throughout the day and evening will include Europe’s budding musicians; Christ, Frog Pocket, Joe Acheson Quartet, ESPion, Morphamish and many more. There will be plenty of audio-visual treats scattered around the event. Unique Beats attendees will benefit from exclusive deals on gear from Red Dog and will be entered to win a myriad of music making equipment, including Cakewalk’s Sonar 8 Producer!
Visit the Unique Beats Festival official website for more information.
V-Studio 700 Featured On 'Into Tomorrow' Radio Show
Cakewalk Product Specialist Seth Perlstein chats with Into Tomorrow’s Dave Graveline at the 2009 Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, California. Into Tomorrow is a syndicated radio program featuring the latest developments in consumer electronics and technology. Over 100 AM & FM radio stations across the US, on Sirius / XM satellite radio and around the world broadcast the 3-hour show on a weekly basis. The pair discuss Cakewalk’s role in outfitting video game developers with the best tools to create music for their projects.
Being eyed by the video game industry’s top composers is Cakewalk by Roland’s flagship product in the V-Studio line of integrated software / hardware solutions, the SONAR V-Studio 700.
Winner of the 2009 MIPA Award for Best Recording Hardware and Keyboard Magazine’s prestigious Key Buy Award, the SONAR V-Studio 700 matches SONAR 8 Producer with the VS-700C multi-function control surface and the VS700R V-Studio 100 I/O audio interface which includes Roland’s Fantom VS Hardware Synthesizer.
Continue reading “V-Studio 700 Featured On 'Into Tomorrow' Radio Show”
MIX Nashville 2009: Town Talents Check Out SONAR V-Studio Series
Day 2 of Mix Nashville started out great but you really can’t go wrong when you are in a town that has top notch music, weather and of course the most important element; BBQ!
In between the panels at the conference, I found myself having some great conversations with local Nashville songwriters, producers and musicians about “all things music”. I have come to the conclusion that there are more home studios in this town than there are BBQ joints.
Mike Lawson from Lawson Media stopped in to say hello and check out the new SONAR V-Studio 100 and he brought a friend of his by the name of Bob Welch. You may or may not have heard the name ‘Bob Welch’ but I can guarantee that you have heard his music, if you have listened to the radio and especially if you are a Fleetwood Mac fan. Bob was the original guitarist for Fleetwood Mac and was also a solo artist chalking up three massive hits from 1977 – 1979 with the songs “Sentimental Lady”, “Ebony Eyes” and “Hot Love, Cold World”. I had an amazing conversation with him about the digital music age compared to his experiences as a successful musician and artist in the 70’s. I have always been fascinated with that era of music so I really enjoyed and appreciated talking to him. I was also psyched to find out that he is a PC user and will be recording some of his upcoming projects in SONAR 8 Producer.
Later in the afternoon while my co-workers and Product Specialists Rich Curtis and Mike Trujillo were exemplifying all the features of the V-Studio 700, I caught up with Producer / Mixer / Songwriter / Musician Chris Trevett who is a friend of mine that I haven’t connected with in a while. Chris is an amazingly talented music guy who has two Grammys under his belt (yep 2!) and has worked with many iconic artists such as Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and R. Kelly (to name a few). He was stopping in to check out the new V-Studio 100 as well and I was psyched to catch up with him.
Chris relocated to Nashville from New York about a year and a half ago so he was able to fill me in on what the local music scene in Nashville is really like. He is also working with some great international artists and I was able to get an interview with him, which will be featured on my Cakewalk Artist Spotlight series in the near future. In the meantime, check out Chris Trevett’s website for more information on his work.
Later on in the afternoon things started winding down a bit as most of the people were attending the panels and performances. I did get a chance to meet with new SONAR user Tiffany Shea and also the very talented Nashville Producer / Musician / Songwriter (and Artist) Nathan Meckel who has been busy working with LA-based Singer / Songwriter Sara Hayes as well as his own project “Upside of Envy”.
Nathan was checking out MIX/Nashville with his father Mark Meckel who owns Street Singer Music Publishing. Besides producing and writing for other artists, Nathan has got a great work-horse story and has played shows from Nashville to Israel and I think we will be hearing and seeing more from him in some bigger pictures soon.
To wrap up the conference, I was invited to check out a band called Pico vs. Island Trees and was pleasantly surprised at what I heard and saw. I highly recommend you check them out. The band has a very unique sound coupled with great songwriting and an authentic image that works well. It was an exclamation point on a great trip and also a confirmation that this town is filled with ridiculously talented people.
Thanks to everyone who stopped in to check out the new V-Studio 100 and thanks to MIX Magazine for holding such a great event.
Thanks for reading,
Jimmy Landry
Cakewalk Artist Relations Manager
Altsounds.com: SONAR 8 is 'an Audio Mechanics Dream'
Chris Maguire, record producer and owner of Altsounds.com, recently re-wired his studio to run SONAR 8 Producer. After using SONAR to record various session work, Maguire published an extensive review of the new upgrade, giving major props to the DAW’s versatility and sound quality.
“SONAR 8 Producer is intuitive and makes complete sense straight out of the box but is MUCH deeper than meets the eye and holds gems for users as their skills progress.”
“There is so much packed into SONAR 8 in fact that even a seasoned user such as myself never really touches the surface of what it can do…”
“LP-64 Multiband – Excellent Multiband Compressor that will allow even novices to get mastered mixes at levels expected.”
“TL-64 Tube Leveler – Awesome for adding Tube Warmth to your mixes or two individual entities in a mix.”
Macguire also compliments SONAR’s new workflow enhancements including the improved transport controls, the audio engine optimizations (arm/disarm tracks, ability to change audio settings without restart) and the endless array of VSTs and effects hosted in one package.
“(It’s) a mechanics toolbox worth of useful tools, fx and instruments. It’s an audio mechanics dream.”
Day 2: The Future Producers of Hip-Hop Battle It Out
Live From One Stop Shop Music Producers Conference Phoenix, Arizona, Day 2 (May 9th… 1am overlooking Phoenix city lights from a Jetblue red-eye to NYC)
Hope everyone had a Happy Mother’s Day! Day 2 technically starts at 12:00am from yesterday so I will pick it up from there. We found ourselves at Club PHX with Sha Money and many of the talented producers and artists who attended One Stop Shop. I have to admit, I had no idea that Phoenix was such an after-hours kind of town. The club was packed and as always when hanging with a bunch of musicians after midnight, the conversations flowed candidly about gear, projects and the state of the music industry. Everyone I spoke with agreed that no matter how much turmoil the music industry is facing, it’s an amazing time for musicians who want to take control of their own music (and future) by empowering themselves with tools such as Cakewalk. As you will read later, this proved to be true from the OSS Beat Battle.
My wakeup call rang early. Seth Perlstein and I caffeinated up and prepared for what was to going to be a very busy day. The second day of the “V-100 Challenge” brought new talent early and with fury as MC’s jumped on the Cakewalk mic like it was nothing. I was amazed with some of these cats when I asked them if they wanted to hear the beat first… or warm up… or something… nope – these dudes would just step up to the mic and throw lyrics like they had been there all night practicing. Today we had some MC’s representing Boston, Phoenix, Florida, Dallas, Queens, Brooklyn and even Mississippi. I’m glad I’m not the one deciding on who is walking away with SONAR 8 Producer. Thanks to all the cats that participated and please check Youtube this week for a V-100 video montage.
In between the action of the rap battles, we were pretty psyched to connect with some great producers in the game who stopped by to say hello and get a 1 on 1 taste of the new V-700, that is creating quite a buzz in the Hip Hop world. Neither Seth nor I had ever met Pete Rock and it was a pleasure to connect with him as well as Don Cannon, Just Blaze and Drumma Boy. Throughout the day there were some pretty heavy panels going on as well. Sway moderated a panel I caught in the afternoon with RZA, Just Blaze, Pete Rock, Steve Lobel, and many other pioneers in the game. It was interesting to hear these guys comment on modern production and the state of the music industry.
Later on in the afternoon, we were approached by Microsoft Technical Evangelist, Arif Gursel, along with Sha Money who offered us an opportunity to demonstrate the V-700 right before dinner in front of all the conference goers. It was a bit of work breaking down our booth and setting back up on stage but it was well worth it. Seth Perlstein took the stage and did a great job going through some of the main features of the controller, interface, phantom synth and also fielded some questions from the crowd.
In the evening, I interviewed Lee Bannon who has been using SONAR and Project 5 on his recent project with Talib Kweli. Then we checked out the finals of the beat battle and it was crystal clear to me that we are in the middle of a music revolution. Basically, any undiscovered producer could submit beats for this competition and it was ridiculous how crazy-good the final four contestants were. Some of these new age producers are really thinking outside the box, that is outside the box with how they are constructing the beats, and the sounds were very refreshing to say the least.
Thanks again to Sha Money and I definitely recommend this conference to any up and coming Hip Hop producer for two main reasons:
1) It’s a great place to easily network with some name brand guys because the vibe is “we’re all in this together”.
2) It’s a great place to get your work out there if you really have an amazing talent.
Cakewalk Prepares for Musikmesse 2009
Cakewalk is preparing for Musikmesse 2009 – Live for the Music! starting Wednesday April 1, 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany. As suspected, we have some huge announcements that are once again going to shake up the music industry. In addition, we are pleased to announce that SONAR 8 has been nominated for a MIPA (Musikmesse International Press Award) in the Recording Software category and SONAR V-Studio 700 has been nominated in the Recording Hardware category!
Cakewalk will be exhibiting at:
Edirol Booth, Hall: 5.1 Walkway: B Stand: 65
Ludwig-Erhard_Anlage 1, 60327 Frankfurt
April 1 – 4, 2009
More info on this year’s show!
Cakewalk In the News: SONAR 8 Producer & Cable Products
Sound On Sound (UK) has followed the SONAR product family since the beginning. Featured in this month’s edition, is an extensive review of SONAR 8 Producer. SOS debunks the myths about the upgrade and sheds some light on the new enhancements; including Beatscape and TS64 Transient Shaper, the 64-bit / VISTA compatibility, and the overall value of the digital audio workstation. Thought I’d share a few quotes from the article:
“The Producer Edition… has an amazing collection of free virtual instruments, signal processing, and MIDI processing plug-ins that give real meaning to the term ‘added-value’.
‘The TS64 is creating a lot of excitement, and rightly so. Though primarily designed for drums and precussion processing, this plug-in offers such precise control over the dynamics of an audio track or mixed audio that it will certainly be used on anything.”
See the SOS website for an article excerpt and more information.
The Video Theater at Harmony-Central is chock full of clips and highlights of this year’s NAMM show. The playlist features Cakewalk Product Specialist Samara Krugman giving a close-up look at Cakewalk’s new line of USB MIDI and Audio Interfaces: UA-1G, UM-1G, UM-2G, UM-3G. Also hosted on the playlist is an overview video of Craig Anderton’s Electronic Guitars Expansion Pack for Rapture, Rapture LE, SONAR HS 7, and SONAR 8.