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How do I record audio on a Windows PC?

While recording audio is one of  the most basic function in SONAR X1, it still remains among the frequently asked questions. Within one minute this get-started video demonstrates the 4 basic steps necessary to record audio.

1.) Insert a new audio track

2.) Select your input

3.) Arm your track

4.) Hit record

If recording audio is this easy, you’ll be accepting your Grammy in no time!

Haven’t tried SONAR X1 yet? You can download your free trial today!

Or you can check out more videos to help get you started with the basic setup and operation of SONAR and its features at CakeTV.

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Why you need a subwoofer. Or, "What's goin' on down there?"

So your newest masterpiece is ready to be mixed in SONAR’s pristine 64bit audio engine for the rest of the world to hear, but are you really hearing the full range of your mix? If your monitoring system does not include a subwoofer, then you most likely are not.

While an ear can be trained to work with almost anything over time, a good monitoring system is crucial for making more accurate judgments in mixing. In my early days as a fledgling engineer, the studio I worked out of had a nice set of monitors but no sub. So what does that mean? Endless time wasted making (at that time) cassettes to run out to the car with so you could find out that the low end was either too high or too low or not hitting the right frequencies. Back to the board, hope your guess at the eq adjustment was right and then back to the car again. Better fire up the coffee machine, this could take all night. Continue reading “Why you need a subwoofer. Or, "What's goin' on down there?"”

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Tracks and Busses: A Guide to Routing in SONAR X1

In any project you will have tracks and these tracks are routed to busses. Sending a track to a bus and not directly to the Master output gives you additional control and allows you to take a group of similar track, like back ground vocals and control the overall volume, pan, add effects, EQ and so on. SONAR has many flexible mixing and routing features to help you get the most out of your project.

Continue reading “Tracks and Busses: A Guide to Routing in SONAR X1”

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Computers in the Studio (Part 1)

Musician or IT professional?

It seems today’s musicians must be part artist and part IT professional. It’s a difficult dance that requires knowledge, time, and patience in order to achieve a level of success. The intention of this series of blog posts is to help with the IT part or the equation. My goal is to help with questions related to system optimization, maintenance, organization, networking, and other IT-related concerns important to musicians in the 21st century.

In this first post I’d like to talk about basic practices for achieving a smooth running PC-based DAW. I’ll also offer my thoughts and suggestions on OS “tweaking” or “tuning”. In subsequent posts we’ll get deeper into specific areas and talk about other aspects like organization and networking. Most of these tips will assume you’re running a PC with Windows 7 installed. Continue reading “Computers in the Studio (Part 1)”

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What happens when you send a problem report to Cakewalk?

New in SONAR X1 Expanded is SONAR’s built-in fault reporter. Aside from the fault reporter we have also have been using The Problem Report form on our website to collect feedback from users for many years now. Both of these tools do basically do the same thing – collect information so that our development teams can improve our products. In case you have ever wondered ‘what happens after I click the submit button’ or ‘does Cakewalk actually do anything with that information’ or if you just want a sneak peek about some of the new enhancements in SONAR X1d coming later this month then read on …

Continue reading “What happens when you send a problem report to Cakewalk?”

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Enter the Mod Matrix With SONAR X1d

By now you may have heard about the upcoming X1d update which will be free for all registered SONAR X1 customers. And you may have also seen the press release which lists all of the features and enhancements contained in the free update.

However, what you might not have seen is just how insanely cool the FX Chains 2.0’s new Mod Matrix is. OK, since its really just a couple of menus it may not look cool, but what it does is absolutely awesome.

Continue reading “Enter the Mod Matrix With SONAR X1d”

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Cakewalk Artists on Both PC and Mac Are Off to an Enormous 2012

Cakewalk Artists on Both PC and Mac are off to an Enormous 2012

We are well on our way into 2012 and many artists relying on various Cakewalk products are off to an enormous year.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent some time with most of these artists recently, and even more fortunate to have worked with a few in some creative capacities using SONAR X1 in the recent past.  There are some common threads that these artists share, but I think the most important element is that they are all working ridiculously hard in their own circles.

Murray Daigle

[Toronto, ONT, Canada]  Murray Daigle is a very talented Canadian Producer/Mixer/Songwriter out of Toronto Canada.  He just relocated to a new space in Toronto and opened a new studio running SONAR X1 Expanded.  A big “congratulations” goes out to him on a “Certified Gold” record for Neverest’s track “About Us” along with a SOCAN #1 Award (co-written and mixed on Cakewalk Sonar X1.)  Murray also produced and co-wrote other tracks on the Neverest release which came out in January and is already working on material for another release later this year. Continue reading “Cakewalk Artists on Both PC and Mac Are Off to an Enormous 2012”

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Become a master of guitar recording in SONAR X1

Guitarists Guide to SONARCraig Anderton is one of the most widely respected pro audio writers today. He has authored more than 20 books and is currently editor-in-chief of Harmony Central and executive editor of EQ magazine.  He’s even worked closely with Cakewalk to create two critically-acclaimed SONAR X1 Advanced Workshop videos. So if you are looking for tutorials to help you master the art of recording guitar in SONAR X1, Craig Anderton has got you covered.

THE GUITARIST’S GUIDE TO SONAR was designed for guitarists of varying levels of experience with music software and guitar amp simulation.  This 250 page book covers some of the situations unique to recording guitar with any computer-based system.  It then progresses into guitar-specific techniques for SONAR suited for more advanced users.

Continue reading “Become a master of guitar recording in SONAR X1”

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SONAR X1 on a Mac? Yes, you can!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A question I am frequently asked is, “Do you guys make SONAR X1 for the Mac?” The answer to which is no, SONAR X1 is made for Windows. But do not despair, there is a solution! For Macs with Intel processors there’s an application called Bootcamp which will allow you to install the Windows operating system on your Mac.Unlike some of the other applications that allow you to run Windows inside the Mac OS, Bootcamp allows you to boot exclusively into Windows or Mac OS on startup. This is the optimal method of running Windows as all of the Mac’s resources are available. Continue reading “SONAR X1 on a Mac? Yes, you can!”

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How to ReWire Reason in SONAR X1

Our friends over at Obedia Tutor have created this simple video to show how to ReWire other software like Reason, Ableton, and Fruity Loops to be used inside SONAR X1.

If you already own software like Reason, Ableton, and Fruity Loops and would like to purchase SONAR X1, you can now purchase the SONAR X1 Producer Crossgrade for just $299 for a limited time.

If you would like to learn more through one-on-one training, you can now get 15 free credits for SONAR X1 training by Obedia.