The Cakewalk Blog

Recently and fortunately, I had the opportunity to attend MuskMesse in Frankfurt Germany where I demonstrated the powerful workflow of SONAR X2a.  Similar to The NAMM Show, MusikMesse brings gear junkies like you and me into one centralized location to discover all the new products for anything-music-creation.  The one constituent factor I noticed that sets MusikMesse apart from The NAMM Show is the undeniable international presence; both on the company side, and the consumer side.

I was able to discover some great new products as well as meet some great new artists.  One artist that I was looking forward to meeting was composer/producer (and SONAR X2 user) Jochen Flach who is doing some great things on an international level based out of Germany.  I was excited to meet Jochen after becoming a fan of his compositions as the music he is creating on SONAR X2 is nothing short of innovative and captivating.

As a member of DYNAMEDION – Germany’s leading game-audio company, he was awarded back in 2009 for the best game soundtrack (for the game ANNO 1404).  In addition to usages in games, his music is being used for international promotion-campaigns for movies, TV-series, TV-shows as well as for soundtracks.  You can find his tracks on numerous releases for the movie-trailer business of several major companies – all composed in SONAR.

I got a chance to sit down with Jochen in a somewhat controlled environment at MusikMesse and had a great conversation with him about music production, and why he chooses SONAR for his complex music compositions.

Download the SONAR X2 Producer trial today and find out why more and more award winning producers and musicians from around the world are switching to SONAR. The trial is fully-functional for up to 30-days and includes the award-winning Skylight User Interface and the innovative ProChannel.

Every January, thousands of gear companies, PR professionals, artists, and gear-junkies converge in Anaheim, CA for what is known as one of the world’s biggest music festivals; The NAMM Show.  If you have never been, it’s a playground for the musician where one can find everything from the latest boutique guitar amp to the newest beta software development.

As a software company that participates at the NAMM show year after year, one pattern we have seen which holds true for all companies is that you just know when you have a great product on your hands.  This year was no exception when we unveiled the new CA-2A leveling amplifier to the press, artists and gear-heads; the feedback was beyond our expectations.

The CA-2A had 3 primary points of contact with the public at NAMM:

1. On the show-floor where SONAR X2a was being demonstrated on three machines.

2. The main-stage demonstration area where Cakewalk’s Seth Perlstein (along with other artists) showed off all the features of our software.

3. The Cakewalk V.I.P suite at the Hilton where we set up a studio atmosphere to show off our newest software combines with Roland’s integrated hardware.

While the show-floor and main-stage demo area served as a platform to show our customers and retail buyers our new products, the Hilton suite was where we were able to get the CA-2A in the hands of some well-known artists, along with seasoned experienced gear-savvy journalists.  The beauty of these meetings was that we were not looking for pats on the back or hot air; this was a chance for us to get straight feedback from professional users other than our beta developers for the first time.  After 4 days filled with over 50 meetings, here are a few quotes directly from the demonstrations:

TC Spitfire (producer/songwriter/engineer – Paul Oakenfold, Cher)

“With the style of music I produce on a daily basis, I’m excited to put the CA-2A to work next week.  I absolutely have to have side-chaining capabilities with dance music, so to have that feature in this type of leveling amplifier is huge for me.”

Tim Wynn (producer/composer/musician – co-owner of SonicFuel studios specializing in Film, Television and interactive media music)

“On any given week I could be writing and producing music for feature films, TV shows or mixing music for some of the biggest titles in video games.  I think the CA-2A is going to be a big part of my plugin arsenal.  From what I just heard in direct comparison to the other leveling amplifiers, I can’t see why anyone would not pick this up.  The fact that it’s lightweight on DSP and you don’t need an external card to run many                                              instances will be a big plus for me; for anyone for that matter.”

Shawn Clement (producer/composer/musician – Clemistry Music at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA)

“Anyone looking for a fat classic vintage compression sound will love this thing.  It’s great that you [Cakewalk] guys modeled the R37 screw as well which works miracles on vocals.” [The R37 screw helps control the high-frequency compression.]

These were just a few out of the many folks that stopped in to hear the CA-2A up against other leveling amplifiers.  In the next week I will be uploading another blog here exemplifying the sonic capabilities of the CA-2A as I put it to the grind here in my studio in NYC.

A quick look at the CA-2A Feature Highlights:

• VST, Audio Units & ProChannel compatible (Mac/PC)
• Meticulously modeled.
• With only a few simple controls, it’s easy to use and provides instant gratification.
• Warm, smooth and natural sounding compression characteristics.
• Frequency-dependent gain reduction.
• Compressor and Limiter modes.
• Up to 40 dB of smooth gain reduction.
• Sidechain input for ducking, de-essing and pumping.
• Gain reduction CV output to modulate other effects.
• Zero latency for real-time tracking and mixing.
• Fully modeled “R37″ HF Pre-emphasis control.

See all CA-2A T-Type Leveling Amplifier features

Availability and pricing:

The CA-2A T-Type Leveling Amplifier is now available for $99/£79/€99 and includes VST, AU, and ProChannel Module formats.  Customers who previously purchased the PC2A (ProChannel Module) format can upgrade for $19.99/£15.99/€19.99 on the Cakewalk Store.

Download the CA-2A T-Type Leveling Amplifier

If you weren’t able to make it to sunny Anaheim California for the 2013 Winter NAMM show, you missed out on quite a show from Cakewalk and Roland.  Ballroom A was packed with press, dealers, artists, and engineers hoping to get a look at our latest technology and new products.

Cakewalk kicked off the show by announcing the new CA-2A T-Type Leveling Amplifier – now available for download at the Cakewalk Store for only $99/£79/€99. This legendary vintage electro-optical tube compressor, originally released as a ProChannel module, is now available in VST or AU format.

The other big showpiece at this year’s show was touch support in SONAR X2. We had multiple experience stations where users could reach out and touch SONAR X2 for themselves. Station setups included a 27″ touch display, Z420 PC from HP, 2 Intel Ultrabooks with built in touch screens, Roland A-300 PRO MIDI Keyboard Controllers, Roland Octa-Capture Audio Interface, and a brand new Roland Studio-Capture USB 2.0 Audio Interface.

Our main stage demos included Working with Touch in Skylight, Mixing with Touch, Touch in the Matrix View, plus SONAR Technology including R-MIX SONAR, ProChannel, and Virtual Instruments like Z3TA+ 2.

We had some special guest demonstrations as well. Our friends at Overloud joined us to show of TH2 Producer and BREVERB SONAR.

We also had TC, Paul Oakenfold’s main engineer, discussing techniques for remixing and vocals in SONAR X2.

As usual, Cakewalk’s NAMM booth was surrounded by all the other the other members of the Roland family.  We were fully impressed with all the new Roland product announcements.  You should be sure to check out the entire lineup for Roland Connect 2013.

CakeTV Live Episode 3: Rhythm Tracks – Production and Mixing Techniques
Please join Brandon Ryan and Seth Perlstein of Cakewalk for the third installment of CakeTV Live, Cakewalk’s entirely live, bi-monthly webcast at 2:00 PM Pacific Time. This time we’ll focus on the backbone of music production,  the rhythm tracks – namely drums and bass. We’ll take raw tracks and apply various production and mixing techniques, employing all kinds of features in SONAR along the way. Topics will include: (more…)

Each Spring the Musical Instruments world descends upon Frankfurt, Germany for the planet’s largest MI trade show; Musikmesse. Cakewalk’s had a presence at the Frankfurt Musikmesse for decades and with one small exception this year was no different. This year I was a part of the crew. And this year I wrote a blog about it!

Frankurt, Germany – Home of Musikmesse

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The success of SONAR X1 user Chris Standring’s groundbreaking 2010 CD Blue Bolero, which topped several year-end lists and produced a No. 1 single, made it tough for him to create a follow-up record; but all early indicators are showing that he managed quite nicely with the new Electric Wonderland recording which came out yesterday.

As of this morning, Chris woke up to find out that Electric Wonderland has hit #1 in its genre on the Amazon.com sales chart, as well as #1 on the BDS Radio Tracking Chart (Billboard) for the same genre.  I would say that’s a setup for a pretty great day, especially considering the “sales” climate of the music industry in general.  Electric Wonderland is a 10-song CD of original songs that fuses elements of the last record Blue Bolero’s orchestral touches with a deft jazz-pop touch that’s been a hallmark of Standring’s stellar career.

One of the changes Chris made on Electric Wonderland besides going from SONAR 8.5 to X1 was mixing the record on his own.  (more…)

If you thought NAMM was something, wait until next week when Musikmesse 2012 opens itself to the world in Frankfurt, Germany from March 21st – 24th. The planet’s largest Music Industry trade show is looming just over the horizon and we’ll be there to show off our latest wares, gadgets, and goodies, including a new brand new, yet to be released ProChannel module.

We’ll formally announce the new module at the show. In the meantime, check out the picture below to spot the module in action. But don’t tell anyone I gave you the drop, OK?

Hidden in this sea of ProChannels is the new module we’ll announce at Musikmesse 2012

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Softube’s new Mix Bundle for the Pro Channel in SONAR X1 Producer Expanded includes five awesome sounding modules that will make your mixes come alive!

In addition to three distinctly different EQs (Passive, Active and Softube’s own creation the Focusing EQ), the Mix Bundle has the TSAR-1R reverb and a great FET Compressor. I used these two modules for my demos at this year’s NAMM Show and I wanted to share my experience with them this week. (more…)

For the past several years our Meet a Rep events have been a fantastic alternative to the traditional clinics and scripted demos that have, for the most part, gone the way of the dinosaurs in our industry. Rather than being rehearsed demos, Meet a Rep days were more of a casual hangout where we would show you whatever you wanted to see in SONAR.

Cakewalk's Seth Perlstein hosting a JAM Session at PMT Leeds in Leeds, England

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Just like many of the members of the Cakewalk staff, part of my job requires me to travel all over the world giving trainings and demonstrations on SONAR X1 Production Suite and the other members of the SONAR family. Although shows like NAMM have dedicated machines for demos like the HP Z800, the majority of trips require that I am self contained and bring my studio with me. This means a mobile SONAR rig is paramount.

I am getting ready for a trip to the UK and thought I would share what I pack as my typical mobile SONAR rig.

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