The Cakewalk Blog

So you’ve purchased and installed SONAR X1 and now you’re ready to get in and start making music? Let us make it easy for you with free step by step videos that cover every step of the setup process for all versions of SONAR X1. Available any time you need it, the Get Started series on CakeTV is your on demand resource for the information you need presented in full HD. Watch as we show you everything from setting up your audio interface to recording a track, applying effects and everything in between!

Watch the full Get Started series here

Visit the Get Started with CakeTV page to watch individual videos on setting up your SONAR system.

Whether you’re mixing down or pulling individual tracks for use with a collaborator, SONAR’s flexible export options make the process fast and simple. (more…)

A 3 Part Resource for D.I.Y. Acoustic Sound Treatment and Room Development

As a conclusion to my series on Building Cost Effective Acoustic Treatment, I wanted to put a link to all three articles in one place along with a “before and after” video.  I also wanted to put this up on our forum in one place in case anyone has any questions about what I did with my studio.  If you are planning on trying to save some money by building your own acoustic treatment panels these three articles are worth reviewing.

Part 1: Building a sound cloud over your mix position

Part 2: Building corner traps

Part 3:  Building wall panels

The effort to build all this acoustic treatment was not minimal, but well worth it.  Besides saving a lot of money I was able to customize the panels so that they fit the room well.  Using the QuadCurve EQ which comes with SONAR X1 Expanded is where I can really tell the difference in my environment.  The QuadCurve EQ is very advanced and allows the user to surgically taylor frequencies.  Now that I have my room treated properly, I can really hear the difference between the EQ modes.

So the first step is to get going with a version of the SONAR X1 family, and then do your homework and figure out the best listening environment FOR YOU.

If you’re a SONAR X1 user then you’ve probably already seen that the free SONAR X1d update has been released for all versions of SONAR X1. And if you’re a SONAR X1 Producer Expanded user, then you’ve probably already noticed that you’ve got a shiny, new EQ in the ProChannel called the QuadCurve EQ.

However, you might be wondering what exactly the deal is with the new EQ and and what the differences are in the four modes.

                Hybrid                           Pure                            E-Type                        G-Type

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SONAR X1 continues to be the leading the digital audio workstation for the Windows platform for many reasons. For 25 years Cakewalk has focused almost exclusively on development for Windows operating systems and Windows based computer technologies (see our section on SONAR X1 leading technologies for more information). While cross-platform DAWs may seem like a great option if you are not sure which platform you want to run, those who have chosen to use Windows will appreciate the hardwork and dedication by the Cakewalk development team to fine tune SONAR for Windows. This is one of the most cited reasons as to why SONAR dominates on the Windows PC platform. But today, I want to discuss another reason why Cakewalk is a leader in the industry.

Since 2010, Cakewalk has made a commitment to educating all levels of Cakewalk customers on music production. At Cakewalk, we think that post-sales activities are just as important as pre-sales ones, and nothing is more import than making sure users understand and enjoy the software they are using. (more…)

[Click on any picture for higher resolution] For the last couple of weeks I have been writing about how I’ve been building custom acoustic treatment panels for my new project studio which is running SONAR X1 Producer Expanded.  I started with the sound cloud over the mix position and then showed how I basically cut out all the corners of my room (a square room unfortunately for me) by building corner traps.  This week I’ll dive into probably the most important component; the wall panels.

The wall panels are really important for me for a few reasons.  (1.) They absorb the first sound reflection from the speakers so that the frequency waves are tamed down, and (2.) They absorb the sound in the room in general to control echo and reverberation.  I do a bit of professional moonlighting work on the side including songwriting/production for ESPN Sports Center as well as other commercial stuff, so it’s important for me to have a controlled environment to listen to my mixes and productions on SONAR so that what I deliver is the real-deal.  As I stated before, it’s pretty much impossible to create a perfect listening environment unless you are building a room from scratch (floating room, sound proofing inside the walls, etc…,) but it is possible to greatly improve your surroundings.  In my own opinion, I think the way to look at it is to figure out what it is you are trying to accomplish before you purchase or build anything.  I think some of the important questions to ask are:

*How much can I afford to put into the project?

*Is it important for the place to look professional?

*Will a vibed-out room make you or whoever is using the room feel more creative?

*What are the basic sonic trouble elements to the room?

*Will the room be used for mixing or recording?

*What genre of music will the room be used for (i.e.> Hip-hop with a lot of low end, Jazz, etc…) (more…)

So maybe you have SONAR X1 Production Suite running on a killer computer, and now you might have a sound cloud over your mix position; what’s next?  Last week I exemplified how I built and installed a hanging sound cloud and this week I will go into detail how I built corner traps to help tame my unorthodox (square) production room.  Before reading this post, you may want to visit my article from last week which goes into some detail on room shapes.

My room, unfortunately for me is dead square.  This is about the worst case scenario so I had to do some research and talk to a lot of friends who are acoustic professionals such as Gavin Haverstick of Haverstick designs.  With my room being about 13.5’ x 13.5’ and 7.5’ ceilings, he has my mix position at 62” off the front wall.  So with my positioning about right, and a sound cloud overhead to take out the first ceiling reflections, the next thing to do was try to knock out the corners of the room where bass frequencies could become a big problem.

I decided to make custom corner traps based on my personal situation.  Once again, every room and everyone’s needs are different, so if you are on a tight budget, I think it’s best to first figure out what’s important to YOU.  For my situation, here were my goals for corner traps:

• Cost effective
• *Less square footage (I will discuss this below)
• Aesthetically pleasing to the eye
• Effective bass trapping
• Light-weight

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SONAR 8.5 includes world-class tools, instruments, and effects that will allow you to achieve amazing drum tracks. We have put together a SONAR: Master Class video series that shows off these amazing features. This Master Class explores writing, arranging and mixing drums in SONAR. Spotlighted are production techniques and workflow using Session Drummer 3, Step Sequencer 2.0, and PX-64 Percussion Strip.

Watch the videos here.

Jeff Buckridge directs the General Music program at the Doherty Middle School in Andover, MA. Besides being a well-known and accomplished guitarist in the New England area, Jeff is also an experienced music educator. His classes include General Music for all students, Intro to Guitar and Electronic Music as elective courses. SONAR Home Studio is used in the classroom to teach the basics of music and composition to his General Music students.

Jeff Buckridge, Director of Music, Doherty Middle School Andover, MA

Students learn about rhythm, melody, chords and song forms and SONAR Home Studio is a key component to the curriculum because it allows for hands on learning. The Track View is invaluable for showing song forms in a visible format and the Notation View helps Jeff to demonstrate how key signatures, time signatures and rhythm works.

Key concepts are demonstrated with project files that students can use as a starting point or play along to.

Head of the Music Technology program at Northeastern University, Dennis Miller and his wife, Susan, are spending spring semester in Ghana working as visiting professors for a local university. This trip marks the couple’s second trip to Ghana, having first visited the country in 2004.

The pair will spend 150 days working on the campus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in the city of Kumasi. KNUST offers various music and arts courses through the Center of Cultural Research and African Studies. These courses include Keyboard Skills, Music Theory, Drumming, Ghanian Dance, Performing Arts Traditions of West Africa, Sound Engineering, and Music Technology.  Dennis is teaching two classes at the university in Digital Media Production and Digital Animation while Susan, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, is working in the department of theoretical biology, supervising a lecture hall and lab.

Dennis’s Digital Media Production course introduces students to digital audio, discussing MIDI, how to do basic editing with tracks, load and change patches in soft-synths, adjust tempo and dynamics, and more. They are also learning about sequencing in SONAR 8.5 Producer. Dennis provided each student with basic step-by-step tutorials to help them learn the program. He also made each student a DVD that includes copies of SONAR, project demos, articles and assignment files.

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