The Cakewalk Blog

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…)

Anyone who has used the Matrix View in SONAR X1 can attest to its awesome music creation powers. But it can also be used in combination with the Browser View’s flexible audio preview routing in a DJ setup to make instant remixes on the fly!

There are several ways this can be done depending on the equipment being used. (more…)

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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Live from NAMM 2012 at the Cakewalk booth in the Roland arena, Cakewalk’s Mike Trujillo demonstrates creative music production and recording techniques with SONAR X1 Production Suite.

Mike’s demo features SONAR X1 Producer Expanded’s Browser, Track Templates, Matrix View, FX Chains 2.0, ProChannel, Session Drummer 3, and more. Plus he lays down tracks with Rapture and Z3TA+ 2, records guitar, and captures a Matrix View performance in this dynamic, unique, up-beat demonstration that’s packed with information for the initiated and uninitiated alike.

Upgrade to SONAR X1 or or find a dealer to become a new user today.

Friday, April 8 - Dallas, TX

“Deep in the Heart of Texas,” a song you most likely will not hear at a Murder FM show, but it is a location where you will find the band pounding out amazing material using SONAR X1.  In terms of work ethic and sheer determination, one will rarely find a band more in tune with what it takes to be a successful organization. 

Based out of Dallas, TX, Murder FM (comprised of Norman Matthew, J6, Matt X3r0, and Brandon Arpin) has been performing sold out shows from coast to coast in the The United States while sharing the stage with some other notable bands such as Korn, The Used, Dope, Sick Puppies, Cavo, Red, Domain, 69 Eyes, The Birthday Massacre and Trapt amongst others.  Lead singer/guitarist (and producer) Norman Mathew has been relentless in the past recent years setting up and maintaining the bands success.  “It’s a real balancing act nowadays,” Norman says.  “It’s a lot different than it used to be where you could just work on your music and let things fall into place.  Now it’s a matter of working on your music just as hard, but on top of that you have to be on your promotional and business game as well.  That’s why I have been so stoked on SONAR for my career because it really allows me to zoom in quickly and efficiently on my creativity.” (more…)

For those of you who couldn’t make it out to our first annual Cakewalk fundraiser, you missed a great night. Throughout the evening, Cakewalk employees took the stage at the Lansdowne Pub (right next door to historic Fenway Park) to show off their talents.

Boston’s 93.7 Mike FM was the MC for the night, bringing with them a bundle of awesome prizes for the raffle and giving away free stickers and tees. One lucky raffle winner won the grand prize featuring Cakewalk’s V-Studio 100 portable music studio, a Fender Stratocaster™ with a face plate signed by Blink 182, and Shure headphones. Here’s a brief rundown of the night:

Magnolia killed the opening set as Cakewalk Graphic Designer Dan Kaplan rocked out with his six-piece and bandana. With influences ranging from traditional folk music and Americana to the more contemporary indie rock and pop – Magnolia has a refreshing, unique sound of their own. Be sure to check out their virtual CD release party on June 11, 2010.

Cakewalk Quality Assurance Rep Josh Langberg’s band, Baby Made Rebel really turned up the volume in the next set, delivering a stellar performance. Cakewalk Tech Support Rep David Guerette also made a cameo appearance on the tenor sax for a few songs.

Los Sugar Kings with Cakewalk Director of Education Dan Abreu had everyone in the crowd clapping along to their Latin inspired beats. They also gave free dance lessons! Dan showed off his amazing musicianship, switching between sax and keyboards, during the set.

Even with a man down, the cover band Lunchbox couldn’t be stopped. Cakewalk Account Manager Zac Kenney took on guitar parts intended for 2, played them blindfolded with his hands behind his back, and still made it look cool. Cakewalk International Account Manager Matt Koelsch wowed everyone with his vocals throughout the set; he even managed to out-Zeppelin Robert Plant when they covered “Good Times Bad Times.” 

DJ Scotty Steel kept us all energized through 1:00am spinning hits from the 80’s, 90’s and more.

DJ Josh closed it up with a chest pounding mix of electro, IDM, and EBM to keep the glow sticks moving until the lights started flashing and the bartenders finally kicked us out.

All joking aside, it was an amazing night with plenty of great tunes and whole lot of fun!

In total we earned over $800 for the MusiCares Foundation.

The money which will go towards their first annual Grassroots Giving Campaign and it’ll provide critical care and services to musicians worldwide.  Here’s how a few dollars donated to MusiCares could help musicians in need:

$25 Buys groceries for an elderly or disabled artist on a fixed income
$50 Pays part of a gas bill for a client recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome
$100 Pays for a month of medication for an uninsured diabetic client
$150 Provides a basic dental exam, cleaning and X-rays for a horn player without insurance
$500 Provides a vocal examination and rehabilitative treatment for a singer with polyps on her vocal folds

Thank you to all who helped make this event a huge success! We hope to see you next year.

Save the Date! Two weeks from Sunday, Cakewalk hosts it’s 1st annual fundraising event for the MusiCares Foundation. Throughout the event, Cakewalk employees will show off their talents, performing in a diverse line up of bands and DJ’s. A charity raffle will be held with a chance to win a Cakewalk V-Studio 100-powered Recording Bundle featuring a Cakewalk V-Studio 100 portable music production studio, a Fender Stratocaster with a face plate signed by Blink 182, and Shure headphones.

One hundred percent of the proceeds raised at this event will be donated to the MusiCares Foundation.

Join us at the Lansdowne Pub (next to Fenway Park) in Boston, MA. A $5.00 cover will be charged at the door and Boston’s 93.7 Mike FM will MC the event, all for a great cause!

Visit our MusiCares Event page for more information on the night’s set list and raffle prizes.

Dale “Rambro” Ramsey is one of the most respected producers and engineers in the business.  His RamTrax Entertainment studio in Atlanta has worked on projects for some of the biggest names in music, from Justin Timberlake to Stevie Wonder to P. Diddy.  His client list reads like a Who’s Who of musical talent, and it keeps Dale hopping.

But sometimes he has a client with a somewhat ‘higher calling.’

Early this month, Dale traveled to Columbia, SC with his V-Studio 100 to record a major religious event called “The Great Gathering.”  For the first time in more than 45 years, the three major Methodist denominations within the African-American community met collectively, holding a three-day conference to discuss and address some of the major issues currently plaguing our nation.

From March 1-3, congregations from the African Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) and Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Churches met at the Carolina Coliseum with the goal of “Focusing on solutions. Change through the heart for the earth and humanity.”

“I was working in my studio with Dr. Greg McPherson, the music director for the opening day of the conference,” Dale explained, “and he mentioned a three-day event that might take place the following week up in Columbia.  He said he might be able to use my help in recording an orchestra on the first day.  I didn’t have a lot of details and it wasn’t set in stone at that point, but I said I’d help if he needed me.”

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Carmen Rizzo checks his cell phone one last time as he boards the plane at LAX.  This is the first of several flights that will take him half way around the world over the next 24 hours – from Los Angeles to Perm, Russia .  He’s got a text message from the people he’ll be performing with in Perm; they want him to come back in 10 days for another show, and they need his commitment immediately.  He’s taken slightly aback – he’s not exactly sure what he’ll be doing onstage when he arrives this time – but he agrees to make the return trip, figuring that as long as he has the right assemblage of tools, he’ll be able to handle whatever situation is thrown at him.

This is typical for a road warrior like Rizzo.  The Los Angeles-based producer, DJ, record label owner, and radio show host is a rapidly-rising global brand, sought after for his wide range of skills that have earned him two GRAMMY nominations.   He’s worked with the likes of Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alanis Morissette.  He’s a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).  He also DJs a radio set heard by 14 million listeners each month on the highly influential KEXP 90.3 FM in Seattle.  With so many irons in the fire, he’s become extraordinarily flexible, yet fastidious in his preparation, maintaining a strict work ethic that sees him keeping regular hours in his home studio during the week and, whenever possible, not working weekends to spend time with his children.  But this last-minute request is not unusual for Rizzo.  He’ll just roll with it.

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Jet-lagged and exhausted, the Cakewalk crew is slowly recovering from a monumental Thursday through Saturday at the NAMM Show. The weather was beautiful, the show floor was packed and the Cakewalk booth was the place to be.

Each year, the National Association of Music Merchants hosts an industry-wide tradeshow at the colossal Anaheim Convention Center.  If you’ve never been to the NAMM Show, it’s a musician’s paradise, with thousands of exhibitors, live product demos, impromptu jam sessions, and celebrity sightings galore.

The theme for our booth was ‘Creative Tools for Independent Minds.’  As our product line continues to grow from recording software to complete studio solutions, we encourage musicians on every level to take production into their own hands and have fun making music.

Cakewalk Artist Relations Manager, Jimmy Landry put together an all-star roster of artists who appeared and performed in our booth while demonstrating how they use our products on the road and in the studio.

One of Rolling Stone’s Top 5 Up & Coming Female Artists, Cori Yarckin, acoustically performed her hit single, Everything You Said, and recorded a vocal track in SONAR with the V-Studio 100. Cakewalk’s Brandon Ryan showed the audience how to use the VX-64 Vocal Strip to process her vocals as well as the Matrix view to creatively remix her track.

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