General Music Chat

I have been working remodeling and sound balancing my recording studio/music room! I took the week off to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. I started working in the studio Monday evening. Yesterday I had to take my sons steer to the large animal vet to get him surgically de-horned. He is showing the animal in May at the Galveston county fair. I just finished the studio and it looks awesome! Now I have to help get the house ready for tomorrow!

Sounds good.

I just began to set up my new DAW with Sonar X2 (The free version that I got when I ordered Sonar X1.} Actually it wasn't an upgrade at all , it is a full boxed retail version.

I think I'll put Sonar X 1 on my downstairs DAW and Sonar X 2 on my upstairs DAW.

You're way ahead of me if you have your studio done. Have fun with it.!!

Sounds good.

I just began to set up my new DAW with Sonar X2 (The free version that I got when I ordered Sonar X1.} Actually it wasn't an upgrade at all , it is a full boxed retail version.

I think I'll put Sonar X 1 on my downstairs DAW and Sonar X 2 on my upstairs DAW.

You're way ahead of me if you have your studio done. Have fun with it.!!

Slacker, that's the version I am thinking of getting Sonar X2 studio. how do you like it? What kind of interface are you using. Currently I am using a Hard disc recorder. It is very limiting and I plan on expanding as I have bought a laptop that will work. After the 1st of the year I intend on going with the Sonar X2.

I haven't loaded it yet as I am still setting up my tower. It looks really impressive just from what I have see on the Internet and in the Pdf.

I bought a couple of Intel sSdrives for the operating systems, but after reading about the problems and short life of them I decided to get a couple of SATA 6 gig drives to use instead. I'll put my sSDrives in my laptop instead. Right now I am waiting to get the SATA III Hdds for this DAW.

I have three Pentium D DAWs. 3.0 to 3.4Gig Cpu's. They are far more than I need with audio recording. I have Sonar 4 in those. The Cakewalk drivers boosted my sound card from 24/192 to 32/192. Cakewalk drivers in Guitar Tracks Pro 4 boosted my old 16/44 Soundblaster PCI card to 16/96. Their sound card drivers are most impressive.

If you get it loaded before I do you can tell me.

I haven't loaded it yet as I am still setting up my tower. It looks really impressive just from what I have see on the Internet and in the Pdf.

I bought a couple of Intel sSdrives for the operating systems, but after reading about the problems and short life of them I decided to get a couple of SATA 6 gig drives to use instead. I'll put my sSDrives in my laptop instead. Right now I am waiting to get the SATA III Hdds for this DAW.

I have three Pentium D DAWs. 3.0 to 3.4Gig Cpu's. They are far more than I need with audio recording. I have Sonar 4 in those. The Cakewalk drivers boosted my sound card from 24/192 to 32/192. Cakewalk drivers in Guitar Tracks Pro 4 boosted my old 16/44 Soundblaster PCI card to 16/96. Their sound card drivers are most impressive.

If you get it loaded before I do you can tell me.

Sounds like a plan and will do.

Jeff,

I just loaded Sonar 11 a couple of hours ago. I haven't found out how to do everything yet but so far I really like it. I have an idea that I'll really like 12.

I put 11 on a slow computer by todays standards. It is a 2.8 Pent duo. with only 500 megs of ram but it still works good on that. It will love my i5 machines.

On the box it said that 12 was for win 7 & 8 so I didn't try to load it on an XP machine.

Jeff,

I just loaded Sonar 11 a couple of hours ago. I haven't found out how to do everything yet but so far I really like it. I have an idea that I'll really like 12.

I put 11 on a slow computer by todays standards. It is a 2.8 Pent duo. with only 500 megs of ram but it still works good on that. It will love my i5 machines.

On the box it said that 12 was for win 7 & 8 so I didn't try to load it on an XP machine.

Cool thanks for the info. I haven't got one yet but plan to after christmas. Once you get into it and get familiarized I would appreciate any info you discover as you go! pro's and con's Thanks!

OK.

I stayed up until 3AM playing with Sonar X + 1 and I love it. I had to hunt to find a few things that were out in the open on Sonar 4 but they are still there. I really think this setup is far better. A lot of the clutter is gone and the transport is far less confusing than some other editions. I love the track view. The master out in on the left, and when you highlight a track it is highlighted right next to the master control. When you expand the control section you have access to pan,output volume for the tracks, and on the other side are the wave forms. Very simple and intuitive. I do not know why some of you Cakewalk users prefer the older versions.

I can't wait to get my hard drives in so I can load Sonar X + 2 on them. I had a copy of 6 and 8, but I only loaded them up to see what they were like. I did like both of them, but I like these even better. They spent quite a bit of time hiding functions not often used and simplifying the layout, that's something that really appeals to me.

All I can say is that I am not in the least disappointed in spending that much. However, I believe I could have gotten by with the cheaper version that I imagine has the same layout but without the synthesizer, virtual amplifiers, and some of the other goodies, of which there are so many it will take me a good deal of time to utilize them. Now I need a midi keyboard so that I can play with the keyboards. It has a really cool synth.

I haven't tried the drum tracks, which it has many, or any of the virtual instruments, but I can see where someone willing to spend a little time with it can do remarkable things.

I know other DAW programs may be cheaper, and a good many cost far more, but I really do love this so far. And I like the way it bundles every session in its own folder. That sure makes it easier for me to find stuff. There is a tab on the bottom that allows the user to switch from the full track view to mixer view. But once I switch it I'm not sure how to get the mixer view back. It seems to only go one way, in my inexperience. Maybe I'm missing something. If I can find where to do that I wouldn't have a thing that I didn't like about it. On the good side, I seldom use the mixer view as the track view allows you to access the same controls and monitor the wave forms. It has a really nice parametric EQ that pops up for each channel when you want them. Lots of FX for every chan as you need them or want them. This thing has a lot of great plug ins designed by top companies included in it.

I guess it boils down to what we are used to using, but this is one of the best versions of Sonar that I have had to to date. Now I'm really getting impatient for my Hdds to get here.

OK.

I stayed up until 3AM playing with Sonar X + 1 and I love it. I had to hunt to find a few things that were out in the open on Sonar 4 but they are still there. I really think this setup is far better. A lot of the clutter is gone and the transport is far less confusing than some other editions. I love the track view. The master out in on the left, and when you highlight a track it is highlighted right next to the master control. When you expand the control section you have access to pan,output volume for the tracks, and on the other side are the wave forms. Very simple and intuitive. I do not know why some of you Cakewalk users prefer the older versions.

I can't wait to get my hard drives in so I can load Sonar X + 2 on them. I had a copy of 6 and 8, but I only loaded them up to see what they were like. I did like both of them, but I like these even better. They spent quite a bit of time hiding functions not often used and simplifying the layout, that's something that really appeals to me.

All I can say is that I am not in the least disappointed in spending that much. However, I believe I could have gotten by with the cheaper version that I imagine has the same layout but without the synthesizer, virtual amplifiers, and some of the other goodies, of which there are so many it will take me a good deal of time to utilize them. Now I need a midi keyboard so that I can play with the keyboards. It has a really cool synth.

I haven't tried the drum tracks, which it has many, or any of the virtual instruments, but I can see where someone willing to spend a little time with it can do remarkable things.

I know other DAW programs may be cheaper, and a good many cost far more, but I really do love this so far. And I like the way it bundles every session in its own folder. That sure makes it easier for me to find stuff. There is a tab on the bottom that allows the user to switch from the full track view to mixer view. But once I switch it I'm not sure how to get the mixer view back. It seems to only go one way, in my inexperience. Maybe I'm missing something. If I can find where to do that I wouldn't have a thing that I didn't like about it. On the good side, I seldom use the mixer view as the track view allows you to access the same controls and monitor the wave forms. It has a really nice parametric EQ that pops up for each channel when you want them. Lots of FX for every chan as you need them or want them. This thing has a lot of great plug ins designed by top companies included in it.

I guess it boils down to what we are used to using, but this is one of the best versions of Sonar that I have had to to date. Now I'm really getting impatient for my Hdds to get here.

Thanks for the info Slacker, it gives me confidence in this product!

We've got Sonar 8 and Cubase 4 w/ MOTU interface.
We also have a Roland VS-1688 and Tascam 488 MkII.
But, we've hardly touched any of it.
It's an embarrassing waste.

Sonar 8.5 for the latest "Come and Gone"..

Ok, it's up now..

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... ID=1224651

Jeff,

When you get it set up be sure to migrate your file folders to an alternate drive if possible in case you may have a crash in the future. It will keep your files safer.

To do this just drag and drop Cakewalk Files from your "C" drive to the "D" drive. Just make a drag and drop copy. Leave the original where it is so you can test your success in moving the directory location in case you somehow mess it up the first try. That way nothing is lost. Another benefit to having the files on one drive and the OS on the other is that one Hdd can write while the OS Hdd reads, and vice versa. That speeds up your system. Here is how to do it.

After you have made your D&D copy, go into Sonar and choose "Preferences" under Edit on the top title bar. Next go to "File Location" and, as in my case, direct them to "D/Cakewalk Files" > (The Project File option)

Next select "Audio Data" Change "C:\ Cakewalk Projects\Audio data" to "D:\ Cakewalk Projects\Audio data" Then do the same for the picture data.

I use "D as an example as that uis where I store all my Cwb and Cwp files.

Now Cakewalk will write your audio folders to the "D" drive. If you have to reformat your drive for any reason all you need do is re install Sonar and re direct to the "D" files. (In preferences... just like before. )

If you have tons of Hdd space, you can just copy the folders from your "C" drive to the "D" drive and have them backed up that way.

Since I am using a sSATA I only want to have OS files on it and not data files. Solid State SATA drives don't like defraging and if all your data is stored on a second Hdd, it saves wear and tear on them.

Just an added protection option.

Thanks Slacker that will really help!

WOW!


This thing has more bells and whistles than a naked girl pulling a taco cart through a construction zone. I am loving it.