Cakewalk

I upgraded to Sonar X3 Producer from Sonar 8.5. There was a little difficulty downloading it, but only because the file size is so large. My download was happening over 15mbps internet and it took me two tries before I had it successfully downloaded. It seems there is a sort of online signature that happens with your download and if it times out on one of the parts, the other parts will not recognize it. You have the option of purchasing physical copies of the disk, so if you are worried about the download that may be a better option for you. I use it with Windows 8 running on a Dell Inspiron 660 with Intel Core i3 processor. After getting it installed, setup was easy. It instantly recognized that I had plugins and projects in Sonar 8.5 before it, and carried them all over to the new Sonar X3 formats for me. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The software works flawlessly. I had a few problems with Sonar 8.5 which is why I was so hesitant to upgrade to the other versions that were released throughout the years. X3 looked like they had finally fixed every bug so I went for it, and I don't regret it one bit. The way it is arranged is unique. Everything can be kept in its own window, or as Cakewalk calls them "Views." You open a view and get a separate window for whichever item you are using. You can then click and drag the window to any space in the workstation and dock it to certain points of contact. This allows for lots of customization to match your own particular needs and interests. For example, if you don't ever use VST synth plugins, you can close that window and create a template where it will never pop up again. Do you do constant fine tuning to your EQ as you work? Make a start-up template that keeps your favorite EQ plugins close at hand in their own section. I have a special template for the final mix-down where I have a window open on a second computer monitor above my mixing console. This window holds the "Console" view which is the virtual mixer. This allows me to get away from all of the distractions and use my ears to mix, double checking on a screen that I am adjusting the correct parameters. Everything is labelled in a simple, easy to understand manner. Navigating the different windows couldn't be easier, and I haven't been confused about anything in it. There is plenty of color-coding and text help in every window so that you don't get lost in the hundreds of features provided. X3 Producer comes with a library of plugins that will cover just about every need you can think of. There are software instruments such as Dimension Pro, Rapture, and Addictive Drums 2, Audio effects such as EQ, Compressor, Limiter, and a variety of effects from Nomad Factory, and even CD Burning capabilities. There are several ways to edit midi data. You can use a sheet music notation window, piano roll, or a step sequencer. This is nice because sometimes one way will inspire me over the other on a particular day, and then on another I need to get precise and edit sheet music for an orchestra. Another nice addition is the support for VST3. Plugins have been released in the past few years that take advantage of this new format and it's great that I can use them in Sonar. A lite version of Melodyne called "Melodyne Essentials" is included and I have found this to be very useful for editing vocal passages and cleaning up missed notes. I was a little disappointed that they used it to replace Roland's V-Vocal processor. Melodyne is better at certain things such as pitch and rhythm correction, but V-Vocal was nice to use for more creative vocal processing. Luckily, if you had an older version of Sonar that included V-Vocal X3 will carry over the plugin to the new version. There is a view called "Matrix View" that has been around since the days of Sonar 8, but has been improved upon in this new version. Matrix View allows you to click and drag audio and midi files straight from their tracks in the project (or from elsewhere on your hard-drive) and loop them. This is the answer to software like Ableton Live and FL Studio that focus on in-depth loop creation. It works for me as an inspirational composition tool. I can make a drum groove and keep it looping while I add and subtract other parts of the song to see how I want it to line up. This view is also incredibly useful for live DJ and Electronic Dance work. You can play around with alternative parts of your set on the spot as you feel the energy level of the venue. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about it: Ease of use. I have never used a DAW that made more since to me and complimented my workflow so well. I record real instruments and work with midi data on a regular basis, and X3 Producer allows me to do anything I can imagine with both. What I like least about it: I think there must be a better way to manage a download that large than the way Cakewalk does. It took a very long time and had a bit of trouble. In the end it worked but I think they could make it more simple. I have tried Ableton Live, FL Studio, Cubase, Logic Pro, Garageband, Reaper, Studio One, and Protools. Nothing has worked as well for me as Sonar X3 has. Unless Cakewalk discontinues their software support and close their business, I will remain a Sonar user for life. If you like, Cakewalk offers a free demo version of Sonar X3 on their website so that you can try it out for yourself. Give it a go and make sure to play with customizing the windows to see if you find something you like.

Some sounds are very good: pianos, organs, strings, wind instruments, synth, basses Others aren't very good: guitars. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I don't understand lucienz' review, the Dimension Pro can manage up to 4 elements per patch (E1 to E4). that is up to 4 "layers" per sound, each with filters, effects... it's excellent. But it may be that we aren't talking about the same thing. When it comes to sounds, I'd say they start to be outdated, even though they are very usable, including the pianos. It's not as good as a dedicated software, but it's nevertheless pretty decent. The control matrix is very powerful. An update of the software, a version 2 with a better library, would be nice. But to say that it's not usable it a bit far-fetched. OVERALL OPINION It's a bit outdated, a version 2 would be nice. I regret that it isn't 16-part multitimbral. But then again, to use it as an instrument, 4-part multitimbral is OK.

It is possible to run into install problems.. You may need to open Program Data. Find it in View options on C drive. The manual is easy to read and clear. It is extremely good manual. Very long and easy to read. It is not necessary to read the manual typically though on this synth because it is easy to learn. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Rspture works well in Version 1.22 update. The dials don't show numbers though on the filters which is bad. But it is possible to see them in midi mappable settings under the options click. The oscillators do chain up to EFX like theyre supposed to. OVERALL OPINION Rapture is realistically analog to me and little saturation can be added without roughing it up completely. I can get it to sound like a juno or oberheim pretty easy by adding saturation to them appropriately. Rapture has an upfront medium/hard sound great from rock, metal, rap, and especially hip-hop. It can also be used for Tiesto style trance and certain types of masculine things. Ratpure is, medium/hard sounding. Moderately flat sound. Somehwat compressable. Very analog. Very masculine. And capable of very complex things. The most complex synth I've used. But still easy to program. The most difficult part is getting the right results out of the ADSR. Typically use an even straight line though. The best part about Rapture is that each oscillator has its own pitch, cutoffs, resonance all with there own LFO's and an Amp too with LFO. Each oscillator has it's own EFX too. There are a total of 6 oscilators. I can't wait to make and manipulate it's waveoforms with an aftermarket waveform maker. NEat..@

The CakeWalk V-Studio 100 is a portable device that will allow you to record up to 8 tracks simultaneously. It connects to your computer through USB connection and has some on board effects and a user friendly and DAW control surface that is compatible with Windows or Mac systems. Bottom line is that if you are a CakeWalk user than this interface is what you need to have. It is very portable and well built. It is also easy to install and start using right away. You cannot rack this unit, but it is not very big, so it is easy to put in a gig bag or book bag and take it with you and your laptop. UTILIZATION Setting it up was quick and painless, it really doesn’t even matter what version of CakeWalk you are using and it will work great in Sonar, Ableton Live, Cubase and a few others. It has a motorized touch sensitive fader and a LCD display screen. The foot switch is programmable and it has 11 buttons, 5 rotary encoders and you can pretty much use it with any DAW through Mackie Control. GETTING STARTED The manual is easy to understand if you need to use it. OVERALL OPINION On the mixer there are 4 different reverbs, 6 channels of compression and 6 channels of EQ. There is a built in metronome on the V-Studio 100 as well as 2 channel WAV playback and recording. The CakeWalk V-Studio 100 has just about everything you need to run your whole set up for your band or if you are a DJ this could work great for you. I have been using this device since last summer and never had any issues with it. The value for the price is great, and knowing what I know now I am glad to have made this choice to use this interface. I do still own it and use it a lot, the sound quality is amazing.

The Roland A-300 Pro is a MIDI Keyboard featuring 32 keys, 45 assignable transports, knobs and sliders, 8 pads and a pitchbend/modulation stick. This thing is an awesome deal for the price, before I used a M-Audio Axiom 25 keyboard, a comparable model. This one is WAY better, and at a similar price. This one has way more features, and I use it as my exclusive small keyboard. I have a few full size keyboards I use for actual playing, but I use this for smaller applications, and I love it. I'm possibly buying the full size version of this series. UTILIZATION The setup is easy as can be, plug it in and map to Ableton Live. All the controls work and are of good sensitivity. The drum pads aren't too good, but I have an APC 40 and a Novation Launchpad, so I have those covered, since I mostly use this for basslines and auditioning sounds. I love the features packed into this and I love being able to control lots of parameters at once. Also, nothing is complicated to use at all, so it's great for beginners. OVERALL OPINION My favorite thing about this controller is that it has lots of knobs and sliders and transports, over 45! Also, it has a 4-octave keyboard, while most in the price range only have three. This makes it great for working out basslines. I like the sensitivity and feel of the knobs, and LOVE the pitch bend and modulation stick instead of wheels. The only thing that aren't great are the drum pads, they aren't very good. I don't use them much though, so that's ok. I would really recommend this to anyone who needs a smaller keyboard, or a beginner who doesn't need too many keys. It's well built too, so if you can pick one up!

Cakewalk SONAR X1 is a digital audio workstation (DAW) that comes with around 10 VST synth instruments and it has a whole list of effects. You can use this program to do all of your work in like mix and master your tracks as well as record directly into it and work with processing sounds and audio signals through effects. Sonar X1 is only support through PC and not Mac’s. it can work with just about any audio sound type like WAV, MPEG, AIFF and any other sound source that is out. Setting it up was easy and working with it was simple for me because I was coming from another version of Sonar. It was very similar to other versions it mainly just was like a VST and Effects pack to me. There were not many changes between Sonar and X1. Now there is an X2 out which I upgraded to not too long ago. The VST’s in X1 are pretty good, they are a lot better than the VST’s that came with the original version of Sonar. Everything in X1 is just a click away, from adding effects to guitar tracks and vocals or to working with a VST synth and manipulating it. It is all right in front of me and easy to work with. I was running X1 on a Vista computer and it never crashed or caused any problems on my 3GB computer. X1 runs very smooth and has some really good plug ins and effects built into it. I do not recommend purchasing X1 now though because X2 is out and it has a very good amp simulator in it that I love. If you are thinking of getting X2, look into purchasing or upgrading to X2 so you can experience some of the Sonar Amps and new features and effects. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Setting it up was easy and working with it was simple for me because I was coming from another version of Sonar. It was very similar to other versions it mainly just was like a VST and Effects pack to me. There were not many changes between Sonar and X1. Now there is an X2 out which I upgraded to not too long ago. The VST’s in X1 are pretty good, they are a lot better than the VST’s that came with the original version of Sonar. Everything in X1 is just a click away, from adding effects to guitar tracks and vocals or to working with a VST synth and manipulating it. It is all right in front of me and easy to work with. I was running X1 on a Vista computer and it never crashed or caused any problems on my 3GB computer. X1 runs very smooth and has some really good plug ins and effects built into it. OVERALL OPINION I do not recommend purchasing X1 now though because X2 is out and it has a very good amp simulator in it that I love. If you are thinking of getting X2, look into purchasing or upgrading to X2 so you can experience some of the Sonar Amps and new features and effects.

Cakewalk Sonar X2 is the producer edition of CakeWalk. They have made many changes to this version of CakeWalk vs. The first version that came out. Right out of the box, X2 gives you over 20 VST plug ins that are instrument rich and ready to use immediately. For them all to be as good as they are, I was surprise they were free and not just some sort of a demo version. It also comes with over 50 MIDI effects and audio effects. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Setting up X2 is easy, it will take a few minutes to install everything because all the VST’s and plug ins take a little time because they are larger. After installation is complete you can immediately start producing music, if you have used CakeWalk before then you know how easy the main screen is to work with. They have kept the main interface pretty much the same as all other versions of CakeWalk. OVERALL OPINION This is one of the best production and sequencing software programs that you can use. If you are a beginner I recommend CakeWalk because it is an easy platform to understand sequencing and producing music. The interface is by far the best quality that the program has to offer, it is easy to navigate through and any function that you want to achieve can pretty much be done in a click or two from the main interface or main menu options. It does seem like the price has went up on Cakewalk but that is because this is the producer edition and it comes with the extra VST’s. The regular standard versions of cakewalk does not cost as much but it also does not come with the extra VST’s and effects. So if you don’t need those extra VST’s because you are using an external sound source, or you already have VST’s of your own then you should not buy this version unless you want the extra VST’s. This is the ultimate production software for someone who wants to get into producing music of all genres. I have been using CakeWalk for years and this is the first piece of software that I recommend people use.

The CakeWalk V-Studio 20 is a USB interface and control surface that has 36 on board effects that can be used for your vocals or guitar tracks. It only cost 300 dollars and it can be used with Mac and PC computers. It has a total of 36 BOSS effects and over 50 separate presets. This interface is the total package because it has everything you need including inputs for your instruments and microphones as well as the connections for your footswitches, pedals, monitors, and headphones. UTILIZATION Some of my favorite effects on the V-Studio 20 are the reverb effects (hall, and Room) as well has some of the Modulate and Analog delay effects. The Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo, Rotary and Uni-V are pretty good effects as well. Some of the distortion effects like, Metal, Core, Fuzz, Bass Drive, and OD-1 are also very good too. GETTING STARTED Setting up the CakeWalk V-Studio 20 is quick and easy; it does come with a manual that is in PDF format which makes it easier to use then a regular book because you can easily just search what you want to know rather than flipping through pages. OVERALL OPINION The CakeWalk V-Studio 20 cannot be racked, it is just a desktop interface. But it does not take up much of your workspace because it is only about a foot wide and 6 inches in depth. It only weights about 2 pounds just in case you want to take it around with you. It has on board Phantom Power but not Bus Power. If you are a CakeWalk or Sonar user, this will work great for you. The effects are definitely a plus and a selling point with this interface. If it wasn’t for the effects I would not recommend getting it. I have been using this unit since 2010 and it has never given me any issues. As long has you have a solid PC or Mac with updated drivers you will have no problems or worries.

The CakeWalk Z3TA+2 gave me no compatibility issues while using it on either of the two systems that I had at the time. Both were running XP if I remember correctly. I have never seen or knew that the manual came with the product but I am sure its probably easy to understand like most of CakeWalks stuff is. All of the basic functions of the software are very easy to find and use. This version of Z3TA is a completely different design from the previous version. They have really revamped it to make it more user friendly and attractive to the eye. If you are into electronic music that the Cakewalk Z3TA+2 is a must have for your home set up. It is designed for Electronic music , though you could use it for whatever you want. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE From the original Z3TA to this version, they have created over 1000 new sounds and patches, while also still keeping the original sounds in the program just in case you never had the original. You will get a ton of new sounds to use when you purchase this VST. The only sounds that I really didn’t care for too much are most of the Bass sounds. Most of them sound so much like some Nexus and Hypersonic basses to me, it just really didn’t stand out the way I wanted it to. OVERALL OPINION When you purchase CakeWalk Z3TA you are getting over 2000 sounds that are ready to go. That is the best part of this program is that you will get so many patches right from the bat. They have also added some easier more efficient ways to find those sounds you are looking for without having to scroll through 2000 sounds to find that “one”. Z3TA is a great buy, at a great price. It is a must have for electronic producers.

Cakewalk's Project5 was the first DAW I ever used, and it can be very versatile, and it can be very useful, even for recording live bands. It is mainly designed with electronic music creation in mind, with advanced loop saving and loop triggering abilities. You can trigger loops live using the matrix page, and you have many options for how to set how the loops are triggered, whether the start time should be quantized or instantly played, and wether or not the sample should be looped or one-shot. For regular midi input, there are options for quantizing the data, and even using an advanced arpeggiator. Project5 is very capable towards midi setups, as that is the medium for most electronic music. In later versions of Project5, they added the ability to record audio (as opposed to simply importing audio), which makes it capable of recording rock bands, which is what I did briefly. It is not optimized for this, and if you use a high-latency sound card, Project5 doesn't automatically adjust for the latency, and you have to manually move all of the audio back a few milliseconds, depending on the latency. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Project5 works great for live show, and live triggering of midi patterns and audio, which is what it was mainly designed for. It can handle many synths pretty well, and it even comes with a bunch of basic synthesizers (including some forms of Cakewalk's famed Dimension sampler). With these, you can start creating music immediately. OVERALL OPINION Overall, Project5 was a great side DAW created by Cakewalk, that had it's niche customer base away from their flagship SONAR DAW software. It is no longer supported, so it may be hard to find nowadays, but if you are looking for a live alternative to something like Ableton's Live, Project5 can be a great choice. It can inspire the mind.

Sonar 7 Studio edition is one of the easiest production softwares that you can purchase up to this date. They have made sure that everything with Cakewalk was made for the user to have the ability to get the ideas out of there head and into the program as fast as possible. The layout and interface of CakeWalk 7 Studio is very simple. Out of all of the daw’s and midi production softwares that I have used. Sonar 7 was ready to go as soon as I loaded it onto my pc. For some reason I fell in love with the layout of it, it was just so easy on the eyes and brain. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Very easy installation, no issues at all. Its not that large of a file either so depending on how fast your pc is, it could only take a few minutes and you will be able to open it up and start using it right away. OVERALL OPINION Sonar 7 is very affordable, but don’t let that be the reason that you purchase it. I suggest downloading a trial version of the software to see if its something that you could see your self working with for a while. But for the money spent and the quality of program it is, I love it. For this small investment and the interface you can beat that combo. Cake Walk Sonar 7 Studio edition will allow you to work with .wav files as well as the midi notes at the same time. Most programs have glitches in them somewhere as well, I have yet to find any in Cake Walks sonar 7 Studio Edition and I hope that I never will. I will continue to use Sonar 7 for a while before I even upgraded, just because I was so comfortable with it and didn’t want to switch or upgrade.

Easy to install (somewhat long, but these days...) although I had several issues; files corrupted by the convolution reverb. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Installed on an iMac i3 with 12GB ram running Windows 8.1. The product is very slick and stable and the interface is nice. It's the only product that makes me regret having quit Windows. I reopened some old projects, I was tempted to remake them from scratch and everything was passed along very well (only some small issues regarding the soundcard and the Virtual Sound Canvas TTS Cakewalk module). This product is truly very good and even if it isn't as good as its competitors in terms of MIDI, it has all essential functions. It lacked Melodyne and the addition of the Nomad Factory plug-ins is a very good point. OVERALL OPINION I have been using up to this day and haven't noticed any big changes in relation to the previous version. Other than the plug-ins. For me, it's the best DAW product under Windows in terms of value for money. You get your money's worth and much more. No more excuses for not achieving good results. It compares easily to Logic Pro X on Mac OS and even if I like better the latter, Sonar can certainly convince even the most picky among us. I used Cubase for quite some time (+/-12 years), I use Logic and Studio One often (and very rarely Reaper) and I must say that Sonar X3 Studio deserves a very good place among them. Unfortunately, it's only available for Windows and that's its only negative point. On Mac it would have to compete with Logic, which makes it less interesting. $49 for the upgrade from X2 Studio is incredible!!! That means $49 for the Nomad, Melodyne and other plug-ins. As for the rest, I see little changes. It's a nice product that, even for $250 is well worth the price. PS - The video regarding the touch-screen possibilities is amazing!