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CAKEWALK SONAR User Manual

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  • Page 1 SONAR User’s Guide...
  • Page 2 Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commit- ment on the part of Cakewalk, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accor- dance of the terms of the agreement.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    SONAR file types ........
  • Page 4 Starting to use SONAR ........
  • Page 5 Cakewalk Publisher ........
  • Page 6 I Don’t See the Clips Pane in the Track View ......147 Why Can’t SONAR Find My Audio Files? ......147 Why Do I Get Errors from the Wave Profiler? .
  • Page 7 My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer When I Open Them in SONAR. . . 153 SONAR Can’t Find the Wavetable Synth or MPU401....153 I Get an Error Message When I Change a Project to 24-bit Audio .

  • Page 9: Preface

    SONAR User’s Guide is designed to help you learn and use SONAR. This book explains how SONAR works and how to use it to create, edit, produce, and perform. The SONAR User’s Guide is task-oriented, with lots of cross-references, so that you can find the information you need. The User’s Guide book also includes a comprehensive index that you can use to find information on any...

  • Page 10: Conventions Used In This Book

    The following table describes the text conventions in this book: Convention Meaning Bold Text that appears in bold is a command in SONAR. For example: Click OK. Right guillemet A right guillemet is a menu item separator and represents a level in the menu hierarchy.

  • Page 11: Introduction

    Starting SONAR........

  • Page 12: About Sonar

    You can also share the music files themselves. SONAR will save your music in a format that you can put on a web site or email to other people. SONAR is the flagship product of the Cakewalk line of integrated MIDI and digital audio sequencers for the Windows platform.

  • Page 13: Sound Production And Engineering

    Sound Production and Engineering If you want to produce music CDs or master tapes, SONAR has virtually everything you need from recording to mixing and mastering. Multichannel recording lets you capture studio or live performances track by track. Reconfigurable buses provide full control over your mix. Real-time stereo effects like chorus, flange, reverb, and delay/echo can be applied as track inserts, in effects loops, or to the master mix.

  • Page 14: Flexibility

    MIDI system configurations to make your work more efficient. SONAR integrates with other sound editing tools so you can access them in an instant without leaving SONAR. There are custom software modules to support specialized audio devices from Roland and Yamaha. SONAR’s unique StudioWare technology provides software interfaces for common studio hardware.

  • Page 15: Digital Audio

    It works like a tape recorder—you record something, then later play it back. Digital audio stores the sound as a long series of numbers. To record audio in SONAR, you have to have an audio cable connecting the audio output of your electronic instrument to the audio input on your sound card or audio hardware.

  • Page 16: Setup

    Setup You can install SONAR on any computer that runs Windows XP or x64 and has a sound card or built-in sound module. If you want to hook up other devices, like a MIDI keyboard, an electric guitar, or a microphone, you need the right cables, and you need to find the right connectors on your computer.

  • Page 17: Audio Connections

    Previous versions of SONAR required a user to have Windows Administrator status. This is no longer the case. Any level of user can now install and run SONAR. Only one copy of SONAR per machine is necessary for multiple users to run SONAR with each user’s personal settings.
  • Page 18 have a stereo input) while digital inputs allow you to record 1 to 8 signals depending on the type of digital connection. The following table describes the various analog inputs and outputs. Type of analog input/output Description Balanced (XLR, phono or RCA) A mono input/output Unbalanced (TRS) A stereo or mono input/output...

  • Page 19: Midi Connections

    To connect a microphone to your computer • If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack (built-in sound cards that come with your PC usually do), and your microphone cable has a 1/4 inch plug on the end, plug the mic cable into a 1/8 inch stereo adapter, and then plug the 1/8 inch adapter into the microphone input jack on your computer sound card.

  • Page 20: Changing I/O Devices

    You can add a device back at any time and SONAR will remember the last set of enabled inputs and outputs for that device.
  • Page 21 Note: The Missing Audio Outputs dialog is not shown if there is only a single missing output port and only one available output port. In this case, SONAR will automatically assign the missing output port to the available output port.
  • Page 22 Automatic MIDI port remapping for control surfaces SONAR persists the names of MIDI ports that are assigned to control surfaces. This ensures that the correct MIDI ports are assigned to control surfaces, even if you add or remove other MIDI devices.

  • Page 23: Starting Sonar

    There are many different ways to start SONAR. Here are a few: • Double-click the SONAR icon on your desktop. • Click the Start button, and choose Programs > Cakewalk > SONAR 8.5 (Studio or Producer) > SONAR 8.5 (Studio or Producer).
  • Page 24 SONAR. Migrating preferences If you have a previous version of Cakewalk installed, SONAR will detect it and give you the option of migrating certain preferences from a single earlier version. When you choose to migrate preferences, SONAR migrates the following settings from an earlier...
  • Page 25 Setting up the MIDI In and MIDI Out devices When you start SONAR for the first time, it checks your computer to find all the MIDI input and output devices you have installed (such as sound cards and MIDI interfaces). However, sometimes you need to tell SONAR exactly which devices you want it to use.

  • Page 26: Sonar Basics

    • If you remove a Control Panel driver, SONAR will not use the device it belongs to the next time you run the program. Any other devices you had selected using the Options > MIDI Devices command will remain selected.

  • Page 27: Sonar File Types

    Events are MIDI data (in MIDI tracks) or automation data. SONAR file types Projects in SONAR can be saved as a project file with the extension .cwp or as a Bundle file with the extension .cwb. For a complete description of the differences between project files and bundle files, see the online help topic Project Files and Bundle Files.

  • Page 28: Opening A File

    Track view is the main window that you use to create, display, and work with a project. When you open a project file, SONAR displays the Track view for the project. When you close the Track view for a project, SONAR closes the file.
  • Page 29 (for example, the Patch control only applies to MIDI tracks). Displays the next page of tracks. PAGE DOWN Displays the previous page of tracks. PAGE UP Table 6. SONAR basics...
  • Page 30 Holding the SHIFT key while you click adds tracks or clips to the current selection. Holding the CTRL key while you click lets you toggle the selection status of tracks or clips. SONAR basics...
  • Page 31 Track/Bus Inspector for a MIDI track Most controls can be shown or hidden. A. Audio icon B. Output routing C. Track name D. Display menu E. Module menu F. MIDI icon G. Output routing H. Track name I. Display menu J. Module menu SONAR basics...

  • Page 32: The Console View

    The Console view contains several groups of controls. There is one module for each track in your project, and one module for each bus. You can use bus sends to direct certain tracks to special modules that are known as buses. SONAR basics...
  • Page 33 Other views SONAR has a number of other views you can use to display and work on your project. To display these views, select one or more tracks, by CTRL-clicking their track numbers and: • Click the icon for the view in the Views toolbar •...
  • Page 34 The Staff view A. Dynamics and markings B. Time and pitch locator C. Editing tools D. Zoom out E. Zoom in F. Snap to Grid G. Show/hide track pane H. Fretboard display I. Track list pane J. Fretboard pane SONAR basics...
  • Page 35 The Loop Construction view : allows you to create and edit Groove clips (SONAR loops that “know” the tempo and key in which they were recorded), and export these clips as ACIDized files. Figure 10. The Loop Construction view The Media Browser view : allows you to preview ACIDized files and other Wave files;...
  • Page 36 “Step Sequencer View” online Help topic Lets you trigger multiple audio and MIDI patterns, either with a mouse or via Matrix MIDI remote control. For details, see the “Matrix view” online Help topic. Table 9. SONAR basics...
  • Page 37 Click and drag to zoom continuously Zoom fader Click to arm, then click and drag in the view to select the zoom area. Zoom tool Click the drop-down arrow to display a menu of zoom and view options. Table 10. SONAR basics...
  • Page 38 For step-by-step instructions, see the procedures below. A. Maximize pane B. Scroll left or right to view tabs C. Active view D. Tabs SONAR basics...

  • Page 39: X-Ray Windows

    CTRL key when opening the view. Floating views When a view is float enabled, you can move it outside of the confines of SONAR. This is particularly useful if you take advantage of SONAR’s dual monitor support. Using dual monitor support, you can keep the Track or Console view on one monitor and “float”...
  • Page 40 Enable Floating from the drop-down menu. If Disable Floating is in the menu, then the Floating option is already enabled. Note: All FX/Synth/Control surface property pages are float-enabled by default. SONAR basics...
  • Page 41 To exclude a plug-in from X-Ray capablity, follow these steps: 1. Open the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager: use the Tools >Cakewalk Plug- in Manager command. 2. In the Plug-in Categories window, select the category that the plug-in you want to exclude is in.
  • Page 42 ; Cakewalk FxDelay XRayExclude13={985DAF67-589F-4B8D-8BBC-D7AD651B9022} If there was also a VST version of the Cakewalk FxDelay, you would add another line: XRayExclude14=[some VST ID number, with no brackets] 10.Save and close the Xrayexclude.ini file, and restart SONAR to implement your changes.
  • Page 43 Load a different menu layout Launch the Menu Editor and choose a different Menu Layout from the drop- down menu, then close the dialog. Use the Options > Menu Layouts command, and select a layout from the available options. Table 13. SONAR basics...
  • Page 44 3. If necessary, re-save your layout to preserve these changes. Customizable toolbars You can customize each toolbar in SONAR. You can hide or reorder each component of a toolbar, or add buttons to a toolbar from other toolbars. You can create up to three new toolbars from components of other toolbars.
  • Page 45 When you save your work, you can save the screen layout along with it. You can also save the layout by itself and then use the layout with other projects. For more information, see the online help topic “Layouts.” SONAR basics...

  • Page 46: Working On A Project

    Working on a project Much of your time in SONAR is spent recording and listening to your project as it develops. The Transport toolbar, shown below, contains the most important tools and other pieces of information you’ll need to record and play back your project.

  • Page 47: Screen Colors And Wallpaper

    See your sound card documentation for more information. Screen colors and wallpaper SONAR lets you customize the colors that are used for virtually all parts of the program using the Options > Colors command. This command also lets you change the background bitmap that is displayed in the SONAR window.

  • Page 48: Color Presets

    SONAR. You can also import and export color arrangements in the form of .clr files so that SONAR users can share color layouts. And you can back up or export all of your presets with a single command, and import a group of presets that you or another SONAR user created.
  • Page 49 Figure 15. The Configure Colors dialog A. Presets menu B. Import and Export buttons To load a color preset 1. Open the Configure Colors dialog by using the Options > Colors command. 2. Click the drop-down arrow on the Presets menu to display the list of presets, then click the name of the preset you want to load.
  • Page 50 6. If your Preset menu in SONAR already contains a preset that is included in the preset collection file you are importing, SONAR asks you if you want to overwrite the file. This happens for each file that has the same name as a preset in the preset collection you are importing. Click Yes or No for each file in question, or Yes All or No All to either overwrite or protect all of your current preset files.

  • Page 51: Installing Sonar

    Installing SONAR SONAR is easy to install. All you need to do is choose the folder where the program and sample project files should be stored. Before you start, make sure you have your serial number handy. Your serial number is located on the back of your DVD case.

  • Page 52: Starting To Use Sonar

    The following tutorials will give you some hands-on practice in playing, recording, and mixing your projects. If you have not already done so, you may want to refer to “SONAR basics” on page 26 to get the most out of these tutorials.

  • Page 53: Tutorial 1 - Creating, Playing, And Saving Projects

    Whenever you write or record music in SONAR, you are writing it to be saved into a project. A project can contain a variety of elements, including: •...

  • Page 54: Creating A New Project

    Open a Recent Project. The drop-down list shows the most recent projects that have been opened in SONAR. Select the desired project from the list and click the button to the left of the list to open the project.
  • Page 55 It is recommended that you select this option. Template. This list shows all available pre-made templates that are included with SONAR. This list will also include any custom templates that you create. Your Template list may vary from the preceding figure.

  • Page 56: Opening Project Files

    • For more detailed information about all of the options and functions in this dialog, click Help. For this tutorial we want to open one of the sample project files that are included with SONAR. To do so, select Template Files in the Go to Folder list. This option appears when clicking on the little arrow to the right of the dropdown list.
  • Page 57 Double-click on the Tutorials folder to open it and then Locate the project named SONAR_AudioDemo1.cwp. You can load project files into SONAR in one of two ways: • Select a file by clicking on it so that it is selected, then click Open.

  • Page 58: Playing Project Files

    General tab. In the Playback Timing Master list, select the audio output device that you want SONAR to treat as the default or main output device. This should be the output on your sound card that has either speakers or headphones connected to it. In the Record Timing Master list, select the input on your sound card that you plan to plug devices into, such as a microphone, keyboard or other instrument.

  • Page 59: Setting The Tracks Outputs

    Setting the tracks outputs The next important step is telling SONAR which output on your sound device you would like audio tracks to play on. In some cases, it is desirable to have tracks playing different outputs (such as if you are using external hardware processing for effects).

  • Page 60: Control Description

    Control Description This is the Arm or Record Enable button, which must be enabled on any track that you want to record onto. For more details, see Tutorial 3 – Recording vocals and musical instruments. This is the Input Echo or Input Monitor button. When clicked, this enables the track’s input to be heard directly through its output.

  • Page 61: Playing The Project

    Now that all of the track’s outputs are set to the appropriate device, the next step is to play the project to make sure it can be heard and sounds right. Locate the Transport tool bar at the top of SONAR’s screen. If you can’t find this toolbar, press F4 to show the Large Transport toolbar.

  • Page 62: Looping Project Files

    Looping project files SONAR features a really handy tool that allows you to repeat specified sections of a project file. You may want to do this for many reasons, such as to rehearse a part or phase or to listen closely to a specific section.

  • Page 63: Saving Project Files

    Saving project files SONAR offers you many options for saving your work. To investigate these options, click on the File menu and choose Save As. This opens the Save As dialog. Before doing anything in this window, the first thing you should do is select Project Files in the Go to Folder list. Even if it already says Project Files, click it anyway.
  • Page 64 MIDI file with another computer-based sequencing application. Although not as common, SONAR also allows you to save in the RIFF MIDI format. Unless you are positive that the playback system requires a RIFF MIDI file, you will want to use the MIDI format.

  • Page 65: Tutorial 2 - Using The Media Browser

    New to SONAR is the enhanced Media Browser view; designed to improve workflow and make working with audio loops and MIDI groove clips simple. When you open a project in SONAR, the Media Browser will open underneath the track view. It is outlined in the image below.
  • Page 66 The Refresh button is used to refresh the active folder. This is helpful if you move new loops into the folder and want SONAR to be able use/see them. This is the Windows Explorer button. Click to open Windows Explorer at the same directory being viewed in the Media Browser view.
  • Page 67 The next three controls are used for software synths. Control Description The Insert Soft Synth button allows you to add an instrument track to your project so you can preview MIDI groove clips directly from the Media Browser. This is the Delete Soft Synth button, which is used to remove the selected synth from the Preview Synth list from your project.

  • Page 68: Finding And Previewing Audio Loops

    Now that we have a general idea of how the Media Browser is laid out, let’s find some of the content that is included with SONAR and give it a listen. 1. Make sure the Media Browser view is open and visible. If it is not, click the Media Browser view button or press ALT+1.

  • Page 69: Previewing Midi Groove Clips

    In addition to audio loops, the Media Browser view also allows you to preview MIDI groove clips. Let’s try this now with one of the clips included with SONAR. Unlike audio loops, MIDI groove clips require a soft synth or instrument track to play through.

  • Page 70: Adding Loops To Your Project

    Once you have found an audio loop or MIDI groove clip that you would like to use in your project, the next important step is to add it to your project. Adding loops is easy with SONAR’s intuitive drag and drop interface.

  • Page 71: Tutorial 3 - Recording Vocals And Musical Instruments

    Tutorial 3 – Recording vocals and musical instruments One of the most important aspects of creating music in SONAR is digital audio recording. This is the process of taking the sound from a microphone or an instrument and recording it to an audio track.
  • Page 72 7. Click the track's Record Enable button Note: SONAR only allows recording to tracks that have been record enabled. This is necessary since SONAR allows for multi-track recording. This tells SONAR what track you want your new material recorded to.
  • Page 73 Record Enable button on the track should be lit in red like this: . Again, if you don't arm a track, SONAR will not know where to put the audio and the transport Record button will be disabled 4. On the Transport, click Record, or press R on your computer keyboard.

  • Page 74: Troubleshooting

    Also make sure you don't have a mono adapter going into the Line-in and that you have the Left side of your sound card (mono) chosen for input in SONAR. Previously recorded tracks are mixed into my new recordings This can happen when your soundcard is set to record everything that comes out of your computer speakers.
  • Page 75 The Windows Mixer looks like this: When you open the Windows Mixer it may be labeled Play Control or Recording Control. We want to see the recording controls. To view the recording controls in Windows XP: 1. On the Options menu, click Properties. The Properties dialog appears.

  • Page 77: Tutorial 4 - Playing And Recording Software Instruments

    Our goal in this tutorial is to add a software instrument to a project. We'll explore a few different ways they can be used with SONAR and look at some options to really make the most of them. Note: Feel free to skip to the next section if you want to start using synths right away.

  • Page 78: Adding An Instrument Track To Your Project

    Adding an instrument track to your project Adding instrument tracks to your project is easy and something you’ll find yourself doing often, so let’s explore some of the basics. For this exercise, we'll start with a blank project: 1. On the File menu, click New. 2.
  • Page 79 Let's take a quick look at DropZone. One of the first things you'll typically need to do is choose a sound. In DropZone and most other Cakewalk synths, a sound preset is referred to as a program. 1. In DropZone's Program window, click Empty Program.

  • Page 80: Recording Midi

    Recording MIDI First, we'll try recording. This only works if you have a MIDI controller. If you do not have a MIDI controller, skip ahead to the next section of this tutorial. For recording, you don't need the DropZone window open. You can close an instrument by clicking in the upper right corner.
  • Page 81 The ruler at the top of this view represents musical measures and beats. The keyboard image on the left represents what notes are being played. Click on the Draw tool . You can also enable this tool by pressing the D key on your computer keyboard.
  • Page 82 Some instruments, such as the Cakewalk TTS-1 can output more than one type of sound. These instruments are known as multi-timbral synths. They know what notes are played through each sound based on the MIDI channel they are sent over.
  • Page 83 2. Go to Tracks > Property > Output. The Track Outputs dialog appears. 3. In the MIDI Outputs list, select Cakewalk TTS-1. Press Play to play back the project. If you'd like to add your own track to play through the TTS-1, you can click on the New Track button again.

  • Page 85: Tutorial 5 - Working With Music Notation

    Tutorial 5 – Working with music notation A great way to compose in SONAR is by using the Staff view. The Staff pane displays MIDI note events as musical notation. For some musicians, this may be the most familiar and comfortable view in which to work.
  • Page 86 Next we need to configure the Staff View tools for the purpose of this tutorial: 1. Change the Display Resolution to the smallest note value. 2. Disable Fill Durations and Trim Durations 3. Select the Draw tool For this tutorial we will also change the time signature to ¾, the key to G and the staff layout to display a treble and bass clef.
  • Page 87 The rest of this tutorial will provide you with a basic overview of the notation tools. For more in depth information about all the features and functionality of the Staff View, including using the Fretboard and the Lyrics View, check out the online help in SONAR. Selecting the note value Simply select any of the note value buttons found in the center of the Staff view.

  • Page 88: Selecting Notes

    Selecting notes To select notes: 1. Click the Select tool 2. Do one of the following: • To select a single note, click the note head. • To select multiple adjacent notes, click outside the first note you want to select and drag the mouse to draw a rectangle around the desired notes.
  • Page 89 The following table shows the relationship between note durations and ticks (with the default timebase of 960 ticks per quarter note). Note Duration in ticks Whole 4:000 Half 2:000 Quarter 1:000 Eighth Sixteenth Thirty-second Deleting a note Select the Erase tool and click the note you want to delete.

  • Page 90: Adding Chord Symbols

    Adding lyrics To add a lyric event below a note: 1. Click the Draw tool 2. Enable the Lyric button 3. Position the pointer just below the note and click. A box appears where lyrics can be typed. 4. Press the space bar to quickly jump to the next note. Adding chord symbols To add a chord symbol above a note: 1.
  • Page 91 Adding expressions 1. Click the Draw tool 2. Enable the Expression button 3. Position the pointer just below a note and click. A box appears where expressions can be entered. Adding a crescendo or decrescendo/diminuendo 1. Click the Draw tool 2.

  • Page 92: Printing Your Notation

    4. To change the rastral size of the score, click Configure. The Staff View Print Configure dialog appears. For more information about the different rastral sizes, see the “Printing” topic in the SONAR SONAR online help. 5. To print the score, click Print.

  • Page 93: Tutorial 6 - Editing Your Music

    SONAR, you can actually select a part of your music with the mouse and delete/copy/paste/move it all very easily. This Tutorial will introduce SONAR's tools for making some common edits and offer a few tips to make it faster and more fun.
  • Page 94 Method 1: 1. Select the track that you want to delete measure two from. Tip: Click in the Tracks pane on the left, not the Clips pane on the right. 2. Drag in the time ruler from measure 2 through measure 3. The selected time range is highlighted.

  • Page 95: Moving Clips

    Moving clips From time to time, you may need to move clips around. If you understand selection, you're half way there already. 1. Select the section you want to move. 2. With the Free Edit tool, click the top or bottom of the selection and drag the clip to the desired location.

  • Page 96: Cropping Clips

    Cropping Clips You can crop a clip by using a gesture called slip editing. Slip editing lets you “roll out” the beginning or the end of a clip to different places without changing the position of the music. Imagine that the clips are “windows”...

  • Page 97: Undo And Redo

    While editing a project, you might make mistakes or experiment with an idea that doesn't produce the desired results. SONAR has unlimited Undo for such occasions. You can undo one step at a time by selecting Edit > Undo or by pressing CTRL+Z. You can also look at your edit history and select a time to go back to.

  • Page 99: Tutorial 7 - Mixing And Adding Effects

    Tutorial 7 – Mixing and adding effects Mixing is an important part of recording that can really help the music you create in SONAR sound its best. Mixing involves placing different instruments and sounds in layers of the frequency spectrum, adjusting levels so that tracks blend nicely, spreading them across the stereo field and adding effects where appropriate.

  • Page 100: Volume And Pan

    Adjusting volume and pan is always a good place to start when mixing. One of the biggest benefits of SONAR's Console view is that you can easily see the volume and pan controls for many tracks simultaneously, in addition to large meters. Some people also enjoy working in the Console view because it doesn't offer a graphical representation of what the music “looks like”.

  • Page 101: Adding Effects (Fx)

    The next thing we'll try is panning. As with mixing in general, there are no rules when it comes to panning. Be creative, trying different ideas to see how they sound. One important thing to consider is that when you pan two tracks that share the same frequency range away from each other they will become clearer.
  • Page 102 EQ. EQ can accentuate or turn down a certain frequency range in a sound. For example, if you have an unwanted high-pitched buzz on one of your tracks, an EQ may be able to turn that high frequency down without affecting the sound of the instrument. Reverb.
  • Page 103 Instead, we will add a single reverb effect to a bus, then send each track to that bus, at varying levels. This is where SONAR's advanced mixing environment offers a lot of flexibility. We will add a control to each track, which adjusts how loud a copy of the track's sound is sent to the bus. This will sound more natural since it's similar to the behavior of an actual acoustic space.
  • Page 104 3. Configure the Send Assistant as follows: • Click New Bus. This will create a new reverb bus instead of routing the tracks to an existing bus. • Select Stereo • In the Name box, type Reverb. • Click Choose Effect and select Audio Effects > Sonitus:fx > Reverb. •...

  • Page 105: Using Automation

    Using Automation Another feature that is important to mixing is automation. Automation lets you record changes to almost any parameter in SONAR, including track parameters, effects, synths and buses. SONAR makes this very easy. 1. Click a track's Write Automation button to enable automation recording for that track.
  • Page 106 Be creative and listen closely to the mix details in your favorite songs and albums. It's sure to provide you with inspiration for your own projects. There are also many books available on the topic, as well as thousands of add-on plug-ins that can expand your arsenal of FX. For more information, visit www.cakewalk.com: www.cakewalk.com/Products/instruments.asp Books/Videos:...

  • Page 107: Tutorial 8 - Working With Video

    Tutorial 8 – Working with video SONAR allows you to add music and sound to your videos. This tutorial will guide you through the basics of working with video inside SONAR. If you are new to SONAR, it is highly recommended you review “Tutorial 1 –...
  • Page 108 First, outlined in the image above is the drop down box Files of type. Making a selection here will determine which video formats are displayed in the dialog. SONAR supports the following digital video formats: • Windows Media (.wmv and .asf) •...
  • Page 109 Import Video dialog. Notice that SONAR imported any audio that is a part of the video as well. If the video does not have any audio already associated with it, then SONAR will create a silent audio track like in our example.

  • Page 110: What If I Don't See The Video Thumbnail Pane Or Video View

    Views > Video or pressing ALT+6. Changing the video properties SONAR allows you to make some useful changes to a video's settings for film scoring purposes. To access these settings, simply right-click in the Video view and choose Video Properties from the popup menu to open the Video Properties dialog.
  • Page 111 What it does Start Time The time in your SONAR project at which you want the video file to start playing. Trim-in Time The time in the video file at which you want video playback to start, this is useful if you don’t want to see the opening credits or the first few scenes.

  • Page 112: Working With Markers

    When syncing up audio events to film cues or video, it is common to use markers. Markers are a powerful feature in SONAR that helps to simplify the task of identifying major events in a song or video. They can be used to clarify where a verse or chorus begins in a rock tune or, in the case of film scoring, they can be used to identify hit points (points in the film where you want a musical event to synchronize with a visual event).
  • Page 113 Table 18. Close the Markers view now and take a look at the time ruler in SONAR, which spans the top of the Clips pane in the Track view. You will notice there is now an orange flag named Intro indicating where your new marker is in the project.

  • Page 114: Exporting Your Video

    Exporting your video Once you have finished with all of your music and have your video synced up as you would like it, you’ll want to mix it down to a video file that you can share with the world. 1.

  • Page 115: Tutorial 9 - Exporting, Cd Burning And Sharing

    Once your SONAR project is complete, you will want to share it with the world or burn a CD. SONAR offers many tools to help you do this. In this tutorial, we are going to explore some of the basics of these tools.
  • Page 116 You should notice that the top half of this window is very similar to the Open and Save dialogs that were discussed in “Tutorial 1 – Creating, playing, and saving projects” on page 53. This is used to navigate to locations on your computer’s hard drive and tell SONAR where you want to store the exported audio.

  • Page 117: Burning An Audio Cd

    When the progress bar disappears, SONAR has finished exporting your project. Now we need to burn our mix to a CD. SONAR features a powerful built-in CD burning application that can do this for us. Let’s open Audio Creator LE and briefly explore its features and how to use it.
  • Page 118 If you would like to share your music on the internet Note: Due to licensing restrictions, your Cakewalk software only includes a 30 day free trial of the MP3 encoder. If your 30 day trial period has expired, a full license can be purchased for unlimited use from the Cakewalk web store.

  • Page 119: Cakewalk Publisher

    Cakewalk Publisher SONAR includes Cakewalk Publisher, which is a powerful tool to share your music, artwork and playlists on the Internet. A detailed description of Publisher is beyond the scope of this tutorial, but let’s take a quick look at its basic features and how it integrates with SONAR.
  • Page 120 The following table describes a few of the buttons in the publisher interface. If you would like to explore all of the features in Publisher, click the button labeled HELP in the upper right corner of the Publisher window. Control Function Used to configure the player and generate the HTML code for pasting into your web site.

  • Page 121: New Features In Sonar 8.5

    New features in SONAR 8.5 SONAR 8.5 has many new features (some features are in SONAR Producer only). The following is a list and description of each new feature. New sound shaping effects: PX-64 Percussion Strip ........123 VX-64 Vocal Strip.
  • Page 122 Miscellaneous enhancements: Change I/O devices without restarting SONAR ..... . . 139 VST plug-in compatibility options........139...

  • Page 123: Px-64 Percussion Strip

    PX-64 Percussion Strip Note: The PX-64 Percussion Strip plug-in is only available in SONAR Producer. Figure 21. PX-64 Percussion Strip PX-64 Percussion Strip is a multi-functional plug-in that combines a series of effects specifically optimized and streamlined for drum and percussion processing. Combining transient shaping, compression, expansion, equalization, delay and tube saturation in one convenient plug-in, PX-64 Percussion Strip is designed to make it fast and easy to enhance any drum or percussion track.

  • Page 124: Vx-64 Vocal Strip

    VX-64 Vocal Strip Note: The VX-64 Vocal Strip plug-in is only available in SONAR Producer. Figure 22. VX-64 Vocal Strip VX-64 Vocal Strip is a multi-functional plug-in that combines a series of effects specifically optimized and streamlined for vocal processing. Combining compression, expansion, equalization, deessing, doubling, delay and tube saturation in one convenient plug-in, VX-64 Vocal Strip is designed to make it fast an easy to enhance any vocal track.

  • Page 125: Session Drummer 3

    Figure 23. Session Drummer 3 Session Drummer 3 is a professional drum sampler and pattern player. It features Cakewalk’s patented Expression Engine technology, an anti-aliased, real-time sound production system for multisample audio playback. Session Drummer 3 accurately replicates the sound of its real-world counterpart and features a highly-detailed user interface as well as simple but powerful controls.

  • Page 126: Alias Factor

    • An animated user interface (UI). • Controls for volume, pan and tuning of each drum kit piece. For more information, see the Session Drummer 3 online Help. Alias Factor Figure 24. Alias Factor Alias Factor combines bit crushing and low pass filtering in a unique way, allowing you to decimate your audio to create tones as varied as vintage samplers, cell phones, or old video games.

  • Page 127: Hf Exciter

    HF Exciter Figure 26. HF Exciter HF Exciter lets you enhance the higher end of the frequency spectrum. This produces the psycho- acoustic affect that the signal is brighter and clearer. This is done by adding harmonic content that is not present in the original signal.

  • Page 128: Para-Q

    Para-Q Figure 29. Para-Q Para-Q is a two-band true parametric EQ that can be used to boost or attenuate generally high or low bands of the signal. It consumes very little processing power, which allows you to use it on many tracks simultaneously.

  • Page 129: Stereo Delay

    For more information, see the StudioVerb 2 online Help. New Impulse Responses for Perfect Space SONAR 8.5 includes many new impulse responses for Perfect Space. For information about using impulse responses, see the Perfect Space online Help. Stereo Delay...

  • Page 130: Step Sequencer 2.0

    Step Sequencer 2.0 The enhanced Step Sequencer makes it easier than ever to compose patterns using a grid. New enhancements include: • The Step Sequencer interface has been streamlined to be more efficient and powerful. • The Step Sequencer is no longer dependent on drum maps, and rows can be assigned directly to the track output, or any available software instrument.

  • Page 131: Integrated Arpeggiator

    Integrated arpeggiator Each MIDI and instrument track has its own integrated arpeggiator, visually located in the Track view. The arpeggiator lets you play intricate patterns of notes that would otherwise be extremely difficult or impossible to play manually and at speeds and octave ranges that exist beyond the physical limitations of the player or keyboard range.

  • Page 132: Matrix View

    Matrix view The Matrix view is only available in SONAR Producer. The Matrix view lets you trigger individual or multiple audio and MIDI patterns, either with a computer keyboard, mouse or via MIDI remote control. The Matrix view consists of a grid, with unlimited rows and columns.

  • Page 133: Rex File Import

    The time stretching technology that REX files use is well suited for percussive sounds, such as drums. You can import REX files into a SONAR project. Once imported, you can work with REX files just as if they were regular Groove Clips (see Working Groove Clip audio).

  • Page 134: New Freeze Option

    New Freeze option The Freeze Options dialog has a new Track FX option, which allows you to either include or exclude track FX bins during freeze operations. When freezing AudioSnap clips in order to conserve CPU resources, it is often desirable to not render track FX bins.

  • Page 135: Insert Send Assistant Enhancements

    Insert Send Assistant enhancements The Insert Send Assistant dialog has an improved layout and a new Match Track’s Pan and Gain option that makes it easier to create headphone mixes. Figure 38. The Insert Send Assistant dialog When Match Track’s Pan and Gain is selected, the newly created send will have Gain and Pan settings that match those of the strip's Main Gain and Pan.

  • Page 136: Dc Offset Meter In Analyst

    DC offset meter in Analyst A. DC offset meter The DC offset meter is a bi-directional bargraph meter that lets you detect DC offset in audio. There are various ways DC offset can be introduced into a mix. DC offset can come from recording sources, software instruments, or it could be present in imported wave files.

  • Page 137: Audiosnap 2.0

    AudioSnap 2.0 AudioSnap 2.0 provides simplified workflow and introduces many enhancements that make it easier to fix timing problems in audio and align audio with the project tempo. AudioSnap 2.0 highlights include: • Audio clips are always ready to be processed via AudioSnap, without having to first enable AudioSnap on clips.

  • Page 138: Tab To Transients

    TAB to transients You can use the TAB and SHIFT+TAB keys to jump to audio transients, and MIDI Note events. In SONAR 8.5, TAB to transients is always available when the transport is idle, and is no longer dependent on AudioSnap.

  • Page 139: Change I/O Devices Without Restarting Sonar

    Cakewalk’s BitBridge technology allows you to use 32-bit VST effects and instruments when using the x64 version of SONAR. Earlier versions of SONAR x64 could load only up to 4GB worth of 32 bit plug-ins. SONAR can now use all addressable RAM in your computer.

  • Page 140: Media Browser Enhancements

    Similar to BitBridge, jBridge allows you to use 32-bit VST effects and instruments when using the x64 version of SONAR, as well as use 64-bit plug-ins when using the x86 version of SONAR. jBridge can also bridge 32-bit plug-ins in the x86 version of SONAR, allowing your computer to overcome the memory limitations of a single 32bit process.

  • Page 141: Troubleshooting

    I Don’t See the Clips Pane in the Track View ..... . . 147 Why Can’t SONAR Find My Audio Files? ......147 Why Do I Get Errors from the Wave Profiler? .

  • Page 142: Audio Dropouts Or Crash When Playing Back Large Files At Maximum Latency

    My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer When I Open Them in SONAR . 153 SONAR Can’t Find the Wavetable Synth or MPU401 ....153 I Get an Error Message When I Change a Project to 24-bit Audio .

  • Page 143: When I Play A File, I Don't Hear Anything

    When I Play a File, I Don’t Hear Anything Open a project (.cwp) and click the Play button. If you don’t hear any music, try the following suggestions: Possible problem What to do Your speakers aren’t connected Make sure your speakers are on and the volume is turned up. properly or the volume is turned down.

  • Page 144: I Can't Record From My Midi Instrument

    SONAR is not receiving MIDI data. Check you connections and try again. You have not set up SONAR to record. Make sure that 1) you have chosen an input for the track; 2) you have armed the track for recording; and 3) you have pressed the Record button, and not the Play button.

  • Page 145: When I Play A File Containing Audio, The Audio Portion Doesn't Play

    Your audio tracks are assigned to the Check the output assignment for your audio tracks in the Track pane. wrong output. SONAR doesn’t recognize your sound Choose Options > Audio, click the General tab, and then click the card. Wave Profiler button to test your audio hardware. Then, re-open the bundle file and try again.

  • Page 146: I Can't Record Any Audio

    Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder). If it fails, check your sound card documentation to make sure it is properly installed and configured. You have not set up SONAR to Make sure that 1) you have chosen an input for the track; 2) you have armed record.

  • Page 147: My Keyboard Doubles Every Note I Play

    2. Click and drag the splitter bar to the left. You should be all set. Why Can’t SONAR Find My Audio Files? SONAR looks for all audio data in a certain directory or folder, called the Data Directory, in Cakewalk Projects (or the WaveData Directory in previous versions of Cakewalk products). If you have renamed or moved either SONAR or the Data Directory, SONAR may not be able to find your audio files.

  • Page 148: Why Do I Get Errors From The Wave Profiler

    My Track or Bus Fader is Maximized, But There’s No Sound or Level SONAR has two modes that govern how fader levels function: Envelope Mode and Offset Mode. In Envelope Mode, any envelopes in the track or bus control the level, and ignore any movements you make to the fader.

  • Page 149: How Do I Use Sonar To Access All The Sounds On My Midi Instrument

    You can eliminate the echo in either of two ways: • Mute the direct signal so you only hear the sound that is processed by SONAR. If you choose this method, you may hear too much of a lag between the time you play your instrument and the time you hear it, depending on the latency of your system (using WDM audio drivers is a great way to achieve lower latency).

  • Page 150: Dropouts Happen In High Bit-Depth Or High Sample Rate Audio

    Aud.ini file. Using Notepad, open the Aud.ini located in the directory where you installed SONAR. The default value of the ExtraPluginBufs variable is 0. Try changing that value to 1, saving Aud.ini and patching in the effect that caused the dropout.

  • Page 151: I Can't Open My Project

    I Can’t Open My Project Your project may have become corrupted. You can attempt to open the project using Safe Mode. To Use Safe Mode • If you are opening a file from the Most Recently Used files list in the File menu, hold down the SHIFT key while selecting file name.

  • Page 152: No Sound From My Soft Synth

    No Sound from My Soft Synth Use the following table to troubleshoot problems hearing a synth in SONAR: Possible problem What to do Synth doesn’t sound when a • Make sure you select a MIDI channel in the MIDI track’s Output field; you recorded MIDI track is sent to it.

  • Page 153: My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer When I Open Them In Sonar

    This setting is not stored in each project file, so SONAR can’t tell precisely what dB scale was used to produce the file you’re opening. If the volume sounds incorrect: 1.

  • Page 154: Bouncing Tracks Takes A Long Time

    Bouncing Tracks Takes a Long Time By default, SONAR uses a buffer for bouncing tracks that is the same size as the Mixing Latency value that you set in the Audio Options dialog. But with some projects, especially ones that use certain soft synths, the bounce buffer needs to have its own value.
  • Page 155 For example, if the last entry in the [EffectProps View] section was: ; Waves SSL EQ Stereo XRayExclude11=1397510483 XRayExclude12={E451379E-F7E1-4E82-98D9-BEB87AC45E90} If you wanted to exclude the Cakewalk FxDelay from the X-Ray Windows feature, after creating a blank line you would type: ; Cakewalk FxDelay XRayExclude13={985DAF67-589F-4B8D-8BBC-D7AD651B9022}...

  • Page 156: File Recovery Mode

    (SONAR requests Windows to flush this buffer after a file save operation). • A plug-in can corrupt the SONAR's memory space causing invalid data to be written to disk when the project is saved.
  • Page 157 • Detects corrupt data and skips over "chunks" that are found to be invalid. E.g., if a track/event is detected to contain invalid data, SONAR will attempt to skip over that track/event and proceed to load the next track/event (only applies when the original project fails to load normally).

  • Page 159: Glossary

    Glossary Aftertouch MIDI property controlling how much pressure is applied after sending a Note On message. See “Channel aftertouch (ChanAft)” on page 160 and “Key aftertouch (KeyAft)” on page 164. AIFF Short for Audio Interchange File Format, the audio file format on the Macintosh platform. Files in this format have the extension .aif or .aiff.
  • Page 160 Cakewalk Application Language (CAL) An event-processing language that extends Cakewalk with custom editing commands. Useful for applying quantization, humanization, or other instant changes to MIDI events.
  • Page 161 Music or sound recorded digitally, as on a compact disk as opposed to an analog signal recorded to tape. Direct Memory Access. DMA settings determine how your computer’s sound card communicates with Cakewalk. See the online Help topic The Wave Profiler for information about how to change DMA settings.
  • Page 162 Utility for getting synthesizer data into a bank. Duration In SONAR’s Step Record dialog box, duration means the actual length of time that a note sounds, as opposed to the notated value of the note, which could be different. If you check the Follow Step Size option in the dialog box, the notated value and the duration are the same.
  • Page 163 See the online Help topic Recording audio. Global layout The arrangement of your views as the appear in Cakewalk. You can save layouts to use with other projects. See the online Help topic Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings.

  • Page 164: Input Monitoring

    See the online Help topic Choosing an input. Input monitoring Hearing real-time playback of a track's input as it is being sent to, or recorded, in SONAR. You can enable input monitoring with a track’s Input Echo button. Inspector menu (same as context menu) Menu appropriate for a particular location or item.
  • Page 165 Live mode Temporary condition of a project with all automation turned off. You can toggle back and forth between live mode and regular mode by clicking the Live Mode button. Locked (SMPTE) time Locks a marker to a specified time from the start of the music. Not affected by changes in tempo or time signature.
  • Page 166 MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The means by which computers communicate with most sound cards, keyboards, and other electronic instruments. Note: MIDI data does not contain any audio data. Mixdown Combination of two or more audio tracks into a stereo submix. See the online Help topic Routing and Mixing Digital Audio.

  • Page 167: Pitch Bend

    Offset Shift (time, key, velocity) by a specified number of units. For example, you could offset the start of a track by two measures. Overload Loss of audio information caused by the audio level exceeding 0 db. Degree to which a sound or piece of music comes from the left or right speaker. This control is commonly used to adjust the level of a signal in different channels.
  • Page 168 Project pitch Also known as the default project pitch. The project pitch is the pitch that all groove clips and ACIDized loops in your project follow if there are no pitch markers in the project. You can set the project pitch in the Markers toolbar. Property Any attribute or value belonging to an object.

  • Page 169: Slip Editing

    Sensitivity (window) Distance from a timing grid a note has to be to be unaffected, or affected less, by quantizing. Shape An automation envelope created in the Track view or Console view. Size The number of events in a track, listed in the Size column of the Tracks window. This number changes every time you add or delete events to or from that track.
  • Page 170 Each bank can hold any number of messages; the amount of data it can hold is limited only by available memory. The banks are saved in the Cakewalk song file. Each bank can also be saved as a .syx file in the format used by the public domain MIDIEX utility.
  • Page 171 WASAPI WASAPI (short for Windows Audio Session Application Programming Interface) is a new driver model available in SONAR that allows it to communicate with the new audio features in Windows Vista. Windows Driver Model—low-latency audio driver that bypasses the operating system’s audio streaming software so that the driver can communicate directly with the sound card and the audio application.
  • Page 173 154 Bus pane docking views in 38 Defining instruments 26 Buses 32 DMA settings 24 Docking views 38 Cakewalk Publisher 119 Clips 27 Echo selecting 30 eliminating during recording 149 selecting partial 30 Electric Guitar Clips pane...
  • Page 174 Errors Wave Profiler 148 Keyboard Event List view 35 – connecting MIDI 16 connecting to computer 18 notes doubling on 147 FAQs 141 File opening 28 Layouts 45 File extensions Locking views 39 .cwp 26 Loop Construction view 35 File menu Lyrics view 36 Open 28 File Recovery Mode 156...
  • Page 175 Scoring film and video 13 Options menu – Screen colors 47 Colors 47 Settings MIDI Devices 25 migrating from previous version of Cakewalk 24 SONAR – Partial clips features of 11 selecting 30 installing 16 Patches uninstalling 51 downloading 141...
  • Page 176 Zoom Transport toolbar 46 keyboard shortcuts 38 Troubleshooting 141 Zoom Controls 37 Tutorial 5 Working with Music Notation 85 Uninstalling SONAR 51 Updates 141 USB audio 24 bit problems 153 – Views 28 allowing multiple instances of the same 39...

  • Page 177: License Agreement

    2. OWNERSHIP OF THE PRODUCT. Portions of the Product incorporate certain material proprietary to third parties. Cakewalk and licensors of Cakewalk own and will retain all title, copyright, trademark and other proprietary rights in and to the Product. This License is NOT a sale of the Prod- uct or any copy of it.
  • Page 178 VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. 7. LIMITATIONS ON REMEDIES. Cakewalk's liability in contract, tort or otherwise arising in connection with the Product shall not exceed the pur- chase price of the Product. IN NO EVENT SHALL CAKEWALK BE LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, TORT OR CONSEQUENTIAL...

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