Anyone have Sonar 6

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

Debating getting 6. I have Sonar 5 and have a hard time with it. I mostly use pro audio 9.

I downloaded a Rapture trial version and can't figure that out either.

What say?

Larry Clark · From: Herndon, VA.

Ken, Have you checked this site out yet?
http://forum.cakewalk.com/default.asp

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

Larry: I hadn't seen that forum yet. I do have Dimension Pro so I think I'll skip rapture and just get Sonar6.

Bob Martin · From: Madison Tn

Hi Ken, I upgraded about a month ago ie when it was 1st available. I have found that the transposition feature that is new was worth the whole upgrade price for me. 149.00

Say a client changes his mind on what key he wants his song in you can transpose your audio with stellar results. I've moved guitar parts an d vocals as far as 2 steps with 0 artifacts.

It has a formant algorithm that takes care of those and it is self settable. It has many other features that I haven't used yet like quantizing audio. I can't wait to tighten up my sloppy drumming Smile

.

My advice is if you can afford it and you like to tweak your songs it's a must have. I am someone that loves technology although I also believe that technology is not now and never will be a replacement for good old fashion talent :-)

Bob

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

Hi Bob: I ordered Sonar 6 this morning. It just looked like it had so many new features, I just had to get it. I'm glad you agree. Would you mind if I emailed you with some questions if I have any, once I get it?

Bob Martin · From: Madison Tn

No problem Ken, what little I know I'll be glad to help you with it.

Bob

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

Wouldn't you know it. I received the Sonar 6 upgrade package today and there was no serial number written on the CD enclosure, so I can't load it. Now I have to call them and see if I can get that straightened around. All the money I've spent on them, it makes me very unhappy. I guess I'll see what happens now.

In addition, my email receipt was for $179 but the price on the packing slip is $619. That BETTER be a mistake as well, or they will hear me screaming all the way to the head of the company.

This part is not fun.

Well, got it solved by calling cakewalk and a half hour wait on hold. At least it's loaded now.

[This message was edited by Ken Lang on 02 November 2006 at 09:28 AM.]

Bob Martin · From: Madison Tn

Well Ken, I'm glad you got it all straightened out. I've never had that problem but I've heard plenty of those kind of stories. I've always ordered mine off their site and they instantly email me with the SN and registration number so it's ready to go when I get it.

I just tried out changing the speed of a complete song this week with great success. I changed a song from 100 bpm's to 150 bpm's with out any artifacts or weirdness at all even the reverb and delay on the lead guitar was kept pristine. The more I use VS 6 the more I'm impressed.

I can't ever imagine needing to change the speed of a song that much but if it will do 50 bpm's without any problems it will work on the minor speed and length changes great too.

Bob

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

I've got one more problem to solve to be a happy camper. My audio outputs in my computer are soundMAX Digital audio. That's what takes it to my speakers. There is no choice like that in the sonar output box. So I'm stuck with having it go to my firebox or guitar port. Output A doesn't do anything.

It's driving me nuts. I had the same problem in sonar 5 which is why I never really used it.

Larry Clark · From: Herndon, VA.

Ken, Check out this link

You might consider getting a dedicated soundcard for recording.

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

Thanks Larry, for that link. I haven't had any midi problems, but that may be because I run it thru a JV-1010 sound module first. I still get the sounds that the card puts out, but no problems. The folks on the Sonar forum are in one voice that I need a different sound card. I'll run it through my firebox, which cakewalk has listed, and see what difference there is.

Bob Martin · From: Madison Tn

Hi Ken, I had no idea that you were trying to use the on board sound card for recording in Sonar. I'd suggest getting a low priced PCI sound card that Sonar can use or a USB2 or Fire wire box.

Almost always and I mean 99% of the time it's a waste of time and energy to try to record with an on board sound card. There are plenty of choices under 200.00 bucks that will do very nicely with Sonar. email me if you want/need more info of buying a new card.

Bob

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

Actually, tho everybody poo-poos it, the soundMAX card I have doesn't sound all that bad. As a plus, I finally figured out how to use the Dimension Pro MIDI voices, and they sound real fine. It is rather time consuming and memory consuming, but I'll play with it to get familiar with the ins and outs.

I am thinking that I will get a soundcard at some point. I would be looking in the 4-$500 range and probably an external unit. There is just too much stuff inside the computer case already.

At any rate I appreciate all the help and suggestions and if anyone has more to add......keep it coming.
Ken

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

After much searching for soundcards, I had settled on an EMU unit. I talked a length with a rep at Sweetwater about what I was looking for, that is, better MIDI sounds. While he agreed the EMU would be better sound than what I have, he was worried that I might not be all that satisfied with it.

He called back a few minutes later and said that what I was looking for would be better served by a software program called Bandstand, by Native Instruments. It's a sound system for the GM family. From what I heard on the samples, it has better sounds than the EMU....And I don't have to dig in the computer to change cards. So I ordered it. I'll see how good it is when I get it loaded.

Bob Martin · From: Madison Tn

Hi Ken, I'll bet you'll like Bandstand. I've heard some samples and it sounds good. I use a sampler for my sounds and basically that's what Bandstand is. NI just takes their samples and incorporates them into a plug in GM synth module.

Tascam makes one too that I have called GVI I use it due to me already having 500 GB of samples from Tascam and they will work with GVI made by Tascam.

So I'll bet you'll love it. The only song I've heard that was made with Bandstand is the one on PG music's BIAB site trying to sell Bandstand. I thought it sounded just fine. Those darn things seem awful expensive to me but once you buy it all you have to do is keep it upgraded every year.

Bob

Steve Stallings · From: Houston/Cypress, Texas

Ken,
Someone is selling a Lexicon Omega USB interface in Buy and Sell for $200. You might wish to give it a try.

I use Sonar 6PE and have every version of Sonar from the beginning. It's a really nice program that has an initial steep learning curve. Once you get over the hump, it gets really fun.

------------------

Steve Stallings
The Songs

Gary Shepherd · From: Fox, Oklahoma, USA

I use NI Bandstand sometimes. Nothing will replace a real instrument played by a real human. But as far as MIDI synths go, Bandstand is a pretty good GM module.

I'm still on Sonar 5. I don't plan to upgrade yet. Maybe next year when 7 comes out if there's anything I feel that's really needed.

For now, 5 does everything I need.

------------------
Gary Shepherd

Carter D-10

www.16tracks.com

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

After a week and a half I finally got Bandstand to work after some help from a N.I. tech. I'm still unclear about getting audio to work with it, but the first hurdle is over.

When I download a file to Sonar and bring in Bandstand, it plays but I can hear no sound.

All in all, bandstand is just another tool to make things sound a little better and less time consuming than using Dimension Pro, which has the best sounds of all.

Maybe now I can stop playing a computer person and get back to playing music.

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