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REPLY TO A NEWBEE SONAR USER


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FROM A NEWBEE SONAR USER

 

"I need an option, I've been trying to use Sonar Pro as software for my studio recording, I'm totally frustrated with my learning curve, what is another option without breaking the bank, kind of like Garage Band, but for Windows, if not I can return to my stand alone recorders, thanks for your replies"

 

MY ADVISE

 

Sonar USED TO be the easiest to learn, for me, back 15 years ago, but they have added so much to it. Eventually you will get it. Just don't get bogged down by all of the extras. Don't worry about PLUGINS and special effects initially. Start off by trying to lay down some audio tracks. Then perhaps a few MIDI tracks. Then learn to make those MIDI tracks into audio. Then effects and finally plugins. Don't be overwhelmed by the tech.

 

DAN

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I think that's good advice for ANY DAW. If you think about it, a DAW is equivalent to a $250K-$500K studio from not that long ago when you consider the "backline" of plug-ins and virtual instruments. No one expected to walk into Record Plant and master it in a week, let alone a year. Yet that's pretty much what you're doing with a DAW.

 

As to SONAR, last November it added a feature called "Lenses" that let you "focus" on different parts of the program based on what you were doing. For example if all you did was straight ahead audio recording and no MIDI, you could pretty much take the MIDI functionality temporarily out of the picture. Or you could create a "Lens" just for mastering or mixing or whatever. The object was to simplify the amount of "stuff" with which someone had to work.

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Templates are a great way to get up and running fast - there are project templates, mix templates, track templates, etc. Sonar ships with some preset ones, and in the Cakewalk Forum there are people that share some, too.

 

Also - get on YouTube and search on Sonar Platinum and you'll get a bunch of videos to watch. They vary in quality, but many are quite good and even seasoned types can glean new ideas from videos advertised as basic sometimes.

 

Sonar is very customizable - if you want it to come up with 8 audio tracks, ready to record and very little else to fuss with, it can certainly be set up that way.

 

Best thing is to just jump in, add some blank tracks, make a few connections and start recording. Tackle one piece at a time...

 

nat

 

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This is a brilliant feature - something that would be possible in Reaper but is not built-in. The ability to focus on what you're doing is a way to get past feature bloat without losing the advanced capabilities you need only 1 or 2 percent of the time.

Hmmm... I might have to look into implenting something like this. Probably after retiring from my day job, when I have a bit more personal bandwidth....

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Okay, my situation is a little different. I was heavily involved with Sonar until about 10-12 years ago. I was writing a lot of electronic music and also playing a fair amount of acoustic piano. However, I have spent most of the last 10-12 years traveling the world and taking photos with virtually no music. I decided I miss composing a lot more than acoustic piano and just got the Sonar Platinum Package. It is soooooo different from the "old days" I really had no idea what to do. I started by doing two things which helped immensely: 1) I started with remixing, in this case old Sonar projects which were now missing plug-ins etc. and no longer sounded good to my ear and 2) watching Cakewalk University Videos. If you don't have old Sonar projects, try importing some audio data. Learning about the interface, mixing, automation etc., is a process and I found I had improved much after remixing just 3 tunes. My speed got much better as well. I also watched 3-5 Sonar Videos a day. Many are short like 3 minutes and a few are about 5, but they give great insight into the program. If you begin with the "Getting Started" videos, they are basic and will tell you much about what you want to know. My next task will be to taking one of my acoustic piano songs and re-write it as an electronic piece, then I think I will be ready to start composing from scratch again. It has not been an overnight process, but I've learned way more in the past 3-4 weeks than I thought possible. Good luck with your learning curve!

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