S
Speechless
New member
How many soundmen does it take to change a light bulb? Two, two...two two
Anyway...I've been a Cakewalk user since it was simply a midi programming utility and for playing live (ver 3). When they came out with the audio capable versions I was all over them. Some of the earlier ones sucked a bit but still weren't all that bad. I finally settled with PA9 and loved it. In fact I was living in the boonies way up on Vancouver Island and recorded my last four instrumental CDs on it using a pent 3 /533 with 128 ram. I'm back in Vancouver and realized I needed to upgrade in a huge way. Even though my recordings were sounding really good and being used for several radio program intros and getting various radio and satellite coverage it was time to move on up. So I bought a used 3 gHz machine with a GB ram and an
M-Audio Fast Track Pro as well as a version of Sonar 5 PE. It would seem that
Cakewalk has changed more than they'd ever changed in the past. The program I'd learned to love looked like "Pro Tools" or Cubase" or some other prog that I was 100% unfamiliar with. I'm sure I can and will figure it out but I'd like to ask a couple questions of the community and get some feeback.
I use XP Professional...
01.) I've got Sonar PE 5 & 7...is one more desirable than the other? Some stuff already bugs me like not being able to pull up the tuner as a tool but instead having to patch it into either a track or as a buss to access it for any particular instrument I happen to be recording. That's just one thing that has me wondering if maybe one version of Producer's Edition is much better than another. Remember the Cakewalk Pro Audio days had some dud versions like version "8"...awefull. Six was OK but it seemed like 7 & 8 were rushed and it showed. Version 9 was cool and the one I ended up happily settling with for a long time. It was a breeze to record with and even easier to use the "Auxilaries" for effects.
What version of Sonar should I be using if I stay with Producer's Edition at all?
02.) Is it time for me to possibly look at using a completely different recording suite...ie: cubase / pro tools etc... since it looks like I'm going to have to learn this one from the bottom up.
I always stayed away from Cubase, Pro Tools and other popular recording packages only because they all looked so foreign to me. Cakewalk always stayed with their basic look and if you were a Cakewalk user you pretty much stayed using it as things progressed because it stayed familiar looking and a lot of the functions remained the same throughout the years. I suppose that's still a little true in some of the ways it loks and functions but really it's operating more like one of the others I mentioned ealier in this post.
If I stick to my guns and stay with Cakewalk's new recording environment will I benifit overall? This question can only be asnwered by users who have had experience using several recording platforms.
I have system I usually stick with when starting up and recording a new composition. I say "Usually" because sometime's I'll get creative and try something completely different just for the sake of "trying it out". I record my basic drums and bass using my Roland JV-80, bounce them down to an audio track and mix it down so I can import it into "Acid". There I add percussion, sound effects and anything else I think sounds cool. I render down the "Acid" tracks and return to Cakewalk where I import them and go back to work layering guitar, bass and keyboard lines. Eventually I'll arrive at a point that I'll consider "completed" ...mix it down and master it using Sound Forge. That's it. I'm off to start the next composition. That seems to be the most common way I do things. I venture off in different directions when feeling extra creative but for the most part that's the formula that works best for me. I thought I'd add that just to give you an idea of where I'm at when it comes to using the software.
So any insight regarding the two questions I'm asking would be gratefully appreciated. See if you can talk me into or out of sticking with Cakewalk or moving over to one of the other recording platforms. Anything you can add will help. More info is good info.
Pardon me for such a long post! I do look forward to your responses.
Best regards,
Speechless (Howard Bailey)
Anyway...I've been a Cakewalk user since it was simply a midi programming utility and for playing live (ver 3). When they came out with the audio capable versions I was all over them. Some of the earlier ones sucked a bit but still weren't all that bad. I finally settled with PA9 and loved it. In fact I was living in the boonies way up on Vancouver Island and recorded my last four instrumental CDs on it using a pent 3 /533 with 128 ram. I'm back in Vancouver and realized I needed to upgrade in a huge way. Even though my recordings were sounding really good and being used for several radio program intros and getting various radio and satellite coverage it was time to move on up. So I bought a used 3 gHz machine with a GB ram and an
M-Audio Fast Track Pro as well as a version of Sonar 5 PE. It would seem that
Cakewalk has changed more than they'd ever changed in the past. The program I'd learned to love looked like "Pro Tools" or Cubase" or some other prog that I was 100% unfamiliar with. I'm sure I can and will figure it out but I'd like to ask a couple questions of the community and get some feeback.
I use XP Professional...
01.) I've got Sonar PE 5 & 7...is one more desirable than the other? Some stuff already bugs me like not being able to pull up the tuner as a tool but instead having to patch it into either a track or as a buss to access it for any particular instrument I happen to be recording. That's just one thing that has me wondering if maybe one version of Producer's Edition is much better than another. Remember the Cakewalk Pro Audio days had some dud versions like version "8"...awefull. Six was OK but it seemed like 7 & 8 were rushed and it showed. Version 9 was cool and the one I ended up happily settling with for a long time. It was a breeze to record with and even easier to use the "Auxilaries" for effects.
What version of Sonar should I be using if I stay with Producer's Edition at all?
02.) Is it time for me to possibly look at using a completely different recording suite...ie: cubase / pro tools etc... since it looks like I'm going to have to learn this one from the bottom up.
I always stayed away from Cubase, Pro Tools and other popular recording packages only because they all looked so foreign to me. Cakewalk always stayed with their basic look and if you were a Cakewalk user you pretty much stayed using it as things progressed because it stayed familiar looking and a lot of the functions remained the same throughout the years. I suppose that's still a little true in some of the ways it loks and functions but really it's operating more like one of the others I mentioned ealier in this post.
If I stick to my guns and stay with Cakewalk's new recording environment will I benifit overall? This question can only be asnwered by users who have had experience using several recording platforms.
I have system I usually stick with when starting up and recording a new composition. I say "Usually" because sometime's I'll get creative and try something completely different just for the sake of "trying it out". I record my basic drums and bass using my Roland JV-80, bounce them down to an audio track and mix it down so I can import it into "Acid". There I add percussion, sound effects and anything else I think sounds cool. I render down the "Acid" tracks and return to Cakewalk where I import them and go back to work layering guitar, bass and keyboard lines. Eventually I'll arrive at a point that I'll consider "completed" ...mix it down and master it using Sound Forge. That's it. I'm off to start the next composition. That seems to be the most common way I do things. I venture off in different directions when feeling extra creative but for the most part that's the formula that works best for me. I thought I'd add that just to give you an idea of where I'm at when it comes to using the software.
So any insight regarding the two questions I'm asking would be gratefully appreciated. See if you can talk me into or out of sticking with Cakewalk or moving over to one of the other recording platforms. Anything you can add will help. More info is good info.
Pardon me for such a long post! I do look forward to your responses.
Best regards,
Speechless (Howard Bailey)
Last edited:
I just wanted to make sure everybody did.
