SONAR NOTES

More tips on using DX Instruments, and some nifty things you can do with the Tape Sim plug-in. In addition, a great way to audition audio loops before you import them, along with advice on how to create audio crossfades.

Here you can see Steinberg's HALion and Native Instruments' FM7 playing back at the same time in Sonar. Even though I had to run HALion through the FXpansion VST-DX Wrapper to get Sonar to recognize it, the timing remained impeccable.

As usual, there's quite a bit going on in the world of Sonar. There aren't any new updates this month, but that's okay — I'm still absorbing the last one. However, new instruments and plug-ins continue to appear, and it looks like the DXi standard is here to stay. Let's investigate further.

When a company tries to launch a new standard, as Cakewalk did with the DX Instrument spec, it always takes some time for that standard to gain support — assuming that it ever enjoys any support at all. Fortunately, the number of DX Instruments continues to grow. Last month SpeedSoft announced their DXi version of VSampler; now Native Instruments has introduced the FM7 FM synthesis plug-in, which works with both VST 2 and DXi standards.

I helped write the FM7 manual, so I'm very familiar with it — it's a great instrument to have available for the Sonar platform. If you're a fan of FM synthesis, you'll flip over the algorithm creation page. You're no longer limited to the set of algorithms traditionally supplied with Yamaha synths, but can pretty much feed any operator back to any other operator, and even route the signal through filter and distortion 'operators'. I tried the DXi version with Sonar, and it worked right away (unlike Battery, which needed another revision before it became 'Sonar-friendly') — good stuff.

Steinberg's HALion is another virtual instrument making a big splash. This VST 2 sampler reads Gigasampler files as well as Akai, WAV, SoundFonts, and other file formats. I've tested it with Sonar using FXpansion's VST-DX Wrapper, and it works fine. The only glitch I've found is that, when you tick the filter response check boxes, the indicators don't match where you clicked (you're right — the indicators are wrong). Other than that, it was wonderful to open up Gigasampler files within Sonar.

You've also probably seen Martin Walker's SOS review of the FXpansion DR008 drum synth/sampler, which also works as a DX Instrument. It's yet another useful and creative instrument; see PC Notes in December 2001 for more details.

So, between the growing support for DXi synths and the ability to run VST Instruments with a wrapper, matters are progressing nicely. Now, if only there were a way for DXi to handle multiple outputs... next version, please?

Even the most macho computers can't run a sophisticated hard disk recorder along with loads of processor-hogging virtual effects and synthesizers. The best approach with virtual instruments is to convert the outputs into digital audio tracks as soon as possible, even if they're only for a reference, as a hard disk track uses much less CPU power than a virtual instrument. Here's how to do it.

First, assign your virtual instrument to an audio track by right-clicking in the FX field and selecting an instrument. Then assign a MIDI track's output to the instrument track and record your part into the MIDI track. Now, solo both the instrument and MIDI track and play the part, checking for proper levels on the instrument track and on the buss it's feeding. As usual, you want to get as close as possible to 0dBFS, but without hitting it.

Once the levels are correct, select Bounce To Track(s) from the Edit menu. Tell the dialogue box what track number to use, and its source buss (ie. the audio buss fed by the instrument). Leave all the Mix Enable boxes checked except for Master FX. Click on OK, and Sonar creates a hard disk audio track from the instrument output. For convenience, move this track in the Track Pane (click in the empty space to the right of the track's name, and drag) so it's close to the related instrument and MIDI tracks.

Now you can turn off the instrument by clicking on the little green indicator in the instrument track's FX field, thus letting the CPU breathe a bit more easily. Keep the MIDI part, though, because it requires virtually no memory or CPU power. This means that it won't be a problem if you later decide to change the instrument part; all you'll have to do to update the part is mute the hard disk audio track, or erase it if you're certain you won't use it, re-enable the instrument by clicking on the button you used previously to disable it, and then edit or replay the MIDI part, following the steps above to create the new hard disk track.

Sonar includes several plug-ins which, while not the most spectacular in the world, are generally quite usable. One of my favourites, though — and certainly one of the most underrated — is Tape Sim. You can find this effect by right-clicking on an audio track's FX field and browsing through the Cakewalk Audio Effects. Here are a few tips on using this beast.

It may seem like tape simulation is something you'd want to use only for final mixes, so that the master has a 'crunched' tape sound, but I find it eminently suited to individual tracks. Kick drums can become really punchy, drum loops gain level by a sort of 'hard' compression, and effete basses can become aggressive and rude.

I find that it's best to keep the output gain low as you tweak your sound. The key control is Rec Level, which sets the level and 'hardness', while the Warmth control adds the 'crunch'. For a really crunchy sound, set Rec Level and Warmth to maximum, and pull back Input Gain until the degree of nastiness is just right. Finally, adjust the Output Gain to avoid clipping the track.

Experiment with the Tape Speed and EQ Curve controls; they affect the overall tonality. One of the best uses of the Tape Sim is with a kick-drum track, and the LF Boost switch is Cakewalk's gift to dance-music kick drums. Dial up the right amount of distortion, then add LF Boost. The end result is a kick drum that can move mountains. Click the bypass switch from time to time to get a dose of reality. You might be shocked at how much you can raise the overall level without hearing objectionable levels of clipping.

Before we get off the topic of tape simulation entirely, here's one last trick. It's time to unlock Sonar's secret white noise generator. Select an audio track for the white noise, and call up Tape Sim in the FX field. Sonar won't let you process an empty track, so place some audio on the track. I usually copy a little piece of audio from another track, then paste it after the end of the song so it's out of the way. You generally don't want to hear anything playing while the noise is going.

Now press Play. On the Tape Sim, turn up the Hiss and Output Gain controls. Note that you will not hear hiss if Tape Speed is set to flat; I prefer the 7.5ips setting, but that's a matter of taste. Try 15 and 30 as well. You should now hear the hiss. I like to follow the noise with something like FXpansion's Autopole, and play with the LFOs and amplitude controls to create cool effects. Enable the track being 'processed' for recording, go into record, and you'll record the results. Amazingly enough, with a little filtering and reverb, you can generate some very useful sounds.

And after touching on that relatively bizarre application, we'll sign off for this issue. Until next time, remember that machines don't kill music, people do. Where would guitarists be if they hadn't figured out to bend strings? Bend your software and your computer, too — push them as far as they'll go!

Better Crossfades     The crossfade icon is in the extreme upper left-hand corner. Next to it is the drop-down menu with the various curve options; here, the Fast Out - Linear In curve is selected. The area it is applied to is shaded in grey. One important, though overlooked, addition in Sonar's version 1.3 is a far more flexible way to do fades and crossfades. You can now choose three different types of fade curve (linear, fast, and slow) and nine different crossfade curves. Applying crossfades is quite painless. Click on the crossfade icon to the immediate right of the snap-to-grid icon, then click on the little arrow to the right of the crossfade icon, and select the appropriate curve from the drop-down menu. Move the cursor to the upper right corner of an audio clip to create a fade-out, or to the upper left corner to fade in. The cursor turns into a little triangle, which you click and drag to define the fade length. For a crossfade, slide the two pieces of audio to be crossfaded together; the overlapping region will have the crossfade. There's one caution. If you change your mind about a crossfade and slide one of the pieces of audio back so that it no longer overlaps, the crossfade curves will remain as a fade-in and fade-out on the two clips that used to overlap. If this is what you want, fine. Otherwise, always remember to use the undo command to get back to where you were before sliding the two pieces of audio apart.

Get Your Groove On: The Multitrack Loop Explorer     Several loops have been selected in the Loop Explorer window. Clicking on the Play button plays them all at once. If Auto is enabled, additional loops play as soon as they're selected. The Loop Explorer window's main function is to audition loops, which you can then import into the program and convert into Groove Clips. But you can also audition multiple loops simultaneously in this window. This is particularly good with 'construction kit' sample CDs that might have several loops for snare, hi-hat, percussion, and so on; you can test the parts together to see how well they work. Similarly, you could check out how a bass loop sounds with a particular drum loop. Unless the loops are 'Acid-ised' Groove Clip loops, you're limited to loops of the same tempo if you want them to all play together. Also, you can't include loops from more than one folder. Nonetheless, multitrack loop exploration is still a very useful technique. Here's how you do it: click on the first loop to select it and click the Loop Explorer's Play button; Ctrl-click to select or deselect loops. I prefer to enable the Loop Explorer's Auto Preview button so that, whenever you select a loop, you hear it play with the others. If Auto Preview is off, then you need to hit the Play button every time you select a new loop if you want to hear it. This works best for loops stored on your hard drive. Loops auditioned from CD-ROMs are OK too, but because they're slower, the audio engine may stop when you add another loop, necessitating a quick click on the Play button. After selecting all the loops you want to use, drag them en masse over to the track view pane.

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