Sonar / Cakewalk

Sonar 6's new 'channel strip' offers multiple routings that enable techniques such as parallel compression, frequency-conscious dynamics control and side-chaining.

Sonar seems to get more customisable with every version, and the newly released Sonar 6 is no exception, allowing you to tweak various aspects of appearance and operation until the program looks and feels just the way you want it.

As video becomes more accessible, Cakewalk have taken notice, adding a lot of video-friendly features to Sonar 5. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to combine the worlds of audio and video within the program.

The Pentagon I soft synth bundled with Sonar 5 is a powerhouse that even offers vocoding facilities. If you've overlooked it so far, remedy the situation with our tips, tricks and programming guide.

Sonar offers several ways to mix, but is that a benefit or a source of confusion? Learn what the various mix modes do and you can choose the one that's right for your project.

If you never venture into Sonar's off-line DSP section, now could be the time to check it out, following Cakewalk's v5 revamp of these useful functions.

The technology for easily achieving an expensively produced effect when recording guitars is becoming more and more accessible. We take a look at what Sonar has to offer in this department, and examine other tools for creating killer guitar sounds.

In a program as complex and feature-rich as Sonar, it's almost inevitable that there are useful little facilities that could make your life easier, which you have somehow overlooked or forgotten. We turn the spotlight on some of the best.

Now that the RXP REX-file player is bundled with the Producer Edition of Sonar 5, the creative possibilities of REX files have really opened up for Sonar users. We take a tour around RXP and discuss its features and uses.

Take the trouble to discover the ways of moving around your project quickly and efficiently: it saves time and improves workflow.

The Cyclone 'groove sampler' DXi, bundled free with Sonar, is a powerful tool that allows loops of all kinds to be dissected, manipulated and generally bent to your will...

Cakewalk have strengthened the MIDI side of Sonar 5 considerably, in recognition of the rise of software synths that benefit from enhanced MIDI controllability. We run through some of the new features and suggest how you might want to use them...

When the version number's most significant digit increments, you know something big is going to happen — what's inside Version 5?

This modest little soft synth has been bundled with Sonar since version 1.0 and is very kind to your CPU resources, yet many Sonar users are still unaware of just how much you can squeeze out of it. We present some evidence.

Sonar technology takes over Cakewalk's entire product line, from low to high end, while the Studio and Producer editions get an audio engine tune-up. Read all about it...

Both Sonar Producer Edition and Studio Edition offer several choices for dynamics processing. How do you pick the right one for the job?

More screen space without having to buy a second monitor — just one of the Sonar nuggets we've got for you this month...

Sonar 4 offers excellent loop editing facilities, and here we're going to show you how to use them.

This month more about 64-bit computing and details of a Mackie control-surface update for Sonar users — and we offer handy tips on taming mute tools and MIDI notes.

When is an EQ not just an EQ? When it's the Sonar v4 Producer Edition Sonitus EQ and you use it for some of the amazing processing tricks we're about to explain!

Sonar LE appears, we find a utility that lets you zoom with a mouse wheel, and Project 5 slightly changes direction...