Sonar 6

Just like iTunes 7 introduced significant feature additions compared to the previous version, Cakewalk has rolled out some enhancements to their flagship sequencing sofware that Sonar users would definitely appreciate. If you’re a Sonar user and were always wondering when a good time to upgrade was, I’m telling you that NOW is the time!

And from the features I’ve listed below… I’m now escalating my view of the my previous post, from “I want this” to “It will be mine.” – last time I said that was for the T5… hehehe. It will fucking be mine!

I just hope it would be out by the time were in the US (they say it might be released Jan next year pa)

Here’s a rundown of the new features according to the site. Enhancements which I personally liked and have been waiting for are in boldface, personal notes are italicized

• Active Controller Technology (ACT): dynamically re-maps effect, mix and instrument parameters to hardware controllers I haven’t tried this, but from what I understand, it seems that you can use a limited surface controller and expect say a fader to affect a specific paramerter depending on which plugin/track/etc. you’re focused on. Which is a perfect excuse for me to get that AlphaTrack controller
• AudioSnap™ Multitrack Audio Quantize
• AudioSnap suite of tools includes:
• Non-destructive audio quantize
• Lock multiple tracks into the same groove
• Apply seamless tempo changes to audio
• Convert audio beats to MIDI
• Slip-stretch clips to a new time or length
• High-quality time stretching algorithms including iZotope Radius™, Percussion Mode, more
• VC-64 Vintage Channel™—warm sound, dual EQ and compressor stages, analog component modeling, presets by professionals I’m not sure if this is even in the same ballpark with the SSL busmaster plugin quality, but it’s free, so I’m not complaining.
• Session Drummer™ 2 instrument with professional multi-sampled drum kits, hundreds of live-recorded, vital patterns
• New Synth Rack makes managing, controlling, and automating your instruments simple I accidentally killed the “icon” on the racks and I can’t seem to get them back! But otherwise, this is a cool update
• Console view redesigned for ergonomic mixing I can’t really say that it’s more “ergonomic,” Its just a matter of what layout a person prefers, so this is really subjective. Given the way I use the console view, whatever “improvements” Sonar 6 had didn’t really affect anything.
• Modular Transport provides easy playback control and vital visual feedback I’ve been waiting forever for this one. Honestly I think this is subjective since you have a transport strip above (in the toolbars) anyways, so “visibility” isn’t an issue (it’s always visible) – but all other DAW software have it, so it’s more of a “tradition”… like having a lava-lamp in your studio. ¹ Speaking of which, I better put that on my wishlist.
• Analyst spectrum analyzer I haven’t seen this yet, but I’m stoked about it! I’m sure it’ll be awesome. The fact that it has a spectrum analyzer now is already cause for celebration.
• Clip editing enhancements including lock to time, clip data lock with options for specific atributes (position, duration, both)
• Work seamlessly with VST plug-ins—VST support is now integrated into SONAR 6 and no longer requires an external VST to DX adapter I hope this doesn’t mean I have to re-install the plugins I have for it to register properly (bypassing the old wrapper, which I think is uninstalled now… I guess I’m just being OC)
• Automation enhancements: read/write controls for tracks and plug-ins, enable automation during playback and record, visual automation cues, more Now this is really awesome… one of the first things I’ve noticed when I fired Sonar up. Another useful feature especially for those who have control surfaces.
• Fast Zoom enables fast, precise edits without losing your place I have yet to try this out, I’ll be the judge wether or not it allows precise edits without losing my place hehehehe
• Mouse wheel support for parameter control and zoom I guess the mouse wheel is the next best thing from an actual tactile fader (for those without control surfaces). I’m all for that!
• Crash Recovery safeguards your projects against faulty plug-ins and other sources of crashes Yes, you can set it to save a-la Microsoft Office (at a set time, or set number of changes), also, read the next feature:
• Automatic file versioning: back up projects with time/date stamps for easy access to old versions ’nuff said.
• Customizable user interface: put favorite features right at your fingertips
• User-customizable plug-in menus for easy organization and grouping Oh thank you Lord! I have so many plugins/instruments that I often find myself frustrated when navigating to instantiate the plugin/instrument I want. ² Especially Waves plugins, which has multiple versions of a single plugin. Example: There are SINGLE plugins which have Mono/Stereo/etc. MODES. Applying that fact to 5 plugins automatically entails at least 10 separate versions to choose from – that’s just too much clutter for plugins you can choose from.
• Friendly driver naming (user-customizable audio hardware port names)
• Custom color schemes with saturation, hue, and brightness controls and color categories for easy customization