Get hands on control of SONAR X1's ACT functionality with the Roland A-300PRO

SONAR X1′s Active Controller Technology (ACT) allows for full control over your mix and effects via hardware MIDI controller. Not only can you control mix settings like volume and pan on tracks, ACT lets you control parameters on effect and synth plugins in real time!

Coupled with the Roland A-300PRO MIDI Keyboard Controller you can fully immerse yourself in your mixes. No more “mousing around” to draw automation for a filter sweep on a synth, grab a control and get interactive.

ACT has templates for most MIDI controllers so setup is a breeze and hardware controls are already mapped to the most common parameters in all of your plugins. Want to customize the mapping? It’s as simple as pushing one button, clicking the parameters and moving the desired hardware controls. No menus needed!

Watch ACT and the A-300PRO in action Continue reading “Get hands on control of SONAR X1's ACT functionality with the Roland A-300PRO”

Austin's Next Big Thing

alpha_revAustin, TX knows a thing or two about music.

The home of musical institutions from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Austin City Limits, SxSW to Stubbs BBQ and Antone’s, the central Texas town knows music.  After all, they don’t call it the Live Music Capital of the World for nothing.

So when we tell you Alpha Rev is one of the most unique and important bands ever to come out of Austin, you can believe it.  Last March, Alpha Rev was recognized by the Austin Chronicle as one of Austin’s best performing rock bands and in May they were named Austin’s best rock band by Rare Magazine in their annual “Rareist of them All” issue.

You can chalk up much of the acclaim to band frontman Casey McPherson.  He’s well-known in these parts, having made an impression on the local scene with his previous band, Endochine.  When Endochine dissolved in 2005, it had already made its bones in indie circles by sharing the stage with the likes of Pete Yorn and Bob Schneider, and national credibility by playing with more high-profile bands like Staind and Red Hot Chili Peppers.  McPherson simply moved forward, assembling some of his former bandmates and mixing in some new blood and Alpha Rev was born.

Continue reading “Austin's Next Big Thing”

Have Gig Bag, Will Travel or Where in the World is Carmen Rizzo?

hht back stage perm 1Carmen Rizzo checks his cell phone one last time as he boards the plane at LAX.  This is the first of several flights that will take him half way around the world over the next 24 hours – from Los Angeles to Perm, Russia .  He’s got a text message from the people he’ll be performing with in Perm; they want him to come back in 10 days for another show, and they need his commitment immediately.  He’s taken slightly aback – he’s not exactly sure what he’ll be doing onstage when he arrives this time – but he agrees to make the return trip, figuring that as long as he has the right assemblage of tools, he’ll be able to handle whatever situation is thrown at him.

This is typical for a road warrior like Rizzo.  The Los Angeles-based producer, DJ, record label owner, and radio show host is a rapidly-rising global brand, sought after for his wide range of skills that have earned him two GRAMMY nominations.   He’s worked with the likes of Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alanis Morissette.  He’s a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).  He also DJs a radio set heard by 14 million listeners each month on the highly influential KEXP 90.3 FM in Seattle.  With so many irons in the fire, he’s become extraordinarily flexible, yet fastidious in his preparation, maintaining a strict work ethic that sees him keeping regular hours in his home studio during the week and, whenever possible, not working weekends to spend time with his children.  But this last-minute request is not unusual for Rizzo.  He’ll just roll with it.

Continue reading “Have Gig Bag, Will Travel or Where in the World is Carmen Rizzo?”

Cakewalk Pro User Spotlight: Comic Book Heroes

CBH Photo PlainAfter starting a band at 11 years old, five years ago, and with hundreds of shows from coast to coast under their belts, Comic Book Heroes is finding national success on their own terms.

This hard working suburban rock band’s recent successes include: “Catch Me If You Can” their Top 15 single on Radio Disney and an iTunes Discovery Download (earning 161,500 downloads), selection for Taco Bell’s Feed The Beat tour (2010), featured music & videos for ESPN / NASCAR Season (2010), top ranking artist on Radio Disney for “Next Big Thing” (2008 / 2009), “Catch Me If You Can” in heavy rotation on AOL Pop Radio (2M weekly listeners), a music video in rotation on the Disney XD channel, and additionally a featured music video on FUSE TV.

Visit Comic Book Heroes MySpace page to their music!

Meet Cakewalk Representatives This Holiday Season

Edit-5During this Holiday season, we would like to take some time to personally assist you with any questions you might have about our products.

During the coming week, our technical sales representatives will be at select music retailers across the country with the sole purpose of helping you learn more about SONAR 8.5, V-Studio 100, V-Studio 700, our audio and MIDI interfaces, desktop monitors and more.

Find a location near you on Cakewalk’s Tour page.

We look forward to meeting you!

Producing Live DVDs with SONAR

Trev-Wilkins--Scadge-ProducFrom time to time, Engineer and Owner of Scadge Productions, Trev Wilkins gives us a brief update on his travels on the road and in studio. Here’s the latest:

It’s been a long time since I updated the blog but (fortunately) that’s due to being very busy.

The Albert Lee and Hogan’s Heroes DVD, Live in Rome, should be on sale now (everywhere!) after being completely mixed and tweaked in SONAR.

There’s another live album still in progress for Neil Innes (the 7th Python) and his reformed band Fatso from their anniversary tour. It includes a wide range of material that I recorded during the tour including Monty Python and Rutles songs. Currently residing in a SONAR folder, it should be out early next year.

We’ve just finished part II of the Raymond Froggatt Live DVD which should be going to press very soon. The band liked our setup so much that they’ve purchased SONAR and will be recording some material for their next album in our studio.

Continue reading “Producing Live DVDs with SONAR”

DJ Johnny Juice Joins Cakewalk V-Studio Tour

VS100_Artist_JuiceAs the Fall V-Studio Tour featuring SONAR 8.5 heats up, we are pleased to announce that Cakewalk artist, DJ Johnny Juice of Public Enemy fame will be on hand to partake in the V-Studio and SONAR 8.5 demos during tonight’s Guitar Center – Manhattan tour date.

Cakewalk Product Specialist Rich Curtis will be including DJ Johnny Juice in his demos as Juice talks about his long-standing relationship with Cakewalk and how he incorporates Cakewalk in his productions. Additionally, DJ Johnny Juice will be talking about his latest track “I am a king” featuring none other than hip hop legend DMC.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Guitar Center Manhattan
25 W. 14th Street
Manhattan, NY
(212) 463 – 7500
Time: 6:00 – 8:00PM

Plus: Tony Grund from IK Multimedia will be on hand to show off their latest mastering software, T-RackS 3 and how it works in conjunction with SONAR 8.5. All event attendees will receive a complimentary copy of IK Multimedia’s T-RackS EQ, plus if you purchase a V-Studio 700, or a V-Studio 100 the night of the event you will receive a $100 mail-in rebate.

Register for this and other V-Studio Tour  events today!

Cakewalk Announces the V-Studio US Summer Tour 2009

 We’re excited to announce our latest clinic tour providing in-depth demonstrations of the new SONAR V-Studio music production hardware! We’ll be holding these events at select retailers nationwide (US only) – including Best Buy and Guitar Center – and attendees can pre-register online to win a $100 gift certificate to the retailer hosting the event!

The SONAR V-Studio 100, is a one-of-a-kind product that combines a powerful Audio / MIDI interface, a control surface, a digital mixer, and an SD WAVE recorder. Compact and portable, the VS-100 is perfect for the musician on the go. Lay down tracks or capture an idea whether you’re in a hotel room, on a tour bus, wherever. Plus, the VS-100 works with both Mac and PC and all major DAWs, so musicians can take advantage of the VS-100’s compelling feature set no matter which platform they are using.

The SONAR V-Studio 700 is the flagship of the V-Studio product-line and will be making appearances at various stops on the tour. Matching SONAR 8 Producer with the VS-700 Console, the V-Studio 700 offers the ultimate solution for music production through a complete offering of finely-tuned and tightly-controlled hardware and software. The VS-700 also includes the VS-700R I/O, the Roland Fantom VS synth and Cakewalk’s award-winning virtual instruments, Rapture and Dimension Pro.

We’ll be adding additional tour dates regularly, so visit the tour page on our website for the updated schedule: http://www.cakewalk.com/Events/tour.asp

Artist Impression: Recording Artist Javier Colon on V-Studio 100

Full of heart and soul, major label recording artist Javier Colon is set to release a new album and launch a new tour! No stranger to the stage, Javier founded a R&B acapella group while studying at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, performed as lead singer of the neo-funk group, EmCQ, wowed Soulive’s guitarist Eric Krasno during an opening set, and spent a few years on the road fronting the Derek Trucks Band. For his new release recorded in SONAR, Javier breaks away from his Urban, R&B mold and grabs his acoustic guitar to sing some soulful melodies over more contemporary and melodic chord changes. Javier is now currently touring the world with a whole new sound, opening for the likes of Joss Stone and Andy Hamilton while also playing solo acoustic shows at 100+ colleges. In this video, Javier talks about the upcoming tour and tells how a mobile recording unit, like the SONAR V-Studio 100, can benefit making music while on the road and on the stage.

Artist Impression: Javier Colon on SONAR V-Studio 100
Uploaded by CakewalkInc. – Explore more music videos

Cakewalk Pro User Spotlight: Sparks the Rescue

In an ongoing effort to support and promote all the amazingly talented artists and producers that use our products, we are excited to announce the Cakewalk Pro User (CPU) Spotlight Series which will be posted here on a regular basis.

Right now, more than ever, aspiring artists are taking control of their music creation to capitalize on what will be known as the independent music age. These independent spirits are taking their money saved for studio time and investing in their own future by purchasing the studio tools themselves. With so many choices on the market, we salute the artists in this series who are capitalizing on SONAR’s unlimited track count, or the crystal clear sounds of Rapture, or the fat pre amps in the V-Studio 100 and the V-Studio 700, or the… well, you get the point.

Whether these CPU Spotlight artists are on a major or independent label, producing for labels, or simply doing their own thing, they all have three things in common: they’re all tremendously talented, they’re all doing their own thing and they all depend on the quality of Cakewalk products to achieve professional results.

CPU Spotlight #1: An interview with Sparks the Rescue at the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey – Take one mic-swinging vocalist who throws himself to the floor, the crowd, the walls and into his band mates; add two guitarists providing vocals and an insane amount of movement; mix in a bassist with an impressive set of lungs providing screams and harmonies; and top it off with a rock-solid drummer holding it all down – this concoction renders Sparks the Rescue, a group of guys in their early 20’s from Portland, Maine.

Logging in over 200 shows throughout New England, Sparks the Rescue has shared the stage with Hawthorne Heights, Just Surrender, As Tall As Lions, Dave Melillo, Roses Are Red, A Change of Pace, Showbread, Chiodos, A Static Lullaby, Saosin, Boys Night Out, Stretch Arm Strong, Emanuel, The Static Age, Glory of This, and many others.

2007 saw the release of ‘The Secrets We Can’t Keep’ digital EP, preceding a full-length album on Fearless Records which is available now in stores and on ITunes.

Check out our first-ever Cakewalk Pro User Spotlight featuring Sparks the Rescue and stay tuned for more in the near future!