Turn Your Riffs Into Hits With Guitar Tracks Pro 4

Cakewalk announces a clean, new look to the guitar-based software title for PC with Guitar Tracks Pro 4 and Guitar Tracks Pro USB!

Designed for guitarists and singer-songwriters, Guitar Tracks Pro 4 is the recording solution that takes your music from riff to hit! You get an amazing virtual guitar amp, a backing band of virtual instruments, precise editing tools, mixing console, over 2GB of sounds and effects, and more -for less than a few hours in the studio.

New Features Include:

• A simplified multi-track recorder interface makes it easy to record, edit and mix your music

• Create, edit and print your own notation and tablature; an included fret-board view makes it easy to match notes to the guitar neck

• A suite of pro effects including Cakewalk’s Boost 11 Peak Limiter and Native Instrument’s Guitar Rig 3 LE to give you an arena sized sound right in your own studio

• Over 2GB of audio loops and samples spanning rock, blues, country, and bluegrass from Smart LoopsTM, Digital Sound FactoryTM, and Groove MonkeeTM

• Perfect your chops with a collection of Guitar World instructional videos featuring: Steve Morse, Dave Mustaine, Jimmy Herring, Paul Gilbert, Joe Bonamassa, and others.

• Play along with loops recorded by world class drummers including: John Blackwell (Justin Timberlake, Prince), Jerry Marotta (Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel), Nick D’Virgilio (Genesis, Tears for Fears), Ed Greene (Steely  Dan, Barry White) and Danny Gottlieb (Sting, Pat Metheny Group) courtesy of Sonic RealityTM

• Burn CDs and upload your finished projects directly to the web with Cakewalk Publisher; share your music with friends and family on websites, blogs or social networking sites

PLUS Guitar Tracks Pro USB includes our portable, high quality audio interface, the UA-1G. Optimized for guitarists, the UA-1G features a special 1/4″ jack with Hi-Z option for recording and 24-bit/96-kHZ Stereo I/O for playback!

For more information:

Watch a Live Demo From Sonic State

See the full Guitar Tracks Pro press release

Please visit Guitar Tracks Pro 4 and Guitar Tracks Pro USB online

As Seen On TV: Cakewalk Featured in 'Gear Spotlight'

Guitar World’s Gear Spotlight is a new segment about the latest and greatest gear available to guitar players, airing now on Comcast’s On Demand programming. The segment aired for the first time this past Friday, featuring Cakewalk’s new USB Audio & Midi Interfaces; UM-1G, UM-2G, UM-3G, and UA-1G! The segment will air on Comcast’s Life & Home channel until Monday May 4, 2009.

For those of you sans Comcast, see the video clip here on Guitar World’s Gear Spotlight

For more information on the products seen above, visit the Cable Products web page.

Create Digital Music Uncovers SONAR V-Studio 100

Create Digital Music is one of the industry’s top blogs featuring the latest news, tips, product reviews, forums and articles on digital music making. Yesterday, CDM was among the first outlets to introduce SONAR V-Studio 100!

“The V-Studio 100 is set up in a way that appears to come close to what I think a whole lot of us need as laptop musicians. And despite the Cakewalk name, it’s actually aimed at users of a variety of Mac and Windows tools…”

See what else they had to say about Cakewalk’s newest product, the portable music production studio for Mac and PC.

Visit Create Digital Music Now.

Artist Impression: Shayna Zaid and the Catch on V-Studio 100

A few weeks before the launch we got to sit down in the studio with Shayna Zaid and the Catch. Their live shows have been packing crowds in NYC and colleges up and down the east coast. They’ve shared the stage with Norah Jones, Harry Connick Jr, Raul Midon and The Roots.

Their music has gone on to see much success with 8 songs licensed to “Young & the Restless”, 4 #1 singles in Shayna’s Native Malaysia, a 1/4 million Myspace plays, and Finalist in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition, among many other honors. As you can see, they know what it’s like to be a touring and recording act so we asked them for their impression of the SONAR V-Studio 100. Watch the video to see what they thought.

“Brilliant!  Finally something that encompasses everything we need to professionally go mobile.  With killer mic pre’s, an onboard SD recorder/player, an audio/midi interface and a DAW controller, the V- Studio 100 lets us create on the road – and at home.”

Artist Impression: RADIx's Quite Nyce on V-Studio 100

Quite Nyce is one half of the emerging Hip Hop duo RADIx.  They’ve recently been featured on MTV2 and in URB magazine. And have toured with Das EFX, Onyx, the Beatnuts and many others.

Their debut album MONSTAPLEx is set to be released this April and features Afrobatik on a guest track. Quite Nyce also has a side project called Champs vs. the League, which just toured the UK and Germany with Akil from Jurassic 5.

Quite Nyce is a man who needs a complete solution that he can take on the road, so when he got a sneak peak of SONAR V-studio 100 last month he described his reaction as “speechless.”  Contrary to that comment, he ended up having alot to say about the V-Studio 100. Watch the video to get his impressions.

Artist Impression: Producer & DJ Sharkey on V-Studio 100

Sharkey has performed and produced with such heavyweights as Eminem, Everlast, Mickey Petralia, Mario Caldato Jr., Jedi Mind Tricks, The Black Eyed Peas, and Wyclef Jean. His first solo album “Sharkey’s Machine” featured guest appearances by Cannibal Ox, The Pharcyde, Grand Puba of Brand Nubian and Cherrywine from Digable Planets.

2008’s Monster Maker with C-Rayz waltz was a critically acclaimed foray into the world of alternative hip hop.  In 2009 he’s set to release Dastardly with 2009 Grammy-nominated artist Kokayi.

Based in Maryland, but doing regular sessions in NYC, Nashville, and LA, not to mention DJ sets, we thought Sharkey might appreciate a sneak peek of the V-Studio 100…but we didn’t expect him to try to walk away with it.  Watch the video to hear his impressions and more.

Artist Impression: DJ Johnny Juice on V-Studio 100

Producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and long time SONAR expert, Johnny Juice was an original member of the Bomb Squad at the age of 15, and has been doing productions for Public Enemy, Reverend Run, and countless others ever since.

The man is always working; his credo is “sleep is for the dead,” so he’s always looking for tools that speed up his workflow, travel with him,  and sound great…and if they can combine more than one function in one device, even better.

Because of his long history with SONAR and relentless schedule, we asked Juice to put the V-Studio 100 through its paces. Watch the video to find out if it passed his test.

“This unit is ridiculous.   I can bounce with it on the road and use it for backing tracks AND recording, and then import my work when I get back to my studio right from the SD card.”

Sparks The Rescue Set To Release New Album in May

Sparks The Rescue, is an incredibly high energy group of guys in their early 20’s from Portland, Maine. They’re constantly touring and constantly writing. Having logged over 200 shows throughout New England alone, Sparks The Rescue has shared the stage with Hawthorne Heights, Just Surrender, As Tall As Lions, Dave Melillo, Roses Are Red, Stretch Arm Strong, and plenty of others.

Inspiration can strike at the oddest times, and when you’re always on the road, chances are there isn’t a good solution around to get that idea down in a usable form.  That’s why we let them check out the SONAR V-Studio 100.

“The V-Studio 100 is allowing us to write our second record on the road while touring in support of our first record.  This thing is built for the modern musician.”

Keep an ear out for a full-length album coming soon from Sparks the Rescue on Fearless Records.  And check back at this space for their video impression of the V-Studio 100.

The :90 Music Show Explores V-Studio 700 and Cable Interfaces

In a recent episode of The :90 Music Show, presented by Music Connection magazine, host Scott Austin gets an exclusive look at SONAR V-Studio 700 and UA-1G cable interface recorded live at The NAMM Show 2009. Regularly airing on Youtube, The :90 Music Show captures exclusive interviews with top industry players and emerging artists.

Scott Austin is a regular contributor to Music Connection magazine. He writes ‘Insider Commentary’ for aspiring musicians exploring the music business. As one of the industry’s youngest CEOs, Austin manages Authentik Artists, an artist development company in Los Angeles, California. Austin is also credited with discovering musicians such Michelle Branch, All-American Rejects and music/tv/film heavy-hitter Tyler Hilton (Austin’s first signing to Madonna’s Maverick Records in 2002).

Cakewalk Featured on Internet Radio Show

On Thursday, January 22, Cakewalk Product Manager Samara Krugman and Consumer PR Manager Dave Lubell joined ‘Digital Chef” Ralph Bond on Host John Iasiuolo’s Computer Outlook Radio Talk Show.

The live talk show airs on affiliate stations across the US and can be heard on the internet worldwide. Samara and David spoke about SONAR Home Studio 7, the new cable products and the recent NAMM tradeshow for the entire hour-long show. If you’re new to music production, this show will loosen all the tension!

The show is archived on the web. Listen to Computer Outlook here.