Reference Guide

1550 Beginner’s guide to Cakewalk software
Audio
Audio playback in SONAR
To use digital audio in SONAR, you first have to make sure that your sound card and its driver are
properly installed. For information about sound card and driver installation, see your sound card’s
documentation, and also “Audio hardware (sound cards) and drivers” on page 1564.
After you’ve successfully tested your sound card and driver, you should play back one of the sample
files that came with your Cakewalk software.
To play back a sample file, use the File > Open command, navigate to a folder that has bundle files
in it (they have the extension .bun or .cwb), select a bundle file, and click Open. After the file loads,
make sure that your speakers are turned on, and play the file by pressing the SPACEBAR. You also
can stop the file’s playback by pressing the SPACEBAR again. You should hear something. You can
rewind the file by pressing W, or by clicking the Rewind button in the Control Bar.
If you don’t hear anything, here are several steps to take:
Playback troubleshooting table
Possible problem What to do
The volume setting is turned down on your
software mixer, or wave playback is muted.
If your sound card only has one stereo output, your sound card
probably responds to the Windows Mixer. If your sound card has
more than one stereo output, it might not respond to the Windows
Mixer—launch your sound card’s own mixer software if it has it,
and make sure all volume settings are turned up and nothing is
muted.
To open the Windows Mixer—double-click the Speaker icon
that’s on your Windows taskbar to open the Play Control
dialog box. If you don’t see the Speaker icon on your taskbar, you
can open the Windows Mixer by using the Control Panel >
Hardware and Sound > Volume Control (Windows 7)
command. Make sure that both the Wave Direct Sound slider and
the Play Control slider are turned up, and that none of the Mute
or Mute All check boxes at the bottom of the dialog box are
checked.
Your speakers aren't connected properly, or
the volume is turned down.
Make sure your speakers are on and the volume is turned up.
Your sound card isn't hooked up correctly. Run the Microsoft Sound Recorder (Start > Programs >
Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder). Open any
wave file and see if it plays sound correctly through your
speakers. If not, check your sound card documentation to make
sure it is properly installed and configured.
Table 256.