SONAR X3 USER GUIDE
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Cakewalk, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement. It is against the law to copy this software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the agreement.
Table of contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 About this manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Conventions used in this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1 Installation, registration and basic setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Creating, playing and saving projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opening project files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing project files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recording audio into a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preface SONAR User Guide is designed to help you learn and use SONAR. This book explains how SONAR works and how to use it to create, edit, produce, and perform. The SONAR User Guide is task-oriented and contains cross-references so you can find the information you need. The User Guide book also includes a comprehensive index that you can use to find information on any specific topic.
Conventions used in this book The following table describes the text conventions in this book: Convention Meaning Bold Text that appears in bold is a command in SONAR. For example: Click OK. Right angle bracket (File > Open) A right angle bracket is a menu item separator and represents a level in the menu hierarchy. Example: File > Open means to click on the File menu and select the Open command. Monospace font A monospace font is used for file names, directory paths and code examples.
Installation, registration and basic setup In this chapter, you will learn how to install and register SONAR, and also how to connect and configure your audio and MIDI equipment. In this chapter: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Running SONAR for the first time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Basic audio setup . . . . . .
Installation Please note before installing: • In order to install SONAR, you must log on as a user who has administrative privileges. Once installed, the program can also be used by users who do not have administrative privileges. • If system monitoring software, such as anti-virus programs are installed on your computer, you must close them until you have finished installing SONAR. You must also remember to close applications that are not shown in the Windows taskbar.
To install SONAR 1. Start your computer. 2. Close any open programs that are open or running. 3. Do one of the following: • If you are installing from the DVD: Place the SONAR installation disc in your disc drive. If you have AutoRun enabled, the SONAR menu will open automatically presenting a dialog box with several options.
Running SONAR for the first time There are two ways to start SONAR: • Double-click the SONAR X3 icon on your desktop. • Windows 8: Click the SONAR X3 tile on the Start screen. Windows 7: Click the Start button, and choose Programs > Cakewalk > SONAR X3 > SONAR X3 (Producer or Studio). Configuring your audio device The first time you start SONAR, it automatically attempts to detect and configure any ASIO audio devices on your computer.
Figure 1. The MIDI - Devices section. At the top of the window, you will see the MIDI Inputs. Make sure that all devices in this window are checked. If a device is not checked, click on the square next to it. At the bottom of the same window, you will see the MIDI outputs. The device at the top of the list is Output 1, and the one below Output 2, and so on. Select one device at a time in the Outputs window. Clicking Move Selected Devices to Top will allow you to change the order of your MIDI devices.
Basic audio setup In order to hear sound when playing back a project in SONAR, it is essential to configure your audio device properly. 1. Do one of the following to open SONAR: • Double-click the SONAR shortcut on your desktop (if you chose to create one during installation). • Windows 8: Click the SONAR X3 tile on the Start screen. • Windows 7: Select Start > All Programs > Cakewalk > SONAR X3. 2.
4. Select the desired Input Driver. Depending on your computer's configuration, you may have multiple options available. Your Input Driver is typically your computer's sound card or audio interface’s input. You will want to set this to the device that you plug your microphone, guitar, keyboard or other input device into. 5. Select the desired Output Driver. Your Output Driver is typically your computer's sound card or audio interface’s output.
6. Go to Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings to select the playback and recording timing master devices. 7. In the Playback Timing Master list, select the audio output device that you want SONAR to treat as the default or main output device. This should be the output that your headphones or speakers are connected to. 8. In the Record Timing Master list, select the input on your sound card that you plan to plug devices into, such as a microphone, guitar, keyboard or other input device.
Connecting your equipment There are several types of audio interfaces (sound cards). CardBus (PCI), USB/USB2 and FireWire are the most common. Laptops can use an audio PCMCIA card (PC Card). Many audio interfaces also have MIDI inputs and some have built in MIDI synthesizers as well. This section covers the various audio connection options. Analog and digital audio inputs There are two basic types of audio inputs: • Analog.
The following table describes the various types of analog and digital connections you may encounter.
Connect an electric guitar to your computer Guitar DI Box Computer Sound Card (or external audio interface) Headphones or Speakers Connect a microphone to your computer Microphone input Microphone Computer Sound Card (or external audio interface) Headphones or Speakers USB connection USB Microphone Computer Sound Card (or external audio interface) Installation, registration and basic setup Connecting your equipment Headphones or Speakers 17
Connect a MIDI interface or controller to your computer USB connection USB MIDI Keyboard Microphone input Computer Sound Card (or external audio interface) Headphones or Speakers Microphone MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is the way computers communicate with keyboards and other electronic instruments. The term “MIDI” refers to both the type of cables, connections, instruments and controllers and the “language” all these components use to “talk” to each other.
Opening a demo project Now that your sound device is configured, let's open the demo project included with SONAR and listen to it. 1. Click File and then select Open. This will bring up the Open dialog box, which is used to open Cakewalk projects that are saved on your computer. The Open dialog box functions like any other dialog in Microsoft Windows. • The vertical navigation buttons on the left let you jump to popular locations on your computer's hard disk.
3. Select the file by clicking on it so it is highlighted and then click the Open button, to open the demo project. Note: If prompted to unpack the bundle, accept the default locations and click OK. 4. When the project opens, the File Information window appears. This window can be used for storing notes, comments, credits and other helpful information about a project. For now, close the File Information window by clicking the Close button in the upper right corner of the window. 5.
I can see meters moving in SONAR, but I don't hear anything • The most likely cause of this is the volume for sound device is simply too low. You can check the volume of most devices right in Windows by double-clicking on the speaker icon that appears in the system tray in the lower right corner of the screen, next to the clock. • Some audio devices have a hardware knob or fader that controls the output or “volume” of the device.
Registering SONAR We strongly encourage you to register your copy of SONAR. Registration is mandatory for technical support and for all SONAR updates. Registering SONAR online or over the phone is quick and easy, and allows you access to technical support as well as notifications when updates become available. To register anytime, log onto http://www.cakewalk.com/register, call 888-CAKEWALK (U.S.) or +1 (617) 423-9004 (outside U.S.) between 1 PM and 6 PM Eastern Standard Time.
SONAR Tour In this chapter, we will explore the basics of SONAR to get you started. Be sure that you have completed all instructions in the “Installation, registration and basic setup” chapter. For more in-depth information about specific SONAR features, please see the online Help. In this chapter: Getting around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The Control Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Getting around The project is the center of your work in SONAR. A project may contain a number of different elements, including audio, MIDI, video, etc. All of these elements are organized into tracks, clips and events within a project. Tracks are used to store the sound or music made by each instrument or voice in a project. For example, a song that is arranged for four instruments and one vocalist may have five tracks (one track per instrument, and one track for the vocals).
The Control Bar Much of your time in SONAR is spent recording and listening to your project as it develops. The Control Bar contains the most important tools and other pieces of information you will need to record, edit and play back your project. The Control Bar consists of several modules that each contain various related controls. You can re-arrange and show/hide each individual module, which allows you to only show the functions you need most often.
Skylight Skylight introduces a next generation workspace and presents a new level of simplicity by providing an intelligent interface that moves beyond contemporary, single-window design and layout clutter. You can hide, dock, collapse or expand any of SONAR’s views instantly. Figure 6. Skylight. C D E A F B G A. Control Bar B. Inspector pane C. Track pane D. Clips pane E. Video Thumbnail pane F. Browser G. MultiDock The main components of the Skylight interface are as follows: 26 • Track view.
The Track view The Track view is the main window that you use to create, display, and work with a project. When you open a project file, SONAR displays the Track view for the project. When you close the Track view for a project, SONAR closes the file. To switch to the Track View, choose Views > Track View or press ALT+1. Figure 7. The Track view. A B C D E A. Track pane B. Clips pane C. Video Thumbnail pane D. Navigator pane E.
The Clips pane shows the clips in your project on a horizontal timeline called the time ruler that helps you visualize how your project is organized. Clips contain markings that indicate their contents. The Clips pane lets you select, move, cut and copy clips from place to place to change the arrangement of music and sound in your project. The Bus pane shows the buses in the project. The Navigator pane displays a large part of your project so you can see an overview of your song.
The Console View The Console View is where you can combine the sounds on all the different tracks to create the final mix of your song or project. Use the Console view to adjust the levels of sound for the different tracks in your project, to change the stereo panning, and to apply real-time effects to an individual track, combinations of tracks, or the final mix. To switch to the Console View, choose Views > Console View or press ALT+2. Figure 8. The Console view. B C A D E F A. Console view menu B.
right pane contains main channel strips. You can drag the pane splitter bars to resize the panes. • Channel strips. Each track, bus and main in the project is represented by its own vertical channel strip. Use the channel strip controls to mix and process tracks, buses and mains. • Modules. hidden.
The Inspector When working on a project, you will frequently need to access track and clip parameters and mix controls. The Track Inspector and Properties Inspector provide easy access to relevant settings for the selected track(s) or clip(s). To expand or collapse the Inspector, choose Views > Inspector view or press I. Figure 10. The Inspector. A B C D E A. Show/hide Clip Properties Inspector B. Show/hide Track Properties Inspector C. Show/hide ProChannel (Producer and Studio only) D.
SONAR Tour The Inspector
Getting Started In this chapter: Creating, playing and saving projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Creating a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Opening project files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Playing project files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating, playing and saving projects Understanding and managing project files is central to your workflow in SONAR. In this tutorial, we are going to cover the basics of getting started with project files and some of the operations that can be performed with them. Whenever you write or record music in SONAR, you are writing it to be saved into a project.
Open a Project. Use this button to open a standard File Open dialog, which lets you select the project that you want to open. Open a Recent Project. Click the drop-down list to show the most recent projects that have been opened in SONAR. Select the desired project from the list and click the button to the left of the list to open the project. Create a New Project. Click this button to open the New Project File dialog, which lets you create a new project based on any available template.
Let’s explore some of the things you can do in this window. Note: The list of available project templates shown may vary depending on your version of SONAR (Producer, Studio or base version). Name. Type the name of your project in the Name box. For this exercise, let’s name your project Tutorial 1. Location. Use the Location box to specify where the project should be saved. Click the Browse button to browse to a specific location. For this tutorial, use the default, as shown in the preceding figure.
Cancel. Help. Click Cancel to close the New Project File dialog. Click Help to open the online Help topic for the New Project File dialog. Click OK now to move forward with this tutorial. Congratulations, you have just created a new project in SONAR! Opening project files Next, we are going to cover how to open existing project files. There are two ways this can be done in SONAR: • Click the Open a Project button in the Quick Start dialog that is first presented when SONAR starts.
• The Go to Folder drop-down list allows you to quickly move to commonly used folders for project files in SONAR. Typically, you can get to your projects by selecting Project Files. • For more detailed information about all of the options and functions in this dialog, click Help. For this tutorial, we want to open one of the sample project files that are included with SONAR.
Let’s start with the Bass track. Locate the track named Bass in the project. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the track’s controls. If the track controls are not all visible, you may need to expand the track to see them all. To expand a track to make all of its controls visible 1. Point the cursor to the bottom edge of the track. 2. Click and drag down to reveal all track controls. Tip: You can also double-click an empty space in the track strip to maximize/restore the track strip.
Locate the drop-down list for Output and click the small arrow to show all available outputs. Select the output that your speakers or headphones are connected to. If you can’t find the Output drop-down list, make sure you have expanded the track fully by dragging it down. Note: Your options will be different from the preceding image. Select the output that corresponds to your sound card or audio device. Next, you will want to repeat the above process for all of the tracks in your project.
Experiment with the Mute and Solo buttons on each track. If you solo multiple tracks you will hear all of the soloed tracks. If you mute any tracks, they will not be heard. Tip: You can also use your keyboard’s SPACEBAR key to start and stop playback in SONAR. Once you are done listening, click the Stop button . Saving project files SONAR offers you many options for saving your work. To investigate these options, click on the File menu and choose Save As. This opens the Save As dialog.
Take a look at the drop-down list labeled Save as type. Click the Save as type arrow to see a list of supported file formats. Let’s look at these different file formats now: • Normal. This is the first option listed and the most common format used for saving project files. Choosing this will create a Cakewalk Project file with the .cwp file extension.
Recording audio into a project One of the most important aspects of creating music in SONAR is digital audio recording. This is the process of taking the sound from a microphone or an instrument and recording it to an audio track. Once this step is completed you can edit and mix the song to prepare it to share with the world. This tutorial will walk you through the steps involved and provide you with some insight on how to get the best possible audio recordings.
5. Click the Output drop-down menu to select the track’s output. The available outputs for the track are displayed. 6. Select the output port that you want the audio track to play through during playback. This is how you ultimately route the audio to your speakers. You will usually choose 1 and 2, because these are most commonly the outputs that speakers or audio monitors are connected to. 7. Click the track's Record Enable button .
Figure 11. The record meter shows the input level. Input may be too low Input is too loud Recording your performance Now that everything is set up, let's record something! 1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Project - Metronome to configure the metronome (or click the Metronome icon 2. in the Control Bar’s Transport module). Set the metronome for a 2 measure count-in. • Click Use Audio Metronome, select the Recording check box and set Record Countin to 2 Measures.
Getting Started Recording audio into a project
Troubleshooting If you’re having a problem with SONAR, don’t panic. • Check the SONAR X3 ReadMe for additional information that wasn’t available when this User Guide was printed. To view the Readme, select Help > View Readme. • Visit our support Web site at www.cakewalk.com/Support, where you will find answers to frequently asked questions, tech support documents, program patches and updates, and more.
Troubleshooting
Index A G Audio types of inputs 15 Audio setup 12 Getting around 24 B Inspector 31 Browser 30 C Clips 24 Console view 29 Control Bar 25 D Demo project opening 19 troubleshooting 20 E Electric guitar connecting 17 Equipment connecting 15 Events 24 I Installation 8 M Microphone connecting 17 MIDI controller connecting 18 MIDI devices setting up 10 MIDI interface connecting 18 Mouse wheel 29 N Now Time 24 P Patches downloading 47 Project 24 49
R Registration 22 T Time display 24 Time ruler 24 Track view 26 Tracks 24 U Updates 47 50
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