Cakewalk Sonar 8 Producer DAW

Cakewalk Sonar The Track View

2009-08-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

SONAR displays your project in windows on the screen that are known as views. You can have many views open at once, all showing the same project. When you edit a project in one view, the other related views are updated automatically.

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.

The Track view is divided into several sections: toolbars (at the top), the Navigator pane, the Video Thumbnails pane, the Track pane, the Track/Bus Inspector, the Clips pane, and the Bus pane. You can change the size of the panes by dragging the vertical or horizontal splitter bars that separate them.

A. The Track Pane B. The Clips Pane C. Clips D. Splitter bars E. Show/hide bus pane F. Track/Bus Inspector G. Minimized tracks H. Expanded track I. The Video Thumbnails Pane

All of the current track's controls, plus a few that are only available in the Console view, are contained in the Track/Bus Inspector which is an expanded version of the current track's controls located on the far left side of the Track view. You can hide or show the Track/Bus Inspector by pressing i on your keyboard (see Track/Bus Inspector, for more information).

The Track pane lets you see and change the initial settings for each track. By default, the current track is displayed in gold. To change the current track, move the highlight using the mouse or the keyboard as follows:


Key...		What it does...
Left/Right Arrow		Moves the highlight to the next or previous control.
Up/Down Arrow		Moves to the same control in the adjacent track, or the next track of the same type if the control only applies to a specific track type (for example, the Patch control only applies to MIDI tracks).
Page Down		Displays the next page of tracks.
Page Up		Displays the previous page of tracks.
Home		Moves the focus to the first track.
End		Moves the focus to the last track.

The current track's controls are contained in the Track/Bus Inspector.

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, and also shows any editing views that are in tabbed (docked) format. The Show/Hide Bus pane button allows you to show or hide the Bus pane at the bottom of the Track view.

The Navigator pane displays a large part of your project so you can see an overview of your song. The Navigator pane displays all of your project's tracks.

The Track view makes it easy to select tracks, clips, and ranges of time in a project. These are the most common selection methods:


To...		Do this...
Select tracks		Click on the track number, or drag over several track numbers
Select clips		Click on the clip, or drag a rectangle around several clips
Select time ranges		Drag in the Time Ruler, or click between two markers
Select partial clips		Hold down the Alt key while dragging over a clip

As with most other Windows programs, you can also use the Shift-click and Ctrl-click combinations when selecting tracks and clips. Holding the Shift key while you click adds tracks or clips to the current selection. Holding the Ctrl key while you click lets you toggle the selection status of tracks or clips. For more information, see Track View and Configuring the Display of Tracks in the Track View.

Track/Bus Inspector

The Track/Bus Inspector makes it easy to adjust the current track's (or bus's) controls, because it's a greatly expanded version of the current track's controls that is located on the left side of the Track pane.

In addition to the controls that a track or bus displays in the Track view, the Track/Bus Inspector also contains a built-in 4-band EQ. See the online help topic "Using the Per-track EQ" for more information.

The following graphic shows most of the Track/Bus Inspector's controls (there may not be room to display all of a track's controls on the Track/Bus Inspector, depending on the resolution of your monitor):

A. Audio icon B. Output routing C. Track name D. Display menu E. Module menu F. MIDI icon G. Output routing H. Track name I. Display menu J. Module menu

You can hide or show any of the Track/Bus Inspector's controls, and use it to display the controls from any track or bus. The following table shows you how:


To do this...		Do this...
Hide or show the Track/Bus Inspector		Press i on your keyboard.
Display a certain track's or bus's controls in the Track/Bus Inspector		Click the track or bus to make it current, or choose the track or bus in the track/bus dropdown menu that's at the bottom of the Track/Bus Inspector.
Hide or show any of the Track/Bus Inspector's controls		Click the Display menu or Module menu, and choose options. Note: you can not display a MIDI track's Time + or Key + controls in the Track/Bus Inspector.
Reassign MIDI controller sliders in a MIDI Track's Fx bin		Right-click the slider you want to reassign and choose Reassign Control from the popup menu, choose the new parameter, and click OK.
Display the parameters of a different automatable effect		Click the name of the effect you want to select.
Assign a control to a group, arm it for automation, take an automation snapshot, or set up remote control		Right-click the control and choose options from the popup menu.
Bypass the FX bin		Right-click the FX bin and choose Bypass Bin from the popup menu.

The Console View

The Console view is where you can mix the sounds on all the different tracks to create the final mix of your project. While the Track view provides most of the same controls, you may want to use the more familiar interface of the Console view for mixing.

You 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.

The Console view contains several groups of controls. There is one module for each track in your project, and one module for each bus. You can use bus sends to direct certain tracks to special modules that are known as buses.

A. Audio module B. MIDI module C. MIDI velocity D. Bus out E. Main out F. Show/hide strip controls buttons G. Widen all strips H. Show/hide for tracks, buses, mains

As in the Track view, you can change track settings or record new music or sound in the Console view. You may choose to use one view or the other, or the choice you make may depend on which project you are working on.

Other Views

SONAR has a number of other views you can use to display and work on your project. To display these views, select one or more tracks, by Ctrl-clicking their track numbers and:

Click the icon for the view in the Views toolbar

Or

Choose the view you want from the View menu

The Piano Roll view : shows the notes from a MIDI track or tracks as they would appear on a player-piano roll. You can move the notes around, make them longer or shorter, and change their pitches by just dragging them with the mouse. You can also use the Piano Roll view to display and edit MIDI velocity, controllers, and other types of information. The Piano Roll view also contains the Drum Editor, which allows you to "paint" drum patterns using the Pattern Brush tool and play different drum modules from a single track. For more information, see Piano Roll View.

The Staff view : displays the notes from one or more MIDI tracks using standard music notation, similar to the way the notation would appear on a printed page. You can add, edit, or delete notes; create percussion parts; add guitar chords and other notation markings; display guitar tablature; display the Fretboard pane; and print whole scores or individual parts to share with other musicians.

A. Dynamics and markings B. Time and pitch locator C. Editing tools D. Zoom out E. Zoom in F. Snap to Grid G. Show/hide track pane H. Fretboard display I. Track list pane J. Fretboard pane

The Loop Construction view : allows you to create and edit Groove clips (SONAR loops that "know" the tempo and key in which they were recorded), and export these clips as ACIDized files. For more information, see Loop Construction view.

The Loop Explorer view : allows you to preview ACIDized files and other Wave files; and drag and drop them into your project. For more information, see Loop Explorer View.

The Event List view : displays the events in a project individually, so that you can make changes at a very detailed level. For more information, see Event List View.

SONAR has several other views that are used for very specific purposes:


View...		How you use it...
Meter/Key		To change the meter (time signature) or key signature, or to insert changes in the meter or key signature at specific times in a project. For more information, see Meter/Key View.
Big Time		To display the Now time in a large, resizable font that you can read more easily. For more information, see Big Time View.
Markers		To add, move, rename, or delete labels for parts of your project that make it easier to move from one point to another. For more information, see Markers View.
Lyrics		To add and display lyrics for a track. For more information, see Lyrics view.
Video		To display a loaded video file. For more information, see Video View.
Synth Rack		Manage your soft synths
Navigator		Manage the Now Time in a project
Surround Panner (Producer version only)		Pan a surround track
Sysx		To create, display, store, and edit System Exclusive MIDI messages used to control instruments and other gear that are MIDI capable. For more information, see SYSX View.
Tempo		To view and edit the project's tempo changes. For more information, see Tempo View.

Zoom Controls

Many of the views contain Zoom tools that let you change the horizontal and vertical scale of the view:

A. Zoom Clips pane out vertically B. Vertical Zoom fader for Clips pane C. Zoom Clips pane in vertically D. Zoom Bus pane out vertically E. Vertical Zoom fader for Bus pane F. Zoom in horizontally G. Horizontal zoom fader H. Zoom out horizontally

The Track view toolbar contains the Zoom tool:

The zoom tools are used as described in the following table:


Tool...		How you use it...
Zoom out (Clips pane or Bus pane)		Click to zoom out incrementally, or press Shift and click to zoom all the way out
Zoom in (Clips pane or Bus pane)		Click to zoom in incrementally, or press Shift and click to zoom all the way in
Zoom fader		Click and drag to zoom continuously
Zoom tool		Click to arm, then click and drag in the view to select the zoom area. Click the dropdown arrow to display a menu of zoom and view options.

You can also zoom with the keyboard:


Key...		What it does...
Ctrl+up arrow		Zoom out vertically
Ctrl+down arrow		Zoom in vertically
Ctrl+right arrow		Zoom in horizontally
Ctrl+left arrow		Zoom out horizontally
G		Go to (center) the Now time, without zooming
Hold down Z		Arm the Zoom tool
U		Undo the current zoom
F		Fit tracks to window
A		Show all tracks
Shift+F		Fit project to window
Shift+Double Click a clip		Maximize track height

Docking Views

You can dock any view other than the Console view in the lower-right corner of the Track view by enabling a view's Enable Tabbed option. You can have as many views open in tabbed format as you want. You can toggle through the different views by clicking the tab of the view you want to see (or use the Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right Arrow shortcut). You can also maximize the pane to do detailed work in a view, or drag the splitter bar at the top of the view to enlarge the tabbed view area. For step-by-step instructions, see the procedures below.

A. Maximize pane B. Scroll left or right to view tabs C. Active view D. Tabs


To do this...		Do this...
Display a view in tabbed format		Click the upper left corner of a view, and choose Enable Tabbed from the popup menu
Disable tabbed format for a view		Right-click the view's tab, and choose Disable Tabbed from the popup menu.
Enable or disable tabbed format for all open views		Use the View-Enable Tabbing for Open Views command.
Maximize a tabbed view		Click the Maximize/Restore button that's just to the left of the tabs.
Restore tabbed view		Click the Restore button that's in the lower left corner of the view that you're restoring.
Close a View that is in Tabbed Format		Right-click the view's tab, and choose Close from the popup menu

Locking Views

By default SONAR allows only one instance of each view, but you can lock the contents of most views, preserving the current view by forcing a new instance of the view to appear if necessary. Locking views is the only way you can have multiple instances of the same view open. Only the Track and Console views cannot be locked.

To lock a view, just click the lock button at the top right of the view. An unlocked view looks like this , and a locked view looks like this . A view can be locked automatically by pressing the Ctrl key when opening the view.

Floating Views

When a view is float enabled, you can move it outside of the confines of SONAR. This is particularly useful if you take advantage of SONAR's dual monitor support. Using dual monitor support, you can keep the Track or Console view on one monitor and "float" other views to the other monitor by dragging them to the second screen.

For more information, see the online help topic "Floating Views and Dual Monitor Support."

X-Ray Windows

The X-Ray Windows feature eliminates the need to constantly minimize, move, or close windows in order to work in other windows. It works by decreasing the opacity of the current window enough so that you can see and work with the window that's behind the current window. You activate the feature by pressing a keyboard shortcut (default shortcut is Shift+X) when the mouse cursor is over a window you want to x-ray. You can choose to X-Ray whichever window is underneath the mouse cursor, or automatically X-Ray all FX/synth property pages in one step (note: the mouse cursor does not need to be over any plug-in property pages).

The X-Ray Windows feature works on the following windows:

AudioSnap palette
Synth Rack
Piano Roll view (when float-enabled)
Snap To Grid dialog
Plug-in effects and synths
Controller/Surface plug-ins

To Select Key Bindings for X-Ray Windows

Use the Options-Key Bindings command to open the Key Bindings dialog.
If you want to use currently unassigned keys or key combinations, scroll through the options in the Key window until the Global Key Assignment field that is just under the window reads Unassigned. It's a good idea to find two unassigned options that are next to each other or easy to remember.

Note: for best results with X-Ray Windows, avoid using Alt key combinations.

Once you've decided on two keys or key combinations that you want to use, select Global Bindings in the Bind Context field, and scroll to the bottom of the list of commands that are in the window below that field.
In the Key window, highlight the key or key combination that you want to use for the X-Ray command, then highlight X-Ray in the function column of the list of commands, then click the Bind button to bind them together.
Now highlight the key or key combination that you want to use for the X-Ray All FX/Synths command, then Highlight X-Ray All FX/Synths in the function column of the list of commands, then click the Bind button to bind them together.
Click OK to close the dialog.

To Use X-Ray Windows

Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog, and on the General tab, make sure that the Enable X-Ray checkbox is enabled.
Make sure that the view windows you want to X-Ray are in the Floating-enabled state: to check this, click the view or fx icon that's in the upper left corner of a window, and select Enable Floating from the dropdown menu. If Disable Floating is in the menu, then the Floating option is already enabled.

Note: all FX/Synth/Control surface property pages are float-enabled by default.

To X-Ray or un-X-Ray a single window, move the mouse cursor over the window, and press the keyboard shortcut (default is Shift+X) for the X-Ray command. The window does not need to have focus (does not need to be the highlighted window).
To X-Ray or un-X-Ray all plug-in windows at once, press the key binding for the X-Ray All FX/Synths command.

Note: if a window has focus, and the window's Give All Keystrokes To Plug-in button is enabled, X-Ray keyboard commands won't work.

To Adjust X-Ray Windows Options

Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
On the General tab, you can adust these options:
- Enable X-Ray--enable or disable this checkbox to turn the X-Ray Windows feature on or off.
- Opacity--adjust this value by typing in a value, or by clicking and holding the + or - button to adjust the final opacity percentage value that an X-Rayed window reaches.
- Fade Out Time--adjust this value by typing in a value, or by clicking and holding the + or - button to adjust the amount of time that an X-Rayed window takes to reach its final opacity percentage value.
- Fade In Time--adjust this value by clicking and holding the + or - button to adjust the amount of time that an X-Rayed window takes to restore its original opacity.
Click OK to close the dialog and accept your changes.

To Exclude a Plug-in from X-Ray Capablity

Some plug-ins (very few) use DirectDraw to create their windows. These windows appear jittery when X-Rayed.

To exclude a plug-in from X-Ray Capablity, follow these steps:

Open the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager: use the Tools-Cakewalk Plug-in Manager command.
In the Plug-in Categories window, select the category that the plug-in you want to exclude is in.
In the Registered Plug-ins window, select the plug-in that you want to exclude.
If the plug-in is a DirectX effect or an MFX, write down (or select and copy) the CLSID value that's in the CLSID field at the bottom of the dialog.
If the plug-in is a VST or VSTi, write down the VST ID value that's in the VST ID field at the bottom of the dialog.
Close the Plug-in Manager dialog.
Open the xrayexclude.ini file that's in your SONAR program folder (use Notepad).
At the end of the file, find the [EffectProps View] section.

You will see entries such as the following:

; Waves SSL EQ Stereo

XRayExclude11=1397510483

XRayExclude12={E451379E-F7E1-4E82-98D9-BEB87AC45E90}

Exclude your plug-in by creating a blank line below the last entry in the [EffectProps View] section, and then typing:

;[name of your plug-in, but withour brackets]

XRayExclude[type the next available number in XRayExclude list, but without brackets]=[VST ID number, with no brackets, or CLSID number, with curly braces at start and finish]

For example, if the last entry in the [EffectProps View] section was:

; Waves SSL EQ Stereo

XRayExclude11=1397510483

XRayExclude12={E451379E-F7E1-4E82-98D9-BEB87AC45E90}

And you wanted to exclude the Cakewalk FxDelay from the X-Ray Windows feature, after creating a blank line you would type:

; Cakewalk FxDelay

XRayExclude13={985DAF67-589F-4B8D-8BBC-D7AD651B9022}

If there was also a VST version of the Cakewalk FxDelay, you would add another line:

XRayExclude14=[some VST ID number, with no brackets]

Save and close the xrayexclude.ini file, and restart SONAR to implement your changes.

Customizable Menus

All main menus and context menus are customizable. You can fine-tune your workflow by hiding menu items that are rarely used and reordering commands that you use frequently. You can even design and save menu layouts specific to different tasks.

Caution: you can move commands completely out of their default menus. For example, you can move commands out of the Edit menu into the Process menu. Keep in mind that this manual describes commands by their original menu locations, so if you're looking for help about the Process-Nudge command, and you've moved the Nudge command to the Edit menu, the documentation for this command will still refer to the command as Process-Nudge. You can always load the default menu layout to restore the original command structure.

To open the Menu Editor dialog, choose Options-Menu Editor.
In the Menu Editor dialog, to choose a menu to edit, select one from the Menu dropdown list.


To do this...		Do this...
Hide items in a menu		Click a Menu Item (Ctrl-click to select multiple items) and press the Hide button. The hidden command(s) will only be visible in the submenu that is automatically created at the bottom of the menu. You can display the submenu by clicking one of the arrows at the bottom of the menu.
Show items in a menu		Click a Menu Item (Ctrl-click to select multiple items) and press the Show button. The command(s) will reappear in its original location.
Reorder items in a menu		Click and drag Menu Items up or down to change their position in the menu order. Note that you can click and drag Menu Items in and out of submenus as well.
Create a new submenu		Right-click an item in the Menu Items list and select Create Submenu. That item will now appear in its own new submenu. Or Select one or more items from the list and press the Create New button in the Submenus section of the dialog.
Rename a Menu Item or submenu		Right-click a Menu Item or submenu and select Rename, then enter a new name. Or Select a Menu Item and press F2, then enter a new name.
Create a new separator bar		Right-click a Menu Item and select Insert Separator. The separator bar will appear above the Menu Item you right-clicked.
Remove a submenu or separator bar		Right-click the submenu or separator and select Remove Submenu or Remove Separator.
Save a new menu layout		Enter a new name into the Menu Layout field and press the Save button.
Delete an existing menu layout		Select the menu layout you wish to delete and press the Delete button
Edit a menu layout		Launch the Menu Editor and choose the menu layout you wish to edit from the dropdown menu, then make your changes.
Load a different menu layout		Launch the Menu Editor and choose a different Menu Layout from the dropdown menu, then close the dialog. OR Use the Options-Menu Layouts command, and select a layout from the available options.

Note 1: Keep in mind that the factory default menu layout cannot be overwritten. If you want to change this layout, save your changes under a new layout name.

Note 2: If you change your menu layout so much that you can't find some commands, you can always load the factory default menu layout.

Altering your menus may affect your menus' hotkeys, which allow you to navigate through the application's menus without using a mouse. You can view the hotkeys in your menus by pressing Alt and observing the underlined letters. Pressing the underlined letter on your keyboard will launch that menu command. In order to ensure you have no duplicates hotkeys in your customized menu, do the following.

Launch the Menu Editor and select the menu or submenu you wish to check for duplicate hotkeys. Right-click the Menu Item and select Check Hotkeys. The Menu Editor will then report back if duplicate hotkeys are found, or if a command has no hotkey at all.

Note: the Check Hotkeys command examines only commands on the menu that you right-clicked, at the menu level that you right-clicked. It does not examine submenus of that menu.

If missing or duplicate hotkeys are found, right-click again and select Generate Hotkeys. New non-duplicate hotkeys will be assigned for each item in that menu or submenu (but only on the menu level where you right-clicked, not on any submenus of the menu or submenu that you right-clicked).

Note: Hotkeys are indicated within the Menu Editor by ampersands ("&") in each menu item's name. The ampersand is placed directly before the letter that represents the menu item's hotkey. If you wish to assign hotkeys manually, you can do so by when you rename a hotkey by placing the ampersand before your preferred hotkey letter for that command or submenu.

If necessary, re-save your layout to preserve these changes.

Customizable Toolbars

You can customize each toolbar in SONAR. You can hide or reorder each component of a toolbar, or add buttons to a toolbar from other toolbars. You can create up to three new toolbars from components of other toolbars. You can also hide or show all toolbars with a single command, and dock toolbars vertically if you want.

To choose what toolbars you want to see, use the View-Toolbars command, and check the toolbars that you want to see in the dialog box.
To hide or show all toolbars, use the View-Show Toolbars command. This command is available in the Key Bindings dialog (Options-Key Bindings command).

To customize a toolbar:

Right-click the toolbar that you want to customize, and choose Customize from the popup menu to open the Customize Toolbar dialog.
In the Available Toolbar Buttons field, select a component that you want to see in the toolbar, and click the Add button to move the component to the Current Toolbar Buttons field.
Repeat step 2 for any additional components you would like to display.
In the Current Toolbar Buttons field, select a component that you do not want to see in the toolbar, and click the Remove button to move the component to the Available Toolbar Buttons field.
Repeat step 4 for any additional components you would like to remove.
If you would like to move a toolbar component to a different location in the toolbar, select the component in the Current Toolbar Buttons field, and click the Move Up button or the Move Down button to change the button's location in the toolbar.
Repeat step 7 for any additional components.
If you want to restore the toolbar to its default appearance, click the Reset button.
Click Close when you want to close the dialog.

To create a toolbar:

Use the View-Toolbars command, and check one of the User "n" options.

A toolbar appears, with a default set of controls.

Right-click the toolbar, and choose Customize from the popup menu to open the Customize Toolbar dialog.
Customize the toolbar the in the same way as the previous procedure.

To rename a toolbar:

Right-click the toolbar, and choose Rename from the popup menu to open the Rename Toolbar dialog
Fill in the New Name field, and click OK.

Now when you open the Toolbars dialog, the name you chose is listed in the dialog.

To dock or undock a toolbar:

To dock a toolbar horizontally, drag it to the top or bottom of the interface.
To dock a toolbar vertically, drag it to the left or right side of the interface.
To undock a toolbar, drag it to the part of the interface where you want it, or entirely away from the interface.

Layouts

You may spend a lot of time making sure that all the views are laid out on the screen just the way you want. When you save your work, you can save the screen layout along with it. You can also save the layout by itself and then use the layout with other projects. For more information, see the online help topic "Layouts."

SONAR File Types

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Projects in SONAR can be saved as a project file with the extension .cwp or as a Bundle file with the extension .cwb.

For a complete description of the differences between project files and bundle files, see the online help topic Project Files and Bundle Files.

Other Types of Files

SONAR lets you create and work with several other types of files, in addition to project (.cwp) and bundle (.cwb) files that store your projects:


File type...		Description...
MIDI files (extension .mid)		Standard MIDI files.
Template files (extension .tpl)		Templates for new files you create
StudioWare (extension .CakewalkStudioware)		To control external MIDI devices from SONAR
OMF (extension .omf)		Open Media Framework format files.

Starting Cakewalk SONAR 8

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There are many different ways to start SONAR. Here are a few:

Double-click the SONAR icon on your desktop.
Click the Start button, and choose Programs-Cakewalk-SONAR 8 (Studio Edition or Producer Edition)-SONAR 8 (Studio Edition or Producer Edition).
Click the Start button, point to Documents, and choose a SONAR project from the menu.
Double-click the SONAR program or any SONAR document from the Windows Explorer or the Find menu.

When starting SONAR, you will see the Quick Start dialog box.

The Quick Start dialog box has several options:


Option...		How to use it...
Open a Project		Choose a project from the Open File dialog box to open it
Open a Recent Project		Select a project from the list, and click this button to open it
Create a New Project		Click here to create a new project.
Getting Started		Click here to view the Getting Started topic in the help file. This topic has links to a glossary of terms, as well as some basic procedures.

If you don't want to see the Quick Start dialog box in the future, uncheck the box at the bottom of the dialog box, and click Close. You can see the Quick Start dialog box later by choosing Help-Quick Start.

Migrating Preferences

If you have a previous version of Cakewalk installed, SONAR will detect it and give you the option of migrating certain preferences from a single earlier version.

When you choose to migrate preferences, SONAR migrates the following settings from an earlier Cakewalk version:


Setting...		Description...
Global Options		Settings in the Global Options dialog. Open by selecting Options-Global.
Key Bindings		Your customized key bindings for controlling SONAR using your MIDI keyboard or computer keyboard.
Instrument Definitions		Files used to control specific MIDI instruments.
Audio data directory (WaveData folder) and Picture Cache directory locations		SONAR uses the Data directory and Picture Cache directories from the previous Cakewalk version for storing project wave files and their waveform image files.

Running Wave Profiler

The first time you start SONAR, it automatically runs the Wave Profiler utility. Wave Profiler determines the proper MIDI and Audio timings for your sound card and writes them to a file that SONAR refers to when using the card. Wave Profiler does not change the sound card's DMA, IRQ, or port address settings.

Wave Profiler detects the make and model of your sound card, which determine the card's audio characteristics. If Wave Profiler finds a card that has a WDM driver, it only profiles that card. If you want to use more than one sound card at a time, and they don't both have WDM drivers, you must force the one with the WDM driver to use that driver as an older, MME driver. It is not necessary to run the Wave Profiler for a sound card using an ASIO driver. For more information about Wave Profiler, WDM, and MME, see the online help topic The Wave Profiler When Wave Profiler determines the kind of card you have, always accept the default settings.

Note: You can run the Wave Profiler again at a later time (for example, if you install a new sound card or driver) by choosing the Options-Audio General tab command and clicking Wave Profiler.

Setting Up the MIDI In and MIDI Out Devices

When you start SONAR for the first time, it checks your computer to find all the MIDI input and output devices you have installed (such as sound cards and MIDI interfaces). However, sometimes you need to tell SONAR exactly which devices you want it to use. If you're not getting sound from your sound card or MIDI keyboard, or if you just want to change the MIDI outputs and devices that you are using, follow the steps in this section.

Choose Options-MIDI Devices to open a dialog box in which you select the MIDI In and MIDI Out devices that SONAR will use. Each item in the list is a MIDI Input or MIDI Output from drivers installed using the Windows Control Panel.

Select Options-MIDI Devices. You will see the MIDI Devices dialog box, which lets you choose instruments on MIDI inputs and outputs.

Look at the top window. Notice that it shows devices on MIDI Inputs; make sure that all devices in this window are checked. If a device isn't checked, click on it once to select it for MIDI Input.
Look at the window on the bottom. Notice that it shows devices on MIDI Outputs. SONAR numbers its MIDI Outputs by the order of the devices in this window. The device on top is on Output 1, the one below it is on Output 2, and so on.
Check one device at a time in the Outputs window and click Move Selected Devices to Top to change its order. Then check all the devices that appear in the window to select them for output.

Tip: Be sure to enable (check) MIDI output devices in the MIDI Devices dialog (use the Options-MIDI Devices command). If you don't do this, you won't hear any of your MIDI instruments when you play songs in SONAR.

Using MIDI Devices After Making Driver Changes

If you later add or remove drivers using the Drivers icon of the Windows Control Panel, SONAR reacts in the following way:

If you remove a Control Panel driver, SONAR will not use the device it belongs to the next time you run the program. Any other devices you had selected using the Options-MIDI Devices command will remain selected.
If you add a driver through the Control Panel, SONAR does not automatically use it. You must use the Options-MIDI Devices command to enable the new driver in SONAR's list.

Note: After you add or remove a driver with the Drivers icon in the Windows Control Panel, you must restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Defining Your MIDI Instrument or Sound Card

Once you have selected your MIDI Input and Output devices, SONAR, by default, plays back MIDI sequences using a General MIDI instrument definition. If you are using a synthesizer or sound card that does not adhere to the General MIDI standard, you may want to define that instrument.

MIDI Connections for Cakewalk Sonar

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MIDI Connections

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There are three types of MIDI cables in common use. Here's how to connect each of the three types:

USB cable--this is extremely common. Many electronic keyboards and stand-alone MIDI interfaces use this type of connection. To use this type of connection, simply plug one end of the USB cable into the USB jack on your MDI keyboard or stand-alone MIDI interface, and plug the other end into your computer. If you are using a stand-alone USB MIDI interface, you then need to connect standard MIDI cables between your MIDI keyboard and your stand-alone MIDI interface (see the next procedure, below). If you haven't already installed the software MIDI driver that came with your keyboard or interface, make sure you do so.
Standard MIDI cable--this is also very common. MIDI keyboards usually have jacks for these cables even if they have a USB connection. You need two of these cables. To use this type of cable, use one cable to connect the MIDI OUT jack on your MIDI instrument to the MIDI IN jack on your stand-alone MIDI interface or sound card, and one to connect the MIDI IN jack on your MIDI instrument to the MIDI OUT jack on your stand-alone MIDI interface or sound card. Many stand-alone MIDI interfaces and audio interfaces use this type of connector.

Joystick connector--this is becoming less common. This is the type of connection seen on older SoundBlaster type sound cards. To use this type of connection, find the end of one of the MIDI cables that is labeled OUT. Plug this connector into the MIDI IN jack on your electronic keyboard. The other 5-pin connector on the MIDI cable is labeled IN. Plug this connector into the MIDI OUT jack on your electronic keyboard. Plug the 15-pin connector on the MIDI cable into the MIDI/joystick port on your sound card. If you have a joystick, unplug it, plug in the MIDI cable, and plug the joystick into the pass-through connector on the MIDI cable.

A. Insert this MIIDI IN plug into the MIDI OUT port on your MIDI instrument B. Insert this MIIDI OUT plug into the MIDI IN port on your MIDI instrument C. Insert this plug into the joystick port on your sound card

Audio Connections for Sonar

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There are several types of audio interfaces (soundcards). CardBus (PCI), USB/USB2 and FireWire are the most common. Laptops can use an audio PCMCIA 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 Inputs

There are two basic types of audio inputs, analog and digital. Analog inputs allow you to connect a guitar, mic or other instrument to your computer directly. The audio interface converts the analog input to digital. Digital inputs allow other digital devices to connect directly to your computer. Common digital inputs include external analog to digital converters, popular guitar processors like the Line 6 POD, and other digital recording systems like the ADAT decks. Analog inputs are very common, and are standard in virtually all consumer sound cards (the ones that come with your PC). Digital inputs are becoming more popular and are very common on professional and mid-level, "prosumer" interfaces. Analog inputs allow you to record a mono or stereo signal (assuming you have a stereo input) while digital inputs allow you to record 1 to 8 signals depending on the type of digital connection.

The following table describes the various analog inputs and outputs:


Type of analog input/output...		Description...
Balanced (XLR, phono or RCA)		a mono input/output
Unbalanced (TRS)		a stereo or mono input/output

The following table describes the various digital inputs and outputs:


Type of digital input/output...		Description...
S/PDIF		Sony/Philips Digital Interface--capable of carrying a stereo signal, S/PDIF is transmitted via RCA, Toslink or more rarely BNC jacks (single-pin cable-TV connections)
ADAT Lightpipe		Up to 8 channels of simultaneous transfer. If you want to import your old ADAT material without any signal degradation, this is the connection you should use.
TDIF		Tascam Digital Interface--up to 8 channels of simultaneous transfer.
AES/EBU		Often referred to as simply AES, this type of digital connection uses a modified XLR cable to transfer a stereo signal.

Read your hardware documentation carefully to determine what kind of digital connections, if any, you have on your audio interface.

To Connect an Electric Guitar or Keyboard to Your Computer

If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack (built-in sound cards that come with your PC usually do), plug your 1/4" mono guitar or audio cable into a 1/8" stereo adapter, and then plug the 1/8" adapter into the microphone input or line input jack on your computer sound card. If you are connecting a keyboard, the audio cable must go from the keyboard's audio out or line out jack to the sound card input jack. 1/8" stereo adapters are available at consumer electronic supply stores.

Or

If you use a professional or "prosumer" sound card, there is probably a 1/4 inch input jack on your sound card or audio hardware interface that you can plug your guitar cable or audio cable into.

To Connect a Microphone to Your Computer

If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack (built-in sound cards that come with your PC usually do), and your microphone cable has a 1/4" plug on the end, plug the mic cable into a 1/8" stereo adapter, and then plug the 1/8" adapter into the microphone input jack on your computer sound card. 1/8" stereo adapters are available at consumer electronic supply stores.
If you use a professional or "prosumer" sound card, there is probably a 1/4 inch input jack on your sound card or audio hardware interface that you can plug your mic cable into.
If your mic has a cable with an XLR plug on the end, and your sound card or audio hardware interface has a 1/4 inch input jack, plug the mic cable into an XLR-to-quarter inch adapter, and then plug your mic cable into your audio hardware. If your audio hardware has an XLR input, of course it's better to use that.
You can also plug your mic into a mixer or pre-amp, and connect the mixer or pre-amp to an input jack on your audio hardware. This is usually the best method.

That's it! Now that your instruments are all set to go, you can restart your computer and turn on your keyboard, guitar, and microphone.

For a complete description of audio input options, see the online help topic "Hardware Setup."

Before install Cakewalk SONAR 8

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You can install SONAR on any computer that runs Windows XP or x64 and has a sound card or built-in sound module. If you want to hook up other devices, like a MIDI keyboard, an electric guitar, or a microphone, you need the right cables, and you need to find the right connectors on your computer.

Before you install SONAR, take a minute to register the software so we can let you know when updates become available and provide you with technical support. To register anytime log onto http://www.cakewalk.com/register, or call 888-CAKEWALK (U.S.) or +(617)-423-9004 (outside the U.S.) between 9 AM and 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. If you live outside of North America, please visit our distributor's page at www.cakewalk.com/Dealers/International.asp to get the telephone number of your local distributor. You'll need to supply your serial number, your name, and a valid email address.

To connect a MIDI keyboard to your computer, you need standard MIDI cables or a MIDI adapter cable (joystick connector), such as the one available in Cakewalk's PC Music Pack. One end of the adapter cable should have two 5-pin DIN connectors that connect to your keyboard or other MIDI device. At the other end, you need a 15-pin connector to connect to a sound card through its MIDI/joystick port.

If you have a dedicated MIDI interface, lots of electronic music gear, or work with many different music software packages, see the online help topic "Hardware Setup."

Before you attach or detach any cables from your computer, you should shut down your computer and turn off the power to all your equipment. This greatly reduces the chance of electrical damage to your equipment while plugging and unplugging cables.

User Accounts
Previous versions of SONAR required a user to have Windows Administrator status. This is no longer the case. Any level of user can now install and run SONAR. Only one copy of SONAR per machine is necessary for multiple users to run SONAR with each user's personal settings.

There is now also a new folder structure for personal settings (presets, .ini files, etc.). Each user account gets its own Application Data folder (this folder is called App Data in Vista). The first time SONAR is launched under a new user account, a new application data folder is created for that account, and all the data in the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Cakewalk folder is copied to the new user account's application data folder--C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Cakewalk. For Vista users the folders are C:\Progarm Data\Cakewalk and C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Cakewalk.

Data in the Program FIles folder will be common to all users.

Digital audio

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Digital audio (frequently referred to here as just "audio") is a simple way to record and play sounds of any type. It works like a tape recorder--you record something, then later play it back. Digital audio stores the sound as a long series of numbers. To record audio in SONAR, you have to have an audio cable connecting the audio output of your electronic instrument to the audio input on your sound card or audio hardware. If you're recording vocals or an acoustic instrument, you need to connect a microphone to the audio input on your sound card or audio hardware.

Sound Waves

Sound waves are vibrations in the air. Sound waves are generated by anything that vibrates; a vibrating object causes the air next to it to vibrate, and the vibration is passed through the air in all directions. When the vibrating air enters your ear, it makes your eardrum vibrate, and you hear a sound. Likewise, if the vibrating air hits a microphone, it causes the microphone to vibrate and send electrical signals to whatever it's connected to.

These vibrations are very fast. The slowest vibration frequency you can hear is about 20 vibrations per second, and the fastest is around 16,000 to 20,000 vibrations per second.

Recording Digital Audio

To record digital audio, your computer monitors the electrical signal generated by a microphone, an electric guitar, or another source. At equal intervals of time (for CD-quality sound, this means 44,100 times a second), the computer measures and saves the strength of the electrical signal from the microphone, on a scale from 0 to 65,535.

That's it. Digital audio data is just a long series of numbers. The computer sends these numbers, in the form of electrical signals, to a speaker. The speaker then vibrates and generates the same sound that was recorded.

The primary advantage of digital audio is the quality of the sound. Unlike MIDI, a digital audio recording is very rich, capturing all the nuances, overtones, and other characteristics of the sound exactly as performed. The main drawback of digital audio is that it takes up a lot of disk space. To record a 1-minute segment of stereo, CD-quality digital audio, you need about 10 megabytes of disk space.

On the PC, digital audio is usually stored in Wave files (extension .wav). There are many programs available that let you create, play, and edit these files. SONAR reads, writes, and lets you edit Wave files.

What is Midi?

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Korg M1 was one of the first Midi integrated Synth Workstations.

MIDI (short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is the way computers communicate with most sound cards, keyboards, and other electronic instruments. MIDI refers to both the type of cables and plugs used to connect the computers and instruments, and to the language those computers and instruments use to talk to each other. The MIDI standard is accepted and used worldwide. Almost any electronic instrument you buy today will have MIDI connectors and can be used with other MIDI instruments and with your computer's MIDI interface. To record MIDI in SONAR, you have to have a MIDI cable connecting the MIDI OUT port on your MIDI instrument to a MIDI IN port on either your sound card or your MIDI interface. You must also make sure that you have installed the software MIDI driver that came with your sound card or MIDI interface.

The MIDI language conveys information and instructions, both from the computer to the instrument and from the instrument to the computer. For example, if your computer wants your keyboard to play a note, it sends a MIDI "Note On" message and tells the keyboard which note to play. When your computer wants the keyboard to stop playing that note, it sends another message that stops the note from playing.

The MIDI language has many other instructions, such as messages to change the sound that is used to play the notes (the bank and patch), messages that enable working with the sustain pedal and the pitch-bend wheel, and others. By sending the right messages at the right times, your computer can control your electronic instrument and make it play music.

MIDI information can be sent on 16 different channels. You can set up your MIDI equipment to listen for messages on all channels or on only a few.

MIDI files contain all the MIDI messages and timing information that are needed to play a song. MIDI files can be read and played by many different programs, including SONAR, and can even be played by programs on other types of computers. MIDI files have the extension .mid.

There are several important advantages of the MIDI format:

Large amounts of music can be stored in a very compact form
Different parts of a piece can easily be assigned to any instrument you can imagine
The music contains information on notes, tempos, and key signatures that makes it possible to display and edit the piece using standard musical notation

The primary disadvantage of MIDI is that the quality of the sound a listener hears will vary depending on the MIDI equipment the listener is using. For example, MIDI usually sounds much better on an expensive synthesizer than it does on an inexpensive sound card.