Cakewalk SONAR Home Studio 6 XL Review

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(More customer reviews)The big news for this update is that it now uses the same sound engine found in the high-end professional versions (Studio and Producer). Includes well-chosen set of virtual instruments and effects, and be sure to search the net for the huge number of free VST and DXI effects out there that will add a lot of additional value to this product. See the Cakewalk site for details of this product, and be sure to watch the instructional videos even if you are a long-time Home Studio user (you can find them on Cakewalk's site too to have a preview of what you get). This is probably the most significant update of Home Studio ever, and well worth the money for the home studio musician... you can make very professional-sounding recordings with this product. Note you will also need a MIDI and audio interface to plug in your keyboard/microphone/guitar, etc. BTW I recommend the XL version even at the extra cost over the non-XL version, the extras are worth it.

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Sonar Home Studio 6 XL makes it easy to produce professional music, without being in a studio. The 64-bit double precision engine gives you pristine sound quality, for unmatched music creation. Active Controller Technology (ACT) dynamically re-maps effect, mix and instruments to hardware controllers, for easier music creation. The AudioSnap suite lets you take complete control of your track, while the Synth Rack makes automating instruments a snap. At every step of your production -- from composing with virtual instruments, to recording, mixing, and beyond -- you'll fast forward your music production. SONAR Home Studio XL adds value and more power with a selection of over one gigabyte of instrument sounds, Boost 11 peak limiter, Session Drummer 2 drum instrument, and more. 10 new professional audio effects.Active Controller Technology (ACT) lets users easily control and automate effects, instruments, and their mix from MIDI controllers by automatically remapping controls to whatever has the focus Rip from and burn to CD directly from SONAR Home StudioAutomate tracks, effects, and instruments easily with enhanced automation tools.MIDI Input Quantize corrects the timing of MIDI performances in real-time.Freeze tracks, effects, and virtual instruments to conserve CPU power.Native and fully integrated support for VST plug-ins, no wrapper required.DropZone sampler with extended library of instrument sounds including a Drum Pack and Bass Pack.Cakewalk Publisher lets users present and stream their music on the Internet SONAR Home Studio XL Exclusives -Boost 11 Peak Limiter - Get more volume and punch from your final mix with this easy to use peak limiter/maximizer. Boost 11 gives you professional results with a simple to use interface / Dimension LE - A special version of the synth from Cakewalk. Features over 400 sound programs, ranging from real bass, organ and electric piano samples t

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Sonar 8.5 Producer Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been a Cakewalk user for years, starting with their Pro Audio software and dating to when the company was known as 12-Tone Systems. Their software has only become better and better as the years have gone by. Sonar has been the best available Windows-based digital audio workstation software for a long time now - to the point where a fair number of producers and studios have migrated to Sonar from Pro Tools, not to mention a steadily increasing string of software and industry awards. (See Cakewalk's site for names, if interested.) And, of course, with Boot Camp, you can run Sonar native under Windows if you have a recent Intel-based Mac - running a Mac doesn't force you into Pro Tools for software at this level.
Be warned - if you are not heavily into audio, audio for video, MIDI, recording, sequencing, effects, looping, mastering, mixing, etc. - and possess the audio domain knowledge that all that entails, as well as a good understanding of the complexities of running full-on audio software from a technical standpoint - you can find yourself overwhelmed by this software, and you will be MUCH better off with Cakewalk's Home Studio version of Sonar. Sonar (particularly Producer) can be enormously complex, but that's not due to any design issues - quite the contrary! Rather, that's because it covers a vast array of audio activities, options, and capabilities. It is possible to use it simplistically, but I'd direct anyone with only those types of needs to simpler software suites.
On the other hand, if you do have the audio and technical knowledge, you'll find Sonar Producer is flexible, powerful, configurable, and responsive. It is also very stable and has been so for many versions now. Be aware that this type of software by its nature (high processing loads, need to control latency, timing control and issues among multiple devices and interfaces, etc.) can be compromised by PC setups optimized for multipurpose use.
The software comes with a terrific package of high-quality effects plug-ins. I've also found Cakewalk to have good customer service - one of the very, very few, in fact, where the response on customer service calls is as good as on sales calls. Cakewalk continues to improve the user interface with Sonar 8. Particularly welcome are edit changes, including multiple-clip edits, and optimizations targeted at running high track counts. Several instruments are included, and I'm particularly happy to see Dimension Pro, which includes Garritan Orchestral sounds, and TruePianos Amber. Your interests and activities will differ, of course (mini are Midi-heavy), and you should really look through the complete list of enhancements on Cakewalk's site. Enhancements for this version runs several pages long. This is a major upgrade from Sonar 7.
I do have one issue with Cakewalk, though I'm not knocking down the rating because of it as the software itself is too good. The problem is that Cakewalk hits their user base pretty hard on upgrade fees. You can pretty much count on having to spend a few hundred dollars per year to keep the software up to date if you take every version and keep your plug-ins up-to-date. I've always felt that companies should upgrade customers from the most recent versions for little or nothing if they have paid for a recent upgrade, at least for a download. There is some price tiering depending on what version you're running, but it's insufficient, in my opinion. At one point I unknowingly purchased an upgrade weeks before a new release - but Cakewalk still charged me the full upgrade price for the new version. That kind of pricing policy doesn't encourage customer loyalty. I understand that this is a minor issue for a pro or a studio, but Cakewalk also has a large installed base for Sonar Producer among non-pros.
My preference would be for Cakewalk to adjust their release approach to one of more incremental releases between major versions. It's far more disruptive to install a new version, taking on the setup and learning issues than it is to install incremental upgrades (Cakewalk does release some patches.). You do get what you pay for, however.
In addition to the software, buy a Sonar book or two, take the tutorials, hit one or two of Cakewalk's roadshows, and join a forum or two. There is a fairly steep learning curve with Sonar as with any other pro-level audio suite, the good news being there is a lot of support out there due to the market's embrace of Sonar.

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Sonar 8.5 Producer gives you what you need for recording, composing, editing, mixing, and mastering. Get innovations that matter, from exclusive features to ignite creativity and perfect tracks, to groundbreaking technologies that keep you in control, all backed by the industry's leading 64-bit audio quality. And Sonar 8.5 delivers the go to production tools you want with the best collection of virtual instruments, mixing, and mastering effects found in any DAW. With unlimited tracks, creative tools, and the most complete delivery capability between other DAWs, Sonar Producer is a cut above and your best choice in a digital audio workstation.

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Cakewalk SONAR Home Studio 6 Review

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(More customer reviews)Can't import drum machines from keyboards. When choosing a drum map close to what I have, it won't go out my sound card. Only midi and Roland soft synths, forcing you to use their synths and hours of editing. When recording via midi, the songs play very slowly forcing you to reload the program. When recording midi, some tracks notes take on a mind of their own needing time consuming editing. TT-1 has some nice sounds and notation features but I wish it had where I can choose a series on notes and change the length and velocity of just one section in a track instead of the whole track. When altering notes in an existing drum map to match my keyboard, no sound came out. Sometimes when playing back a song, the volume and instruments will default to a certain setting causing you to record a new track and reload. This is a good starter kit and has many limitations but I guess that's with all non full versions of software.

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SONAR Home Studio 6 and SONAR Home Studio 6 XL feature the power of Cakewalk's flagship SONAR 6 paired with a feature set price and ease-of-use geared towards home studio owners and budget-conscious musicians.New Features:Designed for compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista.Core feature set based on SONAR 6.2.Quick Start guide Track Presets Project Templates and Video Tutorials make getting started easy.Sleek new interface enhances ease of use and allows customization of views colors and toolbars.New mixing console with per-track Sonitus:fx parametric EQ.10 new professional audio effects.Active Controller Technology (ACT) lets users easily control and automate effects instruments and their mix from MIDI controllers by automatically remapping controls to whatever has the focus.Rip from and burn to CD directly from SONAR Home Studio.Automate tracks effects and instruments easily with enhanced automation tools.MIDI Input Quantize corrects the timing of MIDI performances in real-time.Freeze tracks effects and virtual instruments to conserve CPU power.Native and fully integrated support for VST plug-ins no wrapper required.DropZone sampler with extended library of instrument sounds including a Drum Pack and Bass Pack.Cakewalk Publisher lets users present and stream their music on the Internet. Format: WIN XPVISTA Genre:PRODUCTIVITY UPC:787537036015 Manufacturer No:10CSHS6.00-10C

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Cakewalk SONAR 7 Producer Edition - Windows Review

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(More customer reviews)I have used Cakewalk products for about 10 years now. I have always been impressed with how user-friendly their software is and it is great that a company out there makes PC-specific software. I have used other software and have found that Cakewalk's is the most logically (pun intended) set up.
The reviewer who has commented that they had trouble opening the program also stated that they did research before they ever purchased a single program, implying they are new to the computer recording world. I wouldn't recommend a Ducati to someone who just started driving a bicycle. One need's a foundation before stepping up to the next level. I would suggest that if you buy this software you'd better have some foreknowledge of audio technology. Also, if you are just starting, then look at Sonar's Home Studio products first. They are much more affordable and can do much of what this product does minus the effects, soft synths, and processing power.
Also, you will need a powerful computer and audio interface (not just any sound card will do) to run this software. If you do buy this, make sure you invest in a high quality sound card too, otherwise what's the point? It'd be like buying a great stereo receiver and connecting it to two-inch speakers, then wondering why it doesn't sound like the awesome stereo your neighbor has. You need the proper equipment to run this, it's not end-all-be-all product, and neither are the other DAW's.
I highly recommend this product. I have had great results using it, but it does require a lot of knowledge. I also highly recommend you purchase a user guide to help exploit all this product can do. Check out "Sonar Power" they have always been helpful.

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SONAR 7 Producer Edition offers a remarkable experience that excels at every step of your production-from its inspiring, open and customizable environment, to intuitive music creation and editing tools, to polished mixing, editing and delivery-with the recognized best audio quality in the industry.Get the perfect take with the best comping, editing, and take management tools available Create and edit MIDI in new and intuitive ways with an integrated Step Sequencer, Smart MIDI Tools, and other extensive MIDI enhancements Upload songs directly to the Internet and build song players for your website, with Cakewalk Publisher Burn your mixes directly to CD with integrated CD burning Score to video with a thumbnail track and output to 1394 FireWire devices Deliver audio and video in virtually any format including Sony Wave-64, AIF, CAF, FLAC, SD2, WAV, QuickTime, MP3, WMA. Export to OMFI and Broadcast WAV for collaboration with Pro Tools and other DAWs New Features -Integrated Step Sequencer view provides the most innovative step sequencer feature set available in any DAW today. Complete MIDI overhaul with Smart MIDI Tools and dozens of other new featuresTrue linear phase mastering plug-insInternal sidechainingDelay compensation for external hardwarePitch to MIDI functionality with Roland V-Vocal 1.5Operating System Windows XP / RecommendedWindows XP/Vista (32 and 64-bit), can be run on Mac OS X with Boot Camp

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Cakewalk Pyro 5 Review

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(More customer reviews)On December the 20th I received the Pyro 5 software from Amazon.com. I already owned Pyro 2004 and I had been working successfully with it digitizing my collection of LPs. Pyro 2004 however was not perfect as it did not recognize my DVD writer. I had contacted Cakewalk about it and all I got was something that sounded more like black magic than technical advice. Anyway I followed their advice, and after that nothing had changed, I had just wasted my time, which seems to be usual with most software. When the new Pyro came out I decided to order it hoping that the problem had been fixed and I could write directly on my CD/DVD recorder.
First after putting the software on my hard drive I found that the software was only good for 30 days if I did not register before. By the way this is on the box at the back on the lower right corner, I thought that this was a disgusting trick and was most annoyed. I thus decided to register the program which I seldom do because to my experience one never can get good help from so-called customer services.
If that was not enough when registering, the serial number stuck on the software was refused and could not even register.
I immediately send an Email to Cakewalk about not being able to register, and complaining about having to register when I had paid for the software. The answer I received completely ignored my not being able to register, but gave a long discourse on the necessity to require registration to protect their software. I sent another Email pointing out that my problem had not been solved. Their answer was that they needed the serial number to do that. The serial number which I had duly attached on my first Email was still attached to the Email string. Useless to say my next Email was not a happy one. I am still waiting for an answer.
If all this was no bad enough, when I started recording some CDs with music to test the program, the first CD went well but the second just crashed after half of it had been written. It just stopped recording, no message, nothing. When I decided to check whether something was wrong with my hardware using Nero5 which usually works without problem, I found out that the program would not start, the same with Easy CD5. Pyro 5 had crashed those two programs. If you are thinking to get this program stay away from it, unless you like to be disappointed. I for one am not likely to go back to Cakewalk.

These software companies protect themselves, but nobody protects the consumers!!!

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Pyro 5 gets the most out of your digital music experience. With this leading recording technology, you've got the best system for the enjoyment of digital music and more.Rip CDs, make MP3s, and create DJ-style megamixes with crossfades, for CDs or your portable player Record audio from any source -Digitize and clean LPs and cassettes, and transform them into CDs or MP3s (also good for Internet broadcast or microphone)Burn and share mix CDs, complete with song, album, and artist namesCreate backup copies of your favorite CDs and data DVDsIncludes NEATO CD-labeling graphics package

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Cakewalk Pyro Audio Creator Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't usually write reviews and when I do they are usually short ones. I'm generally pretty satisfied with stuff I buy because I research before purchase. Back in 2004, I started using an audio program called Cakewalk Pyro 2003. It was a pretty awesome program that allowed me to do exactly what I wanted to do - switch from analog cassette recording to digital PC to CD recording and still make "blended" recordings. By "blended" I actually mean crossfading...which is overlapping the audio at the beginning and end of each track. I did it for years with two CD players, an audio mixer and a cassette deck. By the way, I bought my first PC in 1991 and am on my ninth one now. I know what I'm doing.
Pyro 2003 allowed me to do the same thing on my PC and then burn the project to a CD...yielding a very pleasant, professional series of songs, overlapped with the next succeeding one with no break in the music. Then I bought a new PC with Windows Vista. Pyro 2003 wouldn't work on it and Cakewalk had no other "Pyro" program that would work on Vista. Then late last year (unknown to me) Cakewalk released "Pyro Audio Creator"; their new program that does audio editing (among other things) and though it is supposed to work with XP, it is specifically "recommended for Vista". I discovered it online and rushed out to buy it.
After installation, the first thing you see is a "bug sheet" that pops up telling you all the problems this program still has. I reviewed it but figured it would still work for me. First problem...no audio. After reinstalling, still no audio. Found two patches at Cakewalk's website for "version 1.0" of this program but nowhere, anywhere on anything does it say what version this program is. Plus, in order to download the patches, you have to "register" the program. Once registered, you can't return it or sell it to anybody else. Oh well. So I went ahead and installed the two patches. GREAT....have audio now.
I read the online instructions and tried to create my first Pyro "project". Pyro 2003 was a neat program that you could figure out easily and had a great interface. Things work like you expected them to. But this one, Pyro Audio Creator, is way too complex and is supposed do things only people in a pro sound studio would want to do...and I guarantee you they wouldn't be doing it with a $40.00 program. To move around in this program and set up your audio tracks is way, way too cumbersome, takes way too many clicks and (get this) with Vista (the "recommended" operating system) drag and drop in not functional. By now I'm not happy.
After playing with my project, I go to burn it to CD, but guess what...there is no option to do that like in Pyro 2003. I have to save it (I guess) and go to the "burning" part of the program to burn it. I save it, which takes about 5 minutes, and then I go to the burn section and can't find my project now because it didn't tell me where it saved it. I have to do a hard drive search to find it.
By now I've spend about 5 hours trying to get this overpriced roll of toilet paper to work so I decided to take a break and watch a movie with my son. I turned the monitor off but left the PC running. Two hours later I return for more gnashing of teeth and discover my PC has entered Vista's new "Auto Repair mode" in an attempt to save the operating system from death. Auto repair finally stops and the PC reboots. My wallpaper is different and, guess what, Pyro Audio Creator is completely gone. Windows uninstalled it. Vista must be pretty smart - it recognizes garbage and gets rid of it automatically. I wonder what else I've lost but just haven't discovered yet.
Bottom Line: No refunds allowed, email tech support only (yeah that will work) and I'm out not only the 40 bucks plus tax but I still don't have a program to do my music. Cakewalk can contact me and give me a refund or I'm going to plaster this review everywhere I can on the internet. Awful program, awful program with known bugs, awful program that doesn't work, awful program that endangers your computer. This is a "Don't Buy"!

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If you care about your audio, Pyro Audio Creator is an excellent choice for permanently capturing your sound. It combines all the essential audio tools needed in today's digital age. With its virtual toolbox, you are just a click away from recording and editing; burning and ripping CDs; converting and cleaning albums to CD or MP3; encoding, tagging and organizing your sound library; and even publishing to the Internet. And don't be fooled by the low price. Made by Cakewalk, engineers of some of the world's most popular music creation software used daily by Grammy winning musicians and producers, you're getting your money's worth and more. The following is a brief breakdown of some of the features you'll use most.RipperDigitize your entire CD collection using the Ripper tool. Just put in a CD, pick an audio format, and Ripper takes care of the rest. Once you have converted your CD to a digital format, you can use the other great tools in Audio Creator to manage your newly digitized collection. Ripped files can be used on portable devices.BurnerThe Burner is one of the easiest CD burning tools you will ever use. With just a few clicks, you can create a track list and start burning CDs. Easily drag and drop files from anywhere in your computer right into the Burner tool. Visual feedback tells you how much time and space you have remaining on the blank CD. Burn audio CDs for friends and family or just back up files to a data CD for safekeeping.EditorNever lose that special moment of inspiration with the Editor tool. Just click 'record' and capture important ideas, meetings, performances, podcasts, Internet broadcasts -- even digitize and clean your record or cassette collection. Edit audio using a powerful 2-track view based on critically-acclaimed SONAR technology: apply effects, crossfades, trims, hiss and pop removal, and more. When you are done, save it to popular formats like MP3, WMA, WVA, and more.TaggerWith the number of digital audio files on your system growin

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Cakewalk Music Creator 4 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have never published a review on Amazon , but in this case I felt duty bound considering how much I rely on the opinions expressed by others on this site.The problems I had are as follows:
I have tried to be as accurate as possible. If I have misspoken on anything, it is because I tried to call customer support, a number found in the manual. After calling, a recording states that Cakewalk does not offer phone support for this product. I was directed to an email address that would answer my questions. Never heard back from anyone.
Poor Customer Support
Never replied to my emails.
Only Allows One Active Input
Most sound cards these days have more than one input. Although this product recognized all of my inputs (Example: Mic In, Line In), it only allows one input to be active. Activating another input requires that the user select the desired input and then shut down the application and restart it. Therefore, more than one input may not be active at one time. This means that you cannot record two tracks simultaneously in stereo. For example, you cannot sing into Mic 1 and have guitar recorded on Line In at the same time. This option is only available if you upgrade. There is no mention of this limitation on the package.
The Use Of Real Estate Is Poor
The interface for the track view requires you to expand the view for each track to view track details such as input and output. Its takes up way too much room and makes the view appear cluttered.
Non-Intuitive Concepts - Over-Complicated To Use
Example: In order to use the software based synth you would think that you would need one track to record the MIDI that has been assigned to output to a particular synthesizer.
However you need three tracks (Again consuming much real estate)
One track for the recording of midi with its output set to a synth.
One track to "hold" the synth with its input set to the Midi track and its output set to an output "bus".
One track to receive the output of the synth and the output set to a wave file destination.
What-You-Hear Is Not Necessarily What-Is-Exported
After creating a short song that sounded ok, I decided to export.
The exported wave file sounded great but had no drums. After much reading I figured out that the midi out was being sent to a synth on my sound card. The only way I figured out to play drums was to use the included software based synth which required building a tedious drum map.Conclusion
The cost is cheap considering the features. But then you realize this is really an up-sale vehicle. That is, you are almost certainly going to pay to upgrade if you want to record anything serious.
There are better products on the market.
If you are a beginner, this is a hard program to use. I have been mutlitrack recording for over 20 years and if I had problems understanding how to run this application, you certainly will.
Felt cheated because the manual states that more than one instrument can be recorded at the same time but found this not to be true.
Have heard about Cakewalk for years but upon finally trying one of their products, was very disappointed.


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Start making music right from your home computer with Music Creator 4. Just plug in and hit Record. No matter what you want to record-guitars keyboards vocals CD samples or any other sound source-Music Creator makes it easy to start making and recording music.Turn your musical dreams into polished professional recordings right from your home computer with Music Creator 4-no previous recording experience required. With Music Creator you get the tools instruments and effects you need to create record edit mix and promote your music in one integrated software solution. Creating music on your PC has never been easier more fun and more affordable.Features: Up to 160 total tracks (32 audio and 128 MIDI) Professional 24-bit audio quality Create backing tracks using included ACID™-format loop library Play and record using thousands of high-quality instrument sounds 25 studio effects including an Amp Simulator EQ Delay Compressor Reverb more On screen mixer to seamlessly mix all your audio and MIDI tracks Add more instruments and effects with support for DirectX VST and ReWire Built-in audio metronome and tuner Create and print your own musical scores and sheet music Create online music players of your songs to share on the Internet Create playlists and burn CDs for fans family and friendsFormat: WIN XPVISTA Genre:PRODUCTIVITY UPC:787537064018 Manufacturer No:10-CWMC4.00-10C

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