Seamless. Genius.
From getting
great tone to releasing a final mix, today’s musicians must
master every element of the music production process. SONAR X2
Producer is there every step of the way, and the revolutionary
Skylight interface lets you move seamlessly among the
elements, instantly going from recording to editing to mixing
and back again. Dial up the perfect synth sound with Rapture
or a searing guitar tone with TH2 Producer. Record it, tighten
it, chop it, and drop it in the Matrix for realtime
triggering. Shape it with the ProChannel. Warm it with the
Console Emulator. And do it all with a single Smart Tool. It’s
genius.
New features in
SONAR X2 Producer include:
-
New enhancements and improvements
-
Improved low latency audio engine
-
Take lanes
-
Automation lanes and modes
-
Advanced Arpeggiator
-
Improved Smart Tool
-
Smart Grid
-
Improved Clips View
-
Improved Matrix View
-
BREVERB SONAR (VST and ProChannel versions)
-
R-MIX SONAR
-
Overloud TH2 Producer Amp Simulator
-
Modular ProChannel
-
ProChannel Console Emulator
-
ProChannel FX Chains
-
ProChannel Softube Saturation Knob
-
ProChannel QuadCurve EQ
-
Improved LP-64 mastering plugins
-
SoundCloud integration
-
MusicXML export
-
Windows® 8 support (patch coming later this year)
SONAR X2 Feature Peek: ProChannel FX Chains
Like many of you, we’re all fired up
about the upcoming release of SONAR X2. And we’re pretty sure
you’d like to know more about what makes it so delicious. So,
while the crust browns, allow us to whet your appetite with
this Cakewalk Blog series that takes a closer look at the
newly refined, ever smarter, SONAR X2.
What’s an FX Chain?
FX Chains are an answer to a long
standing feature request; to have FX bin presets, or a way to
recall an FX bin on an existing track in SONAR. In SONAR X1
Producer we introduced FX Chains, which are essentially an FX
bin, or group of FX, saved as a preset.
In SONAR X1 Producer Expanded we upped
the ante and upgraded the feature to version 2.0 which added
assignable controls and a custom user interface to FX Chains.
Later on in the free X1d update we added a Mod Matrix to FX
Chains allowing up to four parameters to be mapped to a single
control on an FX Chain, which I wrote about in an earlier blog
post.
In X2 we’re including FX Chains in SONAR
X2 Essential and Studio, as well as Producer. But In SONAR X2
Producer we’ve taken FX Chains one step further having added
them to the Producer exclusive feature, the ProChannel.
What’s the ProChannel?
Many of us at Cakewalk had a dream of a
configurable, modular, fantasy-style console in SONAR. With
the ProChannel, our collective dream came true. And with SONAR
X2 Producer it keeps getting better and better.
The ProChannel is a modular channel
strip on every track and bus in SONAR X2. It has the built-in
QuadCurve EQ, dual-mode Tube Saturation, PC76 U-Type
Compressor, and PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor. It also comes with
the Softube Saturation Knob, BREVERB SONAR (new in X2), and
the tri-mode Console Emulator (also new in X2).
And there are several add-on modules
available like the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor, PC4K S-Type
Expander/ Gate, PC2A T-Type Leveling Amplifier, and ProChannel
Concrete Limiter.
In SONAR X2 we’ve added FX Chains to the
mix and the fantasy console we dreamed up for SONAR X1 is
truly out of control. But in a good way.
ProChannel FX Chains
The most obvious advantage of ProChannel
FX Chains is being able to throw an
awesome multi-effect into
the middle of the ProChannel’s signal path, rather than only
either before or after it, as was the case pre-X2.
awesome multi-effect into
the middle of the ProChannel’s signal path, rather than only
either before or after it, as was the case pre-X2.
Now you can have a ProChannel consisting
of, for example, a Saturation Knob, an FX Chain, the QuadCurve
EQ, and the PC4K Channel Compressor in any order you want.
And ProChannel FX Chains are
drag-and-drop rout-able and collapsible just like all other
ProChannel modules. Plus, we’ve got scores of new FX Chains
shipping with SONAR X2, many of which are mapped with the Mod
Matrix to very cool (and useful) effect.
ProChannel FX
Of course, ProChannel FX Chains aren’t
necessarily best served as only multi-FX. One of the best
things about ProChannel FX Chains is that it essentially
brings plugins into the ProChannel which transforms the
ProChannel a monstrous, modular, fully functioning FX bin.
All you have to do is drag and drop a
plugin from SONAR’s Browser to the ProChannel and SONAR will
automatically insert the plugin into an FX Chain for you.
Drag, drop, and mix. Its that easy.
Plus, we’re shipping thirty ProChannel
FX with SONAR X2 which are FX Chains of all of SONAR’s
individual plugins like Channel Tools, Tempo Delay, Tube
Leveler, the Transient Shaper from PX-64 Percussion Strip, and
more.
And, of course, any third-party plugin
can be made into a ProChannel FX Chain with up to six knobs
and six buttons mapped out by simply dragging and dropping it
into the ProChannel and saving it as a preset.
Gain Staging
Didn’t think you could have your cake
and eat it, too? For years we’ve been asked for input and
output gain stage controls for FX bins and as modules in
between plugins, and have heard people ask for that very
feature in the ProChannel, as well. In SONAR X2 we’ve made
that wish come true with ProChannel FX Chains.
Sometimes there’s that plugin that
sounds awesome but adds a lot of gain with no way to attenuate
it before the signal hits the next processor in its path. The
ProChannel’s Saturation Knob is a prime example of this as it
has a gain knob that sounds great on a wide variety of
material as you crank it up, but lacks a makeup gain control
for keeping the signal at a sane level when outputting to a
compressor, EQ, etc..
ProChannel FX Chains solve this dilemma.
Because ProChannel FX Chains have Input
and Output controls, they can be used as simple gain staging
modules in between other ProChannel modules, and of course
before and after any group of plugins that are inside them.
Multiple Modules in the ProChannel
Since the ProChannel’s introduction in
SONAR X1, many users have wanted to use multiple instances of
the same module in a single ProChannel. In SONAR X2, that’s
now a reality.
A positive side effect of having FX
Chains in the ProChannel is being able to host multiple
instance of the same module in the ProChannel (the exceptions
being the built-in QuadCurve EQ, Tube Saturation, and PC76/
PC4K Compressor modules [they are built-in, internal modules;
long, boring, technical discussion for another day]).
We knew that X2 users would want to use
multiple FX Chains in the ProChannel, so we opened that
functionality up to external modules, as well. This means you
can have multiple Saturation Knobs, BREVERB SONARs, or Console
Emulators in a single ProChannel, alongside multiple FX
Chains, if you so desire.
Not that you’d necessarily want to have
multiple reverbs in one ProChannel, but you certainly could if
you really wanted to.
Mix in the ProChannel. Your way.
No matter how you decide to use
ProChannel FX Chains, there’s no doubt it’s a great feature
that transforms the ProChannel into a powerful, ergonomic,
hands-on, dream-worthy channel strip that’s built into every
track and bus in SONAR.
