Tag Archives: Cakewalk Sonar

Cakewalk Sonar X2a’s Multi-touch Support A Generation Ahead Of The Competition

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At the 2013 NAMM Show, Cakewalk’s Jimmy Landry gave us an update on the new Sonar X2a.

Sonar X2a adds a lot of interesting features, but the show-stopper is full multi-touch support. In the second half of the video, above, Landry demonstrates the new multi-touch capabilities and offers his thoughts on where the touch interface offers benefits. Continue reading →

Is Cakewalk Sonar X2a On Windows 8 The Future Of DAWs?

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Cakewalk has announced SONAR X2a – an update to the popular Windows DAW which includes many fixes, enhancements, plus support for multi-touch.

Since music apps first started appearing on Apple’s iPad, many users have been anticipating the same types of multi-touch interaction coming to traditional DAWs. Sonar X2a is a major step in that direction.

SONAR X2A offers a new creative environment on touch enabled devices. Highlights include:

  • Skylight User Interface
    • Pinch-to-zoom horizontally and vertically on tracks and other data.
    • Swiping gestures to scroll through different components of the project.
    • Arranging the work-space by re-positioning, dragging, docking and un-docking.
  • Matrix
    • Touch transforms any touch screen into a virtual pad controller for triggering.
    • Preview, and then drag-and-drop loops into cells in the Matrix View.
    • Adjust all settings in the Matrix View.
  • Mixing
    • Console View fully supports multi-touch.
    • Automate and control faders, plugins, ProChannel parameters, the Inspector and more.
    • Navigate through the views easily by swiping and scrolling tracks vertically and horizontally.

Is Sonar X2a + Windows 8 the future of DAWs? Check out the video and the details and let us know what you think! Continue reading →

Could Windows 8 Be The Best Windows Ever For Musicians?

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Windows 8 is Microsoft’s most ambitious update in years – intended to create a hybrid OS that can compete with Apple’s OSX + iOS juggernaut, while also maintaining traditional desktop compatibility.

There has been a lot of pre-release criticism of Windows 8, focused on two things:

  • Windows 8′s Metro interface strikes many as attractive but limiting; and
  • Microsofts dual-platform (ARM & Intel) hardware strategy could create confusion, because it will result in two types of WIndows 8 tablets, with very different capabilities.

Cakewalk’s Noel Borthwick has taken a deep look into Windows 8 and how it performs for music, focusing on Cakewalk’s Sonar DAW. He came away skeptical about the new Metro interface, but, nevertheless, excited about the new version of Windows.

Based on his analysis:

  • Windows 8′s Metro interface is “not particularly conducive to music software applications”;
  • Windows 8 runs Sonar better than WIndows 7; and
  • The Intel versions of Microsoft Surface tablets “could be the most powerful tablet based solution for music production today”.

Continue reading →

The 10 Best DAWs In The World (2012 Synthtopia DAW Reader Poll)

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What’s the best DAW in the world?

We asked and readers weighed in, with 10,152 votes and more than 190 comments.

Readers made clear that they are passionate about their digital audio workstation, debating the merits of polls like this as passionately as they defended their DAW of choice.

There is no ‘perfect DAW’ – because different people have different needs. And there’s no perfect way to compare them.

But the outpouring of votes and the quality of discussion suggest that, not only are today’s DAWs more powerful than ever, but that they are worth getting excited about.

Here’s how the votes stacked up……

Continue reading →