SONAR 1.3.1 Update Being Shown at NAMMCompany Showcases New Third-party DXi Soft-synth Plug-ins and DirectX 8 Audio Effects
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January 17, 2002
Cakewalk is featuring SONAR 1.3.1--the latest version of its flagship digital multitrack recording system-- at Winter NAMM 2002. SONAR includes the most advanced Windows technology available for recording, editing, and mixing digital audio and MIDI projects entirely on the PC. SONAR 1.3.1 provides several new editing and mixing enhancements, and is available free to registered SONAR customers. Cakewalk is also featuring several new third-party DXi software synths and DirectX 8 audio effects plug-ins from leading companies including Native Instruments, Waves, and Antares.
First released in March of 2001, SONAR is a music production system for the Windows platform. SONAR provides all of the tools a musician needs to produce projects from start to finish, with unlimited digital audio and MIDI tracks; a centralized interface design for improved creative workflow; advanced audio looping and editing tools; integrated DXi software synthesizer plug-ins; fully-automatable DirectX 8 audio plug-ins; new real-time MIDI FX plug-ins; and extensive ACID'-format audio loops and SoundFont libraries.
SONAR is now being used by tens of thousands of professional musicians worldwide, including recording legends Ray Charles and BB King, international remix producer Mike "Hitman" Wilson, Grammy Award winner Douglas Spotted Eagle, as well as chart-topping, new-metal bands Slipknot and System of a Down.
SONAR 1.3.1 editing and mixing enhancements
New Editing Features:
Audio Scaling -- Allows users to zoom in on quiet audio to make detailed edits without changing
the track heights.
Extract Timing -- Users can extract the timing from audio to create tempo maps, allowing for the seamless locking of audio clips and MIDI data with live-recorded tracks.
Scissors Tool for the Track view -- Accessible on the Track view menu bar, the Scissors tool allows users to quickly split audio and MIDI clips on the fly; users can also click and drag to isolate a desired region.
New Mixing Features:
Offset Gain Stage -- Allows mix to be adjusted independently from envelopes via dual-mode gain and pan controls, allowing user to adjust the overall mix without having to edit the automation.
Smoother Mixing via Envelopes -- By eliminating gapping or pausing for mix adjustments, users can now make envelope changes and hear the results without any disruption to the audio signal.
Fade Tool Enhancement -- Now users have more flexibility in deciding what type of fade curve to apply to audio clips, with enhanced slow and fast curves as well as crossfades.
New DXi Software Synthesizers for NAMM 2002
Cakewalk is featuring several new third-party DXi software synths at NAMM this year. Created by Cakewalk and based on Microsoft DirectX technology, the DXi soft synth plug-in standard is supported by industry leading third-party soft synth developers, including Alien Connections, Applied Acoustics Systems, Audio Simulation, BitHeadz, FXpansion Audio, Image-Line, Koblo A/S, LiveUpdate, Native Instruments, RBC Audio, Roland Corp., STL, SoundQuest, SpeedSoft, and others.
New DXi soft synth plug-ins being introduced include:
- DR-008 from FXpansion Audio
- FM 7 and Battery from Native Instruments
- HyperCanvas and SuperQuartet from Roland/Edirol
- Infinity 2.0 from SoundQuest
- VSampler DXi 2.7 from Speedsoft
DirectX 8 Audio Effects
Developed by Microsoft, DirectX 8 is the fully-automatable, next-generation open standard for digital audio effects on the Windows platform. New product introductions include Autotune 3 by Antares, the world standard in professional pitch correction, and The Masters by Waves, offering the first high-end mastering package supporting DirectX 8 automation.
Microsoft WDM Support
SONAR delivers the highest-performance audio mixing and production capabilities available on the Windows platform. Microsoft WDM audio driver technology provides low-latency, kernel-level audio mixing, live effects processing with monitoring on input, and low-latency DXi software synth playback. Windows audio card manufacturers supporting the WDM driver technology standard include, Digigram, Echo, EgoSys, Emu/Creative Technology, Event, Frontier Design, Mark of the Unicorn, MAudio/MIDIMan, Roland, Soundscape Digital Technology, Terratec, Yamaha, and others.
Pricing and Availability
SONAR has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $479 U.S.; SONAR XL is $599 MSRP. Registered SONAR users can download the SONAR 1.3.1 update for free at www.cakewalk.com. SONAR users can also order the SONAR 1.3.1 update on CD-ROM for $5.00 U.S. plus shipping and handling.
For more information, visit their web site at www.cakewalk.com. | 
