This is a blog/review of my newly purchased Sonar X1, I wrote it for the Sonar forum but all the information is revelent for those of you who may be thinking of upgrading from 8.5.3 or from X1 to Expanded X1. 

 

Well folks have been putting my newly acquired Expanded through its paces, for some reason I awoke at 4 this morning, could not sleep and guess what, The Cake had fixed my problem, I think the universe was trying to tell me something.

Now I had one problem when installing Expanded and that was I had not installed patch C, on the download instruction sheet I think, because there are links to patches A&B there needs to be a link to C.  I thought there was a C and went hunting for it but it took a few minutes to find, those of us who are not tech savy would probably found it annoying at best and time to chuck at tanty at worst. (I hope everyone understands I am critiquing the program, I didn't find it that annoying but I do know some would).

Ok once it was installed I decided to really run it through its paces, this was done by opening a project that had started in Sonar 6, had some more work done in 8.5 and had about 30-40 audio tracks all cut up into little peices.

It did not crash once, so a good sign so far,  this is an old track, which is a dance number, it has potential but when I wrote it my understanding of dance composition was nill, I understand the basics now, which is the 16 bar rule (hmm controversial for all the dance heads perhaps).

For this project I had used my Creamware synths which were all bounced down into audio format, I have used a 303 emulator and Juno emulator (I think, it's called the 007 in Creamware land)  for the bass sounds and I have used their proprietary FM synth for the leads.

Just to screw with X1 head, I used the NPulse synth which is no longer supported for my kick (The NPulse is an 808 emulator included with Project 5, you would call it a leagcy synth).

Still no problems.

Next was to test V-Vocal, I like the new drop down menu, that is smart.  Still no problem but when you delete the V-Vocal clip they have changed the mute clip command from q to k.  No biggy.  There have been some complaints that V-Vocal was still buggy, I haven't run into this problem yet.

So that is pretty were I am up to at the moment, I have cut a number of audio tracks up, so the track is quite fractured and it is running smoothly.

As I have said the big thing for me was the UI and after running it for only 5 hours I know pretty much where everything is, a couple of things are missing on the toolbar but I am sure I will find a keyboard shortcut somewhere but to me there isn't much to gripe about.

Now the screen sets and the multi-dock, It would have helped if The Cake had explained this one a little better, perhaps it's my fault and I should have tried to find the information but it may not have been there.

The screen sets are really just key bindings in a simpler format (do key bindings even exist anymore?) they are tricky but I am use to them because they had screen sets with Creamware, I never used them till later in the peice mainly because I couldn't be bothered to set them up.

 The Cake have made setting up the screen sets really easy it's just a matter of remembering to lock them so they don't get out of hand.

I haven't got my head around the multi-dock but it doesn't get in the way and it may have a use at some point, so it's meh to me.

The thing that confused me the most was the new Piano Roll screen, now it may be me but I could not access the toolbar inside the Piano Roll screen and it will take a while to get use to the smart tool within the piano roll, I ended up using the track view to edit midi.  I don't like this as much because of all the resizing but once I got over that the track view toolbar covered all the bases.

The smart tool, I must admit it was another of those penny (some may know the story as chicken little) moments.  The smart tool works, it's a bit gummy as I have pointed out for midi editing but for everything else, it was easy to use.  My biggest fear was it was going to be like a Pro Tools smart tool if you can call it that but it wasn't.

Now for me the biggest kicker was the Pro Channel, I was a sceptic after the vocal strip with its built in tube warmth, that for me never worked.  The saturation built into the Pro Channel actually works and even better is the SoftTube which effectively replaces, for me, the tape sim that was around when Sonar was (help me out I can't remember).

I own an TL Audio A2 which allows me to dial in tube harmonics much like the SoftTube and tube saturation built into the Pro Channel, so I know what I was looking for or listening for.  So that’s why I was so pleasantly surprised it worked, it won't replace the real thing, which I only use in mastering but used sparingly through out the mix will really help bring out the real tube sat in the mastering stage.

Now I'm not to sure on the Pro Channel compressor’s, I will have to read the instruction manual's but I wasn't disappointed and nor was I disappointed with the EQ module either.  All will be used in my sonic palate.

Ok that's it for the day, time for a few hour's rest before continuing this remix.

Once again I will keep everyone up to date with my progress and once the remix is finished I will post it.

So far though, I have been wrong on a lot of level's, X1 is a great update.  I can't give a score yet but once I have done a remix, remix and re mastered an old tune and finished another cover song.  I will know better where this program is at. 

At the moment though, I can't see what the fuss is? (rhetorical question) I know that the fuss has been about the add-ons and crashes but Sonar 2-6 cost $300, 6-8 cost $300, or there abouts (OZ dollars) X1 with Expanded and Notion3 $209.  Even if I wanted to get the final add on it still would have cost me less to update than the last two times and this is not including Notion3.

As for the crashes time will tell, the last thing I will be testing on my remix track is the Audio Snap palate, as I have heard it is broken, well see then.

 

Some of this blog/review was in resoponse to the bitching over on the Sonar Forum.

Peace Ben

Nice write up, Ben.

I will be following this as I'm about to install it myself over Christmas. 

No sweat Les, I will be keeping everyone informed and it will be truthful, as I have stated I was the biggest hater of this new Sonar, now I am a convert, 8.5.3 huh????

 

Have AT mag done a reveiw of Expanded yet, I know they did X1, I forgot the score they gave it and I am sorry guys but we all know you sometimes have to fill in the cracks with sponser putty.

 

Of course I have no bounds or limits as everyone around here knows, I love the crunch of truth beneath your feet as if you are Indiana Jones "In search of the lost digital chord".

 

So I will continue reporting from the dark side of Tasmania (until I am set free from exile) on X1 Expanded but apart from the Piano Roll screen I have nothing to complain about.

 

So do I get paid yet for my review of X1 Expanded

 

Peace Ben

Ok time for another update, this is because I have figured out where all the missing tool bar stuff is, this was one of the biggest gripes over on the Sonar forum, now that I am used to it, I think it is a great idea.

 

This post is a copy from my Sonar post so please forgive.

 

I have spent the last 5 hour's recording vocals, mixing and editing with X1.

I get the Track View now and understand most of the missing toolbar stuff, on each of the indivdual screens eg: the mixing screen, there are a bunch of dropdown menu's that replace what would or could have been on the toolbar.

Ok this works for me, I have been doing a lot of stuff with V-Vocal (no crashes so far and I have 6 tracks running with this effect) and with the drop down menu I can just access it.  Ok this is good.

I think another meaculpa or maybe The Cake should have explained it all a little better to us, the consumer (the changes, that weren't really changes).  Either way I will take my 50% of the blame.

Ok another good day with Expanded X1, no crashes and am enjoying myself making music for the first time in a long time and no it isn't all to do with Sonar.

Well I will continue with my X1 journey once I start doing more midi work.

Peace Ben

The X1 review can be found below!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/256859.....Review.pdf

 

Not sure at this point if there are plans to do a review on expand, will keep you posted! 

Thanks Leigh, you should review Expanded, SoftTube alone is amazing, as I said I was expecting meh but I was like WOW.  That review is def out of date, I have been putting it through its paces and I have had not one problem, also it's a big fat misnomer, the X1 interface has not changed too much and in fact I have been using this software since version two and I was surprised how quickly it all fell into place. 

 

This is what got me so heated, oh shit, you have changed the whole UI and now I won't be able to find things, it's not the same program.  This all turns out to be bullshit, sorry to your reviewer, what is different is the fixed toolbar and the dropdown menus on each of the screens, eg: The track view. 

 

What really impressed me though was the smart tool, this too is a new part of Sonar and the smart tool is smart.  I love it and it has actually increased my speed with work flow.  Somthing I could never make happen with ProTools smart tool.

 

Ok time for the exciting news, I got with my Expanded package Notion3 Software, which comes with 10 gig's of orchestral samples of the London Symphony Orchestra.  I am looking forward to testing this baby out, I had a listen on their product page of some of the examples of music this program can make.  All I can say is I am looking forward to punching in the glorious 9th into the stave (yes that's right folks I can read music, just) and hearing it come blasting back at me.  Ok maybe I am hoping for too much but lets find out togther, hey.

 

Ok so lots of exciting X1 stuff, oh and timmy this is what I was talking about, this new instrument will allow me to compose some more classicaly inspired dance music or I might be able to punch in Swan Lake.  So look out all you groovers I am about to start composing for you too.

 

Wow the software we have today, ok, off to have a rest been a long day, up since 5 and if I am lucky I will find out whether I have got into Griffith.

 

Peace Ben

 

Oh and Leigh I am only stirring, am happy to give my reviews and opinions for free. 

Unless you want to pay me

Oh and Leigh I am only stirring, am happy to give my reviews and opinions for free. 

Unless you want to pay me

What PC specs are you running now, Ben?

I'm due for an upgrade from my Quad6600. 

Hey Les, depending on what you are recording, I am using a very basic computer a first gen i5 HP laptop, with 4 gig of ram and an ESATA hard drive, my main drive is 7200.

 

The track I am remixing at the moment has 50 tracks of midi and audio all cut and spliced, I am only using one virtual instrument at the moment but I am using quite a few ProChannels with SoftTube.  Also at least two convolution reverb with one being backwards.  Oh and I am using multiple instances of GR4 all in hi quality mode.

 

I haven't hit the wall yet, I 'd be close, I think I haven't figured how to turn the CPU meter or hard disk meter on so I am riding the wild wind.

 

But as you can see my little laptop can handle the big assignments, the thing I haven't tested is mulitple audio recording but I believe it should hnadle 16 tracks at once, in fact I will test this latter, well I will test 8 at the highest quality say 96k at 32bit to see if it can handle it.

 

If you want any computer help let me know, honestly and this is controversial if you can afford it get a good laptop, make sure it has either USB3 or ESATA, this is for the external hard drive, make sure it has an express port, even though Thunderbolt will eventually make it obsolete, much like USB3 has made ESATA obsolete.  The express port is needed for a UAD laptop card, I suppose this is what makes some difference to my machine I can offload some of the plugins to that but I must admit I never max out that either.

 

I think you are more of a computer wizz than I am Les, though , yea??  But to me our computers have finally reached the point were they have more power than our software needs.  Ok I haven't tried my new orchestral instrument, will try this latter.

 

Ok I rambling a bit but I don't think there is anything that could get me back to a desktop, my studio is now completely portable, case in point after "leaving" Alice's I am crashing with my brother and my whole studio can be whipped out within an hour, this is the real compressors and preamps and I would be set up and ready to go.

 

Ok I have given more information than you probably wanted but at least you know, that a good Laptop can do the job.

 

Oh and one more thing, Window's works out of the box, (You know all this probably) I have only turned off the startup memory crap, nothing else has been needed.  I think you remember the bad old of XP, I missed Vista but had to tune Alice's.  This is the great leap forward for Windows users and one that MAC heads lauded over us.  The playing field is even.

 

Peace Ben

Are you using 32 bit or 64?

Nearly all the new ones are 64 and I upgraded 6 odd months ago.