Following the acquisition of certain assets and the complete set of intellectual property of Cakewalk Inc. from Gibson Brands on 2/23/18, BandLab Technologies announced the relaunch of SONAR as Cakewalk by BandLab - available free-to-download to all BandLab users worldwide.
As of Feb 21st 2018, information elsewhere on this website may no longer be accurate.
Boston, MA—Cakewalk, the world's leading developer of powerful and easy to use products for music creation and recording, announces SONAR 8 Producer the leading choice in digital audio workstations, and SONAR 8 Studio the most powerful digital audio workstation in its price range. Registered customers can pre-order upgrades to SONAR 8 now. SONAR 8 will begin shipping October 2nd 2008.
SONAR 8 Producer sets forth to refine the user experience, inspire creativity, and take productions to new heights with updates to the core application including workflow enhancements, new features, and performance optimizations throughout. SONAR 8 Producer also reinforces its already impressive production toolset with new go to instruments, effect processors, and creative content.
The evolution of SONAR has introduced many advances in digital audio workstation technology with the first true 64-bit double precision audio mix engine; Active Controller Technology™ (ACT) which changed the way musicians work with instruments and effects; AudioSnap™, the very best non-destructive audio timing/manipulation toolset; Smart MIDI Tools, Roland® V-Vocal™ 1.5 VariPhrase technology; and pioneering support for multi-core processors, x64 processing, and Windows Vista.
New SONAR features include: updated Loop Explorer 2.0 view, dedicated instrument track (single track optimized for mono/stereo virtual synths), Send Assign Assistant (wizard); numerous audio engine optimizations; transport, control surface, routing, and editing refinements; workflow enhancements; QuickTime 7 Import/Export.
New Instruments include: Beatscape loop performance instrument; Dimension Pro 1.2 updated with Digital Sound Factory Volume 2 Classic Keys and Hollywood Edge Effects Library; TruePianos Amber VSTi Module.
New Effects include: TL-64 Tube Leveler, TS-64 Transient Shaper, Channel Tools stereo enhancement plug-in; Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 LE.
New Creative content includes: updated ACT Presets mappings for popular plug-ins and controllers; production-ready Track Templates and Project Templates; updated Drum Maps and plug-in presets; and integrated Step Sequencer drum patterns.
New features, optimizations, and workflow enhancements include:
Loop Explorer 2.0—view provides browse and preview of audio and MIDI groove clips and patterns; quickly drag and drop loops and patterns into the track view; MIDI groove clips and patterns can be previewed with the virtual instrument of your choice.
Dedicated Instrument Track—single track optimized for mono or stereo virtual synths which simplifies the process of working with virtual instruments. In the pursuit of offering users options in how they want to work, the multi-track method of using virtual instruments employed by previous versions of SONAR is still supported. In addition users can split and combine instrument tracks to/from discrete audio/MIDI tracks.
SONAR Performance Optimizations—with focus on functionality including improved performance at high track counts and low latencies, faster launch time, and the ability to change audio devices without restarting; streamlined communication with VST plug-ins and Improved ASIO performance with output latency compensation.
User Interface optimizations—smoother display when resizing windows and panes, optimized metering, more responsive zoom and scroll.
Editing Enhancements:
Clip Selection Groups—Furthering SONAR's multitrack recording and take management capability, SONAR now automatically groups clips together across tracks after each recording pass—perfect for comping any multitrack ensemble performance, especially drum takes.
Aim Assist Cursor—Visual guide to assist in lining up cursor for precision editing.
Split and Mute Tools—can now edit multiple clips simultaneously.
Free Edit Tool—for performing edits by clips or by time without the need of a modifier key.
Recording Enhancements:
Live Effects and Soft Synth Recording—play and record effect and soft synth output into audio tracks in realtime using SONAR's live bounce feature
Anytime Recording—while the SONAR transport is running or looping users can now arm/unarm audio and MIDI tracks, punch in, punch out, and toggle between play and record
Mixing Enhancements:
Exclusive Solo Mode with Solo Override—New solo mode forces soloing to one track/bus at a time and prevents tracks and buses from being muted when other tracks/buses are soloed
Bus Inputs QuickGroup Command—automatically groups all source tracks feeding a selected bus
Mono hardware outputs—for easy assignment of tracks and buses to individual hardware outputs in addition to stereo pairs
Control Enhancements:
Transport Updates—True Rewind, Fast Forward and Pause Buttons; Audition Button; Improved Jog/Shuttle Heuristics; optimizations for control surfaces and scrub performance.
Control Surface Enhancements—Show/Hide Tracks from Surface can follow either the Track View or Console View, obeying visible/hidden tracks, Control Surfaces MIDI port assignments retained/stored in SONAR, Real-World VST Parameter Values are now displayed.
Track View and Console View Sync now automatically syncs visible/hidden tracks between the Track View and Console View channels.
Additional Enhancements:
Enhanced Sample Rate Conversion—now employs the same fast convolution engine as the LP-64 series 64-bit mastering plug-ins.
Vista Audio—WASAPI support, which is compatible with any Vista audio device, including WaveRT PCI and motherboard audio, USB, and FireWire devices.
QuickTime 7 Import/Export—support for the latest QuickTime 7 codecs, including H.264 and AAC audio.
Workflow Enhancements include:
Insert Send Assistant—provides a fast and easy way to create effect buses and insert sends to new or existing buses.
Updated ACT Presets—mappings for popular plug-ins and controllers.
Templates—over 400 new production ready Track Templates and Project Templates.
Drum Maps & Presets—Updated Drum Maps and Plug-in Presets enhancing our most popular plug-ins.
Patterns—New collection of drum pattern presets for the integrated Step Sequencer.
New Instruments Include:
Beatscape loop performance instrument—Beatscape, the latest instrument by Cakewalk's premier synthesis architect René Ceballos takes loop manipulation and realtime triggering/performance to new heights. Beatscape provides 16-pads to load and trigger loops or samples for sequencing your productions and beats. Each pad features a full powered REX player, Rapture-style step generator, multiple effect processors, and sophisticated groove slicing and dicing tools powered by Cakewalk's own AudioSnap technology.
Drag and drop audio directly from SONAR onto the BeatScape pads and it's synchronized and ready to go. Use the built in browser to quickly load clips and loops from your collection of previously recorded material, or choose from the massive 4GB REX library of included beats, breaks and phrases in a multitude of genres ranging from house, drum n' bass, hip hop, techno, glitch, latin, reggaeton, and more from the pros at Heatseekers and XMiX.
Beatscape is the ultimate remixing instrument. Combine audio clips from multiple recording sessions and use the 16 pads to sequence them live or into a SONAR track. Easily load key clips or loops from two separate projects, blend them together, and trigger one shot samples—all on the fly from Beatscape’s up-front interface.
Features include:
Dimension Pro—SONAR now includes a full version of the acclaimed synthesizer that combines real instruments with advanced synthesis for endless sound possibilities. The underpinnings of Dimension Pro's creative possibilities is the powerful Cakewalk's Expression Engine providing several types of synthesis including multi-sample rendering, wavetable synthesis, waveguide synthesis, and REX playback and manipulation.
Included Content for Dimension Pro:
TruePianos Amber VSTi Module—One of four modules that currently ship with the full version of TruePianos VSTi, the TruePianos Amber Module will provide SONAR users with world-class, playable piano sounds through its combination sampling, modeling, and synthesis sound design. TruePianos sounds and feels great, just like a real acoustic piano, with all the important characteristics: sympathetic resonance, inter-string harmonics, repedalling and more.
New Effect Processors Include:
TS 64 Transient Shaper—a powerful tool for sculpting the transient dynamics of any percussive based source material such as drums or guitars. The TS 64 Transient Shaper employs powerful envelope/transient-detection, linear-phase filtering, and gain-shaping to control the dynamics of individual transients of any sound with amplitude variation over time.
The TS 64 Transient Shaper utilizes the same superior linear-phase technology found in SONAR's LP-64 EQ and LP-64 Multiband where the frequency spectrum is split into bands and then summed back together while maintaining the integrity of all processed audio across all frequencies. This provides clear precise control of the timbre of each detected transient without introducing coloration, phase errors, cancellations, comb filtering, or muddy sound.
TL-64 Tube Leveler—a line driver/leveling processor that employs advanced analog vacuum-tube circuit modeling algorithms to add the unique qualities of tube color and warmth found in classic recordings to whatever source material it is applied.
TL-64 provides intuitive controls to determine the level and character of analog tube saturation, from subtle "warming" to hard-driving saturation. The TL-64 plug-in features a unique selectable Dynamic Response Filter control that when engaged employs a dynamic (versus static) tube model algorithm. The dynamic tube model behaves more like a real vacuum tube in that its characteristics change over time depending on the input signal. There is also a Bass Compensation control that compensates for any reduction in bass material as a result of low-shelf filtering. The Bass Compensation filter allows you to reduce clipping in the bass bands while still maintaining a flat output response.
Channel Tools—provides easy and powerful zero-latency channel processing for adjusting L/R channel placement, gain, pan/width, and phase; sample delay for precision timing adjustment of L/R channels in recordings; Automatic Mid-Side decoding of imported Mid-Side recorded material. Channel Tools can also provide a widening or narrowing effect to stereo recordings through adjustments to mid-side gain.
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 LE—built on the latest award-winning guitar amp modeler from Native Instruments; 3 amps and cabinets, 11 effects, tuner, metronome, and over 50 presets.
Additional Key Features of SONAR 8 Producer
SONAR 8 Studio
SONAR 8 Studio offers the best creative tools, and the most power of any digital audio workstation in its price range. Built upon the same core feature set as SONAR 8 Producer, SONAR 8 Studio gives you the edge in your productions—from recording audio and MIDI, composing with virtual instruments, remixing with loops, mixing with professional effects, to delivery of a polished final track—with the recognized best audio quality in the industry.
SONAR 8 Studio contains all of the features of SONAR 8 Producer minus the following Producer exclusives:
Pricing and availability
SONAR 8 Producer has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $619 ($499 street) U.S., SONAR 8 Studio (MSRP) is $369 U.S. ($299 street). Registered SONAR 7 Producer customers can pre-order their upgrade to SONAR 8 Producer directly through Cakewalk for $179; SONAR 7 Studio to SONAR 8 Studio for $99. Other upgrade paths are available, visit Cakewalk.com for details.
Pricing and availability outside the U.S.
SONAR 8 Producer and Studio software is available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian; English, German and French boxed versions come with printed documentation; Spanish and Italian electronic quick start guides contained in all versions. SONAR 8 is available through Roland and Edirol distribution partners.
Europe's suggested street price for SONAR 8 Producer and SONAR 8 Studio are €499 and €299 RRP inc VAT respectively; UK pricing is £349 and £219 RRP inc VAT respectively; and will be available, October 2008. Upgrades are available from select music and sound retailers and directly from Cakewalk.
For localized pricing and availability visit: