Review: Cakewalk Sonar Producer 8.5

In recent years Cakewalk has rolled out each new version of Sonar as a perfect accompaniment to the year-ending season of over-indulgence. For 2009, however, Cakewalk is on a diet. For the first time, the company’s Christmas release of Sonar Producer is a paid downloadable upgrade for registered users. What’s most interesting though is the shift away from the usual bloated menu of marquee features, towards a focus on the refinement and streamlining of existing functionality.

ROOM OF MIRRORS

From the new Quick Start dialog to the smattering of unfamiliar toolbar icons there’s a subtle freshness to Sonar 8.5. Archive and Freeze buttons have been helpfully added to the Track view and new Freeze options allow the exclusion of track FX bins – perfect for reducing processing loads caused by AudioSnap without having to freeze the mix. The improved Insert Send Assistant dialog simplifies the creation of new bus sends already configured with a track’s current Pan and Gain settings. This is a real time-saver when creating separate monitor mixes. Add to this a number of workflow improvements (Tab to transients, Draggable Now Time Marker, Auto Scroll Lock in Clips Pane) and performance optimisations (Hotswap Audio & MIDI I/O, increased MIDI port support from 64 to 256, VST plug-in compatibility options, improved stability while loop recording and BitbridgeXR 32-bit plug-in support) and it’s clear that Sonar has been taking a good hard look at itself since its last release.

The Loop Explorer of previous editions has made way for a new Media Browser with expanded functionality. As you would expect you can drag and drop audio, video, MIDI and pattern files from the browser but it’s primarily designed for file previewing. Acidised wave files and Rex loops, now natively supported, can be previewed in sync with project playback. Additionally, MIDI and pattern files can be routed to any loaded Virtual Instrument for preview. Your favourite file locations can even be saved as presets for rapid access. Cakewalk’s Session Drummer instrument has also been given the once over; v3 featuring a refined mixer view and a nice photographic representation of the kit paired with a four-pad trigger surface. It’s essentially the same as its predecessor but 8.5 is bundled with additional Roland, Linn and Sequential Circuits sample sets along with some very nice acoustic kits and patterns from Sonic Reality, Steven Slate, Groove Monkee and Smart Loops. Be sure to choose the Custom setup option if you want to install the new content in the same location as previous installations.

Continuing the trend, both AudioSnap and the Step Sequencer have received updates to their features and version numbers (now 2.0). AudioSnap has been streamlined to simplify and speed up most common applications and the new interface is much easier to navigate. The existing Radius time-stretching algorithms have been optimised and a new advanced algorithm has been provided to significantly improve offline processing. The Step Sequencer has also been updated with the welcome inclusion of per row controller lanes to edit a wide range of channel and step parameters including some interesting randomisation options. Simple pattern saving and loading rounds out the enhancements ensuring that the Step Sequencer can finally live up to the hype heaped on it by the Cakewalk marketeers. As a fine accompaniment to its pattern-sequencing prowess, Sonar 8.5 also integrates a powerful arpeggiator into every MIDI and instrument track.

QUADRUPLE SCOOP FOR DESSERT

While this year’s update is dominated by self-improvements it’s not entirely devoid of treats. The Matrix view, reminiscent of everyone’s favourite live application, unleashes a whole new world of sequencing and real-time performance for Sonar users. Completely MIDI assignable, this cell-based non-linear performance and arrangement playground supports MIDI loops and patterns along with beat-mapped audio files. Acid and REX loops are supported as standard but it’s easy enough to create your own loops in the Track view and then simply drag and drop. I’m not doing it justice in the space available here but I can tell you it’s well worth the price of admission. The one-step option for capturing both audio and MIDI performances is particularly well implemented.