1/2/2024 0 Comments Cakewalk view all in multidock![]() ![]() ![]() The original Sonar, like most other music software on the Windows platform, employed what's known as the Multiple Document Interface, or MDI. ![]() The result is a cleaner, crisper‑looking interface that's clearly taken some inspiration from recent updates to Logic and Pro Tools, which is no bad thing. As has become de rigueur in modern music software design, everything appears a little darker but beyond aesthetic adjustment, Cakewalk have also rethought the organisation and presentation of nearly every aspect of the program. But after some initial scepticism, I realised that the word 'improvement' really doesn't do justice to the superiority of this new interface framework, at least compared to its previous incarnation. Initially, I thought Skylight sounded more like an apocalyptic TV science-fiction show. So it's both particularly welcome and perhaps no surprise that the most significant new feature of Sonar X1 is a completely revamped user interface, dubbed Skylight. I'm sure it was great for acclimatised users - in much the same way evolution has made extreme weather tolerable for polar bears - but the combination of an old‑school Windows interface with an ugly sea of cryptic icons made the program less than inviting to the uninitiated. Without wishing to be rude, I've always found Sonar's user interface - especially in recent years - to be somewhat malefic to the music‑making process. So while the main focus of this review is to discuss what's new in Sonar X1, it's also written with the non‑Sonar devotee in mind: for someone who might be familiar with similar products but wants to learn what this new version of Sonar might have to offer. We've exchanged numbers a few times, sure but neither Sonar or myself were somehow able to return each other's calls. There are new editing features, new mixing and automation features, and a new browser that makes it easy to drag and drop effects, instruments and audio files into your project.īefore continuing with this review, I should mention that while I have, on occasion, dipped my toe in the Sonar waters over the years, our relationship has never achieved the same level of intimacy I've shared with other music software. Released in December, Sonar X1 is a re-imagined version of Cakewalk's flagship application that takes the existing technology and features of Sonar 8.5 as a foundation and builds on top a new user interface and workflow. Cakewalk also introduced the DirectX Instrument (DXi) plug‑in format as a Windows‑only answer to Steinberg's cross‑platform VST (a technology decision that arguably makes even less sense in hindsight).Īt this year's Winter NAMM show, Cakewalk were showing a completely new Sonar: Sonar X1. Amongst a host of other features, Sonar sported a new user interface, and support for both Microsoft's then‑new WDM audio driver technology and DirectX 8, which finally allowed effects parameters to be automated. Ten years ago last January, Cakewalk introduced the "next generation” successor to their eponymously named Pro Audio series of music production software for Windows. Here you can see the five main components: the Control Bar at the top, the Track View in the middle, the Inspector to the left, the Browser to the right, and the MultiDock at the bottom. Sonar X1 introduces a slick new interface framework called Skylight. One last thing: MAKE THE PRV ABLE TO ROTATE 90 DEGREES! Studio One can do it, and it makes ALL the difference learning parts since a piano keyboard goes left to right, not bottom to top.Can Cakewalk's radical rethink of the DAW user interface tempt users of competing products into the Sonar fold - without alienating existing fans? It's extremely obvious, even WITH inline PRV (never use btw), console view (also never use, get over it, it's a dead medium for folk who can't let go of physical hardware.and I say that having learned on them), and all the other views. All that said, the obvious definition is: plugin UIs in one tabbable window, different editing views in the other. Plus the weird "you don't have to save" BUT "you have to be IN the new screenset when you edit" is completely backwards. They lag, they hang, they are just a total pain. Screensets now, even like I wrote all those months ago, are buggy as heck. And it instantly allowed 12 layouts of EVERY THING. SHIFT+F-key saved a layout, F-key recalled it. It had the most dirt-simple "screenset" implementation evar. Wow, it's weird reading things I wrote so long ago! That said, I truly miss SAW+. ![]()
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