SONAR 3 Power! Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Wow! I don't know what book that other reviewer (Ilia) read, but it definitely wasn't Sonar 4 Power. I found this to be an excellent book and I always refer to it first whenever I have a question about Sonar 4. I read it cover to cover (I like to be thorough) and I really like Garrigus' writing style. It's not boring at all, which is what you might find in other books of this type. I found it very insightful and educational. Here's my take on the various sections of the book:

Chapter 1 - A basic chapter that introduces the reader to MIDI and digital audio. This isn't something I needed, but for complete beginners it's a nice intro. And Garrigus even provides a useful link to Cakewalk's free MIDI and audio e-book that provides more in-depth info on the topic.

Chapter 2 - This is where things start to get interesting. I love the fact that Garrigus takes the time to summarize all the new features in the latest version of the software. He also lets you know where to find the detailed info about these features in the book. Very helpful. In addition (for those that need the extra help), Garrigus goes over the components you need for a basic home studio setup and even describes some of the equipment that he uses in his own studio. Very cool.

Chapter 3 - In this chapter, you'll find detailed info about how to customize Sonar and make it work the way you want it to work. Topics include Organizing Files, Customizing the Workspace, Customizing MIDI Settings, and Optimal Audio Settings. Not every single Sonar setting is covered here, but Garrigus intersperses info about some of the others throughout the book. I kind of like have all pertinent info in the same place, but then again, I can simply look in the index if I want to find something specific.

Chapter 4 - This chapter talks about opening projects, creating new projects, and saving projects. The most interesting part is where it talks about templates and how to create your own. This can save you a lot of setup time in the studio.

Chapter 5 - Talks about how to navigate throughout a Sonar project. You'll find all the info you would expect here.

Chapter 6 - You'll learn all about recording and playback with Sonar here. Garrigus details all of the various ways to record MIDI and audio in Sonar including how to setup all the initial parameters for recording. And other topics: Audio Track Recording and Playback, Multiple Track Recording and Playback, Loop Recording, Punch Recording, Step Recording, Importing MIDI and Audio files, and synchronization basics. The sync section could be a bit more detailed, although this isn't something I really needed so it wasn't a problem for me.

Chapter 7 - Garrigus talks about the various views in Sonar... Track view, Piano Roll view, Event List view, and Tempo view. He explains in detail what they are used for and how to use them.

Chapter 8 - This chapter explains Advanced Data Selection and Advanced Audio Editing. It includes info on all of the offline editing features. I admit that reading through this chapter can be a bit tedious, but hey, this is a book about a computer software application. It's not a novel. There's a lot of info to cover and Garrigus is very thorough, which is great for me because if I ever need detailed info about a function in Sonar, I can find it in this book. That's one of the reasons I bought it.

Chapter 9 - One of my favorite chapters because it talks about composing with audio sample loops. Not only that but provides a very nice loop composing exercise and Garrigus even provides a file download (on his site - garrigus.com) so you can load up the finished song in Sonar and play around with it.

Chapters 10 and 11 - Two more of my favorite chapters because unlike the manual, Garrigus provides detailed information about each and every software synthesizer and effect plug-in that comes included with Sonar. The manual just provides general information about the overall use of synths and effects. It doesn't provide any details about the individual synths and effects.

Chapter 12 - This chapter covers mixing, but here is where the book could use a little improvement since it covers all the Sonar mixing features and how to use them, but it doesn't actually teach you how to mix. Then again, mixing is a very large topic and there are whole books written about it, so maybe trying to squeeze that type of info into a single chapter would be too much.

Chapter 13 - I'm just getting into surround sound, which made this chapter very valuable to me. Garrigus covers setting up your studio for surround, setting up Sonar for surround, surround sound mixing (with some examples), surround sound effects, and exporting a surround project. Very helpful to the beginning and intermediate users. And even advanced users who are not familiar with these new features in Sonar will find it useful.

Chapter 14 - This chapter covers the notation features in Sonar. It covers everything you would expect, although Sonar's notation features leave a lot to be desired. But that's not the fault of this book. For notation I usually end up using Finale.

Chapters 15, 16, and 17 - Covering StudioWare and CAL, I really enjoyed how Garrigus explained that anyone (even beginners) can use these advanced features of Sonar. He even details how to use each CAL program that comes included with Sonar for editing MIDI data. This is definitely not found in the manual.

Chapter 18 - The book ends with information about how to covert your tracks to a stereo file and burn it to CD using either Cakewalk's MediaWorks or Pyro or Windows XP. Personally, I use Nero, but I understand why each and every CD burning application couldn't be included here.

The Appendices cover backing up your project files, producing projects for multimedia and the web, and Sonar resources on the Web. This information rounds out the book nicely. There are quite a few Sonar books on the market now, but for the most well-rounded and best overall reference, Sonar 4 Power is the book to have. Even if you plan on buying some other books, you should definitely include this book in your Sonar 4 library. And I just want to say thanks to Scott for writing such a great publication and I look forward to the next! In the meantime, I'm enjoying your free home recording newsletter at digifreq.com.

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Product Description:
SONAR 3 Power! will take you deep into the many features that this amazing software package offers. You 'll get more than just a quick rundown of tools and buttons. You 'll learn how to truly get the most out of SONAR 3 as you work your way through step-by-step examples and exercises that will help make your composing and recording sessions run more smoothly. You'll cover the major features, but you'll also get tips on the more obscure elements of SONAR and learn how to make all of the features work together seamlessly. It's all here-tips for customizing SONAR 3, techniques for recording multiple tracks at once, and instructions that simplify mixing. Unleash the power of SONAR 3!

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