SONAR 8.5 Producer

SONAR 8.5 Producer continues SONAR's history of innovation, delivering new features (creative tools, instruments, and effects); many additional workflow and technological advances throughout; and engine optimizations and stability improvements.

New Features

Creative Tools

• Step Sequencer2.0 — the most powerful step sequencing capability in any DAW.
• Matrix View — simple and flexible cell-based, non-linear audio and MIDI arranging with live triggering capability.
• Integrated Arpeggiator — trigger Arpeggiations on MIDI or instrument tracks with in-depth control over all arp parameters. Includes hundreds of presets.
• Media Browser — the new hub for content access within SONAR; supports multiple formats to preview and import all your loops, grooves, and MIDI patterns; features presets to quickly grab content from your favorite locations.

 Instruments:

Session Drummer 3 — latest version of Cakewalk's virtual instrument for easy and fast creation of drum tracks with a new UI, stellar sounding kits and patterns from top sound designers and drummers, more. Additional content includes:

• 10 high-quality kits from the renowned content provider Sonic Reality ready to play in any track, along with 1 coupon for a free download of one Ocean Way Drums kit.
• 2 polished kits from Steven Slate Drums, fine tuned and tweaked to sound amazing in any mix.
• Genre-defining original samples of the classic Roland TR-707, TR-727, TR-808, and TR-909 drum synthesizers, along with kits from Sequential Circuits Drumtraks and Linn Electronics LinnDrum.
• 2 Organic kits from Smart Loops.
• Over 700 new MIDI patterns from Steven Slate Drums, Groove Monkee, and Smart Loops.
• Over 2.5 GB of drum sample content in all.

Effects:

• PX-64 Percussion Strip — seven-stage processor designed specifically for use with drums and percussion.
• VX-64 Vocal Strip — seven-stage processor optimized for shaping and sculpting vocal tracks.
• The Project5 "Half-Rack" tempo-synched effects, including:
  • the Alias Factor Bit Decimator
  • Classic Phaser (Tempo-Sync)
  • Compressor/Gate
  • HF Exciter
  • Mod Filter (Tempo-Sync)
  • Chorus/Flanger (Tempo-Sync)
  • Para-Q
  • StudioVerb II
  • Tempo Delay

Workflow and technology advancements

• AudioSnap 2.0 — updated audio quantizing and time shifting technology with new look and refinements to all the core controls, significantly improving workflow, plus improved offline rendering.
• Windows 7 Ready — Cakewalk has been testing SONAR from early Windows 7 Betas right through to the latest Release Candidates, and we are pleased to recommended Windows 7 as a platform for SONAR 8.5. Additionally, SONAR 8.5 was evaluated at an independent Microsoft application compatibility lab and officially passed the rigorous Win7 compatibility testing.
• VST plug-in compatibility improvements. 
• Native REX loop support featured in Track View, Media Browser, and Matrix View. 
• BitBridge XR — run 32-bit plug-ins in 64-bit environments, with memory access now extended up to 128 GB RAM.

Engine optimizations and stability improvements

• Engine Optimizations — Audio interfaces, MIDI interfaces and control surfaces can now be disconnected and reconnected again or "hotswapped" while SONAR is running without the need to restart SONAR.  SONAR 8.5 also includes optimizations and stability improvements for recording audio, and while looping.
• Open Support — Cakewalk has been, and will continue to be, a proponent of open standards in software and hardware.  SONAR 8.5 brings a variety of compatibility improvements for VST plug-ins, as well as for Cakewalk's BitBridge technology, which allows for access to classic 32-bit "x86" VST plug-ins in a 64-bit "x64" environment.  SONAR Producer customers can take advantage of the new BitBridge XR , which automatically provides up to 32 BitBridge servers, each capable of using up to 4GB of RAM, for a total of 128GB of RAM access from 32-bit plug-ins! SONAR also now provides native REX loop support, via the Track View, updated Media Browser, and new Matrix View. 
• Freeze and Archive buttons now conveniently located on each track.
• Updated Insert Send Assistant, with matching track gain/pan while creating sends.
• Solo Button on all effects plug-in windows to quickly solo and focus on the track being processed.
• New Track View grid lines options to present grid lines behind or in front of clips.
• New option to automatically lock scrolling during playback when initiating an edit.
• The Now Time cursor can be dragged to a new position during playback.
• DC Offset meter added to the Cakewalk Analyst plug-in.
• Installation has been simplified with an easy one-click install option that accepts all default settings and locations and installs the entire SONAR application, as well as plug-ins and content data.

Highlights of SONAR 8.5 Producer:

• Pristine 64-bit mix engine; first true 64-bit end-to-end signal path
• Customizable user interface: put favorite features right at your fingertips
• Active Controller Technology (ACT): dynamically maps effect, mix, and instrument parameters to any MIDI controller or hardware control surface, automatically remaps parameters to whatever view has focus
• Roland V-Vocal VariPhrase technology for perfection of vocal tracks through exceptional audio stretching; pitch correction; control of dynamics, phrasing, vibrato; and pitch to MIDI conversion
• Smart MIDI Tools
• POW-r Dithering & MPEX 3 Time Scaling
• Bus & Synth Waveform Preview
• Clip-Based Effects and Editing
• Crash Recovery safeguards projects against faulty plug-ins and other sources of crashes
• Integrated CD Ripping and Burning
• Cakewalk Publisher 2.0

SONAR 8.5 Studio

SONAR 8.5 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 8.5 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 8.5 Studio contains all of the features of SONAR 8 Producer minus the following Producer exclusives: Matrix View, Lexicon Pantheon Reverb (Studio includes Pantheon SE), LP-64 EQ, LP-64 Multiband, TS-64 Transient Shaper, TL-64 Tube Leveler, VC-64 Vintage Channel, Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 LE, Sonitus Surround Compressor, Dimension Pro 1.2 (Studio includes Dimension LE), DSF Classic Keys Expansion Pack & Hollywood Edge FX for Dimension Pro, TruePianos Amber VSTi, Beatscape Looping Instrument, Z3TA+ Waveshaping Synthesizer, Surround Mixing, and POW-r dithering.

Pricing and Availability

SONAR 8.5 Producer has a street price of $499.00, SONAR 8.5 Studio $299.00, and are available at select music and sound retailers. And for the first time ever, registered SONAR 8 Producer customers can download the SONAR 8.5 Producer upgrade for $99.00 and SONAR 8 Studio customers can download the SONAR 8.5 Studio upgrade for $79.00 directly from Cakewalk.com. All SONAR V-Studio 700 customers and those SONAR customers who purchased SONAR 8 after July 1st are eligible for a free download of the 8.5 upgrade. An upgrade DVD is also available for an additional nominal fee for those customers with slower connection speeds or who prefer physical media. Other upgrade paths are available, visit Cakewalk.com for details.

International pricing

SONAR 8.5 Producer and Studio software is available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian; English, German, and French boxed versions come with a printed multi-language User's Guide; Spanish and Italian boxed versions come with a PDF format of the User's Guide. SONAR 8.5 is available through Roland and Edirol distribution partners.

Europe's recommended retail prices for SONAR 8.5 Producer and SONAR 8.5 Studio are €499 and €299 RRP inc VAT respectively; U.K. pricing is £435 and £265 RRP inc VAT respectively, and are available at select music and sound retailers around the world. Registered SONAR 8 Producer customers can download the SONAR 8.5 Producer upgrade for £89, €99 and SONAR 8 Studio customers can download the SONAR 8.5 Studio upgrade for £69, €79, directly from Cakewalk.com. Registered SONAR 8 Producer customers can purchase the boxed version of the SONAR 8.5 Producer upgrade for £109 / €119 and SONAR 8 Studio customers can purchase the boxed version of the SONAR 8.5 Studio upgrade for £89 / €99 directly from Cakewalk.com or a Roland and Edirol distribution partner. All SONAR V-Studio 700 customers and those SONAR customers who purchased or upgraded to SONAR 8 after July 1st (worldwide excluding Japan) are eligible for a free download of the 8.5 upgrade.

Other upgrade paths are available, visit Cakewalk.com or a Roland and Edirol distribution partner for details.

For localized pricing and availability visit:

• Cakewalk (The Americas except Brazil and Canada)
• Edirol Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Austria)
• Roland Australia
• Roland Brazil
• Roland Canada
• Roland Central Europe (Belgium, France, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)
• Roland East Europe
• Roland Switzerland
• Roland Iberia (Portugal, Spain)
• Roland Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia, and Iceland)
• Roland Music LLC (Russia)

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