Anyone using Sonar X1 with the VS 700

Try looking here

I use it with the vstudio R and C. It works fantastic. 

I've had zero issues at all. Latency and stability is perfect. 

The only beef I have is that I can't actively ride the gain while tracking vocals, because the conversion between digital control surface to analog gain stage introduces clicks during modification :(. I just need to get a really awesome preamp instead. Other than that, the preamps on the vstudio are incredible. I've used several different interfaces and the preamps on the vstudio are by far the best. Granted I haven't used a sapphire interface, I hear they're great.

Good luck :)

one thing that I forgot to add is that I have yet to get the fantom synth to work. When I first tried setting it up, it wasn't 64bit compatible, which pissed me off. but I have yet to try it again. I want to get that going at some point.

I am using V-Studio 700 with Sonar X1 and it works great.  Only issues:

1-Sometimes (not often) I have to reboot the interface (I/O) unit because the Asio drivers disappear.  Usually happens only if I open a plug-in in stand-alone mode and then later open Sonar.  No big deal and only takes 3 seconds to fix.  This hasn't happened in a while, so this could have been a configuration problem that has been corrected.  NOTE:  Try to avoid opening a plug-in or virtual instrument in stand-alone while Sonar is open.
2-If you open Sonar with the V-Studio turned off, things may be weird when you start everything up again—that is, Sonar may not know the Console is there.  Fix is to go to Preferences and reselect the control surface.

One minor complaint: The mic trims are set via software in Sonar which is fine, but the settings are lost whenever you reboot the I/O.  There may be a work-around I don't know about, and this only takes a few seconds to reset, but I wish the settings were saved with the project.  I may want different mic trims/mic pre settings for different projects without having to use a memo pad.

I think that, for the money, it is hard to find a better total hardware + software solution.  Automation is simple and everything works well.  Having Views as buttons, a Save button, and Cut/Copy/Paste/and Delete buttons is very handy.  You may not care about getting the Fantom synthesizer, but I find it useful, it's free with the package, and it doesn't take CPU resources.

Like any control surface, you trade the number of faders and buttons for desk space, but with a DAW in a computer, I find that 8 faders + Master is enough.

Josh, I had a real adventure with the Fantom but Sweetwater got it to work in 64-bit for me.  Let me see if I can find the notes.  It requires a hot fix from Cakewalk.

Yep, the V-Studio 700 is a great system. Here's some additional info about it...
http://garrigus.com/?VStudio700

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://www.garrigus.com/
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://www.proaudiotutor.com/
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://www.digifreq.com/digifreq/
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://www.newtechreview.com/newtechreview/

Josh, Sorry for the long post, but here are my notes on getting the Fantom to work.  Maybe one of the sections will apply to your situation.

1.  Here is the link at Cakewalk for the updated installation for 64-bit.

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013246

2.  Here is an email from the Sweetwater tech that explains a simple but evasive issue that was keeping the Fantom from working for me:

When I was looking at the Fantom issue with you, what happened was that there was an additional directory in your plugins list at C:Program Files (x86)CakewalkVST Plugins. Since there is also the 32-bit version of the Fantom plugin in there, Sonar got confused and loaded that version into 64-bit instead which won't work since it is a hardware based plugin that has to talk to a driver.  Once I removed that directory and rescanned, everything was fixed.

Usually when you install new plugins, most will get installed to the Program Files x86 VST folder.  Instead of adding that directory to Sonar, in your situation it would be best to just copy and paste the .dll file into the regular Program Files VST folder since you have both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Sonar installed.  This will ensure you can use the plugin in both versions without Sonar having to get confused.

So in Sonar 64-bit, just make sure never to add C:Program Files (x86)CakewalkVST Plugins into your plugins list.

3.  Finally, this long thread below with Cakewalk essentially explains that you have to be careful when running the Cakewalk installer.  It defaults to installing two Fantoms (since that's the max you can have if you have a V-Studio and two IOs) and the ARX Editor.  I figured the ARX Editor would be OK to have installed in case I ever bought an expansion board but I was wrong: it messes things up if you install that and don't have the expansion.  Following Cakewalk's advice below is important, but, as it turns it, the issue in #2 above would have prevented the Fantom from working anyway.

***********
    Ryan, Thanks, but when I installed the update at the link, and then started Sonar, I got a slew of error messages (3 copies of Fantom MIDI Devices not set up correctly, ARX not set up right,  3 copies of Unable to read/write data).  I cannot select a patch on the Fantom: it appears to let me select, but then I get the read/write message again, and Fantom defaults to an Elec Piano sound.

    Now I see Fantom VS and Fantom VS (2) when I go to Insert | Soft Synth.  Both give the error messages.  Neither will allow patch selection.
    

Hi konradh,

I'm not sure if you checked out the link I posted in my last response. It wasn't a link to the installer, it was a link to new instructions I posted yesterday. See here.

It sounds like you are getting so many error messages when running the VST Scanner because you installed extra Fantom VS and ARX Editors for hardware you do not have.

If you are on a 64-bit operating system, the installer gives a 32-bit option and a 64-bit option. You should be selecting 32-bit or 64-bit depending on which version of SONAR you are running. The ARX and Fantom VS Editors are only 32-bit plug-ins, but if you are running 64-bit SONAR it is important that you are choosing this option in the installer.

The installer also gives you the option to install:

1) VS-700 Fantom Synth Editor
2) VS-700 ARX Editor
3) VS-700 Fantom Synth Editor for 2nd VS-700r
4) VS-700 ARX Editor for 2nd VS-700R

If you do not own an ARX Expansion card (purchased seperately), then you should not choose to install the ARX Editor. It will not operating without the hardware and will give you error messages if you try to insert it.

Likewise, if you do not own a second VS-700R, you should not install any of the option for a 2nd VS-700R.

It's important to remember that these plug-ins require hardware to be present and connected. You will always get an error message if you let the VST Scanner run and the hardware isn't connected.

I'm not sure which hardware you own, but make sure you're following the above logic for what you're installing.

Here's what I recommend you do:

1) Close SONAR and all apps on your computer
2) Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Cakewalk\Vstplugins
3) If they're present, delete both the "ARX" and "Fantom VS" folders contained within
4) Navigate to C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Vstplugins
5) If they're present, delete both the "ARX" and "Fantom VS" folders contained within
6) Run the stand-alone Fantom VS and ARX Editor installer again. I added installation instructions to the article. Please follow them and make sure you are only installing what is necessary. If you install more editors than you have hardware you will continue to get errors. You can find this here.
7) If you're running SONAR 8.5 or earlier, go to Options > Global > VST Plugins
8) If you're running SONAR X1 go to Edit > Preferences > File > VST Settings
9) Make sure the VST Scan Folders(s) are set to scan properly and click [Scan VST Folders]. Also note that you don't have to have "Scan for VST Plug-ins On Startup" selected.

At this point, try creating a project and then going to Insert > Soft Synths and inserting the Fantom VS Editor.

If you're still getting error messages at that point, it's related to settings. Click here for instructions on troubleshooting this.

Also I know that Sweetwater installed and configured your setup, so you're probably not aware of the initial setup process... but a lot of the settings you mentioned you are confused about are explained in the "Initial Settings" section of the VS-700 Getting Started Guide. If you don't have the printed manuals, you can find them in .pdf form on our website here.

If this information doesn't get you up and running then you definitely need to call in so we can walk you through the steps live.

Best,
Ryan Munnis
Technical Support
Cakewalk

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Re:Can't Get Fantom to Work - 9 hrs. ago ( #11 )
Ryan, I appreciate the help, but that did not resolve the issues and I am flooded with error messages.  When I try to select a patch on the Fantom I get the famous "unable to read/write data" message and the patch is not selected.

Sweetwater tells me that Cakewalk reports that the Fantom is not ready for use in a 64-bit system.  What's the straight dope on that?  I bought the V-Studio fully expecting the Fantom to work and using that as one justification for the price.

Current status:
- Cannot select a Fantom patch
- Multiple "MIDI devices not set up correctly" messages for Fantom
- "Unable to read/write data" when Sonar starts-up, when adding Fantom to a project, and when trying to select a patch
- At least two ARX Editor error messages when Sonar starts up

=================================================

Re:Can't Get Fantom to Work - 8 hrs. ago ( #13 )
The answer is in the instructions above.

If SONAR is running the VST Scanner on launch, then it is still configured to do so. If when doing so, SONAR is detecting an "ARX.dll", "ARX (2).dll", or more than one "Fantom VS.dll", then the extra plug-ins are still installed on your system.

The instructions I listed above tell you how to manually delete these files if you have accidentally installed them. If you installed them to a custom location and SONAR is set to scan that custom location, then you will need to remove them from there for the VST Scanner to not pick them up.

If this is the case, and you only have one Fantom VS synthesizer, you absolutely will get these error messages every single time. "Unable to read/write data" means exactly that... it cannot locate the hardware because it is not present, or the settings in the VSTi are not configured correctly.

The errors with the ARX MIDI ports are the same. If you do not have an ARX Expansion card installed, and you have installed the ARX Editor, when SONAR tries to scan this plug-in it cannot locate the hardware and gives you an error message. See here for more info.

The Fantom VS is supported on the 64-bit version of SONAR. Sweetwater was referring to a previous hotfix that we had available that we did not have an official installer for, but this has been replaced by the updated installer.

The only suggestions I can give are to follow the steps I have listed above. This is the way to resolve this. If this process seems confusing, we have free phone support for registered customers.

Afterwards, perhaps you should configure SONAR's VST Scanner to "Rescan Failed Plug-ins" and "Rescan Existing Plug-ins". Clicking the [Scan VST Folders] button when doing this will repopulate your list of plug-ins so it doesn't reference any plug-in .dlls that are no longer installed on your system.

I know this seems confusing, but I can assure you that this error message is either due to one of two things:
1) There are more Fantom VS and/or ARX editors installed on your computer then you have physical hardware for
2) The settings in the instrument are not configured correctly
Ryan Munnis
Technical Support
Cakewalk

   

Meh.. I'm getting it to load now without errors! So that's the first step. but it's still not making any noise.. I'll post a vid shortly.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it.

I didn't have a problem with 64-bit because the latest installer, I believe included that... My issue was that the VS had all of the volume levels down in the mixer. There are two volumes... The sliders, and right above the sliders, is another volume or gain. The knobs above the sliders were all at their minimum and that is why i could not hear the VS Synth.