How did you get started recording with Sonar?

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maximumpower
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October 01, 11 7:08 AM (permalink)

How did you get started recording with Sonar?


- Are you a hobbyist or do you make money using Sonar?

If you make money recording/mixing/mastering
- Are you part time or full time?
- Did it start out as a hobby or did you start out knowing you wanted to make this a career? ie maybe you went to school for this?

I am just a hobbyist and curious about how you all ended up with your DAW.

Thanks

Win 10 (64 bit), i7-2600k 3.4GHz , 8 GB RAM, SATA III (500GB SSD - System, 2TB WD Black - Data), Sonar Platinum x64, m-audio Profire 610

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    57Gregy
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 11:01 AM (permalink)
    I wanted to record some of my songs but wasn't in a band.
    I bought a keyboard to make drum sounds and other instruments I don't play, a TASCAM Portastudio, some microphones, a bass guitar and amps. I already had some guitars.
    When I moved back to NC from TX, my brother the programmer said I can do all of that on my computer, which I had just bought a few months before.
    So I went to Circuit City (anyone remember them? ) and perusing the software aisle I discovered Music Creator 2003. I think I got it because the box looked better than the others and it came with a MIDI-to-joystick port cable so I could hook it up to the computer without buying any other hardware.
    I've since upgraded to MC Pro 24 and then SONAR Home Studio 6 XL. I also got MC 6 this week.
    All of them work very well for me, but I've only recorded about 20 songs in 9 years.
    Can't wait until I retire so I have more time for recording.

    Greg 
    I am selling my MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS, red and black. PM for more details.

    Music Creator 2003, MC Pro 24, SONAR Home Studio 6 XL, SONAR  X3e, CbB, Focusrite Saffire, not enough space.
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    #2
    bapu
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 11:40 AM (permalink)


    How did you get started recording with Sonar?


    d:\setup.exe 
    post edited by bapu - October 01, 11 11:41 AM
    #3
    space_cowboy
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 12:21 AM (permalink)
    I started with Cakewalk 3.0 or whatever the atrocious looking MIDI thing was with purple and black.  I hooked up ADATs synced using BRC.  

     

    Some people call me Maurice
     
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    #4
    Alegria
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 1:59 PM (permalink)
    Early 80's, first version on 5 1/4 floppies, loaded on a Compaq portable (looks like a sewing machine and still works to this day). Have toyed with the idea of selling it on EBay. I have to say that it's my acoustic guitar buddy that turned me on to it. Before getting back into it almost 3 years ago, the last version I purchased was Cakewalk Pro 9 I believe (1998 ?), and only to play around with MIDI. Did not have much time to work with it (or anything else aside work), and the quality was terrible, not the software but MIDI in general.

    Note: I'm an amateur/hobbyist preparing my retirement. I'm well on my way in achieving this goal with the exception of a proper acoustically treated room, which is the next and last step.

    Note: It may seem like I'm doing things backwards, but I had no idea I would be enjoying myself this much and decided to go all the way. I also have 2 young nephews (both 17 years old) that are getting more involved in music. My attempts to get my youngest daughter (15 years old) involved in music did not pan out, but it did get me back into it.

    Note: I do not expect to make any money at all with this. But some pleasures are priceless.  Amen! 
    #5
    Wookiee
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 2:01 PM (permalink)
    Sound-blaster 32 AWE which came with Cakewalk apprentice, it then sort of got all out of hand with more hardware and a new version of Cakewalk's software every year since.

    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
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    #6
    bapu
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 2:03 PM (permalink)
    Wookiee


    Sound-blaster 32 AWE which came with Cakewalk apprentice, it then sort of got all out of hand with more hardware and a new version of Cakewalk's software every year Mooch and Bapu ever since.

    Yes?
    No?
    Maybe?


    #7
    Old55
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 2:56 PM (permalink)
    Back in the '90's, I did some CD mastering and replication with a friend who owns a recording studio. I'm a technician and built the PCs to do that stuff including two rigs that had 10 CD burners each. For the Mastering we used SAW or Wavelab. After a few proprietary packages, we settled on Padus Disk Juggler for the replication. These days, I'm a hobbyist. I had some old tapes that I wanted to remix and master. So, I started off with the lite version of Cubase. A few years back, I took a recording class at a near by community college. They were using Sonar 6 in the class. I wound up getting Sonar Studio so I could do the projects more easily. I went a Guitar Center event where Brandon demoed Sonar 7 and made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I upgraded to 7 PE. Now, I'm on 8.53.
    post edited by Old55 - October 03, 11 11:49 AM

    Should auld acquaintance be forgot--hey, who the hell are you guys?  
     
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    #8
    craigb
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 3:31 PM (permalink)
    Started playing guitar in the 70's, played in a couple of bands briefly though my interest was increasing then, in 1984, I broke my arm and had nerve damage which made my hand next to useless for months.  Needless to say, I couldn't play guitar so I drifted a bit away from the scene until I discovered MIDI and computer music (I've been a programmer since I was 7).  I got myself a dead MIDI keyboard and Cakewalk v1.0 and had a lot of fun for years but nothing serious.  Then a friend said he was going to big Guitar Center event where people were showing up to buy used guitars brought in by others and I remembered my '76 Les Paul that was still in storage.  I brought it and it sold for what I thought at the time was a lot of money.  Of course, I'm now in Guitar Center with a wad of cash and, like Las Vegas, you rarely seem to be able to leave with it - lol!  I ended up with a nice Les Paul Studio Double-cut that had just been used in an exhibit and a small practice amp.

    That started the gear acquisition cycle which included updating Cakewalk over and over finally peaking a few years ago after I had a full studio's worth of gear (>$100k in value).  Then the economy tanked, work disappeared and the banks stole all of my money.  Much of it was sold (at pennies on the dollar) but I still have quite a bit left.  I'm in a startup company now and haven't had time to play for fun, but have done some voice-over work so I still get to use a few pieces of gear.  We're getting close to being able to pay ourselves like "normal" employees and, once that happens, I'll be able to get the rest of my stuff out of storage and resume enjoying making music!

    I'm only up to SONAR 4 Producer because that's all my PC's can handle.  Of course, that's STILL a pretty capable product!  I've been working with Scott at ADK to plan out a new DAW so I'm hoping to have a new system AND be able to upgrade SONAR in the next few months.

     
    Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
    #9
    Guitarhacker
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 3:39 PM (permalink)
    I heard about Cakewalk midi sequencing from a friend. I saw a couple of live musicians using it to sequence a virtual band. I really didn't do much in that direction however at the time.

    I was playing in bands and had seen enough of them hit the rocks in flames to see the impending signs in my (then) current band. I started to acquire some basic gear and bought a Roland drum machine and a Tascam Porta One 4 track to record on cassettes.  Working alone in my studio began to provide me more enjoyment then having to deal with the hassles of band members.  

    The Tascam was cool and let me do some neat stuff but I quickly ran into it's limitations. Not enough tracks and the drummer was a pain to program. 

    I decided to buy Cakewalk Pro 8 deluxe and a 2 channel audio/midi card. Digital was sweet, but the drums and instruments were lacking quality at an affordable cost.  A computer upgrade to the OS ended that DAW. The cards drivers were not available  for the new OS. I stopped making music for a few years.

    I got back into digital recording with a new Dell lappy and Music Creator.  I've expanded to MC4,5,6 & X1 as my current DAW's and some pretty decent synths & samples. 

    I started getting serious about writing songs and music when I saw how much better the synths and samples had become. Currently I have a number of tunes signed with publishers and Film & TV libraries. Whether that will pay off in any substantial way has yet to be seen, But regardless, writing is a good outlet for the soul. I just recently licensed a song to an organization, and look forward to doing more of that as I continue to write more music. 

    I also enjoy the fellowship of other musicians and the song writing process.  
    post edited by Guitarhacker - October 01, 11 3:42 PM

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    #10
    Wookiee
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 3:39 PM (permalink)
    bapu


    Wookiee


    Sound-blaster 32 AWE which came with Cakewalk apprentice, it then sort of got all out of hand with more hardware and a new version of Cakewalk's software every year Mooch and Bapu ever since.

    Yes?
    No?
    Maybe?
     
    All five

    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
    Karma has a way of finding its own way home.
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    #11
    Crg
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 7:59 PM (permalink)
    I saw a copy of Music Creator 4 at Comp USA took it home and loaded it into the old single core HP desk top. From then on it was a quest for perfection. <---(short story)

    Craig DuBuc
    #12
    timidi
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 8:02 PM (permalink)
    How did you get started recording with Sonar?



    That's what came after ProAudio.

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    #13
    maximumpower
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 8:43 PM (permalink)
    How many of you are making money from using a DAW? I am a long way off from having the skills to do it but it is a dream of mine :-)

    Win 10 (64 bit), i7-2600k 3.4GHz , 8 GB RAM, SATA III (500GB SSD - System, 2TB WD Black - Data), Sonar Platinum x64, m-audio Profire 610

    #14
    kc2ine
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 8:57 PM (permalink)
    How did I start?
    I pressed "record" button, then everything went smoothly - fame, Grammies, gold CDs, groupies, fans, drugs, breakdown, depression, bancrupcy and...coffee house. 
    Now I'm looking to press stop button.

    V-Studio 100, Sony VAIO i7 2.93GHz/ 8GB RAM, Pianoteq, Sonar X1 Studio, ezDrummer, Macbook Pro, Roland RD700GX stage piano, Yamaha Motif XS6 workstation, Rode NT-1A, AKG Perception 220 
    #15
    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 8:57 PM (permalink)
    I drove 6 hours one way in a 1967 VW Beetle to buy Pro Audio 7 at Thoroughbred Music in Tampa F L A and then drove back home.

    It's been groovy ever since... well there was that problem where the box said NT compatible... and I had my butt handed to me and I finally realized to not beat my head against the wall and believe what I read on the box. Then I ran win98 and it's been groovy ever since.

    best,
    mike




    #16
    Rbh
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 01, 11 11:07 PM (permalink)
    I still have the first noodle I did with Sonar 1.0 . It still sounds great. Not cause I'm patting myself on the back...but i did some basic audio over dubs then messed with manually looping a few measures just to play with more over dubs. By the time I was done, I had a very cool sounding track, no quantize - no aligning to measures, just some fresh ideas inspired by my new editable tape deck with those cool digital fishphones compressors and gates and cakes DSP effects. Which I still use by the way.

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    #17
    UbiquitousBubba
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 03, 11 10:05 AM (permalink)
    Over the years, I've made tons of money with my DAW.  Everytime I turn around, there's more money flowing.  I can hardly keep track of it all. 

    Hang on.  I think I confused the "Income" and "Expense" columns. 

    Nevermind.
    #18
    Jonbouy
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 03, 11 11:35 AM (permalink)

    :How did you get started recording with Sonar?


    I just double clicked the icon that sez Sonar 8.5 Producer.

    That was how I got started today.

    For actually recording TBH I don't use Sonar anymore, I use it for midi mangling, arranging, engineering, beatz, mashups and mixing.
    post edited by Jonbouy - October 03, 11 11:39 AM

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    #19
    bapu
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 03, 11 11:52 AM (permalink)
    Jonbouy



    :How did you get started recording with Sonar?


    I just double clicked the icon that sez Sonar 8.5 Producer.

    I don't have that icon on my desktop (anymore)


    Could that be my problem?

    #20
    UbiquitousBubba
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 03, 11 11:54 AM (permalink)
    I don't have JonBouy's icon on my desktop, either.  I'm unable to launch his copy of Sonar.  Should I report that as a bug?
    #21
    bapu
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    Re:How did you get started recording with Sonar? October 03, 11 11:54 AM (permalink)
    UbiquitousBubba


    I don't have JonBouy's icon on my desktop, either.  I'm unable to launch his copy of Sonar.  Should I report that as a bug?

    Yes, it can be replicated.
    #22
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