In-depth mixing tutorial videos using SONAR just posted.

Howdy Folks
 
I’ve just uploaded a series of videos entitled Mixing a Country Song. There’s more than four and a half hours of content, which probably makes it one of the most in depth videos of It’s kind there is. And of course it’s all in SONAR Platinum.  However, it was not my intention to make a mixing tutorial, Lord knows there’s enough of them out there. The intention was purely to show potential clients what I have to offer. However it became an in-depth mixing video nevertheless. 
 
I thought I’d post it here so any SONAR users (or is that Cakewalk by BandLab?) who are maybe new to mixing in this DAW could maybe pick up some tips on how to set up a mix. I give detailed instructions on my routing, showing how I use Aux tracks and busses. And this for me is the killer feature of SONAR when it comes to mixing. Since the disastrous news hit back in November I have been looking into other DAWs and I really like Studio One. However I am finding it much slower and more difficult to mix in than SONAR. This could partly be due to me having my workflow down through years of experience in SONAR but the fact that Aux tracks and Busses are not differentiated like they are in SONAR makes the final automation and mixdown stage more cumbersome, as I like to finish my mixes in the Buss section. You can see all of this in the videos.
 
The reason I chose a country song for these videos is simply because you can find dozens, if not hundreds, of mix videos for Pop, Rock, RnB, EDM, etc. out there so what would be the point of duplicating the work of more talented guys than I. Whereas I can count on less than the fingers of one hand those out there for this genre.
 
You also get to see how I use my Mackie Control, XT and C4 to help me in the process. There are plenty of plugins in use including some of the included SONAR plugins. Like I say, I don’t profess to be the world's greatest mix engineer but I do hope there is enough in these videos for you that is enjoyable and you get something useful out of them.
 
SONAR still rocks. We all know this.
 
Check it out here
https://www.youtube.com/w...R2DVX-LSGrn0NZq2v4fOVe
 
The Twangmeister

Awesome - thanks!

Thank you for sharing this. I've watched about 40 minutes so far and really enjoy it. I'm not making any judgements on your technique, just enjoying the chance to follow the thought process and methods. I just finished building a Fender Tweed Deluxe for my brother today and was testing it with a Tele. I'm in the mood for country. 

Hi
Thanks for the comments so far. As far as judging my technique, feel free. Maybe you'll even spot the odd mistake. Maybe I mis-spoke the odd time  or maybe I tweaked a plugin without noticing the FX Bin was turned off. 😀
 
As far as downloading Cakewalk by BangLab, no I haven't yet  Will it be worth it? 

zoffmeister
As far as downloading Cakewalk by BangLab, no I haven't yet  Will it be worth it? 

If having your favourite DAW you've come to love over the years run faster with less bugs, then heck yeah. Just leave your original Sonar installation alone (i.e. don't uninstall it) and everything should run even better than before.

There's minimal setup involved.
If you give it a shot, and you need help for whatever reason, they'll be a bunch of us ready to help out here in the forum.
I recommend loading a session that has given you problems to compare against what you experienced previously.

There's a number here that have noticed improved stability. Sonar is not fully compatible with some windows updates, but Noel added coding to a recent build of the new Cakewalk for that, so I think that's the main reason why I'm having a much better experience.

Thanks for posting this, Dan.
Started watching it. Look forward to seeing your process.
All the best.

SONAR -> Cakewalk by Bandlab will be the easiest transition you've ever made. Basically just have to tweak a few settings (e.g. pathnames) to match what you'd previously configured in SONAR and you can carry on working on the same projects you had going under SONAR. You can even switch back and forth between the two DAWs if you like. Like Daibhidh notes above, leave the SPlat installation in place so you keep all the plugins that aren't included in CbB.
 
Great job on the videos! Nothing makes me turn off a tutorial faster than hearing crummy audio in the intro, and you've got really good sound quality happening. Loudness is just right for YouTube, a surprisingly rare thing even among audio-related videos.
 
I hope you start every episode with "HOWDY!". It just sounds cool when a Brit says it.

zoffmeister
[font="calibri; font-size: medium"]Twangmeister

The is an incredible effort! And I thank you!
I have a Scotch collection, so let me know if you are ever in my part of the world. :)

So, can you please tell me how you are recording your screen? Are you using a Camera pointing to the screen or some kind of Software?

Thanks brother.

AI

Audioicon

zoffmeister
[font="calibri; font-size: medium"]Twangmeister

So, can you please tell me how you are recording your screen? Are you using a Camera pointing to the screen or some kind of Software?

Thanks brother.

AI

I'm using the free OBS software for screen capture.
 
 

bitflipper
 
I hope you start every episode with "HOWDY!". It just sounds cool when a Brit says it.

Thanks for the lovely comments. And yes, I will continue to use the quaint old English greeting "Howdy". 
 
As far as the lack of online videos for Cakewalk SONAR, whether mixing or producing. I agree. Always been a bit of a wilderness compared to other DAWs. Back at the start of the year when I thought switching to another DAW would be the only option going forward and chosing Studio One, I was amazed to discover just how much great quality YouTube content there is for that DAW. 
Now I'm not going to be a prolific YouTuber as my time is spent producing and mixing for people, but I am half way through making another short series this time on producing a song from start to finish, so look out for that in the near future when I get time to finish it. 

Really enjoyed what I've watched so far, and learning a lot.  Thanks for this!
 
AMB
 

Thanks for making this... you have put a lot of work into it and I know it takes time to edit the video.
Sound quality is great on my Focals and I can really hear the changes you are making.
I jumped straight to vocal processing...  as that is one of my weaknesses :-)
I will watch the rest later.
 
Well done and +1

ampfixer
I just finished building a Fender Tweed Deluxe for my brother today and was testing it with a Tele. I'm in the mood for country. 

You BUILT it?  Color me impressed!!  I once built a distortion pedal.  It didn't work.

Learnt a lot there from the Southerner  :-)