streckfus
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SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
Kind of a random question here, but as I've been going through these forums - sometimes to ask questions and others just to read what's being discussed - it becomes apparent that there are a TON of very experienced and knowledgeable users on here, some self-proclaimed newbies, and everything in between. So a thought occurred to me: how many of these folks make a living with their music?
We're all Sonar users, and we all love music. Some of us may be composers/performers using Sonar to get our ideas/songs down, some of us may be engineers who focus solely on recording/mixing music for others, etc. It would be interesting to know how many Sonar users are hobbyists who use Sonar for that all-important creative outlet, how many Sonar users primarily do their own stuff but snag a few recording/mixing gigs from time to time for some supplemental income, and how many Sonar users are full-time, paid professionals who make a living doing what they love.
While I understand that Pro Tools is the "industry standard", there are obviously plenty of extremely talented and experienced folks on this forum alone that have found success in the music industry, so it's not like a person has to be a Pro Tools user in order to make a living at this.
So, just for fun, how would you classify your use of Sonar?
1) Hobbyist - I use Sonar to make music in my spare time for fun
2) Part-Time Pro - I have a full-time job, but I make a little money on the side using Sonar for music projects
3) Full-Time Pro - I make a living doing what I love, and I use Sonar to do it!
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FCCfirstclass
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 09:40:52
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I would be 4) Early retirement due to a condition - in my case severe scoliosis.
I still write and record music as best I can. Also have a rather large collection of LP's and OTR, old time radio, which I have digitized and data based.
Win 10 Pro x64, 32Gb DDR3 ram, Sonar Platinum, Cubase 9.5, Mackie MCU Pro, Cakewalk VS 100, Roland Octa-Capture, A 800 Pro, Carver M-1.5t amp & C4000 pre amp, various mics, drums and brass instruments. And away we go!
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charlyg
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 09:42:32
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Not a hobbyist and not a semi-pro. Just a retired guy doing what he loves, and now has the time to actually do it. We (my songwriting/singing/guitar playing buddy & I) have 14 tunes in various stages of development atm. Notice the non-use of myself instead of I, as favored by most pro athletes. 
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57Gregy
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 09:59:53
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Hobbyist. Looking forward to retirement so I can devote more than a few hours a week doing it.
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JayCee99
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:11:20
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Also a hobbyist. Still learning and loving it. Never worked with bands or other artists yet but that's where I'd like to head. Would love to make income off of it eventually but I doubt that will ever happen.
Sonar Platinum Audio Interface: Focusrite 18i8 ASIO Interface Keys: Korg Kronos 88, Alesis VI25 Windows 8.1 x64 Laptop, 8GB RAM, i7 CPU
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streckfus
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:17:35
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I suppose I should've mentioned where I stand. I make a very good living doing what I love.
Kidding. I make a decent living doing what I don't love, but creativity is what keeps me sane. Although I have one "client" (a friend) who pays me to make the occasional song arrangement for her, I can't comfortably claim myself as being a part-time pro, so I too am a hobbyist, hoping that someday I can climb the tier and support myself doing what I love. But it's a long road ahead...so much to learn before then!
Thanks for the replies, keep 'em coming!
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herbroselle
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:20:17
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Hobbyist with a pro background as a jazz trombonist - learning MIDI as i use each feature. One of my favorite features is to put in a single line instrument with my trombone in an audio track, and then use Melodyne to convert to midi, then drag it to a MIDI instrument.
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azslow3
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:33:46
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Hobbyist.
But let me make several comments about this thread:
* there is a big class of hobbyist in music but professionals in other Sonar relater areas (computers, programming, electronic, etc.)
* I barely visit any forums related to the software I am using professionally, I guess the same can be true for people from the category (3). If you know how to use a tool you just use it instead of digging the Internet for more information. So, I expect the statistic in this thread is going to be biased.
Sonar 8LE -> Platinum infinity, REAPER, Windows 10 pro GA-EP35-DS3L, E7500, 4GB, GTX 1050 Ti, 2x500GB RME Babyface Pro (M-Audio Audiophile Firewire/410, VS-20), Kawai CN43, TD-11, Roland A500S, Akai MPK Mini, Keystation Pro, etc. www.azslow.com - Control Surface Integration Platform for SONAR, ReaCWP, AOSC and other accessibility tools
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streckfus
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:43:57
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azslow3
Hobbyist.
But let me make several comments about this thread:
* there is a big class of hobbyist in music but professionals in other Sonar relater areas (computers, programming, electronic, etc.)
* I barely visit any forums related to the software I am using professionally, I guess the same can be true for people from the category (3). If you know how to use a tool you just use it instead of digging the Internet for more information. So, I expect the statistic in this thread is going to be biased.
Yeah, this is certainly not intended to be a statistically valid survey or anything. Just a friendly discourse about how the myriad of users on this forum use Sonar. And I probably should've mentioned this earlier, but I'm by no means suggesting that a hobbyist is a more lowly form of musician than a full-time pro. Some hobbyists may have no desire to do this full-time, and some full-time pros may wish they had more time to work on their own stuff as a hobby, etc.
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LJB
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:48:22
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3 - Full time, all the time. 95% of my income comes from my studio, which runs 90% on Sonar, with the balance of software stuff like mastering software and some dabbling with FL, Reason and PT. I compose for film & TV, produce artists, record my own band, track live concerts, mix and master incl overseas clients. My studio runs 8 - 14 hours per day, often 7 days per week.
post edited by LJB - 2015/06/19 10:55:15
Ludwig Bouwer, One Big Room Studios.
--------------------
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Check out my work at www.onebigroom.co.za
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joyof60
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:48:40
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Part-time pro looking forward to retirement, to become a full time enthusiast!
Joyof60 Sonar Plat., Windows 10 Pro (64bit), Custom Build, AMD Rizen 5 @3.95GHz, Assorted HDDs, 32 Gb G.Skill RAM. Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, Roland FA08, coupla guitars and misc. mics, cans, and gadgetry.
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streckfus
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:52:56
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LJB
3 - Full time, all the time. 95% of my income comes from my studio, which runs 90% on Sonar, with the balance of software stuff like mastering software and some dabbling with FL, Reason and PT. I compose for film & TV, produce artists, record my own band, track live concerts, mix and master incl overseas clients. My studio runs 8 - 14 hours per day, often 7 days per week.
Nice! Congrats, man.
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LJB
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 10:54:53
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Thanks Streckfus - it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta have the fun :O)
Ludwig Bouwer, One Big Room Studios.
--------------------
Cakewalk with all the trimmings / Win 10Pro 64 / Intel i7-7700 / Asus Prime Z270k / 16GB DDR4 / RME HDSP9652 / RME UFX / Black Lion Audio ADA8000 / ART MPA & ART Pro Channel / Focusrite Voicemaster Pro / Aphex 107
Check out my work at www.onebigroom.co.za
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bapu
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 11:02:07
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I'm a pro collector of VSTs. I mainly play bass (since 1969, a year or two of guitar before that). I'm not retired and I am not likely to retire anytime soon. By day, I'm in IT. I have not written 100 songs yet. I'm working on it.
I have participated in over 100 songs in the songs forums since 2008. Only a small handful were 100% me. Mostly collabs. Some I led, others I followed.
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johnkeel
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 11:08:04
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2) Part-Time Pro - I have a full-time job, but I make a little money on the side using Sonar for music projects
Although i don't even recall the last time i made any kind of money with music...
My Personal Website | My Band - SULLEN
Sonar Professional powered by Custom-Built Laptop with Xeon E5 2650V2 - 32GB 1600Mhz Memory - 2x SSD 512GB Samsung 840PRO RAID0 - Texas Inst. Firewire800 - RME Fireface802
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ampfixer
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 12:50:30
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Ampfixer by name, ampfixer by nature. I guess I'm a 1. However, I have been paid for audio work done with Sonar, it just wasn't music.
Regards, John I want to make it clear that I am an Eedjit. I have no direct, or indirect, knowledge of business, the music industry, forum threads or the meaning of life. I know about amps. WIN 10 Pro X64, I7-3770k 16 gigs, ASUS Z77 pro, AMD 7950 3 gig, Steinberg UR44, A-Pro 500, Sonar Platinum, KRK Rokit 6
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fret_man
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 13:15:43
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Hobbist trying to find time to dig into Sonar. In the meantime, collector of VST's while they're on sale.
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Zargg
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 13:41:19
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I guess I would be somewhere between 1 and 2. Have a full time job, working as an assistant for a person with autism, but have recorded others, and released stuff with a few bands. Have not made much money, yet... Still see myself as a noob, compared to some of the people here 
post edited by Zargg71 - 2015/06/22 17:20:32
Ken Nilsen ZarggBBZWin 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII Laptop setup: Win 10 X64, i5 2.4ghz, 8gb RAM, 320gb 7200 RPM HD, Focusrite Solo, + *
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streckfus
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 14:01:49
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Zargg71
I guess I would be somewhere between 1 and 2.
Have a full time job, but have recorded others, and released stuff with a few bands. Have not made much money, yet...
Still see myself as a noob, compared to some of the people here
Yeah, i hear that. :)
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Sylvan
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 14:31:55
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2. Part Time Pro.
I work in IT mostly to keep my health insurance benefits for my family. I supplement the family income working as an audio engineer using SONAR.
I always have paying clients of one sort or another. Generally I net between $500 - $2,000 a month from SONAR related work. Although for July 2015, I am lined up with $4,450 worth of work. But I will be completely buried and will have no life to speak of outside the studio...ha ha ha. I guess that's what I wanted, well, I got it. At least for July, then back to the normal load.
SONAR Platinum RME Fireface UFX Tascam US 20X20 Tascam US 16X08 Intel i7-5830K LGA2011V3 (6 CORE) Asus X99-AII Corsair Vengeance DDR4 32GB Geeforce GTX 970 4GB
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subtlearts
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 14:40:03
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Full-time musician (since studying jazz piano at university 20 years ago or so), but only part of that is studio-related, and I use a bunch of other tools although Sonar is the main platform and the only DAW per se. Most of my work is performing, I play in various theatre, musical theatre and circus shows in Berlin and around Germany. Frequently that involves doing arrangements and sometimes producing backing tracks, so that's some of the studio work. The rest is soundtrack work and composition, which sometimes starts in the 'hobby' zone in that it doesn't pay me much or at all up front, but often ends up becoming part of something that does later on...
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streckfus
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 14:42:39
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Sylvan
2. Part Time Pro.
I work in IT mostly to keep my health insurance benefits for my family. I supplement the family income working as an audio engineer using SONAR.
I always have paying clients of one sort or another. Generally I net between $500 - $2,000 a month from SONAR related work. Although for July 2015, I am lined up with $4,450 worth of work. But I will be completely buried and will have no life to speak of outside the studio...ha ha ha. I guess that's what I wanted, well, I got it. At least for July, then back to the normal load.
That's awesome! Do you have a complete studio setup (separate control booth, room for miking a drum kit, etc.) or is it a single room project studio? I'd love to start building up a client list and work on the cheap, but at this time it would be tough to accommodate anything other than solo singer/songwriters since I don't have the gear or space to accommodate a full band, etc. I do my own "full band" recordings, but aside from vocals it's all in the box (Addictive Drums 2, Eleven Rack for my guitars, EWQL Hollywood suite, Pianoteq for my keyboard, etc.).
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lfm
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 14:52:23
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Also in regular retirement, having my first paycheck in july from that.
Prepared the last five years for this - and going for fulltime
- songwriting having artists that like the songs record them
- making good enough demos to have them sold as an entity if learning that craft enough
Many songwriters sell the stems for the song as well, or full projects.
But doing it mostly for the joy of music - the most mysterious and exiting thing - next to life itself.
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bapu
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 14:56:37
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Oh and did I mention that I am a professional forum poster?
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Grizzlylip
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 15:06:01
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Career in corrections by day, father of 4 by night, and Sonar hobbyist by dusk (and on weekends when lucky). Once upon a time I considered myself a fulltime musician, but the most I ever got paid was in free booze after a show. Though, I recently did the math on album sales made from my third album release in 2007 and I am proud to say that I've accrued a grand total of 14 dollars and 12 cents! I'm not sure what it takes for an album to go platinum, but I have to be getting close....
Audio Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Ultra Computer: Dell XPS 8700 Windows 10 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor Installed RAM: 8 GB Soundcard: ASIO Monitors: 3 M-Audio + Mackie MR8mk3 DAW: SONAR Platinum Hardware/Controller: Axiom 61 (2nd Gen) + Maschine Studio 2.0 Added Software: Komplete 10
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streckfus
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 15:10:00
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Grizzlylip
Career in corrections by day, father of 4 by night, and Sonar hobbyist by dusk (and on weekends when lucky). Once upon a time I considered myself a fulltime musician, but the most I ever got paid was in free booze after a show. Though, I recently did the math on album sales made from my third album release in 2007 and I am proud to say that I've accrued a grand total of 14 dollars and 12 cents! I'm not sure what it takes for an album to go platinum, but I have to be getting close....
Ha! My former band's album made about $23 on iTunes, so I'm much closer to going platinum than you are! :)
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Grizzlylip
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 15:15:54
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streckfus
Grizzlylip
Career in corrections by day, father of 4 by night, and Sonar hobbyist by dusk (and on weekends when lucky). Once upon a time I considered myself a fulltime musician, but the most I ever got paid was in free booze after a show. Though, I recently did the math on album sales made from my third album release in 2007 and I am proud to say that I've accrued a grand total of 14 dollars and 12 cents! I'm not sure what it takes for an album to go platinum, but I have to be getting close....
Ha! My former band's album made about $23 on iTunes, so I'm much closer to going platinum than you are! :)
Way to burst my bubble! By the way, I am sitting in Minneapolis as I type (not far from loring park). Location location! I think we were both victims of poor demographics.
Audio Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Ultra Computer: Dell XPS 8700 Windows 10 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor Installed RAM: 8 GB Soundcard: ASIO Monitors: 3 M-Audio + Mackie MR8mk3 DAW: SONAR Platinum Hardware/Controller: Axiom 61 (2nd Gen) + Maschine Studio 2.0 Added Software: Komplete 10
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KPerry
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 15:17:21
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Hobbyist but have used SONAR to record some voiceover material as paid work (the exciting arena of maths test for children :-)).
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Larry Jones
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 15:50:36
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Grizzlylip
streckfus
Grizzlylip
Career in corrections by day, father of 4 by night, and Sonar hobbyist by dusk (and on weekends when lucky). Once upon a time I considered myself a fulltime musician, but the most I ever got paid was in free booze after a show. Though, I recently did the math on album sales made from my third album release in 2007 and I am proud to say that I've accrued a grand total of 14 dollars and 12 cents! I'm not sure what it takes for an album to go platinum, but I have to be getting close....
Ha! My former band's album made about $23 on iTunes, so I'm much closer to going platinum than you are! :)
Way to burst my bubble! By the way, I am sitting in Minneapolis as I type (not far from loring park). Location location! I think we were both victims of poor demographics.
My next album might go platinum. So I'm not releasing it, because it also might not go platinum. I am a former full-time pro Hollywood studio owner/struggling musician. I have promoted myself to complete amateur, doing exactly the music I freakin feel like doing. Also, Minneapolis is where it's at.
SONAR Platinum 2017.10 • CbB • Win10 • i7/2600 • 16GB RAM • Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 • NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
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Grizzlylip
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Re: SONAR Users - Whatcha All Do?
2015/06/19 16:12:20
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Larry Jones
Grizzlylip
streckfus
Grizzlylip
Career in corrections by day, father of 4 by night, and Sonar hobbyist by dusk (and on weekends when lucky). Once upon a time I considered myself a fulltime musician, but the most I ever got paid was in free booze after a show. Though, I recently did the math on album sales made from my third album release in 2007 and I am proud to say that I've accrued a grand total of 14 dollars and 12 cents! I'm not sure what it takes for an album to go platinum, but I have to be getting close....
Ha! My former band's album made about $23 on iTunes, so I'm much closer to going platinum than you are! :)
Way to burst my bubble! By the way, I am sitting in Minneapolis as I type (not far from loring park). Location location! I think we were both victims of poor demographics.
My next album might go platinum. So I'm not releasing it, because it also might not go platinum.
I am a former full-time pro Hollywood studio owner/struggling musician. I have promoted myself to complete amateur, doing exactly the music I freakin feel like doing.
Also, Minneapolis is where it's at.
You and I are going to get along just fine.
Audio Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Ultra Computer: Dell XPS 8700 Windows 10 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor Installed RAM: 8 GB Soundcard: ASIO Monitors: 3 M-Audio + Mackie MR8mk3 DAW: SONAR Platinum Hardware/Controller: Axiom 61 (2nd Gen) + Maschine Studio 2.0 Added Software: Komplete 10
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