Hi everyone,
I bought an A-500 for my 12 year old daughter who has been playing piano for several years. Her older brother is a percusionist and is getting pretty good at using Cakewalk Music Creator with analog instruments. Sonar seems similar. I thought the MIDI keyboard would allow them to work together on some projects. I installed the A-500 drivers with the included Sonar LE, Rapture, etc. After spending several unsuccessful hours with it last night, I've concluded that it is way too complicated for her right off the bat. Is there something simple she can use with her laptop/A-500 to experiment with synthesized sounds, maybe with some very simple recording capabilities? She had a simple Casio keyboard at one point, so I was looking for something more powerful than that but not something that is going to frustrate her (and me!) right from the start. Thanks
David

Getting started on new and unfamiliar DAW's can seem mind blowing at first, but the simple true is that you can ignore most of the "Extra" functionality and just focus on what you are interested in, then once you become familiar with how sonar is laid out, get into some of the more sophisticated parts.
 
what is it specifically that you are having trouble doing? i would really encourage you to give sonar a good go, because you can do practically anything with it, and you may often find at the end of the day, that anything that appears simple, is just that, and will quickly limit you when you want to do more. getting used to a powerful setup may seem daunting at first, but in the long run it saves you time that you would have otherwise spent learning another system from scratch.
 
sonar isnt particularly complecated to do simple things with.. do you have an audio interface? if you are running into any lag issues between playing a sound on your controller and hearing a sound, this will be because you are using window's built in WDM drivers. you will need an ASIO compatible interface to solve this issue, or you can try ASIO4ALL. once u have that going, it should just be as simple as choosing a soft synth, and hitting record!
 
Bassman

Thanks for the reply, Bassman. Right now I am frustrated trying to get the inputs and outputs working correctly. I can see that Sonar is receiving the signal vrom the white bar meter on the right but I can't hear anything through the headphones plugged into the laptop. I had that issue with Music Creator with analog instruments initially but eventually got the input and outputs worked out. I set the input to the A-500 omni. I load Rapture as a VST and then can select it as an output but I still can't hear anything. In videos that I've seen on Youtube, it looks like the bar meter should appear in green at that point (like it does for analog instruments), but it doesn't. That's just one example of how bewildering this is to someone new. Even the most basic instructions use a lot of acronyms and references that aren't truly intuitive - but I'm working on that. At one point I could hear the keyboard, I believe it was when I selected the onboard sound card as input and output, but the delay was bad and the sound quality was inconsistent. I believe I now have it selected with WDM drivers. I haven't tried selecting ASIO and I'm not sure what a "compatible ASIO interface" even means.
 
Those are my frustrations, though. If you have kids, you know they now have the attention spans of gnats and if you don't hook them early on with something impressive but easy to understand, they zone out. That's especially true for my daughter! I ordered a book that is supposed to cover Cakewalk from start to finish, so we'll see. Maybe I should have looked at synthesizers that are more self-contained and could be played as an instrument in a band rather than focus so much on the recording aspect.
David
 

yeah... while it is possible to use a lappy to run Sonar or MC.... the factory card is not the best way to do it. 

I noticed the A-500 has midi input/outputs as well as the USB port.... 

See if you can find a low priced audio interface with midi input/output on it.... it will make a huge difference. Trying to do midi on a factory card usually results in serious latency/delay issues. An interface solves those problems and lets you record and mix it in real time. Playing in real time is also possible. 

Seriously, once you get the inputs set up properly, it's a simple matter to turn it on and it's ready to record.

The folks in the MC forum can help get you set up correctly so it works.  


My Dell lap top has never been able to get me sound out of the factory card. I have always had to use my interface. I also can see the meters moving on input but never have I been able to hear it.  

An interface to get it going will cost between $100 to $250 depending on the features. You might find a gently used one on ebay or craigs list from someone upgrading.  The interface is the heart of the system so don't cut yourself short in this area. Get a good one the first time. 

USB based running ASIO drivers. The inputs and outputs that you need. MC can run 2 inputs at a time so the lower priced interfaces with 2 channels are fine for it.  Ask questions if you are not sure. 

NOTE: While I now use Sonar X1, I used MC4 for many years. It is perfectly fine for recording.....and if I read it correctly, you already have it. Just get a nice interface and you're all set.  With a USB based A-500, all you need is an audio interface.... it will make a big difference once you connect it. 

By asio, guitarhacker and i are referring to the Steinberg standard for recording. its pretty much universal now for low latency recording, and a total "must have" if you want to do anything involving VST instruments and want to hear them in real time. ASIO4ALL is a driver that pretends to be an asio soundcard, and gets your cpu to do it, however if you're not particularly technical, and even if you are, i'd probably just suggest getting an audio interface. that will give you mic inputs, balanced outputs, the low latency control, midi in and out for your midi keyboard (unless you would prefer to use the usb etc).. look at things like the UA-25EX. there are defiantly cheaper and more expensive units out there, but that will give you an idea of the kind of thing you should be looking for. if you can find one, and are willing to spend a bit more and want a LOT more integration (ie all the buttons of sonar at your fingertips) see if you can get a VS-100. its a much more convienent way than navigating around the computer screen. it may well be overkill for you input wise at this stage, hence why i've suggested just finding a cheap 2in 2out interface from a good brand. NI, Akai, edirol/cakewalk, and many others all make great interfaces. but as we've both said, its something you "have to have" if you want to do any kind of recording and dont want to suffer tonnes of issues regarding latency. ASIO is the only way to go

dleedvm

 At one point I could hear the keyboard, I believe it was when I selected the onboard sound card as input and output, but the delay was bad and the sound quality was inconsistent. I believe I now have it selected with WDM drivers. I haven't tried selecting ASIO and I'm not sure what a "compatible ASIO interface" even means. 
       

When you change the driver mode from MME to WDM, you must run the wave profiler again. Usually, you are prompted to do this.
If not, run it manually. be advised that you will most likely have marginal results using WDM with the stock sound card.
DO NOT attempt to use ASIO with the stock sound card. It will not work.
As suggested, ASIO4All is sometimes an effective solution, but not always.
You might want to try the WASAPI driver mode (if it is an option) I have had some success with it, but am not totally impressed by its stability.
Ultimately, I agree with the idea that you really need a proper interface.
The basic problem is the built-in sound card.
The A-500 itself is a very nice unit, and should serve her well for many years.