As there's been quite a bit of discussion about Sonar's plug-ins (“are they as good as the expensive stuff?” “are they pro level?” “are the ProChannel plug-ins worth it?”), I thought y'all might find the following music video interesting (sorry, don't know how to embed a YouTube video here). 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9eb32yjGHo
 
The song in the video was done in Sonar. With a few exceptions (as noted), all the processing was ProChannel plug-ins. Specifically...
 
Drums: Hybrid EQ > Cakewalk Tube Saturation > Concrete Limiter
Bass: Dimension Pro > Hybrid EQ > Cakewalk Tube Saturation
Vocal: That's a single vocal track with the PC2A Leveler (my new BFF for anything with voice) > Hybrid EQ > VX-64 for doubling
Harmony Vocal: Again, a single vocal track. Same chain as the lead vocal except SofTube TSAR-1R reverb at the end of the ProChannel chain

I also used...

AmpliTube for distortion on the rhythm guitars, Guitar Rig for the lead
Sonitus Gate for the sidechained gate effect on one rhythm guitar
Sonitus Delay for the tempo-synched delay effects

So I think this shows you can get good sonic results with Sonar's plugs...and it also proves I don't just do dance music

Liked the track, Craig.  Nice bit of lead on the outro. Did you listen to much Prog when you were a little puppy?
 
I'm also a big fan of the PC2A on vocal tracks, and the VX-64 for doubling.
 
Always respected your articles in SOS etc.; guess I need to listen to some of your music, too..
 
Regards,
 
 
Jonathan.
 
 
 

I also enjoy the sos articles I would to know if you can do an in-depth on the prochannel plug ins starting with the pc2a

jb101


Liked the track, Craig.  Nice bit of lead on the outro. Did you listen to much Prog when you were a little puppy?
 
I'm also a big fan of the PC2A on vocal tracks, and the VX-64 for doubling.
 
Always respected your articles in SOS etc.; guess I need to listen to some of your music, too..
 
Regards,
 
 
Jonathan.
 
 
 

Funny you should ask Craig that question as I got a little bit of a Rush "Hold Your Fire" era vibe out of the song.

Vocal: That's a single vocal track with the PC2A Leveler (my new BFF for anything with voice) > Hybrid EQ > VX-64 for doubling

 
I too have been using this combination on every lead vocal since PC2A became available.  Really liking the results.

Jind

jb101


Liked the track, Craig.  Nice bit of lead on the outro. Did you listen to much Prog when you were a little puppy?

I'm also a big fan of the PC2A on vocal tracks, and the VX-64 for doubling.

Always respected your articles in SOS etc.; guess I need to listen to some of your music, too..

Regards,


Jonathan.

Funny you should ask Craig that question as I got a little bit of a Rush "Hold Your Fire" era vibe out of the song.

Funny you should say that,I got a bit of a Rush "Signals" vibe from the song.


Great sound,good to hear this can be done with X1 on it's own,the only thing[of course] would be a an extended guitar solo mix!
Cheers
Bob

jb101


Liked the track, Craig.  Nice bit of lead on the outro. Did you listen to much Prog when you were a little puppy?
 
I'm also a big fan of the PC2A on vocal tracks, and the VX-64 for doubling. 
 
 
Jonathan.
 
 
 

Well when I was growing up, Dixieland was all the rage. Okay, I'm not really THAT old...
 
I know it's a cliche to say I like all kinds of music, but I always did, and still do. I listened to Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc., but also loved punk (paricularly the Damned) when it hit...I'm a huge fan of dance music, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Bach, and Wes Montgomery...so it all gets folded in somehow
 
Now, back to the PC2A. I pretty much always used limiting on my voice, even with the UAD plugs. I could never find a compressor that sounded "natural," so it was a shock when I tried the PC2A and I felt like I'd hit the compression jackpot. I loved what it did to my voice.
 
I even use it on narration for industrial/commercial videos, again a first for me. It seems like it's very easy to get a natural vocal sound.
 
A lot of people have commented to me about the drums. The Concrete Limiter was great because of how it brought up the room and ambience while keeping the peaks under control. I prefer the Concrete Limiter for drums compared to any of the other dynamics plug-ins.

Anderton

jb101


Liked the track, Craig.  Nice bit of lead on the outro. Did you listen to much Prog when you were a little puppy?
 
I'm also a big fan of the PC2A on vocal tracks, and the VX-64 for doubling. 
 
 
Jonathan.
 
 
 

Well when I was growing up, Dixieland was all the rage. Okay, I'm not really THAT old...
 
I know it's a cliche to say I like all kinds of music, but I always did, and still do. I listened to Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc., but also loved punk (particularly the Damned) when it hit...I'm a huge fan of dance music, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Bach, and Wes Montgomery...so it all gets folded in somehow
 
Now, back to the PC2A. I pretty much always used limiting on my voice, even with the UAD plugs. I could never find a compressor that sounded "natural," so it was a shock when I tried the PC2A and I felt like I'd hit the compression jackpot. I loved what it did to my voice.
 
I even use it on narration for industrial/commercial videos, again a first for me. It seems like it's very easy to get a natural vocal sound.
 
A lot of people have commented to me about the drums. The Concrete Limiter was great because of how it brought up the room and ambience while keeping the peaks under control. I prefer the Concrete Limiter for drums compared to any of the other dynamics plug-ins.

+1 PC2A.  I find it adds a "warmth" to things, too.  I love using it after the PC76 with fast attack, too. 
 
+1 to the Concrete Limiter.  It was hearing it demo-ed on a drum track that convinced me to get it.  Now use it on drums all the time, with bass switch turned on.  Also love using it on bass tracks, too.
 
With the 76, 4K Bus, CL, 4K Exp/Gate, 2A and the Quad EQ, I find I use the FX bin much less.  Love the sound and ease of use.
 
Do you have any thoughts about the PC4K S-Type Channel Comp?  I find I rarely use this one.  I would be very interested in your opinion.
 
Thanks for posting your track. Oh, and +1 to most of your influences, too.
 
Jonathan.

About the only time I use the Fx bin in Tracks now is for Channel Tools and maybe something from the Flanger/Chorus/Phaser family

With the ability to load Fx chains & vst's into PC in X2, I don't think I'll be using the Fx bin at all.

Bristol_Jonesey


About the only time I use the Fx bin in Tracks now is for Channel Tools and maybe something from the Flanger/Chorus/Phaser family

With the ability to load Fx chains & vst's into PC in X2, I don't think I'll be using the Fx bin at all.

I'm looking forward to PC FX chains.  I agree that the FX bin will be redundant for me then.  I'm interested to hear the console emulation, too.