I never thought about keeping the marker's window in multidock. Also, I changed the move to next/previous markers to the left/right arrows. Along with "G" and those arrows, I move around fairly quickly.

For the OP - I like your Locate suggestions!

next and previous is not enough to satisfy me I want a button for go to marker X. X being a marker I will make in the future that will mark the beginning of the end of the beginning.

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I just wanted to add a couple of other things that I remembered would really make basic recording easier, too.

Un-solo all

and record-safe all

and unmute all. 

On single buttons on your keyboard. 

Seriously, don't you hate ALWAYS having to mouse to do the same thing a 100 times a day?

Having dedicated buttons to do the essentials- really helps you seamlessly run a recording session quickly and effortlessly. That's all I'm asking for- one button Locate (not go-to-now of selection), Locate-and-Auto-Play, Locate-and-Auto-Play-then-Record at-Record-Start point, without having to hit Stop.

Just essentially functional stuff.

Don't most controllers have unmute, unsolo, and record safe all? The MCU does anyway.

I understand the initial request of this thread.

I think part of the reason many have various suggestions is many do not understand the need to use punch-in.

I have never used punch-in.

When I am working on a specific part, I loop a section, record to a muted track, and play/sing as needed.

And then I comp the proper bits from the multitude of clips.

I know it is easier to work when one has only one option for a part.

But is seems uneccessarily difficult to use punch-in, rather than just recording all takes to a different track.

What am I missing?

j

Hey jm24! 

You're missing the paying client! He's sitting there waiting to try it again! 

In a good-flowing session in a commercial studio, you want to give your clients instant help. The engineer is instantly knowing and doing what the musicians need. Not waiting on the machine to loop. IT"S THE WHOLE FLOW of the session. A band is waiting to record, you want to just do that, immediately, effortlessly as possible. Clients WAITING are not what you want!


Hey fastbikerboy- the MCU sounds great- could you drop a bro a link? But I don't think Sonar HAS the feature of un-solo-all, safe all, as a one button option, does it? I thought you had to click on the "playback status" toolbar buttons. But if so, I wants me some MCU! 

When I'm recording a specific part, I just engage looping and record as many times as I want - each take gets stored in it's own layer (soon to be lanes in X2)

You can do this for as many inputs your interface can handle.

If I had clients, they would not be waiting around for the machine to loop - the transport moves instantly back to the start of the loop.

well, yeah Bristol- but the point being you have to wait till the end of the loop... 

don't you want to react to the session and save your client's time? What if they are nailing it and you've auto-set the loop too short- and you auto-stop-recording before they are done?

evansmalley

Hey fastbikerboy- the MCU sounds great- could you drop a bro a link? But I don't think Sonar HAS the feature of un-solo-all, safe all, as a one button option, does it? I thought you had to click on the "playback status" toolbar buttons. But if so, I wants me some MCU! 

No Sonar doesn't but the MCU does although not one button it is one handed and very quick. M4 and any of the record/mute/solo cancels all of that type. I use thumb and little finger but of course depends on where you position it in relation to your work area. Not only that but navigation is much easier as well. In fact everything is much easier.
 
I can't recommend a decent control surface highly enough. Once you've got one you'll wonder how on earth you ever managed without it. I have the older MCU and XT now superseded by the MCU Pro which has USB connection.
 
http://www.mackie.com/products/mcupro/index.html

I'm not trying to be picky in any way - that's not me - but,

 What if they are nailing it and you've auto-set the loop too short

This is 100% down to you - the engineer. Presumably these clients are trying to nail a verse, or a chorus - it really doesn't matter, but common sense dictates you leave a bit of space at the end and a bit at the beginning for a pre-roll.

I'm not trying to stir things, or blindly praise Sonar, all I'm suggesting is these "complaints", or lack of features don't present problems for me, and I've not come across this before.

It takes less than a second to grab hold of a loop marker and drag it further down the timeline if that's what's needed