Sonar home 4 peps. pls help

[adrix7]

 pls help im having trouble compressing my audio tack to exactly 4 mins. how do i exactly do this? i mean ive tried to this by percentage/length (in the process menu) but its just difficult getting that exact time not to mention it messes up the audio file. 

matsalam guys!

[KitC]

First, try to trim the silence from the beginning and ends of the track. This is to minimize whatever compression artifacts that will be generated during the 'squeeze' operation.

Next, use the 'Fit To Time' command to have a more accurate control over the time compression/stretching. Make sure 'Stretch Audio' is checked and select 'Ensemble' (Polyphonic) in the dropdown, no pitch shifting will occur. You can also use the Length command, just make sure to check the Stretch Audio tick box. Remember, however, that you can only compress or stretch audio so much before it sounds weird.

[adrix7]

 hi kit, i dont have a fit to time option in my menu bar here(unlike in the older version Cakewalk professsional 7) i do have the length option in the process menu, however you can just stretch it by percentage(i guess..) which is difficult for me coz of time conversion's. do you have any way to do the fit to time feature in this software?

thanks!

adrix7

[KitC]

Hmmm... I thought 'Fit to Time' was fairly standard across all Cakewalk software. If all you have is the Length command, just use ratio-and-proportion, like 3:45 is to 4:00 equals how many percent... just translate the times to seconds and it'll be much easier. If even that fails, export the wav to an audio editor like Audition, Sound Forge, Wavelab (my fave), or even Audacity. You can perform the same procedure there and maybe even exploit better stretching/compression algorithms.

[Lil' drummer]

OT: since it's under sonar 4 help topic. Need help on this.
ask ko lang bakit walang ouput yung file na in-open ko na tutorial1 projects
follow ko naman yung procedure sa audio setup pero ayaw pa din
To Enable Audio Outputs
Select Options-Audio from the menu.
The Audio Options dialog box appears.
Click on the Drivers tab in the Audio Options dialog box.
In the Output Drivers field, select the drivers you want enabled. All enabled drivers appear highlighted.
Click OK.

[KitC]

I knew I should open a Sonar thread...

Lil' drummer, what's your soundcard? Have you selected between wdm or asio drivers? I suggest using asio since the MS GS synth is not available when using wdm. Tutorial 1 uses midi for it's output, it has to access a midi synth, either hardware or software. In Options > Midi, I suggest you highlight the MS GS synth and 'Move it to the Top'; that way, it becomes the default midi playback engine (do not try to play it in realtime at it has a fixed 350 ms delay).

[adrix7]

 i dont have any of the other software you've mention but got a cubase le though, will this work? i mean can i export my audio track to wav file and edit the time in the cubase and have it back again in my sonar 4 intacted?

 thanks kit!

[KitC]

@adrix7 - Audacity is freeware, an opensource audio editor. Google it and download Audacity. Also download Sonar Utils, another free utility to help you configure Sonar 4. Normally, when you install an audio editor, they get integrated into Sonar's tools menu. Use Sonar Utils so that you can include Audacity in the Tools menu. When you highlight a wav file then click on Audacity in the Tools menu, it will launch Audacity with a copy of the wave file you are editing. You can perform your edits there, save the file and when you exit, Sonar will update itself with the edited waveform (normally, when you exit the editor, it should update Sonar but there have been exceptions).

hth,

[Lil' drummer]

I knew I should open a Sonar thread...

Lil' drummer, what's your soundcard? Have you selected between wdm or asio drivers? I suggest using asio since the MS GS synth is not available when using wdm. Tutorial 1 uses midi for it's output, it has to access a midi synth, either hardware or software. In Options > Midi, I suggest you highlight the MS GS synth and 'Move it to the Top'; that way, it becomes the default midi playback engine (do not try to play it in realtime at it has a fixed 350 ms delay).

thanks master KitC wdm kasi gamit ko eh try ko gamitin yung asio drivers.. kaso on board lang yung sound card nitong pc ng bro ko kaya dito ko muna subukan eh...

[KitC]

it will work. i have my onboard and 2 soundcards working in my pc. a bit overkill but it works.

[adrix7]

hi kit, i have downloaded the audacity 1.3 already but still having difficulty fixing the time to 4 mins.. can you help me with the steps?

[KitC]

Highlight the entire wave then use the Change Tempo command; it will only change length, not pitch. Length is measure in seconds so just define a total length of 240 secs.

You can download the Audacity manual here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/audacity-manual-1.2.zip

[adrix7]

 THANKS KIT! finally figured it out!  hope you dont me asking again for tips    im trying to repair(solder) my cables coz its busted and its kinda expensive buying  new ones, saw three wires  when i skinned the cable, soldered them all but the shield.. where do i exactly attach this one?? 

mabuhay ang pinoy!

[KitC]

Are we talking about 1/8" stereo plugs?



If you look at the figures above (these are 1/4" jacks but the 1/8" stereo is similar to the one on top), the individual components are as follows:

1) SLEEVE - usually the ground connection in an audio loop
2) RING - in stereo connections, this serves as the source for the right channel; for balanced connections, this is the COLD/negative phase of a mono signal. Bonus tip: this connection carries the power source for the electret condenser mics commonly found in pc mics.
3) TIP - in stereo connections, carries the left channel. For balanced connections, it carries the HOT signal/positive phase of a mono signal. In pc mics, it actually carries the signal from the mic.
4) Insulating rings/contact separators.

Tip/Ring/Sleeve is where the acronyms TRS and TS come from.

In your case, the shielding or braid connects to the sleeve/ground. The TRS jacks will have solder points in this order: center = tip = left channel/hot, 2nd connection = ring = right channel/cold, outer connection = ground. The ground connection often has a crimp point that can serve as a strain relief, folding over the braid after stripping the cable and crimping it at the strain relief can provide sufficient electrical contact. Of course soldering provides better electrical connections.

[Lil' drummer]

I knew I should open a Sonar thread...

Lil' drummer, what's your soundcard? Have you selected between wdm or asio drivers? I suggest using asio since the MS GS synth is not available when using wdm. Tutorial 1 uses midi for it's output, it has to access a midi synth, either hardware or software. In Options > Midi, I suggest you highlight the MS GS synth and 'Move it to the Top'; that way, it becomes the default midi playback engine (do not try to play it in realtime at it has a fixed 350 ms delay).

thanks sa tip KitC napagana ko na yung sound sa sonar... now i can continue the tutorial lesson... your the man!

[adrix7]

thanks kit! i see.. so the third wire was the outer ground connection, not a shield (coz its not braided..?) oh by the way the color of the wires are blue, red except for the third one which is naked.. soldered them all except for this..

mabuhay ang musikerong pinoy !
 

[adrix7]

hi guys how do you insert effects/plug-ins (internal and external source) in the conosle view(sonar home)?


thanks again

[KitC]

Right click in the FX box and select from your audio fx. It's no different in function from the FX inserts in track view. Inserting an fx in track view will also cause it to appear in the console view. Once an fx is inserted, double clicking on it in the insert box will cause the fx to popup.

[adrix7]

thanks kit! can i create an auxilary track so i can put the effects there instead? by the way is it possible for the zoom mrs 1608 to act as a bridge  in sonar where you can record more than 3 channels?

 

[KitC]

You have the option to create effects sends in Sonar, as well as aux sends for creating stem submixes.

The Zoom does not allow you to use it as a usb interface but you can sync it to Sonar via MTC. Since it can record 8 tracks simultaneously and you can send wav data over usb, you can record while synced to Sonar and fly in the tracks afterwards, subject ot the limitations of the Zoom's recording resolution and the quality of it's preamp circuitry and A/D converters. From what I've read, you can also use the Zoom as an 8 channel submixer via the sub-out jack, of course the sub outs output a stereo signal only.

[adrix7]

 im planning to buy an active monitor speakers for my pc and most of their  inputs are rca, i heard that they are prone to humms and all.. is it true? is 1/4 trs more better?? what do you suggest i buy for $130 and below budget, conisdering that my mixer is yamaha mw12


salamat uli!!

[KitC]

RCAs (and other unbalanced connections) are not necessarily prone to hum but, since they don't have the 'common mode rejection' inherent in balanced connections, are more susceptible to EMI and RFI. This isn't much of a problem if the cable connecting your interface to your monitors is less than 3 meters.

AFAIK, the MX12 has balanced outputs but I know you can use unbalanced TS cables with them. I'm not exactly sure what monitors I can recommend for your budget. You might want to check out monitors from Behringer and M-Audio; I saw some Fostex PM0.4 monitors that fit your budget but I'm not sure if they are offered as a pair, same with the other monitors.

[adrix7]

kuya kitc  creating drum tracks has always been my problem when making a song, specially when i try to do cover songs where irregular beats, fills and speed are involve.  any tips po how to make drum tracks? considering i dont have much background on playing the instrument? is there a software that helps?

salamat uli!
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[KitC]

Sonar 4 has a midi fx called Session Drummer. It contains midi files that you can 'string' together to create a complete drum track. There are several genres included so you should be able to piece together a complete drum performance including fills; just add some little variances to achieve a more human feel. S4 also includes a couple of midi fx when you install it, Musiclab's Slicy Drummer Lite and Ntonyx's Style Enhance Micro Lite which can spice up a midi drum track. Use these to spice up existing midi drum tracks.

For vsti's, there's always Guru aside from DFHS EZDrummer which includes midi clips performed by real drummers on pads for a human feel. Sonar 6, OTOH, has Session Drummer 2 which now has wave samples aside from midi clips - even acts as a drum module a la BFD, and RXP recycle player which can generate midi clips from .rcy files - interesting if you have a source of 'recycle'd wav files (.rcy format).