Program Beats & Lines with SONAR 7's Step Sequencer

[bramabull111]

whats the best way to record metal drums, just to program it in the piano roll? i need to use alot of polyrhythms with an extra note added or removed from the step sequencer here and there, can u do that in the step sequencer?



[Bromblebear]

for me sonar looks way easier and more professional then FL studios...

[carbineautomatic]

how do you shrink the sequencer? It doesn't fit on my screen. I can fit only 6x4. If it goes 8x4, the last beat causes the screen to jerk back and forth quickly

[RedRobster]

Thank you!

[nudist0885]

Damn, I could come up with some rhythms that NO human could ever get down adequately.

[09052889735]

how can i get sonar 7?

[stormshadow2100]

Thanks for the demo ,i purchased Sonar Studio mid 2008 and never really used it much till now ..this will help a lot

[lutecore]

That thing with the cutoff filter was a cool effect. Do you have any videos that explains more about that stuff?

[kdjfnvjvd]

10 months later I still cant get it!!! suppose im starting completely from scratch, how the hell do i put a bassline to a beat that was made with the step sequencer??? i cant figure out how to use the step sequencer for other instruments as well. i need to know step by step because ive searched all these videos and their screens aren't the same as mine(sonar7). Thanks!

[psyoniksoundz]

Very nice drum pattern. Very informational video as well.

[jjallen1976]

Is this similar to the 7 xl?

[techn9nekaliko]

im learning how do it now but i cant learn very good wen i cant hear it :O its registering sounds but nowt happening????ive made sure its unmuted n it knows wot soundcard look for :S

[techn9nekaliko]

i was very happy with fl studio but there recording and playtback from mic not up to scratch is recording on here any good?

[TheAdvancedMusic]

I find it interesting that this demo stops short on demonstrating how to EFFECTIVELY create variations of an original SS pattern.

My experience shows that to do this one has to create a new clip and manually re-input the new rhythm. Surely, there is a better way, Cakewalk?!

[MxMorningstarXx]

can you do this with sonar 6 as well?

[CakewalkSoftware]

Yes a Step Sequencer is included in SONAR 6

[ZenSkin]

I gots to get my 80's breakdance parachute pants out!

[Amutt1066]

How do I create Multiple drum patterns within the same song with Step Sequencer. I create the intro, then create the Verse, and then the intro souns like the verse. Arghh

[ashish9500music]

amutt1066 u just need to sequence the other pattern in a new clip in the same track.

[mischpappe]

How can i draw events in the StepSequencer indivually for the snare, basedrum, hihats and so on...???

I tried it with an Session Drummer 2 DrumMap and routed the drum sounds to individual Midi Channels in Session Drummer and in the Stepsequencer, but it did not work.

What is iam doing wrong or isnt it possible?

[ashish9500music]

i think its not possible in the available step sequencer but the newer version has the feature.

[majorflowleagueinc]

FL STUDIO ALL DAY BABY  ... IM THE MASTER

[kdjfnvjvd]

great vid. appreciate it. 

p.s. that beat was cool. haha i wanted to start breakin' to it.

[iCal2]

Great Demo.  Thanks.

[Maximumart]

can someone please help me understand the point of step sequencing, isnt it just the same as writing midi to a track in piano roll view?

[ushimanni]

Yea, pretty much. It's easier/faster to use though, and you can work with multiple tracks simultaneously instead of having to open the piano roll for each one. Some VSTs like Battery allow you to do that in one piano roll too.

[macdaddylorenzo]

I guess it's an easier interface to work with to make drum beats since it has more features in that regard: sound name listed on the left (with option to change each sound), auto loop of beat, swing knob, etc.

[NarutoFan101010]

could i have the program download?

[keezydadon]

wtf fl studio rip off

[M3sslah]

HAHAHA, My ass they ripped anything, You are talking about Roland who makes Sonar and practically invented step sequencing with their 909, 808 and all their later coming grooveboxes. Check your sources before talking out of your ass.

FL is not first with anything, if someone is ripping shit it's them, they have taken everything from others and just smacked their on label on it. And now all noobs that are born like yesterday and don't know how it all started think Image Line did it with FL.

[keezydadon]

fl was like this since 1994 way before sonar check your facts

[M3sslah]

Yes and Rolands grooveboxes and drummachines have been with stepsequensers since the 80's. I think their main reason for not having it in their program is to sell more grooveboxes. If someone have been influenced by someone it's FL by Rolands way of handling beats in their grooveboxes.

[halberthawkins]

Cakewalk started in 1987. Before that I was making drum loops *exactly* like this on my Roland TR909 way back in 1986.

[keyboardt15]

sonar has been around for over 20 years dumbass stfu

[halberthawkins]

M3- right, except the part about Roland making Sonar. They are not affiliated in any way. FL has not been around nearly as long as Cakewalk ( who *does* make Sonar.) And really the step sequencing paradigm actually goes back to the early 70s.

[M3sslah]

Just thought Roland was the maker because it say "Roland Cakewalk" on their homepage. They must own it in some way and also inspire, or who is the maker of it then?

[halberthawkins]

So it does. I stand corrected. It seems they were aquired by Roland in January of 2008.

[Ter1018]

Now how do you use the Step Sequencer with the soft synths? Can someone email about this?

[Blackoutwalkin]

It's a program that comes with the cakewalk Sonar DAW. Costs up to $600 or so depending on which version you buy.

[thedoorsfreak]

is it possible to add Triplets into the Step Sequencer?

[Blackoutwalkin]

I believe so. This program is pretty versitile in making beats and should be able to make something like triplets. Cakewalk did an amazing job on this version of sonar :)

[deathmetaldancer]

Do you need to have a midi output device to be able to listen to what you're doing

Or can you hear it through your computer?

[jhughs3]

It'd help a lot if the videos were higher resolution.

[M3sslah]

Press the HQ button at the videos volume controller.

[fraganciashow]

y en castellano puedo encontrar - Program Beats & Lines with SONAR 7's Step Sequencer

[puedeww]

hola has conseguido encontrar el tutorial o como va el sonar 7 ? lo tengo y no me entero de nada..Esta en INGLES,si me puedes ayudar te lo agradeceria.gracias

[Musiccalculater]

lookin sharp,, i may be forced into sonar once i pick up my 64bit pc

[lavakava]

this type of sequencer is originally from roland grooveboxes, so its not fair to say cakewalk copied this form image line (fruity loops) because roland owns cakewalk!

[jaydarrow]

couldn't have come up with something a bit more bearable for demo purposes? his loop is really grating on me!

[remoman]

That's about how far I get with my "songs" as well.. an 8 bar loop of some random bullshit.  Then I get fed up with hearing it and quit the program. YAY for DAWs.

[YoungWoozie1]

I think i'll Buy this, and Check it out!

[AcidicDreamer]

do you buy your stuff on torrent lol?

[junakis666]

can i use the step sequencer with any third party drum samplers? (ie XLN AD, Toontrack EZD)

or any other 3rd party samplers (not just for drums)

[billval3]

It can be used with anything.

[MorphieInvasion]

Looks very interesting to me :) I'll concider of buying this software, to be honest I never liked the FL studio since to me it's too hard to understand :p

[Agentbromsnor]

If FL Studio was hard for you to understand then you should forget about getting Sonar because Sonar is 100 times more complicated then FL.

[JKM12988]

god this shit looks complicated is that true

[soupsmoke]

it's not that bad. :)

[makkin16]

hell yea!!!!!!!!!

[judenihal]

Actually, I use more software from Fruity Loops and Cakewalk Sonar, like Techno Ejay.

All I need to do is to start using the guitar!

[JKM12988]

hey i'm really interested in this stuff can I give you my email

[judenihal]

I use Fruity Loops as well as Cakewalk Sonar to make my music.

[monsterEyesPro]

FL studio is a thousand better than this. ;)

[InvisibleMud]

FL Studio has a great step sequencer.

But, IMO, FL Studio is weak on MIDI compared to Sonar 7.

Also, there's no music notaion in FL Studio.

But I wouldn't part with my FL Studio for anything :)

[Agentbromsnor]

Fruity Loops: 32 bit

Sonar: 64 bit

You do the math.

[richie3622]

But LOL to Cakewalk and their bitchslapping of FruityLoops

[nonameneeded07]

how can i use the step sequencer with wav. files?

[mdcragg]

Can you use Step Sequencer with the Drum Grid so that multiple software or hardware synthesizers/samplers can be triggered from a single Step Sequencer instance?

[mdcragg]

Sorry...paid more attention to the video and see that it can.

[SEAL07]

would this be a good thing for beginners to start off with as a first DAW? hows the learning curve?

[AdeVanX]

IMO Sonar is not really the best DAW for a beginner because there is so much to it..

I would try either Mackie Tracktion 3 or the DAW I found easiest is Ableton Live as there are so many tutorials and help and I found it the easiest to understand. Personally I found FL Studio a pain in the arse especially the browser doh!!

[AdeVanX]

Oh try Cakewalk P5...A very good loop based DAW which is ideal for beginners!

[richie3622]

The learning curve can be tough in the beginning, but it's REALLY worth it. Sonar LOOKS more complicated than it really is. For example, there are 3 different places to adjust your track settings & FX, but to a beginner, these 3 sections look like three DIFFERENT things, when they're literally the exact same things in different places, just so you can choose which way you like best.

There's stuff like this all over Sonar.

[pabloe0168]

i cant find the icon im desesparted!!! i cant open it wats wrong

[pabloe0168]

i cant even open the session drummer :(((((( i got cakewalk sonar 7 it contains it??

[leetubefour]

Excellent demo,I currently own Sonar 5 studio edition,that included a USB250 audio interface. I want to upgrade to Sonar 7,will this program work with my USB audio Interface?

[CakewalkSoftware]

Yes it will work with your audio interface

[ChuckNorrisIzBack]

@CakewalkSoftware Hi, I've got the 8.5 ver. of it, but i can't even do anything with it. It so complicated. Where can I find tutorials for beginners for the 8.5 version. Plzzzzzzz help!!!!

[boboeufs]

How do you add an additional pattern using step sequencer? In other words, I want my verse to have 1 drum pattern, but my chorus to have another.

[CakewalkSoftware]

Each Clip can have it's own Step Sequencer pattern linked to it, so all you need to do is create a new clip for each section of your song

[boboeufs]

thank you, but how do you create a new clip?

[NickyH55]

how does this stack up against Logic Pro studio ???

[CakewalkSoftware]

They are very comparable. SONAR has a few things over Logic. The real difference though is Logic is Mac only and SONAR is PC only. If you're running a PC SONAR is your choice. If you're running a Mac, Logic is your choice, that is unless you want to install bootcamp and run Windows on your Mac, then you can use SONAR.

[NickyH55]

thanks

[TheWeazel01]

Can you also view the step sequencer clip as a piano roll? if you want to change the timing of just a couple of notes by some miliseconds and not wanting to adjust the swing of the entire pattern? You can do this in FL Studio and I was wondering if this is also possible in Sonar 7.

[AwakeAudio]

yeah, you can.

[IbanezRbest]

Are you going or planning on doind any more tutorials for Sonar? I hope so. as Sonar is not an easy program but it IS EASIER than Protools.

[lancerb]

how do you make the beats in step sequencer into a track that cant be modified, because when i make my partly done song into a track from step sequencer, then i change the intrument type in rolland, the track that i just created turns into that new instrument!

[CakewalkSoftware]

You need to bounce the track into a clip. That will render the audio. Or conversly you could load a new instance of the Roland instrument in SONAR.

I assume you are talking abaout the internal Roland instruments. If not you will need to record the audio from the output of your hardware roland synthesizer on a new track in SONAR.

[BcRash89]

This really seems like a powerful programm

I have it, But I just can't seem to work with it:S first, It doesn't recognize my Mbox ASIO drivers, and 2nd I'm so used to using reason 4.0 that this really seems unfamiliar for me, isn't there a beginner tutorial or something, because I need to learn the basics first I think!

[CakewalkSoftware]

This does work with ASIO. You probably just need to change a setting in Audio Options. I would suggest contacting support. As gfar as a tutorial, the manual has a bunch of getting started tutorials. Or you could try the other videos up here.

[grafbar]

cakewalk, thank you for particiating in these comments. AISO is great, though the added latency is a workaround. I am a 'purchase ready' consumer with my eye on sonar 7 pro. I'm waiting to spend until I find some decent training, because I may have to bite the bullet and buy the 'other' one to be able to learn it. I see the 'achademic' packs for purchace, but where do I find the teachers who buy them?

[CakewalkSoftware]

You can adjust the ASIO latency in the configuration/mixer software for your audio interface.

There are a number of schools, books and videos available where you can learn SONAR. Berklee online has a course. Where do you live?

[grafbar]

yes, I saw two Berklee courses(after posting this). both seem comprehensive. do you know of any local to Detroit or book/DVD. I'ld like to have a better understanding of this tool than 'bumblethrough'.

also, I've found other users work through these threads, thanks again.

[larry1961]

Thanks for the videos. Could you tell how to create a drum track in more of a traditional beat that changes from rim shot (side stick) to snare and from hi hats to ride cymbal? This has been my biggest challenge as I do not do looping or techno but traditional music.

Thanks!

[CakewalkSoftware]

You would essentially use the same process as this video, except put the notes where you want them to play the drum rhythm you want. If you don't want it to sound so straight I would suggest playing with the swing command and/or patch teh groove quantize MIDI fx plug-in.

[caddyls]

what program is that for the drums and snar that you are using for sonar 7, because mines doesnt have those beats

[CakewalkSoftware]

SONAR 7 has an instrument called Session Drummer 2, that's what he loaded for his drum sounds. He then programmed his own beat using the step sequencer. If you have SONAR 7, you can do this too.

[nickstarks]

is there an upgrade from sonar 6 PE to sonar 7 PE, thats cheaper than the full program.

[CakewalkSoftware]

Yes there is. Go to teh Cakewalk website and click on purchase. On the store you will find the upgrade. It costs $179

[HouseMuzikk]

i want to produce house music, i alrdy started but with a crapy prog, but is sonar good for house music you guys thik?

[CakewalkSoftware]

Yes it is.

[Awake1077]

Sonar is excellent for all kinds of electronic music - in fact I almost think these guys are reading my mind when they release new versions :)

[990racle]

My goodness, this video was infinitely helpful. I was having some problems with the step sequencer and this cleared them right up! Thanks.

[pirri98]

Can Sonar run with windows vista?

[CakewalkSoftware]

Yes it can.  It was the first DAW to run on Vista

[Bakatraxx]

I just Buyed Sonar 7 Producers edition!

A lot to do with this beauty, but all the rest is pretty darn amazing too!

[OyezstrakerHoofdrc]

iv got this now , cant wait to WACK A TUNE OUT ON IT

[OPGEZWOLLER]

any opinions on working with sonar + a pad controller like mpd/triggerfinger/padkontrol?

[LiquidKulak]

What a really Boss groove tool.

[almo24]

can u use an mpc or a roland sp sampler directly with sonar 7??????? plz some1 help! im kinda confused! shopping for a friend and i need to know whether i need another program in order to use a sampler to make a beat and then import?

[CakewalkSoftware]

Yes you can use an MPC or a ROland SP with SONAR. They work very well together.

[akshat18]

This is the shit!! cant want to expert it

[almo24]

very persuasive

[djcobolt]

HOLy crap i am upgrading tomorrow this clinched it.

[MustacheVerra]

Sonar7 looks really good! :)

[Awake1077]

Oh man I cant wait to get Sonar 7!!!

[scandapoodle]

Oh yeah! I love how Sonar is getting more Reason/fruity Loop features. I hardly use Reason or FL anymore and now with this step seq I think I will never have to use any app but Sonar i the future. I can't wait to get my copy of Sonar 7 producer with the great deal on upgrades to Raputure and Dimension Pro! :)

[dkyx]

Awesome! Just what Sonar needed :D

[jcr1986]

This looks dope! Might just have to go get this.