Customer Reviews

Cakewalk Power! : Complete Coverage of Cakewalk Pro Audio, Home Studio, and Guitar Studio

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Cakewalk Power!" is a book on Cakewalk that is not only perfectly written but will take you from beginner to advanced, intermediate to advanced or advanced to even more advanced. I carry it around with me everywhere and find myself reading it whenever I have a free moment during my daily routine. I've learned a lot and owe a lot to Scott Garrigus for guiding me through Cakewalk better than I ever thought possible. You won't regret having this book and won't need any others on Cakewalk... really!

I've been glued to this book since I got it. I thought the text that came with Pro Audio 9 was good, and I thought the problems I was having were due only to my own ignorance of stuff that most recording grunts regard as common sense.

In particular - and this is a good example - I was bamboozled by how to mix down a project that contains audio and MIDI data so I could record it to a CD. The original Cakewalk book doesn't discuss this at all. This book went into great detail and left no stone unturned.

In addition, the book is well written, and -unlike many 'for dummies' books aimed at musicians - doesn't talk down to me, or try to couch all the information in the too-cool-for-school verbage all too common in this genre. I appreciated the detail, even on subjects like digital audio that I already know well.

In short, this book does a better job of doing what the original Pro Audio 9 book from the manufacturer should have done in the first place. Thanks, Scott, and keep up the good work!

It might sound crazy, but this book made me buy the software it referes to! Really! Thanks to this book I decided to buy the latest Cakewalk software, because it really explains the software in a human understandable way !

I am a beginner with Cakewalk, so I can't really tell if this is a good book for more advanced users, but for me, it's the new bible around.

And better yet, the author, Scott Garrigus, has a website where he answers ALL the questions we as readers have not only regarding his book, but also regarding MIDI and recording in general.

I also love the fact that the author refers in the book to modern computers (like Pentium III) and other "fresh" technology in the market.

I am new to computer music making and even the best programs, such as CAKEWALK, can be staggering during the learning process. And sure enough, after purchasing CAKEWALK HOMESTUDIO 2002 (covered to a degree in CAKEWALK POWER), I was staggered and dizzy and very intimidated by the program. Scott's book "CAKEWALK POWER" made that first dip into the complexity of the software both manageable and almost... "fun?" "Fun" was something I did not expect to have until I had spent months both learning and experimenting with CAKEWALK, but by taking the process slowly, and carefully following the CAKEWALK POWER instructions, I found myself actually MAKING MUSIC! YES, I kid you not... This book is as well written as one could expect in translating the madness of technical language into something that actual human beings can understand. I really loved that Scott has written the book in such as way as to anticipate and account for problems before they might occur, then defining and explaining a course of action such that one can succeed in performing a specific operation correctly the FIRST TRY. So often these technical books define a process in such a dry and sterile and letter perfect manner that the average human brain will almost definitely make a mistake. The book then makes up for the expected inadequacy of the reader by including a comprehensive TROUBLESHOOT section. And sometimes none at all! CAKEWALK POWER overcomes this problem by making the essential text understandable and "do able" the first time. There by allowing the reader to make fewer mistakes that later need be compensated for. I cannot underestimate the benefits of using this book in tandem with CAKEWALK and the included (with the program) CAKEWALK tech manual. It will bridge that "holy ..." gap and make the software both accessible and usable. If you have... or seek to purchase a CAKEWALK product, this book is required reading. A 5 Star no brainER...

This may be the only book you need for home recording in the digital age. I have been a Calkwalk user for over a year and after looking at Calkwalk Power I realized that I have only used a fraction of its potential. Calkwalk Power is an excellent reference source for not only using the software but for general midi and digital audio performance as well.

The Calkwalk user's group has helped me tremendously during this past year but Scott has comprehensively answered all of my questions regarding recording, mixing and using plug-ins.

The beginning and intermediate Calkwalk user will find answers to most all of the questions they have from; getting started with recording to advanced production techniques. The book is concise, easy to understand and a lot of fun to read.

I have been a user of Cakewalk since its DOS days, yet I learned a wealth of new tweaks in the first 60 pages of this book. Reminiscent of the "For Dummies" series, this book is valuable for beginning users of the program as well as being useful for intermediates. Garrigus is a knowledgable writer, and has written articles for most of the well-known music magazines, including Electronic Musician and Keyboard. His style is intelligent, witty and eminently readable. Most of all, the information contained in the book is very up-to-date (as of June 2000), and he gives you full info on staying up on the latest program updates. Highly recommended for any user of the program.

Well, after less than 1 week with this book I have solved nearly all the problems I was having with Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 (and there were a bunch). This book covers everything BETTER than the manual that comes with the software and it covers things that, for some reason, aren't in the regular manual - like how to use session drummer, how to really tweak CW to record multiple audio tracks while playing midi tracks, how to sync, how to set things up right the first time. No more trial and error - this book will tell you how. It has a good index and lots of step by step instructions. If you own CW - you need this book.

Cakewalk POWER ! is the next stage for a user after they get familiar with the program. Cake's native manual is excellent at telling you which toolbar and radio buttons do what and give great setup info and a few scenarios. Scott takes up where they leave off and walks you through how to make MUSIC which is why we are here right? I have used CW since DOS version 1.1 and followed it through each generation. I met Scott on-line in those dim dark DOS days of command line internet and his forte is always pushing the envelope of a vendor's product. He does so again with Cakewalk POWER ! "Try it, you'll like it" as they say in NY.

I haven't read this book, but I did skim through it and noticed it looked thinner on the shelves than Sonar 2 Power!, and chose to buy Sonar 2 Power! because I thought it was more comprehensive. I've been very happy about that purchase and what I've learned about Cakewalk Home Studio.

Sonar 2 Power! is a good book for Cakewalk Home Studio 2004 (and XL) users, because Home Studio 2004 is basically the same as Sonar 2 with a few missing features that Home Studio 2004.

I did a comparison of it to my recently acquired 2004 XL upgrade and other than the synchronization function, a couple of UI changes (Snap to Grid button changed locations), and a few effects that Home Studio XL doesn't give you, everything works identical to the Sonar 2 version in the book.

I'd recommend everyone look at Sonar 2 Power! instead of this book first... At least more advanced users. Maybe this is a good book for novices though.

I bought this book because it advertised Guitar Pro and Home Studio 2002...But it actually only covers Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 which isn't even available anymore. That's sorta annoying; but if you read along with the Pro Audio tips, theres a lot in common with what you would need for Guitar Pro and/or Home Studio. I kept it because like I said, it does help you tweak your system for the other programs; and it seems that all 3 programs are a lot alike.

So in conclusion, it's not what I thought it was going to be, but it covers what I needed to know.