Customer Reviews

SONAR Power!

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

 

 

OK, I sprung for the SONAR XL upgrade, added more ram, hard disk, faster cpu and all that jazz but kept banging my head trying to do some of the things in Cakewalk's blurb sheets that encourage you top buy in the first place. Scott to the rescue !!! As in Cakewalk Power, the first of Scott's books, Sonar Power picks up where the CW manual leaves off and goes beyond merely describing which toolbars and radio buttons do what. Instead, Scott gives you real world type scenarios and takes the vantage point of a musician talking to other musicians. Sonar is way kewl and Sonar Power helps to lower that learning curve. Then we can all get back to making music, a little faster maybe, with a heck of a lot more creative tools in the arsenal, and certainly better sounding overall. The time savings alone are worth the price of this book. Anyone looking to really wring out this program needs to read SONAR POWER.

Sonar Power is written to be understood on the first reading not the third or fourth like the manuals, also it is laid in a fashion to actually be comprehended.....no glazed over mind farts here, just plain old english and wonderful insights. I dont own Soungforge software but Im going to buy Scotts book on it anyway just because Scott knows how to relate the details at ground level and beyond...what a relief to find someone who KNOWS what they're talking about and has the given talent to express it in simple terms.

Scott R. Garrigus' soundcard setup is a delta 66 and SBLive card. its the exact setup that i have. Scott wrote the book in plain english so that even a not so computer literate person can understand whats going on. even if you've never used a computer music recording program before, Scott makes it simple....

I have previously used Cakewalk software (briefly) as well as Sonar, and I have a decent knowledge of how to do most of the basic tasks, as well as some tricks and effects and things. That being said, this book really hasn't added that much to what I knew already, although it serves me well as a reference for a lot of things. It also has some good ways of reducing various problems from the mix. But if you already kind of know your stuff and you're looking to get your hands dirtier, get something a little more advanced.

Don't get me wrong, Sonar's manual is very good and the walk-through tutorials are excellent. But a quick glance at their online Newsgroup and you see all the nightmares people have just to get things working (sound cards, latency, other system issues). After buying and returning 3 different sound card interfaces before getting things working, I WISH I had found this book first. Scott gives EXCELLENT suggestions for improving system performance and plenty of tips on what to look for when things aren't going well. Once you get Sonar working, it's awesome and the book offers even MORE advice. Well beyond the manual. Cakewalk ought to be bundling this with their product.

This book is a thorough manual to equip you to wring the most out of Sonar. The author knows all the ins and outs of the program, and you will too if you buy this book. Make sure you match your version of Sonar with its corresponding Power! edition. Enjoy!

A simple to use resource that makes navigation in sonar a snap. Nice layout. It is easy to find the specific things you need in the book without having to read it page for page (although that is what I did the first time through).