Customer Reviews

Sonar 3: Mixing & Mastering

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

 

 

This review is based on reading a 37 page excert and summary including detailed table of contents found at the publisher's site (wizoo.com).

The author is a well known and respected columnist in music magazines. He previously wrote many computer audio related books. He is also a performing musician and has much experience with studio production.

After doing some digging, I realised that Cakewalk now touts Sonar 3 to studio musicians. It is no longer catering to the live performance setting. One must therefore know who the intended audience of the software is, and why it has certain features and capabilities presented in a particular manner.

PROS or why I rate this book highly
* Great conversational style similar to tutoring / consulting
* Explains how the musician / producer / engineer needs to see the one project from different perspectives and how the do it all musician needs to approach using the software from each of these perspectives.
* Wealth of real world examples and situations explored
* Not a rehash of the user manual. Content is not limited to only software features but educates about issues surrounding studio production.
* Relates world class / top quality audio production goals to the features and capabilities of Sonar 3 and its included Plugins

CONS
* A bit pricey, but well worth it if you are serious about music production. Priced similarly to professional books on mixing and mastering audio.

I've been using Cakewalk in some form since late 1997, most recently the latest version of Sonar. I consider myself an experienced user, but after starting this book it's clear there is a long way to go to be considered an expert. Luckily, this book shows the way. I've read many third-party Sonar books that read like a rearranged version of the Sonar user manual. Most only address issues of interest to new users, leaving the more seasoned users wanting more. This is the first book of its kind that I have actually found useful. Craig Anderton has done an excellent job of distilling key information that will help users to get the most out of Sonar. His writing is crisp and concise, focusing with laser-like precision on exactly the stuff that will make you a more effective user. For example, I must admit I haven't spent much time tweaking views in Sonar, and I never use the console view. Craig's discussion on metering explained the difference between peak and RMS, and why I would want to use peak in track view, and RMS in console view, which actually makes console view relevant to me (leaving meters set to RMS in console view provides a fast way to get a more relevant view of levels while mixing; i nevah knew dat). This book is chock full of information that all Sonar users will benefit from, delving into the "why" as well as the "how" for nearly every facet of the program, as well as more expansive processes. I'm looking forward to going through this book, improving the quality of my music, and maximizing the limited amount of time I have to spend in my home studio. This book is well worth the price, every Sonar user should have a copy. Buy this book, you will not be disappointed.

This is not a good book.

It claims to "improve your arranging, mixing, and mastering skills" but in fact it is a mish mash of general advice for setting up a DAW (digital audio workstation), using Sonar even a section on backing up your projects, and some information on mixing and mastering. It's not until page 141 that the basics of mixing are introduced and there is very little detail on mixing. The two most important aspects equalization and compression are given very short sections. This lack of focus and lack of detail makes this a very poor book.

Added to this lack of detail the book is set in a large font and has huge margins, the top and outside 35mm and bottom 47mm making the book 50% bigger than it should be, many of the figures are a total waste of space.

You'll skim read through this in a couple hours and never pick it up again.

If you want to learn about Sonar buy a book like Sonar 3 Power! by Scott Garrigus. To learn about mixing something like The Mixing Engineer's Handbook.

This may be useful for a total beginner but I would not recommend it.

This is one of the best software guidance book I've read. I found his general advice on setting-up, mixing, and mastering very helpful. I checked out other books on Sonar, but nothing comes close to this book (readability, organization, etc). I've been a Mac user (ProTools) for a long time and I was getting frustrated learning this program. But now a lot of things started making sense and I'm finding some things that I didn't think PC (or Sonar) could do.
Thanks Craig! I really enjoying this book.
I wish I'd meet you someday.

I've been reading books like this since the late '70s and this is one of my favorites, especially if you own Sonar. Where manuals and some books explain program function in nauseating detail (like trying to learn a new language by reading a dictionary), this one concentrates on usage with plenty of examples.