Customer Reviews

Sonar 8 Power!

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first time I've submitted a review to Amazon, and I guess like most reviewers they are only motived to review it because they either like or hate the item :) Me, i love it.

Anyway, I'm a new Sonar user, starting at Sonar 8 and i was completely overwhelmed by the interface and array of possibilities, settings, customisations - completely LOST.
As most people, I'm so used to intuitive immediate music apps that I tried just fiddling and making a tune myself, but Sonar is so powerful and complex i was getting nowhere, so I needed help.
RFTM!??
Well... no, it's really just a fancy feature list.
The help file was indeed helpful, but cumbersome to manipulate and work alongside Sonar. so in the end I found this book.
At present i'm up to Chapter 5 only, but here's my take so far.

It's kind of Sonar for Dummies. Pitched just at my experience level and it takes you through every step slowly, clearly and methodically.
It's a huge book, but not scary, purely because Scott takes his time to explain things clearly, and in layman's terms.
Honestly, I think this is the best technical-manual-type-book I've seen - I'm impressed and actually looking forward to reading the rest, it's given me hope I can understand and work Sonar correctly (rather than just the 10% of the features I would've worked out for myself), and given me confidence that I can find my own efficient workflow, ....the final point being to make tunes quickly, and not lose inspiration whilst fiddling with myriad buttons and menus.
I can't recommend it enough.

Disclaimer: I'm an audio amateur and not a detail person.

Scott will grind and grind and grind through the minute details of Sonar to the point it becomes annoying. But than, just when you thought it pointless, Scott covers an area you knew nothing about in great detail. It is then you realize why the painstaking detail of this book: the author has covered the things many readers know nothing about. So, for that "utility", I give this book 5 stars and highly recommend it if you are a Sonar user.

However, if you are an considering "Ableton Live" and Sonar, I recommend you go with Ableton and buy a book on Ableton instead. After becoming very familiar with Sonar I think Ableton is more polished and helpful for amateurs. I think Sonar is more helpful for pros. Both apps have free demo downloads on the web site so you can try them out and make decisions based on your actual preferences. Also, both apps do an outstanding job at their task.

Hello Everyone,
I must say that Sonar 8 Power has saved me so much time and is written in a way which mades the program easy and fun to understand. What's cool too is that it shows you quickly how to customize your preferences in all areas of the program like Track View preferences, Piano roll view etc. I come from analog and have been a musician all of my life and had quite a bit of success along the way. I wish I had gotten these books when I had Sonar 5, which is where I came in at. Could've saved a lot of time and frustration. 6 Stars!
Tony
[...].

This book is very thorough....it covers everything you could possibly think of plus some. If you want to get the most out of Sonar this is the book for you.

It's really simple. If you use SONAR, and you're either a power user or just starting out as a casual user, this book needs to be on your shelf. I go to it all the time. It really paints everything clearly and teaches you all the ins and outs of SONAR 8. It's really great.

Everything from recording, VST/synths, mixing, it's all in here. Scott's style of writing it really clear and to the point. I have been using SONAR for years now and I can honestly say that this book is the perfect compliment to the manual itself. It's worth every penny.

B.L.

I was prepared for another technical manual. I couldn't have been more wrong.

It is very easy to read and understand. The detail is extensive, in my opinion. I believe that it would take a considerable amount of time and effort for a newbie (myself) to learn this information without the book.

Possibly expert users will know much of the material but this is something you would have to determine for yourself. Like any user manual, there are plenty of features within the software that many people will never use. But, for me, I would rather have a manual that covers everything and allows me to filter what I don't need as opposed to leaving me short of the knowledge I was seeking.

I would recommend it highly.

Like all his books and work, the Sonar 8 Power book by Scott R Garrigus is "the" book to own if you are using the Cakewalk Sonar 8 products.
The documentation that comes with Sonar 8 is typical in that it assumes the user is a skilled Sonar user and thus someone fairly new to Sonar and such products spends too much time trying to figure out what they are talking about.
Not with Scotts book. He must be aware of this fault and takes the time to describe in words and pictures what he is teaching and doing in each section carefully so I can easily follow him.
He is a Sonar 8 professional user so we get a real world user perspective in how he guides us.
His on line videos are excellent as well and include use of the Cakewalk Studio V700 components along with Sonar 8 - as I am using.

Well written by a real Sonar 8 user. I use it as my Sonar 8 bible. When I an stuck or needing to learn a new function I will most likely find my answers in this book.
Thanks for the quality of your work Scott. Very much appreciated.
Barry

If you bought Sonar (Home or Producer Editions) as I did, and you're new to DAW recording as I was, you're gonna need Scott's book. He knows that, and he's rewritten it for the many updated versions of Sonar. The user's guide that comes with Sonar is a joke, thus this opportunity for Scott! I've done pretty extensive searching and can find nothing better than this book. I've used it for almost a year and find it answers many questions I have about using Sonar. However, it simply does not answer everything. I've taught English for 31 years and can say witout hesitation that Sonar Producer Edition is the steepest learning curve I have ever experienced. Prepare yourself for frustration!
I wish I had a list of the things I simply can't find in Scott's book. For those things I usually go to the huge Sonar online forum. Lots of good, helpful folks there, including Scott. But many discussions start out fine, then deteriorate into name-calling and petty jealousy, almost mini-power struggles for recognition. Disappointing.
I found that simply calling Sonar in Boston, then (ALWAYS) waiting 15 minutes before they assist you almost always solved my problems. It's frustrating, but it's effective. I think I called every day for the first three weeks of running Sonar. (Jon is the best help there!)

Scott's book is good, but the definitive "How To" book for Sonar has yet to be written. I would pay MUCH bigger bucks for a version that simply assumed I was totally ignorant of DAW techniques involved, and that held my hand as it walked me through the steps involved in recording an audio source, then a midi source, FULLY editing those sources, adding effects- including V-Vocal, mixing the sounds, creating the CD, etc. In essence, a COMPLETE BEGINNER'S TUTORIAL (for idiots) is needed for Sonar. You're good, Scott, and I know you care for your customers. I've seem that concern on the Sonar Forum and in your responses to my querries on your Digifreq site. So write or video this tutorial and retire young, dude! Opportunity knocks- in this case quite loudly!

This book has it all, a complete coverage of Sonar's in's and out's written in a clear concise easy to understand manner. If you are an experienced user or just starting out, Scott's book will assist you in any facet of Sonar's vast platform. A must have addition to your investment!

I have been fumbling around in SONAR Producer for several years now. I was unable to figure out many aspects of this marvelous program because Cakewalk's user manual is virtually useless. Sonar Power 8 covers almost ever aspect of the program, plus includes VERY helpful tutorials that run you through a step by step process to understand all aspects of the application. Kudos to Scott Garrigus on a great, instructive book that will get you beyond a casual user to a pro user so you can produce your music without worrying about every technical aspect of using Sonar. Sonar 8 Power!