For a guy who has been using cakewalk since 1996. I finally decided to do my own cakewalk sonar platinum review. Cakewalk has made some pretty big leaps since it’s earlier versions came on the scene. They’ve been working and working to get it to be the best possible recording software out there. I’ve been patient, like really patient with them to finally add tools that are a no brainer to say the least.
With the new Platinum version, you’ll be working with a solid professional DAW that stands up hands down to any other DAW out there today. Perhaps better than most other DAWs in many ways. How do I know? Because I recorded my entire 6th Album with Cakewalk Sonar Platinum and put in countless hours working with some of the new tools. This was done really without a hick-up at all. I’m not just saying that. I spent many years complaining about cakewalk sonar and have been through literally hell trying to get things right as a producer at times.
But now productivity with sonar is fun and engaging, as well as motivating.
Lets dig right in!
Whats New in The Platinum Addition?
In this cakewalk sonar platinum review I’ll cover some of the things that really stick out for me as a producer.
A Completely Beefed Up Selection Of Pro Audio Effects Plugins.
- Lets start with The Pro Channel. OMG this is like home for me. It really feels great to have an eq with a live frequency analyzer aka, “the QuadCurve eq on each audio track with the pro channel. Eq for a track is write at your finger tips. One click and you’re in Eq heaven. There’s a hybrid mode as well as digital and analog mode eq modeling. The exciting thing with the pro channel is that you can literally build your own channel strip to add in things like analog compression, a tape emulator, reverb and much more. The addition of the Pro Channel was a game changer for me. It was first seen in the earlier Sonar X series but Cakewalk has nearly perfected this tool. Each channel has a good starting point for fx inserts close at hand.
Melodyne Essentials 4
- Melodyne is now native inside the Sonar Platinum interface. The program itself has gotten a whole lot better. Not only can you retouch that vocal track to get all those pitches in the right place. You can even create chords from a single vocal track. Scale a track to stay in one key. The list goes on. Melodyne has an entire world of processing abilities that I won’t go too far into details here. But this kick ass plugin alone makes Cakewalk Sonar Platinum worth a whole lot more.
VSTI Bounce / record.
- I’ve been emailing and emailing cakewalk to finally create a way to bounce down or record a multi out virtual instrument into single tracks by just simply pressing the record button (not the freeze track button). Since this feature is now available I can add it to my cakewalk sonar platinum review here.
If you use Kontakt like me, you probably want to just record one track instead of all of the multi out tracks coming from Kontakt with the freeze. This really sped things up for me as I could simply just record a sound from the virtual instrument right onto the actual input track. With the track now recorded, I could free up some ram by ditching the midi and the kontakt sound. Very useful! And if you’ve used the patch point feature in Sonar X 3, you’ll be happy to know that you now have unlimited patch points in this version. Multi Dock.
- I had to add this one to my cakewalk sonar platinum review. The multi dock first arrived on the scene with the Sonar X series and it’s gotten a whole lot slicker and cleaner with Sonar Platinum. All of us work differently so having the ability to attach basically anything to the MultiDock (Vsti, piano roll, console view, ) made my work flow much clearer. And having your own screen sets makes it easier to try out what works for you. I generally keep the MultiDock open on a second monitor.
LANDR Mastering
LANDR is an automated and very sophisticated mastering suite that would normally cost you. But it comes free with Sonar Platinum Producer! I wouldn’t leave you without adding this AI to my cakewalk sonar platinum review. The program uses intelligent algorithms to define your style of music and then create a commercial CD Master. How cool is that! Many of the old school record producers frown at the idea of a machine mastering your music but I’ve hear some pretty good masters come out of their program. It’s definitely something to try out and since it’s free with Sonar Platinum, why not!
The Bread & Butter you’d expect from all Pro DAW software.
- Unlimited audio and midi I/O tracks with Professional Addition.
- As many as Patch Points you’ll ever need
- Vocal synce
- A bank full of third party Virtual instrument Libraries right at your finger tips
- An excellent Drum Replacer plugin
- Surround mixing
- Excellent and easy to use mixing strip
Concluding My Cakewalk Sonar Platinum Review
Cakewalk Sonar Platinum has come a long way in it’s quest to be one of the greatest DAWs out there. The tools I mentioned are really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s tons of things to work with like Bluetube effects suite and Addictive drums. With Cakewalk Sonar Platinum you’re well on your way to making some fine music!
- Pros:
Comes standard with Addictive drums.
Melodyne( should I say more?)
Unlimited Audio tracks.
Seamless work flow with MultiDock and screen set options.
The Prochannel: Add any effects chain you want. Get analog hybrid or digital sound.
And lets not forget about the Tape Simulator!
Fast inserting and editing of VSTi.
LANDR Mastering suite.
A bunch of great sounding stock audio effects to choose from.
- Cons:
Command center can get in the way sometimes.
Multi-core processing is still not 100% although it is getting very close.
