Improved onboarding experience

To improve the first time user experience, SONAR will step you through the initial setup procedure the first time you launch the program. You will be prompted to select your audio input and output devices, sample rate, audio driver mode, MIDI input and output devices. You can also choose to open a demo song or start a new project.

Step 1: Welcome to SONAR!

Step 2: Audio Setup

Input Device. Select the audio input device you want to use for recording. To select multiple devices, click . If you select multiple devices, the top device becomes the record timing master. For details, see Audio - Driver Settings.

Output Device. Select the audio output device you want to use for playback. To select multiple devices, click . If you select multiple devices, the top device becomes the playback timing master.

Advanced. Specify the driver mode, sample rate and bit depth.

Driver Mode. Select from WASAPI Exclusive, WASAPI Shared, or ASIO. Consult your hardware documentation to determine which driver your hardware uses. Use WASAPI Shared for sharing the audio device with Windows and other programs, or WASAPI Exclusive for lower latency. WASAPI is ideal for use with onboard audio devices. Use ASIO if you have a pro audio device with an ASIO driver.

Sample Rate. Specify the audio sample rate you want to use for recording.

Bit Depth. Specify the number of bits per sample used for communicating with the audio hardware for playback. Your audio hardware must be capable of supporting the setting you supply here.

Step 3: MIDI Setup

Inputs. Select the MIDI input device you want to use for recording.

Outputs. Select the MIDI output device you want to use for playback.

Step 4: Help Improve SONAR

Send analytics to Cakewalk. Select this option if you want to help shape the evolution of SONAR by contributing to Cakewalk Analytics, a feature that sends information to Cakewalk about your in-app experience in SONAR. For details, see Customization - Cakewalk Analytics.

Step 5: Let’s Get Started

Open a demo song. Select a demo song to play back and experiment with.

Use a template. Create a new project based on a template.

New empty project. Create a new empty project.

 

See:

New features