The first thing that surprised me was that, in the normal template, you now get two tracks by default instead of four. Previously, the template consisted of two audio and two MIDI tracks, but now you get one of each. This isn’t a bad thing, since you can add additional tracks at any time, so it’s more of a case of getting used to it.
The only thing I had to fix in the Normal Template was to make it load the layout used by JSonar, the set of scripts I use with JAWS for Windows. If it’s not loaded, you can expect all sorts of problems, such as the Media Browser not displaying properly, and, in the case of a song a friend sent me, FX bins all over the place, even though there were only two on the track. (For those of you who are just getting into Sonar, the FX bin is where you can load a soft synth or audio effect to be used exclusively on that track.) In any case, all I had to do was load the Normal template, load the JSonar layout, and re-save the template. Problem solved!

Now here’s something that really got me excited. While browsing the MIDI track’s controls, I came across, get ready for this, an arpeggiator! OK, I know what you’re thinking, so what? That was my reaction at first, but once you enable it, you’ll be having lots of fun.
Project5, CakeWalk’s synth workstation program (which I don’t believe is being sold anymore), had an arpeggiator that you could use on any MIDI track, even if the synth didn’t have it. Now, after all these years, it’s finally in Sonar. I spent a few minutes trying the various presets using a piano sound from my Roland EXR-3S keyboard, and what I’ve heard so far sounds pretty good! But is it just me, or are there a lot of duplicates?
Later on, I loaded in one of my favorite soft synths, Z3TA+ (or Zeta as I’ll refer to it), and tried the arpeggiator with it, even though it has it’s own on a lot of the presets. Wow, this combination is awesome! I hope to produce an audio demo of this feature soon.

Well, that’s all for now, but I’ll continue to update you on my experiences with this excellent version of the product as time permits.

Other links mentioned in this edition:

• Vox Machina, an online speech synthesizer that was used to create the intro for Episode 4.
• The Project Studio Network (PSN) Podcast
• X-Sight Interactive (new link)

Music Featured:

• Theme music and jingle by KJS Productions
• Ending theme: “Contimune” by LVX Nova from their self-titled CD
• “Shine” by Kevin Reeves from his CD “It’s About Time”
• “Getting Through” by Jorgen Hansson

Download Episode 6

Music featured in this podcast includes:

• Theme music: Into The Night by Maxim G.
• Ending theme for this episode: Contimune by LVX Nova

Download Episode 5

Links mentioned in this podcast include:

• WWITV.com
• CPAC, Canadian Parliamentary Affairs Channel
• CNN
• The MOD Archive

Songs Featured:

• Theme music: Into The Night by Maxim G.
• Ending Theme: Credits Music from Epic Pinball by Epic Megagames
• Space Debris by Captain (MOD file)
• Dead Lock by Elwood (MOD file)
• Sometime by Radix (MOD file)

Special thanks to Damien Sadler of X-Sight Interactive for his DecTalk Scripter program (which is no longer available), and for additional music.

Download Episode 4

Other links mentioned include:

• The C64 Take-away Podcast
• Slay Radio, an Internet radio station featuring remixes of C64 Music

Songs Featured:

Theme Music: “Into The Night” by Maxim G.

From Magnatune:

• “Destiny Trip” by Falling You
• “Georgia” (excerpt) by Wicked Allstars
• “Humbly I Adore Thee” by Paul Avgerinos

Download Episode 3

Songs Featured:

Theme Music: “Into The Night” by Maxim G.

From Magnatune:

• “Afterthought” by Memories Of Tomorrow
• “Less Likely To Believe” by Falling You

From PodsafeAudio.com:

• “You’re My Only One” by EL84
• Resolve by Simpatico

Download Episode 2

Links Mentioned:

• My Personal Website
• Slay Radio, an Internet radio station featuring C64 Remixes
• The C64 Take-Away Podcast
• remix.kwed.org: A great site to download C64 Remixes
• The High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC)
• SIDPlay2, a player for playing the files in the HVSC Collection

Download Episode 1

It’s a portion of a TV program called Omnibus, hosted by Alastair Cooke, and features Les Paul and Mary Ford joking about, and eventually demonstrating, how they recorded their music in the multitrack fashion that Les Paul pioneered.
This is one video you definitely don’t want to miss!

I’ve also recently discovered the Roland Channel, a great place to watch demos and other videos related to products by Roland. One series of videos I especially like is the 3-part demo of the Roland VP-770 Vocal Ensemble keyboard. It’s a pity I can’t afford it, but the demo is amazing in itself.
I also discovered a 15-part demo about a digital harpsichord which not only demonstrated the instrument, but had a video dedicated to the history of harpsichords in general, which was very interesting to listen to.
That’s the only criticism I have regarding this channel: the videos are in multiple parts. Why can’t the whole demo be made available as a single video?