CAKEWALK SONAR 3

Cakewalk's popular DAW programs Sonar and Sonar XL (Win) have evolved into Sonar 3 Studio Edition ($299) and Sonar 3 Producer Edition ($499). These programs have undergone major renovation and now support dozens of innovative features. One of the highlights is a new workspace that features a Track Inspector Pane, improved toolbars, preset color themes, and XP-style dialogs. New real-time editing enhancements let you roll out loops without affecting the audio stream and alter audio, MIDI, and automation data during playback. VST-DX Adapter is included for support of VST instrument and processing plug-ins.

The new mixing console offers user-controllable strip widths and dynamic display filtering. A new dynamic busing architecture improves performance; you can route buses to other buses or to the main outputs, and insert buses and sends on the fly. Preconfigured templates allow one-click setup for subgroups, effects sends, headphone mixes, and master buses. MIDI enhancements include unmerged and preset inputs and the capacity to import MIDI Groove Clips and Project5 patterns.

Sonar 3 Producer Edition provides integrated Ultrafunk equalization for each channel. It also includes the Ultrafunk Sonitus:fx Suite, which offers multiband compression, parametric EQ, delay, reverb, and additional dynamics and effects processing. Also bundled with the Producer version is VSampler 3.0 DXi, a virtual sampler that imports Akai, Giga, HALion, and other sample formats.

Minimum requirements for either version are a Pentium III/1.2 GHz with Windows 2000 or XP, 256 MB of available RAM, a 7,200 RPM hard drive with 100 MB available, and a WDM-compatible sound card. Cakewalk; tel. (888) CAKEWALK or (617) 423-9004; e-mail sales@cakewalk.com; Web www.cakewalk.com.

SAMPLETANK 2

SampleTank 2 (Mac/Win) is a significant upgrade of IK Multimedia's sample-playback VST Instrument. SampleTank 2 XL ($499) ships with eight CD-ROMs of samples, and SampleTank 2 L ($299) ships with four CD-ROMs of samples. Both versions provide three sound engines that you can toggle on the fly. SampleTank Time Resynthesis Technology (STRETCH) lets you manipulate tempo, tuning, and spectrum to realistically transpose samples by large intervals. Pitch-Shift/Time-Stretch synthesis is best suited to loops and grooves, and traditional sample playback is also available.

In addition to including a library of native sounds, SampleTank 2 imports WAV, AIFF, and Sound Designer II files as well as Akai and SampleCell instruments. You can manipulate over 50 synthesis parameters and edit individual samples and multisamples. For real-time editing, four Macro knobs tailor themselves to the current instrument. User-assignable MIDI CCs can control SampleTank parameters, and MIDI Program Change messages can select and load sounds.

SampleTank 2 is 16-part multitimbral and gives you extensive control over mixing parameters. Assign five simultaneous effects from a selection of 32, including parametric EQ, multifilter, and amp and cabinet simulation borrowed from the company's AmpliTube plug-in. Enhanced browsing features help you find and load instruments quickly by entering your own keywords into the sound database or searching with factory keywords.

Currently registered users can upgrade to SampleTank 2 XL from SampleTank DJ, L, or XL for $249, or from SampleTank SE or LE for $349. If you've registered since May 1, 2003, you should be eligible for a free downloadable upgrade without the sample discs. SampleTank 2 supports VST, MAS, RTAS, HTDM, and Audio Units on the Mac, and VST, RTAS, HTDM, and DXi in Windows. Minimum Mac requirements are a G3/266 MHz and Mac OS 9 or OS X 10.2.4. PC users will need at least a Pentium II/400 MHz and Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, or XP. Both platforms need a minimum 128 MB of RAM and a compatible host application. IK Multimedia; tel. (866) 243-1718 or (772) 466-9763; e-mail ikmus@ikmultimedia.com; Web www.sampletank.com.