Studio Tips - Groundhog Studio goes Sonar

With an IBM Thinkpad T43p as my new best friend and constant companion, I figured its relatively smoky spec (2 GHz Centrino CPU, 1GB RAM and ATI 128MB FireGL graphics) should easily suffice for studio applications. Its PCMCIA adapter (Ricoh R/RL/5C476 II) had been mentioned on a list of tested compatibles, so no concerns here, either. EMU's 1616 cardbus requires a full-size PCMCIA slot, of which the T43p only has one (I'd thought there were two, but the other slot is for half-sized cards only). Hence some jiggling about required with my Fritz ISDN card I use from time to time when travelling, but no real problem.

Having been a happy user of multiple operating systems for many years, the decision to create a separate partition for studio applications was a no-brainer. I use Windows 2000 (SP4) for my main system, and with EMU supporting both W2K and XP, I stuck with the former.
I can whole-heartedly recommend the multiple op sys strategy. To anyone not familiar with this method of safely segregating different application areas on a PC, the web is brimming with oodles of useful info on how to achieve this. I have run three versions of Win98 side by side for years without any interference. Installing multiple copies of Windows 2000 is even easier, as this op sys comes with its own boot manager. The only must-have tool is Partition Magic (by Powerquest) or equivalent to allow the non-destructive carving up of the hard drive prior to the new op sys installation.

Installing EMU's Patchmix program and various ASIO and WDM drivers was a doddle. Done and dusted in five minutes and a couple of reboots. It's perhaps worth noting that any onboard soundcard should be disabled prior to installing , to prevent Patchmix getting its knickers in a twist. As I started with a clean Windows installation this wasn't an issue.
One apparent malfunction gave me a bit of a headache, though: EMU's manual states that prior to driver installation, inserting the Cardbus PCMCIA card should result in its EMU logo glowing dimly. Once drivers are operating correctly, this should then illuminate bright blue. Well, despite what appeared to be a flawless installation, my Cardbus never lit up once. I nearly plumped for the uninstall icon with view to repeating the whole process, but then thought better of it. An email to EMU's support team soon set me right - the manual was wrong! Apparently, later versions will not show any references to glowing logos. Hmm... The opaque logo insert on the Cardbus certainly seems designated for illumination, so I must assume that some last-minute design changes bumped that feature off the spec. A shame, really. It sure would have looked cool!

Integrating a computer, even if only a slim-line laptop, into an existing studio is harder than it ought to be. Ergonomics pose the biggest problems; where's the best place for the screen, will the keyboard be easily accessible as a result, and how to find room for the mouse? Positioning the breakout box is the lesser task, as the provided 1 meter-long connecting cable in the case of the 1616 affords a reasonable degree of flexibility.

For my L-shaped equipment set-up at least, the ideal place for a screen would clearly be at the apex, thus permitting good visibility from all angles. Using a few precariously balanced boards as a mock-up shelf, I eventually found what seemed like the best compromise between good access and minimized impact on other studio furniture.

With the shelf in place, routing some new audio and MIDI cables was the final task before Groundhog Studio's new centrepiece could take pride of place.

Job complete! The mouse surface seemed a bit mean at first, but once mouse sensitivity had been adjusted it turned out to be quite workable. The 1616 breakout box can be seen in the wide shot below, to the left of the submixer.

I don't know why, but it took me ages to get my head around the signal paths in and out of the PC. Perhaps just because EMU's Patchmix application is so flexible did its routing options befuddle me at first. This is not the place for an in-depth analysis of Patchmix. I would refer anyone in need of advice on this subject to SoundOnSound magazine, and Martin Walker's excellent article "Patchmix DSP Demystified" in the November 2005 issue.
Once I'd twigged that it's all about Patchmix's Insert Slots (where you 'drop in' ASIO or WDM connections to or from the 1616's breakout box) half the battle was won. Most of Patchmix's faders, pan pots and aux sends are for monitoring purposes only. A bit of trial-and-error poking around, and I'd figured the best configuration for my own set-up, with the special requirement to incorporate two of my hardware effect units (Lexicon MPX550 and Quadraverb 2) into the signal path.

For what it's worth, below is the schematic diagram for Groundhog Studio's audio routing in and out of the EMU 1616.

Audio Recording

One of the hardest choices I faced during this entire upgrade saga was: which software package due I go for? Given my past aversions, I wasn't exactly clued in on the relative merits of the various contenders out there. However, I already knew that shipping free with the EMU 1616 would be Ableton Live Lite, Cubase LE and Sonar LE. Put a gun to my head and I still couldn't rationally justify my choice, but I had a gut feel Sonar would be right for me, so Sonar (LE, version 4) it was.

As a previous non-believer in Digital Audio Workstations (and happy user of a Fostex DMT8 stand-alone 8-track hard disc recorder for 10 years), the transition wasn't exactly a breeze. What impressed me immediately, following a hitchless software installation, was Sonar's extremely well-layed-out manual which includes a bunch of very useful tutorials. To my novice eyes at least Sonar's various screens appear unthreatening and logically structured. Once known, the keyboard shortcuts are a real blessing, of course. With my laptop's screen resolution set to 1600 x 1200, the downside to having plenty of screen space is that Sonar's smaller features (loop markers etc.) require a bit of mouse dexterity to manipulate. But once my brain was suitably Sonarified, the Sonar way of working became more intuitive by the week.

I'm certainly not in a position to judge Sonar against other DAWs out there. What I can assert to is that, together with the excellent spec and performance of EMU's 1616 interface, the sound quality of my Sonar recordings is first rate. I haven't even ventured into the world of higher sampling rates or frequencies, and my guess is, if 44.1 KHz recordings sound this good, I never will. But perhaps the most flattering comment I can truthfully pass on here is that, so far, Sonar never crashed once! My initial latency settings of 10 ms worked fine, and only need increasing to 14 ms if I use EMU's Power Effects from within Sonar (Power Effects is the name for EMU's Cardbus-based hardware effects when hosted by a VST application, like Sonar). I'm sure once I get to tweak the odd peripheral setting I might even be able to improve on those latency values.

PS: Obviously, with Sonar now the main workhorse in my studio, my trusty old Fostex DMT8 stand-alone hard disc recorder took a well-earned retirement. I know by the many readers' emails I've received that there are plenty of users left out there, hence I leave my 'Changing Hard Drives on the DMT8' up for a little while yet. Anyone interested can find it here.

MIDI Recording

Well - it's all so easy now. Where previously I extolled the virtues of the Korg Triton's onboard sequencer (and rightly so - it did a fine job for 4 years), now Sonar has taken over as my MIDI hub as well. No complaints on its technical abilities, nor on its vast array of editing options. I guess it sounds predictable when I say that, from my hardware-based background at least, there are almost too many options. Who knows - in a year's time, I might have to revise that statement.
Thus far, perhaps my most important lesson learned is how vital the 'Grid Option' parameter settings are. For every move, copy or paste, failure to select the most appropriate 'Snap' value (Measure, Beat etc.) quickly makes a right old mess of your timing. Also, finding out that 'Ctrl + Drag' is the way to copy a selection, whilst 'Shift + Drag' ensures a vertical move only instantly propelled me into the next league up of Sonar users. Some old hands may well chuckle at this point, but these shortcuts were not exactly shouted from the Cakewalk rooftops.
Another pleasant Sonar feature is the Instrument Definition function (i.e.. the ability to refer to each hardware synth patch by name when the ready-made definition file has been installed). Once I'd machete'ed my way to that part in the (700+ page) PDF manual, I began to scour the Sonar folder for the various instrument definition preset files that supposedly came with the program. Turned out most of my hardware synths were indeed covered (Yamaha, Korg and even Kurzweil strongly in evidence), though perhaps surprisingly there were no preset files for the Korg Triton LE. A visit to Cakewalk's website drew a blank, too, as did the Korg site. In the end Google came up trumps of sorts with a Japanese web page. After rubbing my eyes in horror, I pushed the Babelfish translator into service, which eventually let me pinpoint the correct files to download. To save any Triton LE user the trouble, here are the Sonar Instrument Definition files for the Triton LE's Programs, and for its Combies.
So far I haven't decided whether Sonar's Piano Roll or its Score window is the best place to edit MIDI data for me. Both have their merits, and though Piano Roll permits more flexible editing, it also seems more prone to letting users like myself make mistakes. One thing I've yet to get to grips with is how to edit Control Data - it simply doesn't seem to show up the way I expect it to.
The Slip Edit function is certainly a bonus, though (always a fly in the ointment, huh?) can get confusing if too many layers are floating on top of each other. And finally, I wish there were a function to input punch-in or loop points on the fly (i.e. in real time, as the song plays), as an alternative to having to use mouse or manual entry. Perhaps this harks back to my old Fostex DMT8 (which offered this function). Actually, it's surprising how accurately markers can be placed by just using your ears, and one button.

Was it all worth it? The expenditure, the studio redesign, the steep learning curve? Well, obviously yes, else you wouldn't be reading any of this. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. DAW's are here to stay, and no doubt Sonar has at least as much staying power as its main competitors. As I said earlier, it'll take me a few months more yet before becoming a proficient Sonar user. But from what I've seen so far, that time will come. There's no going back now. Remains to be seen what creative wonders Sonar can work on Blue Flux's future musical output.