Sonar X2 is a logical continuation and refinement of X1. Having this built right into the DAW is a real workflow-enhancer too. Offering an experience akin to Slate Digital's VCC or Sonimus' Satson, the Console Emulator smooths over any harsh digitalisms and gives your mix a subtle yet pleasing warmth and girth. The icing on the cake, though, is the inclusion of the stunning Console Emulator in the Producer edition's ProChannel (Sonar's superb in-built channel strip system), enabling users to avail themselves of the sound of three classic consoles. Sonar X2 Producer users also get an array of effects built into TH2, as well as the gorgeous Overloud Breverb, a world-class reverb available as both a ProChannel plugin and a VST one (you can't use it in other VST hosts, alas). 'The icing on the cake is the inclusion of the stunning Console Emulator' This time around, guitarists get the benefit of a cutdown edition of Overloud's TH2 plugin - there's a wicked selection of virtual cabinets, amps and mics that sound utterly convincing. Shameless plugsР”Р„s we've suggested, X2 is not entirely lacking in out-and-out gee-whizzery - far from it, in fact. Sonar will automatically assign a default parameter to each new lane you open, but this can of course be changed with ease. Take and automation lanes are available and customisable. Combined with the Smart Tool functions, editing automation envelopes is now a breeze - even a little inspiring. Automation envelopes can still be overlaid on top of clips if you want, but now you can access each automated parameter in its own lane. This might seem like a minor change, but we found that it sped editing up significantly.Р”Р„utomation lanes have come to Sonar at long last, and are beautifully realised.

Now, when you zoom using the Timeline, the zoom stays focused on your point of contact, no matter how far you zoom in or out. Thankfully, the Timeline zoom has also been given a much-needed overhaul. First, there's the newfangled Auto Track Zoom, a function that forces all tracks to be viewed at the same zoom height as the selected track when activated. Also, it's no longer necessary to click outside a clip and drag over it to select it - a welcome change, and certainly a more familiar process to those who might be coming to Sonar from another DAW.Р”Р„nother change comes in the way you zoom in and out of both your project and your clips. The Smart Tool introduced in X1 has been given a brain boost, now interacting even more closely and logically with the various functions in X2.Р”Р‡or example, right-clicking and dragging now selects as a lasso tool, while left-clicking and dragging will select a range of, say, clips or notes. However, the methods by which you interact with it have been radically adjusted and enhanced - even down to the way you perform the essential functions of pointing, clicking, selecting and dragging. 'The methods by which you interact with the Sonar interface have been radically adjusted and enhanced'Р”Р„t first glance, the Sonar interface seems virtually unchanged.

Sonar pro channel vs slate vcc