And each of those busses can be compressed with a new plug-in that Sonar 6 adds to the mix, called the VC-64. Its GUI has an absolutely terrific look to it — if it were an actual component made out of brushed metal, you'd glance admiringly at it in your equipment rack — and adds a number of warm vintage-sounding compression functions, as well as somewhat disparate functions such as de-essing and noise gate.
It's great for adding compression to a track, or multiple tracks via one of Sonar's track busses. It also has some presets for mastering, and while it sounds pretty good in that role, it's not going to make me want to stop using Izotope's Ozone plug-in, and its loudness maximization features.
Another intriguing Sonar plug-in is its new AudioSnap feature, which can adjust stretch the tempo of pre-recorded audio. Don't like the tempo of a finished song? Want to take a loosely recorded jam and sync it to a tempo? AudioSnap was designed for both of those scenerios, as Craig Anderton explains here.
Coming Soon: 64-bit PCs With 128-Gig Of RAM
Perhaps the most bleeding edge feature of Sonar 6 is its compatibility with both standard-issue Windows XP Professional, and Windows Professional XP Edition x64 (and its coming Vista equivalent) . While 64-bit computing is currently overkill for most semipro recording aspects, it's gaining in popularity in the pro world, in part because it allows for boatloads of RAM: 128-gigabytes worth (and the potential for a staggering 16-exabites worth) rather than the four gigs that Windows currently tops out at. However, even those (like most of us) who don't have a 64-bit system can employ Sonar's 64-bit mix engine, which provides additional headroom and sonic clarity than its normal 32-bit mode, before the audio is mixed down to the 16-bit world of CDs, or the even lower fidelity of most MP3s.
Should You Upgrade?
Computer users differ on how frequently to upgrade a program. Heck, I'd probably still be using the same version of Quicken that I bought in 1997, if my bank hadn't forced me to upgrade by making it incompatible with their online banking applications. But audio and video production programs are different: they pretty much use the whole playing field of a computer (if computers had Astroturf, of course), and advance the furthest each year. So if it's been a while since you've upgraded Sonar, there's more than enough to make it worth your while.
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