t

and

PRESENT

Mixing in the ProChannel

with SONAR X3 Producer
A step-by-step mixing tutorial to help you dive into SONAR X3s software

Includes a link to download a SONAR X3

trial and a pre-recorded project!

by Craig Anderton

THE PROCHANNEL, A UNIQUE

FEATURE IN SONAR X3 STUDIO
AND PRODUCER (AS WELL AS
EARLIER X-SERIES VERSIONS), IS
A CUSTOMIZABLE, HIGH-QUALITY
MIXER CHANNEL STRIP.
While many DAWs let you customize a mixers views (like show/hide
certain components, or widen/narrow individual channel strips), the
ProChannel lets you create your own mixer architecture. For example,
some strips might emulate a well-known console with its characteristic
EQ and sonic qualities, while other strips could emulate a completely
different console with a different type of EQ. You can also choose different
flavors of dynamics controlsay, the compressor used in a classic

ABOUT THE MUSIC

The song well use for mixing,
Black Market Daydreams,
was written by British songwriter Mark Longworth (you

console, or an emulation of a vintage outboard hardware compressor.

can hear more of his music at

The ProChannel offers several workflow advantages compared to

soundcloud.com/songwriter101)

traditional virtual studio technology (VST) or DirectX plug-ins. All the

modules are located in a single strip, so you dont have to open multiple
plug-in windows all over your project, which more closely resembles a
real world mixing console. Its easy to collapse or expand and focus on
individual modules, and in Track View, you can see the ProChannel in
the Inspector. In the mixer-oriented Console View, you can fly out the
ProChannel for one or more console channels so that the ProChannel
sits side by side with its associated channel.

and is used with his permission.

The drums are from a Chris
Hughes sample library. Theres
a music video for this song on
my YouTube channel.

Aside from tight integration with SONAR X3, the modules themselves are
excellent. Many users find that the performance of ProChannel modules
meets or exceeds that of third-party plug-ins. As a side benefit, collaborating
with other SONAR X3 users is simpler because you can count on specific
ProChannel modules being included.

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GETTING STARTED
Youll need to download the
following for this tutorial:

Well assume youre already familiar

Trial version of SONAR X3

choosing inputs and outputs, setting

with basic SONAR procedures, like loading

projects, selecting the various views,
preferences, and how the transport

Trial version of the CA-2A

(also called PC2A) compressor

works. However, here are a few additional

tips for this tutorial.

Black Market Daydreams tutorial project

For effects and the ProChannel, power On/Off buttons

are blue when on and gray when off.

The ProChannel has a master On/Off button as well as

buttons for each ProChannel effect.

Clicking on a mixer channel with the ProChannel

visible in the Inspector (type I to open the Inspector

if you dont see it) gives that channel the focus, so the

ProChannel displays the modules for that channel.

You can click on the channels name, or just a blank

space in the mixer channel.

The Inspector can show three different views. If you

lose the ProChannel, click on the ProCh tab at the

top of the Inspector.

The Console view can show send buses, but to keep

the tutorial simple, this project doesnt use any sends,

therefore, theyre hidden.

SONARs console view has three distinct areas the

fig 1

Ready? Lets mix. This tutorial takes

individual channels, buses, and the master output to

your audio interface. The grabber bar to the left of

the buses lets you slide it left or right. The project

should open with the Master bus visible, but it wont

be needed until later in the tutorial, so you can slide

it right to view the maximum number of console

channels if desired. (see fig 1)

approximately one hour to complete.

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LISTEN TO THE FINAL MIX

As a reality check, lets listen to the finished song.
Load the .cwp file Black Market Daydreams.cwp,
then type 1 to choose Screenset 1 or click on the
Screenset 1 button (this should already be selected,
but just in case, we want to make sure we start
from a defined starting point). This brings up the
Console view. (see fig 2)

fig 2
You can also see the Timeline toward the top, and the Now time cursor, so you can navigate easily around the song. The
and + buttons toward the Timelines lower left zoom out or in horizontally so you can see a shorter or longer section
of the song. (see fig 3)
Click Play and listen to the mixed version of the song. For this tutorial, well deconstruct the song and analyze how EQ,
dynamics, and other processors helped create the final mix.
As you listen, press the E key. This bypasses all ProChannel modules (and the VX-64 Vocal Strip plug-in on the
vocals), so you can hear how much difference the ProChannel modules make to the mix. (Yes, my voice really did sound
that bad originally!)
Click the transport Stop button. Close this project, and open the project Black Market Daydreams Tutorial.cwp.

fig 3

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POWER GUITAR (TRACK 4)

2

Well start with

something simple.

Loop part of the song containing the guitar is so its easy to

make adjustments. On the Timeline, click on the name VERSE
1 (not the arrow next to it located at measure 7). This selects
the region between this marker and the next one. Then click
Set Loop Points or press Shift+L. (see fig 5)

Click on Track 4s Solo

button to hear only the
rhythm guitar. (see fig 4)

fig 5

Set the Now time somewhere within the loop, and then click
the transport Play button. The guitar covers a wide range of
frequenciespotentially enough to interfere with the other instruments, so lets make it more focused.

The ProChannel shows the effects used for the guitar; click the
ProChannels global On/Off button to on (blue) and then click
on the EQs On/Off button to enable the ProChannels EQ. (see fig 6)

fig 6

fig 4

Double-click on the EQs header (where it says EQ and shows

the EQ power On/Off button). This zooms in on the EQ plot, flies
it out, and displays the Spectrum Analyzer in the background.
(see fig 7)

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Note how the sound is more focused, and

emphasizes the meat of the guitar sound. Click the
LP button toward the EQ displays lower right to
disable the lowpass filter; the sound gets buzzier
and more harsh. Re-enable it. (see fig 8)

Now click the HP button toward the EQ modules

lower left to disable the highpass filter. There are
more bass frequencies present you can see
them well in the spectrum analyzer which can
interfere with the bass and drums. We dont need
fig 7

those frequencies for the guitar to sit well in the

mix, so re-enable the HP filter.

Next, disable the Hi Mid filter by clicking on the

Hi Mid button just below the graph. Re-enable
the filter, and youll hear the guitar has a more focused sound that emphasizes its midrange.

Vary the green Hi Mid Freq control in the lower

row of controls. Note how you can shift this emphasis around; higher frequencies sound more
harsh, while lower frequencies tend to sound
boomy. Return this control to the initial setting,
around 966Hz.

10
11

Close the EQs flyout by clicking on the close (X)

button in the flyouts upper right.
Turn off the Solo button on the Power Guitar
channel, and also, mute the Gated Guitar (mixer
channel 3) to its left so you can hear Power Guitar better in the context of the mix. Now, switch
between turning the Power Guitars ProChannel
on and off. When the ProChannel is on, the guitar
sounds more focused, and comfortably occupies
the midrange part of the mix.

12

fig 8

Unmute the Gated Guitar channel, and now lets

work on the vocals. Keep the verse looping for now.

Tech Tip: The Gated Guitar sound is the result

of inserting a gate effect after an amp simulator,
then driving the gates sidechain input with the
output from a drum track. This causes the gate
to open and close in time with the drums.

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LEAD VOCAL
Because vocals tend to be the focus of a song, well work on those next.

Click on the Vox Lead channel strip. The

ProChannel now shows the modules for
the lead vocal. Solo the lead vocal. (see fig 9)

Tech Tip: You can expand or collapse

a ProChannel modules graphic
interface by clicking the double arrows
toward the right of the effects header.

Well start by adjusting EQ. Click on the ProChannels global On/Off button to turn it
on, then turn on the EQs power. Doubleclick on the EQs header to fly out the EQ plot.

fig 9

Tech Tip: You can fly out the EQ even when the
EQ is collapsed just double-click on the header.

dynamics, clockwise decreases the dynamic range.

Decreasing the dynamic range also decreases the level;
the Gain control compensates for this. A good setting
for this vocal is around 45 for Gain and 55 for Peak

Turn off the HP filter. This steep filter cuts low fre-

Reduction.

quencies like the plosives that happen with P and

B sounds. Re-enable it, and turn off the Hi Mid and
High bands by clicking on their buttons all the

intelligibility (and life) goes out of the vocals.

to enable it, and the voice is now doubled and has

echo. (see fig 10)

a little more snap to the vocals in the upper midrange.

Now well work on dynamics.

Turn on the PC2A Leveler modules power. Vary the

much difference these processors make to the vocals,

VX-64 button in the Vox Leads channel strip FX bin

a big improvement, but now enable Hi Mid to give

then close the fly-out and collapse the EQ module.

Turning the ProChannel on and off shows just how

but were going to add one more effect. Click on the

The High band is set for a shelf; re-enable it. This is

Disable and re-enable the EQ to hear the difference,

fig 10

To see the VX-64 settings, double-click on the name

VX-64 Vocal Strip. This is a sophisticated processor,
but all were using are the doubler and delay functions.
Close out the VX-64 effect interface.

Peak Reduction control; counterclockwise gives more

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HARMONY VOCALS
Now lets work on the harmonies.

Tech Tip: You can also navigate to markers by

typing Ctrl+Shift+PageDown (downstream)
to go to the next marker, or Ctrl+Shift+PageUp
(upstream) to go to the previous marker.

Stop the transport, then move along the timeline to

the marker that says Chorus 2 (at measure 75). Click
on the name Chorus 2 then click Shift+L to loop
the second chorus. Place the Now time somewhere
within this loop.

With the Vox Lead still soloed, also solo the Vox Harmony channel strip and start playback, so we can
hear the lead and harmony together. Click the Vox
Harmony channel strip to give it the focus. Enable
the EQ and ProChannel power, and expand the EQ
graphic interface by clicking on the double arrows to
the EQ headers right. The EQ setting is similar to the
lead, but with more emphasis in the upper midrange
so the level can be lower, but the vocals are still
intelligible. Now lets add some compression.

Right-click on a blank space in the ProChannel, then

choose Insert Module > PC2A Leveler. The default
position for an inserted module is at the bottom
of the ProChannel, but you can click the modules
header and drag to re-position a module in the
signal chain. Collapse the Console Emulator, then drag
the PC2A above the EQwe want to compress first,
then EQ. (see fig 11)

fig 11

Tech Tip: The question Should I EQ before or after compressor? has no universal answer.
EQ has more of an effect when it follows the compressor, but sometimes its appropriate to
place the compressor after EQ to even out any excessive peaks caused by the EQ.
t

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fig 12

Tech Tip: If multiple solo buttons are on, the easiest way to turn them off is by clicking on
the green global solo button in the Control Bar (if its gray, no solo buttons are enabled).

4
5

As luck would have it, the PC2As default settings work

fine. Now lets add some reverb. Right-click in a blank

has the focus. This channel uses very similar EQ and

compressor settings to the other vocals, but with a

it between the EQ and Console Emulator.

bit more of a high-end boost and less peak reduction,

therefore the gain is lower. Enable the ProChannel

Again, the default seems pretty good, but the

power On/Off button and enable the VX-64 for this

reverb effect seems a little long. Click on the Time

channel, and now the vocals are done. Start playback

control, and choose around 1.00 second. Set about

to hear the vocals for the bridge.

the reverb.

Solo the Vox Bridge+FX channel, and click on it so it

space and choose Insert Module > BREVERB 2. Drag

26% for Sizethese two changes tighten up

For a reality check, turn off solo for the vocals,

press L to turn off the loop, return to the beginning,

Finally, enable the VX-64 vocal processor for the Vox

and listen to some of the song. Its sounding

Harmony channel, and the harmonies are done. Stop

better already, but were definitely not done yet.

the transport.

Stop playback.

Click on the Bridge marker name at measure 92,

then press Shift-L. Place the Now time within
this loop.

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DRUMS
Drums are a crucial element to drive a song, so lets do them next.

1
2

Loop Chorus 2, which starts at measure 75, then solo

the drums. Start playback. Theyre not too bad, but

hint of tube saturation. Right-click in a blank space in

could use some EQ. Click on the Drums channel strip

the ProChannel, and choose Insert Module > Tube

to give it the focus.

Saturation. Click and drag it above the EQ.

Turn on power for the Drums ProChannel module

and the ProChannel EQ. Were using all four channels;

you can hear the difference when you toggle the

individual bands on and off. Heres what they do:
Low band. The approximate 3dB boost around

A little bit goes a long way: set Drive and Output up

halfway, then set Input to +3dB. The drums definitely
have more punch.

Toggle the ProChannel power to hear how the EQ

and distortion affect the sound, then un-solo the

60Hz, with a fairly narrow spike, gives a bit of

drums to hear how they now drive the track more

a push to the very lowest kick frequencies.

forcefully. Stop playback, but keep the Chorus 2

If nothing else, it will make the people with

section selected for looping.

subwoofers happy.

Lo Mid: The -3dB drop takes away a bit of the

tubbiness and tightens up the sound.

Hi Mid: The snare in this part has cool ring,

so this boosts the frequency where this ringing

occurs to make it more prominent.

High: This adds just a little bit of high-end boost

Lets make the drums pop a bit more by adding a

to bring out the hi-hats and cymbals.

Tech Tip: Putting distortion on drums

isnt normal, but in this case, it definitely
makes the drums punch. Again, this
proves the old adage in recording that
the only rule is that there are no rules.

Turn the EQ on and off, and youll hear the cumulative

effect of these changes.

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BASS
Bass is always tricky, because the frequencies are low enough that you cant
always be sure the system playing back a song will be able to reproduce the sound
properly. The bass range is also where rooms have an uneven response. As a
result, bass parts are often compressed, with the highs boosted somewhat to
emphasize the pitch (this helps if you cant hear the really low notes all that well).

Start playback, and solo the bass channel. Click the

Turn the ProChannel and Compressor power on.

set the Saturation knob up about halfway. It sounds

Youll notice a level drop, because the compressor is

pretty buzzy, but turn solo off for the Bass and youll

reducing the peaks to restrict the dynamic range.

hear that it fits well in the track now. The EQ also has

Bass channel to give it the focus.

The Saturation Knob power should already be

on (modules default to power on when inserted).
Choose the Keep Low setting for the switch, and

Turn up the Compressor Input control to halfway

(around 10dB). This increases the level going into the
compressor, forcing it to work harder to compress

more of an effect with the Saturation Knob in play.

Stop playback.

the signal. This helps even out the overall level. Look
at the channel meter with and without the compressor enabled, and youll see the level stays more constant with compression.

Enable the EQ. Note how the midrange EQ brings out

a bit of the basss growl and gives more of a sense
of pitch. But lets give it some more growl...

To add another module, right-click as we did to insert

the compressor and reverb on the harmony vocals.
But another option is to click on the + sign in the
ProChannels header. Either way, select the Saturation Knob module. Drag it between the Compressor
and EQ. If the EQ isnt hidden, youll need to collapse
the Console Emulator to do this. (see fig 13)
fig 13

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11

ACOUSTIC GUITARS

fig 14

The Acoustic Guitars first appear in the bridge to add some variety, and
continue to the end. This example will show how notching response can
be a powerful technique to avoid overlapping with other instruments.

Loop the bridge section (starting at measure 92) to

play with the acoustics and set the Now time within

this loop. Start playback, solo the Vox Bridge+FX track

as it plays, give it the focus, and fly out its ProChannel.
Yes, you thought we were going to EQ the acoustic
guitars, but be patient.

Solo either Acoustic Guitar channel and give it the

focus, then turn on the ProChannel and EQ power
buttons. Fly out the EQ.

Turn off the Low, Lo Mid, Hi Mid, and High buttons to

take out the effect of any EQ. Observe the Spectrum
Analyzer. (see fig 14)

Look at the Spectrum Analyzer. The bulk of the vocal

energy happens in the 200Hz 1kHz range, with
significant peaks in the 500Hz area. Put that thought
on hold for a second, then close the fly-out. Turn off
solo for the Vox Bridge.

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12

Note that theres a lot of energy in the same 200Hz

to 1kHz range of the voice, as well as additional
energy above and below the range of the voice.

Now re-enable the four band parametric EQ. The

strategy here is to dip the response in the same
region as the voice so the guitars dont mask it,
while boosting the ranges above and below the
voice so the guitars can be prominent in their own
part of the frequency spectrum.

Now it gets really interesting. Solo the Vox Bridge

vocal channel and the two Acoustic Guitar channels.
Make sure the ProChannels and EQs for both
Acoustic Guitars are enabled.

Turn off the ProChannel EQs for the Acoustic Guitar

tracks, and youll hear that both the guitars and the
vocal lose clarity. If you turn the Acoustic Guitars EQ
back on, the vocal will seem loudereven though
nothing changed in the vocal channeland the
guitars will also seem clearer and more defined.

Youll hear an even more dramatic difference if

you pan the acoustic guitars to center and toggle
between the ProChannel on and off settings for
the two channels. Remember, the vocal doesnt
get louder when you turn off the Acoustic Guitar
EQs its just not being covered by the guitars.

10

After checking, turn the pan pots back to where

fig 15

they were (Acoustic Guitar 1 mostly left, Acoustic

Guitar 2 mostly right).

11

Stop the transport, and turn off all the Solo buttons
with the Global Solo on/off button.

Tech Tip: You can toggle a ProChannels

global on/off control in the Console view
as well as in the ProChannel itself the
button is just above the ProChannel EQ
graphic, and to the right. (fig 15)

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13

CHOIR
Heres another example of using EQ to carve out a parts own sonic space.

Click on the Chorus 2 marker name (starts at measure

75) and type Shift+L to loop the chorus. Place the

Now unsolo the Choir to hear it in context. Stop

playback before proceeding.

Now time within the loop.

Tech Tip: Note the automated fade

movement for the Choir track. This adds
some dynamics and variety to the other
static sampled sound. The Acoustic Guitars
get the same kind of treatment in the bridge.

Start playback, solo the Choir (in channel 10), and

give it the focus. The part is mixed fairly low, so you
may to turn up the monitors a bit when its soloed.

Enable the Choir ProChannel and EQ power. The EQ

is set with a low shelf that reduces the frequency
response below 2kHz. This emphasizes the Choir
frequencies above 2kHz, giving a high, ethereal
timbre that floats above the track. Also, Gloss is
enabled on the EQ to give a little extra high-frequency
air. Its very subtle, but does make a difference.

LEAD GUITAR
1
2

Click on the Guitar Solo marker name (starting at

measure 124), then press Shift+L to loop the solo.

Set the slope to 48dB/octave, the steepest slope

possible. Now vary the HP Frequency control (to

Solo the Lead Guitar track, give it the focus, place the

the left of the slope) to find a setting that leaves the

Now time within the current loop, and start playback.

notes intact, but gets rid of the crud. 150Hz seems

about right.

Youll hear that the Guitar Solo has a lot of lowfrequency crud which not only detracts from the solo,
but will also overlap with a lot of the instruments. We

Turn off the Lead Guitar channels Solo button.

need to get rid of it.

Turn on the EQ and ProChannel, then turn on the HP

button to enable the lowpass filter.

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14

WHATS THE DEAL WITH

THE CONSOLE EMULATOR?

As you may have noticed, the whole time youve been

doing this mix, the Console Emulator modules have been
enabled. After all, to simulate the effect of mixing through
some vintage consoles, the vintage consoles should be
enabled. Now lets hear what it sounds like if you take the
Console Emulator out of the signal path.
The easiest way to do this is to use a unique Cakewalk
feature called Quick Grouping. Heres how it works.
If you vary a control on a console channel while holding
down Ctrl, youll change that same setting on all console
channels. As one example of how this is useful, you can
use this feature to turn all the Console Emulators on and
off simultaneously. Heres how.

Start playback if the project isnt already playing

back. While holding down the Ctrl key, click the
Show/Hide ProChannel button on any track.
(see fig 16)

Pretty cool: All the ProChannels fly out for all

the tracks.

Tech Tip: There are three different console

emulations. The S type is the most subtle,
the A type is the most noticeable, and the
N type lies somewhere in between.
fig 16

Tech Tip: If the Inspector configuration

changes to show the track and Master
fader, you can always get the ProChannel
view back by clicking the Inspectors
ProChannel tab.

Hold the Ctrl key, and click any channels Console

Emulator power On/Off button. Turning it off will
turn off the Console Emulator power buttons for
all Console channels.

The difference with the Console Emulator turned

on or off is quite subtle as it should be. You
should notice a little bit more clarity in the highs,
and possibly a slighter fatter low end from the
result of emulating the input transformer found in
many vintage consoles. But if you want a more
obvious effect...

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15

Make sure all the Console Emulators are on. While holding down
the Ctrl key, vary a Console Emulators Drive control. All of
them should move together. Youll definitely hear a difference
if you turn them all the way up or down. To return all the
Drive controls to their mid-position, double-click on one
of the Drive controls while continuing to hold Ctrl down.

Tech Tip: In most cases, double-clicking on a control

returns it to its default position.

For an even more pronounced effect, while holding down the Ctrl
key, turn up the Trim controls. Again, you can return them to their
default center positions by double-clicking on one of the Trim controls
while holding down Ctrl.

Lets tidy up the Console view. While still holding the Ctrl key,
click the Show/Hide ProChannel button again, and all the
ProChannels will collapse back into the Console channels.
Stop playback.

COMPRESSING THE MASTER BUS

Our mix is done, but the current musical fashion is to add some compression or limiting to the final mix to make it louder and pop a bit more.
Usually, a mastering engineer applies this kind of overall processing; the
musician supplies a mix that represents the best possible balance and
sound for the existing tracks, but doesnt add any overall processing to
the final mix.
However, Sonar can do basic mastering, which may be all you need if
youre posting a song on YouTube, or burning some CDs for your loyal fan
base. Although mastering is a complex topic thats beyond the scope of
this tutorial, the main elements used in mastering are EQ and dynamics
processing, which the ProChannel can provide.

fig 17

Press 2 or click on Screenset 2. Click the Master bus to give it

the focus, and click the ProCh tab on the Inspector if needed.
Youll see the PC4K Bus Compressor, QuadCurve EQ, and a
collapsed Console Emulator module. (see fig 17)

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16

Tech Tip: SONAR defaults to using the PC76 compressor on tracks and the PC4K on buses. However,
you can use the PC4K on individual tracks, or the PC76
on buses. The main difference is that the PC4k has a
somewhat gentler action that works well with complex
sounds like a complete mix, whereas the PC76 is a bit
more aggressive, making it well suited to individual
tracks. For both types, remember that compressor
controls interact adjusting one control will often
require adjusting another control to compensate.

Loop a section of the song (like a verse), place the Now time
within the loop, start playback, and then enable the compressor.
The default compressor setting totally squashes the song, so lets
tweak this further.

fig 18

Tech Tip: Right-click on the master

bus meter, and choose 24dB for
the range. This will make it easier to
see the upper part of the outputs
dynamic range. The numbers under
the meter indicate the highest peak
level; double-click to reset. (fig 18)

Vary the Threshold control. Signals lower than the threshold are
compressed, so turning the Threshold control clockwise sets
a higher threshold, and therefore causes less compression.
Conversely, turning the control counterclockwise lowers the
threshold, which compresses the signal more.

Note the compressors Gain Reduction meter. Adjust the Threshold control until the meter hits a little under 4dB on peaks; this is
a fairly conservative setting. The Threshold will be around -16dB.

Tech Tip: Theres an alternate meter look. Click

on the meters adjustment screw and drag up;
the meter background will turn blue.

Toggle the compressor power button. When the compressor

is enabled, the output is lower. The MakeUp gain control
compensates for this. Turn it up (to around 2.5dB or so) until the
peak readings on the master bus meter are about the same. The
difference will be subtle, but the compressor will glue the mix
together a bit more.

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17

If you want a more extreme sound, you have several options.

Adjust the MakeUp gain as appropriate to maintain the same
peak level compared to when the compressor is bypassed:
Lower the threshold
Increase the Ratio setting
Set the Attack to 0. This clamps down on peaks, so you can

turn the Makeup gain a little higher.

The Dry/Wet control adds more flexibility. It lets you crossfade

between the compressed and dry sound. So if you want, you can
have extreme amounts of compression while introducing some
dry sound to maintain some dynamics.

Now lets add a bit more brightness. Enable the QuadCurve EQ,
set the high frequency band to Shelf, Q to 1.3, Gain between 0.5
and 1.0 depending on how bright you want the sound to be, and
Frequency to around 2300Hz. Now your ProChannel strip will
look something like this. (see fig 19)

Toggle the Master bus ProChannels power to hear the difference.

Again, its worth stressing this isnt exactly mastering, but it will
give your mix a little more presence.

fig 19

10

Click on a console channel to give the main part of the console

the focus. Now, press E to bypass all the effects.
Weve come a long way!

WRAPPING UP
SONAR is a very sophisticated program, and what weve done only scratches the surface. There are many additional tools, shortcuts, and other pro
features that allow tailoring a mix to your exact specifications. We havent
even touched MIDI, virtual instruments, the Matrix view, the Track View,
Loop Construction, video, timing repair, and many other SONAR features.
Feel free to use this mix as a springboard to further experimentation, play
around with the levels if you like, and above all, have fun.

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18

AVAILABLE MODULES
The trial version doesnt include all ProChannel modules. SONAR X3
Producer includes a toolbox of eight ProChannel modules. The trial
version has all of them except the Tape Emulator.
BREVERB 2 is a reverb with hall, plate, room, and

parametric bands can also switch to a shelf

inverse algorithms, along with eight controls for

response, there are highpass and lowpass filters

shaping the sound.

(slopes range from 6 to 48dB/octave), and a Gloss

switch can add high-frequency air to a sound. Editing

is done with knobs or a graphic interface that shows

the EQ plot, or with Producers fly out view

for a zoomed image with spectrum analysis in

the background.

Tape Emulator re-creates the saturation effects

associated with analog tape, and offers two different

virtual tape speeds as well as tape bias adjustment.

Console Emulator emulates three different classic

console types. While a very subtle effect, when added

to all channels, the results become cumulative and

add detail to mixes.

Softube Saturation Knob offers three distortion

characteristics with variable distortion amount.

PC4K Expander/Gate adds another dynamics

control option. The sidechain input allows this

module to respond to control signals from

other tracks.

PC76 U-Type Compressor emulates a vintage

QuadCurve EQ is a four-band parametric EQ with

compressor and while optimized for individual

four different EQ characters, from digital surgical to

channels, it can also sound good on buses.

more vintage analog responses. The low and high

SONAR X3 Studio includes the Softube Saturation Knob and QuadCurve

EQ (without the zoom view).

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There are also optional ProChannel

modules for those with specific
needs. Youve already had a chance
to check out a trial version of the
PC2A. These modules include:
Concrete Limiter provides limiting for dynamics control,

and is ideal for individual tracks.

Overloud offers eight ProChannel modules, available

individually or as a suite. These are more traditional
single function effects and include chorus, delay,
overdrive, amp, compressor, phaser, preamp/stereo
tremolo, and wah.
Softube also offers ProChannel modules as part
of their Mix Bundle. Included modules are the
TSAR-1R Reverb, Passive Equalizer (based on a famous
German three-band passive console equalizer from
the 60s), Active Equalizer (a modern design based on

PC2A Leveler emulates an optical compressor and

Swiss hardware from the 70s), Focusing Equalizer (a

is well-suited for vocals, bass, and many other

non-traditional type of equalizer designed to focus

instruments. Its gentle response and tight control

on specific frequency ranges), and FET Compressor

recreate the sound of the original hardware unit

(with sidechain).

with a high degree of accuracy. When you purchase

the CA-2A compressor, it includes the PC2A

ProChannel module and also a VST version for use

with other audio recording and editing programs.

PC4K Expander/Gate adds another dynamics control

Finally, its possible to create Effects Chains of VST

and/or DirectX effects, and load them as ProChannel
modules so basically, anything can be a ProChannel
effect. Overall, the ProChannel is a very flexible and
useful solution, especially for the mixing process.

option. The sidechain input allows this module to

respond to control signals from other tracks.

PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor models a different

classic compressor known for its ability to level

a sound.

Author, musician, and Executive Vice President at Gibson, Craig Anderton has played on, mixed,
or produced over 20 major-label releases, authored dozens of books, and lectured on technology
and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages. Check out his latest music videos at
youtube.com/thecraiganderton.

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