Cakewalk will release SONAR 5 in October. I’m still struggling through all the reviews and information on version 4 of SONAR (or, as I like to call it, Sonar). Sonar 5 includes new instruments and effects, the now ubiquitous convolution reverb, a more unified graphical interface, video output improvements and, of course, more. With Sonar 5, Cakewalk say you can record and edit unlimited tracks of audio and MIDI using effects on input including the new Pure Space Convolution Reverb, Sonitus:fx Suite, and more — 31 audio and 8 MIDI effects in all.

From the website, here’s an overview of the rest of the main features:

• Includes 8 responsive virtual instruments: two synths with genuine Roland sounds; vintage analog synths; REX, SoundFont, and groove samplers; and more
• Recall every element of a sound: mix, effect, and instrument settings with one click using Track Templates
• Loop record live audio and MIDI to track layers, then use enhanced comping tools to assemble the perfect take
• Create backing tracks and remixes fast using MIDI groove clips and ACID-format loops with per slice control of pitch, gain, and pan
• Expand your sounds and effects with native support for VST and DirectX plug-ins, and ReWire clients like Project5 and Reason
• Use any Windows-compatible WDM or ASIO audio interface (including Pro Tools HD or M-Box), integrate hardware-based MIDI devices and control surfaces from Roland, Tascam, Mackie, and others

They also promise Flexible Samplers, Huge Analog Synths, Roland Instruments and Loop Construction functions. For all you Sonar 4 users, here’s their list of new features in Sonar 5.

• PSYN II subtractive synth, Pentagon I vintage analog synth, Roland GrooveSynth, SFZ SoundFont sampler, RXP REX Player groove box
• Additional instruments include TTS-1, Cyclone, and DreamStation
• Pure Space Convolution Reverb
• Additional effects include Lexicon Pantheon Reverb, Sonitus:fx Suite (10 effects), many more
• Updated MIDI FX plug-ins
• Integrated inline audio and MIDI editing, arranging, and mixing all in one view
• Envelope automation drawing enhanced with tempo-sync patterns, freehand, more
• Object-oriented clip-based effects and editing including per-clip effects bin, clip-based effect automation, and more
• BitBridge enables 32-bit VST effects and instruments in SONAR’s 64-bit environment
• Remove DC offset during recording
• Advanced step recording
• Video output to 1394 FireWire devices for high quality viewing with lower CPU and disk usage

Buy SONAR at SameDayMusic.com