Cakewalk joint project show cool gear for guitarist / singers who want to create their own demos

Cakewalk Roland V-Studio 20

Cakewalk Sonar is great digital audio recording software but a complete setup can be complex and expensive. The merger with Roland has produced a single box that allows a guitarist. The V-Studio 20 is the third in the series that includes the VS-700and VS-100

The V-Studio 20  is part guitar modeler and part recording control surface.  It mates COSM technology and BOSS guitar effects. Plug in a mic and you have a recording surface.

The unit can work on its own or connected to a computer or laptop. The computer screen allows the modeling software to be seen in full screen view.

The specs show 24 bit processing, 44.1 kHz, 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+0/-3 dB), 90 dBu or less residual noise (not real quiet but this is a compact box). They don’t give headroom so that’s hard to tell but if you are recording bass and electric guitar it should be able to handle anything.

The software is called Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Software which they say was “designed for guitarists and singer-songwriters. The bundled Guitar Tracks recording software provides powerful, streamlined recording, editing, mixing, finalizing, and sharing of music.”

Key features included – “record and playback up to 32 tracks of audio, arrange, edit, and mix your song, suite of 11 effects, Roland TTS-1 synthesizer, and 1 GB of loops, songs, and backing tracks.”

Pricing is unknown but I’ll guess it’s less than the VS-100 at $599 and more than $199. Delivery is May 2010.

From Cakewalk’s site
“The VS-20 hardware combines a stereo audio interface, control surface, and built-in stereo mics.

Get amazing guitar tones with a Hi-Z input and on-board BOSS-powered, COSM DSP effects for amp simulation and 4 virtual pedal modules (Compression, Overdrive/Distortion, Chorus/Mod, Delay) including 36 genuine BOSS effects and 50 presets.

Record vocals with a phantom powered XLR input and get a great sound with built-in latency free COSM DSP for harmony, real-time pitch correction, reverb, compression, and more.

Hardware and software share a similar user-interface and feature controls that make it easy for anyone to record their music.

Compact design and USB-bus power make the V-Studio 20 perfect for mobile recording with a laptop or Netbook.

The following release videos give you some idea of how it works.

Introducing: V-Studio 20 for Guitarists & Singer-Songwriters
Uploaded by CakewalkInc. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Artist Impression: Charlie O’Neal on V-Studio 20
Uploaded by CakewalkInc. – See the latest featured music videos.

Charlie O’Neal of The Delta Generators is considered one of the best guitarists in Boston. In just a short period of time, the band has achieved a tremendous following and considerable success. They won the 2009 Boston Blues Challenge, placed in the finals at the 2009 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN., and won Best Blues Album in the 2009 Independent Music Awards. We were very excited to have him visit the Cakewalk offices to take the V-Studio 20 for a test drive.

Artist Impression: Brian Hardgroove on V-Studio 20
Uploaded by CakewalkInc. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

As bassist/bandleader of the legendary rap group Public Enemy, Brian Hardgroove travels the world in search of new and exciting artistic ventures. Producing records for two of the biggest punk bands in China (Demerit and Brain Failure), is just a few of Hardgroove’s recent international music endeavors. He’s also signed on as production supervisor and bassist for the James Brown Tribute tour. Anchored by funk-rock superstar Bootsy Collins, the tour promises to be the beginning of a “funk-tastic” annual tour extravaganza.

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