Offer extended to September 8th in Canada for only $2,500 a $1,500 saving

Cakewalk Sonar V-Studio 700

Update  September 1, 2010 – Roland extends the offer to September 8th

The joke  “Only in Canada you say” seems to be true in this under-promoted special from Roland Canada on their flag-ship digital recording workstation (DAW).

This limited quantity special is available only from some Long and McQuade stores and Axe Music, although Axe didn’t confirm it yet. Ron Huestis, a fellow Islander in Halifax and DAW salesman for Long and McQuade, has the V-Studio at home and says it smokes the competition.

The Cakewalk V-Studio 700 Music Production System combines Sonar 8.5 Professional with an integrated mixing deck, I/O and Fantom VS midi synthesizer. All of those products can be purchased separately but the beauty of the V-Studio 700 is you can get an out-of-the-box experience without the hassles of connecting gear from different companies.

For people who struggle with the complexity of home recording, the V-Studio solution is very appealing. Getting Sonar 8.5 Producer running requires hundreds of complex hardware and software integration decisions. Some people like to play with gear and that includes me but I get tired of the hour setup of the Lynx Aurora to Sonar on the computer to midi connections and the Mackie control surface. 

What you get with the V-Studio 700 in the box is: Sonar 8.5 Producer, VS-700C V-Studio Console and control surface, VS-700R V-Studio 18/24 I/O audio interface with Roland Fantom VS hardware synthesizer.  You will need a computer, monitor, near field monitors, headphones, desk and chair to get started. A good midi keyboard is recommended if you really want to dig into the power of Sonar.

Is the V-Studio being replaced and will this be last year’s model? I can’t find any reference to that but if you have one let us know.  If Roland was going to upgrade or replace this product, they would probably announce it next winter at the annual NAMM show.

Users Reviews – updated

Ron Huestis, a DAW specialist and enthusiast who is familiar Sonar, Cubase and ProTools HD, says the V-Studio bundle “smokes the competition.”

“I took it (the V-Studio 700) home to bench test it and it smoked the MOTU 896M3 and Focusrite Liquid Sapphire Pro 56,” said Ron in a phone interview. “It blew them both away on preamps and converters. Admittedly I am used to Sonar but that said I had the V-Studio running ten minutes out of the box.”

“The control surface is a no-brainer decision at that price. The VS Fantom synths are very good but there are others you can use as well.”

“Two things Roland might improve are more than 4 bands of EQ on the on control surface. Need more you have to grab the mouse. There is no DSP monitor which you get on Protools HD. No matter how hard you try there is latency when the monitor EQ or reverb effects are software not hardware. Those are wish list items for Roland.”

The V-Studio 700 has been reviewed in Sound on Sound, e-Musician, and MixOnline among other sites.  At full price it’s not cheap for someone who is already invested in other pieces of equipment. For someone upgrading all it once this bundle is a no-brainer.  The Sonar users forum gives the V-Studio high marks. For more product information see Cakewalk.

An interesting question for Roland is resale. The Sonar Producer license is not re-sellable or transferable. What happens when the license is bundled with hardware? We asked Cakewalk and will pass their answer on when we receive it.