Using Cyclone

Cyclone is a multi-output synth, and you launch it the same way you launch other synth’s: by inserting it into a SONAR project. There are two basic ways to insert synths in SONAR:

You can insert synths from the Synth Rack view or with the Insert > Soft Synths command. If you use this method, you can choose to have SONAR create the necessary audio and MIDI tracks, and patch them together correctly. If you want to use multiple audio tracks to take advantage of SONAR’s multi-output support, you need to create and patch additional MIDI tracks manually to feed the additional audio tracks.

You can insert synths into effects bins of individual audio tracks. If you use this method, you need to set a MIDI track’s Output field to the name of the synth you inserted. Then you can record MIDI data in the MIDI track to play the synth with. This method does not allow you to use multiple outputs.

For step by step instructions, see Inserting soft synths, Multi-port soft synths, and Converting your soft synth tracks to audio.

 

See:

Inserting soft synths

Using the Synth Rack Browser

Multi-port soft synths

Playing a soft synth

Converting your soft synth tracks to audio

Muting and soloing soft synth tracks

To remove a soft synth from a track or bus

 

Note: This documentation refers to any audio data that you can import into Cyclone as loops, referring to ACIDized loops and standard Wave files.

To load loops into Cyclone

Click the folder icon that’s on the Loop bin to display the Open dialog box. Select a loop and click Open. Cyclone loads the loop into the Loop bin.

OR

Click a folder icon that’s on a particular Pad that you want to load a loop into. When the Open dialog box appears, select a loop and click Open. Cyclone loads the loop into both the Pad where you clicked the folder icon and the Loop bin.

OR

Drag a loop into Cyclone from SONAR‘s Clips pane or Media Browser view.

Note: ACIDized and Riff Wave files imported into Cyclone can not be more than 64 beats long. Regular wave files are limited to 30 seconds. Cyclone does not support 8-bit files.

To audition loops

Select a loop in the Loop bin, and then click Cyclone’s Play button.

To play loops

1.	Assign a loop to a pad or pads (see To assign a loop to a pad).

2.	Select the pad or pads you want to play by clicking on them.

3.	Click the Preview button to play the selected pads.

If the Loop button for that pad is depressed the loop plays indefinitely; you can stop it by clicking the Pad again.

If the Loop button is not depressed, the loop stops when it reaches the end of its original length. You can stop it before then by clicking the Pad.

You can also trigger the Pads with a MIDI controller, or with recorded MIDI data.

To play a loop in Latch mode

1.	Assign a loop to a Pad (see To assign a loop to a pad).

2.	In the Pad Editor, select the track you want to loop in Latch mode.

3.	In the Pad Inspector, click the Latch control to enable it. The Latch control indicator appears green when enabled.

4.	Click the mouse on the pad to start the loop playing.

5.	Click the mouse on the pad again to stop playing.

The loop stops playing as soon as you release the mouse button.

To assign a loop to a pad

Drag a loop from the Loop bin to a Pad.

OR

Click a folder icon that’s on a particular Pad that you want to load a loop into. When the Open dialog box appears, select a loop and click Open. Cyclone loads the loop into both the Pad where you clicked the folder icon and the Loop bin.

OR

Drag a loop onto a Pad from SONAR‘s Clips pane or Media Browser view.

You can assign one loop per Pad.

To synchronize a loop to SONAR’s tempo

Click the Sync button that’s on the Pad that the loop is assigned to. The Sync button lights up when it’s engaged.

To set a Loop to Follow SONAR pitch markers

1.	In the Pad Editor, select the track you want to follow pitch markers.

2.	In the Pad Inspector, click the Pitch Markers control. The Pitch Markers control appears green when enabled.

To assign MIDI keys to a pad

1.	Click the Pad that you want to trigger.

2.	Click the Keyboard button in the Loop view to display the Key Map view.

The blue keys between the Pitch Range markers show what MIDI keys trigger the Pad. The yellow key is the Root Note, which triggers the loop at its original pitch.

3.	Drag the edge of the Pitch Range (the blue keys within the white triangle markers) to change the range of notes that trigger the loop. If the loop’s pitch changing function is turned on, each MIDI key in the trigger range transposes the loop by the trigger note’s distance from the Root Note.

4.	Drag the yellow key to change the Root Note. The Root Note does not have to be in the trigger range.

5.	In the MIDI Chn field, choose the MIDI channel that the MIDI notes will use to trigger this pad with.

You can assign the same key ranges to all the Pads if you want. You can assign different velocity ranges to each pad, also.

To assign a velocity range to a pad

1.	Click the Pad that you want to assign a velocity range to.

2.	Click the Keyboard button in the Loop view to display the Key Map view.

3.	In the Velocity Low field, fill in the lowest velocity that you want to trigger the Pad with.

4.	In the Velocity High field, fill in the highest velocity that you want to trigger the Pad with.

Now the Pad only plays its loop when the Pad receives a MIDI note within its velocity range.

To play a pad with recorded MIDI data

1.	Record some MIDI data into a SONAR MIDI track.

2.	In the MIDI track’s Output field, choose Cyclone. Cyclone must have been already inserted into the project in order for it to appear as a choice in the Output field.

3.	In the MIDI track’s Ch field, choose the number of the Cyclone Pad that you want to trigger with this MIDI track.

 

See:

Controlling individual pads—volume, pan, mute, solo, sync, looping, and content

Mixing down Cyclone

Loop editing

Keyboard shortcuts in Cyclone