Recording

New chromatic tuner

After setting levels and sound card routing options, you arm a track to record by clicking the R button to the left of the desired track(s), which turns red when enabled. Then you hit the Record button at the top center of the interface. Recording starts immediately. A metronome can be applied for recording only, or for both recording and playback. You can choose the metronome's tempo and source, such as a high hat or cowbell. Also, a chromatic tuner is a handy new addition in Version 3. When you're done recording, hit the spacebar to stop the program. By default, waveforms are drawn as tracks are being recorded in the Edit View, but this function can be disabled to conserve processor power.

Editing
There's a nice complement of tools for cutting, pasting, adjusting tempo, splitting, nudging, bouncing, fading, zooming, etc., etc. Not surprisingly, they are applied from the Edit View. Many of the editing functions are accessible by right-clicking a highlighted file, while others are selected from drop-down menus at the top. SONAR users will feel right at home, and others will pick up the workflow quickly.

Edit View

Applying Effects
Cakewalk says GTP3 lets you mix and record using "up to 32" simultaneous real-time effects, but I never tried that many. I did get up to a dozen, though, with no apparent performance lags. To apply effects, you can either right-click on a waveform in the Edit View, or go to the Mix View. Each channel strip in the Mix View console includes a light-blue effects pane, where you right-click and select an effect from the drop down menu. You can use GTP3's included effects, and also add third-party DX or VST format plug-ins. Guitar Tracks Pro 3 is now compatible with VST plug-ins, thanks to a new VST wrapper that installs automatically with the program. The major effects packages included, Amplitube LE and GT:FX, are detailed below:

Amplitube LE
This special edition of the commercial guitar processing plug-in provides nine amp combinations from mixed and matched amp heads, cabinet models and other elements of three modeled classic guitar amps. The three amp models are Clean, Crunch and Lead. The cabinet models include Open back 1x12”, British 2x12” and Vintage closed 4x12”. There are also three stomp effects models: Wah-Wah, Delay and Overdrive, and a Spring reverb. There are 34 Default presets included, ranging from to AC Clean1 to Warm Lead -- and you can save your own presets. A MIDI foot controller can be used to change up to 128 presets.

Amplitube LE interface

Some of the presets are quite good, but just as with a real amp, you need to roll up your sleeves and start turning knobs to really get the sound you're looking for. Often a good way to start is to select a preset and customize it to your needs. There's plenty of flexibility, and some wonderful guitar tones can be wrung out of it, from straight-ahead to bizarre. Just for fun, I stacked seven Amplitube LE presets on a clean drum loop, turning it into an eerie percussion effect that sounded like sleigh bells being jingled in time. I also recorded a synth bass track and applied one of Amplitube's bass presets, for an interesting approximation of a synth going through a VST bass amp.

GT:FX
This package includes six virtual "boxes with knobs," and they can create some truly sick sounds -- or usable ones, depending on your mood. The six effects boxes have pretty self-evident names: Phaze, Squeeze, Verb, Modulate, Echo and Q. Among them are some high quality effects. I was particularly surprised by the Sonitus:fx engineered Verb, which can produce deep and gentle acoustic spaces. And Q is a powerful EQ tool that can bring an instrument right out of the mix into your face by dialing in particular frequencies. 

Verb interface

Mixing and Automation
Guitar Tracks Pro 3 includes a complete toolset for mixing in the box. The Mix View's console layout provides an easy way to manipulate the audio and build a mix. The virtual faders slide smoothly and seem to give accurate meter readings. For those who dislike mixing with a mouse, however, another new feature in GTP3 is Control Surface compatibility. A Learn Mode in the software is designed for configuring any MIDI device to act as a control surface, and Cakewalk says any MIDI-compatible Tascam, Roland or Mackie control surface, mixer, or foot pedal can be used to control GTP3.

Channel Strips in the Mix View

One of the best mixing features is the newly added Automation. Applying automation to a track is simple. Right-click on the desired parameter -- such as a fader -- choose Arm for Automation, click the Record Automation button at the top, and play the mix while performing the move you'd like to automate. When you're done, hit the spacebar and listen back. If you like the result, right-click the control and deselect Arm for Automation from the menu. It couldn't be much easier, and it works like a charm. It's not only a huge time-saver, but it allow you to create interesting mix effects with multiple pans, effects that come and go, and faders that rise and fall for sweeping chord beds or for playing only certain passages in a track. Automation can also be used to group controls, so that automating one control automates all the controls in the group.

When it's time to save and export your file, GTP3 gives you the following options: Broadcast Wave, Riff Wave (.WAV), MP3, Windows Media Advanced Streaming (.WMA), RealAudio (.RA). The MP3 encoder is actually a 30-day trial version -- you can purchase and download a version with unrestricted usage at Cakewalk's web site for $29 U.S. For those who work on both PCs and Macs, or collaborate with Mac users, it would be nice if the Save As menu also included AIFF or Quicktime options.

There is no direct CD burning from Guitar Tracks Pro 3, but the manual provides detailed instructions on mixing down a project and saving the files for burning with standard CD burning software.

Overall, it's astonishing how much Cakewalk has packed into this $200 program. The wide range of features make it a perfectly good platform for recording, mixing and editing any audio project, but it's particularly valuable for a guitar player seeking a composing and recording package. Granted, it doesn't have the extensive toolset of full-fledged audio production packages, but it's not trying to be that kind of program. For its target audience, it hits the bullseye.