In this video we will go over the software that comes with Sono.
The Two Notes Torpedo Remote
and for users wanting to get more control over routing
the Sono Mixer App.
Unless specified both these applications work in exactly the
same way on both Mac and Windows machines
So let's get started with the Torpedo Remote Application.
So this is what is used to control the cabinet simulation that is built into Sono
It is purely a control software for the DSP in the Sono unit
so it doesn't actually process any audio itself
and therefore doesn't take up any precious CPU power on your computer.
It doesn't actually even need to be running on your computer to get a sound out of Sono
seeing as all the cab simulation is built-in.
When you open the Torpedo Remote
providing that Sono is plugged in and switched on
the first screen you'll see is the arcade window.
This is where you'll make all of the changes to the sound
which you can then store on Sono as presets.
let's take a look in each of the elements on the
screen probably the first thing you'll want to do is pick the cab you want to
use so use this drop-down menu and select the cab
then it should appear in the window
to make it easier to navigate you can also
use these filter buttons to filter between the cabs in the Two Notes Store
the ones available in your account which includes the 20 that come with the unit
and ones on Sono itself.
If you select a cab you don't own you can still try it and use it
but there will be a few seconds of silence inserted every 30 seconds until you purchase it
If you decide you want to purchase it, you can click the shopping cart button to open the two notes store
When selecting different cabs you may notice a couple of seconds of silence as the cab loads
this is the computer sending the cabinet data across to the unit.
If you have a set of cabs that you commonly switch between
you can actually store up to eight on the unit
which means you can completely get rid of this loading time.
To store a cab you can press the icon on the right-hand side
or alternatively you can go to the cabinet manager menu
which will let you drag cabs on and off Sono.
Whether you actively store the cabs on Sono
or just select them from the computer and load them in each time
Sono will always be running the emulation on its internal DSP
meaning you will always be getting low latency playback of your guitar or bass.
Once you've selected a cab you can adjust the type of microphone used
to virtually mic it up using these arrows.
Different mics are available depending on the cab you've selected
but you will generally have access to a number of different ones
including dynamics, condensers and ribbons
a selection of some of the common mics you would normally find in a studio for recording cabs.
All the mics will bring out different characteristics in the cab
so it's definitely worth experimenting to see what works best
for the particular cab you've chosen but also for your playing style.
To make the cab sound even more realistic
you can then adjust the room that the cab and the mic are in
from smaller studios all the way up to a large cathedral.
Then control how much of the room's ambience you can hear
by adjusting the distance of the mic from the cab using this control here on the left
going from adding a bit of room ambience in maybe one of the smaller rooms
to a fully fledged reverb when in one of the larger rooms.
You're able to shape your overall tone in the effects rack on the left
starting with the power amp this is where you can bring in some really nice crunch to your sound
but this is actually controlled using the drive knob on the Sono unit.
While you already have EQ controls on Sono itself
you do also have some extra controls in the Torpedo Remote as well
firstly you have the tone control
which lets you move between a darker and a brighter sound
then you have the contour control
which lets you change from a vintage type sound to a modern type sound
which is essentially moving between an emphasised mid frequencies with vintage
and a more scooped mid sound with emphasis on the bass and treble with modern.
Finally you have the preset and output level
the preset level allows you to balance the current settings with other presets on the unit
and the output level lets you dial back the overall level
if you find yourself clipping in your audio software when you're trying to record.
Once you're completely happy with the sound you've made it be a good idea to save it as a preset
simply hit the Save button at the top and then choose where you want to save.
You can save the preset onto Sono directly meaning that the preset will be recallable
in one of the three preset slots and available at any time even if
you don't have the computer connected.
You can also save it directly to your computer letting you build your own library of tones
To change between the presets on Sono you just have to press the cab button to toggle through them
and then all the settings will be recalled including the drive stage.
To recall a preset on the computer you can select it from the drop down menu at the top left
or alternatively use the preset manager window.
In this window you can remove presets from Sono by dragging them to the trash icon
and drag and drop existing presets that are stored on your computer back onto Sono.
It's worth noting that to save a preset onto Sono itself
you will need to make sure that the cab is actually saved onto Sono's internal memory.
So before you save it make sure that you press the download to device button
or store the cab using the cabinet manager as discussed earlier
and that's all you really need to know in terms of using the Torpedo Remote software
as you can see is a nice and simple piece of software to use
but it's incredibly powerful in the ways that you can alter the sound
and ultimately create something completely unique to you.
For those wanting to use some of the more advanced features on Sono
such as advanced routing or the digital input
the Sono application is where you can make all of the necessary changes.
Open the app by clicking the Sono icon in the application menu on your computer
then on a Mac click on the 'S' logo that appears in the menu bar and select show mixer
on Windows you can find the 'S' icon in your system tray and again select show mixer
By bringing up the mixer software it will completely bypass the monitor mix knob
and enter software controlled mixer mode
as now all of your routing will be controlled on the software.
If you want to change back to using the monitor mix knob at any time
simply close the mixer window and click back on the 'S' icon and then make sure
you uncheck 'Software Controlled Mixer Mode'.
So quickly going through the different aspects of the software
you're able to see the different input channels both analog and digital
along with returns from your digital audio workstation.
Adjusting the faders for each of these channels affects how much
of each channel is sent to the monitoring mix
or in other words what's coming out of your speakers or headphones
using these you can adjust either the main mix which is usually used for the main speaker playback
or the cue mix which is normally used to sent to the artist via headphones.
In the master section channel groups can be hidden using the channel view options
for example if you're not using the digital input you can hide those channels
and keep your screen nice and clutter free.
You also have your typical monitor controls such as talkback, sum-to-mono and phase invert.
There is also individual mute controls for both the speaker and the headphone outputs.
The system panel can be opened from the view menu and gives you control over more of the features
you can choose whether the optical input accepts an ADAT or an SPDIF signal
below this is the clock section allowing you to clock Sono
from the optical input to keep your setup synced.
Mono mode lets you choose the output which is used when sum-to-mono feature is enabled
and the dim control affects how much the speaker outputs are dimmed
when talkback is enabled to avoid feedback.
The routing matrix allows you to choose the audio source for the physical outputs
'Main Mix' and 'Cue Mix' are the two mixes which you can create in the Sono mixer
and 'DAW Thru' allows you to send audio directly from the DAW
to the outputs without any additional routing
perfect for sending audio to outboard gear or external monitor controllers.
Finally you can select the talkback source this can either be one of the inputs on Sono
or could be any other audio device connected to your computer
such as a USB mic or the (computer's) built-in mic.
For more information about any of these features in the Sono mixer app
or the Torpedo Remote app
please take a look at the Sono manual available on our website.