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Sonar Home Studio 7 promises to be beginner-friendly.

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Naturally enough, Cakewalk has been making a pretty big noise about its new Sonar V-Studio 700 system over the past few days, but in a lower-key announcement, the company has also reminded us that version 7 updates to its Sonar Home Studio products are on the way.

The standard edition of this entry-level DAW sports a streamlined user interface that's said to deliver an improved workflow, while the enhanced Loop Explorer promises to make it easier to find and audition audio and MIDI loops. Instrument Tracks are on-hand to smooth the experience of using soft synths.

Sonar Home Studio 7 XL has all of the above features and also includes the Studio Instruments software and a copy of Dimension LE. A version of the Garritan Pocket Orchestra that can be loaded into Dimension LE is supplied, too.

Additional effects include the Studio Devil VGA+ Guitar Amp Simulator and Boost 11 Peak Limiter, while the step sequencer is designed for programming drum and synth lines.

Both versions of Sonar Home Studio 7 will ship in October priced at $139 and $209 respectively. Users of version 6 can upgrade for $59; other update options can be viewed on the Cakewalk website.