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Fresh Steps

By DESLRV on December 30, 2025 12:07 am

And so it begins again. Welcome back, or if you're new, welcome.

This year I'm working in Cakewalk Sonar, an old DAW in a new coat, to replace LMMS and Audacity. Hopefully. Maybe.
This was done in about two hours (also on stream), so I guess it's not so bad, but I still need to get my head around the whole thing.
Let me know what you think.

- Raioh

This recording was performed live, watch it back on YouTube.

The numbers and such were pre-rolled with dice (D12 for key, D8 for mode, D8 for chords). Also there's what sounds like a Discord notification sound somehow, it's actually just the guitar (at the time of making, Discord had different seasonal sounds going on), so it's just kinda funny.

Also, welcome back, everyone. It's good to be here again.
- Devieus

Audio works licensed by author under:
CC Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike (BY-NC-SA)

Off to a good start B)

Hey buddy!
So good to hear from you! Love the way this track starts off! Looking forward to your tunes!
Let’s goooo!

Hell yeah. Looking forward to hearing more from you this year!

Cool track, definitely feels like the intro to a game, getting ready to embark on an adventure ⚔️

I feel like I heard about cakewalk years ago, but never used it. Curious to see how you like it over the next year!

ya beginning of adventure type stuff right here. good to see you still knocking them out.

Welcome back to you too! Looking forward to your latest this year.

Neat chord progression, by the way! And it’s always a treat to hear your trademark guitar-chiptune combos. 😊

Sweet!
Nice work, Des!

smultron wrote:

Off to a good start B)


Good to know we're on some kind of track then.

xavier marques wrote:

Hey buddy!
So good to hear from you! Love the way this track starts off! Looking forward to your tunes!
Let’s goooo!


Looking forward to making them, got some neat ideas.

BarristerPlong wrote:

Hell yeah. Looking forward to hearing more from you this year!


Same here, it's always a mystery what we make.

mukti wrote:

Cool track, definitely feels like the intro to a game, getting ready to embark on an adventure ⚔️

I feel like I heard about cakewalk years ago, but never used it. Curious to see how you like it over the next year!


Very fitting then at the start of the year.

I'll be curious too, but to my understanding it's basically got everything you need in a DAW, so I can't imagine it being that much different from the likes of Ableton.

bc likes you wrote:

ya beginning of adventure type stuff right here. good to see you still knocking them out.


And we will continue to do so. We will need to figure out the bird thing though.

levelcapybara wrote:

Welcome back to you too! Looking forward to your latest this year.

Neat chord progression, by the way! And it’s always a treat to hear your trademark guitar-chiptune combos. 😊


Nice having you here as well. The chord progression was rolled up with a set of dice, and the chipmetal is really just nice in general to have and to make, so it'll stick around.

As_Yoesual wrote:

Sweet!
Nice work, DESLRV!


Thank you kindly. Here's to many more.


- Devieus

Glad to see you again, aint a WB without y'all!
Fun to see your process! and cool that you're exploring cakewalk!!

Good to see yall again! Great opening song guys this was a great start to the new year!

Feeling that guitar from the start! \m/ The synth melody has a hopeful optimistic feel to it.  Which is especially appreciated for the beginning of the WB journey.  Also really cool to hear cakewalk is back.  That was the first DAW i was introduced to.  Here's to another fun, creative and productive year! 

Yeeeessss, more chip metal!!! Awesome to see you here in 2026! I'm curious if you'll have another element that you add yo all your songs this year, like in 2024 with the birds.
Also, using WB to learn a new workflow sounds daunting but a worthwhile experiment! Excited to hear what you cook up!!!

I like the chiptunish sound palette. It would work well on a neo retro rpg. smile

Hey y’all, thanks for being here! Cute chip tunes, makes me want to get my GameBoy out again smile

dude cakewalk! so cool to hear you're using it. the free jazz element feels really good in this one

HAHA! ignore my previous comment. i had unknowingly had other music playing in the background (some jazzy stuff), and surprisingly it worked quite well with this song also playing lol. the chord progression feels very motivational and uplifting.

cute song!

I agree with Jegasus... more chipmetal please.  ლ(◉‿◉ ლ) Great opener for the year.

LETS GO! Love that you're using cakewalk. Looking forward to slignin' tunes along side you all.

welcome back, another spin of this dimensional wheel, happy to join you all once again.

Good to see y'all here again.

I'd say the Sonar upgrade was well worth it. It still sounds like you, but more refined, the tones dialed in just right. I wouldn't guess this was made in 2 hours if you didn't say!

Looking forward to where you take Sonar this year.

2 hours?? I love the combination of fuzzy guitar and clear chiptune. The clash of both worlds is special and you navigate it superbly.

Welcome back! Nice work on the semi procedural generated compo!

Thanks everyone for listening, and welcome back.

Wisefire wrote:

Glad to see you again, aint a WB without y'all!
Fun to see your process! and cool that you're exploring cakewalk!!


We'll be trying to stream as much of the process, maybe. It helps with focus.

b bro wrote:

Good to see yall again! Great opening song guys this was a great start to the new year!


Let's hope we can carry this through the year.

Tone Matrix wrote:

Feeling that guitar from the start! \m/ The synth melody has a hopeful optimistic feel to it.  Which is especially appreciated for the beginning of the WB journey.  Also really cool to hear cakewalk is back.  That was the first DAW i was introduced to.  Here's to another fun, creative and productive year!


Makes sense the melody is like that, it's Mixolydian. Was quite the lucky roll.

It was around for a bit, then it wasn't, but it was back again last year.

jegasus wrote:

Yeeeessss, more chip metal!!! Awesome to see you here in 2026! I'm curious if you'll have another element that you add yo all your songs this year, like in 2024 with the birds.
Also, using WB to learn a new workflow sounds daunting but a worthwhile experiment! Excited to hear what you cook up!!!


Maybe. Probably not, I got enough new stuff already with the Sonar and the keyboard (so yes, there will be new stuff, better melodies), though the birds were around for years already (and I need to get them back).

We'll see what comes of it.

djippy wrote:

I like the chiptunish sound palette. It would work well on a neo retro rpg. smile


So I heard, and maybe someday it will.

Xjs wrote:

Hey y’all, thanks for being here! Cute chip tunes, makes me want to get my GameBoy out again smile


I doubt it can use this, but who knows.

that_ranjit wrote:

dude cakewalk! so cool to hear you're using it. the free jazz element feels really good in this one

HAHA! ignore my previous comment. i had unknowingly had other music playing in the background (some jazzy stuff), and surprisingly it worked quite well with this song also playing lol. the chord progression feels very motivational and uplifting.


Maybe later in the year I can do free jazz, who knows. It's a whole new year.
And uplifting seems to be our jam.

ocean palace wrote:

cute song!


No you.

Napear wrote:

I agree with Jegasus... more chipmetal please.  ლ(◉‿◉ ლ) Great opener for the year.


Guess I'll give the people what they want.

SQF wrote:

LETS GO! Love that you're using cakewalk. Looking forward to slingin' tunes along side you all.


People seem hyped about it, but to us it's just a free DAW.
Let's sling away.

mzunguko wrote:

welcome back, another spin of this dimensional wheel, happy to join you all once again.


Glad to be back and have you along for the ride.

Judgement Act wrote:


Perfectly tempo matched. Might have to fix that later.

RPLKTR wrote:

Good to see y'all here again.

I'd say the Sonar upgrade was well worth it. It still sounds like you, but more refined, the tones dialed in just right. I wouldn't guess this was made in 2 hours if you didn't say!

Looking forward to where you take Sonar this year.


Honestly, the real upgrade is the keyboard. Sonar isn't doing much for our sounds, just the process, and the fact we use VSTs (in this case Triforce and Magical 8-bit, which LMMS can also run). Nothing wrong with the default LMMS plug-ins though, they could probably sound just like this.
The move is primarily to help with recording both MIDI and guitar into one program without too much fuss. I'd probably go back in a heartbeat otherwise.

MRDRCAT wrote:

2 hours?? I love the combination of fuzzy guitar and clear chiptune. The clash of both worlds is special and you navigate it superbly.


Give or take. There was a little bit of prep beforehand, but then there was also the cover art part that wasn't.
I don't think they clash that much. Chiptune is just an instrument same as anything, so combining them is pretty simple.

- Devieus

horatiuromantic wrote:

Welcome back! Nice work on the semi procedural generated compo!


You can try it if you want to give it a go. You don't seem the person who needs it though.

Yummy. I love that you uploaded a video of your process too :-)

The classic sound (minus the birds)! It's good to have you back this year and I'm looking forward to also hearing some more of your guitars that were very active in 2024!

Mission Crossing wrote:

Yummy. I love that you uploaded a video of your process too :-)


Gonna try to keep that up, too.

Kedbreak136 wrote:

The classic sound (minus the birds)! It's good to have you back this year and I'm looking forward to also hearing some more of your guitars that were very active in 2024!


I'll be working on bringing them back for the next week, and the guitars will be here to stay.
- Devieus

sweet track - made me nostalgic. thanks for this and for running the listening party

p.s. also very good tagging

I actually haven't seen this DAW in action yet - so thanks for sharing the process video! One of my family members mentioned they used it as well a while back. 2 hours is also mighty fast for a full track like this!

I like it - feels like an opening credit song for an NES game you game across one day and no idea it was so good, and starts to make you wonder what else you missed. Also enjoy the dichotomy of electric sounds but with "real" drums and guitar.

monstret wrote:

sweet track - made me nostalgic. thanks for this and for running the listening party

p.s. also very good tagging


Thanks for your being there as well.

Take notes, you will be tested.

0x_colt wrote:

I actually haven't seen this DAW in action yet - so thanks for sharing the process video! One of my family members mentioned they used it as well a while back. 2 hours is also mighty fast for a full track like this!


I'd imagine it's about the same as any other DAW, just gotta find where the buttons have been placed.
2 hours isn't that much when you have a process that makes it easy to do. It's been streamlined quite a bit since '24.

alterationx10 wrote:

I like it - feels like an opening credit song for an NES game you game across one day and no idea it was so good, and starts to make you wonder what else you missed. Also enjoy the dichotomy of electric sounds but with "real" drums and guitar.


Perhaps it is the intro to the music yet to come.

Those drums just vibe a little better with the guitar. Electric drums just don't quite feel right, lacking in a sense.


- Devieus

happy new year!  cool that you are live streaming the process

Very satisfying! I like the propulsion of the rhythm with the half-time feel from the snare voice in the verses, and how the melody goes long in the chorus/turnaround! Also every engaging chiptune timbre in this!

Welcome back, freshly step back into the starting village, and everyone is happy to see you back after a year away

Happy New Year DESLRV!
this track sounds:

wishing you all the best this year with your new musical explorations!

Welcome back, great start to the year, thanks for continuing to stay active in the off year, always nice to see comments continue for tracks from 2024.  Nice video to show the process and evolution of the track.

this does feel like a fresh step!
happy y'all are here. and like others mentioned - i really appreciate the time you took to keep listening to WB tracks throughout 2025 and offering comments and encouragement. THANK YOU

Welcome back and hope the New Year has been good to you so far.  I don't think I've heard about Cakewalk in forever.  I forgot that was a thing.  Seems like you're putting it to good use here.

Welcome back!
This slots together so well, love the lead melody and the beats.

Fresh like squeezed orange juice!

Top shelf work, big up!

this song feels like the beginning of an adventure to me, let's go!

Really fun start to the new year! Your chiptune sounds are always right on point.

Love the idea of using random as a starting point. Way more accessible than "Oblique Strategies", at least for me. Melodies came out lovely.

Sonar was my very first DAW when I was in middle school in like 2006 lol what a life changing download!

Favorite part was the last couple seconds. Evoked o come all ye faithful descending into chaos

orangedrink wrote:

happy new year!  cool that you are live streaming the process


Some of us make music videos, some do this instead
This is definitely easier since this is something that happens anyway

onezero wrote:

Very satisfying! I like the propulsion of the rhythm with the half-time feel from the snare voice in the verses, and how the melody goes long in the chorus/turnaround! Also every engaging chiptune timbre in this!


I can assure you, none of what you said was planned, it's all vibes

CatchinAshes wrote:

Welcome back, freshly step back into the starting village, and everyone is happy to see you back after a year away


In a sense, we never truly left

emily wrote:

Happy New Year DESLRV!
this track sounds:

wishing you all the best this year with your new musical explorations!


Happy new year and best of luck to you too
New DAW, so all the sounds still got that new sound smell

Jason Nijjer wrote:

Welcome back, great start to the year, thanks for continuing to stay active in the off year, always nice to see comments continue for tracks from 2024.  Nice video to show the process and evolution of the track.


Really the 2025 efforts are because we kinda slacked in '24, still haven't quite listened to everything yet

jwh wrote:

this does feel like a fresh step!
happy y'all are here. and like others mentioned - i really appreciate the time you took to keep listening to WB tracks throughout 2025 and offering comments and encouragement. THANK YOU


We hear a good song, we give a nice comment
It's only fair

Cosmic Cairns wrote:

Welcome back and hope the New Year has been good to you so far.  I don't think I've heard about Cakewalk in forever.  I forgot that was a thing.  Seems like you're putting it to good use here.


Been good so far
For a little while, Cakewalk wasn't, but it's a competent free DAW so far

alonemusic wrote:

Welcome back!
This slots together so well, love the lead melody and the beats.


It's been working for a while now, no need to change it
Thanks for stopping by

Minnamari wrote:

Fresh like squeezed orange juice!


Yummy

Tanizaki wrote:

Top shelf work, big up!


Thank you so much!

rm wrote:

this song feels like the beginning of an adventure to me, let's go!


It is, every year is one, and what better way to start a year

neon liminal wrote:

Really fun start to the new year! Your chiptune sounds are always right on point.


Which is silly, because it's the easiest thing to work with
Also thank you

carcus wrote:

Love the idea of using random as a starting point. Way more accessible than "Oblique Strategies", at least for me. Melodies came out lovely.


Thanks for listening
I couldn't really tell you any oblique strat anyway, if the dice miss a good opportunity, I can just kinda take it anyway

prophisee wrote:

Sonar was my very first DAW when I was in middle school in like 2006 lol what a life changing download!

Favorite part was the last couple seconds. Evoked o come all ye faithful descending into chaos


It does a little, but the important thing is that it isn't.

Maybe you can try it again, just for good time's sake



- Ebrit

Cute! Welcome back DESLRV. Looking forward to another year of WeeklyBeats!

levelcapybara wrote:

Cute! Welcome back DESLRV. Looking forward to another year of WeeklyBeats!


let's fucking goooo

- E

Oh this is delighful and fun.

Crash Overture wrote:

Oh this is delightful and fun.


Thank you, I agree.
- Valx

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