Hi James
There will be absolutely no difference in the quality of the
recorded sound whether you use X1 Producer or X1 Studio.
Depending on which soundcard you have, both will let you record in very high quality indeed (up to 192kHz at 24bit - remember CD quality is only 41kHz at 16bit to see the difference X1 lets you record at).
The difference between the two products is in the extra tools and features you get in X1 Producer.
The biggest difference in my opinion is that you get what's called the 'Pro Channel' in X1 Producer - it's a Compressor/Equalizer/Tube Saturation module built into every Track and every Buss. It's fully User-controllable and there are some very nice presets to get you going):
You also get a suite of very good quality Mastering VST plug-ins which will help to 'polish' up your final mixes.
Cakewalk have a chart showing in detail the differences between X1 Producer, Studio and Essential - here's the link:
http://www.cakewalk.com/products/SONAR/SONAR%20X1-Comp-Chart.pdf Pound for pound I think X1 Producer represents much better value overall, and of course you'll then be in the best position to upgrade to future versions of the software.
What Cakewalk recording software are you using now?
Here's a couple more links to help you decide:
post edited by SteveStrummerUK - 2011/07/23 10:09:24