Are there tools specific to making EDM genre music?

Hi Sonarites:
While I'm an experienced musician - I'm NOT experienced with creating EDM - but I want to explore it.  Are there tools or soundsets that are commonly used in helping to make this kind of music?  I hear a lot of filter and syncopated effects, etc, and wonder if there's a "toolbox" of sorts that help to create many of the atmospheric and other elements?  What tools / instruments in Sonar Platinum are useful for this specific genre?  Any and all comments / suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!  
Thanks in advance,
Christopher

That's probably a pretty broad question considering how varied dance music is these days but Sonar does seem to have all the necessary tools.
 
Full disclosure... I'm not a dance guy but have put together some stuff just to try it out and actually might do some "industrial" type stuff (I love old Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Foetus, etc) which is pretty similar.
 
First off I'm pretty sure there are third party plugs/instruments that probably would make things a lot easier for the genre. Can't help you there so I'll just throw out some things inside SOnar to check out.
 
1) Track View: A lot of this stuff can be done right inside Track View with audio and MIDI Groove Clips. You can just drag them into the TV, drag them around, drag them out to extend them, etc. They obey tempo and pitch changes (if they've been programmed to do so). With audio grooves you just drag 'em in and go. With MIDI grooves obviously you have to send them to a synth. Honestly I personally find this is the simplest way to do it but that's because I already know a buttload about the TV. Sonar ships with a ton of samples and MIDI loops which are kind of okay but probably a little limiting so snagging samples and MIDI grooves from elsewhere (or designing your own) is a way to break that ceiling or "mangling" the ones you have. To learn how to do it at first though might as well use whats available with Sonar just to check it all out.
 
2) Loop Constructor: Audio Groove Clips (or any audio clips) can be seriously tweaked, mangled or just made to respond to tempo changes better in this view. It's little hard to describe so watch some vids and read up on it. There are all sorts of automatable effects in there and you can get right at the individual transient "slices" to do some super crazy stuff. It's basically your "Groove Clip" editing station.
 
3) Matrix View/Cyclone: The Matrix View is kind of a "pad" based work area. Like a sampler but more intense because you can load up MIDI grooves as well and it's got a columns and rows system that lets you trigger single or multiple samples at once in one shots, loops, etc and record them straight into the Track View. Again kind of hard to explain so just read up on it or find some video tuts. Cyclone is more of an old school pad trigger thing where you load up samples in the cells and set them off in various ways. It has a little loop editor too (like the Loop Constructor). I kind of found it a little simpler to learn at first than the more robust Matrix view. It is pretty old though but might be a good place to just wrap your head around that workflow.
 
4) Synths, synths, and more synths: You can use any of the virtual instruments with just the included patches being fed by MIDI Groove Clips (or MIDI you write and convert to Grooves yourself). Rapture is a pretty "synthy" sounding one as is Zeta+. Dim Pro has more traditional sounds (but also synth patches). Session Drummer has some "808" patches (that old "dance/hip hop" electronic drum sound) and other useful sounds. Addictive Drums is more realistic but has presets that mangles the acoustic kit samples to be more electronic (and you can buy the electronic drum adpaks). Even some of the synths had drum samples you can use for beats. However really you can use any of the synths and instruments included with Sonar (there are a buttload) to season your tracks with all sorts of crazy (and traditional) sounds.
 
Really just get a good MIDI drum beat going and go nuts over top of it with all the crazy noises at your disposal. Groove Clips really do seem the way to go (IMO) unless you want to do things live. In which case the sampler trigger "pad" stuff is probably better.
 
Cheers.

Thank you so much to the three of you who responded - really very much appreciated!

sharke
The two of me say you are welcome!

Whew! I was concerned that the voices in my head had become audible.
 
:-p

SONAR was so far ahead of the curve on REX files that when they came into vogue, people had forgotten that SONAR got there years before everyone else. Even Reason didn't catch up with SONAR's multitrack REX loop playback facilities until Dr. Octo-Rex appeared. Here are some articles about SONAR, REX files, and looping, in chronological order:
 
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar06/articles/sonartech.htm
https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov08/articles/sonarworkshop_1108.htm (this is pretty old stuff, but you'll figure out the differences compared to today's SONAR)
https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar09/articles/sonarworkshop_0309.htm
http://www.keyboardmag.com/compose---arrange/1329/tips-and-tricks-for-loops-and-beats/29601
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar15/articles/sonar-workshop-0315.htm
http://www.harmonycentral.com/articles/using-cakewalk-dimension-pro-with-rex-files
 
Along with Sony Acid Pro 7, which I believe is no longer being updated, SONAR has the most facile ability to create stretchable loops, especially with respect to editing. Also Rapture as an instrument was also way ahead of the curve in terms of being able to do exceptional EDM-type sequencing and modulation.
 

• MIDI groove clips are excellent for building up a library of stepped filter sequences and the like.
• You can draw waveform-based automation curves (including random) that sync to tempo.
• Sidechaining allows for all kinds of audio-gating options (e.g., drums gating pads).
• Melodyne adds a lot of the vocal effects that are in vogue.

 
I could go on, but like so many things, SONAR has what you need...you just have to find it.
 
The one opinion I'll offer is that I love EDM, but I don't like it when it's formulaic. Remain true to the spirit of the music, not the implementation. For example I crossover a lot with rock and EDM...best or worst of both worlds, depending on your viewpoint. 
 
 

> Are there tools specific to making EDM genre music?

Drugs.

HAhahahahha.
You guys rock. 
Yeah - didn't mean to split you into 2 beepster.
this is all very helpful - thanks to all
 

The only specific tool I could think of is a dedicated gate/effect sequencer like Audio Damage's BigSeq 2. So much faster than programming it all with automation. 
 
https://www.audiodamage.c.../product.php?pid=AD022