I sold Sonar and Pro Fools along with all the others. The advantage with Sonar is you can build up your hardware as you go. Not with Pro Fools. ALso once you get Sonar down you leap forward from the MAC crap and use a real computer. If that is not true, then why does MAC NOW add IBM programs to their offering Aaaannnd....why does Sonar accept Pro Fools but NOT the other way around?
As of Sonar 2.2XL, you are now talking cost constraints and NOT quality. Sonar all the way. SO you have to learn more...so what. U B lazy?

ORIGINAL: Marketing [Cakewalk]
1. What application you switched from and which version of SONAR you switched to.

I "switched" from a hardware based solution to Sonar back in 2001 or so. Switched to Sonar 1.31

2. Your specific reasons for switching to SONAR (specific features in SONAR, specific problems with other aps, customer service, etc.)

At the time I started looking for a DAW solution, I had a good friend working for a large manufacturer of plugins, and he was able to get me fully-functioning copies of most of the main software packages. I tried them all, and the only one that made SENSE was Sonar. After about 30 days of messing around, I'd made my decision. Nothing else worked as well.

I have plenty of friends who use ProTools, Digital Performer, Logic, etc... they all love their solution. For me, it was a hands-down decision: Sonar worked as I expected it to work, the buttons were where they belonged (where I'd have put them!), and it rarely crashed. It's become more stable as it's matured, and now I can't imagine moving to another solution.

Interestingly, I can actually move around pretty easily in other DAW packages... I've begun working in film lately, and the knowledge I've gained from Sonar has been extremely portable. Other packages use different names, but it all works similarly.

Corey

I would buy 6 tomorrow if I could be assured of getting a free upgrade to 7

So would I do..... but this year THAT seems to be no option!


Let's wait what cakewalk will bring along....

It can be only a few weeks until take off, or do I go wrong?

Hi -

Yes, I've made the transition not only to Cakewalk/Sonar but also to the PC as my primary music machine. I've had a PC in my studio since 2000 when it was a used primarily as a softsynth slave to a Mac9600 ProTools III rig (888), with Studio Vision Pro as the Midi/GUI interface. I had the PC for stuff I couldn't do on a Mac at the time - so having a dedicated PC for things like Reason, Softsynths, NI's Reaktor, as well as Acid (time streching loops in ProTools was a dream) and Soundforge seemed like a good idea. ProTools TDM handled a lot of processing power in those days, and there was really no way to run anything else on the machine other than the recording software and the TDM plugins.

I moved studios and upgraded into a G4 and a ProTools Mix Plus system (just on the bubble of HD being introduced). This was about 2002. I still had the same PC slaved for softsynths, etc. It worked great being controlled via Midi with a RME Nuendo 96/52 8 I/O. I had also made the leap into Logic Audio 5 as Opcode had gone belly up. I had been a Opcode user since the first release of Studio Vision and Studio Vision pro on my first Mac LC, but I digress.

Although Logic running on top of a ProTools Mix Plus rig (888/24) was robust (again due to Digidesign Hardware) the Mac G4 at 400mhz was fairly limited and the PC remained a slave. My studio partner then brought in his PC and Nuendo rig. The studio was equipped with an Argosy console that housed a PC / Nuendo on the Left and a Mac / Logic-Protools rig on the right. I loved Nuendo but never really felt comfortable on it. Logic was (and a apparently still is) highly unstable.

As the executive duties of my job demanded more of my time, I just really wanted to boot up a machine and make music with what time I did have for the studio. Instead I found myself constantly debugging, and doing some kind of tech work-around on the Logic/ProTools machine. Eventually I left the studio to my partner (who I hired frequently) with the only use of the Mac rig was converting files for his sessions. That was about 4-5 years ago.

Alot has happened in the last half a decade. As my watched my studio evolve under the guidance of my partner I saw all of the wonderful changes in Softsynths, Softsampers, Softinstruments, Recording Software and effects evolve. My partner finally moved out of our old studio space when he got married and set-up a new business closer to he and his wife. My studio which is a detached structure from my house would now be empty. I had thoughts of air hockey tables and pac man machines but that didn't last long.

I asked him, "Now that you're moving out and I have more time for studio projects again, I'm not sure what to do - I don't want to spend my time doing tech support for Logic and Digidesign". He said, "I've been looking around for a new DAW myself (he was on a 3yr old version of Nuendo) and I'm hearing great things about Sonar 6. Are you open to having a PC as your primary platform?"

I sad yes, if it works and I can spend more time making music than finding work arounds to bugs and crashes.

Well, thus far that's the best piece of pro-audio advice I've gotten in a long time. I love Sonar6. I have a bit of a learning curve jumping not just back into the game but also on an XP PC, but Sonar makes it worth it. Intuitive and stable. Any issues I'm having with the software are just part of my learning curve.

A footnote to this is that I know a lot of highend Logic/ProTools users. I asked them outright - how is it these days? Money isn't really the issue for me - but time is. They all pretty much had the same response, "great if you can afford a full time engineer". Well, thats not what I needed to hear and their dirty little secret is that although there may be a Mac in plain view, theres a closet of PCs slaved to it... I just cut out the middle man.

-bf

I had been recording on a 4 track tape machine in the 80's and 90's. For a few years, I stopped playing and recording. Then, when I got a decent computer and started checking things out online, I realized that I could eventually afford to have a whole studio on a hard drive--wow--I wasn't away from recording for that long!

Cubase just did not feel intuitive or comfortable--I spent too much time figuring things out--it seemed like things were set up to be purposely non-intuitive and annoying. Someone told me about Cakewalk software, so I checked out the Cakewalk site and forums. The people on the forums seemed pretty helpful and reasonable. I bought Home Studio and a cheap preamp to run guitars and vocals into my Audigy card. It did not take much time to get the feel of Home Studio. I was amazed at the number of tracks I could record and at how easy the software was to use. Then, I figured out how to use soundfonts and bought a keyboard controller---that was a revelation--software instruments!

I downloaded the demo of Sonar--Sonar 2, I believe. After using for a week I had to buy it--incredible software. Then, a few years ago I bought a DAW and a good audio interface. I barely even notice Sonar when I compose and record--that's what I like--and Sonar has changed the way I compose--it's like an instument in itself. I upgrade with every version.

Cakewalk's best asset is customer service--listening and respecting its customers, therefore I will continue to support them.
The protection scheme is easy--no dongles, etc...
The software is really intuitive and the help documentation is excellent.
I like the fact that Cakewalk is developing new instruments, etc....
When you buy Sonar you get a great package with effects, instruments, etc....
Once you are a registered customer, the upgrades and discounts become very enticing.
Cakewalk has a really good vibe.

ORIGINAL: ChristoherDuncan

...but had been analog tape till Cakewalk 5 which (I believe) was the first attempt to integrate audio recording.

Actually, Version 4 began the Pro Audio series.

I switched from Mac to PC and chose Sonar because the only other reasonable alternative at the time was Cubase. I refuse to give any more money to Steinberg, having already been abused as a customer by them in the past. I have played around with SX3, and truthfully I like it a little better than Sonar in terms of workflow and GUI. Too bad Steinberg can never have more money from me, otherwise I might have purchased it. I have never seen Cubase4, but I suspect I would have similar feelings. That being said, cubase has a long standing well known problem for "some people" with midi timing jitter. That is the number#2 reason I chose Sonar over Cubase.

Sonar also has a few other neat features that cubase does not, like CAL programming and MFX capabilities. Of course, I have never actually had to use either those two features yet, but I really should try to take advantage of them, they were considered important to me in my buying decision. There are lots of other bells and whistles to Sonar that many people may consider important, but to me are more like add on perks. ACT, for example. The Acid-like capabilities. etc.. All the great plugins. Actually the plugins truly are nice, but I've already purchased third party plugins that I use more often than not anyway. For me the main reason for Sonar was for midi timing stability and the fact that it did everything I really needed essential in a DAW. I'm very happy with it, but I continually hope that Sonar will yet improve the GUI, the score editor, piano roll and drum editor to be as good as or better than SX3. I'm doubtful it will happen quite honestly, but even still, I prefer to use Sonar for the reasons already mentioned.

ORIGINAL: BigDaddyJoel
Honestly, its been a huge disappointment so far. It's like learning the whole interface from scratch. And whenever I try to record something I just get dropouts.

Depending on your audio interface, there are still issues with Vista. Typically (under Windows XP) dropouts are caused from incorrect buffer settings and other user controlled settings. Once you get that dialed in you should be fine. I'm still running Windows XP SP2 and will be for some time still. I have seen quite a few posts regarding DAW's and Vista if you want to do a forum search. SONAR seems to be ready for Vista, but I don't know that Vista is ready for audio.

ORIGINAL: ChristoherDuncan

Your memory is clearly better than mine.

Nah, I just have all the discs and manuals since Cakewalk DOS 2.*. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't remember either!

Looking forward to seeing how the Sonar 6 UI feels. Nuendo is doing a fine job for me, but it would sure be nice to have my MIDI and mixing all under one roof.

I've got a friend who uses Nuendo, but doesn't have any MIDI needs. I've always used a good combination of MIDI and audio. Whatever works for you. There's a lot a great software available now. Back in the pre-audio Cakewalk Pro days, I used to sync Cakewalk and a 4-track cassette via SMPTE to record the audio. The key is doing the best you can with whatever tools you have available.

Okay here it is in point form:

1988-1997: Atari 1040 ST running Steinberg 12, then Mastertracks Pro, then C-Lab Notator 3.1
1997-1999: Compaq Presario 486DX2 66 running Mastertracks Pro and Encore
1999-2000: P3 running
Steinberg Cubase VST32
2000-2002: Mastertracks Pro, Encore, then Magix Music Studio (Logic knock-off).
2002-2005: Dell P4 running Sonar 2 up to Sonar 5 (had problems with audio stream in 5)
2005-2007: Mac OS 9 to OSX running Logic Express 7, then MOTU Digital Performer 5, then Steinberg Cubase 4
Presently: AMD64 Athlon 3200 w. 3 gigs ram running Sonar 6.1...and loving it!

Honestly I have been through every single major DAW (except for Pro Tools) and I can hoenstly say that Sonar fits my compositional tendencies better than anything else. I like the ease of setting up markers, using the tabs to display notation and controller messages, mixdown and VI freezing.

Since Cubase Studio 4 is bi-platform, I do use it to contrast only because it does run a little more smoothly when I'm using Vienna SE and HALion Symphonic Orchestra. Not sure why that is but I much prefer the Sonar 6 environment since you can paint on loops or even change a MIDI event into a groove loop. Cubase is still a little a buggy.

Hi, Marcus.

Your scenario is similar to mine musically, as I'm a guitarist with embarrassingly limited keyboard chops. I tried the Roland MIDI guitar setups, but that didn't really work for me, either.

I now compose my bass, keyboards, orchestral parts, etc. in Sonar's staff view. One of the features I like about it is the audio feedback. As I drag a note across the staff I can hear each note as the position is changed. This way, I can compose by ear without having to think about the music theory end of it and translate in my head (a fine approach for classicly trained musicians, but I'm a simple kinda guy). This opened up a huge world of music production for me, as I can now hear it in my head, drop it into Sonar, point it to a synth or module, and I'm ready to rock.

The only thing that hasn't been intuitive for me using this method is drums, which are important to me. Tried writing the parts, and even tapping them out on a keyboard, but it was very clumsy for me for some reason. I recently bought a Korg PadKontrol (there are several similar creatures from competitors) for tapping out the drums, and it's made all the differece in the world. And of course, I can then quantize the parts to compensate for my lack of being a natural drummer.

As a software developer, I can tell you that audio to MIDI conversion is non trivial, and you may be waiting a long time for someone to work this out. You might experiement with dragging notes around on the staff view and see if that becomes a more intuitive way for you to get the various supporting parts you need into the mix to accompany your guitar work. it's the reason I keep coming back to the Cakewalk products.

Hope this helps!

Christopher

well my first setup was an event gina and cool edit pro wanting something more, and more universally compatable i bought a digi001 and had acid for loop based stuff, then all these cool soft synths came out(vsti's) and reason(rewire)and had no way of intigrating them into my setup arggg!!
then digipoop droped development on the digi001 and i was off to find a new DAW....saw SONAR 3 and read the reviews and took the leap,have to say i've been very happy with your develpment and intagration of new technology as it becomes available!!now i'm sitting at SONAR6 and awaiting the release of SONOR7.....very happy customer !!!!

Switched From Voyetra's Digital Orchestrator Pro to Sonar 3.1.1

The Smartest thing I've done musically in my life.

I primarily switched to master my first album. . . PLUGINS! I love them so much I could marry them.

Afterward the entire interface and the flexibility thereof made me sonar religious!

I've tried other DAW's and nothing comes close. Even Compared to Pro-Tools Sonar Kills because of it's simplicity, non-intrusive behavior on system resources, and everything I need or want to do with it is right in my face. I love not 'having' to memorize shortcuts and drilling through crryptic icons and overloaded menus to get to special functions like the mixer, piano roll, etc . . .

I just wish Normalize was a right-click function on a track instead of being in a menu.

But that's trivial compared to all the other benefits.

woohoo!

Dapper D

Hello all.

I switched from FL Studio 7, Samplitude 2 and N Track Studio 4 (and some other audio programs - mostly cheap ones or freebies) to Sonar 5 Producer Edition. I felt it was time to get "SERIOUS" and researched the larger DAWs. Nothing out there had the feature set, sound quality and overall MUSICALITY other than Sonar.

I am MASSIVELY glad I switched. It is now my GO TO DAW. I just cannot get results out of any other program that I get with Sonar. I use my own hand-built PCs and have zero problems. No crashes or glitches other than a stray vst that was poorly programmed. I use almost 100% virtual instruments and Sonar handles them like a pro. But, it's the SOUND QUALITY that really gets me. It is so easy for me to create, record and master on Sonar - I just don't need anything else!

Here is a link to my website that shows off music I have created using Sonar 5 Producer Edition:

http://www.mfelkerco.com/wcm/documents/45.html

Click on the different categories above to hear different moods of music.

Also, I did the opener for this website using Sonar 5 Producer Edition:

http://www.successforhispanics.com

At this point, I cannot live without Sonar and will NEVER use anything else again!

Mike
aka Karmacomposer

I've only been using DAWs for the last year or so. After having been away from music and recording for nearly 15 years. So I dive in with a recommendation from a buddy of mine to pick up Cubase. Oh what a mistake that was. I found it to be cumbersome, counter intuitive, and just down right hard to use.

After reading a review of Cakewalks Guitar Tracks Pro 3 in one of the guitar mags (can't remember which one) I decided to get it and give it a whirl. Low cost, low risk, didn't have to explain it to the wife. You now the drill. Well I was so impressed with the way it works and how intuitive it was I sprang for an upgrade to Sonar Home Studio 6 when Cakewalk offered it. Well long story short I had a problem with the installation was taken care of by the really great technical support team. That sold me.

Steinberg's support is difficult to deal with and demeaning to boot. I'm no computer dummy and know my way around a PC real well, and they treated me like I was an idiot. The Cakewalk support team and I worked hand in hand to determine what my problem was and fixed me right up. Like I said that sold me! So I took the next upgrade offer and moved up to Sonar 6 PE. Best move I could have made.

And again with Sonar 7 PE out, the Marketing and Sales guys put together a real good offer for existing users with the engineering team putting together some real great features. So now I've upgraded. I'm waiting for the upgrade to arrive as I have just ordered it. But knowing Cakewalk I doubt that I will be disappointed.

Kudos to all the folks at Cakewalk for a superior product that is easy and intuitive to use, includes a lot of bonus features and a support team that has to be the best in the business!