A true Project5 user

I need to vent. Here is where it should be....

This past week I bought Sonar Home Studio 6. Taking that next setup up, right?
Better engine? I could produce in P5 and mix in SonarHS with that cool mixer right?

I just spent three hours trying to get it to do even the most basic things I can get P5 to do.

I need backup for ACT, but the simple midi-learn function is disabled (assignments don't save).
And nobody on the SHS boards seemed to notice. And God I hate that synth rack. Ugh. Nuff said.
Finally, after fumbling around half the night, the sum'mitch crashed on me.

So after a reboot, I opened up Project5, loaded my template, and made music.
I went to sleep that night knowing SonarHS 6 got spanked by Project5.

Faster, easier, more stable, better.

Maybe Sonar SE or PE will do what I need. I'll never know. I don't care.

Dear Cakewalk, Project5 is an excellent program. Thank you.

Most of the same history here with the software.
ProAudio, MusicCreator, then Project5 v1, v2, v2.5 then Sonar Home Studio.

The SonarHS forum was not helpful at all. Everyone read the post, no one had an answer. It's cool though. I'm back where I should have stayed. With Project5.

It's great that you want to help. Thanks. Midi-learn a control on a synth (via the synth rack), save, then reopen that file.
Did you loose your midi-learn assignments?

In P5 you don't. Everything is saved and you can see a list of all your midi-learned assignments.
I have P5 template where every knob, fader and button (55 total) on my Keystation is mapped to Dimension, making it a hardware synth. Great tandem. I got really comfortable with it. Interesting how I bounced back into Project5 and started producing right away.

I have to say I had the exact opposite experience with the HS forum. I started with Sonar 4 HS. It was my first piece of music production software and I asked every possible "dumb" question that could be asked. Plus I have very little common sense when it comes to these things. A few regulars such as Dave from NY, and Beagle were incredibly helpful answering all of my questions some of them repeatedly. In fact is was the positive experience with the HS forum that influenced my decision to go forward with Cakewalk products, a decision I continue to see as a sound one.

Regarding Sonar (in whatever flavor) vs. P5, I think this issue has been discussed ad nauseum. Sonar is not a "step up", rather an alternate way of producing music with the computer (although most would describe P5 as the "alternate" way of producing music). I like to say "horses for courses" and view both as having a place in a modern production arsenal.

Actually, there are a number of basic features that I'm finding not available in P5 which are available in Sonar (I have Producer Edition), such as the ability to map keyboard shortcuts to various transport-related tasks such as Now Time and Sticky Now Time.

But again, each program has its strengths, so it's certainly not "one versus the other".

If you aren't getting any answers on the HS forum, then just post your question in the Sonar SE/PE fourm. HS is just a scaled down version, so all of them pretty much operate the same way. Getting around in Sonar is a bit different from P5, but it's really easy once you learn it. Take your time. Take a deep breath, and try it again with some patience.

If you want a really good book about Sonar, check out Scott Garrigus's POWER series.

http://www.garrigus.com/pwrbkinf.asp?BookID=10

When I first bought Home Studio 2004 XL, I bought Scott's book on Sonar 2. He breaks everything down in plain English, and gives some really great tips as well.

I'm not going to get into a P5 vs. Sonar argument, but I will say this. P5 was made to be easier to use when it comes to sequencing midi and soft synths. So if you find Sonar to be a little harder to use, that's perfectly natural. Sonar does have more features overall. I started with HSXL 2004, and I needed to read the manual and Scott's book to operate that. I really never had to read anything to use P5.

Just my $.02

ORIGINAL: pwal

you can rewire into hs, then use synths in p5 and mixer in hs, with the transport controlled by hs

p

The point is for some people like myself and DD4, what is the point of doing it this way, when Project5 does pretty much all that we need.

Some people feel comfortable with an analog style mixer console. Fair enough, if you think about it though, all it is is a 2 dimenional image of a tactile desk. ATM you do not twirl the knob controllers with your fingers, you are using a mouse. It actually made little sense to produce a reproduction of a mixing desk that is worked with fingers using a mouse control and a screen. They did it though, for one major reason, if computers were to make any headway in this market it had to be seen to emulate that which is sought to replace.

Project5, at least to me, approaches it from a fresh viewpoint (relatively) and turns that on its head and is created to be used with a mouse and screen. It really has no need of a mixer(most if not all the functions are there on your P5 interface, just in different places). Some people dont like that, then so be it, perhaps Project5 isnt the ideal sequencer for them.

For myself and , it appears DD4, its become our way of thinking. Its not perfect and Im sure coming updates will change much of what isnt. Still there will remain those that do not like or will not conform to the P5 way of working, and either choose to work in other ways with it, or choose not to use it at all.

God forbid, however that we all are the same with the same requirements, because then only one sequencer would do.

ORIGINAL: syrath


Project5, at least to me, approaches it from a fresh viewpoint (relatively) and turns that on its head and is created to be used with a mouse and screen. It really has no need of a mixer(most if not all the functions are there on your P5 interface, just in different places). Some people dont like that, then so be it, perhaps Project5 isnt the ideal sequencer for them.

The problem with mixing in P5 is not the lack of a console view, but the lack of decent meters. This could be fixed relatively easily with horizontal meters under each track, at the cost of a loss of a little real estate

sonalksis have a nice free meter (there are others too)

i have inspector xl, too, for when i need "more than just a meter" never bothered "upgrading" to the rnd version

DayDrumFour,
I saw your post languishing there, and I suspect that the 70 people that read it, like myself, had no answer. ACT and MIDI learn is new to us with SHS6, and I suspect not many have ventured too far into it yet. I have been wanting to, but my own work schedule is so crazy that I have not had a chance to really sit down and focus on that. If I discover anything helpful, I will certainly relay it to you.
SHS has a lot to offer, but as has been mentioned it is a different approach. I am about to be the counterpoint to your experience. I just ordered the P5 2.5 download. I'm hitting a snag on the download(probably payment processing), but when that clears, I will be trying to wrap my head around the concept from the other side of the equasion. I've been messing with the demo, but it mostly has hinted at things I can do, but won't actually let me do them.
I'm very intrigued with P5. I think different approaches open creative avenues, that may not have been apparent if one sticks to the comfortable path.
This may be obscure, but I have been building FIATs(the car) for twenty five years. The standard procedure is to figure out how you would do something, then do it the other way.
Anyhow, I'm looking forward to a new adventure.

Robert,

I'll definitely try to answer any P5 questions you may have. Most here in P5 know more than I do so you'll get a lot of responses.

I'll revisit SonarHS soon enough.

That's the plan. Compose in P5, rewire into Sonar for mixing. That console view is awesome. The Synth Rack seems like Rewire so why not use P5 as a big synth. At least that's what I'm thinking.

Wait a tick...that would be "+2" now wouldn't it? [official bean counter and pain in the arse]

ORIGINAL: kennywtelejazz

ORIGINAL: DayDrumFour

That's the plan. Compose in P5, rewire into Sonar for mixing. That console view is awesome. The Synth Rack seems like Rewire so why not use P5 as a big synth. At least that's what I'm thinking.

+1
recently I started using P5 in exactly that way ....