Sonar users who also use other daws questions

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jackn2mpu
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2009/03/12 08:52:38 (permalink)

Sonar users who also use other daws questions

A little explanation: when my pc daw goes south and is no longer useable (it's a laptop running WinXP and I have no urge to run Vista) I'm looking to go with a Mac. I know there are those here who get thundering apoplexy at even the mere mention of Macintosh. I don't, as I've been using them for one use or another since at least the old System 6 days back in the 80's, and Apple machines long before that.

Anyways, as I said I have no real urge to run Bootcamp and Vista. I do know I can lay in a copy of XP for the day when I might need it, but it'd just be my luck that MS will no longer just drop support for XP but will no longer allow activation of XP. That, and I have no love for Bill Gate's hiring preferences (email me for explanation as they don't want politics talked about here, but I'll be glad to share with those that really want to know). Hardware and software-wise I can get around on Macs so any possible problems are not show-stoppers for me. I'm cool with Unix (which is the basis for OSX).

That being said, if you run another daw software than Sonar, what do you like? After research I'm partial to Digital Performer. I'd like to go ProTools on the Mac, but the money spent in addition to a new daw computer isn't something I can see doing right now. As a side question, if you do run PT on a Mac, did you ever think about doing so on a pc? I've seen that and it's not been a pretty experience. I have a Mac now, an aging Powerbook G4 1.67 GHz 2 gig ram OSX Tiger laptop which can run DP well, but I'd rather have a separate machine for recording. My current Mac is my Photoshop and web surfing machine.

Oh yeah - anything Steinberg is NOT in the running, but that's another topic for discussion not germane here.

Jack
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    Jonbouy
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/12 09:57:34 (permalink)
    No harm in trying Reaper, it co-exists happily with Sonar, it's lightweight and you can use a non-commercial license all the time you are just getting up to speed with it.

    It has some really great aspects to it and some things really get on my nerves with it but YMMV, but the fact that it doesn't cause any problems co-existing with Sonar (for me at least) means it's a no-brainer if you are looking for an alternative to run alongside Sonar and won't touch Cubendo.

    A lot of folk around here have a lot of good things to say about it.

    Edit: I've just understood what you are saying about moving over to a Mac in which case none of the above applies...and I wouldn't know what to suggest other than the options you've already blown out...or DP which you already have in the running
    post edited by Jonbouy - 2009/03/12 10:04:33

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    cryophonik
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/12 11:01:18 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: jackn2mpu

    Oh yeah - anything Steinberg is NOT in the running, but that's another topic for discussion not germane here.


    Well, that's too bad - I'm sure you have good reasons for feeling this way, but I just got my Cubase 5 upgrade and, it's pretty incredible. I think that you really owe it to yourself to give it a look, even if it's just to compare feature sets to Sonar.

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    jackn2mpu
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/12 12:14:59 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: cryophonik


    ORIGINAL: jackn2mpu

    Oh yeah - anything Steinberg is NOT in the running, but that's another topic for discussion not germane here.


    Well, that's too bad - I'm sure you have good reasons for feeling this way, but I just got my Cubase 5 upgrade and, it's pretty incredible. I think that you really owe it to yourself to give it a look, even if it's just to compare feature sets to Sonar.

    Why not Steinberg product - I use a TC Powercore and most of the posts of people having problems that are on the Powercore site are from Cubase users. The Poco is a major part of my workflow and I can't see giving it up. On the infrequent times I go to the NI forums, guess which daw has the most problems? Cubase. Want another reason? Dongle. DP doesn't use one. Sonar doesn't use one, but I am NOT going with another Windoze install. And I HATE dongles.

    Jack
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    artsoul
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/14 09:10:23 (permalink)
    Personally I think digital performer is the one to beat.

    I sort of wish I had moved from atari to mac instead of PC, if that had been the case then DP is definately the way to go.


    (I use sonar, abelton live on PC I have used cubase in the past and have PT but only for project import/export)


    #5
    RTGraham
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/14 13:34:56 (permalink)
    I know a lot of people who are *very* happy with Logic, but I don't use it myself.

    I also know a lot of people who are *much* happier with Pro Tools' MIDI implementation than they used to be.

    BUT...

    On my Mac (my portable rig), I boot to Windows through Bootcamp so I can run SONAR for any serious work. If you're looking for alternatives anyhow, then by all means explore the options. But if you are happy with SONAR and like its working environment, you should reconsider the Bootcamp option. I've never had any issues with it, and I'm not even running Leopard (which means that my Bootcamp is the beta, not the final supported release). Because of differences in processor and FSB architecture, there are certain things that my single-chip laptop does faster than my dual-Opteron home system (yes, they're both dated at this point, but by about the same amount, so it's still an informative comparison).

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    jackn2mpu
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/14 22:44:10 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: RTGraham

    I know a lot of people who are *very* happy with Logic, but I don't use it myself.

    I also know a lot of people who are *much* happier with Pro Tools' MIDI implementation than they used to be.

    BUT...

    On my Mac (my portable rig), I boot to Windows through Bootcamp so I can run SONAR for any serious work. If you're looking for alternatives anyhow, then by all means explore the options. But if you are happy with SONAR and like its working environment, you should reconsider the Bootcamp option. I've never had any issues with it, and I'm not even running Leopard (which means that my Bootcamp is the beta, not the final supported release). Because of differences in processor and FSB architecture, there are certain things that my single-chip laptop does faster than my dual-Opteron home system (yes, they're both dated at this point, but by about the same amount, so it's still an informative comparison).

    I do like Sonar and it's workflow, but I really don't want to deal with Bootcamp and Windows on a new machine. Many reasons, but here's a couple: the more I work with my Mac and OSX and Photoshop, the happier I am than having to deal with windows. I've used both the Win OS and Mac variants for years and have grown increasingly irritated with Windoze - trojans, worms, viruses that are not happening in the Mac world. The other main reason is a personal one, and that's Bill Gate's hiring preferences. He wants an unlimited ability to hire non-American workers under the H1B visa program than is currently possible, thereby keeping eminently qualified people like me out of work. Maybe that sounds protectionist, but it means a LOT to me.

    I've done some research, checking around the various forums. DP seems to have more of what I like, and there's no dongle, which is the major deal-breaker for me and Pro Tools (let alone the cost). And DP could run in a pinch on my 'ancient' 17" Powerbook G4 with 1.67 GHz Power PC hip and 2 gig ram. I would dearly love to see Sonar go dual platform, like some of Cake's synths. It's funny - Cake evidently has the ability to code for both Mac and Windoze but refuses to do so for it's daw flagship.

    Jack
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    Fog
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/14 23:28:18 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: jackn2mpu
    I would dearly love to see Sonar go dual platform, like some of Cake's synths. It's funny - Cake evidently has the ability to code for both Mac and Windoze but refuses to do so for it's daw flagship.


    I think it's a number of things Jack.. errm synths are one thing.. far less code.. and well you need a equally strong mac dev team as the pc one. apple tried to sew up the mac market with garage band / logic, but Digi P. has been around for a long time, and isn't on the PC.

    some of the sonar stuff probably uses MS libs in one way or another.

    Apple can change the goal posts any time they like , which maybe off putting to some companies. With PC's the market is much free.

    I guess can they justify the porting costs vs sales, as a lot of my music friends only switched to mac solely because of logic.

    Notice Mac's have gone intel? maybe to help dev's costs.. even the testing etc.. both versions code libraries have to be kept consistent with each other etc.

    the probably did a viability study into it at one point I'm sure.

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    jackn2mpu
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 07:32:44 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: Fog

    ORIGINAL: jackn2mpu
    I would dearly love to see Sonar go dual platform, like some of Cake's synths. It's funny - Cake evidently has the ability to code for both Mac and Windoze but refuses to do so for it's daw flagship.


    I think it's a number of things Jack.. errm synths are one thing.. far less code.. and well you need a equally strong mac dev team as the pc one. apple tried to sew up the mac market with garage band / logic, but Digi P. has been around for a long time, and isn't on the PC.

    some of the sonar stuff probably uses MS libs in one way or another.

    Apple can change the goal posts any time they like , which maybe off putting to some companies. With PC's the market is much free.

    I guess can they justify the porting costs vs sales, as a lot of my music friends only switched to mac solely because of logic.

    Notice Mac's have gone intel? maybe to help dev's costs.. even the testing etc.. both versions code libraries have to be kept consistent with each other etc.

    the probably did a viability study into it at one point I'm sure.


    I know Macs have been Intel for quite a while now and I have no problem with that. Gets us some wicked-fast chips and architecture. The thing I like about Macs is the elegance of the OS - you can access the full 32 gig of ram in a fully loaded Mac without doing a 3 gig switch in XP or using a mucked-up OS like Vista. You can add and drop external drives without worrying about using a drive letter or running out of drive letter assignments. There's just a whole elegance of the original (outside of Xerox PARC) windowed/graphical operating system that MS Windows can't beat.

    As I mentioned, I've been around this computer game for a dog's age, and as I get older I find I can't put up with MS's faults and goofs (see Millenium and Vista) and enjoy my computing experience. For me, it's using the tools I feel most comfortable with and that work best for me. Unfortunately there are posters here that can't see that.

    I seem to remember one of the principals (can't remember if it was Seth or someone else) mentioning that they have looked at the possibility of going dual-platform on Sonar and haven't closed the door totally on it. Unfortunately reading between the lines and with the state of the economy just about everywhere it seems to me that means we won't ever see Sonar run native on anything other than Windows.

    Jack
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    artsoul
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 07:50:28 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: jackn2mpu

    . I would dearly love to see Sonar go dual platform, like some of Cake's synths. It's funny - Cake evidently has the ability to code for both Mac and Windoze but refuses to do so for it's daw flagship.




    100% agreed that would push me over to the mac camp
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    artsoul
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 07:52:57 (permalink)
    de N2MPU Jack
    Proud NRA Life Member and supporter of the 2nd. Amendment
    God, guns and rock & roll!
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    REALLY?


    and you aren't ashamed of stating stuff like that?

    I'm glad I live in the UK
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    Fog
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 08:11:29 (permalink)
    trust me jack.. even mac's have their issue's.. I used to repair / install / upgrade them in the past for a company (not apple).

    there is 3 levels of documentation (or more now)... stuff the public see.. stuff only qualified engineers would see.. and stuff higher up. that we didn't have access to.

    The biggest headache for me, going back hhm 9 years now.. was the os 9 / os x drivers, well extensions on the mac.. and how when it just came out there was a mad dash by certain companies to fix problems with that + the clock speeds of the mobo's had something to do with it also.

    if I had a mac, would I run logic / final cut pro? very probable, that's the only draw for me.. moreso FCP, but a friend is a mac-head , so I can just use his setup if need be.. Although it was funny, I taught him and PC's.. and he taught me mac stuff, so did the service people I worked with. . While others preached mac to me . In that time there was a few CPU switches , errm Motorola to AMD etc. a lot of my friends were lumbered with none intel machines that they had to flog. My friend always upgrades as soon as a new machine comes out.



    #12
    jackn2mpu
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 08:35:07 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: artsoul

    de N2MPU Jack
    Proud NRA Life Member and supporter of the 2nd. Amendment
    God, guns and rock & roll!
    Too many music toys to list


    REALLY?


    and you aren't ashamed of stating stuff like that?

    I'm glad I live in the UK

    No problem. See my email for further answers.

    Jack
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    jackn2mpu
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 08:49:25 (permalink)
    Fog:
    Like I said, it's what works for each of us.
    Macs have their issues as do pc's.
    As long as people like you and I can understand this and have civil discourse like this, we'll all be happy. It's a shame there are other posters here who can't do this.

    Jack
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    Fog
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 09:08:19 (permalink)
    keep it civil gents... OR I start singing.. (trust me you haven't heard me sing)

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    jackn2mpu
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 18:38:05 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: Fog

    keep it civil gents... OR I start singing.. (trust me you haven't heard me sing)



    Can't be any worse than me. I'm so bad nothing can correct my pitch or make it sound good.

    Jack
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    Fog
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    RE: Sonar users who also use other daws questions 2009/03/15 18:54:06 (permalink)
    1 word... vocoder..hehe

    #17
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