is 8.5 studio enough? or would producer be better for me?

I have a new daw ordered & ordered 8.5studio to be installed on it. I have about 3 days if I want to upgrade prior to them shipping it. 
  I am going to be recording mostly guitars, bass, vocals, & drums, though with the drums I pland to record midi w/ my roland v kit & would like other drum sounds I could use the roland to trigger them?  Other than that.... My recordings are pretty organic, no crazy synths or bizarre effects.  So would producer & the included plug ins be that much better for me ya think?  I figured people who have produce might be able to tell me if it's worth the extra $190.   Thanks in advance!

You might want to see if you will be eligible for the current $99 upgrade from studio to producer.

Producer is better for me, I have no clue if it would be better for you. Look at the features producer has and make a decision based on your needs
Cj

Well, okay, I'll bite ... I use Studio 8.5, and it's plenty for what I want to do.  Your needs sound similar to mine, as I don't use a lot of effects or over-the-top software synths either.  I do own a few extras, like EZ Drummer, some of the IK Multimedia T-Racks plugins and Rapture, which I bought when it was on sale, so I really couldn't justify the extra cost of Producer.  Another thing to consider is the "overwhelmed" factor - if I would have gotten Producer, I would still be trying to figure out what all those extra bells and whistles do, and how I would use them, which for me would have only added to an already full plate of things going on.  Studio was overwhelming enough with some of the new features included, and it contained pretty much everything I thought I would need without being overloaded.  Would Producer be nice to have?  Sure, if I could have afforded it at the time, but I was unemployed and trying to watch my $$$ closely.  All in all, I still feel I made the right decision, because Studio does everything I want it to do and more.

ChuckC


I realize that ultimately I have to choose, I was hoping that I would hear either:  "Yeah that sounds like what I am doing & studio has been plenty for me.... " Or  "dude, your gonna be lost without some of the content in producer like X, Y, or Z" 

Nobody knows what you're "gonna be lost without...". Check out the comparison chart. I'm not gonna say yea or nay for either one. I know nothing about your recording skills or the music you're primarily doing. Your question is along the same lines of "What's the best guitar to buy to use in SONAR?" There are tons of subjective opinions, none of which amount to a hill of beans.
 
For years I was quite happy using SHS6XL along with the third party "extras" I had purchased from other vendors. When I moved into the 64-bit realm I made the decision to upgrade to 8.5 Producer. Nobody convinced me to make that decision. I took plenty of time weighing the cost factor vs. the benefits. SONAR 8.5 PE won out. I don't regret that decision.

mike_mccue


You might want to see if you will be eligible for the current $99 upgrade from studio to producer.

I've not seen this offer -  but if it's correct then it's a no-brainer really - easily worth the extra even if you don't want the synths.

Alright....  I'm going with PE, Looks too damn cool not to.
Thanks fellas!

Pretty good, was a nice day today.  The town I live in (& my house) was devastated by hurricane charlie in 04 & has recovered nicely by now.  All is well.  Nice hair do by the way.... I am shaved up top myself.  I know I have no photos on here but ... check out  my bands page  (I let the band fall apart 3 weeks ago when I decided to quit it & just write & record for myself) 
http://www.myspace.com/jacksomebodymusic

But there again I down graded fro PE to SE this time around.
I already had plugs that did everything I needed to do and didnt like SD2 in any case.

The extra synths that I dont already have from my previous PE versions were nothing i am ever likely to use, so even at $99 it was an easy decision for me to just ay no, but as you guys always say, YMMV.

Mind you, the matrix view looks interesting but I have had the equivalent on my lowly Commodore Amiga 1200 for years! (grin)

You're probably correct, ivan...*LOL* Should have something along the lines of "should your wish to purchase future upgrades to PE you cost will be lower." *LOL*

papa2005


You're probably correct, ivan...*LOL* Should have something along the lines of "should your wish to purchase future upgrades to PE you cost will be lower." *LOL*
 

 
 
 
Took my smartass pills this morning, didn`t I?
 
 
Oh, and PS I am still using the lexicon Pantheon I got with PE 3 or 4 as a basic reverb, plus I still have Roland Virtual Soundcanvas from 5 AND the dreaded TT1, both of which get an occasional airing....
Me? a Luddite? Non-Brits - google it. 

Well - with PE you get DimPro which has significantly better patches than the LE version you get with SE - including a bunhc of electric piano/rhodes patches.  Also, PE comes with True Pianos which is a dedicated piano sampler.  It only has a single grand piano but there are a number of adjustments you can make to the tone that provide a reasonable level of control.  I've been very impressed with this in the short time I've used it.  For me, those two were worth the upgrade.

re. the upgrade offer.  Check the website - you might qualify for the cheaper upgrade.  But I don't know what criteria they were using.  There were no special controls when I bought it, it was just a case of finding the right option.

Well for 99$ i would instantly geht the upgrade, but i couldn't find it! The only one i found was the sescond one on this site http://www.store.cakewalk...ductid=16-CWSP8.50-20C for 199$
I really don't know what to...;)