How similar is PT11 to Cakewalk?

mixmkr
Wow...great replies.  Thx Craig, as I am coming from a 2"/console background, and what I've seen didn't seem so strange.  I LOVE Sonar and can't dream of switching, but I think I'm going to have some opportunities to work at other places that run PT11.  Plus, I can see doing stuff created there and bring home to work on and a copy of PT11 might be in the future, JUST for that reason.  Like I said, I am totally stoked with Sonar, but it looks like I might have to "give in" and be a little more flexible with what DAW I might have to use.
It looks like owning X3, that I might have some stuff to offer as well, that PT doesn't excel in.  That's some good news too.

Anderton
My current version is PT 10, so I may have missed some extra goodies in PT 11 but in any event, Pro Tools was always the program I recommended for people who were transitioning from 2" 24-track and a mixer to a computer. It's not a single-window program like Sonar X-series, Live, or Reason; people from the tape world were comfortable going to something with separate mixing and recording windows and an obvious, simple workflow.
 
Pro Tools has maintained that stripped-down, traditional recording paradigm while adding features like warp audio, floating-point audio engine, non-real-time bounce, envelopes that didn't require a separate folder, and Beat Detective, although almost always after these features had appeared in other programs. I'm sure there are features I'm overlooking, but other than Beat Detective I really can't think of anything offhand that Pro Tools innovated since it first appeared. MIDI is improved, although still not on a par with the Cubase/Logic/Sonar trio - the emphasis remains on audio recording and mixing. Including a version of Sibelius for notation is a plus but note that although a lot of people assume it's a full version, it's not. FWIW I think the stretchable content that's included is above average in terms of putting sketches together quickly in various genres.
 
What you won't find at all is pretty much anything relating to dance, beats, or EDM other than warp audio. You can't Acidize files or create Apple Loops, there's nothing like the matrix view, no step sequencer, etc. You can't do something like turn a wav file into a stretchable loop, drag it to the desktop, then drag it back in somewhere else. If I had to do EDM on Pro Tools, I'd probably go insane. Same with comping; X3 really changed the game for DAWs in general with that one. I found punches a lot easier in PT than comping (if the artist was any good).
 
PT's PDC is primitive compared to Sonar and other programs, which has tripped me up more than once with things like the UA plugs. But at least it exists now, and I think the worst of its issues have likely been sorted out.
 
Dave is right about the shortcuts, I suggest investing in one of those Pro Tools-specific QWERTY keyboards. If you don't and get one later, you'll kick yourself for not having bought it sooner.
 
For tracking, editing, and mixing, Pro Tools will do what you need it to do, and do it more or less like everyone else so there's not much of a learning curve. As long as you stay within its proscribed functionality, Pro Tools is a relatively painless experience (assuming a sufficiently powerful computing environment, of course). But if you want to venture even a little bit out of the box, it can be very frustrating. I did a hip-hop session back in October that tracked with Pro Tools but when it came time to mix, I had to bring the tracks into Sonar. I couldn't do what was needed in the PT environment.
 
So why do I use Sonar instead of Pro Tools? I do a huge variety of projects that require an equally huge variety of production techniques. I need to be able to shift from rock, to EDM, to remixes, to a quickie soundtrack, to narration, to restoration, etc. There are even some mastering techniques I've developed that can be done most efficiently in Sonar, and I have not found a program whose workflow is compatible with so many project types. But if my goal was simply to track musicians, edit the tracks, do punches, and mix, Pro Tools would do everything I needed.

Anderton
My current version is PT 10, so I may have missed some extra goodies in PT 11 but in any event, Pro Tools was always the program I recommended for people who were transitioning from 2" 24-track and a mixer to a computer. It's not a single-window program like Sonar X-series, Live, or Reason; people from the tape world were comfortable going to something with separate mixing and recording windows and an obvious, simple workflow.
 
Pro Tools has maintained that stripped-down, traditional recording paradigm while adding features like warp audio, floating-point audio engine, non-real-time bounce, envelopes that didn't require a separate folder, and Beat Detective, although almost always after these features had appeared in other programs. I'm sure there are features I'm overlooking, but other than Beat Detective I really can't think of anything offhand that Pro Tools innovated since it first appeared. MIDI is improved, although still not on a par with the Cubase/Logic/Sonar trio - the emphasis remains on audio recording and mixing. Including a version of Sibelius for notation is a plus but note that although a lot of people assume it's a full version, it's not. FWIW I think the stretchable content that's included is above average in terms of putting sketches together quickly in various genres.
 
What you won't find at all is pretty much anything relating to dance, beats, or EDM other than warp audio. You can't Acidize files or create Apple Loops, there's nothing like the matrix view, no step sequencer, etc. You can't do something like turn a wav file into a stretchable loop, drag it to the desktop, then drag it back in somewhere else. If I had to do EDM on Pro Tools, I'd probably go insane. Same with comping; X3 really changed the game for DAWs in general with that one. I found punches a lot easier in PT than comping (if the artist was any good).
 
PT's PDC is primitive compared to Sonar and other programs, which has tripped me up more than once with things like the UA plugs. But at least it exists now, and I think the worst of its issues have likely been sorted out.
 
Dave is right about the shortcuts, I suggest investing in one of those Pro Tools-specific QWERTY keyboards. If you don't and get one later, you'll kick yourself for not having bought it sooner.
 
For tracking, editing, and mixing, Pro Tools will do what you need it to do, and do it more or less like everyone else so there's not much of a learning curve. As long as you stay within its proscribed functionality, Pro Tools is a relatively painless experience (assuming a sufficiently powerful computing environment, of course). But if you want to venture even a little bit out of the box, it can be very frustrating. I did a hip-hop session back in October that tracked with Pro Tools but when it came time to mix, I had to bring the tracks into Sonar. I couldn't do what was needed in the PT environment.
 
So why do I use Sonar instead of Pro Tools? I do a huge variety of projects that require an equally huge variety of production techniques. I need to be able to shift from rock, to EDM, to remixes, to a quickie soundtrack, to narration, to restoration, etc. There are even some mastering techniques I've developed that can be done most efficiently in Sonar, and I have not found a program whose workflow is compatible with so many project types. But if my goal was simply to track musicians, edit the tracks, do punches, and mix, Pro Tools would do everything I needed.