Getting close to perfection, now please fix SONAR's Greatest 'Speed Bumps'

• Zombie mode - If you have an external audio interface and it is not turned on or another program is using it, SONAR detects it as missing and warns you, YET CONTINUES LOADING! When it finishes loading, you essentially have SONAR running in a useless ZOMBIE MODE. You then have to shut it down, turn on the interface and then load SONAR all over again. Most other DAWs will pause and allow you to RETRY detecting the interface or simply refuse to load until the interface is turned on.
• Icon inconsistencies - In most programs, you expect that clicking the same icon in the program will always perform the same basic task. In SONAR, you can have the exact same icon associated with a synth, track or folder, and double-clicking each will do something completely different. While the icons in Synth rack perform as expected, I often wish that double-clicking a track icon would also open the associated synths window, not open a file open dialog or change the track height. Double-clicking a folder icon should also open the first associated synth, not show you redundant information about how many tracks its contains. I understand that not all tracks and folders have synths associated, but I would also never double-click those icons expecting synth properties to pop-up. Lastly, custom Synth Rack icons should also be used automatically as track icons when adding vsti synths instead of that default keyboard icon.
• Browser Looping - Despite it having the most flexible browser of any DAW, SONAR's browser also has several long-standing bugs and it actually appears to be getting worse. I say this because each of these problems crept in several versions ago and I'm amazed that they seem to not irritate anyone else except me. Three out of the four bugs that I am about to list could possibly be fixed by simply applying the already existing Groove-clip looping feature to loops as they are being browsed. 
  • MIDI looping bug - SONAR can not properly loop browsed MIDI files that do not end exactly on a bar measure. While looping, SONAR will immediately trigger the first notes of the next loop cycle at the very end of the last note, instead of waiting until the next bar starts, This will cause the loop to go out of sync with the sequencer. This behavior does not occur when the same loop is placed on a track in track view.
  • Audio looping bug #1 - Horrible tempo detection at lower tempos. SONAR cannot accurately detect the tempo of most loops that are below 80bpm and only gets worse the slower that the original tempo is. You should also have an option to specify the correct tempo and number of bars.
  • Audio looping bug #2 - Horrible artifacting when changing loops from the original tempo even when the correct tempo is detected.
  • General looping bug - Let's say that you have a currently playing loop(s) selected in a Media folder that contains many loops and then choose to navigate to one of the other Media Browser tabs eg. Synth or PlugIns. Despite the fact that the loop(s) continues to play, when you return to the Media tab, none of the playing files remain selected. This means that you no longer know which loop(s) are currently playing without potentially re-auditioning every file in the folder.
• 32-bit plugin Exceptional-ism - While SONAR has great built-in 32-bit bridging support, the feature still works almost exactly like it did when it was originally implemented. Obviously, Cakewalk has taken pains to isolate 32-bit plugins from the main DAW. However, the costs of having these plugins operate so independently remains high. In particular, the loss of window focus for key commands and constantly bringing the Windows Task bar in front of SONAR drives me crazy. I would think that after all of these years that this could be improved to make these plugins less intrusive.
• Crash turnaround time - While SONAR continues to improve in overall reliability, crashes remain a reality that has to be dealt with. Right now whenever SONAR crashes, it can take between 5-10 minutes for the SONARPLT.exe process to end in task manager. Until this task ends, you can't relaunch SONAR or even reboot the computer safely. The only thing worse than having your DAW crash in front of a customer is trying to explain to them that they have to wait 5-10 minutes to find out how much work was lost. I understand that this issue is possibly specific to certain audio interface-specific. However, it doesn't make the event any less embarrassing and soul-crushing.

bitman
32-bit plugin Exceptional-ism:
 
It is imperative in a 64 bit environment that 32 bit vst run in their own process separate from the 64 bit hosting application. There is no way around that. At all. Sonar has either acquired, licensed bitbridge from another company. I think it is / was FxMax.  I don't think Cakewalk has control over the bitbridge code that may be why it has remained as it was. That said we are fortunate to have it and largely it works well.
 
 

SilkTone

e.Blue

sharke
 
Why can't you just kill the task manually in the task manager? 

On my system, the SONARPLT.exe task will not allow itself to be killed manually in the task manager after a crash. It simply ignores the command. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with releasing the audio hardware devices.
 
-e.B

 
I've had similar problems. Usually what works is to disconnect/reconnect the audio interface. No reboot required. YMMV.

Bristol_Jonesey

e.Blue

sharke
 
Why can't you just kill the task manually in the task manager? 

On my system, the SONARPLT.exe task will not allow itself to be killed manually in the task manager after a crash. It simply ignores the command. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with releasing the audio hardware devices.
 
-e.B

More of concern should be WHY you are getting these crashes.
 
I haven't had a crash for months and I've revisited many very old projects dating back to 6PE.

musicroom
 
I like what you call zombie mode. I had my interface in the shop and was able to personalize/tinker with sonar settings in the interim. Plus there is a setting in "Preferences -> Playback and Recording" to share the audio drivers with other programs.