Bristol_Jonesey
 
I downloaded & tried Cubase but could not make sense of it whatsoever.

Like jumping off the Clifton suspension bridge!
IMHO Cubase is for people who complain about Sonar's staff view limitations. It is good for composers with music theory qualifications far above mine. I am primarily a technician that can play a number of instruments well enough to have respected ideas about how arrangements can be enhanced, which is why people pay me.
Ask me to notate it and I am an empty keg of beer
:)

Cut my teeth on Cakewalk since version 2.  Studio One 3.  Different tools entirely...
 
I reach for Platinum first - its fast, its efficient, I just know it and it doesn't fail.  80% of my work is on Platinum, using a MOTU AVB interface.
 
If its live, many inputs and mics,  I use Studio One.  I have a CS18ai, RM32ai (love them for the price \ performance) and a nice touch screen.   The entire system is homogeneous and its FAST to setup and use.  95% of the use time in a live environment is mic placement, and input patching from other systems.  I have many input \ output assignment configurations.  I usually dial one up, and I am good to go with track assignments. Its no where good as templates, but takes care of a ton of basic setup.
 
I have learned a bit of Pro Tools to keep up to date with other writing partners.   Learning is a joy to me - however, remembering is the tough part..   :o)
 
Lance

I've uses Pro tools. could never get it to sound as good as Sonar.

LLyons
Learning is a joy to me - however, remembering is the tough part..   :o)
 
Lance

In some ways (this), we are the same

Started with Cakewalk back in the late 80's....then tape only for awhile....then made the jump back into Cakewalk with Pro Audio 9....used that for several years....then Sonar 8.5, X3 and now Platinum.
 
I also own and occasionally play around with Reaper...which I like, but I'm just more used to the way Cakewalk/Sonar works that I tend to always gravitate to it.
 
I did use another one too...back in the late 90's/very early 2000's...but can't even remember what it was....so it didn't leave a major impression on me, I guess.

Music X. An early 90s Amiga application, MIDI sequencing only if I recall correctly.
Cubasis. Again, early/mid 90s. Buggy, incomplete in many ways and the current iOS version of Cubasis blows it away. As it should, an ipad is a bit more powerful than a 486 PC, even if the PC did have a massive 4 megabytes of RAM. And it was a cheaper way into
Cubase. Used it until I discovered Sonar (version 4 I think) and found I much prefer Sonar.
Pro Tools. I've sat in a studio or two and tried to sort out a few things like eq settings or mix levels I couldn't find an adequate way to explain to the engineer. Never owned it. It used to be expensive and tied to limited and very expensive hardware. MIDI was non-existent or nearly so, unique third party plugin format.... Basically a step backwards from Sonar in many ways.
Live. I just don't like it, nor the instruments, nor the effects or the workflow and I've little use for bundled loops. Though I have used Live Lite at the rare times I've needed to take some synths and something to flexibly send MIDI to hardware somewhere.

Currently using Logic Pro and awaiting MacOS Sonar. Current only PC is unreliable and Windows 10 is a very good reason not to spend money to replace/rebuild it when we've Macs anyway.

I also have the basic version of Mixbus, which is interesting and it certainly does have a recognisably "American studio" kind of quality to its audio. Whether that's better or worse than any of the other console amd channel strip emulators around or even no console emulation at all is a matter of taste really. It's the only DAW I consider two screens pretty much essential for, though more than one screen helps a lot with any DAW.

- Sonar Plat : My current main DAW. Also use Pro Audio 9 before.
- Live : My previous main daw.
- Reason : Still using it, I like the concept to use only the tools you have and spent more time on making music. And since version 6 it can record audio so I don't need to rewire to other DAWs which is real pain to me lol. But sometime when working with so many instrument/effect tracks, the Reason's rack gui is a bit mess.
- Cubase : Have a change to try since SX to Pro 9 now but never has a change to use it seriously.
- FL Studio : Like cubase, familiar since it call FruityLoops but never use it seriously. I don't like the gui.
- Acid : Love the concept of acidized. Use it before Ableton Live has been introduced.

my first was Sony Acid... v2 ~1999.  Actually i think i had v1 but got rid of the floppy, lol.
I still own Acid because of the ease of use when messing with samples, and my first 2 albums were done on that software.  I demo'd FL long ago.  Live is more for DJ/live use, and i couldn't find a bargain on it.
Took a big step and went to Cubase 4? for a while but it was just too clunky... had to spend time looking everything up.  Tried Sonar demo but not crazy about it back then... a lot like Cubase.  
Got Reason and used it for some songs on an album but it just seems more like a primarily synth-based daw.  Learning curve is different from mainstream DAWs, so my brain got overloaded... i needed to simplify.  Started working with Reaper, which I still have and like but don't do much pro stuff with it.  I did some album tracks on it also which worked out well.  I'll open it up to record some midi or sample stuff for transfer to my keyboards.  
Been using SPLAT for a few years now and like it mostly because of the included features and fx, prochannel, etc.  I usually changed DAWS when a price deal/crossgrade became available for them.

for me i first used cakewalk pro audio 8/9, then have had all versions from then on, always the top version, now i have platinum (lifetime). had and used reaper ever since reaper was. tried out studio one 3 professional on release and that was that, no turning back, does everything i need in a way which just clicks with me, absolutely rock solid, love the features, i use it 99% of the time. have started using platinum a bit more recently, but studio one 3 is still where it's at for me. i could mention mixbus, but i wont

Studio One 
 
Reason 
 
Ableton Live 
 
Logic
 
Cubase 
 
Reaper 
 
Sonar x1 ,x2 , x3 ,Platinum

Hm, I guess I'll play. I have (and regularly use):
PT12 - It's fine and super ubiquitous but I have 48 channels of conversion and they want me to pay HOW MUCH to get more than 32? Yeah...no thanks.
Cubase 8 - It's fine, but the whole "only one clip playing at a time on a track" makes me want to have a seizure. I mean, I have to pre-define my punch points when doing overdubs? Meh.
Reaper 5 - I like it. Particularly for multi-track drum editing. It'd give Sonar a serious run for it's money in my joint if it had ARA.
Studio One 3 - I really like it. A lot. It's getting close to supplanting Sonar as my primary DAW. No fully routed and bussed multi-out track templates (super handy for stuff like Superior Drummer), but really good handling of external hardware FX and good multi-track drum editing.
Sonar - What can I say? Look at my forum join date. Couple of nagging issues that are making Studio One really attractive for me right now, but still mostly my go-to.
 
All of that said, I'm not much of a DAW zealot. Which flavor of DAW I use is one of the least important decisions I make. The whole "DAW X is better than DAW Y" debate has always seemed to me like chefs arguing about which brand of pan to use. I mean, Caphalon vs All-Clad? Meh...I'm just here to make a bourguignon, so pick a pan cause I got a lot of onions to chop.
 
Dean

@razorwit

I feel it is a bit more like choosing a kitchen. Same idea, but more stuff to find than a single pan.