Electronic/dance music software

In your opinion, which is a better program for composing electronic/dance music with Sonar 4?

1. Project 5
2. Fruity Loops
3. Reason
4. ?

Advantages of the 3 (what I hear and what I experienced):

1. Reason (excellent user interface for sound sculpting. Probably the best app next to Reaktor for sound sculpting. Refills (sound expansion packs) are widely available. Dr. Rex player for loops. Drum machine style sequencing, Very stable. Main sequencer has auto quantize. Wide range of preset sounds (you probably will never get to hear all of them.)

2. Project 5 (excellent step sequencer, Groove matrix/pattern editor for pattern style sequencing, able to use Vsts/Dxis. Wide range of preset sounds (you probably will never get to listen to all of them. Audio recording. Midi out capability. Very very smooth sound quality. Track freeze)

3. Fruityloops (great step sequencing/drum machine style sequenicing, Vsts/Dxis, nice internal synths, fairly inexpensive, free upgrades for lifetime on downloaded versions. Audio recording. Midi out. Great sound quality).

Disadvantages (for me):

1. Reason (no audio recording, no midi out, no Vsts/Dxis, main sequencer is too basic for the most part, Sound quality is kind of undetailed/harsh (it sounds great though when you export audio or rewire into another device), No sample recorder/editor.

2. Project 5 (A bit of a learning curve. Being a fairly new app there are a several feature ommissions that can make sequencing tedious (eg only one type of record mode, no auto quantize, no punch style recording, no clip muting, no auto arming of tracks.). Too many mouse clicks for certain tasks such as recording. Very Cpu intensive (you will want a fairly up to date processor).

3. Fruityloops ( too drum machine based. Stopped using it after that).


All three will work for dance music, it just depends on your workflow style. I've heard amazing stuff done on all three.

Then again you don't have to go all software. I get a lot of stuff done in Sonar for the most part. I also got a lot done with a mpc 2000.

Reason is a toy as is FruityLoops

This is not a fair statement. There's more stuff out on Major labels and on the radios that has bits - if not most of the track - done in Reason and/or FL than Sonar.
They're not toys. Neither is Sonar... but if I had to stay on a desert island with only one piece of music software for the rest of my days, it would be Reason (over PT, Sonar, P5 and FL).