New to Cakewalk...
I'm a college freshman who just started sequencing MIDI within the last couple of years, and I've always used a program called Anvil Studio to do it. I've decided I want more control when working with audio on my computer, and I'm looking for good programs that can give me this. I don't know anything about sound editing or sound-editing programs, and I don't have any instruments I could connect to my laptop or any way to do high-quality recording. I'm mostly interested in being able to sequence MIDI easily, print sheet music of MIDI I've sequenced, mix audio tracks, convert from one audio format to another, and apply effects to audio easily. I don't want to spend a lot, so I was planning on using Anvil Studio (which is free) to sequence MIDI and buying several cheap programs or optional Anvil Studio accessories to do the other things, but I just started looking at Cakewalk SONAR Home Studio tonight, and it looks like it might be an all-in-one package of the things I'm looking for. To any Cakewalk enthusiasts who are willing to give me some advice: would SONAR Home Studio meet the needs I've listed? Why should I get Home Studio instead of several cheaper programs? Does Home Studio mostly consist of features I'm not looking for? Do you have a high ability to transfer music from your brain to your computer with Home Studio alone, or do you need other programs? Are there any Cakewalk (or other companies') programs that better fit my needs (or could I buy several cheaper Cakewalk programs to do the things I listed above)? Would buying the XL version be worth it for me? I think I would love to fulfill all my needs with a single program, but I'm uncertain whether Home Studio does this (because I can't play around with it before I buy it) and I have to be price-conscious. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a bunch of stuff I don't need. If this program does a lot more than the things I listed, I invite anyone to try to convince me that I could really use those features, but keep in mind that I don't know a lot of technical stuff about working with audio on a computer. Thank you VERY much to anyone who takes the time to help me with this!!!! I've found that I'm more passionate when sequencing MIDI than when I do most other things, but I don't know that much about working with audio and my ambitions aren't too big at this point. I would love to equip my computer to do all the things I can currently imagine doing with sound, but I would hate to spend a bunch of money on something that didn't help me or spend money on an expensive program with a ton of features I could never use. Thanks!!!!!!!!!