For me the biggie (which has become such second nature I think most people have forgotten about it) is the SMART TOOL
 
Thinking back to 8.5 (which I used a lot) it is frightening how much you can now do with a single tool
 
Add to this the Pro Channel, Skylight, Screensets, the multi-dock and the new toys (Melodyne with ARA integration is just insane - especially if you can stretch to the Melodyne upgrade to Editor, the polyphonic pitch correction is just voodoo IMHO!)

chuckebaby

paulo

Roo Stercogburn
If you can use 8.5 with its 'challenging' interface, you'll have no trouble learning X3. Go for it.

Shows that we're all different - the console view in X series although now improved by the return of custom colours is still worse than 8.5 and one of the main reasons I have avoided X anything so far.
 
Now that it is possible to make it look not quite so horrible and even though the fx bins and such still suck on narrow strips view, I am actually  tempted this time, but retailers here (UK) still seem to have no info at all on when box set upgrades will be available. I have spoken to several and assuming they speak the truth, they seem to have been left completely in the dark, which seems very poor for a product that was released nearly a month ago. One of them didn't even know it was out. More worryingly, a vey large retailer near me has just stopped stocking Gibson products because they say that their delivery times / reliabilty of deliveries is just plain awful and they are fed up with having to tell customers that ...." erm no, it still hasn't arrived" . Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

its hard to give an honest opinion of this software by just looking at it.
specially with all the changes now, VST 3 being the largest IMO
8.5 cant even compare. x3 makes it look like a toy.

FYI my opinion is based on having tried both the X1/2 demos not " just looking at it". I've always liked the browser better in X and the pro channel is a good thing, but that doesn't change the fact that the console view in particular was a backward step in terms of being able to see the names of things properly, not because of any improvements, but because of all the wasted screen space on the layout and up until now the swathes of dull grey - just horrible IMHO. The multidock thing is just a glorified version of the tabs in 8.5 and I wouldn't personally use it anyway as I prefer the console view on a seperate monitor not crammed into the top or bottom of the track view. You may say looks don't matter, but if I'm going to spend hours loking at something I'd prefer it to be easy on the eye, same as I wouldn't buy a car no matter how "cool" it was if the seats were so uncomfortable that I hated being in it and it broke down all the time - some may call standing on the roadside next to their cool looking, but broken down car progress. I just wave as I drive past them in my old uncool car that is very comfortable and never breaks down. ;)
 
Also, the biggest obstacle between me and worldwide super-producer status is not how old the DAW is, it's the idiot trying to work it ;)
 
X3 has upped the ante for sure and may finally be more acceptable (to me) aesthetically speaking, but as there is no demo I cannot try it and currentlly cannot buy it either, so looking is all I've got to go on there.
 

I personally "clicked" with X1 straight away, IMHO X2 and X3 have just taken the concept and improved it with each upgrade.
 
Try the X2 demo and approach it with an open mind. Be prepared to try a "new" or different way of doing something and after a while it'll all make sense. The smart tool is a typical example, at first it seems a bit backward because it has fixed functions but once you get used to it adapting to each view it makes perfect sense.
 
Since X1 the only time I used to switch tools was for comping. With the comping set up in X3 I don't even have to do that. I may very occasionally use one of the shape drawing tools but other than that I never need to switch now. Unlike in 8.5 where changing tools happened in almost every view change.
 
The whole program is full of stuff like that. Have I mentioned screensets? I could go on about those all day.
 
Thanks Mike (mudgel) for correcting the name mis-spelling.

If you're gonna jump, watch as many tutorial videos as you can find.  CW and many others have posted lots on youtube etc.  Watching these will definitely accelerate your transition to the X series.
 
You know the old saying: "no pain, no gain".  There will be some initial pain, but the gains are well worth it.

jlizerbram
I've been a Cakewalk DAW user for many years, and spent the majority of my time in Sonar 7 and 8 (my current version being 8.5).  I've had much success with it.  Is it worth moving to X3 - will it be a huge learning curve with the Skylight look and feel, and inspector, among all these new terms I'm just getting to understand?  What has been your experience moving from the Sonar 8 versions to X versions?

It's totally worth it! However, I would seriously consider upgrading your system in order to unleash X3 to its full potential. Those old Q6600's were great a few years back, but the newer i7 systems, loaded Ram, are the way to go.

That's why I prefer Pro Channel sticking to basic channel strip type operation. EQ, compression, gating, etc. makes sense in there and provides good workflow without getting in the way of things you would normally put in the bin (chorus, delay, etc). I'm already annoyed by BReverb2 being in the Pro Channel. Right now, small exceptions notwithstanding, the ProChannel isn't fighting but rather complementing the fx bin. Please keep it that way!

All i can say is
It is a No Brainer

Bought the X1 so called "upgrade" from 8.5 from 8 from 6 from 5 from 4 from 3, bla bla. Nope not for me. Fuuny how every time something new is released, the previous version is suddenly looked upon as useless and not worthy of any serious discussion. Was tough for me but I have made a irrevocable decision. I am going to start all over again learning a daw gui, but it won't be X anything. It will be something else.  

pianodano
Bought the X1 so called "upgrade" from 8.5 from 8 from 6 from 5 from 4 from 3, bla bla. Nope not for me. Fuuny how every time something new is released, the previous version is suddenly looked upon as useless and not worthy of any serious discussion. Was tough for me but I have made a irrevocable decision. I am going to start all over again learning a daw gui, but it won't be X anything. It will be something else.  

Danny . . . really sounds like you're done (irrevocable decision), but at least hang out a while and try the demo for X3. It really is some of the bakers best work.
Software moves on, as certain as death and taxes, and the other DAWs are apparently rumoured to not be bug free. Whatever, find what works best for you.
 
For the OP . . . yes, upgrade, big learn curve, great software, make sure your system specs are up for it, a lot has changed from 8.5 to X3 (in Windows OS, Audio + Sonar)

Wait till you try the demo. Do a project in it, see how well it works for you.