aidanodr
Why doesnt the MATRIX VIEW get more love from Sonar Users and devs ? :D
I wonder if it was developed more could it become very much like the Sonar version of SESSION VIEW in Ableton Live?
The MATRIX VIEW might be very useful for those in the bandlab ecosystem using samples etc to build tracks. I think it is a very hidden Sonar feature that needs a bit more upfront exposure TBH .. via tutes etc
Cakewalk first released that feature as the "Groove Matrix" part of the Project5 v2 synth workstation in 2005, but P5 was eventually discontinued, and parts of it were later incorporated into the Sonar feature set.
Unfortunately, the Matrix view was slapped on to Sonar, and never fully integrated into Sonar with the workflow that P5 once had. In my opinion, that was a lost opportunity.
It seems there was a lot of competition at that time for groove and loop workstations, with the likes of Live, Reason, and Acid. So I understand the Cakewalk product managers wanting to focus on the Sonar product exclusively.
But it is ironic when you look at the success in that area that Ableton Live has had, and also the spinoff of Bitwig Studio.
Bitwig actually has a layout very similar the Groove Matrix in Project5, with the Bitwig Clip Launcher in line with their track arranger view.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/bitwig-studio This setup actually has an advantage over Ableton in that you do not have to switch between two different views, exclusively either arrangement or session. You can work on one screen with a session style matrix, or scenes view, alongside the track arrangement. Workflow enhancement!
Even Mixcraft has adopted this style of workflow in their "Performance Panel".
https://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/ So yes, I would vote +10,000 for any enhancement to the Matrix View, especially considering Cakewalk seems to have had the first use of this approach, so since BandLab is the current owner of the legacy Cakewalk intellectual property they should exploit this feature to its fullest potential!
