I downloaded the demo version for Sound Forge, and it seems to be a very good program, but could some of you guys who use both point out exactly what you use SF for, and how you integrate it into your workflow.

What special tools do SF have that differentiate it from Sonar as a Mastering tool?

I really would like a program (that isn't as hard as Quantum Physics) that I can do a pretty decent job of Mastering on.

Kevin,
I've just added Sound Forge to my arsenal. I guess I felt that Sonar was just a little short of features when It came to mastering the audio files. Its great for pulling all the audio components of a production together and even editing audio on a large scale just some finer points missing.
Then of course with Sound Forge you get a whole slew of extra VST's (that you can use in Sonar) and then there's CD Architect (worth the price alone for this).
Sorry if my post sounds a bit vague...I'm only now just starting to use SF myself, so I'm no authority. The integration with Soanr is pretty tight with no need to export and import files from one to the other.

It's apples, and oranges, really!
Soundforge is far beyond Sonar in Mastering features, but if you have both, a lot of the effects, compressors, and other features available in Soundforge, become available to you in sonar, as Audio Effects.
I record, and mixdown, in Sonar, and Master in Soundforge, with some help from Ozone 3.
I highly recommend this combination.
Killer!

The two main things I use it for is clip editing and mastering. For example if I want to take some pick clicks out of an acuostic guitar track or a glitch out of a composite edit (after the bounce) I can just select the clip and select Sound Forge from the tools menu. The clip will open in SoundForge I can use the pencil, smooth/enhance process, volume adjust, even pitch bend to edit a selection in the clip. When I save and exit SoundForge Sonar will ask if I want to import the new version to replace the clip I have and I click Yes, Sonar will rebuild the wavform and it's done.

Here is the cool part, If I make a selection in the clip inside Sonar when I open the clip in SoundForge the same selection is in SoundForge and it's zoomed in and centered in right to that spot !! It's magic.

I also use SoundForge when I need a plugin to be applied to just a selection within a clip. For example I might need Autotune to fix one word or phrase but leave the rest of the clip alone. So I can open the clip in SoundForge and apply Autotune to that section. You can even use Acoustic Mirror to process a clip from mono to stereo with room simulation and when it returns to Sonar it automatically converts to a stereo track. SoundForge integrates with Sonar so well I almost forget they are different programs.

For mastering I use the hard limit and normalize some to maximize loudness without compression, trim the ends and perfect the fade at the end of the song, and to do my resample and bit reduction with dither at the very last.

SoundForge also reads and writes almost every file format ever made even ones from antique computers that are no longer in use and other operating systems. It's a real roseta stone. Oh, and it's a loop editor also, after all Acid is from the same vendor.

I've been using SoundForge since version 2 a very long time ago before anyone dreamed of doing multi-track on a computer I can't imagine being without it now.

SoundForge replaced my DAT machine years ago and Sonar replaced my ADAT decks... and almost everything in my rack except my peramps and headphone amp.

I DEFINITLY AGREE WITH BOTH POSTS!! THE CD ARCHITECT IS A GREAT PROGRAM, INDISPENSABLE FOR ME. i HAVE SPE 4, SF 8, AND OZONE ISOTOPE. THE OZONE IS A KILLER MASTERING SUITE WHEN USED PROPERLY.

RIGHT ON, FRANK!!! I WATCH FOR YOUR POSTS AND LEARN A LOT FROM YOU. THANKS!!!! I'M IN THE DALLS AREA, BY THE WAY.

I AM LOOKING AT UPGRADING FROM PE4 TO PE5. I SAW WHERE IT REQUIRES WINDOWS XP 64. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT MINE IS??? I HAVE WINDOWS XP HOME SERV. PACK 2, 2002. ANY HELP DEFINITLY APPRECIATED.

ORIGINAL: mewsician2

It's apples, and oranges, really!
Soundforge is far beyond Sonar in Mastering features, but if you have both, a lot of the effects, compressors, and other features available in Soundforge, become available to you in sonar, as Audio Effects.
I record, and mixdown, in Sonar, and Master in Soundforge, with some help from Ozone 3.
I highly recommend this combination.
Killer!

Almost exactly my workflow as well - here are some of my reasons to have both..
#1 Sample Rate and Word Length reduction in batch mode - (e.g. process thirty 24/48k files down to 16/44.1 while I'm doing something else and then make an .mp3 copy of the original files as well - all in batch mode
#2 I can create my own impulse files for convolution in Sound Forge and use those files in Acoustic Mirror
#3 When I am preparing a radio broadcast it allows me to nail the exact time of a project within 22 minute / 15 minute or any interval section for insertion
#4 I typically do very large long classical recordings for Broadcast and CD - Sound Forge allows me to work and regionalize the entire project much more efficiently than Sonar - and then export directly to CD Architect 5.2 for Red Book authoring
#5 I actually do most of my edits in Sonar with the rare exception that I have to edit at the multi-sample level
#6 I love Sound Forge's statistics - this allows me comprehensive or section RMS vs. Peak analysis
#7 I typically do all of my intro - outro edit with room tone insertion in Sound Forge - since I can see at the resolution of a frame what and where I am
#8 I love Sound Forge's selection duration reading - this is very useful when I am preparing ADR or other audio for spotting or at least getting close to the duration mark when inserting audio into a Sonar Project from Sound Forge
#9 Noise Reduction - I have continued to own my original Sonic Foundry Noise Reduction license and use that in conjunction with some of the other new Sony processess to clean up audio in Sound Forge before I use it in Post Production in Sonar
#10 Clip and Peak detection and restoration - much like number nine above I find the interpolated points correcting squared wave forms I received from some folks to be a life saver - again I do this in Sound Forge and then just pop the data in Sonar - I love that Sound Forge shows up as a tool in my Sonar Menu

#11 (finally!) I don't have a CD player in the Studio so I use Sound Forge's extract from CD to listen to CD's when clients bring me something to listen to - I dont' like Windows Media Hater and SF allows me to show a 'real' RTA while listening instead of a ABBA light show...

-D


Oh I forgot one... I still love radio - FM / AM /Shortwave / XM and so on - I love Sound Forge 7 and 8's ability to work like a VCR and record from an audio source at a specific time and then shut down - I just wish I could edit the input source for each timed event.... oh well

-D

ORIGINAL: chaplainbob

RIGHT ON, FRANK!!! I WATCH FOR YOUR POSTS AND LEARN A LOT FROM YOU. THANKS!!!! I'M IN THE DALLS AREA, BY THE WAY.

I AM LOOKING AT UPGRADING FROM PE4 TO PE5. I SAW WHERE IT REQUIRES WINDOWS XP 64. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT MINE IS??? I HAVE WINDOWS XP HOME SERV. PACK 2, 2002. ANY HELP DEFINITLY APPRECIATED.

First turn off the caps lock, you are shouting. And no, PE5 does not require any special version of XP. There is a special version of the software included that will work on the new 64bit OS but it is in no way required. Don't worry about 64bit for now, it's going to be a while before all the sound card drivers and other tools are 64bit. Maybe by the time PE6 or PE7 is out it will be time to make the jump.

What you have will work perfect.

There is just too many uses for Sound Forge to even cover here... we would be typing for a week..

ORIGINAL: ohhey

There is just too many uses for Sound Forge to even cover here... we would be typing for a week..

I just wish I could 'natively' use the mouse scroll in Sonar to zoom in/out.

-D