So, with the news that Cakewalk is stopping development on Sonar, I was curious about where Studio One was in development. I'm not sure who was copying who, but it sure looks like a lot of recent Sonar stuff has been added to Studio One. Anyone here use both and can give a good accounting of how hard or easy it is to transition to Studio One Pro? I'm mostly interested in what things are more difficult (if anything) and whether there are any areas that are missing (from a Sonar user's perspective). It looks to be  pretty well-rounded...
 
Regards,
Dan
 

I did have to relearn a few things, and I still have to Google for videos or instructions on how to do a few things every now and then, but I like the way Studio One works and have been using it much more than SONAR for a while now. I watched some Groove 3 videos to help transition as well.
 
Still hate to see Cakewalk going away, as I have been using them since the 90s and have several of their plugins and synths.  Good old Gibson, killing everything in their path and charging double or triple what their guitars are really worth.

For anyone looking to transition out of Sonar, given the unfortunate news, Studio One would be my #1 recommendation. It's a very nice DAW, lots of features, very flexible and straightforward, and relatively stable. 
 
I found S1 pretty easy to pick up after using Sonar for years. You can map frequently-used key commands (like "s" to split an audio clip) to make the transition easier.
 
If you're thinking of running a Mac, I would also suggest taking a look at Logic. 
 
And if you're seriously into the music production business and want to play with the big boys, Pro Tools is still king.
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

Might be some useful info in this 2016 thread, too.
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Studio-One-m3347053.aspx

Totally shocked by this news today.
 
I have been a long time Sonar user and also a Studio One user. S1 has been great for me. You can check out tons of online videos for it. 

dcumpian. I'm not sure who was copying who, but it sure looks like a lot of recent Sonar stuff has been added to Studio One.

utter rubbish, before making such comments learn where the original s1 team are from.. they are / were ex-cubase developers. there are many things that look the same across many daws. you think sonar introduced everything ? lol. best look around a bit more.
 
if that news is true regarding updates.. so much for "lifetime updates for a 1 off price"...  one "deal" I'm glad I missed out on.. been burned enough with other vendors without cakewalk joining in.
 

Fog

dcumpian. I'm not sure who was copying who, but it sure looks like a lot of recent Sonar stuff has been added to Studio One.

utter rubbish, before making such comments learn where the original s1 team are from.. they are / were ex-cubase developers. there are many things that look the same across many daws. you think sonar introduced everything ? lol. best look around a bit more.
 
if that news is true regarding updates.. so much for "lifetime updates for a 1 off price"...  one "deal" I'm glad I missed out on.. been burned enough with other vendors without cakewalk joining in.

No, I don't. But for a DAW that is relatively new to the market it looks a lot like all the others. I'm not saying that is good or bad, it just lines up with your comment. I don't think it's a bad thing at all since it will make transitioning from Sonar easier. To my mind, Sonar and S1 have more in common than most others.
 
Regards,
Dan

So is Studio One the most similar DAW to Splat?
 

11Dreams
So is Studio One the most similar DAW to Splat?
 

Based on my read of the reference guide, it looks to be the easiest to transition to and PreSonus has done a lot to add midi features that were largely missing from earlier versions. Cubase probably has the best midi implementation, but the transition from Sonar looks pretty steep.
 
Regards,
Dan

Between the threads here and the Deals forum, Studio One seems to be the most popular alternative.
 
If you're not sure what to do, I suggest doing nothing for now. There's no reason to believe Sonar won't work well for years to come. By the time things start not working, "where to go from here" might be more obvious.