Gosh, I go away and do some real work and I come back to an argument about the validity of Sonar's subscription model, in a post which is actually about an Ipad app.
 
First to the poster moaning about Sonar's subscription model, as a long time user, now 14 years or since Sonar 2...yea that's right...Sonar 2 (I know they're some here that have been with Sonar since DOS, but 14 years is still pretty impressive) I can safely say that Sonar won't lose me as a customer.  The subscription model, whilst I was sceptical, for once I watched and see how it played out.  I was also very lucky or Cakewalk/Gibson was tricky lol, to get one of the 60 day free trials very early on in the piece, which converted me into a subscriber.  I have no problems paying 17 bucks a month Oz.  And this is even after not really using many of the new features.  I've used the re-set mix once, which is fantastic...it's a like a proper digital desk.  I've also used the Vocal Align feature once too, but I know I will use it again in the future.  So whilst I'm probably not getting much bang for my buck, there are things in the pipe line which I know I will.  The Linear Phase is what I'm looking forward to.  My point, if I had one, lol is...most of us are reasonably happy.  Gosh if I had to change DAW now, to Studio One or Cubase...it would not be pleasant.  Sonar's mix screen is still by far the best, it behaves like a proper desk, and looks nice.  As a visual artist too now, I don't like battle ship grey.  I'm rambling now lol.
 
As for Tenfoot, look I"ve used VControl, and a few others...the screen space is small...it might be better on an Ipad Pro...it's too fiddly for my big fingers.  I tried a few weeks to use my touch screen laptop, and again it was the same problem.  I suspect if I had a massive touch screen monitor, I would feel different...and I'm thinking of one of these.
 
Now if you were going to use Sonar live, or as I've suggested you were in a studio by myself and you were recording yourself, then I can see why you would want an app.  But again there is Vcontrol.
 
Maybe rather than focus on an Ipad app, and lets face it, after having various tablets over the years are really only a fashion item...they're pretty useless...esp if you have a Phablet, but maybe Cakewalk and Gibson should focus on more prochannel stuff.  I've spent a few hundred dollars in the last few months on Waves emulator plugs, and I'd be happy to spend that money if Cakewalk and Gibson could develop  a Redd Console emulator...or a whole Abbey Road suite to fit into Sonar.
 
Anyway that's my two cents.
 
Peace and Love. 

BenMMusTech
 
 
Maybe rather than focus on an Ipad app, and lets face it, after having various tablets over the years are really only a fashion item...they're pretty useless...esp if you have a Phablet,  

I suspect you may have fallen victim to the availability heuristic on this one Ben. It's a bit like a guy test driving a Porsche 911 then claiming it wasn't a sports car because he couldn't manage to drive it over 30 miles an hour.
 
Let me give you a real world example of the usefulness of a phablet 'fashion item'. At gigs I run a 24 channel mix through an X32 digital mixer. Inside that mixer are 8 FX slots containing various multi FX, as well as matrix outputs for crossovers and VCA's used to control parallel compression mixes. At sound check I can stand FOH, and using only my fashion accessory phablet and x32mix App (cost$4.99), I have access to everything that used to be contained in two 16 unit SKB racks; crossovers, comps, reverbs, delays - the lot. At the touch of a fully customisable button on any layer of the fully customisable phablet app, I can access 4 band parametric EQ's with RTA's as wallpaper on every channel, all send/ returns - you get the picture. Anyone on stage can have their own customisable in-ear mix, entirely controlled by the same phablet app installed on their own phone. Incidentally, the x32 App for ipad is nowhere near as functional or customisable as the 'phablet' app. It is in fact the bane of the x32 forum.
 
Before and after the show I run Traktor DJ synced to Abelton Live, which in turn controls DMXIS to run the lightshow. On my stylishly sky blue 'fashion accessory phablet' I concurrently run another app called Kontrol (cost $1.99) which allows me to load and trigger sample libraries, songs, warp tempo's, even reset the midi sync between Traktor and Abelton in case of drift due to tempo variation.
 
Dude - if you have fashion accessories that can do all of that you must have some seriously pimped out Nikes!
 
With regard to the sometimes working V-control,  compare the total functionality and $8.00 cost of the above two brilliantly designed apps to the $50 per year subscription app that you are recommending as a viable option as a transport controller Sonar. 
 
I am in no way bagging Sonar here - I love the program. I am just saying that a remote transport app that worked reliably would be great. Cakewalk might even make some dollars out of it on Google Play store. Apple will of course take most of the revenue from the ipad version:)
 
I see your 2 cents and raise you 2
 
  

Anderton
My favorite remote was still the DigiTech GNX4. That had a control surface plug-in for SONAR where you could record-enable new tracks and do all kinds of cool stuff. It was wired, but for a guitar player with both hands occupied, it was great. In a similar vein there's the POK which while not offering visuals, can bind keyboard shortcuts to footswitches. 

I had never seen the POK Craig. I need one! I wonder how well it plays with the playlist function on Sonar? Any remote I have tried does not seem to get along well. I ended up wiring an rca jack into the back of an old PC keyboard and soldered it to the the two contacts of the space bar. I then ran an open circuit footswitch to it. Spacebar footpedal:)

MelodicJimmy
And, honestly, it seems like it'd be a pretty easy thing to do, no?

No. It is not "pretty easy thing". At least not for me. If that is pretty easy for you, please make it and share with the community...
 

tenfoot
The third party apps like touch daw are flakey at best though (erratic connection on start-up due to rtpmidi etc)

Problems with rtpmidi are coming from local network infrastructure. If your Sonar computer is unstable with rtpmidi, it can be unstable with any other network based programs. X32 is specially tuned by design to be a network server.
 
For those who need remote transport control for Sonar, the following is in development:
 

 
It supposed to work in any web browser.
 
How many "users" I except? Less then has written into this thread so far...

If there was a proven remote app for Sonar I would actually BUY a Tab or Pad just for that reason, both for remote use and also for ergonomic reasons.

Anyone who spends as much time as I using a mouse starts running into physical issues like numb wrists and sore shoulders - most of those are to do with the unnatural position one has to be in when holding a mouse for 10 hours a day. I have been looking at getting a touch screen for my main monitor (a'la Raven 2.0) just to have more physical movement in the day, but I'm not having any luck finding an affordable option.
 
Let me know if anyone has any suggestions..

azslow3

MelodicJimmy
And, honestly, it seems like it'd be a pretty easy thing to do, no?

No. It is not "pretty easy thing". At least not for me. If that is pretty easy for you, please make it and share with the community...
 

tenfoot
The third party apps like touch daw are flakey at best though (erratic connection on start-up due to rtpmidi etc)

Problems with rtpmidi are coming from local network infrastructure. If your Sonar computer is unstable with rtpmidi, it can be unstable with any other network based programs. X32 is specially tuned by design to be a network server.
 
For those who need remote transport control for Sonar, the following is in development:
 
 
It supposed to work in any web browser.
 
How many "users" I except? Less then has written into this thread so far...

I have a dedicated wireless router in the back of my rack,  not online with nothing connected to it but the X32 and my laptop Az. I am not sure how much simpler my infrastructure can get.  If rtpmidi see's and connects to a device it is fine, and 7 out of 10 times it will. It's the other 3 times that rendered it unsuitable for me. 
 
The app looks great!  Any chance of loop and next/previous marker buttons? If it easy to connect and stable you might be surprised at how many users you get Azslow.  Having used AZ control I have no doubt it will be excellent. 

LJB
If there was a proven remote app for Sonar I would actually BUY a Tab or Pad just for that reason, both for remote use and also for ergonomic reasons.

Exactly Ludwig!   That is a great point -  I think a lot of us would happily pay for the app. 

Anderton
It's not some idiot, it's the same idiot from Australia who comes in here periodically, using a variety of alts, to dump on SONAR and the forum community.

fwiw, what i don't understand is why the forum "hosts" don't use their hostly powers to delete off-topic posts and ban regular ot posters? it would make for a much tidier forum... as it stands, they tend to just answer the regular should-be-in-a-faq type questions, and sometimes move posts to other forums... but, i supoose, it is what it is...

V Control with Ney-Fi is much more reliable than AC7 plus rtpmidi (agreed, that only works occasionally)

And i don't remember forking out 50$ every year for V-Control 😜

I don't use it every day, but it sure fires up correctly every time i do.

Cheers,
Jerry

tenfootI tried Vcontrol a while ago Kenni.  Seemed to work OK, but still had its moments. On top of this,  last time I checked they wanted $50 per year subscription for what amounts to control via apple bonjour embedded in an android browser.  Anyone that thinks Sonar's membership plan isn't a bargain should take a peek at that!
 

On top of which they now use ilok and Sonar isn't in the list of supported DAWs.

I have the original version of V-Control and I've recommended it before now. I won't be "upgrading" (in reality downgrading in all sorts of ways) and I won't be recommending it any more.

V-Control 2 lists Logic as a supported DAW. Good luck to them, but I can't see why anyone running Logic would subscribe to V-Control when Apple's Logic Remote is pretty much flawless. And free.