I still don't see where a potential new user will hear about, then be attracted to Sonar (except maybe SOS).
 
Everything that's just been mentioned points users away from Sonar.
 

jpetersen
Some years back I was at Frankfurt Musikmesse and Brandon Ryan demoed the Matrix, looping stuff and recording the result into tracks. Very slick. And not only for EDM. But as usual, I cannot remember how he did it.
 
Unfortunately the only youtubes I can find on the Matrix are pretty lame by comparison.
 
Edit: Found this, but it's EDM-centric and doesn't go into the same depth.
https://youtu.be/KvuAsX05jUs
https://youtu.be/h3eM2r0ouFo
 
Edit2: Ah, it's important to watch all the "Worlds Collide" videos from the start, not just these two.

The first Advanced Workshop had a video on using the Matrix for songwriting. Maybe I should just update it for 2016 and put it on YouTube.

Paul P
I still don't see where a potential new user will hear about, then be attracted to Sonar (except maybe SOS).
 
Everything that's just been mentioned points users away from Sonar.

 
The only explanation I have for the surge of interest in Artist and (even more surprising) it making the top 10 in MI Sales Trak last month is that this forum, and the site in general, probably have pretty good SEO. If you search on "SONAR Artist Reviews," you get a lot of hits.
 
I think what points people to SONAR is the versatility. Live is the only other program that has something like the Matrix View, Acid Pro is the only other program that lets you create and edit acidized files, the REX import is outstanding, Propellerheads says the ReWire implementation is one of the best, you get a ton of plug-ins so you don't have to invest in lots of extras, it's touch-enabled, implements lots of drag-and-drop, etc. 
 

Anderton
 
I think what points people to SONAR is the versatility. Live is the only other program that has something like the Matrix View, Acid Pro is the only other program that lets you create and edit acidized files, the REX import is outstanding, Propellerheads says the ReWire implementation is one of the best, you get a ton of plug-ins so you don't have to invest in lots of extras, it's touch-enabled, implements lots of drag-and-drop, etc. 
 

I think an often overlooked and under advertised feature of Sonar that would also attract people is the Playlist function. Even when I was using another DAW to program in the early nineties I was using Cakewalk on stage just for the playlist.
 
If you check most any other DAW forum you will find a thread requesting a play list feature 'like sonar has had for years'. 
I can't remember exactly when,  but a few years back Cakewalk released a version that excluded the playlist. Following the uproar it was thankfully reinstated in an update:) 
 
 

I can confirm the "like in Sonar" comments in other forums.
My other DAWs do the everyday things better, but Sonar has depth.

Bristol_Jonesey
To adopt a "No new features - just fixes please" strategy begs the question, what would the devs be doing for the other 9 months of the year?
 
A balanced mix please, of fixes, enhancements & new features, just like it's always been.

You always summarize things so eloquently!  There are MANY rough spots I hope get tweaked (collapsible folders in console, an amazing arrange system, etc); many new users love the doodads and it saves them money not having to buy other vsts until GAS hits them hard; SPlat is soooooo stable on many machines, I'd be frustrated if workflow was ignored.  Bugs DON'T bug me... and I assume most are user error, ignorance, or machine specific.
 
The bakers bake well... whiners please dunk ur heads in a vat of cold water.  The "mememe" focus of soooo many people is just friggin' sad. 

Vastman

Bristol_Jonesey
To adopt a "No new features - just fixes please" strategy begs the question, what would the devs be doing for the other 9 months of the year?

I'd be frustrated if workflow was ignored.  Bugs DON'T bug me... and I assume most are user error, ignorance, or machine specific.

 
A comparison of the rate of problem reports to that of fixes published in the eZines would suggest the devs have their hands full even now.
 
Workflow issues are important and in many cases can be though of as a kind of bug. But if you really use Sonar intensively, you will be working around bugs that are real and confirmed.

jpetersen
 
A comparison of the rate of problem reports to that of fixes published in the eZines would suggest the devs have their hands full even now.
 
Workflow issues are important and in many cases can be though of as a kind of bug. But if you really use Sonar intensively, you will be working around bugs that are real and confirmed.

I think that's just blather... show me the data.  You have none I presume.  BTW, while ur at it, post your system specs in  your sig.  If you're "intensively" using Sonar it's surprising you haven't done this long ago.
 
Actually, I wish there was a list of confirmed bugs and their status... I think it would be far less than X3 or any prior version.  And your assertion that "dvs have their hands full even now" is just that... unsubstantiated blather.
 
But now you're saying workflow issues are bugs???  OY!  One can do something many ways... different DAWs do so... which one has the "bug"?  
 
Most around here feel SPlt is relatively bug free.  In any hugely complex and powerful system, working on different configs, bug (often associated with a unique system) crop up.  There will ALWAYS be bugs.  Go on any forum, for ANY DAW... and you will find yourself.

My intent in the original post was to include workflow issues as part of the process of a period of emphasis on bug fixes.  The idea, which I could have expressed better in the original post (which I did not expect to create all these other posts) is that there should be an emphasis on making the current product as good as possible.     I should have spelled it out clearer then.  And the emphasis on this does not need to be for a year - in response to "what will they do the rest of the year."
 
There have been responses to the original post that are all over the place and that is probably a good thing.  That means people are thinking.  If everyone agrees on everything, then no one is thinking.
 
I trust that Cakewalk will find the balance.    There is some truth to many of the viewpoints expressed here and maybe it provides some useful information.
 
The fact appears to be that Cakewalk is developing software for a continuously varying and diverse set of hardware, that makes it difficult for any manufacturer to achieve 100% for everyone.   That is my guess at this point based on all the posts.  And it appears that this "moving target" of hardware variety does not allow for every feature and function to be tested on all systems that are out there prior to release.
 
Let's try not to make the various opinions into a personal deal.  
 
Personally, I would love to change every color of every feature to a color of my choice, but if that risks something else going wrong, I would say forget it.
 
It is a great program.  I am grateful for what is working great, which is alot and frankly more than enough to reach my personal goals with it.  Nothing was intended to bash the program.  It was just a suggestion. 
 
 
 
 

deswind, I hope you don't think anything in this thread was personal.  You've stated quite eloquently how certain things affect users differently.  It's so true.
 
I've been pretty guilty about complaining about other people's complaints at times, because we all do different things and use Sonar for our own reasons, but I don't think most really use everything Sonar has to offer, and some things still in it aren't quite the "State of the Art" that some really want/need.
 
I've been doing this for over 20 years, and everyone has to work around a lot of stuff.  The great proponents of "bug fixes" don't usually throw in a sentence saying they can & do pretty easily get around them.
 
The proponents of "new features" are almost just as bad, of which I'm probably one.  But I also have seen the recent "recording on demand" requests and I'm flummoxed (very retro IMHO). 
 
To each his/her own but CW is doing a better job now for themselves since I've been with them, and I do applaud them and sincerely trust it will benefit me as it always has.
 
I do think this forum gets too defensive at times these days, but as a whole they're are so many helpful & industrious people here.  So I think we should forgive all of us.