I feel your pain.
I have decided next time I buy another year of Sonar will be either when two bugs that hold up my workflow get fixed, or the Bakers introduce a feature I really could use.
 
Two questions, if I may:
 
>> "If you object to things like VCA channels, have you ever used them?"
 
What are VCA channels?
 
>> "DAWs like Live and Cubase, regardless of channel count, render perfectly in real time,
>> while Sonar always seems to generate audio dropouts."
 
By "renders", do you mean you have dropouts when recording?
 
My standard mobile recording setup is an old 10" screen, Atom-based, Windows XP 32-bit
netbook with Sonar 8.5.3, together with two Tascam interfaces (US-1641 and US-1800),
I routinely record live bands, 28 tracks simultaneously.
 
Perhaps your specific problem can be fixed. There are some erudite persons here,
always ready to help.
 
>> Sonar renders OK for bounces.
 
This is what I don't understand.
You can bounce OK? And so, presumably, generate a final output file OK?
I must admit, I only use SPlat for mixdown-mastering. But I have never had dropouts
in a bounce or final mixdown. Did I misunderstand something?
 

TomHelvey
DAWs like Live and Cubase, regardless of channel count, render perfectly in real time, while Sonar always seems to generate audio dropouts.

 
I used to get intolerably frequent dropouts with projects that had >50 tracks and lots of small clips, then I changed Playback I/O Buffer Size to 256 and that solved it. I don't get dropouts now.
 

IMHO, the Windows centric implementation of Sonar is its undoing.

 
It's SONAR's main strength and its Achilles Heel (the same applies to Samplitude). Once you get everything tweaked properly, SONAR can outperform DAWs designed for cross-platform compatibility. I use SONAR on Windows for the same reason I use Logic on the Mac - both are optimized for the platform. However, the optimization process is different for different computers. This is why if anyone is going to do serious work with Windows, whether audio or video, I recommend getting a PC that's optimized for real-time streaming and integrated by companies that specialize in computers for that purpose. (This has had the side benefit of making Sony Vegas scream as well.)
 

OK, fine, I'll go away quietly now. My apologies if I've pissed anyone off.

I doubt anyone cares which DAW you use. I say the above not to dissuade you from switching, but to let others reading your comments know that SONAR is perfectly capable of rendering in real time without dropouts; and that far from Windows-centric design being a liability, it's a huge advantage if the computer and associated software take full  advantage of it.

Grizzlylip

gustabo
If a person is gonna leave, then leave...
Why the drama???
Bye...

Yup.

Just wondering, when somone starts an enthusiastic "Man I'm just loving Sonar" thread, do you heckle them too? "Who cares, just get on with the music then..."
 
If nothing else, I can imagine that knowing why someone is leaving could be useful to CW. 

Every time I render, it's in real time, and I never get dropouts. Like Craig said, it's most likely just a buffer adjustment that's needed. But good luck to you and Merry Christmas!

What I've found from jumping back and forth endlessly between DAW's is:
1) All DAW's are great
2) All DAW's suck
3) It's fun and exciting to switch and try new ones to reach conclusions #1 and #2

I honestly don't know if I'm a peacemaker , an empathetic sponge , or an a$$ clown ...maybe all 3 and then some ....
 
 
Why is it not OK to start a thread because you feel frustrated and you want to tap out ?  
 
In my book anybody who takes the time to "tell on themselves " about the genuine  level of frustration they feel about using a highly sophisticated music creation program ( SONAR ) on a public forum deserves and has earned my respect ...
 
It's a Million Dollar Studio most of us get better at on the installment plan. One Nickle At a Time
 
Kenny
 

I admit I am confused by the OP, since they stated similar in early Sep.

lingyai

Grizzlylip

gustabo
If a person is gonna leave, then leave...
Why the drama???
Bye...

Yup.

Just wondering, when somone starts an enthusiastic "Man I'm just loving Sonar" thread, do you heckle them too? "Who cares, just get on with the music then..."
 
If nothing else, I can imagine that knowing why someone is leaving could be useful to CW. 

Inevitably those who jump into the "I just love SONAR" threads are labelled with the "fanboi" monicker. Someone is going to criticize no matter what. Human nature I suppose.

lingyai
Just wondering, when somone starts an enthusiastic "Man I'm just loving Sonar" thread, do you heckle them too? "Who cares, just get on with the music then..."
 

Scenario 1: You arrive at a get-together and see the host. You go up to the host and in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, say to his wife "Hey, that dress is really ugly."
 
Scenario 2: You arrive at a get-together and see the host. You go up to the host and in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, say to his wife "Hey, you look great, nice dress."
 
I can guarantee who will be looked upon more favorably by the people attending the party. (Doing a Richard Cranium and saying "Yeah, your dress sucks, but wow, look at the babe over there!" isn't exactly an endearing move either.)
 
Most of the "Man I'm just loving SONAR" threads do conform to this forum's intention of helping people make better music with SONAR, as they often relate to specific elements like an update, optimization, technique that's been discovered, etc. It helps people to know if an update or whatever makes an improvement, and encourages them to try whatever is making the person enthusiastic.
 
It doesn't help people make better music if someone comes in specifically to say they're going to use a different DAW. Tens of thousands of people use different DAWs. Fortunately, few of them consider their personal journey of DAW selection so compelling they need to come here and tell us about it.
 
As to the usefulness of "I'm leaving Cakewalk" threads to Cakewalk, they rarely contain actionable information. The OP says he completely reworked his box...well, in all likelihood that's going to require some SONAR tweaks, especially if he re-installed SONAR which then reverted to specific defaults. The bakers already know SONAR doesn't need to have dropouts in real time unless you have a seriously underpowered computer or don't have the read buffer value set high enough--which you would know if you clicked on the "help" button for the toast notification that pops up when there's a dropout. I assume the comment of "120 measures of kick drums without Ctrl+D" refers to the Cubase keyboard shortcut for duplicate, in which case I doubt the OP is aware of the many ways to generate/duplicate audio or MIDI phrases in SONAR.
 
People here just want to know how to make better music with the tools they have, and I would hope anyone posting a thread here would weigh the value of the thread against that standard.

kennywtelejazz
Why is it not OK to start a thread because you feel frustrated and you want to tap out ?

Consider the recent thread "Don't Like SONAR Professional," which started from a very negative standpoint. People came up with potential solutions. The OP tried them. Several pages of posts later, he changed the title to "Success!! - Thanks to the Forum."
 
He came here because he was frustrated and wanted to vent...but then he ended up finding out what he needed to do to make SONAR purr. And, his experience will be helpful to others who see the thread, encounter the same problems, and now know how to fix them.
 
To me, that thread contributed to the forum owing to the OP's willingness to persevere. Not everyone wants to do that. Some people just want something that's plug-and-play, and that's fine too. I'd love a sports car but I drive a VW because I want a car that's plug-and-play. SONAR is where I get my sports car fix.