Beepster
Oh I see... you did include that reply, just on another post. What I am on about is I think you are extraordinarily rude and don't seem to understand what is actually out there in terms of DAW packages. I dare you to find a more thorough and well rounded DAW package as Sonar. It simply will not happen.

Seems you need glasses or a bigger balcony. Cubase has got Sonar by the balls, and Logic Pro X sh_ts all over Sonar as a package, no doubts about it, problem is that purchasing Logic means paying astronomical amounts for Apple hardware, which I'm not willing to do. Apple is one of the most arrogant and evil companies on the face of the planet, apart from outright crime gangs of course.

For the record, I do feel sonar needs a better drum sequencing/sampler solution but since I got Geist it does not bother me as much. I can create using Session Drummer but anything beyond simple house music 4 to the floor type stuff can be a pain. Possible but painful.  For genres that regularly require you to stack drums, SD3 is not practical. Any process that may require rapid switching of layers is just a PITA due to needing to edit sfz to do so. If I have to get out notepad to do something as basic as stack three snarex into one pad, I'm not bothering. With that said, I don't see that as Cakewalk neglecting EDM (or any genre that needs such tools) but more as them conceding for now that they are unlikely to create a plugin for such things as good as what many of us already own. Aside from console emulation items, it seems pretty clear to me that any plugin Cakewalk makes is more worth their while to develope if it has potential to be purchased by non-cakewalk users too. Not trying to pessimistic,  but a sampler made by cakewalk would have to be revolutionary to make a dent in Kontakt sales. 

Drone7

 But, my own personal methodology is 'handrolled' beats done specifically for each occasion. To elaborate on my earlier criticisms of loops, many idiots have resorted to them and taken advantage of them to compensate for their lack of individual programming skills, and in the process given EDM a cheap aura. Some guys make songs entirely consisting of loops, or that are loop-based, and i'm simply saying you won't hear that in my tracks.

I'm assuming you also built the instruments/and or devices that make up the sound sources for your loops as well.  IOW, if you're just using an instrument someone else built, shouldn't they get as much credit for your loops as you might?  Now, if you're hollowing out your own logs, cut from trees you planted, grew, and felled yourself.... we're on to something artistic, without argument....of course?  I hate it when "idiots" use fabricated *instruments*, made outside of their control.  lol!  :-D

Drone7
Cubase has got Sonar by the balls

Is that so? Then why was it when I was looking to update my studio rig the Cubase package would have cost me at least three times as much due to all the extra instruments I would have needed to buy to even get CLOSE to waht Sonar was offereing? And that was in X1 days. The new package has WAY more instruments, effects and much higher quality to boot.
 
As far as Logic... yeah, well maybe. I don't know because I'm a PC guy so I've never bothered with it but now you are moaning about price. You gotta pay to play, Droney. That's the point. Sonar gives you a buttload of quality tools that'll get you where you need to go. If that ain't good enough you have to drop some cash on the things that will. 
 
As a guitar player I don't expect Cakewalk to buy my guitars, amps, patch cables, strings, picks, etc. I expect them to produce a good platform for me to record into... and they have.
 

It would be helpful if you would list specific features or additions you'd like to see in SONAR. "Cubase has got Sonar by the balls" is difficult to intrepret as a comment on a feature set. FYI Cubase doesn't have anything like Matrix View.
 
The only other feature I would like in addition to more MIDI plug-ins is a built-in vocoder and more sidechainable processors for doing cross-synthesis. Other than that I agree with much of the sentiment here - that SONAR is a host program. You can customize it pretty much any way you want with third-party accessories, like VSL if you want to do orchestral scoring to ReWiring Reason or using Geist as a plug-in.

And the only reason I am able to even be on the current platform is with a little help from my friends which I hope to be able to repay by helping members genuinely seeking help... which BTW I should probably be doing instead of wasting my time on this.
 
For the record, and I stated this earlier, Cake should totally keep up with the EDM market's needs. Just not at the expense of the rest of us.
 
Cheers.

Also an FYI to those who use loops...the Brian Hardgroove loop package also includes samples of individual notes, so you can drop them in easily to customize the loops. 
 

Beepster 
For the record, and I stated this earlier, Cake should totally keep up with the EDM market's needs.

People giving specific suggestions would probably help expedite that process.

I know it sounds like a broken record from sharke, mettelus and I but go Geist when it's on sale and you won't look back. Closest thing to an MPC workflow I have found in software but better. Lots of ways to handroll. Once I got the mapping right for my controller it was a breeze to use very much like a hardware device with huge display screen. It samples, resamples, slices  (feels like i am pitching Ronco products) creates good submixes, sequences and more. It is easy to stack up to 8 samples on one pad. Even has great live options. 

Anderton
Also an FYI to those who use loops...the Brian Hardgroove loop package also includes samples of individual notes, so you can drop them in easily to customize the loops. 
 

I noticed that. Saved me the trouble of chopping up loops to get individual notes. Although they are "RnB" these easily translate to other genres.