promidi
It would be more accurate to say that Reaper does a lot more than Sonar that you need it to do....

If someone uses Sonar's instrument definitions, user defined controller and NRPN names,  support for Studioware panels, CAL support, etc, then they would say that Sonar does a lot more than Reaper does that they need it to do....

I use Instrument Definitions. I have used, though not recently, CAL. I'm working on getting my controller defined and will likely want to name my MIDI CC to be congruent with the voices and how they are controlled.

That doesn't mean SONAR is better than Reaper. It means I personally like SONAR better.

Matron Landslide
 
 
Been using SONAR for 20 years, been using Mixbus for 1 day, but I still do things faster in SONAR? lol I wonder why? lol . Sorry, no offense, but these type of posts make me chuckle. There have been similar posts by people in the SONAR down time, one fellow said he tested another DAW for 30 minutes, yep you heard me right, a whole 30 minutes, can you imagine the dedication, the resolve?  

 
That's been making me chuckle a bit too. So many people fire up a new DAW for a test drive, get frustrated that it doesn't work exactly the same way as the one they're familiar with, and then say "nope - couldn't hack it - wasn't intuitive enough. I had to look up how to split a clip. That was enough for me." 
 
I don't even see the point of downloading and installing a DAW unless you're prepared to spend a few days getting used to it. It's not as if you're going in there as a newbie. I was initially intimidated a little by Reaper, but a handful of tutorial videos later I was already recreating a couple of my trainwreck Sonar projects from scratch. What surprised me is how quickly you get used to new gestures and shortcuts. I had both Reaper and Sonar up on separate displays, moving back and forward between each, and had no problems with using the wrong shortcut in the wrong DAW. I zoom and scroll completely differently in Reaper but it didn't take me long to adapt at all. 
 
Moving to a new DAW after using another one for years is a real eye opener and a delightful experience if you give it a chance. There are times when you think "ooo - I don't like that" for sure, but mostly because you're just not used to a new workflow yet, and there are many more times when you discover that the new DAW does something much better than the old one. For instance, a regular source of frustration for me in Sonar was finding plugin automation parameters in Sonar's clunky old menus with no mouse wheel support that you have to scroll endlessly back and forth with the arrow keys. What a hassle. In Reaper I have this huge window which lists all of the parameters in collapsable columns, and I can scroll the columns horizontally with a mousewheel and select all the parameters I need to automate in one go. Huge time saver over Sonar that I've been depriving myself of all these years, and I'm actually finding that I'm being more creative with automation now because of how much easier it is. 
 
Apart from anything, learning a new app has got to be good for your brain. They say that it's important to expose your brain to new stuff and that doing familiar things differently creates new pathways and keeps the brain young, fending off things like dementia (one example being - stir your coffee with the opposite hand, or walk backwards on the treadmill). It really does get you out of a mental rut. 

Are you implying that if we don't use  different daws we'll get dementia? Does dropping loops into a track help mental prowess?

Starise
Are you implying that if we don't use  different daws we'll get dementia?

 
Yes. Can't argue with science!
 

Does dropping loops into a track help mental prowess?

I guess, if that's what "learning a new DAW" means to you. 

Jeff Evans
Waves Scheps Omni Channel does everything that Sonar's Pro Channel ever did and more.  (its on special too I think still) There are a ton of EQ's out there that would easily match the Quad curve for its sound and features.  You are wrong in thinking the Quad curve is the only EQ out there.

+1 Waves Scheps Omni Channel!

sharke
 
Apart from anything, learning a new app has got to be good for your brain. They say that it's important to expose your brain to new stuff and that doing familiar things differently creates new pathways and keeps the brain young, fending off things like dementia (one example being - stir your coffee with the opposite hand, or walk backwards on the treadmill). It really does get you out of a mental rut. 

this is so true, just like exercising your meat to keep it working i once forced myself to turn on taps with my left hand instead of right,it's really quite awkward sometimes
takes around a fortnight for it to stick properly, which is supposed to be true for changing any habit that doesn't have strong physiological or psychological hooks
 
good luck everyone!

We are talking about tools here...
If the only food someone eat is soup, that is a good reason to use a spoon.
It make sense to try a fork otherwise.
 
I understand why some people prefer to play old music instruments, including hardware synth. And I understand people which use hardware effects. But just "liking" particular DAW is a bad argument for me. When it does something better then other and you need that feature, using it for that purpose is a good idea. If there is better tool for other job, why not use BOTH?
 

agreed, although certainly companies do like to encourage the "loyalty" much like a football team does, but they are both just products and we are just consumers, we do have a choice

sharke

Starise
Are you implying that if we don't use  different daws we'll get dementia?

 
Yes. Can't argue with science!
 

Does dropping loops into a track help mental prowess?

I guess, if that's what "learning a new DAW" means to you. 

 Sharke you're a real sport. I was trying to have some fun with this :)
 
I have heard about similar studies that say continual learning helps to keep our minds healthy. It seems to be usually tied in with learning a new instrument. The ways in which you can use one pro daw are probably enough to keep the grey matter healthy. I seem to find different methods every time I use mine. Nothing wrong with learning a new daw either. Unless it becomes creatively counter productive. Unless it is taking time you could be creating away. 
 
I have three or so different daws and I keep coming back to Sonar. Granted the way we work is totally different I'm sure of that. I have spent a lot of time on the other daws. I can get what they do and I can respect it. I even go between them for some things. Still nothing beats Sonar for me in getting quick quality takes on the fly. I am admittedly comfortable with the workflow so I see no real need to jump to anything else unless I need a specialized task that Sonar can't handle as well. I would probably master in Studio One if I were submitting to an online record company. I would probably do my live work in Ableton. You can grab and fly in 20 separate tracks at once all in order if you know how to do it.I use it more like a backing track player.
 
For fast takes of audio and then lightening fast ways to chain effects and get to a finished sound Sonar is tough to beat. I dare say Sonar could sit idle with no development for a few years and it would still be head and shoulders above many others.

azslow3
We are talking about tools here...
If the only food someone eat is soup, that is a good reason to use a spoon.
It make sense to try a fork otherwise.
 
I understand why some people prefer to play old music instruments, including hardware synth. And I understand people which use hardware effects. But just "liking" particular DAW is a bad argument for me. When it does something better then other and you need that feature, using it for that purpose is a good idea. If there is better tool for other job, why not use BOTH?

 
Yep absolutely, when there is a better tool for a specific job you should use that.
Each users mileage will vary based on how they produce music and for some maybe SONAR isn't the right choice.
 
However your brain gets used to workflow and a vibe when you have used something deeply for a long time and learned patterns. Its no different than the technique involved in learning a musical instrument. You spend years learning it to the point where it becomes automatic and you can then be creative. Personally I use a few tools besides SONAR as well and I've tried most of the other DAW's. I haven't seen anything I need that desperately that mandates abandoning my workflow and decades of muscle memory. I won't mention names but my colleagues and I absolutely hate the workflow in a couple - and we're DAW vendors so go figure! They were certainly not written with me in mind :)
 
SONAR has evolved over decades with the input and feedback from hundreds if not thousands of users. And in recent years we were always re-imagining how we could push the envelope to make things easier for users and to quickly address common problems that affected most users. There is a reason why it works well for many people - it was tailored to fit them.