Hi. I started using cakewalk pro audio way back at v4.5 (and before). But for various reasons I've been away from it since...
 Now I'm trying to decide between upgrading to Sonar x3 and buying MC7. Either would cost me around $50, I think.
I have a few questions I'm hoping y'all can help me with:

1. Is there any advantage, other than price, of latest versions of MC over Sonar???  e.g. better interface, workflow, instruments etc??  Is there anything you can do in MC that can't be done in Sonar??
2. is there any relationship between Cakewalk Music Creator and the like named Music Creator from Magix??
3. Is there any consensus on choosing between the vvarious versions of these Products?: Home/artist/producer studio / Platinum, Premium, etc  I'm a little intimidated by all the choices. . .

I'm sure I'l have more questions as time goes on, but answers to these should really help me get started
 
Thanks,
Chuck

Well, X3 is a discontinued product, so you can't upgrade to it. Their latest program is Platinum, in several different levels, Artist being the least expensive and with fewer VST effects and instruments. 
MC 7 is Cakewalk's entry-level DAW. It's certainly capable of producing great recordings, but has fewer effects and instruments than Artist. Plus it has limits on the number of tracks and simultaneous effects and instruments than the Platinum series.
It used to be limited to only 2 inputs, but I think that has been changed.
I think you mean Magix Music Maker.
For more info on the features and capabilities of the various Platinum versions, post your questions in the SONAR forum.
And welcome to the forum.

Welcome Chuck!
 
I believe it would be unfair to compare between Magix Music Maker 2016 and Music Creator since anyone answering that question in this forum will be biased to Cakewalk products and know little about Magix Music Maker.  It is best you compare the two and decide for yourself which fits you better.
 
Comparing Music Creator 7 and Sonar is easier.  Sonar has no track limitations while Music Creator 7 is limited to 128 midi, 32 audio and 8 instrument tracks.  Music Creator has an onscreen virtual midi controller while Sonar does not. Music Creator was released with one knob mixstrips for effects while Sonar added them later during an update.   Music Creator 7 can use up to eight (8) audio inputs dependent on hardware availability.  You might want to take a look at this link:  http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/Music-Creator
 
Sonar is Sonar as the program does not change between the three Sonar products.  What does change is the number of included effects, prochannel modules and virtual instruments.  The "versions" link compares what's included: http://www.cakewalk.com/P...s/SONAR/Versions#start
 
Here is a link that compares Music Creator and Sonar:  https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=Music%20Creator%207&language=3&help=Comparison.html
 
scook, thanks for the correction.  I was not aware Sonar includes the virtual controller as all I saw mentioned was the mixcontrols.

jimfogle
 Music Creator has an onscreen virtual midi controller while Sonar does not.

It was added to SONAR in March 2015

Greg, Jim, and anyone else who has or may reply,  Thank you for your responses.  
 
Yes, I should have asked about Magix Music Maker.  I got the names mixed up and almost the products, so thanks for straightening that out.
 
Quick Question: what is DAW (Digita Audio Workstation??) I've been away from this stuff long enough that I don't even know the Basic Lingo anymore.  (Not that I was ever all that whippy with this stuff.  I mostly just "played".
Played as in toys, not so much as Played as in Music).  
Thanks for the Clarifications and the links. I'll go off and read what's there and come back and ask (hopefully) more informed questions.
 
Before I go: True or False?: If I buy the current level sonar I wont lose anything I would have had in the current level of Music creator.(????) they have pretty much the same interface and workflow???
 
Best Regards,
Chuck
 

Chuck ,
 
Do you have either of these programs yet ? 
 
Kenny

I have a copies of cakewalk Pro audio 9 and Sonar 2.2 -- but these apparently wont run on Windows 7.  I have downloaded and installed the Magix Music Maker demo (sorry guys -- gotta check out the competition) and I'm giving it a trial run. I expect I'll end up with the latest version of sonar, we'll see!
PS.  Kenny I went to your soundcloud page and listened.  GOOD STUFF!  Color me impressed

Hello Chuck , 
 
I asked you what you had because I use Cakewalk and Magix products primarily for the music that I do …
Recently  just pulled Music Maker 2014 Premium of my machine because I need to clear some room on my C Drive ..
Still use a lot of Magix software , Samplitude Pro X2 , and all the Samplitude Music Studios Versions  32 bit and 64 bit ( 2014 2015)
On the Cakewalk side of things I have and use SONAR X3 PE , Music Creator 6 and P5 on my Windows machine ….
 
As far as where I'm at ,
 
I don't pick sides or do a "this VS's that " when it comes to what I think somebody else should use ….
 
FWIW , I happened to like Music Maker a lot , it has some really nice synths and plugs ….
The Vandal SE is very good if you happen to play guitar …also a lot of the plugs they give you are some of the same plugs that are in the higher priced versions of Magix products ….very good features for the price point …my biggest gripe was it had to be authorized online once a month …..
 
With Music Creator you also get a lot of really cool plugs and synths ….
You will get everything you need to do music and get started with the essential tools on a solid platform . 
If you happen to be using a 64 bit version of Windows you will also have that base covered ….MC 7 64 bit …
IMHO, Cakewalk does give out a lot of really great stuff for tools ..even though i have SONAR I still use a lot of the instruments and plugs that are common to SONAR and Music Creator .
 
There are two things that I can tell you right off the bat that you may need to consider ….
on the plus side for Music Creator you can use many of the synths and plugs in other DAW's ..that is something that Music Maker does not do unless you buy those as a separate purchase …even the plugs I have in Samplitude Pro X2 are locked to the program ……
The other thing is Magix programs are kind of a tough nut to crack as far as learning all the advanced features 
Now they do include some advanced features even in Music Maker …the thing is you really have to study the manual and try to find what you can online VIA u tube …even then it involves a lot of searching around ….
 
Cakewalk on the other hand has a lot of available learning resources that are pretty much an open book …
You have the people here on the forums who are very helpful and open to helping you out during every step of the way …
then you have a ton of videos for SONAR here and on u tube , also Groove 3 has the Music Creator Video …
I would recomend picking that one up as a download purchase if you decide to give Music Creator a go …
Most of what ever you can learn for Music creator can be transferred to SONAR and truthfully it was the Music Creator video I bought that helped me learn my way around SONAR X3 a little …before X3 I was on SONAR 6PE 
Incidentally with Music Creator you can probably follow along and learn some of the advanced tips and lessons that apply to SONAR….Maybe not everything , due to specific plugs or features but certainly enough to get pretty deep into what can be done .
 
FWIW #2 , every song I have ever done has involved using both Cakewalk and Magix DAW's for various elements of the song , so I'm a fan of both companies ….
 
Now if you happen to want my absolute honest opinion , here's what I would tell you to do ….
 
Pick up Music Creator and put yourself back on the fast track of doing music . This will also put you in a sweet position for upgrading to a higher version of SONAR …. Cakewalks upgrade policy is very direct and they give their customers a lot of flexible options as far as upgrade pricing …..
 
Then you can mess around with the Music Maker demo and see how far you get .
If you want to get a good feel of what Magix  has to offer download Samplitude Pro X Silver DAW..
Pro X Silver is a cut down but fully functional lite version of Samplitude and it Smokes Music Maker …
I used it as my audio editor for a couple of years before I upgraded to Pro X 2 
You get like 8 tracks and once you register it, it is yours …for FREE 
http://pro.magix.com/en/samplitude/miditech-english.730.html 
 
Good luck on what ever you decide to do …
 
BTW , thanks for giving a listen to some of my tunes  
 
 
 
Kenny

I loaded the Music Maker demo and it has a purpose. Mainly, if you are working with  loops and doing dance, hip hop, genre's and similar, it really does that well.
Cakewalk's Sonar will do all that and more since it is designed to be a fully functional recording studio DAW...   DAW means  Digital Audio Workstation.  A recording studio in a computer essentially. I like Sonar for it's functionality.
 
Also.... the music you make with Sonar including the loops included and those you can buy are royalty free and you can use everything in the program without worry. 
That is NOT the case with the Magix Music Maker. All their loops are copyrighted and additional permission is required to use them in commercially released music.  I was initially looking at using MMM to augment the styles I write for film and TV but when I found out that the samples and loops are copyrighted and require you to buy a license, I changed my mind on using that program.
 
Jumping back a few years..... I was using CW Pro 8 deluxe as my studio. I got out of digital recording for a few years and when I got back in, things had changed. I ended up getting MC4. Loved it.... I have MC4,5,6 and then jumped in a crossgrade promo to Sonar.  Still running a 32 bit OS with Sonar.
 
Either  Sonar... your choice of which version, or MC7 will do you a good job.  Quality will be the same. The deciding factor will be the features you want and need in the DAW.  MC7 is available in the Cakewalk store as I write this, for $20 download. That's one heck of a great deal for all the functionality in MC7.  If you're just starting back, get that and you can always upgrade later if you need more features. It has plenty of tracks and supports 8 inputs at a time. In a project studio like mine.... 2 is overkill.  
 
Hope this helps you.