...or at least what it could have been

Look at the similarities to the Project 5 UI, this is what P5 likely would have been with more features >watch<

I don't see much there, that can't be accomplished with P5 (and a couple of plugs) now.

There are some similarities though. I have Sonar 8.5 and love it. But what Cake never figured out, was that the pure simplistic approach with P5 and the lack of all the luster is what made it so special. I use it almost every day. It is my scratch pad and my tune tester. When I want to just sit down and experiment with new ideas, I start P5. If after I find that I have come onto something that I really want to pursue I'll port my project audio and midi file over to Sonar and start a more in depth approach.

I love Cake products, but I think they really missed the boat of letting P5 slip into obscurity. Maybe they will find a way to resurrect it.

I feel they never really put an effort into marketing it, because if they got it into more peoples hands, it would have out sold almost every other product they make. 

Yeh, it would be nice though if there was a universal file format for envelope/automation export/import so that you can port everything to whatever you want to use it in. How do you get around this? Do you redraw your automation?

It'll be interesting to see if the whole new look and usability stuff in X1 is actually all it is being made out to be...I have a feeling that it will probably still miss the boat. The first thing I will try when the demo comes out is to load a VSTi on a channel and then see if there is any 'replace synth' option...if they still haven't added this basic workflow element (that is in P5 and most other sequencers I've used/use), then I won't be upgrading.

Oh, and Geist looks like a worthy successor to Guru, which is one of my favourite plugins so hopefully the upgrade price will be reasonable...

Looks like I got my answer on the 'replace synth' functionality in X1 (from Brandon Ryan's post):

"Just to be clear, SONAR X1 does not currently have Project5-like "replace synth" function but it is something we plan to implement at some point down the road (hopefully not too far down the road)."

I know a lot of people found it awkward but: I rewire (when I really need to for automation). Works very well for me. My computer is powerful enough to handle the load with a reasonable latency.

my thoughts: I will upgrade to X1, and I will hope that it's one-tool MIDI editing promise will actually be true in practice the way it already was years ago in P5. 

Has anybody found a strong replacement contender for P5?

As far as Geist goes, there have been some forum request for Fxpansion to turn into a DAW, but it's probably not likely.   It's definitely a fine way to crank out some beats quickly, do some sound design, etc.

have  a good one
3Eo

three_eyed_otter


Has anybody found a strong replacement contender for P5?

As far as Geist goes, there have been some forum request for Fxpansion to turn into a DAW, but it's probably not likely.   It's definitely a fine way to crank out some beats quickly, do some sound design, etc.

have  a good one
3Eo

I have looked at a few apps, but still have not found any that let me move as quickly as P5 does.

One feature that I use with quite some regularity in P5 is the ability to set the midi input (keys) from your synth to only play certain notes. I can very easily split my synth into two or three different instrument inputs, just by varying which octave I'm using on the synth.

I will change to something else someday, but it looks like I will have to give up a some useful tools to make the change.

three_eyed_otter


Has anybody found a strong replacement contender for P5?

Hello old friends.  ;-)

It's been said many times here before but in my experience much of what I like about Ableton Live's work flow are the same kinds of things I like about P5's workflow.  Simple yet powerful.  Uncluttered interface.  I rarely touch menus. 

That said, I've actually been using P5 some lately.  It's still a great tool and Live doesn't host DXis.