Hi,
 
I have Reason and Sonar. In Reason there is an excellent step sequencer called the Redrum. I was able to use it from day one. There is a row of steps and then there is a dial where you select whether you want to enter eight notes, sixteenth notes, quarter notes etc on that grid. Simple.
 
Now on the Sonar Step Sequencer there is also a row of steps but there is no corresponding dial to set eight notes, sixteenth notes, quarter notes etc. Instead you have beats and steps and fit to quarters. That is very confusing and not very intuitive.
 
First off there is no fit to quarters in Reason Redrum and frankly I have never missed such an option when I have programmed drums in Reason so its never been important for my workflow. In fact I don't even know what that's about but I haven't missed it at all.
 
Then how do I know how to enter eight or sixteenth notes. In Redrum I just turn the dial which you can see smack in the middle just above the steps. Very obvious and very intuitive.
 
However in Sonar Step Sequencer you have beats and steps but I am not sure how to set these to lay down sixteenth, eight, quarter steps etc. Why couldn't they just give you a dial or a button where you can select eight, sixteenth or quarter notes just like the Redrum in Reason.
 
Could someone explain to me how to put down eight notes, sixteenth notes etc. I have got so used to working in Reason where I just select the dial and enter the note values I want that the Sonar way seems hard and counter intuitive.
 
If the Step sequencer is ever updated they could take a leave out of the Reason Redrum and make it easier to work out the note values.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
 
 
 
 

There is a massive set of tutorials linked in this post. Chapter 27 covers the Step Sequencer. That was done during the X2 days but a lot of it is still applicable.
 
Beats/Steps are the only method available to modify the SS, but each row can have timing adjusted with parameter knobs exposed when expanding the row. During setup, the beats/steps should be set to the smallest value to be used during the sequence. Because it is intended to be used with transients, "note duration" is moot other than to give resolution for firing it off. That video linked above walks through it in a clearer manner.

There are a lot of drum sequencers out there many are included as a with the VST drummers. The one that comes with Strike2 is real good. 
Find the one you like and use that to create your drums and plunk it into Sonar. You don't have to use the step sequencer if you find it lacking or hard to use. I actually like it's simplicity and the first time I used it it did what I expected without reading any help files.
 
Up until recently I never had any use for it.  I always play my parts on my Keyboard or digital drum kit in my studio set up.  I'm working on some songs without those luxuries on a laptop I set up at work. So I'll use the step sequencer to make a pattern or some cords  in a midi track  and drag it out. I then go in to PRV and edit a bit to make it more interesting.   

Redrum is just a drum machine with a step sequencer attached. The step sequencer in sonar is much more powerful

Good grief, so someone other than me is using the step sequencer in Sonar!
 
Did any of you folk see my problem report for linked clips in the step sequencer?
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...onar-Pro-m3597597.aspx
 
Any comments?
 
Thanks
 
Andreas

Couldnt you REWIRE REASON (Redrum) into sonar? 
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/S...to-Using-Rewire-Part-1
 
VIDEO - -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl0ohczu0Bc
 
( not in English, but can easily see steps in video all the same )

Sonar's step sequencer is very powerful and capable of sequencing far more than just drums. It's more like a fully-fledged hardware synthesiser sequencer, minus a few things that would be tricky to do in software such as reversing the direction of travel and changing sequence lengths on the fly. 
 
It also has a big advantage over 808/909 derived interfaces in that you can see many different notes (or drums) at the same time. And also set individual velocities per note, send MIDI continuous controllers, program some notes so they don't play every time based on probability, pull individual rows forwards or back in time and as well as it handling short transient notes you can link notes in the same row across as many steps as you want so they'll sustain.
 
The advice to work through the tutorials is good advice. It's a device well worth learning.

Thanks for the replies.
 
Ok if I am in standard 4/4 rock beat how many steps do I set for eight notes? How many do I set for sixteenth notes?
 
If someone could give me a guide that would be helpful. From what I gather I can ignore fit to quarters if I am in standard 4/4 time. Therefore I only have to worry about the Steps and the Beats.
 
I will be working in 4/4 time nearly always. I am not technically minded enough to use other time signatures and I will mainly be inputting eight and sixteenth notes.

See Steps.

In your screen shot the sequencer is set for 6 beats, 6 steps and 4/4 time. Yes?

The length of the sequence it is displaying is 6 beats, with each beat then being divided into 6 steps.

If you change it to 4 beats and 4 steps you will have a sequence length of four crotchets each divided into four semiquavers. Or, in American English, four quarter notes each split into four sixteenth notes. Set for 4 beats abd 2 steps gives a bar of 4/4 with each beat divided into two sub-divisions (quavers or eighth notes depending on your musical education and place of origin).

The "fit to 4/4” bit tells the sequencer it is to treat the sequence as being in 4/4. As opposed to 3/4, 6/6, 27/15 or whatever other time signatures exist.

So a sequence 4 beats long is one bar, 8 steps 2 bars and so on. The 'steps' field then says "divide each beat into X chunks (or 'buttons' in 808 speak)".

To copy a standard 808 style sequencer you'd probably want 4 beats, each divided into 4 steps = 16 steps per bar.

And do go through the tutorial and read the help/manual. The step sequencer is more complicated and more powerful than a basic drum machine one