Steve_Karl

PJH
I have to say that I'm becoming a bit pi**ed off at the general perception of SONAR.

Sounds to me like you care about what other people think. Eliminate that and the problem is gone. :-)

unfortunately it isnt always that easy.
 
not if you are trying to make some income doing this stuff.  If your client base is under the assumption that you use 'inferior gear'.... then it can be hard to convince them otherwise even if you yourself know better and dont care.
 
I for one would like the perception to change, because I dont have any desires to use anything else.  I'm with sonar because I really enjoy working in it.
 
Id hate to feel like I was pressured to change if I ever started trying to escalate this whole gig to a higher level solely due to perception
 
 
 
 

Rob[atSound-Rehab]
It's all about perception IMHO. pro tools is what you typically find in a big name studio (the few that are left). Sonar typically resides on a laptop in a corner of a bedroom.
 
That's the perception, but evidence that it's not far from the truth is given by Cakewalk themselves, see eZine 2016.08 ... which was a fairly striking revelation: top 2 are non-interfaces, #3 and #4 are consumer interfaces with plenty of documented quirks, pro audio interfaces come in at #5 and thereafter (I wish they would have listed percentages)
 
#1: ASIO4ALL ASIO4ALL was used for far more sessions than any other output option. Maybe it’s because a lot of people are using laptops, or maybe it’s because they don’t have a proper interface, but suffice it to say no one expected that ASIO4ALL would hit #1.
#2: Realtek High Definition Speakers Yes, this option is #2 and begs the same questions as above. Maybe this is a laptop world.
#3: Focusrite USB 2.0 Audio Driver When it comes to actual audio interfaces, Focusrite rules with more “output share” than any other audio interface. But nipping on its heels, you’ll find....
#4: Roland Octa-Series Interfaces These hardy perennials continue to be the interface of choice for quite a few SONARians.
#5: RME Fireface USB Whether analog, SDPIF, or ADAT outputs, the FireFace is a workhorse—in fact Fireface fans are the most prolific users of the ADAT outputs. (However note that overall, the USB flavor predominates: Cakewalk Analytics confirm that FireWire is definitely in its twilight years, at least for SONAR users.(
#6: MOTU MOTU’s line of interfaces holds a solid position in the middle of the pack, particularly in terms of audio outputs although there are quite a few people using S/PDIF outputs as well.
 

Good points!  Maybe this is a laptop world?
 
It's certainly become more of a mobile oriented world.  Look at how the media promotes mobile DJ/producers, or anybody making music with a computer.  They are using laptop rigs, many on Macbook Pros.  I think the younger crowd is not buying desktop workstations any more.  Sales figures for these are way down.
 
So the public perception is probably based on the wide range of performance (or lack of) using a laptop and the associated DAW software, as compared to a "Professional" studio.
 
Sonar marketing needs to step up.  If a few of those big name producers were to successfully use Sonar on a Macbook, or in their studio, then maybe the perception of being the "other" brand that folks only use in bedroom studios would change a bit?

Steve_Karl
Sounds to me like you care about what other people think. Eliminate that and the problem is gone. :-)

The guy walking around Walmart in a tutu and bedroom slippers obviously doesn't care what other people think. Which works great for all involved right up until that guy decides he wants to work with other people on a project, then not so much.

Anderton

The Grim
as to the pro tools boasting about track freeze yada yada, you might say sonar is now boasting about ripple editing, but wait on reaper has had that for years, see what i mean? so what? sonar users also made a big who har about the new routing in sonar, reaper has had superior routing than sonar for years, and some would say still has, so what? (i'm no pro tools fan, and reaper isn't my main daw, just saying)

Then again, people aren't going into Reaper forums or Pro Tools forums and saying "Why don't you guys have Mix Recall? Why do I have to pay $300 for a vocal alignment tool when SONAR has one built in? SONAR does DSD import/export, I deal with Japanes clients, when are you guys going to get with the program? Why do I have to record an entire session at 96 kHz just to make two or three synths sound better...SONAR has had that for two years? Why do your programs do such a crappy job of importing Acidized files? And why can't you edit them to make them better? Why don't you have ARA integration, like SONAR and Studio One? Why isn't your Drum Replacer as good as SONAR's? SONAR's step sequencer has all these automatable functions, why don't you? And why do I have to ReWire Live into your program - SONAR has a Matrix view? I can't generate tab from your program, either. I still have DirectX plug-ins, SONAR lets me use them and you guys don't?" 
 
When you look at it from this perspective, I think Cakewalk has done a terrible marketing job of SONAR's advantages. So there are all these people who don't use SONAR doing negative marketing, and SONAR users doing positive marketing because they really like the program - but only in this forum, because they're too busy making music to go into other forums and complain about what other programs don't do that SONAR does 

Well said Craig, and I'll be happily using Sonar 'til it might change it's name and you listed many of its greatest strengths.
 
I have no doubt much negativity about Sonar are Mac users, but it still puts off many new users in general.  It's the simple things that I think gnaw at most new users... and as a longtime & grateful user I still understand what they're saying.
 
I've never thought about buying another daw before (as I am a hobbyist and don't play live. ) but I'm going to do so now because it's just so easy to use. 
 
Secondary daw because of ease of use, and yet I've been a CW user since '96.  I think that's the biggest challenge CW faces, but if they think it's a great idea to go for Apple guys who can buy Logic for very cheap, I wish them & us well as always.
 
 

[deleted] Duplicate post. My earlier post was eaten by the forum software and has been restored from the trash bin.

Steve_Karl

PJH
I have to say that I'm becoming a bit pi**ed off at the general perception of SONAR.

Sounds to me like you care about what other people think. Eliminate that and the problem is gone. :-)

I don't care what individuals think of SONAR, but I have to admit, I get rather bothered whenever magazines, blog posts or videos mention a bunch of DAWs and SONAR doesn't even get mentioned. i.e., "Digital audio workstation software like ProTools, Logic, Cubase or Ableton Live..."

Zargg
When people ask which DAW I use and answer SONAR, I usually get "the look". Then they ask why, and if it is any good.
I just say have you tried it lately? You should.
All the best.

"Ohhh!, you dont use Pro Tools?" is one remark I remember, along with "the look" LOL.
 
Im guessing their marketing strategy was to more or less give their product away to colleges and learning institutions, thereby establishing themselves as an Industry "Standard", and it seems to have worked well for them.
 
Not to knock either, as while Ive never even tried ProTools, a lot of generalized mixing/mastering tutorials Ive watched they're using ProTools, and in regards to some of the built in utilities or menu options, Ive found myself saying, I wish I could do that, or had that menu choice in Sonar, (albeit there's probably a way  to "do it yourself" in Sonar). Not having used ProTools, I guess I cant say anything from the opposite perspective, but from Sonar posts there seems to be a lot of things in Sonar you cant, or as easily do in ProTools.   
 
Im wondering if its a fair analogy to say, I can go shopping at Walmart and get pretty much anything I may need all in one store, and have a standard shopping experience, or I can to a "Mega-mall", and have many more choice options and have a more diversified shopping experience, and many more lunch choices other than McDonald's, LOL.
 
Cheers 

The available tutorials is also a big influence.  In addition to Pro Tools, it seems that Ableton Live has good coverage as well.
 
Both of these products are cross platform, so they reach a broader user base.
 
And just think, Ableton Live Lite is given away with just about every Akai, Alesis, and M-Audio controller sold today. 
 
So it's also a cross platform issue, in addition to marketing and education/training.  Being "Windows only" is a tough spot in the music business ... especially if you want to give your software away, it probably needs to be cross platform today.
 
So I am a Windows only user, and Sonar does 90% of what I want.  I am happy with that.  Just looking at the big picture here ... I really don't care what people think either

Years ago, my first DAW was Tracktion2. I made an entire album with it. Then it all went quiet and there were no updates. It withered on the vine, I gave up and started using Sonar. Smart move, I've never looked back. I guess my fear is that if Sonar continue to ignore marketing, it will eventually go the same way.

A good producer can make a hit record with Sonar, ProTools, Logic Pro X, Cubase, Studio One, or any other professional DAW.  I bought Sonar because it had more features and was bundled with more plugins. This forum is a pretty good reason, too.