I am a multi user of several daws. Still using Sonar SPLAT. I have used Studio One for some time. Only recently increased my use of it because of The Cakewalk shut down. I have to say, the more I use SO3Pro the more I like it.
It has some really cool features in it.
I bought Mixcraft Pro 8 on a whim. I'm glad I did. It has some very great features as well. For the sale price I think I got a bargain.
Maybe a few here remember me talking about coming up with a system to use backing tracks in my church. I originally thought I would simply compose tracks and play a mono/click L/R setup. The more I looked into it, the more I was convinced Ableton would be my best choice because I could do so many things "on the fly" with it. Since I already had an old copy that qualified me for an upgrade. I upgraded for a good price to Ableton 9. I also qualify for a free upgrade to Live 10 with that purchase.
 
I picked up a heavyweight gamer laptop to use with Ableton. Two hard drives 256SSD, 1TB 7200 rpm.16gb ram. Quad core i7 7700U I think. The graphics in it is overkill. I might even buy a game he he. I am pairing it up with a Focusrite 818i second gen interface to send a click to the band and as a keys mixer.
 
I almost bought an Apple computer for the live work, but the specs just weren't there for what I wanted to do and the $$ I wanted to spend. What they offer right now is just kinda odd and over priced. It's tough to find a mac 13" with 16gb of ram in it. Even the Macbook Pro is 8gb and only one SSD, unless you order custom.So once again I tipped in the Windows direction. I did give the Mac a fair comparison. 
 
If I had bought a Mac I could have still used Ableton and SO3PRO. Just wouldn't have had the same capability.
 
 

Studio One Pro

will use sonar till the wheels fall off all the while learning Samplitude

backwoods
will use sonar till the wheels fall off all the while learning Samplitude

Yup...  that's exactly where I am at the moment.  
 

Sometimes it seems like some need affirmation of their choice. Kinda weird, considering the average age here. I kerp seeing folks say "the right thing" ...until someone makes a comment bashing the product they didn't choose and suddenly they pile one before returning back to "the right thing".

I went with Studio One Pro. This is not going to be a problem coming from Sonar. I had been considering giving a good chance after watching all the Groove3 Luke Oswald videos on SD3 and SD2 and EZ Drummer 2. So this just made me do something I had been trying to justify. I also go a copy of Tracktion Waveform Basic. Not much for extras but only $50. I will be able to only use my 3rd party FX and VSTi's. I like that. I use almost all instruments through the VIP software with my Akai Advance so once the instrument is in there is no difference from one DAW to another. Instruments and layered multi's with effects can be saved as presets and used in whatever DAW I want. I like that too. A lot! 

dubdisciple
Sometimes it seems like some need affirmation of their choice. Kinda weird, considering the average age here. I kerp seeing folks say "the right thing" ...until someone makes a comment bashing the product they didn't choose and suddenly they pile one before returning back to "the right thing".

I'm using the left thing, because two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left!

Jeff Evans

35mm
I guess some hobby users might be emotionally attached in the way you say, but I think you are missing a wider point. For anyone using Sonar commercially or doing anything serious with it, it represents a huge investment not just of money, but of time and familiarity. Not to mention all the projects that are now tied into Sonar that take a lot of time and effort to move to safety in another DAW where it's nearly impossible to replicate the original. These are major upheavals that are bound to make people emotional, not so much for the sad demise of Sonar, but the sad demise of their workflow and all the hassle involved. There are a lot of people affected by that. Your message comes across as being pretty cold and heartless for people having to go through this struggle and at this time of year.

You know what they say. It is not what happens to you, it is how you handle it! I am a professional user and was using 8.5 Producer at the time of the X1 debacle. I knew then I had to switch. And did so quickly and efficiently in fact. It is the more professional users in fact that will do this without emotion and get on with it. I don't know why everyone is going on about transferring projects over because as a professional in reality you actually don't. You finish projects in Sonar and that is in fact the best place to leave them. If a pro job sounds good you won't in fact have to revisit it again! I have never had to transfer a single thing over. Occasionally you might have to open something but that is why I still have 8.5 still installed and running on an older machine. The best thing to do is quickly learn the new DAW and continue with new projects on that. And if you are a pro then you can actually still do the odd project or two in your original DAW while learning the new one. This whole procedure is still not an emotional experience. It simply does not have to be. It is all about how you handle it.

Sounds like to me you are not a professional user but a hobbyist. I see the hobbyist as having the emotional response, not the professional. When professionals encounter problems they find solutions and move on. You have to.

No, I am a pro user. I make my living from using software like this. I have to keep a working copy of everything I do as an archive no matter how good the mix was. That means transferring everything! Sonar isn't my only DAW I have several, but it was my main DAW for a long time and the one that was used for most serious stuff and the one I invested most time and effort in. It sounds to me like you are a troll - you have no interest in a poll yet you post in this thread. You diss people who are affected by the loss of Sonar. What is your point? You spout on about Logic, but most of us are here as an alternative to Pro Tools on Mac. I for one hate anything to do with Apple so Logic is of no interest!

musichoo
 
A daw is only a software. It is only a tool, nothing more.

Agreed. A nice tool. But just a tool. When that tool doesn't work, reach for another one.

I wish everyone would calm the **** down...