My Tascam Fw 1884 works awesome still in X3,  And I only use it as control surface and I use my Roland Quad Capture as my interface.. 

I wrote my original post a long time ago (I am now on Win10 pro, x64), and nothing seems to have changed.  ACT seems absolutely worthless, since it involves programming every interface one uses painfully.  I am convinced Sonar's Mackie ACT template is seriously broken (the Mackie template for my NI equipment works perfectly implemented as Mackie control surface in Ableton Live, independently of the template they provide- which is also flawless.  NOTHING I have tried with Mackie templates have worked - if I set ACT to VS-100, sometimes they will work a little, but inconsistenly.)
 
WTF?  Why can't Sonar get it together and provide user libraries (at least) for ACT templates, and provide templates for up to date controllers rather than the tired old outdated controllers now in the ACT list.  Or, f'chrissake, bite the bullet and produce one that works...
 
(I just ordered a nanoKontrol Studio, since Korg says it will work with Sonar  Even then, Korg says the markers don't work with their template  ...  Silly me, I am NOT hopeful, but at least I can return it to Amazon.   Sonar could at least provide a list of current surface controllers that DO work.)
 
This is a reason I NEVER work in Sonar anymore; Native Instruments and Ableton are just so much better and easy to work with with their control surfaces I Hate using the mouse for volume sliders and solo/mute buttons, and having to do Midi learn for every fricken controller I use, and even then, they don't work from project to project. ....
I may be missing something here, but....  SHEESH!

I use a Mackie MCU that is about 10 years old in Sonar and it works perfect.
Ive used ACT to set up my M Audio Oxygen 49 and had no problem with it.
I don't see the point in your rant.

chuckebaby
I use a Mackie MCU that is about 10 years old in Sonar and it works perfect.
Ive used ACT to set up my M Audio Oxygen 49 and had no problem with it.
I don't see the point in your rant.

 
Then you've obviously never used Ableton Live or Maschine
Especially with a Push 2 or Maschine Studio...
 
(I'm not about to buy an Oxygen to find out.... you were lucky. And maybe a bit limited in versatility.. )
Did the Oxygen use a Mackie template?
 
But I'll report back on the nanoKontrol Studio - although there have been some negative reviews on KVR and elsewhere vis a vis Sonar (supposedly one just has to press two keys when starting up to set the Sonar mode..) ....
Not only that, a Mackie MCU won't fit in my backpack with my laptop on my motorcycle when I'm working in the picnic grove....  I have no doubt that the Mackie template works with a Mackie, though .. things have, uh, changed in 10 years   :) 

I suspect its really a matter of what one expects from a CS. It may have a great deal to do with the type of music being created. I don't see what a favorable view has anything to do ones versatility.
 
That one is pleased with the gear they use and gets a response that tends to depreciate it seems unnecessary.  A member is simply relating their experience with gear and Sonar. I also use a CS it is a Mackie Control even older then an MCU and it works very well indeed for what I ask it to do.  
 
You may have needs that are different from mine or Chucks. There is nothing wrong with that. What is a problem is disrespecting a member for voicing an opinion. One given in a spirit of sharing for the benefit of others.
 
I am responding to this.
 

chuckebaby
"I use a Mackie MCU that is about 10 years old in Sonar and it works perfect.
Ive used ACT to set up my M Audio Oxygen 49 and had no problem with it.
I don't see the point in your rant."

BuleriaChk 
"Then you've obviously never used Ableton Live or Maschine 
Especially with a Push 2 or Maschine Studio...
 
(I'm not about to buy an Oxygen to find out.... you were lucky. And maybe a bit limited in versatility.. )
Did the Oxygen use a Mackie template?
 
But I'll report back on the nanoKontrol Studio - although there have been some negative reviews on KVR and elsewhere vis a vis Sonar (supposedly one just has to press two keys when starting up to set the Sonar mode..) ....
Not only that, a Mackie MCU won't fit in my backpack with my laptop on my motorcycle when I'm working in the picnic grove....  I have no doubt that the Mackie template works with a Mackie, though .. things have, uh, changed in 10 years   :)"

 
 

FWIW I use my Behringer X32 as a CS and it works flawlessly.  Basic functions load up by default (transport, faders, pan, etc) and setting up custom functions i.e. jogwheel, plugin parms was painless.  I assume their dedicated CS works well too at a very reasonable price.

BuleriaChk
This is a reason I NEVER work in Sonar anymore; Native Instruments and Ableton are just so much better and easy to work with with their control surfaces I Hate using the mouse for volume sliders and solo/mute buttons, and having to do Midi learn for every fricken controller I use, and even then, they don't work from project to project. ....
I may be missing something here, but....  SHEESH!

So, if you NEVER work in Sonar, there is no point...
 
But since you also ask what you miss:

BuleriaChk
I wrote my original post a long time ago (I am now on Win10 pro, x64), and nothing seems to have changed.

Correct.

ACT seems absolutely worthless, since it involves programming every interface one uses painfully.

Depends what you expect. Only complicated cases require "programming". All simple surfaces required "configuring", which after reading 2 pages of documentation (Chapter 40 in the Sonar Reference Guide) takes half an hour at most. You do not call "programming" adjusting the level on your audio interface or routing your mixer, right?
 

  I am convinced Sonar's Mackie ACT template is seriously broken (the Mackie template for my NI equipment works perfectly implemented as Mackie control surface in Ableton Live, independently of the template they provide- which is also flawless.  NOTHING I have tried with Mackie templates have worked - if I set ACT to VS-100, sometimes they will work a little, but inconsistenly.)

"Mackie template" exists on devices only. And when "Mackie mode" implemented by a "template", it is NEVER implemented correctly. And yes, Mashine and most other controllers STILL HAVE NO correct implementation of Mackie PROTOCOL.
Sonar has MackieControl PLUG-IN, which strictly implements Mackie PROTOCOL and refuse to work with anything without proper implementation of it. Mackie implementation in YOUR DEVICES is a FAKE.
 
"Mackie compatible" devices work in other DAWs because  these other DAWs are less restrictive. If you want the same behavior from Sonar, you can use my mod:  http://forum.cakewalk.com/Mackie-Control-support-improvements-m3311275.aspx
 

WTF?  Why can't Sonar get it together and provide user libraries (at least) for ACT templates, and provide templates for up to date controllers rather than the tired old outdated controllers now in the ACT list.  Or, f'chrissake, bite the bullet and produce one that works...

Roland has tried... and ended with financial disaster, stopped producing them and sold CW

(I just ordered a nanoKontrol Studio, since Korg says it will work with Sonar  Even then, Korg says the markers don't work with their template  ...  Silly me, I am NOT hopeful, but at least I can return it to Amazon.   Sonar could at least provide a list of current surface controllers that DO work.)

ANY. If you want that they work and you are ready to spend an hour for that. For "out of the box":
* MCU Pro / X-Touch / (recent firmware, confirmed only by one user so far) qCon Pro
* Presonus Faderport
* Nektar Impact
 

My BCF2000 works flawlessly with SPlat. I only wish I had two so I could directly control 16 tracks instead of 8. But, it is a great unit.

fwiw, i have an apc40 and the integration with live is just wonderful, a real pleasure to use, with little-to-no setup effort
 
fwiw2, i agree that cake have abandoned controls surfaces, but at least they open-sourced the code for that, even if it took a couple of years of badgering for it to actually happen...big thanks to azslow3 for picking up the ball and running with it!
 
personally, i don t expect cake to suddenly start supporting cs again...

BuleriaChk

chuckebaby
I use a Mackie MCU that is about 10 years old in Sonar and it works perfect.
Ive used ACT to set up my M Audio Oxygen 49 and had no problem with it.
I don't see the point in your rant.

  
(I'm not about to buy an Oxygen to find out.... you were lucky. And maybe a bit limited in versatility.. )
Did the Oxygen use a Mackie template? 

It's not about luck my friend.
Sonar has a preset in ACT for the Oxygen. it took about a whole 30 seconds to set up.
There is a ton of presets built in to Sonar for use with ACT. Making it simple to set up most Control surfaces.
Would I like to see Sonar expand on Control surface set ups ? Sure.
But I would like a lot of other features too.
 
We all work differently so its tough to categorize Sonars List of "Thing that need improvement".
More often than not, that list is made up of personal needs (what I want / what you want).
Some would argue Staff view improvements should come before Control surface improvements.
See what I mean ? What ever the case, I wish you well.