57Gregy
I stand corrected. There is a new Home Studio.
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR-Home-Studio
 

looks like a limited Sonar version. no point spending money on that. you can probably customize Sonar screenset if you want less cluttered interfaces ... and then you dont need to change applications if you want to turn it into a bigger project ...
 
soon the new workspaces will arrive and that should allow you to streamline the interface even further to fit your needs
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/P...ng-Updates#In-The-Oven

Workspaces

The future of workspace customization is coming to SONAR this fall, with innovative options that let you adapt SONAR to your unique needs and workflow.

Some available stats:
 
Version=        MC        HS        S Art      S Pro      S Plat
Audio tracks= 32         64        Unlim     Unlim     Unlim
MIDI tracks=  128       128      Unlim     Unlim     Unlim
TH2/3=          Creator  CWE     CWE      CWE       CWE
Instruments=  8          8          12         19          23
Effects=          24        24        27         50          57
PC Modules=   YES      YES       8          13          19
Sample Rate= 24        24        384        "            "
Bit Depth=      48        48        64          "            "
Themes=        NO       YES      YES        YES        YES
Style Dials=    YES      YES      YES        YES        YES
YouTube U/L= ?          X         ?            ?            ?
 

Does anyone tried Sonar Home with Windows 7? Couldn't find anything about it.
 
I own Music Creator 7 and like it so i'm interested in Sonar Home Studio.
Edit:
Sorry, it seems i'm not allowed to post links here yet.
You can find the comparsion under Documentation -> SONAR -> Comparison
 
 
 
 

Can Sonar Platinum open Sonar Home Studio projects? Is it the same file format?
 
If it does that would be very useful to a couple of friends. They are just starting to record music and want to avoid detailed production work so a basic edition of Sonar would be ideal. However they would be interested in bringing the track to me because I am interested in production work and have a lot of the more advanced features.

I'm curious about how lightweight this is compared to the full SONAR.  I too am looking for a lightweight alternative for occasional use on a laptop, but I would need basic control surface support for my use.
 

I would think a lightweight minimalist screenset is already an option for Platinum.
 
Plus this:

Rob[atSound-Rehab]
 
soon the new workspaces will arrive and that should allow you to streamline the interface even further to fit your needs
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/P...ng-Updates#In-The-Oven

 
I just selected the "Trackview" screenset, and hid the inspector and browser views.  This seems uncluttered, perfect for tracking.
 
Anyway, I have a modest dual-core i5 laptop with 4GB RAM, and a slow HDD, that launches and runs Platinum just fine.
 
What would be the advantage to running a second Cakewalk DAW?

soens
Some available stats:
 
Version=        MC        HS        S Art      S Pro      S Plat
Audio tracks= 32         64        Unlim     Unlim     Unlim
MIDI tracks=  128       ?          Unlim     Unlim     Unlim
TH2/3=          Creator  CWE     CWE      CWE       CWE
Instruments=  ?          ?          12         19          23
Effects=          ?          ?          27         50          57
PC Modules=   N/A      ?           8          13          19
Sample Rate= ?          ?          384kHz   "            "
Bit Depth=      ?          ?          64          "            "
Themes=        NO       YES      YES        YES        YES
Style Dials=    YES      YES      YES        YES        YES
YouTube U/L= ?          X         ?            ?            ?
 

To fill in the ? for MC7 see http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=Music%20Creator%207&language=3&help=Comparison.html
 
To fill in the ? for SHS see http://www.cakewalk.com/D...p;help=Comparison.html
 
To fill in the rest see http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Versions
 

Well here's the scoop. I had no problem with W7 64 bit. It opened and asked a few questions. Recognised my Tascam interface etc. Scanned my plug ins ( I have the latest Platinum on this laptop too) I seem to have everything plug in wise and effects too.  So other than pro channel, which I do not use, nothing will change for me working in this version. 
My plan is to use it for live playback and therefore I am hoping it is more stable on this older laptop than Plat. I I love the look of this and it's layout is both familiar and uncluttered. For me $50 well spent and I feel good about supporting a favourite developers work. 

abacab
 
Anyway, I have a modest dual-core i5 laptop with 4GB RAM, and a slow HDD, that launches and runs Platinum just fine.
 

running Sonar on an Acer win10 tablet for years now. perfectly light weight for live backing tracks, but also heavy weight when need i.e. I used the tablet PC to record full multi-mic'ed brass band.

tonydude
Can Sonar Platinum open Sonar Home Studio projects? Is it the same file format?
 
If it does that would be very useful to a couple of friends. They are just starting to record music and want to avoid detailed production work so a basic edition of Sonar would be ideal. However they would be interested in bringing the track to me because I am interested in production work and have a lot of the more advanced features.

Yes, it uses same format, I just opened a PLAT CWP file in HS no problem.