Not happy with X3 Producer....

Hi. Yes. You can have all versions of SONAR installed side by side. It would be preferable to install from oldest to newest.
All the best.

What Zargg said.  Having them both will let you continue in 8.5 while you dabble with X3 until you're comfy enough with X3 to move.  Don't forget the (e) update for X3.

Nothing to stop you from still using 8.5. 
 
FYI I always preferred 8.5 to X-series and truth be told the only reason I eventually bought X3 pro as un upgrade from 8.53 was because I was considering buying melodyne and addictive drums anyway and then it was announced that they were going to be included in X3 pro, so it really became a no-brainer. (ok you have to upgrade melodyne to make it truly useful, but the upgrade price was reasonable, so I was basically getting x3 pro for nothing) Turns out that I don't use AD all that much, but the ARA melodyne integration was still worth the admission price on it's own IMO.
 
I still missed my old 8.5 dark UI console view that I had though and no amount of fiddling with the colour options available could get close to replicating that or anything equally pleasing to the eye and it annoyed me that CW had "improved" something by removing some functionality that I already had, but I persevered with X3 mainly because of melodyne.
 
Then came the latest incarnations and eventually (finally!) the dark UI that had been missing for so long IMO. I was still a bit annoyed at being asked to pay for something that I used to already have, so still I resisted, but then the lifetime update offer was veering an upgrade back into no-brainer territory so I finally upgraded. It remains to be seen how "worth it" that was, but I have my dark UI back so I'm happy enough and in fairness there are a few things like the auto-resizing fx bin in CV that are pretty cool too.
 
So, would I still go back to 8.5 if melodyne worked the same way in that ? No. I opened it up a while back for old times sake and have to say that colour scheme aside it all looked a bit clunky, crowded and "old" by comparison. That's not to say that new is always better, it isn't, but sometimes you forget how much things have moved on - I used to think that my first car was great, but I would be horrified if I had to drive such a thing now.Plat isn't by any means perfect, but I can see that it is better than 8.5 in many ways.
 
One further thing to consider is that the new pricing structure from May 1st will mean that you will no longer be able to pay an upgrade price from X3>current version, so as odd as it might seem to be upgrading something you  don't like for a new version of it, it's still worth considering or you will be back to paying full price if you decide to jump on a newer version in future. JRR shop has the best deals for this AFAIK.
 
 
 
 

No, Melodyne certainly won't work with 8.5 as it uses the Region Fx which aren't a part of 8.5
 
You might be lucky with AD though you'll still have to activate it via the XLN website

M.G.
Thanks for all the replies and advice!  I 'll reinstall 8.5 and use that while checking out X3 more closely.
 
Kenny - it sounds like I won't be able to use the new plugins (Melodyne, Addictive Drums etc) in 8.5, even if they're installed with X3?  Maybe I'll do what you did and bounce tracks/mixes from 8.5 to X3 and back.
 
paulo - I will consider the X3 upgrade, thanks for the heads up!

All the is relates to what you may expect to find in 8.5 if you decided t reinstall it alongside your X3
 
Addictive Drums and most of the Cakewalk branded included synths and plugs should  work fine in 8.5
Off the top of my head The Blue tubes , True Pianos ,The Pro Chanel  type of stuff won't work ...
 
Melodyne is a separate install so you should be able to use it as if you were using it in a separate DAW  ...
I even took one of my Melodyne activation's and threw it on my i Mac ...
It's just not as integrated out side of SONAR as if it would be in X3 ..ARA is a big thing that was ahead of it's time
In X3 you can take a mono audio track and slide it over to a midi track and Melodyne will do an Audio to Midi conversion for you ...in my case that type of ARA integration was very important 
 
A cool thing is Cakewalk is pretty generous so a lot of the cool stuff shows up in other DAWs ...
A good deal of theses will show up in 8.5
There's some cool EQ's, Chanel Tools , Percussion Strip, Vocal Type Strip , and a bunch of other real nice things you may enjoy having access  to and using  .
 
I was pretty intimidated w the X3 GUI when I first started using it ...having some of this other stuff show up helped cut the edge ... it sort of motivated me to spend time learning the new X3  GUI ...now you couldn't pay me to go back
 
I know your dealing with X3 VS 8.5 now ..but ..Splat takes it up to a whole new level ...
I'm glad I paid my dues in X3 ...
good luck ,
 
Kenny
 

M.G.
Thanks again for everyone's help.  I installed 8.5 and it seems to be working OK (can play some old .cwp files I recorded).  Some programs seem to load but I'm not sure if they work (Add. Drums, Rapture). Dimension Pro works as does Vocal Strip, etc.  None of the Blue Tubes work - I get a message saying they're only licensed for X3 and above.
 
I can't get 8.5 to even recognize Melodyne... will I have to export a single track as a .wav file, import to Melodyne, modify and save the .wav file then import it back into 8.5?  
 
 
M.G.
Back In The Day
http://www.reverbnation.com/bitd
 
 
 
 

Yes ,  I did mention the Blue tubes were locked out .
You also have many other X3 plugs and instruments that you may be able to find a use for in SONAR 8 ...
 
The list is extensive and some of the plugs are miles ahead of what came with SONAR 8 ...
the only way you could have hit it back then with the quality of the X3 plugs was to drop some serious coin on 3 rd party
here's a Cakewalk link of what you have already from X3 PE
https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3&language=3&help=Plug-ins.1.html
 
I would list all the plugs and stuff that I like and got w X3 that I use not only in SONAR , but in other DAW's
that would end up clogging up this post 
What I could tell you is this ...if it has TL -, LP-, PX-, TS-, VX-, as a prefix in front of it's name  it's top shelf ...
A few other very useful things  that I use all the time are Chanel Tools , Boost 11, Breverb,Tone2 Bi Filter 2.
BTW Session Drummer 3 is pretty nice ...as far as X3 VST instruments go only a few won't make the trip over to 8
 
Anyway , just so you know the reason why I am doing this .... I'm not looking to get on the soapbox , it's just that this is what it took for me ...
When I had gotten X 3 I hit a total brick wall ...I hated it at first and I couldn't do anything right ...
I suffered on my own with out asking for help for about a whole year ...
($uckey'est year of music I ever had, I had one foot in the past and the other foot in the uncertain future ) ..
I started a thread on how frustrated I had become and how much I hated it ..I kid you not when I say this ,
I think folks around here took me very seriously when I mentioned that I was gonna take my laptop w X3 out to the range and put 2 clips of 45 ACP into it
 
The main thing that changed everything for me is I asked for Help and people did help me ...
 
It's a real funny thing about asking for help ...most folks would rather go through a half a tank of gas driving around lost. When they have finally had enough running around in circles they will finally ask for help and then Bitcchh about the traffic
 
any way good luck , it was nice rapping w you ,
 
Kenny
 
 
 
 

I felt a lot like Kenny did when X1 was released. I was excited for the new look but I was very frustrated about the learning curve. I wondered where my save button went, I wondered what this Skylight thing was. It was like working backwards. But the learning went by fast. I finished projects in 8.5 and learned X1 slowly by starting test projects. then moved on to real projects.
 
You tube is your best friend man. groove 3 is another great source for sonar videos.
I bought 2 of them and they changed everything for me. So I guess what im saying is pretty much what everyone else is. use 8.5 but learn X3 in the process but for C sake, don't give up on it. Someone told me something once and I have never forgot it.... "Technology wont wait for you, so don't let technology leave you behind, because If you do, your screwed".
So don't be left behind man  For all the hassles it might be, try using Melodyne in X3 with ARA integration/As a Region FX.
When it comes right down to it and when you put it into basics... There's a record button, faders, panning knobs and editing tools. A DAW is a DAW but some have more features and options than others and in this case, X3 over powers 8.5. What ever you do I wish you the best. Good luck man.