SilverBlueMedallion
well that last response is really a nice way to wrap this post with a bow and softly kiss it away as 'no big deal'... but the fact is....  for over a decade the same MIDI bugs have existed within Sonar causing users to leave and/or have major problems with the product interrupting creative workflow.

It's like saying "all parents hit their kids sometimes".

 
It's not at all like saying that, and I suspect you know that too. Or maybe you truly did not get the point, so here it is again in very simple language:
 
Every DAW does some things well and some things not so well.
 
It is not possible for a DAW to do everything well or fix all bugs. This is too small an industry, and its resources are too limited (in large part, thanks to software theft and software devaluation by companies that make their money from hardware, which can't be downloaded from a torrent. Put your efforts into stopping that rather than bashing the people who are constrained by it if you truly want better software). Even Apple, which has virtually unlimited resources and cash reserves, can't release a software update anymore that doesn't break something (ask Native Instruments). More specifically to music, there were MIDI timing issues in Logic that persisted for years (and may still persist, for all I know).
 
Because no DAW can do everything well, DAWs compete with each other. This is why I use multiple programs. I would feel truly stupid posting in Ableton's forum "Live's priority is clearly live performance, but I do a lot of studio work and if you guys don't include basic studio functions SONAR has like Mix Recall, upsampling, and ARA integration, I'm leaving." Instead - take a deep breath - I use Ableton Live for live performance. It's not their fault they're not aiming to satisfy all the needs I have. It would be my fault if I used it expecting it to fulfill all my particular needs.
 
Acting like MIDI not currently being SONAR's strong point is some earth-shattering discovery on your part that demands immediate attention is a waste of forum bandwidth. My problem with your laundry list is not that it identifies what you consider issues per se, but that it does nothing to help people get more out of SONAR. I don't recall you contributing anything to the forum that's intended to help other users get more out of the program, show them some cool technique, or help someone troubleshoot a technical problem.
 
Consider that if someone who has contributed to SONAR users in this forum and taken the time to learn how the program works has an issue, it has some real weight and credibility behind it. That's what gets results. You dilute any strong points you may have when you put them on the same level as "issues" like notes with 4 tick durations not preserving that duration when converted from PRV to Step Sequencer, dismissing an alternate workflow that does what you want to do because it's not the way you want to do it, or personal preferences that may matter to only a handful of users.
 

Yes, its software and far more trivial than that, but the logic of saying "all software has their limitations" is really just a way to soften the intended impact of the post.

 
No. It's a way to introduce some objective reality. If you worked with other programs as much as you worked with SONAR, you'd still have a laundry list of complaints. It would just be a different list.

When it comes to MIDI implementation, like I said, Sonar might be the worst or close to it.

 
For you. You are not the only person in the world, you have not used all DAWs (how was your experience with MIDI in Adobe Audition?), and you are most certainly not speaking for all the people who use MIDI in SONAR successfully to create the music they want to create. I use MIDI all the time. No, I don't do multi-layered classical compositions using VSL libraries with 100 tracks and Note Expression to score Lord or the Rings or whatever, nor do I prefer to work in Staff View, which remains a sore point with me. But every project I do has multiple MIDI instruments with plenty of controllers. Some of my audio-for-video soundtracks are all MIDI instruments because you never know how/when video will be cut, and MIDI is more flexible than audio. To you, being able to enter exact numeric modulation values into a step sequencer is crucial. I doubt many share that need.

Without posts like these, the necessary visibility may not make its way up to the bakers as easily.   My posts have often times led to private messages being sent from Cakewalk engineers themselves to me where we work on things together, in fact I have one going on right now.

 
So the Bakers are giving you personal attention on a personal level via private messages, but that's not enough, and you demand more attention - so you publicly dress down the people who are already aware of your existence and engaging with you. Got it.

The tone and subject matter, and writing style is crafted INTENTIONALLY to enhance the chances of visibility by the bakers.  Who wants to get lost down in the flow?

Certainly not those who constantly demand the attention of others.


If you truly believe the Bakers aren't aware that improvements can be made to SONAR, and have logged more bugs than you would ever discover in years of working with SONAR, I don't know what to say. Sure, I have complaints about SONAR. Who doesn't? If you look back over the last year of updates, it would be obvious to any objective observer that Cakewalk's priority has been to make the program more efficient, pleasing to the eye, and bug-free. I'm hoping the next year is dedicated to making the process of making music more efficient. Better arranging tools and MIDI improvements would be a good place to start. Is that what they'll do? I don't know. But, I've submitted those requests through proper channels because I believe that's the most effective way to effect change, not public tantrums. Whether they're implemented is up to Cakewalk, not me...similarly to how Ableton Live still can't record solo button presses, 16 years after its introduction, despite the requests of numerous people, including me. Ableton says it's buried too deep in the code; I believe them. That's the end of it. (But SONAR's Matrix View can record solo button presses...)
 
People often ask me for recommendations regarding software. I don't always recommend SONAR by any means. I analyze their needs, and try to match them up with the current state and feature sets of various programs.
 
The bottom line: I NEVER expect any programs of any kind to do what I want them to do. I expect them to do what the engineers designed them to do, in accordance with what they see as priorities and (so they can stay in business) the needs of the majority of their user base. I make my decision of what software to use based on how congruent their design goals are with my needs. I recommend everyone who has a choice of different programs to do the same.