Real Problems in Cakewalk

Good day to all,
      I have been a member for a long time. Don't post that much, because I haven't had all the problems that seem to pop up. That starts my question. Are the problems really computer/software/hardware driven, or are they pilot errors. I look at the specs that people have, and some of the systems look incredible to what I have. Not complaining, I am satisfied with what I have. Most glitches I have are usually self caused. JBS, I call it. John being stupid. I know it must be frustrating to have a working system, then update, upgrade, add whatever and all of a sudden things go haywire. I find myself locked into others problems with the desire to help, but I don't have the problems. Maybe I just don't use the in-depth stuff as much as others. Don't get me wrong, I use most parts of the software. Not a lot of the synth parts as I have more synths than I can count. In the long run I find that I spend too much time worrying about others problems. This time could be spent in manuals, videos, etc., etc.
It's great to see all the good help that is here, even when 'written tempers' rage. I also realize there are so many variables. Just not seeing why so many problems on great systems. Just observing.
Good luck to all
MJ

Since every system is built differently and not everyone uses the same hardware/software, there's bound to be an issue as nothing is perfect and no guarantees.
Still, with a little patience, there's always a workaround to get the job done and if it's a universal error, the bakers are very good at finding a fix. Most people are (generally) impatient and want everything here & now.     
 
Also, most people that are posting in here is because of some issue they're having and looking for help (so it seems like there are a lot of problems).........but, I think the vast majority are actually making music.

That's true enough.    Or, as I'd say, "I'm in the middle of a project and have become inured for the moment to all the irritations like a lame controller pane, and paste issues, and the need to click twice in the loop begin and end box, and so I don't post anything." 

Sonar also has bugs and things that cause it to crash.  In my personal experience, Sonar is much less stable and crashes much more frequently than the other DAWs I use (Studio One and Reaper, both of which pretty much never crash).  In instances like this, there isn't a great argument for it being an issue with my system or computer.  This is a shame because I like Sonar a lot.

for some reason "thread titles" (like the one used in this thread) seem to attract a lot of folks who have been waiting days, weeks, even months to dump out every single little problem they have ever had.
 
I believe for the most part, we are living in an age future zed computers.
everyone seems to take for granitite, the things we can do today with computers were un thought of just a few years ago.
 
thus believe that every thing should be perfect and a perfect world.
ive had my issues with sonar, ive been vocal about it too. pee'd off a few people in the process
but for the most part, ive been very happy using Sonar Vs. pro tools, Cubase, Exc.
most of my issues have been trivial, hardware, software, driver conflicts.
 
I still have a few grips today as well, but nothing that would have me leaving Sonar to go to another DAW
and nothing that would have me here in these forums trying to make a negative impact.
ive tried to problem solve issues here and have had great success, except the few that were related to improvements. but even those improvements that I think Sonar needs to fix, work on.
I cant really complain too much because every one works in a different way, what I may want, someone else does not. what I may like and think is a feature everyone uses every day, they may not.
so I have to recognize that in picking/choosing my battles.
 
I am 100% sure about one thing though, this is by far the best forum I have ever been a part of.
people will bend over backward to help you solve your issues and these are not just ordinary users, they are smart, helpful people who donate their time not only to help others, but to in turn better the software.
 
 
 

Yeah it's hard to say what the cause of the issue could be.  My crashes don't involve bridging of plugins. . . I wish it were that simple.  It could have something to do with one of the VST synths I typically use (Rapture Pro, Hybrid 3, Addictive Drums 2) but I haven't sat down specifically trying to establish what causes the crashes.  Definitely one happened when replacing VST synths while running the transport and another one happened when experimenting with the MME driver after I had sold my MOX8 and was using the built-in interface in my laptop.  But I've also have 3 or 4 crashes just doing normal bread-and-butter things.
 
One thing I can say is that Sonar is DEFINITELY happier using ASIO drivers :)  I just bought a new interface and am now using a Focusrite 18i8 with ASIO.  Unfortunately I did have a crash after this as well, at which point I decided to uninstall Sonar for the time being and switch over to another DAW. 
 
Admittedly, for a while Platinum was very stable, and then at a certain point it just started being unstable.  I've done a lot of installing and uninstalling Sonar over the past year, with and without the command center, so it could just be there's a library somewhere that's screwed up.  One day I will probably wipe my computer clean and probably reinstall everything (it's starting to get a bit cluttered with all of the VST's and DAW's I've installed and deleted and my preset folders for everything are all over the place) and at that point maybe I'll re-subscribe to Sonar and try installing it fresh.  That is, unless there's a recommended way to wipe all of the Sonar libraries, registry entries, etc from Windows without formatting?

rlared
That is, unless there's a recommended way to wipe all of the Sonar libraries, registry entries, etc from Windows without formatting?

https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013392/SONAR-2015-Clean-Install-Instructions
 

I'm working with an orchestral project with a EWQL SO library, 24 independent instances in their respective instrument track, plus 4 aux tracks for sections (Percussion, Strings, Brass and Woodwinds), used Prochannel effects and everything is rocksolid the few crashes i had, vanished now.
The few crashes i had in the past, was for user error mainly i'm one of the users that can say: "i'm working flawless here and i'm having a really awesome time with my DAW :3 "

SONAR Platinum rocks.

Cheers.

Sh03e
I'm working with an orchestral project with a EWQL SO library, 24 independent instances in their respective instrument track, plus 4 aux tracks for sections (Percussion, Strings, Brass and Woodwinds), used Prochannel effects and everything is rocksolid the few crashes i had, vanished now.
The few crashes i had in the past, was for user error mainly i'm one of the users that can say: "i'm working flawless here and i'm having a really awesome time with my DAW :3 "

SONAR Platinum rocks.

Cheers.

What do you mean when you say that the crashes were from user error?  What was the error?

AFAICT, right now SONAR is in much better shape than it ever was. There was a time when this forum was flooded with threads with people having all sorts of serious problems (of which I posted quite a few myself). I'm not saying some people are not having serious problems right now, just that it used to be much more than it is now.
 
SONAR often crashes for me the 1st time I try to open a specific song, or when I close it, so there are still issues. But I suspect that is most likely a buggy plugin. But the number of bugs in SONAR itself seem to be less than it used to be.
 

rlared
Also is there any stability issues with mixing VST and VST3 effects?  This is something I do pretty often.

 
If SONAR and the plugins follow the spec properly, then there should be no stability issues in mixing VST2 and VST3 plugins. I also mix them quite often but have not noticed any issues specific to mixing them AFAICT.
 
 

rlared
Also is there any stability issues with mixing VST and VST3 effects?  This is something I do pretty often.

I have not noticed any issues with mixing VST 2,4 with VST 3. Or for that matter DX. This is true only with Sonar not so with some other DAWs. 

rlared
Also is there any stability issues with mixing VST and VST3 effects?  This is something I do pretty often.

Many moons ago yes, but that is supposed to be all sorted out now. I've not had any issues since that fix.

Amicus717
My problems always seem to come down to audio hardware and drivers. I had pretty upsetting stability problems in Sonar X3 and SPLAT for a while, including freezes, BSODs, audio engine dying, etc, many of which resolved themselves only when I moved on from my Roland interface (Vstudio 700) to an old ESI Juli@. Before I did that, nothing I tried helped at all - not a brand new install onto a pristine HD, nor a new motherboard and power supply, nor any sort of Windows optimizations. I was at the point of almost ditching Sonar and using Reaper full-time (which was a lot more stable, if a lot less fun to use). 
 
Things got better once I reinstalled my old Juli@ (still not perfect, but a marked improvement -- in particular, an end to BSODs and the random system freezes), and I was thrilled about that. I've used other DAWs, but none of them work for me like Sonar does in terms of workflow and all-around comfortableness.
 
I started running an RME Babyface this past week, and I can't believe the difference in stability. I've been pushing my system hard all this week, and nothing but rock solid performance across the board. It's only a week, I know, so its a pretty small sample size to start drawing any conclusions. However, I don't recall ever going a week without Sonar coughing up at least one hairball, so I think it bodes really well. The benefit of having good hardware with first-class, proven drivers simply cannot be over-stated.  

Yes this experience can't be overlooked, i was in the same issue long ago with X3 Studio and Digital Performer with an oldie Tascam US-800, that audio interface give me only nightmares, poor support in drivers, frequently BSODs since i'm in my Roland QuadCapture everything is almost flawless here, so is really important not just to buy a fancy good looking audio interface but a good one with rock solid drivers support.

rlared
Update: I wiped the installation per the instructions that Zargg linked to last night and reinstalled.  So far after a few hours of use, Platinum seems to be running more smoothly and there were not any crashes or issues.  I used it with Kontact, Addictive Drums 2 and Hybrid 3.  Will report back after a few more days of use, but at this point I'm hopeful that it was just some bad libraries or something.

Hey, that's good news.    FWIW, I use Kontakt and AD2 in every project, and I have an 18i6 so it's a similar setup (except for Windows itself).   Hopefully you'll see the type of stability that I do!
 

rlared
Update: I wiped the installation per the instructions that Zargg linked to last night and reinstalled.  So far after a few hours of use, Platinum seems to be running more smoothly and there were not any crashes or issues.  I used it with Kontact, Addictive Drums 2 and Hybrid 3.  Will report back after a few more days of use, but at this point I'm hopeful that it was just some bad libraries or something.

Hope this was all that was needed, Lee.
All the best.