michael diemer
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Should I upgrade?
So I get this card in the mail saying I can upgrade to Sonar X3 for just 49.00. I am currently on Sonar 8.5 Producer. I plan to get or build a new rig in a few months, when I retire. Haven't decided what DAW to go with then. I may stick with Sonar, try Cubase or even Reaper. I hear a lot about glitches with the X series, but it seems you get a lot too. At that price it almost seems I have nothing to lose. I can always go back to 8.5, right? So what do folks think I should do? I'm pretty happy where I am. I compose "classical music" for my own pleasure.
michael diemer Intel Quad Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 32 GB ram 1TB Western Digital Black X2 Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 UR22 interface Bandlab Cakewalk/Sonar 8.5 Studio GPO-EWQLSO Gold-Vienna SP ED-Cinematic Strings 2
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scook
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/15 14:15:38
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/15 14:19:58
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X3 is totally stable for the vast majority of users. Most of the few bugs that do exist can be worked around - there are no showstoppers
Just be aware that this version of X3 for $49 is for the basic version, not producer.
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digimidi
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/15 17:16:23
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I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left... http://daveowenmusic.com/http://fabulous52s.com/https://soundcloud.com/daveowenmusic Sonar Platinum Edition/Cakewalk by BandLab: Dell 8700 XPS i7 16GB RAM, Cyberpower laptop w/8GB RAM/i7/2GB NVidia card/Tascam US1641/Focusrite 18i6/Melodyne Studio 4/Waves Plugs (a lot)/Garritan/EWQL Symphony Silver & Fab 4 and a bunch of other stuff. Studio One 3/Magix Samplitude Pro X3 Suite/Mixcraft 8 Pro/Reaper/Acid Pro 8
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Anderton
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/15 22:29:55
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The X series is different from 8.x, which causes some initial confusion. But once you figure out the lay of the land, I think the X series blows away the 8.x versions in terms of workflow and fun factor.
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Splat 
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 00:51:35
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Don't upgrade. Do what I do, use a cassette player and two paper cups with string. I create fantastic sounding YouTube videos this way.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 05:52:29
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lawp
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 07:30:56
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Bristol_Jonesey
+1 Alex
surely one's enough already? ;-)
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John
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 08:13:49
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CakeAlexS
Don't upgrade. Do what I do, use a cassette player and two paper cups with string. I create fantastic sounding YouTube videos this way.
You need to upgrade the paper cups to aluminum cans. You'll get a better frequency response.
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stevec
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 08:17:35
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Maybe... but I've found that paper cups have a warmer tone overall, and none of those harsh metallic overtones.
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dwardzala
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 08:21:47
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No you definitely have to upgrade to the metals cans for the frequency response. Then you plug in the paper cups to get that old school tone.
DaveMain Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller Win10 x64 Home Sonar 2017.06 Platinum (and X3e, X2c, X1d) Mobile Studio - Sager NP8677 (i7-6700HQ @2.67MHz, 16G Ram, 250G SSD, 1T HD) M-Box Mini v. 2 Win 10 x64 Home Sonar 2016.10 Platinum Check out my original music: https://soundcloud.com/d-wardzala/sets/d-wardzala-original-music
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mmorgan
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 08:24:56
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Mike Win8(64), Sonar X3e(64) w/ RME Fireface UFX.
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John
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 08:25:42
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Yep thats the best way to go and its non destructive too. We'll get you into the 21 century eventually.
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Bristol_Jonesey
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 08:57:49
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lawp
Bristol_Jonesey
+1 Alex
surely one's enough already? ;-)
Nah - we collaborate over the telephone so we need an identical setup
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joel77
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 09:07:40
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dwardzala
No you definitely have to upgrade to the metals cans for the frequency response. Then you plug in the paper cups to get that old school tone.
A paper cup emulator ...... I love it!!!!! LOL!!
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lawp
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 09:11:42
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in all seriousness though, try the demo, the workflow/ui is very different from pre-x sonars
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_Angus_
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 09:47:19
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michael diemer
So I get this card in the mail saying I can upgrade to Sonar X3 for just 49.00. I am currently on Sonar 8.5 Producer. I plan to get or build a new rig in a few months, when I retire. Haven't decided what DAW to go with then. I may stick with Sonar, try Cubase or even Reaper. I hear a lot about glitches with the X series, but it seems you get a lot too. At that price it almost seems I have nothing to lose. I can always go back to 8.5, right? So what do folks think I should do? I'm pretty happy where I am. I compose "classical music" for my own pleasure.
People are having a bit of fun with this, but I completely get where you are coming from. If what you have does everything you want and you are comfortable with it.... I mean, "Hey, they've brought out a new chisel, nothing wrong with my old chisel, but you have to upgrade your toolset every year, right?!!" :) Having said, that. I'm also getting a new pc, and I'm planning on upgrading, going from X1 Essential to X3 Studio, I fancy the new features, but as sombody pointed out, you have the flagship version of 8.5 - and you might be a bit disappointed with just the basic version of X3. Personally, I like the layout and feel of Sonar now, I had to use Cubase on a recent college course and just could not get on with the dense layout and what seemed to me to be counter-intuitive design - but many would disagree.
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John
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 11:22:27
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"I had to use Cubase on a recent college course and just could not get on with the dense layout and what seemed to me to be counter-intuitive design - but many would disagree."
Not that many.
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Jeff M.
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 11:25:57
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I was absolutely content with 8.5 and skipped X1, but I jumped in just before X2 was released ..Cake offered a decent upgrade.
It was a little different from what I was used to, but it was easy to figure out - without any WTF_what_do_I_do_now moments.
I fired up 8.5 a couple of weeks later, and it seemed less intuitive, since I was now accustomed to the pro channel, the FX chain & the browser.
The upgrade is worth it - but make sure you check the different X3's.
The $49 one won't get you many of the best things that X3 Producer has to offer. Check out scook's link, and/or go here http://www.cakewalk.com/products/sonar/versions.aspx
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mettelus
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 11:36:40
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X3 is a good place to jump into the X-series if not used any yet... very stable, ARA, VST3, loads of goodies... check the versioning though. The $49 upgrade is to the basic version, I believe.
Once you spend some time with the new interface, I think you will learn to appreciate it.
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Paul P
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 12:05:06
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mettelus
check the versioning though. The $49 upgrade is to the basic version, I believe.
It seems to me that there should be an upgrade path from X3 basic to X3 studio or producer. That way you could use the basic for a while and if you then want to go to studio or producer you'd get 50$ off.
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Splat
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 12:28:41
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joel77
dwardzala
No you definitely have to upgrade to the metals cans for the frequency response. Then you plug in the paper cups to get that old school tone.
A paper cup emulator ...... I love it!!!!! LOL!!
FYI - Paper cup emulator™ Thankyou....
Sell by date at 9000 posts. Do not feed. @48/24 & 128 buffers latency is 367 with offset of 38. Sonar Platinum(64 bit),Win 8.1(64 bit),Saffire Pro 40(Firewire),Mix Control = 3.4,Firewire=VIA,Dell Studio XPS 8100(Intel Core i7 CPU 2.93 Ghz/16 Gb),4 x Seagate ST31500341AS (mirrored),GeForce GTX 460,Yamaha DGX-505 keyboard,Roland A-300PRO,Roland SPD-30 V2,FD-8,Triggera Krigg,Shure SM7B,Yamaha HS5.Maschine Studio+Komplete 9 Ultimate+Kontrol Z1.Addictive Keys,Izotope Nectar elements,Overloud Bundle,Geist.Acronis True Image 2014.
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michael diemer
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/16 19:49:49
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Thanks to all for the laughs and the sound advice! I think I will probably spring for X3, but not until I retire and have a new rig. Going to a completely new DAW, like Cubase, would be a far bigger learning curve, it would seem, than the jump from 8.5 to X3. And I think I would find Reaper a bit thin after having gorged on Sonar for so many years. One thing though that attracts me to Reaper is that I believe it is Linux friendly, no? I love Ubuntu, but of course sonar is light years away from successfully mating with that OS, if ever.
michael diemer Intel Quad Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 32 GB ram 1TB Western Digital Black X2 Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 UR22 interface Bandlab Cakewalk/Sonar 8.5 Studio GPO-EWQLSO Gold-Vienna SP ED-Cinematic Strings 2
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geetsifly
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Re: Should I upgrade?
2013/12/17 09:38:39
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Hi
I think Reaper pulled Linux support and honestly I did lots of reasearch into Linux for production work. There is a lot of promise but when you sit down to actually do something it all seems to evaporate. (BTW: I love Ubuntu as well)
Honestly the X series makes more sense from a UI perspective than 8.5 did. But it does make Sonar X a completely different DAW so just be ready to invest the time in the learning curve. It will pay huge dividends. Also be aware of how comping works in X3 it is very different than layers in 8.5 (layers were replaced with a feature called lanes). This seems to be a source of endless chatter on the forum. Some like it and some will never forgive Cakewalk over it.
Pro Channel is great, and addictive by the way, but like everyone else said pay attention to the version you are buying and make sure you get the features you want.
Good luck,
George
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