So what's the consensus...?

I've been keeping an eye on things over here ever since X1 came out, but have held off upgrading from my HS7 from all of the bug reports and complaints I read.  But it seems like things have calmed down from the "X1 is the worst thing ever made" threads to the usual lists of individual questions and problems that was here before.  So what do you think, is X1b stable enough now to consider?  Keep in mind that I do this for a hobby, I don't run a home studio or anything.  I'd really like to move from HS7, it's a bit unstable on my computer and a bit too dumbed-down for me at the moment (why do I have to click open two menus if I just want to change the volume of a track in track view?!).  I've done a some looking at some other hosts as well (Reaper and Studio One), but I started with Cakewalk and there's a lot about the way they've changed X1 that I like.  I wish that they'd release an X1 demo so I could try it out on my system to see how it goes.  Thanks for the advice!

Adam

Of course it's stable enough. Actually, I was running just plain old X1 on my laptop for the longest time before realizing I never installed the updates (I installed them on my studio computer) and I had NO problems doing my normal workflow. Of course if we try to come to a conclusion by reading this forum I don't think that conclusion would be accurate. This place can be....a little melodramatic if you ask me.
Of course a demo would be nice, but for $100 I don't know what more you could ask for. I am very, very happy so far with X1. Some people are very, very disappointed in X1 and have gone on to other programs like S1.  I purchased S1 after trying Artist because I love what their "project" has to offer for mastering and finishing my projects. Not being one to want to waste my money on more programs (like X1 at the time), I set out to use S1 as my go to DAW. Well, I just couldn't do it. I tried and I tried, but for my workflow and needs I found it unintuitive. I hated referencing my manual to find what bank and preset I wanted for my Motifs. I hated the fact that at times I had polyphony problems in S1 where if I had several MIDI instances triggering the same source S1 would not play all my notes. How can I write a song when everything is not playing? Sonar never had problems in this area. Anyways, these were show stoppers for me. But for others S1 was the best thing ever.
It's all a matter of taste. A lot of the problems you saw on this site IMHO stemmed from "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". People were used to their Sonar one way and when they changed it it was met with resistance and frankly ****ing. Things have calmed down finally. Every release of Sonar has always been a sh it storm. This release was no different. The only difference was was the complaining was louder.
Personally, I love X1. I love the look of it. I love the feel of it. I love how organized it is. I love ALL of the changes they have made (it feels like a messy house that has finally been organized, where everything now has it's place).
As I said before, it works for me and my workflow (MIDI and VST's). I'm sure other people push it more than I do, maybe it doesn't work as advertised for them??? I don't know? If you buy it, hopefully it will work for you.....

ETA: I use 32 bit so I have no idea about 64 bit problems

havent had anything but minor problems.

X1 is fine on my 64-bit system. There were some initial issues with bitbridge and some plugins, but putting jbridge on the case solved that.

If you have any projects pending or in progress, I would suggest you keep them in HS7 until you feel comfortable with X1. I downloaded it the first day it was available. I already had clients working on projects in 8.5.3. I worked on those projects in 8.5.3. while I played around with X1 for about 3 weeks. When I felt comfortable with X1 I used for the first time and there has been no turning back. Any problems I ran into were taken care of by the great members of this forum. I could have never done it without them. THANKS GUYS!

mikey


Hi Adam,

There are negatives and positives about any new and updated software. Keep in mind that the very worst thing a company can do to hurt itself,  is release a product that is not ready yet. This was (and still is for some)  X1's biggest hurdle for alot of people and was frustrating (for us AND them) to say the least. However, Cake has released some monster patches and fixes very quickly I might add, and are in my opinion trying to overcome this as best they can. And remember, Its easy to blame a buggy release that HAS BEEN PATCHED, on other issues we might be having in the now.  Happens all the time... I believe that X1 is one helova host (now), and I would recommend it, even if there might be a few more fixes/patches later down the pipe. So, in a nut shell, I don't think that anyone can go wrong with an X1 purchase at this time. Even if it's not quite running for everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) on all cylinders yet. Im running the 32 bit version of Sonar in my small humble home studio, and it is and always will be the Host of choice for me, for the PC... YMMV as always...

You keep bringing up an item "released too soon"  that no longer belongs in threads that seek advice. Why must you harp on this. I guess because you missed the 4 months of forum members turning on each other and some nasty vicious attacks that you feel a need to rekindle this so you can join in? It's old news to everyone but you. You'll get it all going again so I guess that's your goal.
Don't tell us you are just stating facts. At a point in time, an event becomes history and need not be rehashed. every time a querstion is asked. Give it a rest.
I don't care how mant times you say CW is your daw or whatever. Speak in the present, the past is the past. It shouldn't be forgotten, but you have used it in every response you have made in the last three days. At the very least.

I have a question that's not really worthy of a new thread. I'm thinking of moving to X1 also but note that it's DL only. Can it be downloaded in sections over time as 15 Gigs is a truck-load of hassle where I'm from?
Cheers
CC

Counting Coup


I have a question that's not really worthy of a new thread. I'm thinking of moving to X1 also but note that it's DL only. Can it be downloaded in sections over time as 15 Gigs is a truck-load of hassle where I'm from?
Cheers
CC

...or you could buy the DVD's.   http://www.store.cakewalk...ductid=10-CXSP1.00-20C

Thanks for the responses guys.  I brought up the thread history because HS7 was a bit buggy for me, and it was the first HS version where I had any problems, so that made me a bit gun-shy.  I realize that some of the threads were overblown (I don't post much but I've been a reader here for a while), that's why I wanted to open up a thread to let others chime in.  As to the learning curve, I figured it would be a big change - especially since I'm planning on moving up to at least X1 studio if I go for it - even without the UI overhaul that's just a lot of new features that weren't available to me before.  I figured that whichever host I choose, it's going to be in some ways like learning from scratch.  So thanks for the input, you've all been helpful.

"@mikey..in my own opinion..and im only speaking for myself here..i dont think it ever came out unbaked.."


Fine chuck... It wasn't unbaked. I dont think saying any more would do any good so I wont. Now, having said that chuck..., and since we are trying to be fair and act like adults here (hrrump) , could I possibly see another post from you telling o'l Strati-poo that "I" wasnt the one who 1st brought this up on this thread? It would do my old heart good to see you being fair all the way around... ; )

mikey


"I guess because you missed the 4 months of forum members turning on each other..."


Yea just like this time Strat??? 

The guy brought up the history here FIRST... 

"but have held off upgrading from my HS7 from all of the bug reports and complaints I read."


See???  That "present" enough for ya?  His 1st questions were based off past history, so I tried to explain to him what happened the way I saw it. There is a history, and he was concerned about it. You following Strat? So I gotta ask, why are you so upset about me bringing up the history of X1? You dont care for historical facts unless they are rosy? You did this elsewhere too and then decided better. So do you have a relationship with software developers who release unbaked software, or are you just picking a fight? If you dont care to read what I type,  or if it upsets you so much to read it, then by all means DONT.  And last but not least, unless you are an admin here, then please refrain from telling me what to type. Im really not trying to upset anyone (you included) here and thought that I explained myself as being a fan of X1... 

 
Has nothing to do with being a fan or hating Sonar. Has to do with you bringing up an issue that served "no useful" purpose in any thread you posted it. Bye

I think the "unbaked" charge was wildly exaggerated.  X1 has worked perfectly for me from day one, has never crashed, has never had a problem.  I don't want to disparage a single soul, but I suspect an awful lot of the reported problems were user problems or system problems...not X1 problems.

Mine was a clean install on a brand new computer, 64-bit, Win 7, quad core.

One hundred percent of my plug-ins loaded and worked perfectly, 32- and 64-bit.  One hundred percent of the songs I worked on in 8.0 loaded and worked perfectly.

Now, having said all that, let me add that there were (and continue to be) many maddening moments when something does not work as I expect it to.  But in EVERY case, that is caused by a change in the way things are done in X1 that took me by surprise.  So, I slow down and figure it out, or I open Scott's great book and find the answer. 

I would recommend X1 to anyone.

Good luck.

X1b is great for me. Hats off to the crew at Cake...well done.
I using Win7 64bit....no problems at all.
Im very happy with SONAR.

Jeff

Gary McCoy


I think the "unbaked" charge was wildly exaggerated.  X1 has worked perfectly for me from day one, has never crashed, has never had a problem.  I don't want to disparage a single soul, but I suspect an awful lot of the reported problems were user problems or system problems...not X1 problems.

Mine was a clean install on a brand new computer, 64-bit, Win 7, quad core.

One hundred percent of my plug-ins loaded and worked perfectly, 32- and 64-bit.  One hundred percent of the songs I worked on in 8.0 loaded and worked perfectly.

Now, having said all that, let me add that there were (and continue to be) many maddening moments when something does not work as I expect it to.  But in EVERY case, that is caused by a change in the way things are done in X1 that took me by surprise.  So, I slow down and figure it out, or I open Scott's great book and find the answer. 

I would recommend X1 to anyone.

Good luck.

thats a great point gary..and ive seen alot of others do the same..including myself..more times than not..ive asked""why doesnt this work"..then i realize i forgot to do something.

"I think the "unbaked" charge was wildly exaggerated. X1 has worked perfectly for me from day one, has never crashed, has never had a problem. "

And judging from the fixes listed from the X1b patch, Id say that was quite an achievment for anyone.... Grats...; ) I assume that there was no need for you to even download the patches then? 
 
"I would recommend X1 to anyone."
 
And I did as well... But,  it became better for more of us i believe, after we patched it... ; )
 
 I agree the current build does seem stable.