1 - MFX (Velocity that ships with SONAR does, funnily enough, velocity, and there are probablu commercial/free ones that do everything)

2 - ?

4 - Exists (Tools\Sound Forge)

ORIGINAL: Widetrack

3. A "replace audio file" function. right-click on an audio clip and browse to a clip with which you can replace the existing clip on the timeline.

This should be quite easy if they ever implement an audio pool. In Cu**se, you just drag a new file from the audio pool right on top of an existing region in the arrange window and viola! it gets replaced!! smart!

I just moved from Logic 5.5. The only glaring issue I see is the notation. I would really like to see this improved to a professional level. Midi "humanization" seems a little more difficult - but I have only played with it an hour. Otherwise - a pleasure to learn compared to Logic.

ORIGINAL: rdolmat

ORIGINAL: Widetrack

3. A "replace audio file" function. right-click on an audio clip and browse to a clip with which you can replace the existing clip on the timeline.

This should be quite easy if they ever implement an audio pool. In Cu**se, you just drag a new file from the audio pool right on top of an existing region in the arrange window and viola! it gets replaced!! smart!

Better still, I would say, let the user choose via a parameter, whether to delete the old clip or to mute it.

RMX

it would be nice if cakewalk posted any revised designs as jpgs on the forum here, so we can comment on what would make it optimal for everyone. that would be fantastic.

apart from everything listed so far, here's my 2cents (although mostly GUI related);

- the GUI lacks "negative space" in the design. and could be optimized for spacing in general, some things are not easily visible, while others seem crammed into a space. (effects bin is terrible to work with IMHO)

- the edges of some windows can be drag expanded more than the actual content of the item/plugin, etc = ugly

- some buttons are way too small (especially close buttons on some FX plugins)

- anti alias on track icons is very bad, even when the graphic file is perfect with alpha, etc

- an effects bin system similar to (cough) cubase (cough) with separated rows and generic option buttons per effect added

- smoother waveform display in track view (maybe some more antialias at 30% on the outside edges?)

- would be nice if UI options boxes had an automatic preview (where possible)

- "display vertical rules" should be on by default. also easily accessible options for changing from beat, bar etc with snap would be great (cubase-ish)....also if they were transparent over the tracks would be great.

- there is no tool tips on some toolbar icons

- when you drag a slider, the touch is very sluggish and could respond faster, and instead of the cursor disappearing 100% maybe it can be ghosted?

The option to alt-select a portion of a track or more tracks (already possible) but with the option added to be able to export the audio for ONLY that selected section, to a separate file.

ORIGINAL: ...wicked

here's another in the "not a feature but a tweak a long time coming" things.

In some of the dialog boxes you can use standard windows SHIFT and CTRL modifiers to select/deselect multiple tracks. But NOT ALL OF THEM. In particular the bouncing/exporting dialogs. In a big project this can be a PITA. I suppose for some of these you can use the track view to select tracks, but if the dialogs are standardized, you can do everything with the keyboard.

+1 That would be a reasonable and helpful change.

ORIGINAL: Widetrack

6.Give each track--even every other track--a subtly different color, all the way downstream, so you can see ata a glance what your header settings are when you're working to the right end of the timeline.

+1 Great idea.

ORIGINAL: Heezzi

Import session Data function. That way I can take my 44.1k 24bit Projects and convert them to 96k.

+1!!!!!!!!!!! Or at least a "change project sample rate" option that works on the existing audio.

ORIGINAL: Roflcopter
The option to alt-select a portion of a track or more tracks (already possible) but with the option added to be able to export the audio for ONLY that selected section, to a separate file.

Sonar already does this, doesn't it? Export Audio will only export whatever is selected, or if nothing is selected then it exports everything.

I'll repeat a couple that stresses the importance for me :)

1) Nested folders

2) Separate lanes for automation

3) Ability to preview MIDI clips in the loop explorer

4) Better load balancing across multiple cores of a CPU

Bear in mind I'm still on Sonar 6, but as far as I know, these haven't been addressed yet...

Audio Scrub Tool - It's completely useless because the pitch is linked to how fast you move your mouse. If you're looking for the spot where you hit that high note, you'll never find it. I like the old Audio Scrub Tool (I think back in Sonar 1 & 2) where it plays the clip at the proper recorded pitch, regardless of how fast you scrub it.

Track Output to Multiple Destinations - The pulldown only allows you to choose 1 output. If you want to send it to another destination as well (example: multiple soundcards), you have to use the bus feature which can get messy.

Advanced Plugin Manager Features - Maybe this exists already, but I'd love to see a list of plugins which the current project uses. I get burned so many times sharing files with other Sonar users because I can't easily keep track of what plugins I've used.

These are all minor gripes. Honestly I'm pretty satisfied with the way everything works. Kudos Cakewalk!

**edit**

Oh, but definitely I'd upgrade in a heartbeat if you did this:

ORIGINAL: auricle
4) Better load balancing across multiple cores of a CPU

Things I personally would love to see in the next version:

Better envelope tools - Today's composers need to tweak their MIDI orchestral mockups extensively for maximum realism/expressiveness, and the automating envelopes are something we use so much of, but is very clunky to work with. Trying to select one node often selects all the nodes/entire envelop, and you have to do your little dance with the mouse to get the node want selected--often having to and and deselect all the other selected nodes because simply trying to reselect the node you want just keeps on selecting all the nodes at once. That is unacceptable, and this problem has been there since waaaaay back (I started with Sonar 2 and it's been a problem even since then). The envelope tools can also use a facelift and new tools like the MIDI editing did. For anyone that needs to compose/orchestrate high-end work in sonar, this is a must.

More track folder levels I'm very organized, and I need to be able to have more than two levels of folders when organizing my projects. Example:

[Folder] Drums
---[Folder] Acoustic
------Snare
------Bass
------Hihat
------Crash
---[Folder] Electronic
------Zap
------Ping
------Metallic
[Folder] Orchestral
---[Folder] Strings
------[Folder] Cellos
---------Spiccato
---------Tremolo
---------Legato
------[Folder] Trumpets
---------Mute
---------Legato

Chase long MIDI notes - One feature I really want, and sorely needs, is the ability to start playing a track at anywhere in a project where even in the middle of very long sustained MIDI notes (for example, a synth pad or orchestral strings playing a note that lasts for two or more measures), the DAW will automatically "catch up" to that point (including any modulation data such as filter cutoff), so you don't have to set the playback at beginning long MIDI notes in order to hear them. I often have long sustained MIDI notes in my tracks, and I hate having to playback a few measures earlier just so I can hear those notes, wasting valuable time when the section I'm working on is actually a few measures later. Bouncing to audio or freezing is also not an option as that's a handicapped workaround, not a real solution that address the problem.

Better UI customization - The way it is now is kinda fiddly. Take a look at how Adobe Photoshop CS3 (new in CS3) is doing it--they've really streamlined it to be very elegant and effective now. Also, if when arranging toolbars in the UI, it'll be nice that each toolbar gets a visible border line around each so they don't all just blend together and become visually confusing (this is especially important when there isn't enough room to put some space between each toolbar).

Better Plug-in Manager - When a 3rd party developer makes a better plug-in manager for your sequencer (MenuMagic) and SELL IT FOR PROFIT, it is EMBARRASSING. Seriously. Buy them out. Get that stuff in Sonar.

ORIGINAL: Lunatique

Things I personally would love to see in the next version:

Better envelope tools - Today's composers need to tweak their MIDI orchestral mockups extensively for maximum realism/expressiveness, and the automating envelopes are something we use so much of, but is very clunky to work with. Trying to select one node often selects all the nodes/entire envelop, and you have to do your little dance with the mouse to get the node want selected--often having to and and deselect all the other selected nodes because simply trying to reselect the node you want just keeps on selecting all the nodes at once. That is unacceptable, and this problem has been there since waaaaay back (I started with Sonar 2 and it's been a problem even since then). The envelope tools can also use a facelift and new tools like the MIDI editing did. For anyone that needs to compose/orchestrate high-end work in sonar, this is a must.

More track folder levels I'm very organized, and I need to be able to have more than two levels of folders when organizing my projects. Example:

[Folder] Drums
---[Folder] Acoustic
------Snare
------Bass
------Hihat
------Crash
---[Folder] Electronic
------Zap
------Ping
------Metallic
[Folder] Orchestral
---[Folder] Strings
------[Folder] Cellos
---------Spiccato
---------Tremolo
---------Legato
------[Folder] Trumpets
---------Mute
---------Legato

Chase long MIDI notes - One feature I really want, and sorely needs, is the ability to start playing a track at anywhere in a project where even in the middle of very long sustained MIDI notes (for example, a synth pad or orchestral strings playing a note that lasts for two or more measures), the DAW will automatically "catch up" to that point (including any modulation data such as filter cutoff), so you don't have to set the playback at beginning long MIDI notes in order to hear them. I often have long sustained MIDI notes in my tracks, and I hate having to playback a few measures earlier just so I can hear those notes, wasting valuable time when the section I'm working on is actually a few measures later. Bouncing to audio or freezing is also not an option as that's a handicapped workaround, not a real solution that address the problem.

Better UI customization - The way it is now is kinda fiddly. Take a look at how Adobe Photoshop CS3 (new in CS3) is doing it--they've really streamlined it to be very elegant and effective now. Also, if when arranging toolbars in the UI, it'll be nice that each toolbar gets a visible border line around each so they don't all just blend together and become visually confusing (this is especially important when there isn't enough room to put some space between each toolbar).

Better Plug-in Manager - When a 3rd party developer makes a better plug-in manager for your sequencer (MenuMagic) and SELL IT FOR PROFIT, it is EMBARRASSING. Seriously. Buy them out. Get that stuff in Sonar.

+1 Agreed.

Touch sensitive automation selector!!! And manual automation selector on the track control panel.

Perhaps a pattern pool organized by tracks... mmm sounds great!!!