Sonar X1 vs Pro tools 10 part 1

Hi Folks Just downloaded PT10 free trial and used it for a month side by side with Sonar X1d. I've been a cakewalk user since cakewalk ver 7, years ago, used all the versions of sonar, or should I say battled with them. I wanted to tell people about what I found when comparing the two DAWS. I've compared the two systems on different points below and you'll get an idea of the differences. This is my own personal take on the two DAWS so no hate mail please, if you read this and have differing opinions, then I'd love to hear them. Installation Sonar X1 wins hands down here. This has to be one of the major areas where sonar beats the hell out of PT. Installing PT10 was like a visit to the dentist; painful to say the least. It took 30 minutes to install all the ilok software and updates to the software. But once done it all worked flawlessly on my PC. Sonar on the other hand is totally simple to install, just enter the serial and reg codes and you're away laughing. part 2 later.

Software Setup: Here it's like comparing apples to oranges. The two daws are set up differently from the start. Sonar is easier to set up because most things you'll need to record a song with atre there right in front of you. Pro tools needs a little bit more work, like naming buses and various other quirks. All in all, I would say PT is far more versatile in terms of setting up your daw. But Sonar is easier and quicker. But with PT once it's set up, it's actually faster and easier to use, well for me it was.

Stability: This means how many crashed I had with both. Ok PT10 first, it never crashed in all the time I used it over the whole month. It never even crackled or buzzed or did anything other than what it was meant to do. I recorded track counts of about 30 tracks full of plugins, on my Q6600 quad pentium system. This is about a normal "song" for most musicians. It didn't falter once. Sadly I can't say the same for Sonar X1d, but in saying that, most of the problems which caused crashes were associated with 3rd party plugins. I think this is generally where most problems occur. In defense of Sonar, it is made to be as compatible with a wide range of 3rd party plugins, and you are always going to get something which doesn't work properly. PT has the advantage that the plugins tend to be more tightly controlled because they are RTAS (at the moment, for the native version) which means they only have to work with PT. So I guess this makes PT less likely to crash because of plugin problems. Basically: both DAWS were totally stable without plugins, but once plugins were added to tracks Sonar misbehaved sometimes whereas PT10 remained rock stable.

I call complete and total troll post thread..

"used Sonar since v7".. and with a post count of 7 (and 6 are in this thread)... so that means in 3 years he made one post in this forum?.. if so then i guess Sonar was totally flawless...

I did a quick run of PT10 myself.  I decided that it wasn't the time to switch.  Maybe later if needs required it.

I do agree that the GUI makes you feel like you are in a professional environment with no accommodation for beginners or those new to the program.  A lot of the work flow seemed to force you through extra steps for standardization purposes (which could be a good thing for someone bouncing from studio to studio.)  IOW, I could have my SONAR X1 set up in such a way that it wouldn't be familiar to another user (plug-in menus and shortcuts). 

I/O is set up better in P10 in that there are mono inputs as well as stereo inputs.  Keeps things tidy, IMHO.

I like the way SONAR does busses better - probably because I'm so used to it.

I/O is set up better in P10 in that there are mono inputs as well as stereo inputs.  Keeps things tidy, IMHO.

X1 has mono inputs. It does on my system at least. I have seen this before in posts but it seems that some disregard the way X1 displays the inputs.

I don't think he a troll. I read them as honest, but wrong statements. Sonar has Mono inputs buddy!!!
7 years and you never figured that out! WOW!!!
 
I think this person just needs to know what hes talking about and learn the actual program BEFORE giving opinions and false facts!
We all have Butt-Holes, so why not fart out of them every now and themCj

I did my comparison Pro Tools 9LE vrs Sonar X1 Essentials....PT looked really nice and simple but when I loaded up a standard music file, it played great for about a minute and they I got HHHHHAAASSSHHH which totally damn near blew out my speakers. Then it would crash....Sonar was a bit tricky to learn, but rock solid. Since then I have upgraded to Platinum Expanded and haven't looked back.

Cher's Believe, was the first track to use Autotune..

IMHO, that was the beginning of the end of good music. 

Displaying isn't the point. He said sonar cannot record in Mono. What does that have to do with displaying. To each their own.

Sonar displays it at left, right and stereo. The left and right are mono inputs, the stereo input is stereo.


Cj

I have used/tried a number of other DAWs. I have had every version of sonar since v6. I keep coming back, I have tried demos, purchased other software, and tried other peoples systems. I keep coming back, sonar even with its quirks has the tools and workflow that works best for me. Personally I like the new gui I really do. Each application has its positives, I think it come down to how each person interacts is to why they favor a particular DAW to another. I love mastering in studio one. I like aspects of all the daws I have tried. But for me sonar works, I get results and its fun. 

I just got into PT10 and Logic Pro, Been using Sonar since the pro audio days.  I dont plan on switching, but a lot of Studio partners rather PT, so I pretty much had to buy into it.  I will give it a shot since I have a built in support group with my partners.  I have a feeling Ill be sticking with X1 Producer expanded though. just a useless FYI post.
G

i think alot has to do with your computers people,like dave said hes running a little bit of everything without an issue,granted somethings are bugs,but other are how your computer handles digital audio and is it a computer or a work tool.

Doesn't the demo require an iLok? $50, really?... Just to try a demo?