Upgrade to X1 Producer from X1 Studio? Should I?

So I received the upgrade discount email from Sonar offering an upgrade from X1 Studio
 to Producer for only$99, seems like a killer deal. And expanded is only 19.99 right now. My only concern is that I just upgraded to X1 Studio a few months back And I  am still getting accustomed to it. I am really digging Studio BTW, very smooth tracking no drop-outs and great workflow. Wondering out loud if it is logical to upgrade yet and if it is worth it, seems like A no- brainer. Also realizing that tonight I am very lucky that this is my only concern at the moment and this is a great "problem" to have.

Your thoughts are very welcome,
Thanks- Charlie

I was in in the same boat, I had just upgraded to Studio a short while ago, but to get the chance to upgrade to Producer for $99 bucks was something I had to really think about. That's just too good to pass up. I decided to go for it. What the heck I'll be in the Producer league now when X2 becomes available and the next upgrade shouldn't cost that much then, and I'll have the top of the line program. I paid extra for the boxed version so it should be here next week, in the meantime, I'm jamming with X1 Studio doing some multi-track recording on a version of "Crossroads"........X1 rocks !!! :)

Compared to Pro Tools at $599 Sonar X1 Producer is a bargain.

I honestly do not see many advantages to upgrading besides more plug ins and if u already have the plugs you need then why bother?  Even with the Pro Channel mods you can get most of that in plug in format with 3rd party stuff. I don't think there is anything special in there if you have other stuff except for Rapture, Dimension Pro and Z3ta but I have all those so I have been debating. If this was a deal for a month I'd probably do it though. 

Well I have heard an example of the Pro Channel and it does sound very impressive. They were using it on the Cakewalk web cast a couple of weeks ago and it added a lot to the sound. I don't have many third party plug-ins so this is a good start for me. I have the Ozone multi-band compressor with Audition that I like but it won't work in Sonar. I've heard of some people who have had problems with third party plug-ins, at least Pro Channel is sanctioned by Cakewalk.  Also add up the cost of third party plug-ins....???  Mastering plug ins and effects are always welcome. I also want to take advantage of the many free presets that are being offered.

Another big reason for me to do the upgrade is the Dimension Pro package. Dimension LE has some VERY nice sounds in it and Pro has many more...so I'm looking forward to working with that.

With Ivory II, I have enough piano sounds but True Piano's Amber may compliment that collection nicely.

I haven't even seriously looked at Session Druimmer 3 yet...
 
Plus you can get the Expansion Pack for only $20 bucks.....

So all in all Producer offers a lot of new tools for my audio toolbox on my computer that I will find useful over the coming years.

A few years ago, I think Dimension Pro by itself was around $250 bucks, correct me if I'm wrong but that's what I remember.

Add up the cost of a few third party mastering plug-ins and the $99 Producer upgrade fee looks like a no-brainer.

Nothing to see here (the link didn't work).
 
Grum

xabiton


I honestly do not see many advantages to upgrading besides more plug ins and if u already have the plugs you need then why bother?  Even with the Pro Channel mods you can get most of that in plug in format with 3rd party stuff. I don't think there is anything special in there if you have other stuff except for Rapture, Dimension Pro and Z3ta but I have all those so I have been debating. If this was a deal for a month I'd probably do it though. 

I respectfully disagree.  One of the big debates on this site is over whether Sonar should have other plugins in the Pro Channel since for a lot of us it is a better workflow than inserting a plugin.  Not sure how many people actually make a living using Sonar, but I do use it for work and PC has cut my work time considerably.  Having the bread and butter tools readily available may seem like a minor perk, but over time it makes a huge difference.  Not to mention the quality of the Pro Channel plugins are very hard to match with third party plugins without paying a steep price.  

Another upside of upgrading now is he could take advantage of other options like being able to upgrade to full version of Rapture for only 19.99. I just did and i am blown away by how underrated this synth is.

I didn't get that email. I have Sonar X1 Studio. Can I upgrade to Producer for $100?

I agree with some other input... if you have the plugins and sample libraries then you will find PRODUCER redundant....

I have it but I think the only native plug I use from CAKE is CHANNEL TOOLS... everything else is 3PL.

Jim

Freddie H

xabiton


I honestly do not see many advantages to upgrading besides more plug ins and if u already have the plugs you need then why bother?  Even with the Pro Channel mods you can get most of that in plug in format with 3rd party stuff. I don't think there is anything special in there

No you can't...Pro Channel are one of the best sounding software/plugins on the market..and the library just getting bigger..Now even AVID add on their new PRO TOOLS HD "Pro Channel" original modules "Softube Saturation knob" to their platforms because it sounds so good..

That is debatable though. There is no best out there. I am not saying this is a bad buy its a great buy just saying I don't get the hype behind Pro Channel if u have similar stuff. 

John

xabiton

John

xabiton


I honestly do not see many advantages to upgrading besides more plug ins and if u already have the plugs you need then why bother?  Even with the Pro Channel mods you can get most of that in plug in format with 3rd party stuff. I don't think there is anything special in there if you have other stuff except for Rapture, Dimension Pro and Z3ta but I have all those so I have been debating. If this was a deal for a month I'd probably do it though. 

If you don't know what PC sounds like or how good it is and easy to use I can see why it doesn't impress you.
Yes a few other plugins might together sound a little like PC but wouldn't that cost a lot more then the upgrade? Also would they be as efficient as PC? Could one have them on all tracks easily? I wonder.

I am not saying the PC isn't impressive. Just saying if you already have plugs that do what they do then what's the point? Example I have yet to see anything in PC that doesn't do what T Racks does maybe I am wrong but I don't see it. Sound is subjective to whatever you want to have but I am not seeing what is so special about the PC if I already have other plug ins that do the same things is all.  As far as cpu usage I am not too worried about that. Isn't a big problem for me. The thing I do like about 3rd party stuff is that u can pretty much take it anywhere with you. Like if I decide I want to go Pro Tools for whatever reason just grap a wrapper if its not already in Rtas and keep going the PC stuff in some ways makes you commit to Sonar. I've learned my lesson about using proprietary stuff. I am a 10 year Reason owner and while I love Reason to death the appeal of being able to take what I have and try it in other environments is part of why I like plug ins.

Can you put T-racks on every track? PC is already on every track. I have a lot of great plugins but I find myself using PC more and more. It simply works well and it offers great convenience. Its sound is as good as many top third party plugins.  The point that it is built in is its main attraction.

Another consideration is that it is the future for Sonar. We are going to see more modules that will add a great deal more versatility to it. 

By thinking it is just another plugin that can be matched by third party offerings you are actually limiting yourself to only one way to alter your sound. With it you still have the other plugins but you also get it. I'll bet that if you were to use it you would eventually feel as I do about it.

I don't think that any other plugin has the abilities of the Quad EQ either at least not in one plugin for an example.

I don't know what to add to make it clear how innovative PC is or how it can be an enormous value to any DAW user.

I use T-Racks on multiple tracks all the time. Honestly when I first heard of the PC I thought wow this is a bite off the mixer Propellerheads put in Record with a few new features. Like different modes and now i am not so sure. I don't see how using multiple plug ins is limiting though not that I mind limitations because I do not I like having options honestly. One of my biggest beefs with the PC is that I cannot use it in another DAW if I choose to and that its not a must have plug in. If it was everyone would be running to Sonar but few people are from what I can tell I find more people leaving Sonar alone. I also do not see how innovative a channel strip is. Its great for Sonar users but its like when Propellerhead said they were adding a new plug in format functionality to Reason and I said so what. When I see most of the stuff that comes prepacked in DAWs I more often than not say so what. Personally I would rather see Sonar's core DAW features work right for everyone more so than more PC modules and the it depends on your computer excuse is a weird one because it only comes up with Sonar users. Sorry I am getting way off topic the PC to me is a bundle product not saying its bad just not seeing it being unique beyond the fact that it is embedded into Sonar and is being built to Cake's stability standards which is far from comforting. 

A guy like me doesn't have any plug-ins so Producer is a great way to get a collection started. All I've got is Ozone multi-band compressor which I like a lot, but it only will work in Audition. I'm not planning on becoming a professional mastering engineer, so I don't feel the need to have $1,000's of dollars worth of plug-ins. What Producer offers should be good enough for me.

There's a saying in the music business...."You spent HOW MUCH MONEY so you can make MP3's ?????"

IMHO the PC alone makes it worth the upgrade. Most of the modules are fantastic (I'm excluding the original tube saturator from that) and coupled with the workflow convenience of having the UI follow track selection makes them my first choice. (I also have a lot of the T-racks stuff amongst others)

Don't let the bargain basement prices of the PC modules fool you into thinking that's any indication of their quality.

Add in the other "extras" and I'd be wondering why I hadn't upgraded already nevermind wondering whether to.

John


Name one other DAW that lets other DAWs use its plugins. CW is the only one that has freely let its plugins be used in other DAWs.

Further PC is a X1 Producer exclusive and is meant for those opting to purchase the Producer version. That is not any reason to not use Producer but it seems that is your argument.  You must have a version of Sonar to be so invoked in this forum. I'm guessing you have X1 Studio. No problem with that except because you see no reason to go for the Produce version shouldn't be imposed on any one else. That is your decision and I respect it. Can you not respect the views of others that are contrary.

I think most of the posters on this thread have given very compelling reasons to upgrade. PC is just one reason. Its not the only one. 

And clearly you didn't get the point of the question about having T-racks on each track and buss. Sure you can put it on more than one track but I believe you would find it impossible to place it every track of say a moderate size project of 40 tracks. PC can do that.

I think you miss what I am saying its not a bash on Producer but rather questions. I am really asking what makes it so great and any different than 3rd party plug ins besides that its built in or because someone says it sounds better. What is so special about it? Not trying to knock the Pro Channel at all but when someone says its awesome and I say why is it awesome and the only replies I get are opinion based I can't help but be confused. And yes I own X1 Studio, Home Studio 7 and Home Studio 4. I upgraded to X1 studio because of a similar deal a couple months ago. And I honestly do not get my track counts in those high of counts I try to keep my track counts low down to under 15 usually and can use T-Racks on every track that I want to yes. Never ran a 40 track session don't want to too messy for my taste. 

I think the points these guys are trying make are a) It sounds as good as high end 3rd party plugins b) It's right on the strip so you don't have to goof around loading stuff or toggling views c) it has a much lower footprint than comparable EQ's/Compressors/etc so you don't have to be chincy with it trying to avoid maxing out your resources d) it's wicked cheap and comes with a pantload of extra goodies.