Upgraded from Music Creator 6 Touch to Sonar X3! First impressions...

The X3 series is the way to go. I would point out that you are looking at the wrong price for the Basic version of X3, as a registered user of a Cakewalk product you qualify for this price ($49) http://www.store.cakewalk.com/b2cus/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=10-CXSR3.00-30E and with your budget (~$150) you can upgrade to X3 Studio http://www.store.cakewalk.com/b2cus/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=10-CXSS3.00-30E 
 
Here is a comparison of X3 features http://www.cakewalk.com/p..cts/sonar/versions.aspx

Upgrades are full versions of the product at a special price.
 
The MC series is based on SONAR. The current version of MC is a limited version of X2.
SONAR includes the MC6T plug-ins and more. Session Drummer is an example of a better instrument plug-in. A sample based plug-in with up to 12 stereo outputs, one for each pad.
 
There is a comparison of MC6T and X2 here
You will have to make your own comparison to X3 using the X3 features link above

Right. The upgrade reference is for pricing only. The product itself is a complete and separate program with it's own serial # and registration.
I agree with scook.
The 5 star reason for moving to X3 would be breaking free of that pesky 8 synth limit in MC6.

Grundberg,
you are getting some great advice here from posters that have been a round awhile .
I think M C 6 touch is a fabulous program especially for what it costs , I have it on my Win 8 lap top w X3 e PE 
 
if you look at this X 3 comparison chart you can see what covers some of the M C 6 territory ….
except M C 6 does it with lots of limitations 
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/products/sonar/versions.aspx 
 
now if you went for X3 for $49…..you would have unlocked a lot more power …
even though M C 6 has some of the same instruments and plugs …
there are no longer instrument or track limits and you can work in a 64 bit music app 
I happen to like the Sonutis plugins , they are very good plugs and you would get those in X3 ….
 
as an add on out side of an upgrade they cost $99 bucks 
http://www.store.cakewalk.com/b2cus/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=36-CWSF3.31-10E
 
I think the best thing you could do is to go for  X3 studio …if you can swing it 
by doing that you add some very powerful synths and plugins that Music Creator doesnt have ….  
Cakewalk bundles some really great tools in the various versions of SONAR
when i started doing the math on how much it costs to pick up some of these synths and plugin suites  ala cart   
as ad ons it becomes pretty obvious what the best plan is 
 
good luck in what ever you decide to do ,
 
Kenny
 

Yup.... do the upgrade if only to get away from that 8 synth limit.  You will pick up some few features in X3. 
 
I moved up to X1 for the very same reason.... a few new features, no limit on synths and more than 2 inputs..... not that I use those things even now..... but they are available to me.
 
As far as adding new instruments..... even MC6 will handle adding tons of new things. (with that pesky 8 synth limit).  When I had MC4 as my main DAW, I was buying and picking up a wide variety of synths, samples, and FX and using them all in MC4.
 
In addition to the sound center packs and the deals cake offers..... look at the Native Instrument stuff as well. They have a bunch of cool synths and sample libraries that are excellent. Pro quality sounds. As a composer, that is the primary thing to consider.... does it sound real? 
 
As you look around, there are more sample libraries and synths than you have money to buy. Some of the better ones are quite pricey and generally out of the financial affordability range of the hobbyist. When you get to the level of scoring Hollywood films, you will be able to afford them.
 
Keep a watch over in the Software Forum here on Cake. That is where you will find posts about the latest deals and offerings that fellow cakers have discovered. Everything from the deals in the cakewalk store to deals on the most obscure synth no one ever heard of and everything in between. I look in every so often because you never know when, for example, East West will give away a free version of something......yup, I snagged a free working version of E/W when they gave it away, complete with some sweet string samples..... or someone finds a "no-brainer" stupid price deal on some really cool synth or FX...again, I picked up a cool "spacial enhancer" for free from one forumite's posted link, directly from the company that makes it.
 
You will also learn, from the reviews and comments on certain products, which ones rock your world and which ones are a total waste of time and money.

SONAR includes Session Drummer 3 too.
 
The Studio Instrument Drums video is pretty old, describing the original release (and name) of the product. Pretty sure there is only one version of SI-Drums, my SI-Drums contains 35 programs (I have X1-X3 Producer installed).
 
There is only one Cakewalk Sound Center.
 
If there is any concern about sample and program difference between SONAR and MC6, leave MC6 installed when installing X3. There is so much overlap between Cakewalk products, prior versions and products do not take that much disc space.

So, just wanted to confirm that I can upgrade straight from MC6T to Sonar X3 Studio -- although, on the purchase page, in the Checkout corner, it doesn't specify that exact transition.
 
Also want to confirm that the upgrades are the actual full products for which my previous version needs not be retained.
 
Do Cakewalk products have an activation limit? I am a PC enthusiast and I do rebuild/upgrade my PC occasionally.
 
Last question: disc or download, does it matter? I prefer the download, but I don't want any unforeseen restrictions going that way.
Thanks again for all of your guys' knowledge on these topics... :)

scook
 
Keep the downloaded installers locally. It is possible to create discs similar to the physical media by expanding the downloaded installers using 7-ZIP and burning on DVD-DL. I keep several copies of all my downloaded installers and a snapshot of my registration page, just in case.

Awesome! I feel much better about the options. I'm looking forward to picking up Sonar X3 Studio within the next few days... :)

Make sure to apply the X3e update for your version of X3 http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013361
 
Also, if you leave MC6, MC6T or have any 3rd party plug-ins on the PC, follow these instructions after installing http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013315 It won't hurt anything if you do it even if the previous products have been removed. It is a process to clear out the VST inventory from the registry and build it fresh.
 
With X3 both the 32bit and 64bit versions may be installed on the same machine. From quick scan of the feature list, Dreamstation, a very old synth, is the only 32bit plug-ins which cannot be used in the 64bit version. If it were me, I would not bother with the 32bit version of SONAR.

RobertB
What scook said.
Fwiw, it won't hurt to leave MC6 on your machine. the program itself is very small.
I actually have all of the Cakewalk programs listed in my signature installed on my laptop. I mostly use X3 Studio now, but I keep the others handy for quick reference in case a question pops up.
 

Agreed. On my XP machine I had SONAR 1XL though SONAR 8.5 Producer. Did not bother with the Pre-SONAR stuff. I bought a new machine almost 2 years ago and it now has SONAR X1 Producer Expanded through X3 Producer. There is a good reason to keep the original MC6 installed, MC6T not so much but won't hurt. There was a significant change in the underlying MS libraries between MC6/X1 and MC6T/X2. Adding touch to MC6T/X2 and newer had the side effect of dropping XP support and some older third party plug-ins don't work with the newer libraries.

The time it takes to install depends on when the counter is started. With the disk based install you have to wait for shipping. With the download it starts with the download. After securing the disks the install happens immediately after starting the process. With the download, the install happens after all the files are extracted from the download files. Once the install starts, there are disk changes with physical media which don't happen with the download.
 
Integrating a 3rd party mp3 encoder is a waste of time to me. It works fine but is it just saves the intermediate step of exporting a wave file. The advantage to exporting a wave and converting it outside of SONAR is the ability to easily compare the exported wave to the converted mp3.
 
If you purchased the mp3 encoder for MC it may work in SONAR. I have no experience with moving between product lines and how the mp3 license is handled. I am sure some else has the answer.

I would imagine there are two options because owners of an older version of SONAR have already paid significantly more for their DAW than owners of other Cakewalk products. But Cakewalk sales can supply the official explanation.
 
You may have checked the price during one of the promotions. There have been several promotions since the product was released. The picture in your post are the standard upgrade prices.
 
FYI, you may be able to get a better price from a third party supplier like JRRShop. I believe their NEWSLETTER15 discount code will knock 15% off the upgrade price.

RobertB
Right. You are getting the same effective price, but you are starting from a product that was at least $50 cheaper.
You're actually getting full credit for what you have already purchased. Future upgrades aren't quite that linear.
Fwiw, I think Studio is an excellent choice.

 
Okay...so in other words, although I'm upgrading from MC6T, not an earlier version of Sonar, it is okay for me to make that $99 selection? Just need to make sure because it doesn't necessarily state as such.

RobertB
Basically, Cakewalk is crediting you the full price of MC6 (and a little extra)against your X3 Studio purchase, which would otherwise be $209.
You are getting the same(or better) deal as the rest of us when you select the $149 price, even though on the surface it appears to be more.

I think I sort of get it. The Studio retail is $200...so that's what the $50 MC6 price is taken from?
 
What I don't understand is if it's the standalone product either way, what difference does it make and also -- ethically speaking -- which one am I supposed to purchase?
 
I'm sorry, just trying to be budget conscious and I don't understand the logic in the math. Given the fact that I thought I could upgrade for $99, I may end up just picking up the core X3 for $29 (end of April promotion). I guess what I thought initially was wrong and it just took the wind out of my sails... LOL

Got it, okay. That's what I needed; I'm glad I know this.
 
Now it's either the basic X3 ($29) or X3S ($149)...just a matter of what I want to spend/what functions I will use. Either way, I'm confident that it will be better than what I have now.