X1 is really very good

I took my time getting X1.  I did not purchase it until X1b became available, and I'm glad I waited.  The download was perfect and the installation seamless.  All my plugs (35 of them) loaded up perfectly, and they all work as they are supposed to with one oddball exception (EZ Drummer).  My trusty old M-Audio USB interface--with new 64-bit drivers--works perfectly.

I have used Sonar for a long time and dearly love my 8.0.  I have developed MY way of doing things that work for me.  Needless to say, some of the changes perplexed me, frustrated me and tried my patience.  But I must say that--in EVERY SINGLE CASE--I have found the new X1 features to be an improvement.  It just takes time and effort to discover the way things have changed, to figure it out, and to put it in practice until I get used to it.

The LOOK of the UI is not better nor worse, IMO.  It is just different.  No problem.

The Smart Tool is a genius, although I nearly threw my shoe into my monitor before I figured it out.  Now, I would never go back.

The Browser is superb.  I dock it at the bottom.

Screensets are fantastic and if you are not utilizing that feature, you are missing an opportunity to really improve your workflow.

The Track Inspector is great.  I like to dock it on the left.

Docking is great.

Pro Channel seems to be terrific, but I am just getting started with it.

The new Step Sequencer is wonderful (new to me, but not to 8.5 users)

Love the Edit Filter.

So far, no crashes, no problems.  I probably should mention that my computer is a brand new, AMD quad core with 8 gig RAM.  The computer has almost no software on it except that which is DAW-related, and it is not connected to the internet.

Now, back to EZ Drummer, to see if any of you can offer me some advice.  EZ Drummer includes many patterns.  I have always simply dragged them from the EZD screen directly into a track in Sonar.  Now, I cannot do that.  X1 tells me that the file is not available.  However, if I drag the same file from the X1 Browser, it works fine.  Any idea why this would be?  I prefer doing it from EZD, but I could certainly get used to doing it from the Browser, so it is no big deal.

I hope all of you X1 converts solve your problems and end up having as good an experience with it as I have.

Gary- I hope someone answers your question. I have addictive drums and like you I like to drag the Midi file into the track straight from the Drum application.

I know its not a biggie but there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to drag your file from Ezdrummer into the track view. The fact that you cant should be looked at by Cakewalk. I would class that as a bug.

I dont have X1 yet. I intend to upgrade but only when I am 100 per cent confident or near enough to it. I am currently at about 85 per cent in my own mind up from about 65. Things are going in the right direction but I want to see Cakewalk even more aggressive into stamping out bugs and I will upgrade in due course.

This little bug of yours I want to see fixed. Its minor as bugs go I know but it would affect my workflow.

Gary McCoy


I took my time getting X1.  I did not purchase it until X1b became available, and I'm glad I waited.  The download was perfect and the installation seamless.  All my plugs (35 of them) loaded up perfectly, and they all work as they are supposed to with one oddball exception (EZ Drummer).  My trusty old M-Audio USB interface--with new 64-bit drivers--works perfectly.

I have used Sonar for a long time and dearly love my 8.0.  I have developed MY way of doing things that work for me.  Needless to say, some of the changes perplexed me, frustrated me and tried my patience.  But I must say that--in EVERY SINGLE CASE--I have found the new X1 features to be an improvement.  It just takes time and effort to discover the way things have changed, to figure it out, and to put it in practice until I get used to it.

The LOOK of the UI is not better nor worse, IMO.  It is just different.  No problem.

The Smart Tool is a genius, although I nearly threw my shoe into my monitor before I figured it out.  Now, I would never go back.

The Browser is superb.  I dock it at the bottom.

Screensets are fantastic and if you are not utilizing that feature, you are missing an opportunity to really improve your workflow.

The Track Inspector is great.  I like to dock it on the left.

Docking is great.

Pro Channel seems to be terrific, but I am just getting started with it.

The new Step Sequencer is wonderful (new to me, but not to 8.5 users)

Love the Edit Filter.

So far, no crashes, no problems.  I probably should mention that my computer is a brand new, AMD quad core with 8 gig RAM.  The computer has almost no software on it except that which is DAW-related, and it is not connected to the internet.

Now, back to EZ Drummer, to see if any of you can offer me some advice.  EZ Drummer includes many patterns.  I have always simply dragged them from the EZD screen directly into a track in Sonar.  Now, I cannot do that.  X1 tells me that the file is not available.  However, if I drag the same file from the X1 Browser, it works fine.  Any idea why this would be?  I prefer doing it from EZD, but I could certainly get used to doing it from the Browser, so it is no big deal.

I hope all of you X1 converts solve your problems and end up having as good an experience with it as I have.

I've been using X1 since its release and have almost forgotten about all the features that I now just take for granted.

"The Smart Tool is a genius, although I nearly threw my shoe into my monitor before I figured it out.  Now, I would never go back."

I think this describes a lot of people's experience with X1. Frustrating with all the change, once it's figured out, there's no turning back.

The Smart Tool is a genius.. was  a simple request from a talented
user, ur welcome !!!

tyacko


Gary,

Are you by chance using EZDrummer 32-bit version?  I had a problem like that before they released a 64-bit version of EZDrummer.  Now, it works without a hitch in Sonar (64-bit).

Hope this helps,
Tom

Yep.  32-bit.