FLZapped
Help files that are actually helpful.

I would like Help that tells me not how to do something, but also some examples of why the I might want to do it.  And PLEASE, PLEASE don't put the why in a video!!

mred1953
I’ve used Cakewalk products for 20 years and I just spent almost three hours installing a plugin. Download this, open that, install this app, run as admin, iLok hell, run Gobbler at startup, (etc)

This is an industry problem.  I have some experience with website development on Wordpress and Joomla.  I consider these comparable environments because most of the "goodies" come through third-party plug-ins.  There certainly can be compatibility and stylistic issues with Joomla and Wordpress plug-ins, but there really is an industry-wide distribution and installation standard and it generally works pretty well.
 
And of course, we find another similar example with how Android and iPhone apps are managed.  You pay for it and then it is basically one click.
 
Getting all the DAW and VST makers to agree on anything would be quite an achievement, but it ultimately is in everybody's interest for this to work MUCH, MUCH more smoothly.

For me I want the DAW to be my partner in the studio, for me the biggest things that gets in the way of creativity is what I call the editing barrier. So my suggestions would be, and these are pie in the sky in some ways.
 
Fluid tempo detection, when I start playing around with something, I don't necessarily want the tempo locked in. In my ideal world I would noodle around and as I played the tempo would follow me in real time I could push and pull the tempo in the same way a drummer would follow me if I slowed or sped up, failing this allowing tempo to be control by a midi expression pedal within a user definable range would be awesome so I could tweak tempo as I went.
 
Voice control of editing and comping. I want to be able to shout out, quantize 8 bars of take 3, loop, put on new track and duplicate x4 please. Then take 8 bars of take 5 quantize loop and put in same track as duplicate x2 for chorus.
 
Sonar does it, and then I can straight away record another part of this new structure, I have not had to move from where I am sitting or put my instruement down and I am back creating.
 
For me this would be the ultimate in ease of use. As it is I noodle away building up issues in the take, then I am faced with an hour long editing session to clean up and bring order to the chaos before I can carry on building, and often the inspiration is lost.
 
So basically I want a virtual tape engineer or editor please.

gordonrussell76, Sounds like you need an assistant engineer and tea boy.

Konradh that would be the ideal solution, sadly I don't have the funds to pay an assistant engineer or even a tea boy.

I have a 6 year old daughter and longer term once she is a bit older I have plans to train her up to perform these functions, in the interim Sonar need to step up :)
 
G

A paperclip that pops up and says:
 
"It looks like you are trying to record a song."

jpetersen
A paperclip that pops up and says:
 
"It looks like you are trying to record a song."

 
NO!!!   
NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

Lava lamp! 

First of all: Do not bloat the product with 'additional' stuff to make it 'easier to use'.

Second: Let the software be as it is and give the user guidance to use it. Many forumites state they like videos to follow along to...

! My suggestion however would be to implement something similar as used in computer games: an in-game guide. It tells you where to click in order to accomplish certain task and explains how/why. The program then does not respond to anything else but waits for user to click (the blinking button?). Then the next step is explained and again Sonar waits until the user follows 'orders'.... (sort of like a Makro step-recorder being played back)

There should of course be several 'chapters' with different levels of experience to the guide. E.g. start with setting up project. Then setup screen real estate. Then maybe import audio / import midi files, record audio, use fx, organize vst's, write automation, etc.etc. untill finally a demo-song has been created in full detail and has covered 'every' aspect of the DAW and shown 'every trick in the book' or at least up to a certain semi-pro level.

That way every user can join in at whatever level he/she is follow whatever topic he/she is interested in and learn in real-time.

Also there could be monthly 'chapters/tutorials' added....

N.b:
I'm not a programmer and might be wrong in assuming this might be relatively easy to implement as the DAW would only have to take control of the users Input device and display according pop-up messages....?

When you listen to Harrisons DAW you'll hear more 'console sound'. I would like to have a box wich could give me an overall option to make Sonar (using the channelstrip colouring) use a heavier colouring or less so...   Or maybe with something like CTRL + and CTRL -  to have more or less colour.