I understand Bapu. That is the main reason I sprung for X2.
It was a no brainer but you hit exactly on my point and from the
activity of this thread I can imagine others have too...

Predict......nobody has had one thing to add. I can't think of anything
either. Nothing that I think they would or could pull off anyway.

We're going to reach a point when the program works for everybody.
Just like Alex...it already happened. Others felt "complete" at 8.5.
Now I understand how they felt and feel...but I sure didn't feel that with 8.5.
Of course I could still crater Sonar and my PC with it....easily. Spectrasonics
alone would tax it to crash. Then the ability to run more ram and 64 bit
filled in the holes I had. X1 was just icing on the cake at that point.

Well I thought it was a very interesting position not only for myself but for
Cakewalk too.
I kind of imagine that they must surely be asking...where do we go from here?...and
the way I see it that is a very, very tuff question and fixing a few things and
adding more color is only going to go so far.

Spacey,

I believe that the reason they cannot come up much more (beyond improved performance and edit tools) is because at the heart of it SONAR is really a sophisticated tape deck and MIDI sequencer. LMO. And those two capabilities alone work as designed in 8.5, X1 and X2 (sans niggles and some bugs). 

Most major complaints or desires (in my entirely unscientific survey) are about notation, video, gapless engine and varispeed (aka: dulcimer friendly ). The first two interest me none and the second two are probably a function of an engine rewrite of which I would be deathly afraid of being a 1.0 adopter of unless it was announced that it would go into a three year public beta first.

But even if those last two were announced tomorrow as being the main focus of X3 I'm still not sure I'd get excited about purchasing it because I am not a commercial endeavor and those features, although nice to have, are not game changers for me.

I think, quite simply, if you want to have fun with a DAW, Sonar is not the one.
Maybe something like Reaper or Studio one or Garage Band or BIAB.
Or, actually, Pro Audio 9.
Or, Maybe a portastudio.
Most Daws are pretty intense I agree.
I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.
Just sayin..

I really wish the field of software engineering and design would focus more on making the computers we use more reliable and foolproof, instead of this constant need to push the envelope of what can be done. It seems like we're perpetually stuck with technology that is only 80-90% reliable, because by the time they get round to fixing all the problems in one generation of software, the next one is out and has it's own problems. 

Every day I'm confounded and frustrated by software that doesn't work properly, is badly designed or is just plain baffling. How many nights have you spent trying to get one little thing to work - endless Googling, asking questions on forums, trying 100 different settings and configurations and constant rebooting - when you could have spent the evening being creating and achieving something. 

I'm not having a go at Sonar or any other DAW or genre of software in particular - just software in general. I'd like to think that at some point in the future the science of software design will have advanced to the point where it's 100% solid and watertight. But alas I don't think any of us will experience that in our lifetimes. 

timidi


I think, quite simply, if you want to have fun with a DAW, Sonar is not the one. 

Pedro is not gonna like that.

sharke


How many nights have you spent trying to get one little thing to work - endless Googling, asking questions on forums, trying 100 different settings and configurations and constant rebooting - when you could have spent the evening being creating and achieving something. 

Very very few sharke. Maybe I'm fortunate, maybe I'm skilled, or maybe I just don't know what's wrong that I have to spend more than a few minutes on a problem that I either solve or ignore. IOW, nothing has stopped me from being productive when I want to be.


FWIW, I have been intimately involved with PC hardware and software since 1985 and I find the state of the two rather exciting and that 98.989898989898% of the time the stuff just works for me and my needs. 

bapu


Spacey,

I'd keep spending if they provide value like they did this time.

1. lanes, both take and automation
2. clip headers for for movement. Never did like the top/bottom half of clips

I wish I could predict what would float my boat but I guess I'm just a "show me and if I like it I'll buy it" kind of guy.

 
I wanted those things a few years ago, along with a 'fun' virtual recording studio setup with the bullet proof reliability of things working exactly as stated in the manual.
 
I got them but I had to look elsewhere to find them and they do exist along with all sorts of other useful features.  It was ironically down to X1 having so many issues that prompted me to find these things...elsewhere.

Sonar still has a place for me though and it's a Grand Dame of sequencers but the old dear does need a fair bit of cajoling to do some the things I already take for granted.  When you actually take the time to learn to use some of the other things out there it really highlights how clunky Sonar is in general.
 
I don't do any tracking with Sonar any more there are just simply more nifty ways of getting that job done and maintaining the maximum amount creative flow.
 
For the painstaking up close detailed work though it's still the tops and I'm just so used to using it for mixing I get lost on anything else.

Jonbouy
I'm just so used to using it for mixing I get lost on anything else. 

For 40 hours a week booked @ $75/hour I'd find my way round any DAW.


However, I'm only myself so I say +1 to that Jon.


I have R and S1Two and although I have run them, it would take me a week just to be able to work somewhat comfortably in those two and they were pretty exciting when I gave them a 2-3 hour go way back when.

Someone mentioned reliability I don't find that an issue with today's software and hardware.
 
Here's my reliability log going back to 14th May up until this minute which shows one crash the 2nd week in June. Ironically that was Sonar just failing to load one time.
 
I'm on that thing pretty much all day everyday as well doing something or another.