Hi. I need some advise. My musical partner in crime has Guitar Tracks software and I have Sonar x1 Studio. We were hoping to share projects. I tried sending him a Sonar x1 Studio project but he could not open it. He send me a Guitar Tracks project and I received an error message but then it opened. I was told once that the softwares should be compatible with each other. Was I misinformed? Thanks for your inputs.  

 
Hi there.
 
A couple of quick questions for you:

1. What version of Guitar Tracks is your friend using?
2. What file format are you using to send each other - I'm guessing you're using Cakewalk bundle (.cwb) files?

Theoretically, you should be able to open each others projects, providing he doesn't use an older version of Guitar Tracks which might use the now obsolete Cakewalk work (.wrk) files or Cakewalk bundle (.bun) files. This would explain why you can open his files (newer versions of Cakewalk software are backward compatible and can open the older file types) but he can't open yours.
 
Another important consideration for the same project to open identically is that you both have to have the same VST plug-ins and effects on each of your computers. Although the information about which plug-ins are loaded in a project is saved, the actual plug-in itself is not, and has to be loaded from the user's PC.
 
 

I have the same questions as Steve. The Guitar Tracks version is a biggie.
It used to be that all of the Cakewalk software shared the same basic format, and forward/reverse project sharing was generally pretty easy.
At one point, someone sent me a Sonar 8 Producer bundle file, and it was amazing to watch it open in SHS6. Missing plug-ins were clearly defined, and it was fairly easy to make adjustments.
Enter the X series. There is a lot of information in an X1 project file that the earlier versions cannot digest(screen sets, for example).
Whenever I open a project from SHS6 or Studio 8 in X1 or X3, I get a warning that the saved project will no longer be able to open in the older versions. I believe you may be running into the same thing.
However, you can exchange audio tracks as wav or MP3 files. On the whole, I think this is a better way to do it anyway.
You don't really need to send the whole project back and forth, just the individual track(s). This how many of us do collaborative work.
Since you have the more sophisticated software (ie; more options for processing the mix), we'll assume you are the master for this project.
Export what you have so far to an MP3 file. Send it to your friend. He now has a reference track to work with and do his stuff.
He exports his track to a wav file, and sends it back to you. You import his wav audio file to your master project.
Make sense?

I want to thank both of you for replying to my question. Both answers are very very helpful. My partners Version is 4.0. What we wanted to share is our mixing. We wanted to go back and forth with the mixing process. If we only share wav or mp3 files I assume those mixes cannot be transferred. Is that correct? Or is there some other way to share mixes that i do not know about? Thanks again for both of your answers. E.C.

You are correct that wav/mp3 files would not carry mix information. They would only transfer the audio for individual tracks or complete mixes.
What you are wanting to do is slightly different from what I was thinking. It is a worthwhile venture, but it is more complicated.
This gets us back to what Steve wrote, and ideally you want to have the same or virtually the same program on both machines.
The generation and operational differences between X3 and GT4 may make that a bit tricky.
Would it be realistic for your friend to upgrade to X3($49 as a registered user) or X3 Studio($149 as a registered user)?

Thanks again for taking the time to help me. Without asking my partner I am sure he will say something like "the Guitar Tracks software is so easy to use". Is the X1 software that much more complicated then the Guitar tracks software? 

It's not so much more complicated as it is different. I'm assuming your friend is using Guitar Tracks 4? That interface was designed to be  friendly to the new user, and to that end, it was apparently successful. It was shared by Home Studio 7 and Music Creator 5.
While it served its purpose, for me, it was a bit of a pain to get out of your own way, and the more streamlined interfaces of Sonar (old school and X series) are actually easier to use with more complex projects. There will be a learning curve, but once he gets used to it, he should be fine.

Thanks RobertB for everything. 

By the way. The Roland  V-Studio 20 can be used for the Sonar X1 software without any problems? 

 

daloopstar
By the way. The Roland  V-Studio 20 can be used for the Sonar X1 software without any problems? 

It certainly can.