BobF
I have to say that the mastering process in SO3 is superb. 

I agree 100% that the assembly part of mastering in SO3 is superb, as are the analytics. But when you need to do waveform surgery, noise reduction, custom fades, etc., Wavelab and Sound Forge are still the only kind of programs that let you dig that deep. I use SOP for assembly on all album projects, but I rely on several other programs (including SONAR) during the mastering process. 
 
To follow up on a previous post, the latest maintenance update did fix the DDP export and CD-burning problems I experienced - if you haven't grabbed it yet, you should.

Never used it but I see it runs on Mac & Windows AND they offer a mobile device remote app for each.

I happy so many people are trying to help, but after testing it again I can again confirm it doesn't work. I tried "none", "all" and "What you hear" and it didn't work. The first time I got 5 sec of the song and after that I got chopped tails. I even tried adjusting "clip tail duration" and it still didn't work. It is actually cutting out about half a sec before the final note. It would be nice if it worked like it said on the tin, but the only reliable way I can get it to work is the hard way.

I like Sonar Platinum better than S1 V3.
- Sonar has Groove Clips
- Sonar has Step Sequencer
- I like Skylight interface way better than S1's interface
- I don't like S1's mixer. . . it just seems un-intuitive to me for some reason
- I love the quick grouping in Sonar
- I like the MIDI editing in Sonar better
- I find the routing in S1 to be less intuitive for some reason, but that just might be my perception.
- I think Sonar has a nicer theme (Mercury) . . I don't like dark themes and S1 forces you to use a dark one.
 
There are some really nice things about Studio One though:
- Regions
- Scratch Pad
- Nice MIDI effects
- Browser is nicer
- Gapless audio engine
- S1 can run on Mac 
- Better visual feedback when you change the clip gain
- I've heard that the transient detection is better
 
Just depends on taste really.  Both are great DAWs.  

Craig, what essential multitracking features does Studio One miss that you use in Sonar?

EDIT: And thanks everyone, I haven't said much because I don't use S1 but it's been a very informative thread.

I like Studio One and I know the guys there, they are friends and just as dedicated as SONAR's developers. So I'm not comfortable doing a "SONAR does this, SOP does this" type of comparison. Furthermore it's possible to buy products for SOP that help make up for the difference, like a Drum Replacer (although it won't have SONAR's ARA integration) or VocalSync. You can get a Matrix view by rewiring Ableton Live into SOP. You can make up for the lesser number of instruments by rewiring Reason into SOP...or buy a bridge if you have 32-bit plug-ins. Things like DSD support, the lack of a fret view, or ability to generate tab would probably be considered inconsequential by most people but they aren't to me. I like the way SONAR handles grouping better although of course you can group with SOP. You don't have to use all of SONAR's notepad-type features, you can open a Word document and save it with your project. I use SONAR's export presets to good advantage but of course you can export from SOP, just not in the same way. And so on. If SONAR disappeared tomorrow I could use SOP and happily make music, no problem.
 
So I'll mention four things that pretty much every other DAW can't do, with of course the caveat there are things SOP can do that other DAWs can't do as well but that's not the point. This is about what I need in order to make a living from using a DAW.

• Plug-in load balancing. I don't need this all the time, but when I do, it's aces.
• Upsampling. Given how much work I do in the box, and the audible difference this can make, it's essential for me. There are workarounds to doing this in other DAWs (i.e., what I used to do in SONAR before this existed) but the set-and-forget nature and integration into the control bar is so convenient.
• Mix Recall. Not quite sure how I lived without it.
• Edit and create Acidized files. Actually Acid Pro can do this too, but it's limited in many other ways. Sure, you can use DSP to stretch, but with video projects I often have to make tempo changes to have hit points line up and only Acidized or REX files will follow, but REX files are more limited in what they can do in terms of fidelity with sustained sounds. Furthermore, a lot of commercially available Acidized loops are poorly edited, so they don't stretch well. SONAR lets me fix them and make them usable. 

This just underscores my point, often repeated in this forum, that no DAW does everything. So you pick the one that matches your needs the best. Thankfully, there's enough competition that there's pretty much something for everybody. The onus is on the user to do their research and pick the correct DAW for their needs.
 
For me, that was - and remains - SONAR. If anyone thinks I have to use it because Gibson acquired Cakewalk, I've been using SONAR since it first came out, and I could use whatever I want in the privacy of my studio...but it's SONAR that gets the nod.

I think that's fair, thanks for your insights.

I still haven't set up plug in upsampling. It would be really nice if there would be a suggestion list of plugins that are known to benefit so I don't have to go and A/B my 908 plugins one by one.

dcumpian
There is a setting in Preferences that is causing the tail to be stored in the buffer and it ends up in front of the export. Enable "Play effect tails after stopping" and the problem will go away.

According to this page, that option is supposed to be in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Playback and Recording.


I don't see it there or anywhere else.

Does this one do it?
 

BobF
Does this one do it?
 

No, I don't believe so.  My understanding is that applies only to the process of bouncing clips. I wish it did apply to the file export process, but I went around on that one a few months back with Sonar support. They said it was never intended to work with export, only with bouncing.
This is the kind of thing that makes Sonar so maddening.  It is a powerful program, but many things seem way too complicated.  Who would ever want the option to not finish the tail, and to dump it at the beginning of the next file exported?  I mean, that is just absurd. Nobody could possibly want such behavior, so why even have an option that has this result? With StudioOne, I hit export and that's what happens. No muss, no fuss, and no lengthy explanations of why I didn't set my options just right.