Hi guys,
 
So I know there are a million debates over which is better, take lanes (in general) or layers, but I am interested in people's opinions between the take lanes in X3 and those in X2.
 
Aside from bugs, just in terms of functionality, which do you think is better, and why?
 
I've read all about the new comping feature of X3's take lanes, so I know that's a large factor (possibly pro or con) in this matchup. But how about other factors as well? Is there anything that X2's take lanes can do that X3's can't?...
 
Thanks!
 
(PS: One thing I couldn't seem to find a clear answer on, related to this topic--Is it possible to have clips in more than one take lane sounding at the same time (à la layers)?... All I could seem to find was the strict comping functionality of only one lane being able to sound at a time. Is there more to it?)

dimelives1
PS: One thing I couldn't seem to find a clear answer on, related to this topic--Is it possible to have clips in more than one take lane sounding at the same time (à la layers)?

Absolutely. I wrote an article about this for Sound on Sound. (Full articles are only for subscribers for six months, but after that anyone can read them.)
 
I take advantage of this in two main ways: To create big, stacked background vocals, and to add occasional one-shots to a loop to add interest.
 
As to general pros and cons, there have been lots of threads about this, but some of them have posts that draw conclusions based on not understanding how Take Lanes work. For example, the biggest difference to me is you can't crossfade within a Take Lane, but you can crossfade between those same clips in the "parent" overview. You can also put overlapping clips in two lanes, and fade one out while the other is fading in, or use the DSP menu to create crossfades. 
 
There are also some layer management commands that are no longer available, and another issue with Take Lanes is numbers always increment. For example, suppose you're comping the verse in a vocal track and do 7 takes. Now you have 7 take lanes. So now you want to comp the second verse. This comp will start on take lane 8 so if you do 7 takes, now you have 14 take lanes. Of course you can drag the second set of clips into the first set of lanes, but some people find that inconvenient. 
 
My "take" is you trade off a little bit of the functionality of layers for a HUGE increase in comping functionality. The comping is amazing, and you can still do most of what you did with layers using Take Lanes. Given a choice between one or the other, for me the X3 implementation wins hands-down.

Thanks a lot, Craig. I appreciate the detailed response and I'll definitely check out your article.
 
But I was mostly interested in the pros and cons of X3's take lanes compared to X2's take lanes, rather than take lanes in general vs. layers. Aside from the new comping features, are there differences between the two versions? And is there anything that X2's take lanes can do that X3's can't?
 
Thanks!

dimelives1
Thanks a lot, Craig. I appreciate the detailed response and I'll definitely check out your article.
 
But I was mostly interested in the pros and cons of X3's take lanes compared to X2's take lanes, rather than take lanes in general vs. layers. Aside from the new comping features, are there differences between the two versions? And is there anything that X2's take lanes can do that X3's can't?
 
Thanks!

When I refer to "layers," I'm referring to X2 and "Take Lanes," to X3. So the pros and cons I mentioned are X3 vs. X2, not functionality within X3.

"--Is it possible to have clips in more than one take lane sounding at the same time (à la layers)?... All I could seem to find was the strict comping functionality of only one lane being able to sound at a time. Is there more to it?)"
 
In X2 that's what the MUTE/SOLO buttons are for. If they are all off then you will hear everything on all the Take Lanes. I would think X3 operates the same way. There is more in the Online Help.
 
X2 - http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X2&language=3&help=Arranging.34.html
 
X3 - http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3&language=3&help=Arranging.34.html

Anderton
When I refer to "layers," I'm referring to X2 and "Take Lanes," to X3. So the pros and cons I mentioned are X3 vs. X2, not functionality within X3.

Oh, ok. Thanks for clarifying.
 
 

Anderton
There are also some layer management commands that are no longer available, and another issue with Take Lanes is numbers always increment. For example, suppose you're comping the verse in a vocal track and do 7 takes. Now you have 7 take lanes. So now you want to comp the second verse. This comp will start on take lane 8 so if you do 7 takes, now you have 14 take lanes. Of course you can drag the second set of clips into the first set of lanes, but some people find that inconvenient. 
 

 
I can see that leading to a LOT of lanes... Is there no work-around (aside from dragging each group of new takes up)? No option to "start recording in first open lanes" etc.?
 
If you do have to clean things up via the dragging method, does that automatically get rid of the excess take lanes? Or do you have to delete them manually? I guess this is an instance where a lane consolidation feature would be handy (just as long as it carries out its task in a more organized manner than old layers...).
 
 

soens
In X2 that's what the MUTE/SOLO buttons are for. If they are all off then you will hear everything on all the Take Lanes. I would think X3 operates the same way. There is more in the Online Help.
 
X2 - http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X2&language=3&help=Arranging.34.html
 
X3 - http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3&language=3&help=Arranging.34.html

 
Thanks, soens.

dimelives1
 
If you do have to clean things up via the dragging method, does that automatically get rid of the excess take lanes? Or do you have to delete them manually? I guess this is an instance where a lane consolidation feature would be handy (just as long as it carries out its task in a more organized manner than old layers...).
 
 
 

There is a quick way to remove all empty or all muted take lanes for cleanup:
http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3&language=3&help=Arranging.49.html
 
You can record to a specific take lane, of course, but loop recording will overwrite the take, even when in comp mode, afaik, so you would have to manually switch take lanes before each take.

dimelives1
 But how about other factors as well? Is there anything that X2's take lanes can do that X3's can't?...

 
This guy posted some videos that demonstrate significant differences between X2 and X3 in the area of take lanes. You might find it useful to review. 

Thank you, Helmut and Colin. Helpful info.

Thinking about comping with take lanes in X2... Are we able to do crossfades between isolated take selections, or is that something new to X3?...

Also, would I be correct in assuming that we can still do things the old fashioned way of splitting and clip-muting, if we so desired? (Not that many should want to do so regularly, what with the new features.)

dimelives1

Also, would I be correct in assuming that we can still do things the old fashioned way of splitting and clip-muting, if we so desired? (Not that many should want to do so regularly, what with the new features.)

Yes, absolutely. The position of the mouse pointer relative to the clip  edges and corners is critical, though. Reading up on this subject in the X3 help may save some frustration.