<rant>
Don't get me started on SIRI or "touch".
Did I mention I hated my iPhone, gotta admit it did bounce well though!
Went back to my flip phone, its a phone! I can even play mp3's with it.
iTunes, there's a pile.
Phones are phones, Computers are computers, and tablet are toys; nuff said.
I like my FW1884 control surface.
And don't get me started on Win 8.1; that is one miserable pile!
Bought it, installed it (twice) and actually tried to learn to navigate it; HATED IT!
Its a foreign country, WAY worse than moving from 8.5 to the X-series; and with none of the benefits!
It will only succeed if MS blackmails developers into supporting it. Ever heard of Millennium or Vista?
Why must MS continue to hide necessary functions?
Its a "tablet" OS, not a computer operating system.
</rant>
 
Tom

Tom - couldn't agree more about Windows 8. Hopefully 9 will return Windows to being understandable.

Overall topic on Sonar X3. YES, YES, YES! very satisfied with it.

Each of the X series has had its "issues".
Overall (once I got past the learning curve) I love all 3.
Follow the upgrade path baby, follow the upgrade path.
Its gettin' better all the time!
Tom

I never use the Notes box in the lane because I want to enter different comments for different sections of the song and the Notes box doesn't allow me to do it. For this reason I prefer to enter comments in the Clip Name field, but unfortunately Sonar splits clips when you comp takes so the comments like "Second half not very good" becomes meaningless (because the take is split into two or more clips after comping and the "second half" is no longer the second half).
 
Although I like Sonar overall, there are a few features that I think the other daw I use (Studio One 2) does better, and track layers is one of them. See the screenshot below.
 

(Larger image here)
 

1. The layers can be narrower than Sonar's lanes so you can see more than, say, 30 lanes at the same time, without scrolling down the screen (they can be much narrower, like the size in the Navigator view in Sonar).
2. You can change the clip's name by simply right-clicking on the clip and using the name field in the pop-up (no need to move the mouse cursor over to the Clip Properties Inspector).
3. The takes (two clips per layer in this example) aren't split into clips (the dragged sections are only highlighted -- I gave different colors to different layers to make it easier for you to see) so the clip names still make sense.
4. You can resize each layer. If you want to resize them all, just select them all and drag the separator between them. In Sonar, if you drag down the separator between, say, lanes 10 and 11 wanting to maximize Lane 10, the lane goes out of the view.
5. (This is the most important one for me.) Only the selected (highlighted) parts of the takes in the layers appear in the main track when the lanes are collapsed. This means you can keep idea clips in one (or more) of the layers because the clips won't appear in the main track and make it look messy.

 

Keni
What exactly do you do with touch that makes it so convenient?

I use it with the mouse. most of the time I swipe with my right hand for grand gestures and selections, then use my left hand with the mouse for detailed work. Some things, like faders, work well for touch especially multi-touch. So in that case, touch replaces a control surface...you can't play multiple faders with a mouse. The "feel" is very much like using an old-school mixer, with the same kind of immediacy.
 
The reason why I'm happy with X3e is because for the way I work, it has the fastest workflow of anything I've used. However, I agree whole-heartedly about the value of voice control. I used it with the Atari and again with Vista. Ultimately, a combination of touch, voice, footswitches (like the POK), and mouse (with occasional forays into QWERTY-land) will be off the hook for speeding up workflow. Well, assuming that Microsoft gets Windows 9 right...

Anderton
 Well, assuming that Microsoft gets Windows 9 right...

Ya think?

Anderton
then use my left hand with the mouse for detailed work.

You play righty, are you a southpaw?
I consider myself ambidextrous; you know, equally terrible with both hands.
I don't think I could work the mouse with the left hand, too much muscle memory to overcome now.
Touch really works for you?
Two pulls on the virtual fader with no (or wrong) results and there would be UFO's buzzing Rainier again.
Just sayin'
Tom
 

I call it 'ambidetrimentous' :)
 
Bob Bone

Anderton

Keni
What exactly do you do with touch that makes it so convenient?

I use it with the mouse. most of the time I swipe with my right hand for grand gestures and selections, then use my left hand with the mouse for detailed work. Some things, like faders, work well for touch especially multi-touch. So in that case, touch replaces a control surface...you can't play multiple faders with a mouse. The "feel" is very much like using an old-school mixer, with the same kind of immediacy.
 
The reason why I'm happy with X3e is because for the way I work, it has the fastest workflow of anything I've used. However, I agree whole-heartedly about the value of voice control. I used it with the Atari and again with Vista. Ultimately, a combination of touch, voice, footswitches (like the POK), and mouse (with occasional forays into QWERTY-land) will be off the hook for speeding up workflow. Well, assuming that Microsoft gets Windows 9 right...

Hi Craig...
 
Yes, I can see it as an additional tool very well and I'm sure to like that aspect if I ever get one for my DAW....?
 
I agree with you completely there... I'm just not happy with things that have been lost due to this...
 
That said, I just posted a message about the new monitor I was just gifted... I just setup a 30" Apple Cinema screen at 2560x1600 resolution and many of my issues with screen real estate are changed! ;-)
 
Tho zoom is still a problem... ;-)
 
Keni
 

DeeringAmps

Anderton
then use my left hand with the mouse for detailed work.

You play righty, are you a southpaw?
 

Technically, I'm monodextrous - I do some things with my right hand and some things with my left. So I throw a ball right-handed, write left-handed, eat left-handed, but play guitar right-handed. I probably should have learned to play left-handed...too late now. The good news is I can play really complex chords, but the bad news is I play them really slowly