Hi folks,
 
I just installed Sonar X1 a couple of days ago (supposed to get a free upgrade to X2) and it was nothing like I expected - or what the guys told me it was when I bought it.
 
I used an MC500 and MC50 for years and was expecting to see similar functions on Sonar (like creating rhythm patterns, rhythm track - copying, deleting, and inserting measures) with just a far better UI - and more performance/recording related capabilities. It took me the better part of a day just to figure out how to copy a couple of bars.  
 
I am not here to complain - I am sure that it's perfect for more sophisticated users, but I am not one.
 
Does anyone know of any Cakewalk product (or any other brand for that matter) which is more similar in function to the MC50?
 
Any help you could provide would be great.
 
Thanks.  

Wow, that's a jump of about four decades, welcome to 2014 :). MC500 was my first sequencer and if I was asked to compare that with Sonar and all the latest DAWs I would have to say, chalk and cheese. For those of you who aren't that old, can you imagine if you needed to increase the velocity of the hi-hats and you had to do it all one at a time! MC500 MKII did attend to that issue. You also had to convert MC500 to MIDI using additional software. Sequencing software has moved on a lot ...er... to put it mildly, and there's no easy answer to this. Meanwhile some of us here are still getting to grips with the X series upgrade from Sonar 8! Good luck with a massive learning curve but you have come to the right place for help. These guys are awesome! And you have made the right move, as daunting as it may seem right now.

 
Thanks for your response - believe it or not my MC50 still works, diskettes and all. But I am moving to Africa and am not going to bring it and my e15 with me. So, I got Sonar and converted all my files to true midi - now I have to figure out how to work with them 
 
Like you said, wow.
;) 

This is a great arpeggiator:
 
http://www.kirnuarp.com/
 
There's a free version.
 
Also a lot of synths have a lot of patterns built in that's very usable.
 
http://www.tone2.com/html/electrax_synthesizer__vst_au.html
 
Lot of free stuff out there for making patterns etc.
 
Lot of ACID loops out there if you want audio loops.
 
 
I remember having a cheap keyboard that did a lot of things that I liked and then this professional software didn't do any of it. You have to find new ways, takes time.
 
Good luck.
 
 

I made the move to Africa forty years ago and built my studio in the early eighties . I am assuming that you are computer literate and are familiar with copy and paste functions as that is all that you had to do, as you found out. Working with midi in the piano roll is one of the simplest tasks of Sonar, before you get into all the wonderful audio VSTs and soft synths available. If you are leaving your E15 behind you will probably still want a controller keyboard but you can pick up a keyboard with USB easily enough, depending in which country you're in.