Hello,
I am looking at sequencers currently available for PC.  I started with CWPA6 and upgraded through first version of Sonar 10+ years ago.  Switched to Samplitude and am looking to possibly come back. The ARA and melodyne integration is forward thinking - at this point workflow enhancements are my primary concern, included plugs and sonic purity were more important 10 years ago than they are now, imo.  Also, the Cakewalk upgrade and pricing strategy is generous.
 
I ask these questions because there is no demo.
 
1) Does X3 have anything like a "tempo track" or ability to change the tempo over time to match acoustic performances that were not recorded against a metronome? 
 
2) Does X3 have any form of beat recognition that automates detection of bars?  (Analyze audio and insert/suggest bar markers)
 
3) Does X3 support 3 monitor setups?  Does the whole interface expand to fill 3 screens or can windows be floated to the external screens?
 
4) Is production in X3 fluid, can all operations be done while looping on a section of audio?  For instance I may be looping over a section of a song and need to arm tracks, loop record, use the take manager, add VSTis/fx, drag transport, etc all in real time.
 
5) Does X3 integrate well with NI Maschine?
 
6) Can the mixer be floated out and maximized on its own screen, while the take lanes appear on the central screen?
 
7) Does version of melodyne included with X3 process audio to midi in real time?  Can the midi be used to trigger synths in real time?
 
8) Does X3 have anything like Cubase's Chord Track or "Band in a Box" functionality that helps to flesh out songs with simple accompanyment?
 
9) Is X3 lightweight or a cpu hog?
 
10) Midi transpose functionality?  Can midi phrases be transposed to other modes?  (15 years ago, CWPA was a midi leader, just wondering what kinds of midi tools are availble.)
 
11) Is there an integrated file browser that allows preview and DnD of midi files into the take lanes?
 
12) Does Sonar have anything like Samplitudes "revolver tracks" or Cubase's "TrackVersions"?
 
13) Does X3 have any form of view management or snapshots for instant recall?  Samplitude and cubase have the ability to hide tracks and save/recall views that are relevant to a particular submix, etc.
 
14) Does X3 support object or clip based editing? (Separate EQ, plugins, automation, etc by clip.)
 
15) Can the mixer view be condensed to fit more channels on the screen? (Width of fader)  
 
16) Does X3 have any kind of groove template, where it can apply the groove of a midi clip to other clips? (This gives the ability to humanize new rhythmic material to match an existing midi performance.)
 
17) Does the score editor display the entire performance, or is it displayed on a clip-by-clip basis?  Can the whole score be edited with whatever fits on screen?
 
18) While midi loop recording, is there an "additive" mode that writes to the take on subsequent passes? (Like maschine, FL, samp, etc.)
 
19) Does X3 show inline midi notes in the track lanes? Are they editable in the lanes?
 
20) Thanks!
 
 

X3 trial will be released at some stage, in the meantime please try the X2 trial:
http://www.cakewalk.com/p...s/sonar/web-trial.aspx
 
And here is the X3 documentation:
http://www.cakewalk.com/D...Default.aspx?Doc=SONAR X3&Lang=EN
 

1 No tempo track but a tempo view.
 
2 Yes, audiosnap.
 
3 Yes it does.
 
4 Yes very
 
5 Don't know but members use it with Sonar.
 
6 Yes and in different ways.
 
7 Yes, Yes.
 
8 No.
 
9 Neither.
 
10 Yes
 
11 Yes.
 
12 Don't know what those are.
 
13 Yes Screensets.
 
14 Yes it does.
 
15 Yes it can.
 
16 Not sure about this one. It does have a Smart Grid that is a way to quantize.
 
17 It can.
 
18 Don't know unless you mean takes management it does have that for MIDI.
 
19 Yes it can show MIDI as notes on a grid and they can be edited there
 
20 You’re welcome.

Teal
Hello,
I am looking at sequencers currently available for PC.  I started with CWPA6 and upgraded through first version of Sonar 10+ years ago.  Switched to Samplitude and am looking to possibly come back. The ARA and melodyne integration is forward thinking - at this point workflow enhancements are my primary concern, included plugs and sonic purity were more important 10 years ago than they are now, imo.  Also, the Cakewalk upgrade and pricing strategy is generous.
 
I ask these questions because there is no demo.
 
1) Does X3 have anything like a "tempo track" or ability to change the tempo over time to match acoustic performances that were not recorded against a metronome? 
 Yes. You can extract the tempo of a track and have Sonar follow it through changes. Some VSTs get glitchy with tempo changes however so heads up.
 
2) Does X3 have any form of beat recognition that automates detection of bars?  (Analyze audio and insert/suggest bar markers)
Not bar markers. Beat markers it can find and extract if you want, but I usually just tap through the tune using a midi device and extract the tempo from that. Much more reliable. 
 
3) Does X3 support 3 monitor setups?  Does the whole interface expand to fill 3 screens or can windows be floated to the external screens?
Both. You can stretch it across three screens or maximize floating windows in different screens. The track View doesn't float. It is always within the boundary of the Sonar Application window. The Multi Dock and VSTs and piano roll can be floated where you like and maximized there. You can't have a screenset with the console view on monitor 1 and the track view on monitor 2 AND a screenset that is the inverse since the Track View cannot be moved like that. The track View can only be stretched across lots of monitors. You can have the trackview on any monitor you like or all monitors, but whatever the case, that is the case in every screenset.
 
4) Is production in X3 fluid, can all operations be done while looping on a section of audio?  For instance I may be looping over a section of a song and need to arm tracks, loop record, use the take manager, add VSTis/fx, drag transport, etc all in real time.
 There is a setting to allow ARM changes during playback/record. I don't have it checked personally. I just don't need it. Yes you can add FX while playing back or recording but dropouts are risked. I definitely change guitar VST amp sim settings while playing, but I don't normally drop the Amp Sim on the track while recording.
 
5) Does X3 integrate well with NI Maschine?
Can't say. I don't have it. A lot of Sonar users Love it tho. 
 
6) Can the mixer be floated out and maximized on its own screen, while the take lanes appear on the central screen?
Yes. 
 
7) Does version of melodyne included with X3 process audio to midi in real time?  Can the midi be used to trigger synths in real time?
No. Midi extraction is a separate step. 
http://helpcenter.celemony.com/editor2/en/
http://helpcenter.celemony.com/editor2/en/singletrack_tutorial_extractingaguitarlick.html?q=realtime%20midi
Even if you could do it in real-time, I don't think you'd want to. I believe in the higher versions of Melodyne there are some tricks where you can use Melodyne with a Midi instrument like a Vocoder. I haven't done this.
 
8) Does X3 have anything like Cubase's Chord Track or "Band in a Box" functionality that helps to flesh out songs with simple accompanyment?
No. 
 
9) Is X3 lightweight or a cpu hog?
Depends what you do. I can use up a lot of CPU when I get busy, but I don't blame X3. For me X3 is gentler on the CPU than previous versions of Sonar.
http://forum.cakewalk.com/interesting-Sonar-vs-Reaper-test-m2943488.aspx
 
10) Midi transpose functionality?  Can midi phrases be transposed to other modes?  (15 years ago, CWPA was a midi leader, just wondering what kinds of midi tools are availble.)
Midi stuff is pretty impressive. Definitely can be transposed. You can do almost anything. Plus there is CAL so you can write your own scripts. I think CAL stands for Cake Application Language or something. Not sure. But you can automate midi anything with CAL.
 
11) Is there an integrated file browser that allows preview and DnD of midi files into the take lanes?
Yes. It's amazingly useful and well designed. 
 
12) Does Sonar have anything like Samplitudes "revolver tracks" or Cubase's "TrackVersions"?
I don't know what they are. 
 
13) Does X3 have any form of view management or snapshots for instant recall?  Samplitude and cubase have the ability to hide tracks and save/recall views that are relevant to a particular submix, etc.
Yes. This is called Screen-Sets and you get 10 Screensets that can be recalled using the numbers on your keyboard. There is some overhead, so when working at ultra-low latency, I don't change tools using screensets. I use them more when mixing than tracking. You can totally bring up anything you want, but changing EVERYTHING at once might cause a dropout at low latency. 
 
 
14) Does X3 support object or clip based editing? (Separate EQ, plugins, automation, etc by clip.)
Yes. 
 
15) Can the mixer view be condensed to fit more channels on the screen? (Width of fader)  
There is a narrow fader strip, but I don't use it often. There are basically only Wide and Narrow settings. You can't adjust the width on a continuum to your preference in the Console view. In the Track view you can. 
 
16) Does X3 have any kind of groove template, where it can apply the groove of a midi clip to other clips? (This gives the ability to humanize new rhythmic material to match an existing midi performance.)
Yes.
 
17) Does the score editor display the entire performance, or is it displayed on a clip-by-clip basis?  Can the whole score be edited with whatever fits on screen?
Uh. You can display multiple midi clips at once, but it can be hard to read. The Staff View is the most common cause for complaint in the forum. For example, when you extract Midi to the Staff view, it's a little goofy and hard to read. It doesn't neatly simplify a complex performance to distill it to its essence as can be done in some advanced tools. 
 
18) While midi loop recording, is there an "additive" mode that writes to the take on subsequent passes? (Like maschine, FL, samp, etc.)
Yes. You can also record with quantize on... so you can loop 4 measures creating a drum track, slowly building it up, where it is also quantized from the start. Then, after hitting stop, you can undo the quantize without undoing the recording. 
 
19) Does X3 show inline midi notes in the track lanes? Are they editable in the lanes?
Yes it shows them in the lanes. It's too hard for me to smoothly edit them in the lanes. I always flip to piano roll view, but I think the idea is that you can do basic editing inline. 
 
20) Thanks!
 
 

Teal
 
16) Does X3 have any kind of groove template, where it can apply the groove of a midi clip to other clips? (This gives the ability to humanize new rhythmic material to match an existing midi performance.)
 

Yes - there is Groove Quantatise, to preset grooves or any midi on the clip board. If you want to groove quantatize to audio you would need to use melodyne or audio snap to convert to MIDI first.

The strength of time, velocity and duration when groove quantatising are individually variable from 0-100% The strength can be set from 1/32 to a whole note and includes triplets.
 

+1 to the above.
 
Also research the X3 versions http://www.cakewalk.com/products/sonar/versions.aspx
 
"Audiosnap" mentioned above is only included in X3 Studio and X3 Producer.

In addition to the above responses, I would point out that this forum is FABULOUS at getting lots of folks to help work through many issues, and that even the Cakewalk senior staff, tech support folks, and occasional developer sometimes monitor and participate in answering questions and helping to work through problems.
 
This community is a HUGE help for the Sonar 'family' of users.  (the quotes are because even though we are family, we are also at times quite dysfunctional) 
 
:)
 
Bob Bone
 

gswitz @ all,
 
Thanks for your help!  I have the original version of SONAR XL (top tier after CWPA6), so I should be eligible for an upgrade.  I think the Standard version would only be $99 for me, and it looks like it has the main features.
 
When I switched to Samp back in 2004-5, it was leaps and bounds ahead in audio recording and processing.  Now it seems that other sequencers have bridged that gap, now I am looking at midi and composition features.
 
Also think it is a good idea to support an American software company.

Teal
 
Also think it is a good idea to support an American software company.

Amen to that!
 
I also want to amend my post above about editing MIDI in the track view. Just because I don't do it doesn't mean it doesn't work fine. I'm more comfortable in Piano Roll View because then I get 100% of features with the hot-keys I'm familiar with. I remember a guy who does trance music saying that inline editing of MIDI in the Track View was one of his favourite features.

The no. 7 question has gotten some feedback and may need further explanation.
 
It is a new feature in X3 to turn an audio file into a MIDI clip by simply dropping it into a MIDI track.  
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/I-accidentally-dropped-an-audio-clip-into-a-MIDI-track-in-Sonar-X3-Pro-m2908365.aspx#2908365
 
I can't address real time. I have no idea what that means in this case. There is no step I am aware of that is required to make this conversion. 
 
I would think it is not meant for simultaneous playback of the audio/MIDI clip as it is being processed.