Can I add, what a bargain it is for you to upgrade. I've had every version and have to pay $149, you skipped 6 full versions and only have to pay $50 more.

But you have Guitar Rig, R-Mix, V-Vocal (was that in 6 already or from 7 and on?), and so on. Plus you ot to use all the upgrades as they came out, many years between 6 and X3.

Sanderxpander
I also started on Sonar 6 PE and had a hard time adapting to the "X" way of doing things. But X3 made some great strides for me with comping and the smart tool. You'll have to learn some stuff anew but overall I would say the experience is a lot better than it was at 6.

Sanderxpander , that is nice to hear , thank you for sharing .
 
Kenny

yevster
Well, the nice thing about your particular situation is you didn't get accustomed to all the PRV tool customizability in Sonar 7 only to lose it in the X-series. 
 
Just keep in mind, if you go from a PCI interface to a USB interface, you'll get some additional latency.
 
The speed of the external drive still matters, as any time the disk spends seeking whatever data a program requests will be added to the time spent transferring that data over USB. That seek time is not insignificant. That said, I don't think it matters as much where you keep your projects as where you keep samples that you load. Audio clips in your project and, if need be, MIDI and other project data can be read in advance, as Sonar knows in advance when you'll need it. Samplers such as Kontakt, on the other hand, don't know in advance when you'll trigger a certain sample. To save on memory, some samplers stream part of the sample from disk. In Kontakt, there's a tweak for how much of a sample to store in memory and how much to stream. You can turn it up to compensate for any additional latency in streaming samples if you find it necessary. I think all of Cakewalk's built-in instruments load their samples in memory, so that shouldn't affect you.
 
Also, run the DPC Latency Checker, to check for drivers that cause DPC latency spikes. Since you got Windows 8, that checker will incorrectly show a constant latency of 1ms or so. That's fine. However, if you see spikes, look into disabling any WI-FI drivers or other drivers until the spikes go away. Otherwise, you might get engine dropouts.
 
As for getting with the UI, I'd say start by learning the basic shortcut keys, all the functions of the smart tool, and how to use the data picker to pick whether you want to edit an envelope on a track, a clip, or anything else. Hit "T" on the keyboard to bring it up. No more micro-targeting with the mouse. Btw, if you get the boxed version, there's a very dandy foldout smart tool and shortcut key reference. Keep it near your DAW for a while. I haven't yet seen the PDF version of that gem yet.
 

Hi yevster ,
 
from where I stand now it looks like I can have a fresh start on a few very important fronts ...
 
 
thank you for going it to it with so much depth and clarity , your post contains a lot of great food for thought 
 
Kenny
 
 

mudgel
Hi Kenny,
Man it's been a while.
As others have said you're pretty much on the right track. As was always the case, the number of simultaneous inputs and outputs you need is largely what determines your sound card. Price will effect whether you go for RME on the higher side or something like the Roland or similar USB versions. USB is basically it for laptops these days unless you have a proven FireWire choice.

The Roland devices have a good rap for drivers and driver updates independent of Cakewalks future after Roland.

You'll probably find you can make do with a single drive for OS, Sonar and plugins even though it's on the slower side. Unless you can upgrade it to a faster drive the discussions mute in any case.

An external drive for Projects and samples isn't a bad idea. Whether you have 1 or 2 drives can be a matter of experimentation as you can always add another. Of course a lot depends on how many USB, eSATA ports, XPress card slots etc your laptop has for peripherals.

All that said, the jump in technology from Sonar 6 to X3 is enormous? 7, 8, 8.5, X1, X2 and now X3. That's about 7 years of software and hardware development. All the best.

 
Hi Mike V, 
 
Yes ,  how true , it has been a while ....
 
from a technological point of view I'm hoping to catch up a little bit and do my best to at least try to stay in the loop .
 
I bought this model lap top yesterday at a local Fred Meyer's  (as a factory refurb / no guarantee / support ) .
F M gave me a real good deal on the price ( much less than the BB price ) and i said sure why not take a chance .....
 
http://www.bestbuy.com/si...307433720#tab=overview
 
assuming there is no significant issues w the lap top I bought , my plan is to set it up as a dedicated DAW only until I can swing something a lot better .
 
my general realistic needs as they have existed in a real world application so far have been fairly simple ....
solo / guitarist / composer laying down one track at a time for myself with the occasional online e collab every so often .
if I end up having to swing the money for another sound interface just for this lap top , it will have to include midi ...
 
your statement about the jump in technoligy from SONAR 6 to X3  has me very interested .
I hope to find out for my self ...
 
all the best , 
 
Kenny
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi Guys , 
 
I just placed my order for the upgrade to X3 Producer VIA the telephone .
A really nice patient fella named Lars helped me out with all my Cakewalk customer support needs .
 
Thank You Lars for all your help 
 
I'm super happy I went this route ....
doing it this way gave me the opportunity to update & reset my previously inactive online account , now all my info is current .
I thought it would be in my best interest to ante up the extra small change and order the box version ....
 
 
thanks all for encouraging me to upgrade to X3 
 
Kenny

I have to say that going from SONAR 6 PE to SONAR X3 is one hell of an upgrade it is totally awesome .....
 
I'm actually shocked at the quality of many of the plugins and synths that came bundled in this upgrade.....
I found this out when I took a couple of my SONAR 6 projects and opened them up in X3 ....
after deleting some of my plugs and synths and re routing the plugs and synths I now have in X3 I was able to have my music sound much better than I was able to do before this upgrade .....
 
I love the new tools .......The Sonic difference is a Real Ear Opener 
 
There are a lot of new things that I need to learn my way around the interface ....
the workflow seems to be very concentrated and condensed ....
there seems to be so many more options available for every aspect and nuance of this program
many of the things that I'm used to doing .......I have to relearn ....
 
there are a couple of things that I was very happy to see that were somewhat  familiar to me 
it looks like CAKEWALK integrated a lot of the things I loved about Project 5 into SONAR X 3  
The Matrix reminds me very much of the P 5 workflow .  also , I was happy to see that many of the  arpeggios and patterns were included , + the P 5 plugins ...
 
I'm actually a big fan of the Show Ancient Aliens ,  
Now I'm starting to wonder if the folks that work at Cakewalk have "some sort of an in " with "the type of advanced technological beings "  that were responsible for some of the advanced technology that this show always brings up .....
hhhmmm .......
as they would say ....is it possible ?
that alien technology has been responsible for such a Radical Sonic Improvement     
 
Great Upgrade Bakers  I can honestly say that X3 is Truly A Mind Blowing DAW 
 
Kenny
 
 
 

The shock to the system of going from S6 to X3 is hard to imagine. Between that and your new PC, you must be in heaven. 
 
One thing I can suggest is that you just open up a copy of a big project, and click every menu option you can find, and right-click every object, including some buttons in the Control bar, to see what's in the context menu, and try all the tools. This will give you some idea what new features are available, and where existing features went, since pretty much everything not in the main menu will have moved, and you're going to spend a lot of time searching for things that you've comitted to muscle memory.
 
This applies to keyboard shortcuts, too, as many have been re-assigned. I re-bound some of the most egregious (in my eyes) examples like F7, 8, 9, 10, and their Ctrl-modified counterparts. And be sure to go through the clip and track tabs in the Inspector (I), and note the MIDI and Audio tabs at the bottom of Simple Instrument tracks (combined MIDI and audio track option for inserting soft synths). And, of course, Prochannel; so cool.
 
Some other miscellaneous thoughts/reminders:
B= Browser; a very powerful new feature that I don't use enough, myself); drag-drop synths, FX, and MIDI-Audio content from anywhere on your system.
 
D= Dock; Shift+D toggles between maximized and partial views.
 
1-9, 0 = Screensets 1 through 10. A very powerful feature, but take care not to inadvertently start typing numbers when you haven't opened a field for editing (!).
 
T= Tools; brings up the toolbar HUD (Head Up display); get used to using the Smart Tool with all the modifier keys, especially in the PRV where everything is different (right-click deletes!; double-click is Properties).
 
- Shift+T toggles lanes open and closed.
 
- Edit Filter dropdown in Tracks and Lanes (defaults to "Clips"); this is where you enable automation envelopes, Audiosnap, Inline PRV, etc.
 
- Right-click the record button, and note how it changes when you change modes; I think you are going to love comp-record mode.
 
 That's all for now; a tiny droplet in the bucket of features that is X3.
 
Cheers,
Dave
 

brundlefly
The shock to the system of going from S6 to X3 is hard to imagine. Between that and your new PC, you must be in heaven. 
 
One thing I can suggest is that you just open up a copy of a big project, and click every menu option you can find, and right-click every object, including some buttons in the Control bar, to see what's in the context menu, and try all the tools. This will give you some idea what new features are available, and where existing features went, since pretty much everything not in the main menu will have moved, and you're going to spend a lot of time searching for things that you've comitted to muscle memory.
 
This applies to keyboard shortcuts, too, as many have been re-assigned. I re-bound some of the most egregious (in my eyes) examples like F7, 8, 9, 10, and their Ctrl-modified counterparts. And be sure to go through the clip and track tabs in the Inspector (I), and note the MIDI and Audio tabs at the bottom of Simple Instrument tracks (combined MIDI and audio track option for inserting soft synths). And, of course, Prochannel; so cool.
 
Some other miscellaneous thoughts/reminders:
B= Browser; a very powerful new feature that I don't use enough, myself); drag-drop synths, FX, and MIDI-Audio content from anywhere on your system.
 
D= Dock; Shift+D toggles between maximized and partial views.
 
1-9, 0 = Screensets 1 through 10. A very powerful feature, but take care not to inadvertently start typing numbers when you haven't opened a field for editing (!).
 
T= Tools; brings up the toolbar HUD (Head Up display); get used to using the Smart Tool with all the modifier keys, especially in the PRV where everything is different (right-click deletes!; double-click is Properties).
 
- Shift+T toggles lanes open and closed.
 
- Edit Filter dropdown in Tracks and Lanes (defaults to "Clips"); this is where you enable automation envelopes, Audiosnap, Inline PRV, etc.
 
- Right-click the record button, and note how it changes when you change modes; I think you are going to love comp-record mode.
 
 That's all for now; a tiny droplet in the bucket of features that is X3.
 
Cheers,
Dave
 

Hi Dave , 
 
Yes it is somewhat of a shock going from 6 or 7 years using SONAR 6 on a desk top w XP , to learning SONAR X3 on a Win 8  laptop w all these funny touch pad moves . 
 
I'm not even sure i know what the hell I'm doing most of the time ( even w a mouse ) 
 
all kidding aside,
I like what I hear and see so far with SONAR X3 ...
Yes , there is no doubt in my mind that getting the new computer and upgrading to X 3 was the right thing to do ( for me ) 
I felt very locked out due to not having a PC that was up to spec  for running the SONAR upgrades I missed out on ...
now that that issue is solved ... I feel very optimistic that I can continue to grow and evolve along the technical end of music production using my new humble setup ....for the first time in years I'm somewhat current 
 
you just might of have saved me from many countless hours of un necessary frustration and once I learn a few new things
Heaven might only be just right around the corner 
 
I plan on trying out everything you have mentioned later on today .
(i have a new dog ...so to play it safe , I have to set up and put away my new lap top for every use )
 
Dave, thank you very much for giving me these valuable suggestions on how to get around the new SONAR X 3 interface  
I really do appreciate it . 
 
all the best, 
Kenny
 
 
 

Kenny,
 
If you do decide to get a new audio interface for your laptop, take a look at the Focusrite 2i2 ($150).  I have one for my laptop and it was very easy to install and use, also has direct monitoring making latency a non-issue.