I have worked with sonar more than anything else in the last 10 years, mostly internally with virtual instruments.
 
Lately I have been messing around with Logic and Reason, and the ONLY thing I can say I love about those programs compared to Sonar, is the
way they play back midi. It just sounds more ''alive'', less rigid, even when everything is hard quantized, and this is very very desirable
in the context of music composition.
 
So my question is : Why? what is it that makes a drum pattern programmed in sonar (triggering NI's Battery for example) groove better
In Logic, after importing the very same midi data and kit created within sonar?
 
Why does a hard quantized 16th note hihat pattern sounds so rigid in sonar, and not as rigid in Logic or Reason?
 
Such a Sample Accurate midi rendition makes something like programming 808 hats rolls (like in Trap music) a real
challenge in Sonar...
 
Any input from anyone technical at Cakewalk more than welcome... needless to say if the bakers could figure that one out, I'm convinced
more people would view Sonar as a music writting beast, instead of just a great Protools competitor -
 
 
 

Kewl Hendagang
Why does a hard quantized 16th note hihat pattern sounds so rigid in sonar, and not as rigid in Logic or Reason?
 

Well if its hard quatized properly it should sound rigid, cant you just back off the quantize strength a bit? Or maybe play with groove quantize and see if that helps.

Kewl Hendagang
 
Why does a hard quantized 16th note hihat pattern sounds so rigid in sonar, and not as rigid in Logic or Reason?
 

Because it should.
 
And if it doesn't, then I suggest you are favouring the wrong program. What you want from a midi sequencer is it to do exactly as it should, not what it thinks it should or what it is only capable of.

Hey, do us a favor.... let's do a blind sound test.... do a 20 sec sample in Sonar and 20 sec sample in your other software.  Same VST, same output parameters, no extra effects or processing added.  THE SAME.  I'm curious to know what you are hearing.  Like I said, make it blind (Sample 1, 2, 3)....then reveal in a later post.
Post on soundcloud is probably easiest.
Thanks.

I would check too, to see that the clock setting, the pulses per quarter note are set the same. Such as 960
 
Still, with hard quantized parts that shouldn't matter.
 
Yes please do some tests, and don't forget to wear a science coat, perhaps a pocket protecter too when you do them.

wow ok.
 
let's try something different and NOT make this issue user-related or music ability related.
 
can somone tech-savy enough tip in on the subject please?
 
and to the others, hard quantized does NOT mean rigidity, do you research, experiment, etc etc,
different sequencers will react differently at similar settings
 
 

@ Kewl Hendagang - Please could you explain your definition of "Hard Quantised"?
 
Thanks.

JB101, 100% quantization, no swing, straight feel
 

berlymahn
Hey, do us a favor.... let's do a blind sound test.... do a 20 sec sample in Sonar and 20 sec sample in your other software.  Same VST, same output parameters, no extra effects or processing added.  THE SAME.  I'm curious to know what you are hearing.  Like I said, make it blind (Sample 1, 2, 3)....then reveal in a later post.

 
+1
 
Timing resolution is expressed as ticks per quarter note, or TPQN. TPQN defines the minimum duration or interval for anything MIDI. The higher the TPQN, the more accurate the timing is and the better you can capture subtle timing inflections in a performance. By default, SONAR uses a TPQN value of 960 ticks per quarter note, but lets you choose a lower value if you want. Lower values can force a kind of quantization, especially if you're importing a MIDI file from elsewhere.
 
Check what the TPQN value is in your Logic project, which might explain differences in timing accuracy. Also, make sure you're quantizing in Logic rather than just importing a MIDI file that's already been quantized in another DAW. It's the only way to compare Apples and, um, non-Apples.
 
Regardless of the TPQN value, though, hard-quantized is just that: each note starts on a precise multiple of the TPQN value, whether it's 960 or 96. If a hard-quantized track sounds rigid and machine-like, then the DAW is merely doing exactly what you told it to do.
 

@bitflipper - good detail. Thanks.