Well.. haven't been around here in a while.. Had a "difference of opinion" on the direction Cakewalk took with the X series coming from 8.5.3 which I still like and use ..after trying PT, Reaper and currently demoing Cubase 7.
 
From a distance.. I kind of kept my ear to the ground regarding the X-series as I thought it would take a few versions to "cook it up" a bit better.. A friend and colleague of mine put a bug in my ear that I might want to check out X3 as he (like me) was in a self imposed exile but.. says he is a fan of X3.. That is saying something as he was more disappointed (and vocal about it) than i was! I have been looking at some of the videos and I have to say .. It looks pretty cool.. been perusing the forum for the last couple of days and I also think it seems a whole lot better than those days when X1 first appeared.. painful  
 
Couple of questions and/or concerns maybe someone can answer to an "old timer" stuck in the past :)
 
I work in the Console view a lot - Has it improved.. can you still only view 2 sends at a time?
Been reading about UAD compatibility issues - is this resolved with the recent patches?
MCU integration - Has this gotten better?.. Still stuck on physical faders :)
The real biggie for me - Automation - Lots of automation has always been an issue for me since S5 - is this better now?
 
Some things that I didn't get at first but now I think I are pretty cool - Spotlight/Multidock .. I get it now :)
Prochannel - maybe not crazy about the implementation but I do like what it brings to the table
Color Customization..finally!!
 
Anyway - Before I go the X3 way just checking.  I got the upgrade special for X2 for $49.00. Not very stable for me but I don't want to make a decision based on that as I am moving to 64 bit host..told ya .. I am a Dino! 
 
I use a lot of hardware compressors, eq and reverbs in my studio and I still say that Sonar's External Insert integration is the best of any daw I have tried and that includes PT and C7 from what I can tell and hence why I still work with 8.5 to this day. Cubase seems cool but I don't want to have to go down that road if I don't have to..
 
Curious to hear - Would love to "come home"
 
 Peace

You came to the right place and welcome back DK.
 
People may think that I hold the view that Sonar is perfect. Not true. I do believe strongly that now with X3 is the best time to come back to it. I have been running 64 bits for a long time now and all my plugins are also 64 bits. So if you are still 32 bits as long as you are happy with that it will work well enough. I like the extra memory for samples that 64 bits gives. 
 
If you upgrade your computer come here and we will help you get the right gear.
 
We are here for you at anytime.  
 
I posted a thread "X3 Rocks" and it went to 2 pages with all saying the same thing.
 
Come back and be impressed.
 
 

I have been looking to upgrade to Sonar X-3b also.  In fact I will be upgrading tomorrow.  I too have been watching and reading posts on this website. Most are saying that this version of Sonar is the most stable yet.  I have not had a lot of problems with X-2, but I wanted to make sure that I was not going to upgrade to a nightmare.  I also look at this upgrade like this:  It is only $149.00.  It is not a great deal of money compared to buying a $3,500.00 hardware synth and hating it.   If I don't like it, I can always just launch X-2.  The grass seems to always be greener on the other side and there is a tendancy to want to try a lot of other DAWS.   If you read other forums, you will see that no matter what DAW someone is discussing, some people always have negative things to say about it.  At this point I really don't want to switch to another DAW.  Learning another DAW along with the $$ involved is not something I want to do.  Sonar X-2 does what I need it to do and does it well.   I like Sonar, and learning it well and there is really no reason to change.

Cool.. I am intrigued ..and hopeful.. to say the least... I'll see what others have to say as well as reading more..no hasty decisions for me at this point as I am stable and working well
 
..on a different note .. I am seeing lots of "old heads" around here .. looks like there may be more than a few "exiles" looking back over their shoulder.. That is a very good thing in my opinion :)
 
 

I jumped ship to Cubase 7, but ONLY for it's video handling and it's cross platform compatibility (I score to pic). If you already have the dongle (which I assume since you are running the demo), C7 is worth a serious look. If X3 is as stable as X2a, you can't go wrong either. If X3c pulls it's act together for use fim composers, C7 might end up back on my bookshelf.

Yes really hoping the X3c patch bumps up the working-to-picture video functionality - everything else looks great so far in X3, and for me, that's really the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger...

D K
Cool.. I am intrigued ..and hopeful.. to say the least... I'll see what others have to say as well as reading more..no hasty decisions for me at this point as I am stable and working well
 
..on a different note .. I am seeing lots of "old heads" around here .. looks like there may be more than a few "exiles" looking back over their shoulder.. That is a very good thing in my opinion :)
 
 

Totally agree. All were missed. Its a lot like the prodigal son returning. But its always good to see old friends. 

D K
I work in the Console view a lot - Has it improved.. can you still only view 2 sends at a time?

 
I like the console display overall. In terms of sends, only one or two. My display only shows one send at a time, and I kinda like the way things show, particularly since my MCU only does one send at a time.
 

Been reading about UAD compatibility issues - is this resolved with the recent patches?

 
Sorry, no UAD here.
 

MCU integration - Has this gotten better?.. Still stuck on physical faders :)

 
Yes and no. No in that the control is the same. Same settings you used in X1 and X2. Yes in that mine doesn't seem to bug out or anything. It works, no problems, and the controls do what I map them to. I'd like to see some improvements, but it works good overall.
 

The real biggie for me - Automation - Lots of automation has always been an issue for me since S5 - is this better now?

 
Not sure. What kind of issues have you had? Automation works "just fine" for me but then it has worked "just fine" for me in X1 and X2 as well.
 

Some things that I didn't get at first but now I think I are pretty cool - Spotlight/Multidock .. I get it now :)

 
Takes a little time to get used to since it is a different workflow (you don't have to use it, I didn't initially) but the multi-dock thing actually is a better way of dealing with things like the console over all in my opinion.
 

Prochannel - maybe not crazy about the implementation but I do like what it brings to the table

 
Mess with it a little more and you'll probably like the implementation too. I have gotten to be a real fan. It lives in the inspector on the left, and I usually keep it up, though a button press on the MCU can make it go away. It's new EQ is my favourite EQ EVAR :D. Seriously, the interface, combined with spectrum analyzer overlay, is just amazingly useful.

+1 to Sycraft
 
There was a nice post a while ago where someone had commented to essentially "learn a DAW and continue learning." Nothing is perfect, so you will always run into things that you do not expect, appreciate, or understand, as well as find things you want to see. From my personal experience, X3b has been very stable and many of the features in the X series are impressive (I only had 7 pro prior to X1).
 
In all honesty, one of the biggest reasons I have been loyal to SONAR for so long is this forum and its members. I am not a professional, and even when I ask the most rudimentary (i.e. stupid) question, real professionals will answer them.
 

mettelus
In all honesty, one of the biggest reasons I have been loyal to SONAR for so long is this forum and its members. I am not a professional, and even when I ask the most rudimentary (i.e. stupid) question, real professionals will answer them.
 

Very well said! The members here have been very very good to me. :-)