Hey all.. I have begun working on a new CD (FINALLY) and so far X2 has been amazing!! The workflow and the stability have been outstanding!!! HOWEVER, I do have a question...
 
I am getting ready to take on a side project/collaboration with another musician who has Sonar 8.5. Now I have 8.5 but NOT INSTALLED (I have bought every Sonar version since Sonar 7). I currently ONLY have X2 installed on my DAW.. and HE only has 8.5 and nothing more recent...  We are planning to write some stuff and send projects BACK AND FORTH via Drop Box or whatever to get a final product...
 
MY QUESTION is one of compatiblity (or alternatives). I know I would have little trouble opening up an 8.5 project in X2.. HOWEVER.. anything I do in X2 when saved.. will it "WORK" in 8.5? I haven't checked yet.. since I am not in my studio right now...  but does X2 have a "Save as" 8.5 or other format that could be made to work with 8.5 with a min of fuss?
 
Assuming NO to the above question.. IF I was to install my Sonar 8.5 to my DAW at this point in time.. as a separate program/directory... will it PEACEFULLY CO-EXIST with X2.. or will I have trouble with missing files, directory problems, VSTi problems, etc?? My DAW is a Win8 X64 setup and has ONLY seen X2 and whatever plugins I use with it.. I used all my previous versions of Sonar on a Win7 or earlier machines....
 
Thanks so much for your help. =)
 

Yes, I have given an X1 and X2 project to an 8.x user before.
 
As long as you aren't relying on ProChannel to be used in 8.x they will simply get a warning that the project was created with a new version.
 
One caveat though. One and one only project would not open but I seem to recall it was based on the sample rate difference between me and the recipient.

I'd force the collaborator to buy X2...

Two of the CHB members are still on 8.5.3 and I doubt they will do that. My son is on 8.5.3 and he despises SONAR X (both of them).

Crosspost:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Using-85-with-X2-m2884529.aspx#2884538

bapu
My son is on 8.5.3 and he despises SONAR X (both of them).

Is it because of the color customization bugs or the bit too wide strips in the console view or the big and uncustomizable control bar or the skylight or something else?

To the original poster, you can install Sonar 8.5 - and I just checked on the Cakewalk site and the updates are available for it.
 
There are no issues with having both 8.5 and X1 or X2 on your system at the same time.  I cannot promise X2 projects will open in 8.5.3 - I do not know one way or the other, but it appears that those above have commented on that.
 
Bob Bone
 

I would be wary of installing 8.5 on top of X2.
 
Installing X2 on top of 8.5 is fine, but I'm not sure the reverse would be.
 
I ran into this when a student was using Sonar 8 when I was on X1.  I was advised against installing Sonar 8 on top of X1.

Thanks all for your help. I will test an X2 project and see if it will open on his end. I won't be using Pro Channel until mixdowns at least.. which will be ME at that point. meanwhile I will use Session Drummer for drums and then use a third party plugin for mixdown as well to minimize issues with plugins and authorizations
 
Will a 64 bit project files work OK with 32 bit version of Sonar and vice versa?
 
If it doesn't work I can install 8.5 on another Windows installation...
 
Thanks
 

studio343
 
 
Will a 64 bit project files work OK with 32 bit version of Sonar and vice versa?
 
If it doesn't work I can install 8.5 on another Windows installation...
 
Thanks
 

Yes, the projects will work on both 32bit and 64bit versions. Only plug-ins have 32 and 64bit versions, projects do not.
 
Yes, you can install 8.5 on another machine.