I'm getting gray hair from it.
 
Life is so simple when all you play is Mustang Sally - that's just not me.  :)
 
Could be worse - I have one song I did that was largely in 19/16 time.  Large and frequent mixed drinks got me through that one, but at least that one is done.
 
I truly wish non-quarter meter base would rise to a level of actual incorporation into Sonar.  
 
To the Cakewalk folks: I promise I would work doubly-hard at helping folks if, if you would just fix things to where I could specify an eighth-note for the meter base and not have to do all of this tempo juggling.  People have been writing and playing in 6/8 for CENTURIES.
 
Please?  I don't ask for much.
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
 
I know that the odd-meter folks are a small subset of the Cakewalk universe, but really, this stuff is aggravating and I wish it would get some attention in development.  PLEASE???????
 If ANYONE has a better workaround, I am all ears (I suppose it would be all eyes, since I would be reading the responses).
 
Bob Bone
 

 
I write quite a bit using different & various meters. Sometimes I find it's easier just to keep it in 4/4 for recording or editing audio/ midi then add your markers/ time sigs after the fact.
 
Depends on who's involved, drummers typically chart it themselves using their own methods anyway. It can be different than what's written or transcribed.

problem is using 6/4 time, you won't be able to use pre-recorded or canned midi content that was put together in 6/8 like loops that come with drum packages and construction kits, etc... 

swamptooth
problem is using 6/4 time, you won't be able to use pre-recorded or canned midi content that was put together in 6/8 like loops that come with drum packages and construction kits, etc... 

And what about software like Jamstix, what if it defines the tempo of 6/8 in terms of eighths? Another ordeal...

Jeff Evans
 
Putting my metronome into 6/8 creates 6 eighth note clicks per bar and at the right BPM of 104 as sharke mentions in his OP. The first one can be accented or have a different sound too which is handy.
 

 
hey jeff just tried this in studio one but it effectively doubles the tempo as well, and clicks off the same as sonar in 6/8.  an easy way to test this is set up a project at 6/8 in 60bpm and insert 60 8th notes, go to the end of the clip and check to see what the now time is. then, halve the bpms to 30 and watch the timeline each time you hear a click - they happen on each second, or 60 bpm.  
 

No it does not, you are not hearing it right. The metronome is clicking the eight notes not the quarter notes now. The tempo stays the same, you are just not feeling or hearing it correctly. Studio One actually handles all this the best.
 
Set up a 3/4 time sig and and feel the tempo. Now set up 6/8 and tempo does not change, instead the metronome gives you 6 eighth note clicks now instead of 3 quarter clicks. Make sure your accented click is louder than the others too so you can still hear where '1' is. (or better still change the sound for the accented note and you will hear nothing has changed tempo wise just the number of metronome clicks has doubled)
 
I could do a piece easily that Bob may be talking about and change the time sig anywhere along the timeline. And the tempo will either remain constant but the metronome will change at the time sig changes or you could go one further and change the tempo as well. I must admit though I am  not sure how it would handle all the 4/4 loops in this scenario though, have not tried that.
 
BTW that video that demonstrates how 6/8 can be counted is nice except it is only good if the number of eigths are even. What happens when the number of eigths are odd eg 7/8. There are various ways 7 (eigth notes) can be subdivided so I like the Studio One approach of keeping all the eigths the same. That way you can subdivide them anyway you want.

That still doesn't explain why if you insert 60 8th notes into a project set to 6/8 time and 60 bpm they end at :30 instead of 1:00.

You are still doing something wrong. I have just done what you suggest and I still get the same number of eigth notes, the tempo remains the same and the piece is still the same length.The only thing that changes is the number of metronome clicks per bar, as it should.
 
Not sure what you are actually doing.
 
Lets have a look. You say you are inserting 60 eigth notes into a 6/8 time sig. OK that means there should 6 of those per bar correct. 10 bars all up. At 60 BPM you are hearing 3 seconds per bar so that takes 30 seconds. You are feeling this now in 6/8 time. Metronome however is clicking 6 times per bar though. eg on each eigth note.
 
Now switch to 3/4 time and insert 6 eight notes. Musically you are hearing the same thing and tempo has not changed. Except the metronome is only clicking 3 per bar. Still 10 bars, 3 seconds per bar and total of 30 seconds. And you are feeling this now in 3/4 rather than 6/8 above. (different)
 
 

Jeff Evans
No it does not, you are not hearing it right. The metronome is clicking the eight notes not the quarter notes now. The tempo stays the same, you are just not feeling or hearing it correctly. Studio One actually handles all this the best. Set up a 3/4 time sig and and feel the tempo. Now set up 6/8 and tempo does not change, instead the metronome gives you 6 eighth note clicks now instead of 3 quarter clicks.

Isn't this how Sonar works as well? 3/4 time at the same tempo as 6/8, i.e. at 60bpm, an eighth note is the same length whether you're in 3/4 or 6/8 time? This effectively makes the "b" of "bpm" a quarter note, which wrongly defines bars of 6/8 as having 3 beats, when in reality it's generally counted as 2 beats to the bar (dotted quarters) at fast tempos, and 6 beats to the bar (eighths) at slower tempos.

That a time signature can have different definitions of a beat, is why we either need a logical rule (eg the beat is always defined as the lower numeral in the signature), or user defined definitions of beats. Otherwise, there is no point of a DAW keeping up the pretense of being able to work with time signatures.

Really wish someone at Cake would chime in and clarify this btw!