I recently decided to switch over, after using Audacity / FL Studio 6 for the past few years. I've been upset by the lack of a lack of recording function in FL, so I looked into the benefits of SONAR over FL 7, which pretty much outweighed the benefits of FL over SONAR. So I decided to purchase it.

I'm pretty much 100% satisfied by the project, minus the small error message that my audio card isn't supported or is in use (could this be iTunes causing the problem?).

Pros: Amazing interface, great piano roll, great MIDI detection and reaction time. I also love the amount of features that it has over FL. You can't even compare FL to this application.
Cons: I fear the learning curve of this application will be steep when I actually try to use it. Can someone correct me? Please? Hah.

Anyways, great application, I'm loving what I've seen of it in the three hours that I've spent with it already.

-- Alex.

Well, I tried to remember all of the sequencers that I've used from the beginning. Please forgive my inaccuracies of version to date, but I'm pretty much guessing at anything over 5 years ago.

Voyetra Sequencer Plus 2 PCDOS 1985
Twelve Tone Cakewalk 2 PCDOS 1986
Passport Designs Mastertracks Pro 4 Atari 1987
Passport Designs Mastertracks Pro 4 Mac 1988
Big Noise Cadenza PCDOS 1990
Passport Designs Mastertracks Pro 4 Mac 1991
Cakewalk Pro Audio 1 Win3.1 1991
Big Noise SeqMax Win3.1 1992
Cakewalk Pro Audio 3 Win3.1 1994
Cakewalk Pro Audio 5 Win95 1996
Cakewalk Pro Audio 7 Win98 1999
Cubase 3 PC Win 98 1999
Cubase 4 PC Win 98 2000
Cubase 4 MAC Mac OS9 2001
MOTU Digital Performer 3 Mac OS9 2001
MOTU Digital Performer 4 Mac OSX 2003
Cakewalk Sonar 3 PE WinXP 2003
Cakewalk Sonar 4 PE WinXP 2004
Samplitude 6 2496 WinXP 2005
Samplitude 8 Classic WinXP 2006
Cakewalk Sonar 5 PE WinXP 2006
MOTU Digital Performer 5 Mac OSX 2007
Sony Acid Pro 6 WinXP 2007
Samplitude 9 SE WinXP 2007
Cakewalk Sonar 6 SE WinXP 2007
Cakewalk Sonar 7 SE WinXP 2007


I might as well mention it, but I did work in several studios running Pro Tools (around 1997-99) and Logic (around 2000-01).

I guess I'm just too damn curious every time a new version comes out. (No matter who makes it)

What a waste of money..... LC

If I'm on the PC, Sonar is the choice. If I'm on the Mac, then Digital Performer is the one.

And luckily I'm not letting Samplitude 10 or Logic 8 tempt me....

I started doing digital audio back in the mid 90s. In school they used macs running performa and sound tools (pre Pro-Tools). The macs where very slow and difficult to use. At the same time I started studing programming languages like C++, Perl, VB and CGI programming. All of this was done on a PC. For a home PC I got my first screaming 33Mhz 486. A friend told me about Cakewalk so I gave a try. I was suprised how much easier it was then Performa and loved the C like scripting langauge it had to extend it's capibilities.

After college I had less time for music and did most of my composing using a portastudio 488 mkII and my Yamaha SY85. Recently I decided to try to get back into the frey and built a new PC with an Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 gigs of Ram and the Creative X-Fi Elite Pro. I set it up as Duel boot Win XP 32 and Vista Ultimate 64-bit. At the time, no vendors had anything supporting Vista 64 so I installed Cubase LE that came with my sound card. I found this unusable.
I then purchaced Music Creator. I was amazed at what features where in this $30 toy program. It blew the doors of Cubase. When I heard that the new Sonar supporting Vista 64 and saw the feature set I was I knew I had to have it.

I will be posting my latest and greatest on my online music collaboration website
MyOnlineBand.com

Please stop by and check it out.

I bought the DOS version of Cakewalk back in 1987, but never used it. Ended up using MasterTracks, which I loved. But they went out of business, then got bought, and the software never got upgraded to be stable with Win2000 or XP, and of course, it didn't do audio. I had always upgraded my Cakewalk over the years, just didn't use it, till I gave up on MasterTracks. I used to like to drop notes onto the staff notation in MasterTracks, which would sound the tone of the note as you move the note over different staff points before letting go. You can't do that with Sonar, so now I have to use a midi keyboard to enter notes.

Cakewalk for Dos, Cakewalk for Win 3.1, Cakewalk Pro, Logic 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, Samplitude, Cubase 1, 2, 3, 4 and finally Sonar 7

Holy cow...I'm SOOOOOOO glad I left Cubase hell...(in fact, they banned me from their forum because I was 'too negative' with my problems and complaints about paying over $1000 for being a beta tester..don't get me started!).

Wow...I feel almost guilty for getting all these WICKED things with Sonar 7 (v-vocal, audiosnap, Z3ta+, Dimension LE, Vintage etc...). That would NEVER happen with Steinberg. You'd be lucky to even get a simple bug fix...

Perhaps I shouldn't feel guilty...and just get used to being treated like a real customer. I love Cakewalk again! Sorry I ever left you...

PS: oh yeah...one thing I love about Cakewalk, is that they ADD new features to upgrade WITHOUT taking out features you've been using for years...(unlike Steinberg, where you can upgrade from SX 3 to 4 and realize they took out 4 really important tools that you've been using for years without telling you before you pay $300 to upgrade: ie: DirectX support, Patch changes on tracks, standard fxb preset handling, etc..)


PPS: don't get me started!

My first sequencer was the Kawai Q-80 which I bought back in 1988-89. I am not a great Pianist so I really enjoyed being able to do As many takes as it took to get it right. STEP TIME was awesome!! I also Sequenced using the Ensoniq Mirage. I bought a PC and a friend of mine suggested Cakewalk. I dont think it had Audio, just sequencer... Well If it did have audio I never used it. I remember having problems with it (not sure if it was cakewalk or the PC.. probably both). I then was convinced to try Logic / micrologic as a Beta tester. That had audio and it worked fairly well (Those worked on a PC back then). I remember purchasing Cakewalk again after I spent all my money on Samplers (sheez that was alot of money). I am not sure, but I think I last remember Cakewalk 8. I had been making great music using Logic or Cakewalk for many years... THEN CAME MY DEMISE... LOGIC 7.0 and PRO TOOLS. I never used a MAc before, but I had friends who told me EVERYONE is going to Logic. I bought in to the hype and spent my $1000 for logic and like $4000 for all the Protools stuff and a G4 Mac. Well suddenly I became a slave to "Hotkeys" and configurations that I dont even think Logic knew they had, constant conflicts, and the dreaded Black and White pinwheel (Mac Crash symbol). I became frustrated with the Mac / Logic that I felt like my creativity was gone. I just though I am getting older and I just cant do it anymore. I went to Dark side and became a Club Dj. No longer creating the music, but playing it. I am not saying that DJs dont have talent.. I am just saying for me Creating it made more money that Playing it. After a year of hearing about Nuendo, Sonar, and Cubase I was VERY ready top get back to a PC where I was comfortable. I remembered how much I got done with Cakewalk back in the 90s and thought I would give Sonar a try. I saw a demo of someone syncing AUDIO Tracks to MIDI tracks and I was SOLD. I have had SOnar for a bout 3 weeks now and I AM BACK to creating music!! I am creating music instead of learning how to use the software. It is VERY easy to use right out of the box. Just like to Old Cakewalk Programs of the 90s ONLY more powerful. ALSO now that I am here the FORUMS are awesome. Excellent resource. I had a question and I had 8 answers in less than 2 hours. I no longer create music for money, but I really enjoy using Sonar and will NEVER leave you again.

I used Cakewalk Home Studio starting back in the late 1990s, up through version 2002. My main use for it was producing audio versions of arrangements I created in the notation/sequencer program Encore in order that the musicians in my band could get some idea in rehearsal of what the arrangement should sound like. I used it occasionally to add real instrumental tracks over top of (say) the MIDI rhythm section - solos, real horns, etc. I started selling arrangements on the web and wasn't satisfied with the MIDI renditions - even though I have some reasonable H/W synth modules. So I started thinking about how to create better sounding replicas: sound fonts or samples, better software synths, better mixing and effects - anything to attract more customers. At the same time, I needed to support more external modules than my Tascam US-428 H/W would without constantly repatching I/Os, and I also wanted DAW S/W that would allow me to control the DAW via a H/W control surface. When I visited the Cakewalk site and went through the Sonar videos, my mind was made up about the DAW application to buy. I really liked all the features and was already familiar with that part of the interface that Home Studio used. It also supported H/W control by the M-Audio ProjectMix IO, which my choice of interfacing more audio inputs and could also be interfaced to MOTU's MIDIexpress XT, which gave me more MIDI inputs.

I am still learning to use this new setup, all of which I have only recently acquired, but am very pleased that the learning curve for Sonar 7 has been fairly easy. I am also pleased with the audio results that I now achieve relative to the fairly primitive and "synthetic" sounds I was getting before. All in all, Sonar is well worth the money I spent to upgrade.

I've been on and off into music for a while. I'm not that talented at either composing or playing, yet despite this I still get drawn into doing more. Started off with a Fostex 4 track recorder, then in around 2002 (I think) I bought Sonar 1 XL and haven't looked back since!

For a hobbiest like me, Sonar really helps me explore and create music, even to the point where I hear what I write and to me I go wow! There I am without a musical bone in my body and I'm actually producing music! Without Sonar my music as it is now would never have been possible.

My latest shortish 2 minute track is called (Pondering) - Its still work in progress, but to be honest I'm astonished. I don't know what I'm doing (most of the time) and whilst it is no where near a professional musicians standard (they might wish to put in ear defenders) it is still something that I can take some pride in.

Thank you Cakewalk for making my rambling into a muso's world so much easier.

RobP

I started with a Atari then a pc using Cubasis.
Well what I can say is that the crunch came when support from Steinberg for Cubasis became non real.
I have been looking a Sonar since version 3.0 through this forum and another reviews etc...
The time has come that I can have a pc that can use Sonar so Sonar PE 7 it is.
If only I could use the rewire with Reason and Sonar in a 64bit o/s.
I really like it on my xp32, it works beautifully.

Thanks Cakewalk

Peter.P.

My story is somewhat similar to SteveJL's. I was running Steinberg Pro-24 on an Atari 1040-ST up until the time that I left England in 1991. I found the Pro-24/Atari combo to be horribly unstable. It felt more like playing an arcade game - I would have to rush through my project from creation, to midi recording, to recording onto 8 track tape in one session, as it was only a question of time before my system would crash and I would get those stupid infuriating bomb symbols on the screen (game over - thanks for playing!).

Fast forward several years, now living in the U.S. and I picked up a copy of Pro Audio 9. I appreciated the stability over my last setup. A couple of years after that, I bought Sonar 2.0; I loved the easy learning curve (I was considering Logic at that time, but heard that it had a horrendous learning curve), customizable layouts and general workflow. I just purchased and installed Sonar 7 PE to get better VSTs/EQ/mastering and better control surface support. Looks great, although I haven't had time to dive into it fully yet (i'm looking forward to playing with audiosnap). I also appreciate Cakewalk's use of the "honor system" - no fancy dongles, etc. The forum also seems to be a great informational resource to learn and share; I like the idea also that Cakewalk has free instructional videos and a presence on YouTube, Myspace, etc., and that they have remained a stable presence in our market for so long.

Keep up the good work - now you can have your Cake and eat it too