Why not mention other DAW's you will not be sued for doing so!

I have no problems disclosing my other software programs. I also use Audition (Cool Edit Pro 2.0 prior to that), Tracktion, Ableton Live and Cubase. Cool Edit Pro was my first serious attempt to become almost totally reliable on DAW recording. Syntrillium (CEP developers) was purchased by Adobe so I took advantage of the offers to download Audition at no cost. When I decided to add MIDI capablities to my system I gravitated to Cakewalk (HS2XL) and have continued to upgrade as new versions are released.

I still use Audition almost exclusively for audio editing. I use Tracktion, Ableton & Cubase when clients request my services to mix projects that they have recorded using those platforms. I usually open the project in the specific platform so I can listen to it and get a "vision" of their desired end result. More often than not I'll wind up importing the individual wav files into Sonar and then begin working on the mix.

I like having the capability of having access to multiple DAW programs, but Sonar is my usual "go to" tracking & mixing software.

I didn't disclose my other software because my thread was alreayd quite long. And I wanted to keep the focus on Sonar 7.

Or so I thought, until I realized that I didn't get Sonar "7" in my Power Studio package. But that's in a whole other thread.

I didn't disclose my other software because my thread was alreayd quite long.

Your post opened with "I am investigating a number of DAW options. I'm not ready to disclose my current DAW(s),..." How many DAW options are available that are in the Sonar ballpark? How did you know your thread (post actually) would be too long to include the mention of the "DAW options" you're investigating.

Nothing but negatives from you since your first post about monitor resolution. Some people just can't be pleased.

BTW, who told you that Sonar 7 was included in the Power Studio package? Guess you didn't do enough research.

I didn't really want this to be about me. Papa, I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot here.

Yes, it was a post, not a thread. Sorry, my bad. I'm not a negative person. My comments were among my first observations regarding the software; sorry if my wording made me sound negative.

As for the rest of it, I'll just let you have the last word.

Hoooo boy... where to start. Suffice to say I've made a bad mistake.

SONAR 7 was perfect, aside from a few issues. However, given the lack of a demo, I was swayed by the possibility of getting Cubase 4 very cheaply... just to settle my speculations that it might be better at some things. The opportunity came up, I had a bonus that month... and decided to leap for it.

I won't bore you with the details, but I was amazed to find:

1. You can't read VSTi note names from Drum Machines like RMIV, Battery etc. Odd, given Steinberg created the VST format!
2. The MIDI editing is actually worse in many respects. SONAR's Smart MIDI Tools for the win!
3. Nothing even comes close to ACT.
4. The score editing 'improvements' are nothing to write home about. Symbols like marcatto etc. just have options to affect velocity. That's it. You can't assign crescendos to CC1, CC7, CC11 etc.
5. No mousewheel scrolling.

On the plus side, it does have a MIDI arpeggiator that actually works. (Cakewalk, the MFX Arpeggiator needs a FIX, not another glossy graphical tweak, heck, the one in P5 works, can we not have it in the flagship??)

Yeah... I know.... I should've known. But in this instance curiosity killed the cat. (but at least it's sellable...)

*points finger at Cakewalk forum and puts on ghostly voice*

"Beeeeeewaaaaaare...."

I just switched to Sonar 7 from Cubase SX3, having initially started with Cubase 5 VST/32, for the following reasons:

1) I needed a modern DAW to provide compatibility to the new/upgraded VSTi's/effects that I've recently purchased.

2) I could have upgraded to Cubase 4 but I was reluctant to do so after reading the multitude of problems with the product. I also was not particularly impressed with the Cubase 4 new feature set.

3) I wanted to make a clean break from my past work and start with a fresh approach. No more fiddling with old projects over and over again. I want to take my arranging/mixing/mastering skills to a new level.

4) Steinberg not delivering on their past promises to provide timely bug fixes and patches.

5) My general perception that Cakewalk is a company that is successfully provided a feature-rich product with meaningful upgrades, while Steinberg seems to have lost touch with what their user base wants from a DAW, and is no longer providing the kind of useful innovations that they have in the past. Cakewalk is heading up, Steinberg is falling down. Just my opinion.

6) I recently attempted to order the Cubase 4 upgrade (with some reluctance). After the third time of being placed on hold while making the order I decided I was dealing with a company that didn't really have a clue on how to treat their customers. Something just felt wrong, if that makes any sense.

I bought Music Creator at a computer fair for 20 bucks and played with it some.
I the got an upgrade offer to Music Creator Pro and played with that some.
Then I got a GNX 3 guitar work station and had a good way to get my guitar (main instrument) into the computer. Now we're having fun. I did the upgrades of MC3, and MC4. I was a little disapointed by MC4 because of the marketing videos made it look like it had features like the eq on the console which it did not have. So when they asked if I wanted to upgrade to SHS6xl I went for it. I barley got to know SHS6xl when they asked if I wanted to upgrade to Sonar 7 SE for 99 bucks. I had to go for it at that price.
And my thoughts were that some point down the road they will ask if I would like to upgrade to Sonar 7PE and that will place me on the top shelf an have the best DAW available. So I will have many many months to work with and try to figure out the depths of Sonar. The feature that I would most like to have that is only offered in 7 PE is V-Vocal as my friends and myself could benefit for the features that V-Vocal can supply. Great software and glad to be part of the family.

My progression of music software is as follows:

1. MTV Music Generator on Playstation (don't laugh ... was a long time ago)
2. Fruity Loops
3. Reason
4. Ableton Live
4. Sonar :o)

I messed around with Cubase 5 some years ago, but always felt that it was too complicated. There was a lot of frustration and not enough time for creativity, so I always reverted back to Reason, which -- in its own right -- is a cool program, but I was always annoyed at the fact that you can't load 3rd party plug-ins. Beyond that, the sound quality stinks! And that's really what lead me to Sonar. The sound quality is stunning compared to other programs! I can load the exact same sample into several programs w/o any effects, not even touching the faders, and Sonar just sounds so much better. I don't know how, but every sample, every instrument sounds fuller, clearer, and warmer.

I haven't tried the new Cubase, but I hear that Steinberg has a real attitude toward its customers, not to mention the hefty price tag, and then there's the cursed dongle. I understand the need to fight piracy, but goodness, figure out something less intrusive and less buggy!

So far I think that SONAR is worth every penny. Not to mention that you get pretty much everything you need to make great music without having to buy additional plug-ins. It's all in the box!

AWESOME!

I switched from Logic because it doesn't run on Vista. I'm quite impressed with the feature sets of Sonar 7 Producer and the overall application is quite a serious tool for music.

I do have some gripes as a new user and maybe it's due to the learning curve. Some of the issues I have are soley based what I was used to in Logic, as I found Logic more intuitive for myself.

-Although I can physically play all the parts to an arrangement, I prefer notate all of my music with the draw tool in the piano roll. The draw tool is cubersome, it dosn't always place the notes where I precisely want them. Switching the prefs with right click to 'select' or 'delete' notes is a hassle to me as well.

-Is there no wav file editing in S7P? I click on an audio file and would like to clip off the end to make it fit in the arrangement window but I don't see even minor audio file editing. Does this happen elsewhere, or not at all?

-When using Session Drummer 2, I program my beat in the measure(s) utilizing a preset kit that came with S7P. Clicking the Play button triggers one of the automated midi loops in the SD2 which plays with my programmed beat. I don't understand this.

-Building on audio file editing: I have Sound Forge installed. In the Tools bar drop down, I can see Sound Forge. I select Sound Forge and nothing happens to open the app. Is there a setting to correct this?

-Lastly, all of the 'automatic' sounds programmed into some of the synths and the Session Drummer 2 may be useful to some, but I don't care for them. Writing music for me is more about creating every note, not having automation.

Thanks, I look forward to learning this application fully. I also look forward to feedback and being part of the forum.