Guitarmech111
SONAR has one more chance with me too. If they change my work flow for the worse, I am bailing. X2B has to solidify what made 8.5 great with innovative features of X1. Solidify those aspects of SONAR and Roland may keep some clients.
That above, has been my worst experience which if you think about it, though it's important and something that can be annoying, it's not been the end of the world. But, when my work flow is forced to change and that change is not something that I feel is for the better, it's easy to have a hissy fit. I like options whenever possible. The more options the better. I like the ability to do things I may have been able to do before instead of being forced to do things I really do not enjoy. I'm still having a hard time with right click lasso in X2 to the point of really getting angry. I'd like the choice to use left click like I used to.
The more things like this come into play, the more you start to not like something. I think anyone can understand that feeling. I had a Dodge Viper. Killer car...side pipes made it so hot inside, it killed the experience no matter how cool the car was. It lasted 1 week before I sold it.
That said, I AM interested in what the next Sonar release may be even if I am undecided at this time as to whether or not I'd buy. I've had my share of issues with the X series and have been vocal about them. Instead of complaining, I've opted to try and make a difference and will just submit reports on any thing I find. It doesn't take any time at all really. If we don't report things, no one knows there is a problem. If we yell and scream without asking for help on the forum, no one pays attention. If you HAVE asked for help here and you HAVE reported any and all issues, you've done your part.
To those that think CW isn't listening. Don't kid yourselves. Try being nice on here when you have a problem and try to explain it on the forum to where someone will help you. Seriously...try it. 7 times out of 10 you get fixed right here. But shhhh....this won't happen all the time, but Sonar support just MAY send you a little pm if you are acting like a human being that is attempting to fix an issue like a human being. In my time here as a Sonar user, I've had just about every staff member from Cake pm me offering to help me with issues over the years. I'm no one special. I posted questions and had issues that interested them enough to want to help me.
I can't promise this will happen to you...but I can tell you you'll have a better chance gaining attention while being human, supplying system stats and exact steps showing your issue as well as trying your best to be patient. They read these forums, trust me...and they DO care if they lose your business.
Some truth from a pro: I'm using every DAW under the sun right now due to clients that are using other DAWs that request I work in them. Let me be honest with you. I'm hating every minute of sitting behind a DAW that isn't Sonar. I'm so sick of learning new systems, dealing with issues, learning my way around....trust me, if you had the coin to drop on any DAW, it still doesn't fix everything. Not one is perfect for me and it matters not if I use mac or pc.
I've spent a lot of money on Sonar and a lot of time on Sonar as well as trying my best to make a difference on this forum. I firmly believe that a DAW is only as strong as its user base. It's up to us to help out when we can by reporting things to Sonar support. They are a very small company. Forget the whole Roland thing....Cake is owned by them, not operated by them. Yeah, X2 isn't perfect...just about all of us have had a few issues here and there. But trust me when I tell you, unless you are so fed up that you simply can't stomach the program, you're only going to change to something else and be missing things you have grown to love here while picking up new issues.
Your work flow is important. Someone made a post in this thread about bugs being fixed that you might not even see if you don't use the DAW that way. This is so true, I can't even begin to explain it. I know there are people that have a hard time with Sonar and they are legit. I'll never go against that and say "it's your pc and you don't know what you're doing." If you want to try and fix things, you got a forum full of some of the best peer support dudes in the business. If you want to cry foul and switch DAWs, you're entitled to that too. I'd try to fix the thing first though. Don't be mad if by chance you may not be able to do it on your own....even if you are a pc guru.
Remember, the X series is still young. But it's come a long way fast in my opinion. No show stoppers for me...only a few small annoyances that I just wish I had options for. A few small quirks that I can't reproduce at all times or I'd submit to TS. I'm trying to have patience because I do believe in this. It looks better than any program, it feels better than any program, its feature set is better than any program and it's what *I* prefer out of all the ones I have. I'd like to stick it out and help make it better because let me tell you, after all the years using Sonar, it's been a frustrating road learning all the others. The sooner I stop that part of my business, the better. :)
-Danny