Allow me to apologize for my ignorance on these subjects. I have searched both this forum and many others, but I'm still left with some basic questions. Thank you in advance for your patience.
 
I think I need to give a little background before I get to the questions. I've played one instrument or another all my life. A few years ago, I broke some bones in my hand which made playing stringed instruments so difficult that I simply gave up. I need to start making music again or I think I'm going to lose my mind. I'm interested in creating electronic music.
 
Basically, what I want to do is control virtual instruments via MIDI keyboard and record it. I have no interest in doing anything live.
 
What do I need? Am I good with just a MIDI Keyboard such as Novation Launchkey or Impulse and a copy of Sonar X2?
 
Which version of Sonar X2 would be right for me? I've read some of the differences, but what does it mean in the real world for MY situation?
 

Sonar X2 Producer gives the best value and with it you have just about everything you will need. 
 
As for a keyboard controller I would get an ACT enabled keyboard from Roland, though almost any will do the job. 
 
Welcome to the forum. 

You will also probably need an audio interface as well, and some monitors.

Your requirements are so minimal MC6 would work for you although X2 Essentials would let you use larger libraries since it can run 64bit native, assuming you are running Win7/8 64bit.  Maybe invest in a few decent softsynths and/or Kontakt with the savings. Yeah, will need all the other stuff, a MIDI controller, audio interface, something which will allow you to hear the record/playback.

0FSTOP0
Allow me to apologize for my ignorance on these subjects. I have searched both this forum and many others, but I'm still left with some basic questions. Thank you in advance for your patience.
 
I think I need to give a little background before I get to the questions. I've played one instrument or another all my life. A few years ago, I broke some bones in my hand which made playing stringed instruments so difficult that I simply gave up. I need to start making music again or I think I'm going to lose my mind. I'm interested in creating electronic music.
 
Basically, what I want to do is control virtual instruments via MIDI keyboard and record it. I have no interest in doing anything live.
 
What do I need? Am I good with just a MIDI Keyboard such as Novation Launchkey or Impulse and a copy of Sonar X2?
 
Which version of Sonar X2 would be right for me? I've read some of the differences, but what does it mean in the real world for MY situation?
 

I don't have X2, but as a long time Sonar user I would always recommend the producer version as the extras more than justify the extra cost in my opinion. X2 is only supported for win 7 and 8 so bear this in mind if you are using an older pc. You will also need a "proper" audio interface, using the onboard pc soundcard will most likely give you problems. It needn't be that expensive. Some decent monitors are kind of essential too as pc speakers won't really cut it.

Depending on how passionate you are about this, and if you have any room in your budget, Sonar X2 Producer will offer you far more satisfaction than the lesser versions. You won't hit ceilings where you run into things like "you can't do that" in the lesser versions.

A lot is included with Sonar X2, and over time you can add additional third party add ons as you learn about them if interested.

As mentioned, you need a MIDI keyboard and an audio interface. The Hardware section of this forum under Gear has a constant set of threads about choices for those.

If using Windows it's best to be on 64 bit Windows 7 or 8.

I just looked at a bunch of audio interfaces on the Guitar Center web site, just so I could get a ballpark estimate on cost for you, for something that has a couple of mic pre-amps with phantom power, and support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 (both 32-bit and 64-bit).
 
Ones that begin to be basic but with decent enough features and such begin at around $150.
 
Here is one from Presonus.  Please note that it only supports 44.1 and 48k sample rates, although I myself generally am quite happy recording with 441: http://www.guitarcenter.com/PreSonus-AudioBox-USB-2x2-Audio-Recording-Interface-Limited-Edition-108091133-i2571810.gc
 
Also, the above interface from Presonus has a BETA driver that has Windows 8 support, but the production release drivers support Windows 7.  I own a bigger brother to this device (mine is the Presonus AudioBox 1818 VSL), and I use the beta drivers for that for Windows 8 with no issues, so I think you are OK there.  (go to the Presonus site to view the release notes for the beta drivers for this interface.  Guitar Center's web site is out of date on its list of drivers supported).
 
You DO have to be careful when looking at interfaces, so that drivers ARE available for Windows 8.  For example, there is a Tascam 800 USB interface that if you go look on their site deep enough, you will find that of their list of interfaces, this one in particular does NOT work currently on Windows 8.
 
If you can afford it, I would recommend you look at interfaces starting in the $199 range.
 
Here is one from Focusrite: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-2i4-USB-Audio-Interface-108264573-i2658350.gc
 
And another from Roland: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Roland-UA-22-DUO-CAPTURE--EX-USB-Audio-MIDI-Interface-108590605-i2831500.gc
 
Anyways, check them out - there are some more in that range, and of course more in higher pricing brackets, as well.
 
 
Bob Bone
 

Thank you for your replies. However, I'm afraid I must test your patience once more by asking what would an audio interface do for my situation. From what I gather, they allow me to hook up mics and instruments, correct? I have no immediate plans to use physical instruments, although I may need mics in the future. This was a sticking point when I was researching this stuff for myself. Lots of people recommend an audio interface, but I've yet to fully understand what their purpose is, at least in my case.
 
Again, thank you for your help.

Typically the internal sound chip cannot achieve a low enough latency to allow decent monitoring while recording. You certainly can try with the internal chip and might find it usable with a third party driver like ASIO4ALL. Just be prepared should it prove unusable.

In addition to allowing mic pre-amps, (which you do not currently seem to need), but additionally, an audio interface offloads the process of digital to analog conversion, so that your CPU is not taxed with that.

Bob Bone