One of the main reasons i wish to move beyond Mixcraft is because of the bad graphical look of the main project window, it irks me something terrible, especially during a ten hour mixing and mastering session, even to the point where it kills my inspiration, seriously...

I have sent several messages to Acoustica (developers of Mixcraft) saying that they need to re-design the graphics for the upcoming Mixcraft 7. I even told them that they need to take a cue from the graphics in Sonar and Studio One; that was several months ago when i sent those messages. I do understand why some users are so enamored with the look of Sonar's graphics. I am one who is affected by the graphics i see or have to look at when making music, so i do insist that it must look slick, and Sonar scores ten out of ten on that count.

Also, another reason i am looking to move beyond Mixcraft is because it doesn't come loaded with high-quality VSTi's and effects, Mixcraft only comes with a short list of bog-standard generic ones which are barely usable. I am of the opinion that Sonar, in real terms, is worth ten times the asking price due to the slew of included high-quality plugins. I know other major DAW's offer something similar in terms of included plugins, but the console emulator in Sonar is a major draw-card for me. I heard the affect in the live webinar of Sonar and was totally awed at what it does, the affect is fantastic, it sounds like a subtle but actually clearly audible smattering of magic fairy dust. 

Also, Steinberg make a beguiling claim on their Cubase info-page that we can now have that "Epic Pro console sound" but that is a lie, they say that merely for providing some accurate emulations of vintage compressors plus tape and tube emulation, but that is misleading, because the only way to get the "epic pro console sound" is to actually have a plugin emulating an epic pro console, and only Sonar offers that, Cubase does not.

To let you know a bit more about where i'm at with plugins, i have various third-party stuff, and mostly high-quality (Although i was hugely disappointed with the recent purchase of the FXpansion DCAM Synth Squad, those synths are junk).

With sonar i am attracted by the notion of having a whole tonne of goodies already included, and i would dare to guess that the ones which come with Sonar are mostly excellent, so that is another thing that appeals to me, but, i'm sure that the next Studio One, version 3, will not take things lying down, so it's game-on and a buyers market. 

Sonar or Studio One... anyone care to chime in... Sonar or Studio One? Any comparisons and opinions are welcome. Last time i asked this question i did not get much in the way of useful answers. Feel free to elaborate as much as you like, i'm all ears.

"God is now about to leave the court-room, all stand please!" LOL

Asking "Sonar or Studio One" is bound to get an unbiased answer here. Almost as unbiased as if you ask the same question on the Studio One forums.

Why not try both demos and see which one feels right?

Because regardless,  i'm happy to hear everyone's opinion on the matter.

he obviously at it lol gotta laff at that cat, he's so knowledgable on digital audio workstations that he can offer good advice to companies on how to improve their product, but lacks the sense to download demos, which arguebly requires less mental energy than wats required for typing a few paragraphs on here, am outta the court room as well

Because regardless, i'm happy to hear everyone's opinion on the matter.

 
OK, I'll bite...
 
I'm happy to repost comments from my previous reply:
- For me, Studio One rocks for its Melodyne integration and I also like its native audio timing tools.
- otherwise I spend all my time in SONAR because that's what feels most comfortable and requires the least amount of thinking - composing, editing, mixing, etc., it all just flows along.  
 
General audio editing (move, copy, splt, slip-edit, etc) is about equal for me in SONAR and S1 though they do things a little differently.  However, S1 doesn't have an equivalent to Groove Clips which I do like very much.  
 
When it comes to MIDI I just haven't been able to click with S1, and that's a really important part of what I do.   S1 is slowly improving, but working in the SONAR PRV is just smoother for my needs.
 
As far as plugins go, the S1 stock FX are very nice but I still prefer the Pro Channel concept and results.   Synth-wise it's SONAR all the way (thought Impact is cool).   Add the Matrix view, Staff View (limited as it is), Screen Sets, etc...
 

I can honestly say that, even with all the gripes I have with Sonar, and having demo'd Reaper, Cubase, Nuendo, and ANY Adobe products (except the formerly known Cool Edit Pro), I can say that Sonar is just one of them. I can't say that it's any easier or not, but I'm sure I'd have gripes about them all. Training is essential, but there are some things that simply are not right about all of them, and it also heavily depends on the target market. Cakewalk tries to appeal to many markets and seems to occassionally have an identity crisis. Steinberg were able to separate parts of the DAW into Professional environments instead of one do-it-all. They also end up working at a more Pro level as a result. 

I'd like to see Sonar Architect, Sonar Artist, and Sonar Engineer. Perceive those titles as you will. They should be self-explanatory. It would increase the Interest, I'll bet, and features could be added to each without as much headache from everyone.

If I remember correctly, Cubase has been scientifically proven to be 20%-40% better in ALL areas. 

Seriously tho, it's really very simple people.
ALL recording software company's provide demo's of their product.

It's like car shopping. I can't tell you which one is best for you.
You have to go to each dealer, take a test drive and choose which vehicle fit's your needs.

So break out Google, Bing or whichever search engine you like, 
(again, I can't tell you. You need to decide that for yourself too)   
Search out all the DAW manufactures that tickle your fancy, download their demo and take it for a spin.


Now here's where it gets somewhat complicated so pay close attention.


Are you ready for it?


Here it comes........


Buy the product that best fit's your needs.


(Light bulb goes on - insert the sound of angles singing here)


OMG! I am such a genius. Why has no one thought of this before?




If you still don't know what to invest your money in then just send it all to me.
I have a nice list of toys that I know I'll like.


~Private question for the OP~
Just out of curiosity, who ties your shoes for you in the morning? 


Thanks for stopping by mmmkay.


Mike
 

redbarchetta


Ha... Yeah I know... I'm already starting to take peeks at Z3TA... Wondering if I should upgrade to 2.  I'm a rocker first and foremost, but I do listen to a TON of ambient music as well.  Kinda forced that direction due to the lack of good headbanger rock these days.

Anyway, I've thought it would be cool to dabble into some of the synth ambient music as well. 

told you bro, rocker here as well but with all these toys, you cant help but want a keyboard.

godparticle


One of the main reasons i wish to move beyond Mixcraft is because of the bad graphical look of the main project window, it irks me something terrible, especially during a ten hour mixing and mastering session, even to the point where it kills my inspiration, seriously...

I have sent several messages to Acoustica (developers of Mixcraft) saying that they need to re-design the graphics for the upcoming Mixcraft 7. I even told them that they need to take a cue from the graphics in Sonar and Studio One; that was several months ago when i sent those messages. I do understand why some users are so enamored with the look of Sonar's graphics. I am one who is affected by the graphics i see or have to look at when making music, so i do insist that it must look slick, and Sonar scores ten out of ten on that count.

Also, another reason i am looking to move beyond Mixcraft is because it doesn't come loaded with high-quality VSTi's and effects, Mixcraft only comes with a short list of bog-standard generic ones which are barely usable. I am of the opinion that Sonar, in real terms, is worth ten times the asking price due to the slew of included high-quality plugins. I know other major DAW's offer something similar in terms of included plugins, but the console emulator in Sonar is a major draw-card for me. I heard the affect in the live webinar of Sonar and was totally awed at what it does, the affect is fantastic, it sounds like a subtle but actually clearly audible smattering of magic fairy dust. 

Also, Steinberg make a beguiling claim on their Cubase info-page that we can now have that "Epic Pro console sound" but that is a lie, they say that merely for providing some accurate emulations of vintage compressors plus tape and tube emulation, but that is misleading, because the only way to get the "epic pro console sound" is to actually have a plugin emulating an epic pro console, and only Sonar offers that, Cubase does not.

To let you know a bit more about where i'm at with plugins, i have various third-party stuff, and mostly high-quality (Although i was hugely disappointed with the recent purchase of the FXpansion DCAM Synth Squad, those synths are junk).

With sonar i am attracted by the notion of having a whole tonne of goodies already included, and i would dare to guess that the ones which come with Sonar are mostly excellent, so that is another thing that appeals to me, but, i'm sure that the next Studio One, version 3, will not take things lying down, so it's game-on and a buyers market. 

Sonar or Studio One... anyone care to chime in... Sonar or Studio One? Any comparisons and opinions are welcome. Last time i asked this question i did not get much in the way of useful answers. Feel free to elaborate as much as you like, i'm all ears.

"God is now about to leave the court-room, all stand please!" LOL

I have to admit though, this is a decent and reasonable response.
you know you and I obviously didn't see eye to eye in our previous posts here but this post seems like your interacting much better.
and you know what, everyone deserves a "do over"  once in a while.
 
I've checked out studio one, its actually a pretty decent daw with more mastering functions than sonar.
but when it comes to fundamentals I'm back here in sonar land.
I use an external mastering program anyway (sony soundforge) so I'm not attracted to that aspect.
but I believe fast biker is right, try both, see which one suits your needs.
 
you know I could really rub it in about mixcraft right now :)
but we'll leave that one alone Mr. P.
 
it's nice to hear your views on digital audio rather than just an argument, which I take blame for as well.
it takes two to tango man.
 
so here's looking forward to you having a successful bid at getting your hands on a daw you like and can be productive with.
 
I wish you the best, I mean that.
 
Charlie
 
 

chuckebaby

redbarchetta


Ha... Yeah I know... I'm already starting to take peeks at Z3TA... Wondering if I should upgrade to 2.  I'm a rocker first and foremost, but I do listen to a TON of ambient music as well.  Kinda forced that direction due to the lack of good headbanger rock these days.

Anyway, I've thought it would be cool to dabble into some of the synth ambient music as well. 

told you bro, rocker here as well but with all these toys, you cant help but want a keyboard.

Yup!  That's a HUGE reason why I've not pulled the plug on those little guys. Something tells me I'd end up buying a keyboard as well.  I'm leaning towards your first suggestion.