I new to DAWs. I'm trying out Reason, FL, and Sonar, all in demos.
I noticed that on Sonar it's incredibly hard to "click in" my notes, where in FL its basically all clicking, and in Reason it's mostlly clicking.
Like the step seqeuncer is really hard to use, and I don't get it. Is sonar more for real instruments, like singing into a mic or recording guitar? Or at least more for use with a keyboard? I mean even Cakewalk Soundcenter, it doesn't quite let me pencil in the notes like FL....
If this is not the case PLEASE offer me some help with step sequncer and samples....im about  to buy a DAW and i cant decide between FL (which i will probably not use after a year) or Sonar (which is super hard to learn).
Also-can i put sounds into sonar? Idk what the term is....sample? Like sounds I got from Dubturbo, cuz i got that cuz i thought it was a DAW lol. By sounds I mean the stuff on the left panel of FL: those quick one-note sounds like ONE hi hat, ONE kick, not a Virtual drum or a oscillator-type-sounding-note that sounds like 3 notes
 
 
 
That was probably hard to read lol sorry i dont know many terms so it's hard to explain

Double click to add a note at the default length. Click and drag to draw a note to any length. Make sure that snap isn't set to extreme though or the snap will make drawing difficult.

Change that in Preferences--->Customisation-->Snap to grid. Try a mid range setting.

There's a handy video on the Sonar university (link is down the bottom) shows you how to use the step sequencer, failing that have a browse on YouTube. I tried FL before buying X1 and couldn't figure out, that was more than likely due to me being a clut though!

I think I get what you are trying to do and i will try to explain this as simply as possible. in fl studio the step sequencer and sampler are somewhat integrated in the sense that when you ad a sampler channel (or any other instrument) it creates a step sequencer channel. In sonar when you create an instrument track, the default view is different but the step sequencer or piano roll views need to be selected. If i had camtasia i would just show you how this is done, because it sounds harder than it is.

Evnabby


I new to DAWs. I'm trying out Reason, FL, and Sonar, all in demos.
I noticed that on Sonar it's incredibly hard to "click in" my notes, where in FL its basically all clicking, and in Reason it's mostlly clicking.
Like the step seqeuncer is really hard to use, and I don't get it. Is sonar more for real instruments, like singing into a mic or recording guitar? Or at least more for use with a keyboard? I mean even Cakewalk Soundcenter, it doesn't quite let me pencil in the notes like FL....
If this is not the case PLEASE offer me some help with step sequncer and samples....im about  to buy a DAW and i cant decide between FL (which i will probably not use after a year) or Sonar (which is super hard to learn).
Also-can i put sounds into sonar? Idk what the term is....sample? Like sounds I got from Dubturbo, cuz i got that cuz i thought it was a DAW lol. By sounds I mean the stuff on the left panel of FL: those quick one-note sounds like ONE hi hat, ONE kick, not a Virtual drum or a oscillator-type-sounding-note that sounds like 3 notes
 
 
 
That was probably hard to read lol sorry i dont know many terms so it's hard to explain

We have a bunch of videos up on SONAR U that show you how to get started. Also, if you buy X2 Producer through Feb you get a free 30-day pass at Groove 3 where you can learn more about SONAR. We've taken many steps to simplify SONAR X2 starting with the Skylight User Interface. SONAR X2 is pretty powerful and complete DAW and has many features which will help you grow throughout the years. 


Start with these videos:


http://www.cakewalk.com/C...ONARU.aspx/Get-Started

PRV? Alt + Click using the Smart Tool. Live it, learn it, love it.

You can also switch to the select tool and then it's single click input but then you lose all the other functionality of the Smart Tool which is imperative in PRV I find.

As far as I know in the Step Sequencer you only have to click once but I may be mistaken on that. I haven't really bothered with the SS much in X2.

hmm... probably would have helped if I actually read your post. lol

But seriously... PRV is much better and easier to use than the SS in my opinion. 

It's almost impossible to be a newbie to a program as big and complex as Sonar without being frustrated. Hardly anyone sits down with the manual as soon as they open a brand new program for the first time, myself included. You roll your sleeves up and think "right, let's suss this thing out." And of course it quickly becomes apparent that you're not going to get very far without instruction. It's like playing with AutoCAD for the first time and thinking "this sucks, it's much easier to draw lines in MS Paint." (OK I know that's a bit of a snarky analogy but you get the picture). 

@sharke... Totally. I've been studying for over 8 months* and I'm just now starting to get a real grasp of where, what, how and why things are in Sonar.

*I stopped a few times to just record some music. Had some other life stuff happen during that time as well but for the most part I spend every day at the very least reading the forum.

Ok guys can you answer me this question: Will SONAR X2 Essentials be a good choice for Hip-hop/Rap production with few real instruments recorded (so no need for high end recording stuff), but lot's of....IDK what to call it...Synth drums? Software drums? Bascially drums that are NOT recorded by mic :P
Bascially I need something like FL lol, something that's good with lots of clicking in notes rather than MIDI keyboard or recording.
I'd also like to use my Dubturbo sounds in it...is it possible?

I'm asking this because I realize it's probably way easier to buy it and learn form the real product+manual than from the Trial which has different instruments (thats the main part thats throwing me off)