I've never really had issues with Sonar as far as stability goes.  My reliability monitor on Windows has been a flat line at the top for a good year now. (IOW not a single application failure).
 
This is practically a home-built machine too with some over-clocking and not something that has been provided by one of the dedicated DAW builders that many insist you will need, I didn't need a professional consultation to get it working either.  That's not to say I wouldn't use any of those services if I felt I needed to.  I see the vendors of those mostly recommended dedicated machines around as providing a quality service as well as being bona fide and invaluable contributers to this community.
 
I use several music making applications though and I can honestly state the amount of bugs, and when I say bugs I mean stuff thats there that doesn't work, doesn't work as described or requires me to accommodate bad quality implementations by using workarounds, and actions happening randomly without user any input is higher and has historically always been higher in Sonar than it is in anything else I use.
 
That isn't any exagerration or bashing (Sonar still plays a part in my toolbox and I enjoy many aspects of it) for the sake of it, it is simply the truth of my experience.
 
Added to that the time scale for fixes is slower if it happens at all as some issues consistently crop up from version to version than any other vendor is able to apply.
 
Like I said I'm still generally a content Sonar user and it still forms part of my workflow but ironically the reason I have a collection of tools today is that I got fed up waiting for the Sonar implementations to work.
 
Take lanes for example a great idea that's existed in many DAWs for a number of years now with X2 Sonar has them but they are not yet quite fully implemented to put it simply.  I read the issues some people have with the Sonar implementation of them so far and I can understand why some people are not seeing them as the improvement they should be and are in other apps.
 
Like I say that's just one example.
 
I keep reading that all apps. are about the same in terms of quality, it isn't true, fortunately they are not equal in terms of feature set either and that is one area that Sonar still scores highly on, and that is the major reason that I will keep pushing for the quality issue to be taken on fully until it is on a par with what else is available today.
 
 

Couple things:
someone said PT doesn't run well on Windows- that's not true.   It runs perfectly in my studio.  We don't use it much because it still doesn't allow hardware monitoring in a sensible way (unless you have Digidesign or Avid hardware).   It's fine to mix in, but annoying to track in.

I have been too busy to get X2 and I have been largely absent from the forums for the same reason.  I'm curious whether this new version is as problematic as these posts indicate, or if those with issues are making the most noise?

I'm feeling glad that I haven't upgraded at the moment.  I guess what I'm wondering is, what % of users are experiencing no problems?

BlixYZ


Couple things:
someone said PT doesn't run well on Windows- that's not true.   It runs perfectly in my studio.  We don't use it much because it still doesn't allow hardware monitoring in a sensible way (unless you have Digidesign or Avid hardware).   It's fine to mix in, but annoying to track in.

I have been too busy to get X2 and I have been largely absent from the forums for the same reason.  I'm curious whether this new version is as problematic as these posts indicate, or if those with issues are making the most noise?

I'm feeling glad that I haven't upgraded at the moment.  I guess what I'm wondering is, what % of users are experiencing no problems?

That was me, Blix. My reason for saying that is 5 of my friends including myself have had nothing but problems running it on Windows past and present. Not sure if you ever heard of a band called Man O War, but my buddy Scott Columbus (who was their drummer for many years who passed away) did quite a bit of their stuff on PT using Windows. Nothing but issues for him too and he was working without a budget as those guys get anything they want.
 
I will say this though, I've not tried PT on a Windows box myself since they allowed people to use whatever interface they have....when did that start, PT 8 I believe? So maybe it's been improved for Windows. But even there, a few of my friends have abandoned it or went to MAC's running it, which improved their experience ten-fold. Glad it's working for you though.
 
Hey, you're like 40 minutes from me...we should get together some time. :)
 
-Danny

My DAW is what I consider to be rock solid. I have the occasional but rare glitch like anyone else running any computer based on Windows.

I run XP Pro 32 bit and keep the machine totally off the internet. No surprise updates to windows, no AV software and no firewall software. 

It simply works. 

Until I have a hardware failure, I'm golden.

Danny Danzi

Bub

Danny Danzi

Good points, Bob. One thing to keep in mind though...if you tried PT on Windows, that's a huge issue right there. No one I know has had any results with the Windows version including myself. Put it on MAC...totally different animal even though I simply don't like PT. I also think a lot of issues with Sonar stem from running resources.

Someone posted an article earlier, can't find the thread now, there is a version of Sonar for Mac coming. The article was written a few months ago.

It makes me wonder how with all the bugs. Historically, or so I've been told since the dawn of Mac, that it is the most stable platform and it is incredibly rare to have a bug in the software, let alone one that isn't fixed quickly.

I'm curious to see how this goes down if it's true. That was the first I ever heard of Sonar for Mac.

Where some DAW programs can still work well while you use your pc as an internet machine, Sonar doesn't always like that. The less running processes, the better. Also, if someone can build a dedicated box strictly for studio use, they stand an even better chance of not having as many issues.

One thing I recently did, thanks goes to Sharke for suggesting the separate user account thing that led me to this ... is ... I completely disabled Windows Sound Service. I'm not talking about going in to sound settings and muting everything, I'm talking about going in to Msconfig and disabling it so it never loads period.

Since I've done that I have to admit I see a vast improvement in performance on my system. It must be a real resource hog.

What sucks about it is, I only have audio out of Sonar now, so if I want to hop on u toob or listen to an MP3 outside of Sonar, I can't do it. And the other problem is the midi ports won't work on my Fast Track Ultra unless Windows Sound System is running. It's ok, I rarely use my keyboard, but it's still odd that I have audio via my FTU via Sonar, but it can't see the midi ports. Just an FYI in case anyone tries to disable Windows Sound Service.

Bub, that's really strange. Would you believe I use both my Realtek and my real cards on my systems? I of course don't have ASIO4ALL on the good boxes, but the Realteks are used for basic Windows sounds and mp3's. If I were to jump on Youtube or something, I'd have no problems with the sounds playing through my Realtek. Open Sonar, or any other audio program, and my Layla, Profire or RME takes over.

I think I took the whole 'Disable Windows Sounds' tweak a little too far. :) I actually disabled it completely, it doesn't even load. The strange thing about it is, the Midi port on my Fast Track Ultra will not work unless I go back in to Msconfig and re-enable Windows Sound Service. Seems to me that the Midi port on a USB device wouldn't be dependent on Windows, but it seems to be with this unit.

Maybe you just need a new interface? Something like the Echo Profire 8 or the RME FF 400...then get a little MOTU 2x2 midi port for like $50. The MOTU is awesome for midi. I'd not be caught using anything else midi wise. I've been using their stuff for midi since Windows 95 and have of course since updated to the latest stuff. Not a single hiccup with anything MOTU for midi. For audio, I've had quite a time with the MOTU stuff. I had that 24x24 a few years back...killer system, nothing but problems.

Well, honestly, I need to upgrade my entire DAW and get a new interface. It's going on 5 ~ 6 years old, and I do use it a lot. My fear is, I'm going to drop a few grand on new equipment, and still run in to the bugs I already see due to my workflow bringing them to the forefront, and then I'm really gonna be mad. 

 Anyway, I'm glad you're seeing some improvements.....God knows you sure deserve to. :)

Thanks. :)

 
-Danny

sharke

Bub

One thing I recently did, thanks goes to Sharke for suggesting the separate user account thing that led me to this ... is ... I completely disabled Windows Sound Service. I'm not talking about going in to sound settings and muting everything, I'm talking about going in to Msconfig and disabling it so it never loads period.

Since I've done that I have to admit I see a vast improvement in performance on my system. It must be a real resource hog.

What sucks about it is, I only have audio out of Sonar now, so if I want to hop on u toob or listen to an MP3 outside of Sonar, I can't do it. And the other problem is the midi ports won't work on my Fast Track Ultra unless Windows Sound System is running. It's ok, I rarely use my keyboard, but it's still odd that I have audio via my FTU via Sonar, but it can't see the midi ports. Just an FYI in case anyone tries to disable Windows Sound Service.

Can't you just set Sonar to share your interface with other programs? Or am I not understanding something here. I don't see how you could get sounds in Sonar but not from other apps.

Yeah, I could, but I went in and completely disabled Windows Sound Service, so when my DAW boots up, it's not even loading. It really did make a noticeable difference, but the only hiccup is the Midi port on the FTU won't work without Windows Sound Service running. Always something isn't it? :)

I have a Roland USB Midi port around here somewhere. If it becomes an issue I may hook that up.