At first i feel for you, these are shocking news ...
I'm mainly a Cubase Pro user since many years, then Samplitude PRoX3 user as well (only mixing), i'm also a little bit a Sonar Platinum user, and very little bit a S1 user ;)
It depends which project i get.
But mainly my productions are recorded, edited, mixed with Cubase Pro. Music style -> Indie/Rock/Pop and indie ballads.
Projects are between 30 audio tracks and 120 audio tracks (all recorded via microphones), 3 VSTis until 10 VSTis and sometimes i used special midi functions like a lot of midi fx and so on.
Usually i compose "in" the DAW, therefore Cubase is excellent, because you can use Chord Tracks, i use this function like a chord lead sheet.
All in all, for composing, recording, editing and mixing, Cubase Pro is for me the "right" DAW.
I know, everyone use other functions and workflows, but i'm missing a lot functions in Sonar i have in Cubase:
- Track Versions like Playlist in ProTools, this is one of the best functions in the DAW-World
If you record acoustic drums or different melodies for vocals or guitars on the same track, then you know
what i mean
- An included fine Pitch Shifter like Melodyne (at the moment only monophonic material), is called VariAudio, this function
is fully included. Although i have Melodyne 4, without ARA it is more complex, but i never needed Melodyne for
Vocal correction, Variaudio have a good quality.
- A complete and very good Audio Editor (a tons of destruktive and non destruktive functions)
- Fully resizeable MixConsole, from my point of view better overview as well
- Key Command function is much more professional
- 64 Bit Audio Engine is introduced with version 9.5
- Take Comping is excellent
- Data management is way better than in any other DAW, for example if you delete audio clips (in cubase events)
you can delete it without panic to loose audio files. In all these years i never lost a audio file!
and much more
and of course there are some functions that are not involved in Cubase ;)
I write this down for just to help you, which DAW could be a good successor for Sonar.
Ups i forgot, three years ago i tried Sonar Flagship and bought it.
THe difference to Cubase is not big, it was not a big problem to work with Sonar within one week.