Hello, First off let me start by saying I am new to this forum and this is my first post!  ...I've been using cakewalk Home Studio with a Peavey Studio Mix controller for about 8 years and I am very comfortable with it. I have had zero issues but I look forward to visiting this place for assistance in helping make the right decisions with my upgraded PC and choosing new software.

 I'm looking at either X1 or X2 Studio. I've been doing research lately on the differences between the two programs and I haven't quite decided which direction to go. I am a Guitar player-singer and I use Cakewalk in my home studio for writing and recording music. I use BFD drum loops and I play all other instruments. I mic my amps to get the guitar tones I need but I now have two young children and staying up late and cranking my amps is no longer an option. What I'm looking for is a program that will give me the best bang for my buck and include a Guitar Rig Type program, quality plug-ins effects, and great vocal processing including pitch correction. I do have a cheap M Audio keyboard midi controller and I would like to experiment with soft synths but I've never used midi or sequencing (although I've been telling myself for the past 5 years "I'm gonna learn soon")...LOL...

 SO, After reading my use application, I would appreciate any advise/pros/cons you can give between choosing X1 or X2 Studio! I think by staying with Sonar the learning curve ahead of me should be a little easier because of my experience using Cakewalk, but I'm prepared to dive into it! Also, Because of a deal too good to pass up, I have already upgraded to a brand new PC. According to the requirements of Sonar, It's beyond enough.... BUT my new PC has Windows 8...From what I've read, neither of these programs look compatible with 8...Is there a software update available that will allow these programs to work with Windows 8 or am I screwed?


Thanks in advance for any info!

Joe

Sonar X1 and X2 both work wonderfully well in Windows 8.  There is an X2a release with a bunch of maintenance on it, part of which is Windows 8 touch screen support.

X2 is a nicer program - download the demo and try it for free for 30 days.

It no longer comes with Guitar Rig, but does come with a slim version of another amp sim called TH2.

Just make sure there are audio interface drivers for use in Windows 8, by checking on the site for the manufacturer of your interface.

Good luck with it all, and enjoy.

Bob Bone

Joe welcome to the forum.

I have a Studio Mix too. I haven't used it in years because I replaced it with a Mackie Control. I must say the Studio Mix was built like a tank. It will work today with Sonar X2 too.

I would hope you look hard at X2 Producer. I think it will be far better for your use than X2 Studio. As for X2 working with Windows 8? It was made for Windows 8. X1 will work but X2 is the one to get. Further, X1 is not available now. Its 2 years old anyway and things have moved on. 

If you get X2 Studio you will miss out on the greatest advantage of Sonar today which is Pro Channel. This is no gimmick but one of the very best channel strips around. In the past Sonar was only offering a few added plugins with the Producer version. Now the game has changed and the difference is huge between the two. 

That said all you need do is DL the demo and try it out for yourself.

If you have any questions we are here to answer.  

 

The Studio Mix still works?? Wow, I may have to drag it out just to give it a try. I packed it away a while ago, but didn't feel like selling it.

Joe -- You might as well get X2, since that's the latest version. Then you can download the free X2a update for complete Windows 8 compatibility.

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com - SONAR X2 Power! - http://garrigus.com/?SonarX2Power
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview

garrigus


The Studio Mix still works?? Wow, I may have to drag it out just to give it a try. I packed it away a while ago, but didn't feel like selling it.

Joe -- You might as well get X2, since that's the latest version. Then you can download the free X2a update for complete Windows 8 compatibility.

Scott

Why wouldn't it work Scott? It is still supported by CW and it uses MIDI for connecting so there is no reason why it shouldn't. 

John

garrigus


The Studio Mix still works?? Wow, I may have to drag it out just to give it a try. I packed it away a while ago, but didn't feel like selling it.

Scott 

Why wouldn't it work Scott? It is still supported by CW and it uses MIDI for connecting so there is no reason why it shouldn't. 

Hey John... yeah, that's true. I just haven't really thought about the Studio Mix in a long time. That's the great thing about MIDI. It will probably be around forever.



Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com - SONAR X2 Power! - http://garrigus.com/?SonarX2Power
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
* Publisher of the NewTechReview free consumer technology newsletter: http://newtechreview.com/?NewTechReview

Thanks Guys, GREAT info!

I took the plunge right into Windows 8 x64 with Sonar X2A. I've only been up and running for a few days but all is fine, my CPU hasn't gone over 5% yet with AMD FX 8150 Black. I am coming from Sonar 6, so this is a huge leap forward. Luckily I'm a software guy so I can pick up just about anything quickly (and a lot of Sonar vids) For your BFD, all of my projects from Sonar 6.x and BFD 1.5 are loading, there's just not audio since I didn't try BFD 1.5 on Windows 8, and will be upgrading that this week. My guess is that the hit alignment for BFD 1.5 can go directly into BFD 2 with minimal effort. At least I'm hoping so... The real fun will be the rest of my plugins on Windows 8.. but I am optimistic.