Hi Guys,
            I am a classically trained pianist and composer who do sequencing by playing 95% of the instrumental parts and I hardly use audio loops, (maybe 1% of the time). So loops ain't my forty here.
 
            So, in light of the new free content coming in Nov, plus the new loops that came togather with and X2, I should have between 5 to 6 Gig of content that I don't know what to do with.
 
          What I am interested in finding out is:
 
            1) How many Sonar loop user are there?
 
            2) how do you tranform or mangle the loops by using the plugins in Sonar (X1 or X2)?
 
            3) Care to share some tips on composition with loops?
 
This is my 2 cent worth of effort trying to get out of my comfort zone and do (learn) something new (please don't laugh).  Plus trying not to waste the tons of loops that the hard working Bakers has "blessed" me with. LOL.

I've been a multi-instrumentalists for 30+ years but I've also been using loops for the last 10 or so.   They could be a starting point to build on, for "flavor", or as something that just happens to work as well as (or better) than anything I could play live.
 
For best results I like layering loops, filtering them to "pull out" certain parts, adding time/modulation FX to generate pad-like tracks, etc.  Even something like using a hi-hat loop over sequenced drums can add a nice live feel.   Obviously I'm no purist, even though I can (gasp!) actually read music.   As far as I'm concerned, if it's good it's good - I'm too old to be concerned how I got there.   
 

This is somewhat off topic, but I really think there is a generational component to the "to loop or not to loop" question.

I'm in my 40's and the only time I have ever used loops is to throw them in as a place-holder for drums later.  Other than that, I've used them simply to see what they sound like in experiments - they have never ended up in a finished project.

My Son is 18 and a far more accomplished musician than I am.  He uses loops extensively.  I guess my generation of musicians grew up without hearing loops on the radio.

I like loops for certain things.  If you're writing classical-type music, I can see how they'd not be terribly useful.  I love unoffensive drum loops when I'm jamming with my guitar or first laying down a song idea.  It's way more natural for me to play with drums than it is a metronome.  

OTOH, other instruments in a loop set are kinda meh, unless they're MIDI loops that I can easily transpose and tinker with, without nasty audio artifacts or silly sounds.

You can sometimes use a high pass or low pass filter to take what you want out of the loop, for instance sometimes I'll like the sound of the snare and hi-hats in a drum loop, but not so crazy about the kick drum. So I'll whack a high pass filter on there. 

I don't use loops.  I have, on occasion used a drum loop that I've mangled for an effect, but possibly only once in the last few years.  That was after seeing Seth and Brandon do something, and I gave it a try and ended up using it.
 
I am also a multi-instrumentalist, having studied classical guitar, piano and percussion.  If I want a loop type thing, I'll play it or program it myself.  I'd rather have something that was entirely my own.  I understand not everyone is in the position to do this, so I can see the usefulness of loops.
 
If a client comes in with a loop I will usually offer to replace it with a bespoke part if I can improve on it.  If not, we use theirs, but it doesn't happen often.

when ever i use loops i tend to make them my self, either in the loop construction, or recycle, i know alot of people use loops to fill a gap and so on, as far as using someone elses loops, it just doesnt feel like my sound, same with synth presets, would rather program my own sounds

Very interesting responses from fellow musicians of different musical genras. Really appreciate all of your input. Keep it coming.

I am a 21 year old guitarist composing modern metal. The only time I use loops is when practicing exercises - I use the drum loops included with Superior Drummer because it makes me tighter than playing to a metronome. I don't use any of the loop content in Sonar.

I don't use them either, apart from maybe once or twice certain percussion loops such as tambourine 16ths which would be very generic anyway, but nothing else.  Using loops feels to me like making a collage out of snippets of other people's compositions.   While I suppose it could be considered creative, to me if a tune mainly consists of a collection of assembled loops, even ones that have been manipulated quite a bit, it doesn't count as composition as such.