Cactus Music
I think the problem comes from trying to do two steps at the same time.
Mixdown = Balancing of the mix and export to a stereo file.
Mastering = Top and Tail and polishing of the stereo file.
 
So for me it's not an issue because I top and tail during mastering.
 
I do this in a Wave editor but pretty simple to top and tail a stereo track in Sonar with slip edit.

I think this is a really interesting point

IMHO the advent of "in the box" mixing and more powerful computers/laptops means that the line between mixing and mastering is becoming very blurred from the traditional approach - where it is now possible to do both simultaneously (I didn't say "better" or "desirable" - just "possible")

Back to the start/end discussion

Just because I have found a method that has become second nature and I don't even give it a thought doesn't mean I wouldn't welcome a specific START and END marker that is the default "select all" timeline region - I would find this OPTION really helpful but would still want the option of selecting regions for the purposes of cue writing

mudgel
Where do these bizarre numbers come from? 99% of Sonar users do this and most Sonar users do something else. At best you are just making guesses that seem to add strength to your point of view.

Head over to the Bakery and discuss it over there and see what sort of support your ideas get. You never know maybe Cakewalk and the forum members will see merit in your ideas and make changes that please you.

In the mean time i dont think you have a clue as to what the average user wants or thinks about Sonar. It's just speculation that sounds authoritative but really has no substance tio back it up.

Sorry, but i get sick of threads that always want to promote gloom and doom on Cakewalks business model, their expertise at GUI design, programming and the list goes on. For goodness sake if the softwares that bad go use Studio One. I regularly use Studio One for a few special tasks but thats because no software has it all. Not Sonar, Cubase, Pro Tools or any other for that matter.

+1