This is one of the biggest holes in Sonar imo.  A well integrated drag and drop type of sampler to trigger, edit, and manipulate loops and one shots.  There's very good examples out there of where to start.  Something along the lines of Ableton's Simpler/Sampler (probably the best out there right now) or something even as simple as Studio One's SampleOne.  This is very critical for electronic musicians/producers who are not in the world of live instrumentation.  Yes, there are 3rd party options like Kontakt/Battery, but the point is you really shouldn't need a third party app for this relatively basic functionality that a lot of the main competing DAWs have out of the box.  Plus, those apps can be buggy and resource heavy sometimes (not to mention pricey) when all I want to do is something basic like edit and trigger a drum sound or sample. 
 
Side note: I also suspect, in addition to the whole not having a MAC version thing, this may be one of the main reasons Sonar tends to get overlooked by a lot of people.  There's a reason all the "big name" DAWs provide a solution for this.  I really like the way development has been going with the the new business model, but this imo should be near the top of the list.  Most people looking to invest in a DAW are more likely to need a solution for editing and triggering samples than a drum replacer and a theme editor.  Don't get me wrong, I do think those are very cool features to have, just not as practical in the process of making music as a sampler would be. 
 
This is just my observation and opinion based off of what I've seen while networking and collaborating with a lot of different producers and musicians.

Hi B,
 
Perhaps the reason that Cakewalk do not provide a sampler within their collection of instruments is that there are so many third party options available, many for free.
 
Also, with there being a few flavours of Sonar available, at which level do you think they should be providing this free sampler?
 
cheers
 
andy

Well, I already addressed the 3rd party option thing.  For one, I think this is one of those things that you really shouldn't have to go looking for a 3rd party option.  For an electronic musician/producer, working with samples is THAT critical that I think you turn people off/away if your answer is to search for a 3rd party solution.  Also I will say this, since these 3rd party options are available for pretty much every DAW, then why do you think most of the main ones still provide a solution for working with samples out of the box?
 
To your second question, I don't know.  That would be for Cake to decide.  I would guess maybe make it something that is included in the Platinum version and possibly available to purchase as an add-on for the lower tier versions.  Or just make it exclusive to Platinum.  My idea of the Platinum version is a version that provides tools where I would need to do very little searching elsewhere (3rd parties) for my basic, or essential, music creation needs.  And working with samples is a basic need imo.

bladetragic
Plus, those apps can be buggy and resource heavy sometimes (not to mention pricey) when all I want to do is something basic like edit and trigger a drum sound or sample. 

Light in resources, bug free and for free...
 

synkrotron
Perhaps the reason that Cakewalk do not provide a sampler within their collection of instruments is that there are so many third party options available, many for free.

+
Also it is hard to claim that Sonar does not work with samples at all...
 
But seriously. There are many components which are closely bound to the DAW. Score editor, PRV, step sequencer. The next level of integration (less coupled) have ARA based effects.
But a sampler is in the third category, it is just a synth. And so while I understand that for someone (not for everyone) sampler is good to have working inside Sonar, I do not see why Sonar "need" it, I mean in which part you want Sonar is changed to be more friendly for samplers?

azslow3

bladetragic
Plus, those apps can be buggy and resource heavy sometimes (not to mention pricey) when all I want to do is something basic like edit and trigger a drum sound or sample. 

Light in resources, bug free and for free...

 
My point is...if a 3rd party app is buggy it becomes cumbersome having to go back and forth with a 3rd party AND Cake to figure out what is going on.  I just went through something like this with D16 Lush-101.  It's much easier to deal with when it's "in-house".
 
As  for free.  Well, hasn't that been the whole point of the new subscription model?  Have not most, if not all, the new developments been included without needing to make an extra purchase?  I don't really get your point here.
 

azslow3

synkrotron
Perhaps the reason that Cakewalk do not provide a sampler within their collection of instruments is that there are so many third party options available, many for free.

+
Also it is hard to claim that Sonar does not work with samples at all...
 
But seriously. There are many components which are closely bound to the DAW. Score editor, PRV, step sequencer. The next level of integration (less coupled) have ARA based effects.
But a sampler is in the third category, it is just a synth. And so while I understand that for someone (not for everyone) sampler is good to have working inside Sonar, I do not see why Sonar "need" it, I mean in which part you want Sonar is changed to be more friendly for samplers?

Where did I say that Sonar does not work with samples at all?  But the fact is, most of the included options available are antiquated and not very intuitive.  Some, so much so, that they haven't even bothered to update some of them to 64 bit.
 
Of course you can still make music without it.  Sonar doesn't "need" it in that regard.  That's just common sense.  Sonar didn't "need" a drum replacer, or a theme editor, or even ARA integration for that matter, but that didn't stop them from developing those things to add value to the program.  I just happen to think that a good sampler would also add value to the program.  At least for those of us who are more heavily entrenched in the electronic realm of music creation.

Sampler are actually extinct.
For instruments I use sample libraries such as EastWest, Native instruments ...
and for drums Addictive Drums, Slate Drums ...
The few samples that I still use I drag and drop them direct in the audiotrack.
I also use AKAI MPC which has its own special sampler that integrates per vst into SONAR.

THambrecht
Sampler are actually extinct.
For instruments I use sample libraries such as EastWest, Native instruments ...
and for drums Addictive Drums, Slate Drums ...
The few samples that I still use I drag and drop them direct in the audiotrack.
I also use AKAI MPC which has its own special sampler that integrates per vst into SONAR.

 
How are samplers extinct?  Kontakt is essentially a sampler and is still going strong as ever.
 
A close friend of mine uses Ableton and they just updated their simpler/sampler with more functionality recently.  I can find tons of videos of producers/musicians making use of samplers in their respective software of choice.  And how are samplers extinct if you use an Akai MPC sampler?  Also, that is a 3rd party option...which you can refer to my two previous posts on that.
 
Samplers are far from "extinct".
 

But Sonar has a Simpler kind of sampler. It is called Dropzone.

JoseC.
But Sonar has a Simpler kind of sampler. It is called Dropzone.

DropZone is ok, and probably the closest thing.  But they haven't even bothered to update it to 64bit and the functionality is not near as robust or intuitive as Simpler.  Maybe if they took that idea and expanded on it then that may be a good solution, but the fact that they haven't updated it to 64bit makes me think that there may be some unknown issue with it.
 
Edit: After looking at DropZone again, I think that may be a great starting point.  It definitely needs an update/overhaul and some additional functionality, but the foundation is there.

bladetragic
 
DropZone is ok, and probably the closest thing.  But they haven't even bothered to update it to 64bit and the functionality is not near as robust or intuitive as Simpler.  Maybe if they took that idea and expanded on it then that may be a good solution, but the fact that they haven't updated it to 64bit makes me think that there may be some unknown issue with it.

You're likely wasting your time here. I suggest putting in a feature request and moving on.
 
This is the best post I've seen here on the subject of working with loops: http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3480273
 
You probably know about this, but there is a forum on KVR dedicated to Samplers, Sampling, & Sample Libraries.
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=42