I want to chime in and say that anything involving MIDI in Sonar is a chore. Especially anything beyond just playing a synth. The official manual doesn't help at all, there is a severe delay in tech support, and I have found that there are bugs in my VST synths, and MIDI functions that Ableton seems to accomplish easily that Sonar can't. That said, it's amazing for editing audio, but I don't do much of that. My solution now is Ableton on my laptop SPDIF into my desktop with Sonar. I'm just tired of trying to figure out full functionality of my MIDI-centered plugins with Sonar. That said, it's sad because from what I understand, Cakewalk pioneered a MIDI DAW.
That said, I love Sonar's stability. But it's a frustration to work with if you're expecting to do electronic music in the most flexible ways.

Wow! rarely read these kind of posts anymore but this was intelligent and good...none of the typical flaming back and forth!  Thanks!!!
 
Additional attention to midi/controller handling would be MOST appreciated... top of my list but while I have a couple other daws, I use Sonar. It's wonderful! 

This is a really interesting thread. As a user who mainly wants to take the things that grow in my head and quickly commit them to something people can hear without me constantly performing them I find Splat ideal. I think that is more because I have taken the time to learn how to use it. I dallied with Ableton and Bitwig for a while but it stuck me that it wasn't working in the way I wanted it to do. I write songs, not samples, and I don't write the songs organically, they just come to me... I can start with a jotting "skeleton" and then use Midi to embellish what I have to my hearts desire. Cubase, as a PC user, was always uber difficult to use and frankly I'm now scared of it. I could try Reaper but frankly it would set me back as I would have to learn a whole new set of skills to do what I am doing now with splat...
 
Now having said that, Splat isn't perfect and the PRV and instrument interface caused me some grief before I could use it. This I blame on the lack of a usable manual (in my humble opinion), which I have replaced with the YouTube videos that other users have placed online and provide excellent content. Cakewalk videos seem to come in two flavours, those where the presenters sit down and explain how to do something (Excellent - keep them coming) and those that have an annoying Muzak track and someone clicking on the different options of some feature or other without explaining a single thing, (to me these "marketing" videos are more trouble than they are worth). I'm sure that all Cakewalk users just want to record what they create in as short a time as possible and going through the labyrinthine  online manual and Cakewalk University to gain very little insight after a large investment in time is frustrating. Again IMHO a simple Soup-to-nuts manual would be a great investment that would pay Cakewalk dividends...
 
Also helpfully mentioned in this thread, is the conversion of Midi to audio to conserve processor power. This is an excellent suggestion which I have been doing for some time. But as an alternative to the suggestion, rather than delete the original Midi, I have been archiving it so if I want to play and adjust at a later time I can... It possibly doesn't save processing power but I found the drop-outs stopped happening when I did it on larger pieces. Lol
 
It's good to read about people sharing their experience here. It would be good to see a bit more CW employee response (Not sure about Craig's position in CW, as he seems to be willing to chip in and contribute as a catalyst) as sometimes it feels that making a thread contribution is a bit like shouting into the wind...
 
Having said that , I feel the breeze on my cheek and feel it is time again to retire into my little hole having aired my two pennies worth of homespun irrelevance...
 
Best Regards to all who have taken the time and trouble to contribute here
 
 
Marko

I agree that each has its pros and cons. I am trying to come back to Sonar (primarily for comping and Console 1 support) but I am missing Ableton's MIDI editing features and stability. Sonar drops out on me constantly whereas Ableton let me do all kinds of crazy things in real-time with no gaps or crashing...
 
sigh, it's a matter of finding the best fit for your workflow, and apparently that means compromises somewhere.

FWIW, this thread was created before the MIDI Transform tool was added for controllers, the PRV was re-vamped, Aim Assist could show in the controllers pane, there was the option to show individual controllers or all controllers in the controller pane, etc. Obviously efforts have been made to improve the handling of controllers, and I see no reason why these efforts won't continue.
 
I said a while ago that Cakewalk had "signed" someone who is very conversant with MIDI. What's listed above are the results so far.
 
FYI - I'm using SONAR with MPE instruments, and it works fine. There's even a "selective channel" workaround for split keyboards. 

I've tried avoiding this thread because it appears to be a pile on of sorts.
While some have kept it civil others have complaints that make sense to me.
 
For what its worth, I've always thought midi was pretty fluent in sonar and the latest changes have made it even better for me, then again, everyone works in a different manner/uses tools differently.
If sonar wont do what you want it to, use another tool but I think you'll agree, no DAW does everything perfectly, each DAW does something and it does those things great. If Sonar were a 1 trick pony, that would be a different story.
 
Maybe im passive and simple but im happy with the tools I have to use in Sonar's midi.
there is a fast workflow (for me anyway) and it got better with these latest improvements.

smallstonefan
I agree that each has its pros and cons. I am trying to come back to Sonar (primarily for comping and Console 1 support) but I am missing Ableton's MIDI editing features and stability. Sonar drops out on me constantly whereas Ableton let me do all kinds of crazy things in real-time with no gaps or crashing...
 
sigh, it's a matter of finding the best fit for your workflow, and apparently that means compromises somewhere.

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head. Ableton Live excels at live performance, but that's because the design priority was an audio engine that wouldn't quit unless you dropped your laptop on to a concrete floor. This is why I use Ableton Live for live performance. But for the wide variety of studio gigs I do, nothing touches SONAR's flexibility. However, I will say I don't have dropouts "constantly," or even close to it. There are multiple ways, many involving the computer system itself, to mitigate these issues. 
 
Re the person who necroed this thread, I certainly don't have a problem doing MIDI in SONAR, nor do I find it a "chore." If I did, I'd do the MIDI work in something else, and import it. I also have no problem doing EDM and electronic music in SONAR. For my live performances, I do all the prep work to create the loops in SONAR, which I then use in Live for the performance itself. Then again I use Live's warping to prep files for Traktor, which doesn't do a good job of warping.
 
In my experience, the best approach is to choose a program and become an expert at it rather than complain about what it doesn't do. Then you can use other programs to fill in the gaps, and you need learn only the elements of those programs that are essential to your work. For example, if I was totally into program X but was frustrated by its inability to create stretchable files that also respond to key changes, I'd use SONAR to create those files, then import the results into program X (just because a program can't create stretchable files doesn't mean it can't read them).
 
There's also Rewire. Live, Reason, and other programs rewire easily into SONAR's excellent ReWire implementation (when SONAR added ReWire, Propellerheads said it was one of the best implementations they'd seen). Those who choose that route can have all the benefits of programs with different design philosophies working together as a unified whole. It's a very workable option for those who prioritize finding solutions.

I haven't totally left Sonar, because I still use it for mastering due to some plugins that Reaper won't scan. Also, I still check the forum daily just to keep up. for what I do, sonar was fine. My problem was I stopped updating at 8.5, because I just didn't like the new GUI. but I needed Staff View. fortunately, Reaper was just putting in their notation view. I was able to make the switch fairly easily. Now my workflow is as fast as it was in Sonar. People tell me I should use Cubase, but my workflow is simple, almost any DAW will do, except it must have notation. So now I have a DAW I can keep updated, that works fine for what I do. Also, Reaper will keep improving their notation, while Sonar's is basically dead in the water.

michael diemer
...while Sonar's is basically dead in the water.

Well then, I guess all the conversations Cakewalk and I have had over the past few months with a developer who specializes in notation didn't occur. I have no idea when/if anything will come to fruition, but Cakewalk continues to seek a solution for the minority of SONAR users to whom notation is important.
 
The issue of improving notation is far from "dead in the water." However I do not think Cakewalk wants to apply band-aids to the existing notation, but find a solid, from-the-ground-up solution. 
 

Well that's a bit of a tease Craig