I hate them all and I love them all. (Except Cubase - I just hates it.)

Karyn
Only ever using one DAW is a bit like only using one synth or one guitar. You'll never find a single DAW that does everything the way you prefer.

I have to disagree with that. Logic does indeed do all I want the way I want. Honestly.
 
I do have Pro Tools installed, mostly for compatibility and because sometimes a change of pace can be good. Theoretically. I still do all my work in Logic.
 
I've worked w/ Cakewalk DAWs in the past. I've owned and worked with Studio One - what I dug in S1 was actually the stuff that reminded me of Logic. I sold my license. Cubase, Live and Harrison have all been uninstalled from my DAW. 
 
So it's not the lack of familiarity, because in the last 15 years, I've spent quite a bit of time w/ each. But Logic is the ultimate absolute best DAW software for me. 
 

I don't see the Logic here...

Rimshot
"Bla bla bla, yada yada yada"
Try some Google searching...

I just had to mark this "Helpful"!
 
Thanks for all the other replies. I agree that this is one of the more fair- and open-minded forums out there, so maybe this is a good place for such a discussion. OTOH, I do realize that it's CW's forum, so while criticizing SONAR might be okay, "promoting" another DAW here could be frowned upon, and that's perfectly understandable. I'll think about it some more.
 
Thanks again-
 
-Susan

I apologize Susan. I read your question and thought your approach was not really serious based on your use of "bla bla and yada yada". It sounded to me like you really weren't serious enough to ask us for help.  I was probably wrong. So I am sorry.  I hope you find your answers either here or elsewhere.  
 
For the record, I do think it a little odd to ask a Cakewalk forum about advice for using other software. It just doesn't seem to be the proper thing to do but I am not a moderator or frequent contributor so please understand I wish you no harm.
 
Rimshot
 
 

Ultimately life comes down to time only, so rather than even attempt to learn another DAW I have been with SONAR. For things "SONAR won't do," I have turned to other solutions for given tasks but not as a DAW, per se.
 
I get confused enough trying to keep up with/learn things with SONAR at times, so messing with other DAWs would just muddy the waters terribly for me.
 
Yada, yada, yada... (and a compulsory) Blah, blah, blah... [that makes a catchy title!]
 

Susan G
Hi-
 
I'm currently in a late midlife DAW crisis! I started with Cakewalk for DOS, blah, blah, blah, went through the Pro Audio era, blah, blah, blah, and through SONAR versions up to 8.5. I bailed for several years because I didn't have the hardware to handle the X series. I'm semi-back now, but there are so many times I have to bite my tongue because I want to say "But <this other DAW> handles <such and such> so much better <for this reason>, IMO."
 
I'm torn among three DAWs now, each with their own strengths and almost as importantly, their own forums (with their own forum personalities). On each of them I see posts about how "This is the greatest forum ever, the most helpful and knowledgeable," yada-yada. That's to be expected, but can anyone recommend an objective site where people just discuss the pros and cons of different DAWs without it becoming personal, as in trying to belittle people who use certain DAWs by using nicknames, etc., etc.?
 
Thanks-
 
-Susan

Susan - I've had a very similar path as yours.  Cake P8 thru Sonar 8.5.x.  Then a competitor for a couple of years or so.  Now back to Sonar.
 
I get frustrated because every time I try something new, the functionality is either a) broken, or b) implemented in a way that is totally incompatible with my thought process.  Other times there isn't anything there for me to try at all.
 
I've reached the point where I'm tired of trying to relearn different ways of doing things.  S-Plat is stable and I really like the interface.  Until I run into a show stopper, I'm sticking with S-Plat but keeping the other DAW up-to-date just in case.
 
Like mettelus said above - it comes down to time.  Cost is a secondary factor.  Sticking with one and learning it really, really well is the way I'm headed for now.  I have to admit I'm more than a little bit troubled by the release/install/regression sloppiness.  There are still a few months left to see how that plays out though.
 
If you do find something super nifty somewhere, please give a shout out about it.  Maybe it can be mimic'd or implemented in S-Plat.
 

mettelus
Ultimately life comes down to time only, so rather than even attempt to learn another DAW I have been with SONAR. For things "SONAR won't do," I have turned to other solutions for given tasks but not as a DAW, per se.
 
I get confused enough trying to keep up with/learn things with SONAR at times, so messing with other DAWs would just muddy the waters terribly for me. 
Yada, yada, yada... (and a compulsory) Blah, blah, blah... [that makes a catchy title!]
 

My words exactly. One has to be a really heavy user to be able to handle several DAWs.
I'm also sceptical enough to assume that quite many (not so heavy users) jump between DAWs because they don't know that they could do the same things in just one.

Rimshot
I apologize Susan. I read your question and thought your approach was not really serious based on your use of "bla bla and yada yada". It sounded to me like you really weren't serious enough to ask us for help.  I was probably wrong. So I am sorry.  I hope you find your answers either here or elsewhere.  
 
For the record, I do think it a little odd to ask a Cakewalk forum about advice for using other software. It just doesn't seem to be the proper thing to do but I am not a moderator or frequent contributor so please understand I wish you no harm.
 
Rimshot
 
 

Hi Rimshot-
 
No worries. Sorry. I used “blah, blah, blah” and “yada-yada” because it was late and I was being lazy. Otherwise, I probably would've used “etc., etc.” 
 
-Susan

Hi-
 
I use R heavily and daily for non-musical work (transcriptions from spoken word recordings) because it's so highly customizable and I can integrate it tightly with Microsoft Word using AutoHotkey scripts. I realize this is a specific use case, but it’s my use case and there’s no way I could do what I can with R with SONAR.  I could detail some of it, but that would be really boring and has nothing to do with music…
 
However, R’s customizability is, IMO, both a strength and a weakness. There are SO MANY options & preferences that it’s easy to get lost in them.
 
OTOH, I think R’s Action List implementation is wonderful. It’s so easy to find actions and what keys are assigned to what. I don’t think SONAR’s keyboard shortcuts list is nearly as well designed.
 
I’ve also used FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops) for almost as long as I’ve used Cakewalk products, not because I use loops—I don’t—but because I like being able to compose using the techniques it offers. When I stopped using SONAR before, the Matrix View couldn’t output to hardware synths. Now it can, so that’s good.
 
I paid full price for P5 when it first came out and that was long ago way discounted and finally abandoned. (I can, however, rewire it into 64-bit apps, thanks to this: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/alipapa_p/63031495.html)
 
I’m not sorry I bought SONAR Platinum, but truth be told, that’s mostly because of the add-ins so far. I also like the way it looks, for the most part.
 
I have no confidence that user-requested Feature Requests will be implemented, nor that user-reported Bug Reports will be fixed. I’ll continue to report bugs, but only when the automatic Crash Reporter or whatever it’s called comes up. It would be nice if we’d hear something back from Cakewalk about those so we don’t feel like we’re sending it off into the ether, never to be heard from again.  Feature Requests fall off the first page radar so fast that it’s basically not worth it to even post them. IMO.
 
-Susan