I was wondering has anyone moved from Sonar to Cubase and if they were glad.
Its something Im considering for various reasons. Im not a devoted Cakewalker nor a Steinberg fanboy, so Id appreciate any comments which are objective rather than subjective.
A mate of mine showed me sx3 and it seemed ok so I installed it [just to test] and Im checking it out at the moment. Im surprised how different the workflow is between Sonar and Cubase.
Ive been using Sonar about 18 months now, but Im sure I can catch up with the learning curve regarding Cubase, if its worth it.
A few things Ive been wondering about is things like inserting loops- Im so used to importing an audio clip into Sonar and CTRL+L = groove loop [auto adjusted to project tempo]. Can something similar be done in Cubase?
Another thing is bouncing a VST to an audio track. Im sure this must be possible in Cubase.
One gripe is that I cant minimise my plugins- instead I have to close the window. People have given out about Sonars interface but Cubase is just as cluttered. Im not a fan of the floating transport bar, but the f2 control seems handy enough.
Im aware that Sonar 5 is out and I will check it out, but a move to Cubase would be more a long term investment considering the huge amount of support out there in the form of forums, tutorials, compatability etc.
Perhaps Ive missed the boat, and with the introduction of Sonar 5, Cakewalk have released the hottest sequencer going... Ill have to investigate more.
Im aware that fundamentally Sonar and Cubase are very similar in capabilities.
Im interested in differences in workflow, like built in step sequencing, midi effects, aswell as fundamental things like VST midi out etc..
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated, especially from anyone who has taken a serious look at both apps.
Considering a move from Sonar to Cubase..
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- KVRist
- 178 posts since 27 Dec, 2004 from Dublin, Ireland
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- KVRAF
- 3125 posts since 6 Dec, 2002 from Ljubljana/ Slovenia
Hi
I'm a Cubase SL user (for various reasons).
I've tried Sonar 4 before and IMO it does loops (groove loop...) way better than cubase.
Exporting is possible in both apps for sure. What do you mean with minimising vsti windows?
k
I'm a Cubase SL user (for various reasons).
I've tried Sonar 4 before and IMO it does loops (groove loop...) way better than cubase.
Exporting is possible in both apps for sure. What do you mean with minimising vsti windows?
k
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- KVRAF
- 4878 posts since 13 Jun, 2002 from Montreal
Wow I can't imagine liking Cubase once you have used Sonar, but different strokes... Cubase SX is so awkward that I'd rather extract all my toe nails through my nose than ever have use it again. I sincerely hope your experience is less painful.
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- Banned
- 5089 posts since 12 Jun, 2001 from Wusik Dot Com
I'm also a new Sonar4 user, was using Cubase1 for some time. Would never go back to Cubase. 
I started with windows+midi with the first Cakewalk ProAudio, so is harder to go to Cubase for me.
Anyway, I would stick with Sonar4 and try S5...
Wk
I started with windows+midi with the first Cakewalk ProAudio, so is harder to go to Cubase for me.
Anyway, I would stick with Sonar4 and try S5...
Wk
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- KVRist
- 320 posts since 24 Apr, 2004 from Right behind you NYC
Bah let him move they can use the help, with the advent of Sonar5 making your projects sound even better than 4 who cares if the freaking GUI is cluttered, If someone is using Sonar 4 and have not figured out you can customise the gui to your liking then I certianly dont feel sorry for them as its easy as pie to have just what you need on your GUI in Sonar.Beardedone wrote:Wow I can't imagine liking Cubase once you have used Sonar, but different strokes... Cubase SX is so awkward that I'd rather extract all my toe nails through my nose than ever have use it again. I sincerely hope your experience is less painful.
I used CubaseSX and while it looks very functional it really is a slow bloated mess except that SLOW is not a thing I need in music making process, Sonar while Bloated is writen native to Windows platform and has a very LOW overhead for all the things it offers to do.
So you have used Sonar and would like to change well my advise would be to go for it as any opinion will be pointless because YOU have to buy it to see if will work right for your CONFIGURATION, every one has a different setup and your milage will vary depending on your pitcular setup remember that!!
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- KVRAF
- 4878 posts since 13 Jun, 2002 from Montreal
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- KVRist
- 320 posts since 24 Apr, 2004 from Right behind you NYC
WilliamK 
just wanted to say that Wusik is one of the best kept secrets in the music industry and one of the better sound instruments Vst or Live on the market today. Whats so wrong with your markets skills that you didnt generate enough interest in this is beyond me, and IMO you should be charging Triple for Wusik and still it would be a bargin. Sorry for the off topic stuff but someone had to say it. 
Hey Beard did you get it yet?? I know you were thinking about it last week.
I saw you in one of my posts about it, I sure hope when you do you find that it is as wonderful as I have found it to be
just wanted to say that Wusik is one of the best kept secrets in the music industry and one of the better sound instruments Vst or Live on the market today. Whats so wrong with your markets skills that you didnt generate enough interest in this is beyond me, and IMO you should be charging Triple for Wusik and still it would be a bargin. Sorry for the off topic stuff but someone had to say it. Hey Beard did you get it yet?? I know you were thinking about it last week.
I saw you in one of my posts about it, I sure hope when you do you find that it is as wonderful as I have found it to be
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- KVRist
- 188 posts since 30 Oct, 2004
Yes, getting used to Cubase takes time. I used Sonar PE 3 & 4 in the past, but got fed up with the inadequate VST support and started using Cubase SX.
The benefits are better VST support, usually more innovative features (e.g., Audio Warp), and the ability to use Nuendo if you so desire. Sonar is always playing catchup to Cubase.
Now, Sonar wins in the following categories:
1. No dongle
2. Effecient use of system resources
3. Quicker load time
4. Easy to use, especially for newbies
Cubase wins with these:
1. Excellent VST support
2. Innovative and useful technology (Audio Warp, Time Warp, LM7), real-time editing/playback.
3. You can easily move to Nuendo, as the UI is 99.1% identical.
4. Excellent third-party vendor support. Cubase is used as a reference for the testing and training of so many products.
5. Native Mackie control surface support w/o the need for patches
I'm sure I missed something, and I'm not claiming to be a pro at either of these. In the end, all that matters is how much you like the product. Even with Sonar 5's new features, I still feel much more comfortable knowing that Yamaha is behind Steinberg, and will hopefully apply their guru knowledge to improving it. On the other hand, Cakewalk is the only host-making company that is not owned by some large company.
Je me souviens.
The benefits are better VST support, usually more innovative features (e.g., Audio Warp), and the ability to use Nuendo if you so desire. Sonar is always playing catchup to Cubase.
Now, Sonar wins in the following categories:
1. No dongle
2. Effecient use of system resources
3. Quicker load time
4. Easy to use, especially for newbies
Cubase wins with these:
1. Excellent VST support
2. Innovative and useful technology (Audio Warp, Time Warp, LM7), real-time editing/playback.
3. You can easily move to Nuendo, as the UI is 99.1% identical.
4. Excellent third-party vendor support. Cubase is used as a reference for the testing and training of so many products.
5. Native Mackie control surface support w/o the need for patches
I'm sure I missed something, and I'm not claiming to be a pro at either of these. In the end, all that matters is how much you like the product. Even with Sonar 5's new features, I still feel much more comfortable knowing that Yamaha is behind Steinberg, and will hopefully apply their guru knowledge to improving it. On the other hand, Cakewalk is the only host-making company that is not owned by some large company.
Je me souviens.
Beardedone wrote:Wow I can't imagine liking Cubase once you have used Sonar, but different strokes... Cubase SX is so awkward that I'd rather extract all my toe nails through my nose than ever have use it again. I sincerely hope your experience is less painful.
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- KVRAF
- 4878 posts since 13 Jun, 2002 from Montreal
Salut LijEyasu! Thanks for the summary. Cubase workflow killed me. I experienced a major headache trying to use Cubase not least being stability and unintuitive functionality. Yes I am a long time Sonar user and am therefore biased. Native VST support really is not an issue in S4 and is now gone woth S5.
Btw
Btw
Vous etes Quebecois?Je me souviens.
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- Banned
- 5089 posts since 12 Jun, 2001 from Wusik Dot Com
Strange, here I use ASIO with 10ms latency without a single pop or click even at 70% CPU load.stag wrote:ASIO and Sonar 4 at least,was very ackward, i think people who can get it to work shoud be given a medal.
Using a very old sbLive with KX drivers. Wk
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35505 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
What is 'awkward' about it? ASIO has worked 'out of the box' on at least three or four different DAW setups of mine since it went into Sonar 2.2stag wrote:ASIO and Sonar 4 at least,was very ackward, i think people who can get it to work shoud be given a medal.
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRAF
- 4878 posts since 13 Jun, 2002 from Montreal
Really what card? Rock solid with my Aardvark since S3.ASIO and Sonar 4 at least,was very ackward, i think people who can get it to work shoud be given a medal.
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- KVRist
- 314 posts since 12 Oct, 2002 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and a summer home on Salusa Secundus
Also rock solid with my Echo Audio's Layla24 and Layla 3GBeardedone wrote:Really what card? Rock solid with my Aardvark since S3.ASIO and Sonar 4 at least,was very ackward, i think people who can get it to work shoud be given a medal.
