Cubase2Sonar: Is there a quick how-to?

[Meffy]

I would ask there but when I wanted to register the starting text said that it's for Sonar users.

Give it a shot. If it doesn't ask for proof of ownership I'd assume it's open to people with questions before they buy.

[fgimian]

yep you can ask questions on the Sonar forum before purchasing, I've done it before too.

Cheers
Fots

[bduffy]

yes good point bduffy, fritz would have spent a lotta cash grabbing nuendo. I forgot to mention that the post production features and video features in nuendo will blow away Sonar so if that's why you bought Nuendo, then you're better off sticking to it.

bduffy have you noticed the bug in v3 of Nuendo or Cubase that resets the mixer position every time you open it ? i.e. big project of 60 tracks, open mixer, scroll to track 50, close mixer and reopen, it scrolls back to track 1. This was introduced in 3.1. How do you deal with it ? I'm finding it so annoying right now

Cheers
Fots

You know what? I use Nuendo mostly for voice over recording; occasionally I can compose in there (when the video editors don't need the room), but I usually use Cubase 2 for my day-to-day composing, and I don't usually go massively multi-track at work anyway. I'll have to try that out, see if I get it. My brother complained about that very thing on their Nuendo station though. Sometimes I wonder what the hell they're thinking at Steinberg...

Still, the last couple updates brought so much new, groundbreaking stuff to the program - I really would stick with it, Fritz. You could always pick up Sonar as a complement; I used to use them both for a long time, and you can OMF between the two.

[harmony gardens]

Here's an interesting site to check out.

http://www.digitalmusicdoctor.com/sonar/index.html

[bluedad]

It would be best not to spiral into another host vs host thread. No reason it has to.

not trying to
I regret the time the wife offered to buy me either fruity or sonar..and well..I chose the fruit

[fgimian]

yes good point bduffy, fritz would have spent a lotta cash grabbing nuendo. I forgot to mention that the post production features and video features in nuendo will blow away Sonar so if that's why you bought Nuendo, then you're better off sticking to it.

bduffy have you noticed the bug in v3 of Nuendo or Cubase that resets the mixer position every time you open it ? i.e. big project of 60 tracks, open mixer, scroll to track 50, close mixer and reopen, it scrolls back to track 1. This was introduced in 3.1. How do you deal with it ? I'm finding it so annoying right now

Cheers
Fots

You know what? I use Nuendo mostly for voice over recording; occasionally I can compose in there (when the video editors don't need the room), but I usually use Cubase 2 for my day-to-day composing, and I don't usually go massively multi-track at work anyway. I'll have to try that out, see if I get it. My brother complained about that very thing on their Nuendo station though. Sometimes I wonder what the hell they're thinking at Steinberg...

Totally agree, honestly, v3 DOES improve significantly on features, I agree If they can just debug it PROPERLY, I would recommend Cubase over every other host in a second ! I can't stand Sonar, I just tried it again after reading this thread, nothing about it makes sense to me, it feels totally bloated. Honestly, only other host I've gotten close to using for production has been Ableton Live, Tracktion is also good but I can't get ReWire to work in it for some unknown reason.

Cheers
Fots

[Beardedone]

Beardedone wrote:
Well now you just have get used to not have to twist you body all up in knots to do simple tasks. Welcome to sanity!

i'm glad you like Sonar, Gordon..but I have never understood all the hate and vitriol you spew towards Cubase. It fits me like a glove.

----

Hey Gary. I have a lot of respect for you and I am sorry to offend you in particular. I wouldn't call it hate and vitriol though as much as simply being agast at how user unfriendly Cubase is to learn without direct one on one help. On the other hand I found Sonar so intuitive and simple to learn. The first few times I tried Cubase I could not figure out how to set up a VST instrument - I thought the mosty native of host woud be dead simple - I had to look it up - that's fine and dandy - every single operation is awkward and seems to require more clicks of the mouse to comple than a comparable action in Sonar. I quickly tired of trying to do anything creative in Cubase. I should keep my bias rto myself but I find it hard to resist taking the mickey out on the beast. Sorry to come across as mean spirited.

[fgimian]

Beardedone wrote:
Well now you just have get used to not have to twist you body all up in knots to do simple tasks. Welcome to sanity!

i'm glad you like Sonar, Gordon..but I have never understood all the hate and vitriol you spew towards Cubase. It fits me like a glove.

----

Hey Gary. I have a lot of respect for you and I am sorry to offend you in particular. I wouldn't call it hate and vitriol though as much as simply being agast at how user unfriendly Cubase is to learn without direct one on one help. On the other hand I found Sonar so intuitive and simple to learn. The first few times I tried Cubase I could not figure out how to set up a VST instrument - I thought the mosty native of host woud be dead simple - I had to look it up - that's fine and dandy - every single operation is awkward and seems to require more clicks of the mouse to comple than a comparable action in Sonar. I quickly tired of trying to do anything creative in Cubase. I should keep my bias rto myself but I find it hard to resist taking the mickey out on the beast. Sorry to come across as mean spirited.

Wow, it is so surprising reading this since I feel the exact opposite. This must be a matter of personal taste I think. A lot of Cubase's functions are easily accesible by keyboard shortcuts which is what makes it so great. X to crossfade, I for punch in, O for punch ouch .etc.

When I open Cubase I see a neat workspace with very easy to follow menus and toolbars. When I open Sonar I see a ton of confusing icons, an incredible amount of items in the menus and nothing seems to fit.

This definitely proves that it's different horses running different courses.

Cheers
Fots

[Beardedone]

That's something I have heard many time before. I have never used the hotkeys in any of my DAWs except for a few in Sonar. I also have never had a competent teacher show me the ropes in Cubase. I still expect software to be self explanitory - not reasonable I know but there it is.

[Meffy]

These descriptions show why it's a good thing there's a variety of hosts to choose from. What one person thinks is easy and natural, another might think is a counter-intuitive mess.

Sonar for me -- ordered my version 5 upgrade yesterday, and it'll arrive tomorrow. With my luck that'll mean funding for my next big work project will come through too.

[bduffy]

You know, we have to keep in mind that of course we totally despise "the other host", because it feels foreign and absurd, etc. That's fine and totally legitimate. I just don't see the need, when someone is asking about switching, to get personal about it. I mean, you've been here long enough, Beardedone; you know what's going to happen!

Now as a guy who went from CWPA > SONAR > Nuendo1 > Cubase SX, I never had anyone show me the ropes, I just RTFM and stuck with i. I kind of slowly crossed over from one to the other - almost imperceptably - and at the time, there were many differences and incentives that aren't true anymore. Nowadays, it's really just a matter of taste. Of course us fanboys want him to stick it out w/Nuendo ($1200! Come on!), but dude: GO FOR IT if it feels right. I still use Sonar, it's a killer host, no doubt.

[hoffy]

I also had to look up how to insert a VST in Cubase, but once i figured that out, the rest pretty much took care of itself. I didn't have a teacher to show me how to use Cubase at all; it's the most intuitive host i've used. Having learnt Pro-Tools at school (much after learning Cubase), i was also pleasantly suprised to find half of the hotkeys identical... (ie: Ctrl-D = Duplicate Part).

One thing i found strange was Future Music saying Sonar had much better plug-ins in comparison... are they serious? Embracer, Tonic, Quadrafuzz etc. etc. etc... These plugs are killer!

[symbolique]

The Digifreq forum run by Scott R. Garrigus http://www.digifreq.com/digifreq/discuss.asp is a great resource for a Sonar. He himself writes the Sonar Power series books, and often replies in his forum. It's an intelligent forum with great replies and not just on Sonar, though that is an unofficial topic of sorts but you'll find plenty of Sonar users and topics of help.

I switched from Sonar to Cubase myself, but I did buy Sonar Power 3 and it filled holes in my learning of the host, but like bduffy I learned mostly by experimentation. Manuals can be instructive, but for some they can limit ones experimentation.

[fandango]

I just wish Steinberg would release demos for their range.

The reason I went for Sonar was purely because there was a demo available and the lack of being able to roadtest Cubase, even though Cubase might've been more MIDI-centric to my way of working.

[advaya]

I just wish Steinberg would release demos for their range.

The reason I went for Sonar was purely because there was a demo available and the lack of being able to roadtest Cubase, even though Cubase might've been more MIDI-centric to my way of working.

I dunno about that. Sonar is a pretty capable MIDI sequencer in it's own right. Both can achieve pretty much the same results (though the process might be somewhat different).

Perhaps the piano roll and step recorder are a little more robust in Cubase, but Sonar certainly has it's appeal in that dept. too.

Now go make some more great music!