Coming to SONAR in Spring 2016

[deastman]

I just paid for another year of Sonar Platinum, so they must be doing something right. I've been very happy with the way things have gone since the subscription plans started. I appreciate the transparency of what features are under development, and the fact that there are frequent, meaningful updates. I was so thrilled with the addition of patch points, which I've been requesting for years, that I'd be happy even if they stopped right there and never added another feature.

My only real request at this point would be for an enhanced version of the Skylight interface. I can't help feeling that they only took that concept halfway and then stopped. It can be customized to a certain extent, but only in very limited ways. Cakewalk should really look at Adobe software such as After Effects to see what a fully customizable interface looks like. I can rearrange every single component of my After Effects workspace in a multitude of different ways.

Anyway, I'm happy with the increased stability of recent versions and the rapid pace of development and deployment. Great job, Cakewalk!

[Mystic]

My one and only complaint with Sonar has been stability with virtual instruments and plugins. I do the majority of my work with VI's and it's a huge pain in the ass when Sonar decides it doesn't like something going on and crashes. Then crashes again and again and again then crashes on export and crashes when I exit the program. It's a constant annoyance that has driven me to look at other options for doing my VI work which is a good 75% of what I do. I really really hope they spend some time working on this because it needs to be not only addressed, but fixed and sooner than later.

Other than that, Sonar has been a real joy working in. I love the interface, I love that everything is right where I need it, the organization is spot on, mixing is fantastic.

I would say the only other minor issue I have found is that AudioSnap sucks. Some like it, I am one that doesn't. I think it doesn't work well and it's overly complicated.

[flugel45]

My one and only complaint with Sonar has been stability with virtual instruments and plugins. I do the majority of my work with VI's and it's a huge pain in the ass when Sonar decides it doesn't like something going on and crashes. Then crashes again and again and again then crashes on export and crashes when I exit the program. It's a constant annoyance that has driven me to look at other options for doing my VI work which is a good 75% of what I do. I really really hope they spend some time working on this because it needs to be not only addressed, but fixed and sooner than later.
...

If you're having consistent problems with plugins in Sonar Plat/Pro, then something is off. If you haven't already, I strongly urge you to report it on the Sonar forum and let others try to help you get to the bottom of this. Ideally, you should provide a reproducible recipe (series of steps) to help narrow it down as a glitch, bug, or whatever.

Your description sounds like the problem is fairly widespread among your plugins -- which is definitely not the norm. The only times I can remember something similar to this had to do with certain plugs and their VST3 implementation (workaround was to use VST2 while fix was worked on); or the 64-bit double-precision setting causing problems on some systems (workaround is to turn it off).

If it's not one of those, then you really owe it to yourself to report it. And if you already have, please provide a link and I'll give you my 2 cents. Sometimes it just helps to bump it.

[koolkeys]

If you're having consistent problems with plugins in Sonar Plat/Pro, then something is off. If you haven't already, I strongly urge you to report it on the Sonar forum and let others try to help you get to the bottom of this. Ideally, you should provide a reproducible recipe (series of steps) to help narrow it down as a glitch, bug, or whatever.

Your description sounds like the problem is fairly widespread among your plugins -- which is definitely not the norm. The only times I can remember something similar to this had to do with certain plugs and their VST3 implementation (workaround was to use VST2 while fix was worked on); or the 64-bit double-precision setting causing problems on some systems (workaround is to turn it off).

If it's not one of those, then you really owe it to yourself to report it. And if you already have, please provide a link and I'll give you my 2 cents. Sometimes it just helps to bump it.

I've talked to many others about the problem already and many of them left for something more stable. It's been reported multiple times over the years and never seems to get taken care of. This is also not something that is pinned down to one machine as I've had this problem across multiple computers now. It seems like Sonar just doesn't like large amounts of orchestral or high resource tracks running in it. Gone through all the walk arounds to the point of smashing my head on my desk. I just keep holding on to hope that Cakewalk will fix it because I really don't like the work flow in Cubase.

I think it is important to note that this is not a universal problem. Many people do use Sonar for high track count projects, and not everyone has these plugin issues.

I actually USED to have a little more instability with plugins and I think Sonar was overly aggressive with disabling plugins. But since the last few versions, that is not the case for me. Granted, between X1 and X3, I didn't really mess around with it much. But what I have tried has been more stable.

So it may or may not be your machine. It might be a particular set of system or driver preferences that is common among certain machines and not others. It is really hard to say. But it isn't universal by any means.

Brent

[Mystic]

If you're having consistent problems with plugins in Sonar Plat/Pro, then something is off. If you haven't already, I strongly urge you to report it on the Sonar forum and let others try to help you get to the bottom of this. Ideally, you should provide a reproducible recipe (series of steps) to help narrow it down as a glitch, bug, or whatever.

Your description sounds like the problem is fairly widespread among your plugins -- which is definitely not the norm. The only times I can remember something similar to this had to do with certain plugs and their VST3 implementation (workaround was to use VST2 while fix was worked on); or the 64-bit double-precision setting causing problems on some systems (workaround is to turn it off).

If it's not one of those, then you really owe it to yourself to report it. And if you already have, please provide a link and I'll give you my 2 cents. Sometimes it just helps to bump it.

I've talked to many others about the problem already and many of them left for something more stable. It's been reported multiple times over the years and never seems to get taken care of. This is also not something that is pinned down to one machine as I've had this problem across multiple computers now. It seems like Sonar just doesn't like large amounts of orchestral or high resource tracks running in it. Gone through all the walk arounds to the point of smashing my head on my desk. I just keep holding on to hope that Cakewalk will fix it because I really don't like the work flow in Cubase.

[Mystic]

Multi-Track Viewing (Melodyne Studio only)

SONAR users can enjoy the ability to view the data from multiple audio tracks all in one single Melodyne window, making it much faster and easier to synchronize notes on different tracks. This unprecedented new feature is useable exclusively in the current edition of SONAR.
Link

Daaaaaamn. Glad I upgraded to Studio now.

[Skorpius]

I don't use Sonar, but after looking at your development page I am very impressed with Cakewalks' transparency. Usually not a fan of software subscription, but I must admit that your approach is very well thought out and fair. I wish that other software companies would look at your model for inspiration....hello Adobe

+1

The intensity and consistency in releasing new patches and updates is really impressive and makes me wonder whether I should change my DAW (which is known for just about the opposite of the above).

[Skorpius]

By the way, I never see any (current) Sonar versions up for sale in the Market Place. Is that DAW so incredibly good that no-one wants to sell it? Or does Cakewalk not allow license transfers for Sonar?

[VariKusBrainZ]

By the way, I never see any (current) Sonar versions up for sale in the Market Place. Is that DAW so incredibly good that no-one wants to sell it? Or does Cakewalk not allow license transfers for Sonar?

They dont allow license transfer so you need to sell someone your entire account

[jinotsuh]

By the way, I never see any (current) Sonar versions up for sale in the Market Place. Is that DAW so incredibly good that no-one wants to sell it?

No

Or does Cakewalk not allow license transfers for Sonar?

Yes

[Kraznet]

I'm amazed that you still can't auto merge midi when doing multiple overdub passes. You end up with several objects layered on top of each other and you have to manually merge them afterwards.

[Mystic]

I'm amazed that you still can't auto merge midi when doing multiple overdub passes. You end up with several objects layered on top of each other and you have to manually merge them afterwards.

I prefer that. If I am doing something more complex on the track or even just adding to it, it enables me to wipe a take without taking out the whole section, select all those specific notes for editing, etc. When I'm happy with it, I bounce it and it all merges together. That simple.

[koolkeys]

I'm amazed that you still can't auto merge midi when doing multiple overdub passes. You end up with several objects layered on top of each other and you have to manually merge them afterwards.

But that's a preference, not necessarily a missing feature. Every host has their features that are preferred by some and not by others, so I would hardly consider that a huge deal. I personally like having multiple clips to deal with when I do that. I can see both sides though.

Brent

[AROSSA [Cakewalk]]

Here's a look at the Audio to MIDI conversion in SONAR Professional and Platinum thanks to the integration of Melodyne:



Note: you do not have to initiate Melodyne to make this happen.

[Kraznet]

I'm amazed that you still can't auto merge midi when doing multiple overdub passes. You end up with several objects layered on top of each other and you have to manually merge them afterwards.

But that's a preference, not necessarily a missing feature. Every host has their features that are preferred by some and not by others, so I would hardly consider that a huge deal. I personally like having multiple clips to deal with when I do that. I can see both sides though.

Brent

Yes it should be a preference. But Sonar is the only DAW I know that doesn't auto merge midi during cycle record. I've been used to it since starting out with Cubase in the early 90s.