Midi Editing - Sonar 4 or Cubase Sx 3

[popsych]

Yeh! I know Logic is has powerful midi features, but i'm PC user.

so far Cubase is winning...

Honestly now on a more serious note, if you're an*l bout MIDI, i think Logic even at version 5.5.1 is better than Cubase or Sonar and you can probably get it dirt cheap now. I still use it and could get SX2 for like $100. IMHO it's the BEST

[knoob]

well, MIDI is the main feature i'm looking in a sequencer, but i'll to want to get the most from softsynths too.... so .... the FREEZE function is another required feature (Logic 5 doesn't have this)

[popsych]

well, MIDI is the main feature i'm looking in a sequencer, but i'll to want to get the most from softsynths too.... so .... the FREEZE function is another required feature (Logic 5 doesn't have this)

Then obviously not a good choice, logic, now is it. On that level i think SX might be better for you. It has better MIDI IMHO than sonar , but this seems to rapidly be changing

[knoob]

ok. I'm trying Cubase SX. How can i organize DX plug ins in subfolder. Can somebody tell me, pls?

thanks

[idobs]

I used to own Cubase (3 years ago), and switched to Sonar.

I switched mostly because I had been exposed to Cakewalk years ago as the initial host my friends had used. So I think I was just "used" to it.


That being said, I'm very happy with Sonar's MIDI editing. I think it's very strong if you have hardware. As I've switched more to software-synths, I've had less need for the sysex stuff, etc.

I do wish the MIDI editing had been improved a bit over the years. I find the CAL scripts too difficult too weird to get into, and I think MIDIfx is broken for live-playing.

The piano roll is very nice, but I'm not crazy about the drum-roll (I don't like how duration-info is lost).


Overall, I couldn't go back to Cubase though. I just didn't like the feel.


-Ido

[Alde]

If you don't like the feel, then that's ok. I haven't always liked the feel when working with Cubase. Still I prefer it.
Have had for years both Cubase and Cakewalk in its various incarnations. Gave up Cakewalk and have been loyal to Cubase.
Midi editing has always been the forte of Cubase, since the old Atari days, long long ago.

Alde

[Kim Lajoie]

Another thing that Cubase has that Sonar doesn't is the ability to specify realtime non-destructive random variations in timing, duration, velocity, and pitch. Per track. This is amazing for making a MIDI loops sound much less rigid and "loopy". It's a bit like the Stylus RMX Chaos Designer, but on every MIDI track!

You can also specify "density", and by lowering the density slightly, some notes in the loops won't be played every now and then. Of course, increasing density causes additional random notes to appear.

I use it all the time.

Forever,




Kim.

[Mr. Slater's Parrot]

I've just learned recently that in Cubase you can not only see the notes of multiple midi tracks like in Sonar, but you can actually edit them as well. You can edit midi notes from several different midi parts/tracks all all in the same piano roll. An absolute necessity I found when using Stylus RMX. Still, there are many things about Sonar which I found to be superior to Cubase, and vice versa ...

Just for the record, you can do this in Sonar, too -- edit notes of multiple midi tracks all at once in the same Piano Roll View. It's a very powerful feature that I depend on and use a lot.

[Mr. Slater's Parrot]

Another thing that Cubase has that Sonar doesn't is the ability to specify realtime non-destructive random variations in timing, duration, velocity, and pitch. Per track. This is amazing for making a MIDI loops sound much less rigid and "loopy". It's a bit like the Stylus RMX Chaos Designer, but on every MIDI track!

Sonar supports the above, also, using built-in MFX effects (non-destructive, realtime) which you can use on a track-by-track basis. I use this feature frequently, too.

[Kim Lajoie]

Another thing that Cubase has that Sonar doesn't is the ability to specify realtime non-destructive random variations in timing, duration, velocity, and pitch. Per track. This is amazing for making a MIDI loops sound much less rigid and "loopy". It's a bit like the Stylus RMX Chaos Designer, but on every MIDI track!

Sonar supports the above, also, using built-in MFX effects (non-destructive, realtime) which you can use on a track-by-track basis. I use this feature frequently, too.

Oh ok cool. Cubase can take Cakewalk MFX plugins, and a while back I remember looking around for some interesting ones. There were heaps, but they were all features that Cubase had natively.

Anyway, one feature that Sonar (and CPA for years) has that Cubase doesn't is the ability to scale velocities by percentage. You can do a fade in or fade out and the velocities get scaled proportionately. Cubase can do a similar thing, but it does it by adding an offset to the velocity values... which works most of the time, but isn't as precise or elegant.

Forever,




Kim.