I installed it and had to un-install it 30 minutes later.
Something was going on with the playback engine and i couldn't figure it out.
I still use the Delta 1010LT and haven't had any problems with it in any other programs but in Sonar there was a crazy lag.
I would hit play and 4-5 seconds later it would actually start,same thing when stopping audio.

Weird,but oh well,i'll stick with P.T 10.

 

I used to use the 1010tl, loved that card. try scanning audio devices in MME I think with that one. if I remember

 

The problem is that it never gave me a chance to save anything before I got the tracks setup completely.
Just raw tracks, one VSTi and no MIDI information.

Curious too see what happens after loading a complete project concerning
stability and headroom (clipping).

One more item I forgot about. Sonar excluded it's own plug-ins. Had to remove
banned plugins from the following registry key.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\ExcludedPlugIns]

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2016

hello quadcore64 I see your very well adept at these things to have gotten so far with sonar in such a short time. yes you can imagine that if a person of your understanding is still working on setup, that many people give up long before.

and your right about the sonar plugins, I noticed with the platinum version. the solution I ended up with is tabbing them separately (in one of the many drop down options). in the plugin browser I tab between their plugins and my 3rd party ones. my vst3's scanned and show properly though, win7 32.

 

it sounds like driver issue.. sonars driver adaptors are temperamental. they will give you maximum Htz for the device but persnickety. try scanning your audio devices in other options given

 

Here's my two cents sonar is the first DAW i really got to know and though i use others i find there's none like it the only grip i have is that on earlier version the audio engine was a bit iffy other than that i love the GUI I love the native plugins and the instruments the work flow since v8 was never bad and it even better with the advent of the platinum edition all and all to me it make the best use of your resources only thing better is reaper and believe me i've tried then all [live, S1, FL, Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, DP, Mixbus, Samplitude, Sequoia] and i alway end up back with sonar it is my belief that cakewalk offers the best buy; VST3 VST2 DirectX in one package add iZotope to the mix and you probably have all you will ever need for audio production.

 

I actually go back to the beginning of Cakewalk when it was just a sequencer program, not a company. For audio there was
DP (PC, Mac) and Cubase (Mac) mainly. Samplitude was around but not known widely (especially by me).

When Cakewalk gave way to the Sonar X series, they lost me. The platinum series is showing promise but like Pro Tools,
stability will be the deciding factor regardless of features. Avid learned this lesson the hard way. Hype and marketing
are not enough, proof of concept is the only redemption.

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2016

Solved problem of default projects folder location.

Tried adding location to Cakewalk.ini without success.

Under the Audio section in preferences I selected Configuration File, Edit Config File Button and at the top
found the following two entries:
DataDir=C:\Cakewalk Projects\Audio Data
PictureDir=C:\Cakewalk Projects\Picture Cache
and changed to my preferred location
DataDir=D:\Projects\Cakewalk Projects\Audio Data
PictureDir=D:\Projects\Cakewalk Projects\Picture Cache
which is my default projects folder for all DAWs.

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2016

Tried it yesterday, man pro-channel was good already, but now it has even more modules, turning every channel in Sonar's mixer into a console, because you have a quality selection of EQ's, compressors, some saturation, even reverbs, so you can mix like on the console you would, apart from reverbs, because you won't found any built in reverbs on SSL, Neve, lol.
Even more comes, I guess, with additional 8gb content download, because I noticed that console emulations are missing with a standard version with no additional content.
So a pro-channel selection is impressive and outdoes any DAW in quality.

BTW, some of those EQ's, compressors and reverbs come from Softube, like their simplified TSAR-1R reverb module.

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2016

Now you got me curious.Might try it as well.

 

The Step Sequencer is great, it's pretty complex and not just limited to basic 4/4 grids. I like the channel strip, but the control surface support is beyond terrible. I think it could definitely work for some people, it's not good on laptops though.

 

Let us know your opinion too if you try. Am curious that what a cubase user has to say. Specially about midi features.

 

I totally agree. I also keep it installed, along with Sonar X3. So far, no conflicts with have both of 'em installed on the same system.

 

Testing now.So far im very impressed.Pro channel, fuck,thats a beast on its own,thats the best thing i have seen in any daw.Compression and Eqing are instantly available with other tools.
You can work fast all so transparent,easy on the eyes compared to other daws.
I totally agree with Adrianus on that one.
GUI looks very nice,not heavy or sluggish at all.Colors are friendly to the eyes,mixer looks amazing.
Its all organized and clean looking,though it takes some time to get used to it,though all is setup in a rational way,you dont need a manual to figure most things out.
Midi has a lot of options,my devices have all been recognized,altough its having problems with the Faderport,registration trough cmd prompt didnt work either,thats the only flaw right now.
It has 10 work area/view options instantly available in the top right corner,you can set view 1 for tracks only,view 2 tracks + mixer,etc anyway you want and you can change it any time you want as well,very nice.
A lot of options for your audio card,midi,display and just general.
Also not heavy on cpu like some daws,definetly lighter than S1.
Also absolutely no problems with plugins or vst instruments,all found and work A-ok.
The program starts very fast,faster than cubase or S1.
Its a serious DAW,no doubt about it.

All in all,two tumbs up and the Pro Channel is f-ing brilliant,i love it.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 17, 2016

@H-Bomb-187
I agree with you that Sonar offers the most for the money.
I went and checked out what you get with the Platinum package and i was blown away with all the goodies you get.
You just dont get that much with ANY other daw.

 

X3 (and previous): ton of sound engine crashes (ASIO Saffire, ASIO4All).
Platinum =

 

MIDI for Cakewalk has always been strong going back to the early days. Step sequencing was very easy and
powerful. Waiting to get setup and config smoothed out before I dive too far in.

Finally got a small project setup. 2 stereo instrument tracks (MIDI dropped on each track) with Addictive
Drums 1.57 seperated two 13 tracks and assigned as follows.

AD Master 1&2 (MIDI dropped on this track)
Kick mono left 3, Snare mono right 4, HiHat mono left 5, Xtra mono right 6
Tom 1 mono left 7, Tom 2 mono right 8, Tom 3 mono left 9, Tom 4 mono right 10
Overhead stereo, Room stereo, AD Bus stereo

Saved quite a bit while setting up fearing a crash that never happened. Randomly crashed once
after setting up config and exiting to restart Sonar with new config (anti-virus was running the whole
time but never noticed until crash).

Headroom is maintaned so far with all faders at unity gain and no effects. My AD presets are set to
not clip before leaving the VSTi. If I use Compression and EQ in AD, I set it like I am tracking live drums.
As little as is required to get the sound sitting still so to speak.

Low end seems to be slightly emphasized to give a pleasing, somewhat analog tone.

Bypassed ASIO4ALL and went straight to my old Edirol Firewire which seemed to calm things down.

Will create the same project and template with AD2 and then BFD3 to really push the CPU.
If everything goes smoothly I will start adding more real-time tracks.

Wish tracks were easier to add, especially instrument tracks but at least you can setup your
multi-out VSTi exactly the way you want (has Pro Tools beat on this point).

Still skeptical but hoping.

 

Chromeo uses ancient sonar version for midi and apparently even audio sequencing... on 95's windows computer

 

You can clearly see how some DAW companies put a lot more money into advertising,offering a lot less.
The engine hasnt disappointed me,the GUI is something that is a few years ahead of others DAWs.
I might buy it as a secondary DAW just because it shines on so many levels.
The additional content is bar none the best of all DAWs,you get a lot for the money.
A lot of people dismiss it just because they dont know it.
If there is a category of the most underrated DAW this is it,this thing is brutally good.