I’m still using Sonar 8.5 for recording (as opposed to live) purposes; I never warmed to the X series. I use it for about 80% MIDI sequencing; for audio I still use the trusty Roland VS-2480 unless heavy editing and processing is required.
But now Cakewalk is dead. In theory I could probably stick with 8.5 for a long time to come since I don’t need updated support from the audio side but sooner or later I’ll have to move on. I hate learning new hot keys and workflow. I’ve tried Reaper but never have committed to it because I work so fast in Sonar and it doesn’t seem to do MIDI as well as audio. Ableton seems pretty interesting. What do you all use and why? Windows platform obviously, though as Cantabile users I assume we’re all mostly on Win…
Sonar Pro
Cubase 7
Reaper Current
Mixcraft Current
In that order. Reaper is looking better and better although Mixcraft has a worthy set of instruments.
Cubase is OK but dealing the Steinberg is not a pleasant experience.
Each one has areas of excellence and areas of cesspit
I will probably settle on Reaper. I also use a Roland VS system. The Roland (Cakewalk) VS-700
I’ve switched from Cubase/Nuendo to Reaper about 4 Years ago and yes, I miss some of the intuitivity when working with midi as with audio. But in reaper I can do (route) thing I couldn’t do in Cubase and after I’ve set up my key and mouse commands I’m as fast as I was in Cubase.
Ableton is a different animal anyway…
Been a Pro Tools and Cubase guy for a long time. IMHO the cheaper, newer DAWs really have an edge. I used Ableton for awhile, but only occasionally now. Studio One and Reaper yes, and lately Bitwig and Harrison Mixbus are getting very comfortable.
For the price point it’s hard to see how anything really could beat Reaper. I don’t need a ton of bundled bloatware. So I guess I should just commit and learn the dang thing! Ableton is, afaik, the clear winner for audio manipulation like looping, stretching, all that sort of thing. We use it at church and if I learned it it would give me a leg up since I’m the guy running the tracks during service. At some point I may start integrating Cantabile there, not sure if it’s worth the hassle- right now I’m just using a Hammond B3 (sweet!) and an old Roland D50 (retro-sweet! But limited…)
It’s been Cubase for me all the way from Cubase VST in 2001. Currently on Cubase 9 and quite happy with it other than ther decision to drop 32 bit VST support, but JBridge comes to the rescue there.
Cubase. Nothing comes close for me. I use Reaper on my travels, since Steinberg refuse to let me use two dongles, but it’s back into Cubase when I’m home.
I recently moved from Sonar following the news of its demise, and now use Reaper for songwriting/demos, and really like it. Pro Tools for album recording.
Don’t get me going on ProTools Cubase… I haven’t looked at it in a while but it just never felt right to me. It’s not ergonomic for my workflow. But then, none of them are really. I think Sonar X lost me because it was trying to go that route.
Cubase mostly (been with Steinberg since the days of “Twenty-Four” on the Atari ST). For rehearsal recordings, I use Reaper, simply because I don’t want to change all my audio interface settings in Cubase. I have set up Reaper to capture the individual outputs of my DL32R mixer and play them back, whilst my Cubase setup is a true production setup with my RME fireface and my studio monitors. I like the “Control Room” section of Cubase - haven’t seen anything that comes close in terms of ease-of-use in other DAWs.
Overall, Cubase is just the best-balanced beast - it does audio as well as MIDI, has a great workflow and hardly any weaknesses left.
I’ve played around with other DAWs as well - I like Studio One with its great integration of the Softube Console 1 and the direct connection to Melodyne, but I’m just too used to the Cubase editing workflow, so it takes me too darn long to get things done in other DAWs (same with Reaper). So I guess I’ll wait until Steinberg and Softube get the promised deeper integration done.
I played around with Harrison Mixbus as well - nice and efficient when you just want to mix audio, but since I’ve bought my Console 1, it’s not been getting much use anymore.
I really enjoyed using Sonar Platinum but have since switched to Studio One and Ableton Live. Haven’t decided which I will focus on but Live 10 has my attention right now. Its new Capture feature is VERY handy. It basically is recording MIDI while you’re messing around and if you decide you like something you were playing, hit the button and it’s there. You don’t have to think, “what did I just do again?” and try to redo it. Just capture, tweak, and go on. I’m starting to get more and more used to Clip mode and Arrangement mode.
Studio One has a lot of cool features too. I feel like it is what Sonar might have become in 5 years from now.
Just finished playing around with the latest Apple Garage Band 10.2.0. Spun up a mix of Audio and MIDI. Once you get your head around it, it’s quite a lot of fun and the price is VERY right,
Cubase… I haven’t looked at it in a while but it just never felt right to me. It’s not ergonomic for my workflow. But then, none of them are really. I think Sonar X lost me because it was trying to go that route.