Sonar 3 vs. Sonar 4 & who's got it?

[punkin]

If you've got Sonar 4.x I want to know what you think...is it as good as you thought it was going to be? Do you wish you'd saved your money? Did it really improve your recording product. Did it make things any easier? I'm mostly looking for comparisons to the 3.x versions.

I've got the itch...they're offering a nice upgrade price right now but I don't want to be disapointed.

[laptoppop]

I went from S3PE to S4PE and I'm NEVER going back. As a workflow helper - track folders alone are worth the price. I often run multiple takes, then comp a "final" track. I then grab all the source material, pop it into a folder and hit the archive button. Boom, done, no CPU used, but all the source saved.

Also the clip envelopes and clip muting have saved me a TON of time as well.

The bottom line is that it is probably not making much of a sonic difference, but its making my life easier.

-lee-

[James Argo]

Totaly agree with laptoppop!

Beside above reasons, I work often with movie score. Sonar 3 PE is good, but for me, honestly I went thru many problem (could be due to my setup) before it runs the way I want. S4PE has almost every answer toward my working flow. Install, make minor adjusment, and voila!


Jaymz

[pronoise]

Same here, I haven't looked back since moving to S4PE.
It is a better product. The only thing, I use from S3PE now, is the Vsampler

www.pronoise.com

[tombuur]

I am greatly fond of the folders and the way you can loop to get multiple takes and then mute all but one to pick the best by comparison. And freeze is fine too. There are probably more, but these are the first things I have noted.

[punkin]

Thanks all...keep em coming. Having a hard time believing that only four people on this forum has made the jump.

[guttadaj]

Originally Posted by punkin

Having a hard time believing that only four people on this forum has made the jump.

I think lots of folks (myself included) are waiting like you are to hear feedback from others before taking the plunge. Everything I've heard has been pretty positive, so I'm sold for the most part. I also think it doesn't hurt to wait a bit to let the bugs get worked out and for CW to release the inevitable patch. I'm a software developer, so I know how it is and can't really complain. I'm probably gonna ask (beware - spoiler here - children look away...) Santy Claus (i.e. my wife) for the upgrade from 3S to 4S though.

-Jeff

[musicroom]

I made the switch and I am very pleased. The navigation bar, MPEG, track folders, better muting, comping and my favorite - Track Freezing.

For example - My P4 1.8 1 gig ram was limping along with only one or two instances of Sir - a few track compressors, etc per project. Yes I am aware that I can bounce to tracks in S3 and also free up cpu resources through group bussing (that is the way I USED to work). Bussing effects is fine - but I like the idea of one track triggering one effect unit cleanly. I was getting primed for a computer upgrade which I dreaded the task and expense of all that. I don't have to now. I can load and tweak as I think is 'right' for the project. My latest 23 track S4 project uses around 6 instances of SiR, some delays, eq and compression and I still am only using approximately 21% CPU at 11msec latency. My p4 1.8 is comparable to a maching much faster that is running S3. This project would NOT run in S3 on my machine with those settings - I would have to greatly increase the latency, bounce to tracks and buss effects. Much slower way to work.
Happy Musicroom!

[Beltrom]

I don't like it!

The store phoned today. My update has arrived, but I can't pick it up until friday. Stupid Sonar!

I'll let you know on monday...

[tedluk]

I want it, but I missed the opportunity to get Project 5 for $99.00 (twice! ugh!), now I'm waiting until they come out with another special offer! lol I'm thinking they probably will when sales start slowing down and they want to get guys like me who are on the fence to make the jump.

Ted

[moskus]

Sonar 4 is ROCK STABLE!

I had a "gig" (a revue, a show, and I was in charge of the music) last friday, and was nervous like hell! Last time I that kind of thing I was running Sonar 3, and it crashed. But luckily during the interval.

Now I run the exactly the same computer with Sonar 4. No problems. No sign of problems. I'm sure I could go for another two days straight without a problem.

I just love Cakewalk!

[tpresz]

Originally Posted by guttadaj

I'm probably gonna ask (beware - spoiler here - children look away...) Santy Claus (i.e. my wife) for the upgrade from 3S to 4S though.

-Jeff

Married to Santa Clause!!?? How cool is that? I bet your the first delivery every year. Although I didn't realize Santa was female.


Awsome!

[moskus]

Originally Posted by tpresz

Married to Santa Clause!!?? How cool is that?

Are you telling me that guttadaj is gay or something?

[guttadaj]

Whoa...whoa... wait a minute...

Who among you can honestly say they're not attracted to...
those eyes -- how they twinkle!
And those dimples how merry!
Those cheeks like roses,
and that nose like a cherry!
That droll little mouth all drawn up like a bow,
and the beard of his chin as white as the snow,
His broad face and little round belly,
That shakes, when he laughs, like a bowlful of jelly??

I mean come on... sure sure - he's chubby and plump, but that right jolly old elf has got it goin' on!!
Can't forget too that he usually brings me some new piece of music equipment, which has got to be the sexiest thing of all!

Self-proclaimed Santa-phile,
-Jeff

[punkin]

Thanks all...I guess I was expecting a flood of S4 users to jump on...seems like there's a lot of people holding back waiting...

I'm not gonna try it...you try it...I'm not gonna try it...hey...lets let Mikey try it!

[moskus]

Originally Posted by punkin

seems like there's a lot of people holding back waiting..

Read my signature!

[punkin]

I guess it's settled...

[moskus]

Originally Posted by punkin

I guess it's settled...

It better be!

Seriously, I can't see why people are holding back. It freezes! That alone should convince anyone thinking about upgrading their computer to run more synths and effects.

It's got surround! Mixing sound for videos has never been more fun!

The new Track View with the track guide (or whatever it's called) saves alot of time scrolling back and forth in the song, and gives you the complete setup of the tune right away.


Why hold back?

[punkin]

I collapsed...I ordered it this morning...should have it in a couple days. I picked up the Producer Edition upgrade. For 179 bucks, I figure I can't go wrong...so I've been told.

Thanks all!

[punkin]

What are you doing with your previous versions? Can these be sold "as is" and previously licenced? Of course the buyer would have to know that they're not intitled to tech support and upgrades but hey...just curious.


punkin

[gullfo]

sonar 4 - track folders, freeze, and surround. even if you output stereo, having everything pumping through the surround mix gives you an incredible amount of latitude in your mix. track folders really make thing much easier to organize/mute/archive. freeze is good on softsynth but I tend to bounce midi to audio anyways and then archive the synth - but for audio tracks where I think I have the effects set, the freeze option is great. the comp'ing layer display is great! having the ability to put takes side-by-side and manipulate them really speeds things up tremendously.

work flow is really good. surround is amazing. freeeze is very useful. there is also an "overview" of the mix so you can see where you are relative to everything + click to move there... lot's of little features like that make it a much better environment. and if you already own sonar and can upgrade to $179, definitely do it.

[punkin]

S4 showed up yesterday...couldn't wait to get it installed. This is NICE...very smooth with organizing tracks. Very pleased for the upgrade price. Seems to take a little less CPU to run as well.

Thanks for the input everyone.

[kgbjamin]

I wanna try it! Unfortunately I'm gonna have to wait until mid December cause I'm out to sea until then but I like what you guys are saying about it. Be honest though, is it really worth the$179 upgrade. Or can I continue to make music without it? Either way S3 is still the shiznik!

[punkin]

Well, I've had it for close to two weeks now. I'm liking it a lot. The EQ per track is very nice...some of the added track manipulation features are cool as well. Surround is something I'm still playing with but haven't really got a handle on it yet.

If I wasn't working a couple of large projects, the version 3 was just fine. Track folders is a great way to manage larger projects. My upgrade was from 3.x studio to 4.x Producer so I picked up a bunch of features I was missing in the previous version of Producer. I'm thinking it was a good buy but I didn't "need" it.

All in all I'm feeling good about the purchase.

[moskus]

Well, we could still use PA9 (or even older version). We don't need to upgrade, but do it for the sake of convenience...


Ah! The good old DOS-days!