ProAudio 9 to Sonar? Should I upgrade?

[tcdave]

I have ProAudio 9, the "Suite" version and I went to the Sonar Clinic at Sam Ash in So. California to get informed about Sonar. I did like Sonar and It can do alot! But, here is my question ....

Should I get the Upgrade to Sonar?

Since I am planning to do alot of MIDI sequencing and basic vocal recording, I think that PA 9 is good enuf. Also, I have read onb this board that PA9 is better for sequencing. I like the DXi softsynths idea. And, I hear from Cakewalk that the plug-in effects, such as echo and reverb, are much improved over PA9.
I also have Gigastudio but the bummer thing is that I need to buy another sound card to run it through because I am already using the card for ProAudio. So I am not using it right now because of that. I would like to eventially go to a totally "hardware-less" situation and have the ability to write and play music using Cakewalk and Softsynths....

Should I upgrade?

I would like to have as many opinions as possible...thanks.

tcdave

[RandyT]

I asked myself the same question. The ver. 9 was working okay with very few problems. I'd say if it works don't get hung up on it.

I did go ahead and buy the Korg D1600 and it works absolutely great. I can still use the Cakewalk with recording midi signals but the effects, drums, clear clear sound made me feel great about the investment. I used the money for the "upgrade" to get something I'd recommend any day of the week. At $1,492 (including tax) it seemed to make things more complete. My two cents.

[tcdave]

Thats cool, but i dont wanna spend that much....Cakewalk told me that for about $100 I can up grade to Sonar....maybe a little more $ for Sonar XL.....

tcdave

[A1MixMan]

I would and did upgrade from Pro Audio 9 to Sonar XL.
I won't go back.

I say YES upgrade and dive in, I really like it alot.

A1MixMan

P.S. remember, it's not what music tools you have, it's what you do with them. So no matter what you have, keep on making music!

[kennedy connor]

If you dont want/need the softsynths and you want to run giga and cake then buy a better sound card that is multiclient. I havent upgraded to sonar because it would necessitate a move to the win 2000 os to really take advantage of the wdm drivers which is what makes sonar an attractive product. A better sound card will go along way to making your studio totally digital..multi channel/track will allow a lot more options when recording.At present my studio consists of cake pro audio, giga,Fruity loops and reaktor and it is possible to sync all these together in various ways and make some serious noise....personally i think proaudio has a lot of useless features and I can just imagine how bloated sonar is and will become.....keep it lean and use your resources wisely and you can do more stuff than you know what to do with.

[DavidK]

I dont have Sonar, but I think it would be worth the upgrade just to get some playback meters on every track, which PA9 doesnt have...

[cwillu]

not to mention some usable faders in the track view...
and hiding tracks
and resizing individual tracks
and managing sends & returns
and full control of the main outs

as in, all in the track view

as in, console view is redundant.

!!!!!!

[tubedude]

Midi better in PA9? I dont think so. I'm not a big midi person, but check out all the enhancements. Plus, the soft synths are very handy for midi people. Do it, dont think twice. Its cheap enough.

[John Sayers]

Why not try it out...you can download a full free version that will operate for 30 days and will save. Once you've played with it you won't go back to 9. It's a beauty in my opinion.

you can download it from here.

http://www.cakewalk.com/Download/Dow...ion=DL&PID=110

cheers
John