Sonar V-Studio (can $4000 be spent on better gear)

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Long time listener, first time caller....

I am planing on taking my "hobby" to the next step when I return from what will be my last tour in Iraq. I have 5 tours now and have managed to learn quite a bit about recording, sound engineering, and mastering. Of course, I started this hobby about 10 years ago, but have made the most progress in the past 5. I have been using cakewalk since Pro Audio 9 was all the rage. I have messed with Pro-Tools and Ableton. Not a big fan. I know, everyone lives or dies by Pro-Tools. I just really like what Sonar (currently running 7 producer) has to offer. It is comfortable i guess. On to the point of this thread.

I have been looking at the new Sonar V-Studio to serve as the cornerstone of my new studio. I will have a very modest budget of approx. $7000 and will be putting it all together in July 2009. I will be running my DAW on a new desktop computer (4GB RAM, 1TB 7500 RPM SATA, Quad Core Intel 2 ghz). My goal is to get great sounds and be able to produce some good masters. I am also considering the UAD-2 Solo Flexi, and the UA LA-610. Currently, I have a bunch of low-end stuff (UX1, Focusrite Trakmaster Pro, KSM44, Sony Vaio Laptop) Okay the KSM 44 is not really low-end but the rest is probably not usable for professional sound.

Shameless plug in 5,4,3,2...

(you can visit my homepage to hear what I have done out here in Iraq)
 
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The truth is, no one can give you a first hand answer. Anything anyone sayd will be third or fourth hand gabage they've read on the internet. Why? They're not out there yet. Cakewalk has a couple units making the rounds for demos and reviews. We'll have one of the first models when they're ready to ship. I should have it about a week prior to actual release. Then some people will have some information to add. Until then, just paid sponsor and magazine reviews.
 
The truth is, no one can give you a first hand answer. Anything anyone sayd will be third or fourth hand garbage they've read on the internet. Why? They're not out there yet. Cakewalk has a couple units making the rounds for demos and reviews. We'll have one of the first models when they're ready to ship. I should have it about a week prior to actual release. Then some people will have some information to add. Until then, just paid sponsor and magazine reviews.

Yeah, I know all I am getting now is paid bologna. I was just wondering if, by the spec sheet alone, anyone could say, for instance, the A/D converters are top-of-the-line, or the Fantom Synth is a great tool. I guess I jumped the gun a bit on the thread. Thanks for your input. I look forward to hearing what you have to say on the product.
 
I would say that yes, $4,000 can be better spent. You can put together the same basic functionality for a lot less bread. Or for the same bread have a better system.

In my opinion, you could do better by purchasing some good converters and a control surface that works with your current DAW.

For that kind of money you don't really get a lot of I/O with the V-Studio, and I really don't like the USB interface. That should be firewire. Nothing knocks me out about this unit, based on the specs anyway.

Just my two cents.
 
I don't know... I think if you went out, got the synth, control surface, I/O, etc... all separately, you'll be over $4k easily.

I think the initial gripes are that it is an "all in one". Good maybe for people have nothing now...or just low end stuff, but for people that already have interfaces and don't need synths...or better yet, already have them (which most players do, eh? and most people already recording have i/o...eh?), it isn't a good match

I suspect there won't be a quality issue, for the most part, and looking at the videos, there seems to be some nice stuff to make it really integrate with Sonar.

The T bar looks neat, but for some reason, I don't use X-ray anyway, using a couple of monitors instead.
 
With that budget and what you already have, you have the ability to really take your recording to the next level. Invest in room treatment.
 
With that budget and what you already have, you have the ability to really take your recording to the next level. Invest in room treatment.

I am buying a back wall diffuser, the mo pads for my monitors (KRK RP8) and lots and lots of pretty yellow egg crate (funny what a light coat of spray paint does for aesthetics and sound reinforcement).I am not trying to kill the room, just to dampen it. I may also get corner bass traps. Since I record one track at a time right now, I think the I/O section is plenty fine. I record everything myself except for vocals (collab takes care of that) and drums (Drums on Demand right now). Although I do want expandability so this set-up "looks" decent. I looked at the DIGI 03.
 
I use a couple different DAWs in my studio, one is MOTU's Digital Performer and their audio hardware, and the other is ProTools with a Digi 002R. I have the Digi setup mostly to be compatible with ProTools sessions files, and I am currently mixing an album in PT.

I have to say I have grown to love the Digi stuff. It is a so solid, no crashes ever, and the interface is a dream to mix on. I still prefer Digital Performer for my writing, as the midi features are more advanced. But for recording and mixing I find ProTools to be just excellent.

You can get a Digi 003 for about half the price of that V-Studio setup, so I think that should still be a consideration. Doesn't the Digi hardware also work with Sonar?
 
A Digi003 only does a small part of what the V-Studio does. And the software has none of the limitations of ProTools LE. Especially the track limitations and lack of delay compensation.

About the stability... well I do tech support for all of them and I had 4 major Pro Tools LE issues yesterday alone. It is certainly no more stable than any other well setup system.
 
I guess I have a well set up studio then! It's been very smooth, as has Digital Performer.

The important thing for the original poster is that he know exactly what his needs are, and that the V-Studio meets them. For that kind of bread the unit should be flawless and it shouldn't require expansion or replacement in a couple years.
 
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