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Can Sonar Replace ACID 3.0?
- Thread starter Yadi
- Start date
Zombie King
New member
My feeling (after trying for 6 months just to get Sonar XL installed) is that Sonar is a cool program but WAY more complicated in every way. This doesn't mean it offers more "power." Just more confusion.
Acid cannot touch Sonar's midi capabilities but that's about the only drawback to Acid.
I work almost exclusively in Acid Pro 3.0 and I will continue to do so, even though I wasted a lot of money on Sonar - for functionality I would have had in LOGIC (if it only worked on Win2k!) *ugh*
It all depends on how YOU like to work. In my case, using SONAR is exactly that: WORK!
Z
Acid cannot touch Sonar's midi capabilities but that's about the only drawback to Acid.
I work almost exclusively in Acid Pro 3.0 and I will continue to do so, even though I wasted a lot of money on Sonar - for functionality I would have had in LOGIC (if it only worked on Win2k!) *ugh*
It all depends on how YOU like to work. In my case, using SONAR is exactly that: WORK!
Z
You sound like me.... Although I'm beginning to think that most of the work is really the learning curve...Lets face it...I'm 35 yrs old, have two kids (and wife), work anywhere from 40-60 hours per week.....I really hate starting on a new system, by the time I figure out how to do something, I'm burnt out and lacking creativity. Right now I have some impressive toys in my house....but thats just it, they are still just toys. I remember buying my first 4 track in 1985, it took me about 10 minutes to figure the thing out and I must have recorded twenty (complete) songs in twenty days. Why can't I do that now??????
....nice rant huh?
Maybe what you are saying is exactly what I'm saying...it depends on how YOU work. I guess that is why I like the concept of SONAR being able to work with loops, similar to ACID. I have owned ACID for only a month so its not like I'll miss it, though I would be comforted knowing that I'm not losing something critical, like say the ability to chop/arrange/edit the samples or loops.
....nice rant huh?
Maybe what you are saying is exactly what I'm saying...it depends on how YOU work. I guess that is why I like the concept of SONAR being able to work with loops, similar to ACID. I have owned ACID for only a month so its not like I'll miss it, though I would be comforted knowing that I'm not losing something critical, like say the ability to chop/arrange/edit the samples or loops.
Zombie King
New member
You can do all of that in Sonar but you'll spend a longer time learning it. Sonar can do more things then Acid in terms of midi and softsynth stuff - but in terms of straight ahead recording, looping, editing and arranging, I think Acid wins hands down.
I'd recommend Sound Forge 5.0 as a companion product to Acid, too.
Personally I jus don't think I'll ever like Sonar. It doesn't feel right but maybe that's cause I haven't spent time enough with it.
I'm slightly more fossilized then you. I went from a Fostex X-15 four track cassette deck (1982?) to working with Otari and Studder reel to reels and razor blades. Then in 1994 I started tinkering with recording on my computer. I never looked back.
To me, the Sonic Foundry stuff is about as intuitive as it gets and I'm still of the "press record and play" mind set when it comes to recording.
I'm not saying Sonar is bad. I guess I'd just recommend NOT giving up your copy of Acid to get it.
Any chance you can see Sonar in action somewhere? Do they offer a demo version?
Z
I'd recommend Sound Forge 5.0 as a companion product to Acid, too.
Personally I jus don't think I'll ever like Sonar. It doesn't feel right but maybe that's cause I haven't spent time enough with it.
I'm slightly more fossilized then you. I went from a Fostex X-15 four track cassette deck (1982?) to working with Otari and Studder reel to reels and razor blades. Then in 1994 I started tinkering with recording on my computer. I never looked back.
To me, the Sonic Foundry stuff is about as intuitive as it gets and I'm still of the "press record and play" mind set when it comes to recording.
I'm not saying Sonar is bad. I guess I'd just recommend NOT giving up your copy of Acid to get it.
Any chance you can see Sonar in action somewhere? Do they offer a demo version?
Z
Sonar demo
Yeah they have a demo...thats another rant for me...here goes:
I downloaded the demo, only to realize that it need wdm drivers, so I load my card's (egosys wamirack24) ewdm (enhanced) drivers only to find I can't get the thing to work. So I find some real world users of the wamirack who are using Windows XP...this is where it gets interesting.
I have a relative who works for Microsoft and he gave me free copy of XP home. Me being pro-privacy have held out until this latest episode. So I load it up (upgrade from 98) and it tells me it doesn't like cubasis (so I'll be losing my unfinished projects) and my modem (motorala) which is ironic because it suggests going to the manufacturers website for drivers. Furthermore, I still couldn't get my card to be recognized by Sonar.......so I panicked and uninstalled XP. I then realized that my ewdm drivers are not the latest version....no thanks to their website which has zero informative value. I figured this out by comparing file sizes and dates.
Anyway, I did get Sonar to work a little under 98, but started to get bugs on my PC with the cd drives. They stop reading after some use in ACID. I also am getting an IRQconflict message from the WAMIRACK software. No doubt a bug from the XP install/uninstall.
Sonar, to me, doesn't seem as intuitive as Cubase (cubasis) but that maybe because I haven't learned it yet. At least with cubasis, I saw some work through to completion.
With the Sonar demo, I was having some issues with the midi assignments....the wamirack has 4 ins/outs of midis, I use one for keys, one for drums, one for j-station. For whatever reason, under Sonar only, the midi signals would go through all the inputs regardless of the instrument. This may be a driver issue again......
That being said, according the list of features for Sonar, it should be the ideal solution for me. I guess my next move is to take everything out of the computer, clean the system drive, install XP and reinstall my hardware with the Sonar demo. IF I can get that to work, I'll probably buy the full version. Otherwise I may be looking at a full version of CUBASE and using ACID independently.
I just wanted to record musical thoughts....now I am a gear slut with nothing to show for it. I am getting a sad feeling that someday I'll look back and think that I wasted too much time.
Yeah they have a demo...thats another rant for me...here goes:
I downloaded the demo, only to realize that it need wdm drivers, so I load my card's (egosys wamirack24) ewdm (enhanced) drivers only to find I can't get the thing to work. So I find some real world users of the wamirack who are using Windows XP...this is where it gets interesting.
I have a relative who works for Microsoft and he gave me free copy of XP home. Me being pro-privacy have held out until this latest episode. So I load it up (upgrade from 98) and it tells me it doesn't like cubasis (so I'll be losing my unfinished projects) and my modem (motorala) which is ironic because it suggests going to the manufacturers website for drivers. Furthermore, I still couldn't get my card to be recognized by Sonar.......so I panicked and uninstalled XP. I then realized that my ewdm drivers are not the latest version....no thanks to their website which has zero informative value. I figured this out by comparing file sizes and dates.
Anyway, I did get Sonar to work a little under 98, but started to get bugs on my PC with the cd drives. They stop reading after some use in ACID. I also am getting an IRQconflict message from the WAMIRACK software. No doubt a bug from the XP install/uninstall.
Sonar, to me, doesn't seem as intuitive as Cubase (cubasis) but that maybe because I haven't learned it yet. At least with cubasis, I saw some work through to completion.
With the Sonar demo, I was having some issues with the midi assignments....the wamirack has 4 ins/outs of midis, I use one for keys, one for drums, one for j-station. For whatever reason, under Sonar only, the midi signals would go through all the inputs regardless of the instrument. This may be a driver issue again......
That being said, according the list of features for Sonar, it should be the ideal solution for me. I guess my next move is to take everything out of the computer, clean the system drive, install XP and reinstall my hardware with the Sonar demo. IF I can get that to work, I'll probably buy the full version. Otherwise I may be looking at a full version of CUBASE and using ACID independently.
I just wanted to record musical thoughts....now I am a gear slut with nothing to show for it. I am getting a sad feeling that someday I'll look back and think that I wasted too much time.
Zombie King
New member
We're ALL gear sluts!
Re: Sonar demo
Heck, if you're hot on the trail of Sonar and you like Acid, you should at least look at Vegas Video/Audio 3. If you just want to record your stuff, its so darn easy you can't believe it. Multitracking madness and it works like a charm on XP. Easy to import tempo changed loops from Acid, editing your files is a breeze. If you want easy, intuitive and very powerful, Vegas is the way to go.
P.S. The caveat is midi and VST. If you must have those you need other programs to supplement though you can get wrappers for VST. I record everything live and midi files that I create I run from Finale through keyboards or sound modules and get 24 bit wavs for editing.
Heck, if you're hot on the trail of Sonar and you like Acid, you should at least look at Vegas Video/Audio 3. If you just want to record your stuff, its so darn easy you can't believe it. Multitracking madness and it works like a charm on XP. Easy to import tempo changed loops from Acid, editing your files is a breeze. If you want easy, intuitive and very powerful, Vegas is the way to go.
P.S. The caveat is midi and VST. If you must have those you need other programs to supplement though you can get wrappers for VST. I record everything live and midi files that I create I run from Finale through keyboards or sound modules and get 24 bit wavs for editing.
I here ya, but I do need that midi...so having it all under one opened application is preferable. The only thing I've become comfortable with is Cubasis, so if I'm starting from square one, I feel that Sonar is a safe bet. BTW, I just reformated and setup a dual boot (98SE, XP). Plus I added a new modem and everything seems to be running well....except for the CD Creator Plat. 5.0..blah. At any rate, its progress. Now I'm off to buy a full copy of Sonar.
Any thoughts on if "XL" is worth the extra cash?
Any thoughts on if "XL" is worth the extra cash?