Sonar v.s ProTools

[paulbeteivaz]

I need somebody to help me decide which of the following recording softwares is more suitable for me and more user frindly.

Sonar Power Studio 250 / 660 OR
ProTools MBox 2

Thanks,
Paul

 

[orksnork]

even if you just read your question....you can tell it reeks of subjectivity...

search around on the board...see what people think (there's already 400 of this thread)

and i know pro-tools has a free demo
maybe sonar has somethign to try???

 

[Teacher]

if your trying to open a commercial studio you have to have PT IMHO....if your tryna to your own music then I'd say cakewalk since its cheaper. They both pretty much do the same thing. Just pro tools is the industry standard....and any musician that is engineering illiterate is gonna ask if you have pro tools cuz thats all they know

 

[acidrock]

It would probably help if you told us what exactly you are trying to achieve,the question is vague given there is no background on your needs,kind of like asking to buy a car without saying what kind you're looking for.

You may not need either software and could get by with something cheaper depending on your needs.

Most software out there does the trick,it's for the most part personal preference.

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

Doesn't that Sonar package come with a firewire interface?

Hhhmmm...it's fairly new so I'm not certain about it.

All I can really recommend is the stuff that I've had experience with. I've talked to a lot more people that choose other software besides Pro Tools. Honestly, Pro Tools isn't really all it's cracked up to be. They just happen to get in the market at the right time and everybody and their dog bought into it. That's how it became the "industry standard." Don't get me wrong...it's a good piece of software/hardware. HOWEVER, there is better to be had.

Just do your research and I'm sure you'll come to a good conclusion.

 

[warble]

...and any musician that is engineering illiterate is gonna ask if you have pro tools cuz thats all they know

How true.

I've had other musicians attempt to explain to me that ProTools is the only way to go. Thing is, no one really explained really why that is except for the fact that it's the "industry standard". I explain that I use Sonar and love it and have shown a couple people how it works. They didn't walk away unimpressed and hopefullly got a little education on all this.

 

[ermghoti]

The best part is, anybody that walks away, after having the difference among DAWs to them, because you don't run PT, is a know-it-all blockhead, and probably wouldn't have been fun to record. I'm sure they know everything else there is to know about tracking, mixing, and yogurt farming too. Who doesn't like having a guy move your mics, insist on using/not using effects, bitching about the soloed sounds, refuse to do more takes because you should just fix it later, refuse to stop doing takes because they don't want you to envelope out that one weird noise...

I'm going to have to go into hiding from my old English teachers, due to the structure of that first sentence.

 

[heroics321]

I deal with a great number of newbies, and no one has decided not to record with me because I don't use ProTools. I get my bands from word of mouth, fair pricing, quality, and respect. I carry sample cd's with me and make sure bands can have a high quality (not myspace) copy of my best work before they come. If you can't get a band to record simply based on the quality of your work, you're either doing something wrong or that band isn't worth the time anyway.

 

[orksnork]

same...i used to have some really shady gear, but i got a decent sound (for local bands demos)

clean, live sounding, together...and bands started flocking

occasional bands would be like "so do you have pro-tools? what kind of gear do you have??"

and before i'd answer i'd always go with the...

"well...we know my gear sounds good...what kind of gear do you have? are we going to have to rent you a decent sounding amp to use? etc etc"

always made me giggle a little, but a little finesse and the band would realize that i was right...and pay me.

 

[RAK]

Let me start by saying I really just browsed the earlier posts, and didn't read everything so carefully.

I've used ProTools professionally and have Sonar 4 PE at home (with a MOTU 828mkII)

It sort of depends on what you're looking to do and what you're already familiar with. Traditionally ProTools has a bad rap when it comes to MIDI, while Cakewalk was known specifically for MIDI. I haven't used ProTools 7, but I still think it lags behind many of the other DAWs in terms of MIDI capabitlities.

If you go down the Digidesign road, you're married to them forever. ProTools will only work with the Digidesign software. If you get Sonar (or Cuebase or digital performer) you can upgrade your interface to something completely different in the future.

Take some time (you've probably already done this) to compare the hardware specs side by side and see which matches what you're looking for better, and of course price probably plays a role.

While ProTools is still the "industry" standard, plenty of professional music and movie studios are using Digital Performer (also GREAT for MIDI), Sonar and, Nuendo. The field has opened up a little bit. I specifically did not go down the ProTools road for my home studio because of the price and the digidesign propriatariness (I think I just made up a word).

Digidesign use to have a ProTools free, but it's not supported by OS10 or WindowsXP. You can download a demo of Sonar however. To be honest I don't know how the features of Sonar Studio Edition compare to ProTools LE. I've really only used HD systems of Pro Tools.

Oh yeah, with Sonar you can also set the controls to mimic ProTools (or other DAWs), so you can use ProTools commands to control Sonar, which is pretty cool.

If you have a chance, try to get some time with each DAW and see what feels right. ProTools is great, but I don't believe it's a "must have" in your signal chain.

 

[Boomersrec]

Its not hard to figure all this out. OK listen, Find pro-tools Free and than download N-Tracks free demo, you'll find that your questions are answered immediately, ( for all you Win XP users ) N-Track is the best sounding and easest DAW to use. Every band that I have recorded have said that it sounds more live than the Actual recording.ve been in this biz for 10 years and wont use anything else. Now if your useing mac than I won't know, Sorry

BOOMERS

 

[RAK]

Digidesign use to have a ProTools Free, but it's not supported by OS10 or WindowsXP.

Sorry to quote myself. Unless I missed that he is using something prior to WindowsXP (Since he's looking into Sonar, I assume he has a PC)

 

[Simman]

Every band that I have recorded have said that it sounds more live than the Actual recording.

BOOMERS

What the heck does, that actually mean?

I've used N-Tark before but it always sounded exactly like the actual recording.

I have (and use) Producer & Samplitude (and let’s not forget N-track); none of them are great for everything. For straight out recoding audio, Samplitude is the best, IMO but Producer is better in the MIDI arena.

As others have previously stated, it really will come down to you, your expectations, your application and your budget.

 

[DavidK]

I deal with a great number of newbies, and no one has decided not to record with me because I don't use ProTools.

Ad agencies will insist on Pro Tools. They just know the name, and if you dont have it they wont use you. We just lost a classical studio gig here because "nobody has a pro tools studio", even though we could use software from Best Buy and do the job. Its a scam, but its the way it is.

 

[RAK]

Ad agencies will insist on Pro Tools. They just know the name, and if you dont have it they wont use you. We just lost a classical studio gig here because "nobody has a pro tools studio", even though we could use software from Best Buy and do the job. Its a scam, but its the way it is.

I worked at a commercial post studio for about a year, they definetly had pro tools, but the ad agencies/production companies I think are more concerned with the engineer doing what they want quickly and making sure everything will work with their equipment. Also, I don't think any major ad agencies are going to home studios. I could be wrong, that was just my experience. I'm not saying Pro Tools isn't the industry standard, because it is, but other programs are making headway, and ultimately you're going to win clients based on your own talent and personality.
If they really don't want to work with you because you don't have ProTools, I say you're better off.

But on the other hand, having your ProTools chops down cold will make you more marketable as an engineer. The more versatile you are (if you can sit down at any DAW and go) the more employable you are.

 

[DavidK]

Also, I don't think any major ad agencies are going to home studios. I could be wrong, that was just my experience.

A. I wasnt really talkin home studios

B. You might be surprised. I licensed a track to a fairly big website off of one of my dorky classical tracks, made at home.

If they really don't want to work with you because you don't have ProTools, I say you're better off.

They got the money.

In my experience, these ad "suits" hear that "pro tools is the best" and thats that, just like noobs here. I really think that you could buy the pro tools BOX and be set: they come in and see the box and relax, you do the project on SONAR

As I mentioned above, I just lost a recording gig ( as a player) because of Pro Tools. We could have done it with a behri mixer and radio shack mics, and if we would have used pro tool it would have been fine.

 

[xistenz]

Ad agencies will insist on Pro Tools. They just know the name, and if you dont have it they wont use you.

if you're working for television, Avid compatibility is huge, hence the desire for ProTools. i'm sure plenty of agencies have heard "i don't have protools, but i can get it done" only to get screwed in the end because the compatibility wasn't there.

 

[RAK]

if you're working for television, Avid compatibility is huge, hence the desire for ProTools. i'm sure plenty of agencies have heard "i don't have protools, but i can get it done" only to get screwed in the end because the compatibility wasn't there.

That is definetly the big one in my opnion, which I mentioned in my earlier post. In the post studio I was at, we were often hired not by the the ad agencies but by the production company hired by the ad agency. Being seemlessly compatible with Avid was obviously VERY important.

 

[RAK]

As I mentioned above, I just lost a recording gig ( as a player) because of Pro Tools. We could have done it with a behri mixer and radio shack mics, and if we would have used pro tool it would have been fine.

I'm confused, you were trying to get a gig as a musician or as an engineer (or both?) I'm just curious, what was the session?

 

[RAK]

In my experience, these ad "suits" hear that "pro tools is the best" and thats that, just like noobs here. I really think that you could buy the pro tools BOX and be set: they come in and see the box and relax, you do the project on SONAR

Inherently when it comes to the commercial world I think it's more about the speed/personality/resume of the engineer/atmosphere of the space than it is about having ProTools.

But I don't doubt you're also correct about "suits hearing that pro tools is the best." Ultimately I would say it probably just depends on the ad agency you're working with, you could get either personalities.