Free Loops _ the Loop House

Sonar


  My absolute favorite digital audio workstation right now is Sonar.  Cakewalk (the company that create Sonar) has a long history in music creation software.  They came out strong, floundered for awhile but now I believe are setting new standards in affordability and in features.  I say affordable because you can get the entry level Sonar Home Studio for the unbelievable price of $99.00 (2008, May), I mentioned features because their included soft synths alone are worth far more than one hundred dollars.  Yet, before I delve into some of the cool features, we must look at the different versions because like cubase (and unlike Acid pro) Sonar has multiple versions at varying price points.  The First version is;


SONAR Home Studio 6
   Sonar home studio 6 is not a watered down DAW, it is a powerful Audio sequencer with less plug ins and synths (well... and minus a few features) than its more expensive comrades.  To quote the website,   

   "SONAR Home Studio 6 gives you everything you need to turn your PC into a complete music production studio. Record live instruments and vocals and mix them with studio-quality audio effects. Edit audio, MIDI, and music notation. Build backing tracks or entire songs with hundreds of included instrument sounds and tempo-syncing loops. SONAR Home Studio 6 is the complete solution for creating and sharing your music."

   At a price of  $99.00 dollars one cannot go wrong, if you are on a limited budget but do not want to sacrifice DAW features, Sonar studio 6 is the way to go!  Well, you might be asking "If Sonar home studio 6 is so good, why should I bother with anything else even if I have more money to blow (not a very common scenario for a musician, but for the sake of the article...)  Features, baby Features!!  You want them and Sonar has got them.


SONAR Home Studio 6 XL
Sonar Home Studio 6 XL    It may sound strange but I am very attached to this software.   I all started about 4 months ago when I could not decide between a new version of Cubase or ProTools.  I had been using an old cubase version that I had bought years ago and decided to upgrade to something new.  Actually I had my eyes on a version of Nuendo but for the high price wondered if a  pro tools system would serve my needs in a more practical way.  Nuendo and Cubase were pretty expensive so I thought while I save up some money I will buy a "cheap" version of Sonar (and mabey sell it when I get neundo) to fill the gap.  Man was I surprised with this software!  So much in fact that I am now saving up for Sonar 7 producer!  The Daw has so many high end functions that even if I never upgrade for awhile, this $149.99 (May, 2008) software will probably do everything I need it too.  I was very impressed by the amount of quality soft synths that were included.  Now I got the XL version, and the difference is it includes a mastering plug in called "boost 11" (much like a waves L1 plug in) and a great synth called dimension LE with a version of garriton orchestra lite (which sounds better than the regular garriton orchestra (which I own)).  I have to say that in my opinion  Boost 11 or the Dimension Le are worth $150 on their own. Needless to say I was very happy with the purchase.  The newest version is 7, and they have made a home and producer version.

SONAR Home Studio 7
Sonar Home Studio 7
    From what I can gather Sonar Home studio 7 and Sonar Producer 7 are pretty much the same when it comes to the core of it.  The difference again resides in the extra features an VST's between them.  I had better first explain what I think is the biggest differences between SONAR 6 and SONAR 7.  First it comes with a great new synth called Rapture Le, because Roland owns this company I think their synths are always top notch.  Home studio 7 comes with the extras that were complied with studio 6 XL, (dimension LE, Session Drummer 2, Boost 11 ect.)  but also includes  a sweet "step" sequencer.  So for all you fruity Loop guys and girls will feel right at home with sonar7.  In version 7 the midi sequencing has been re-developed and improved with more "smart" tools.  Also and mabey the biggest forward thinking change is it now has 64bit support!    


SONAR 7 Producer Edition
Sonar 7 Producer edition  Sonar 7 Producer Edition is the cream of the crop as far as Cakewalk products.  Not only does Sonar Producer have all the functions that Sonar Studio 7 has but it also includes world class plug-ins.
Sonar 7 Producer Plug-ins

Here is a list taken from their website of the differences in Studio 7 Producer Edition.
  • Integrated Step Sequencer view—the most innovative step sequencer feature set available in any DAW
     
  • Smart MIDI Tools—intuitively use one tool for multiple editing tasks; completely customizable
     
  • Real-time Drag-Quantize allows selected notes and events to be quickly aligned with snap settings
     
  • Multilane controller editing in Piano Roll view; controller data can be moved/copied across lanes; multiple controls can be viewed/edited per lane to economize screen real estate
     
  • MIDI display features including MIDI Magnifier, MIDI Meters, and Velocity Colorizer
     
  • Enhanced MIDI editing with functions for splitting, gluing, and muting notes
     
  • New ACT (Active Controller Technology) presets for Akai MPK49, Korg padKONTROL, and Line6 TonePort KB37
     
  • New instruments: Z3TA+ 1.5 waveshaping synthesizer, Dimension LE (featuring Garritan Pocket Orchestra), Rapture LE, and DropZone Sample player/synth; Over 1000 instruments sounds
     
  • Roland V-Vocal 1.5, now with Pitch to MIDI conversion
     
  • LP-64 Multiband linear phase mastering compressor/limiter with AutoQ functionality
     
  • LP-64 EQ linear phase mastering EQ with 20-point control curve
     
  • Internal sidechaining for Sonitus:fx Compressor, Sonitus:fx Gate, VC-64 Vintage Channel, and 3rd party VST plug-ins with sidechain (multi-input) capability
.
  • External Insert Plug-in lets you insert and mix with external hardware effects and instruments with automatic delay compensation
     
  • Boost 11 Peak Limiter
     
  • Dim Solo keeps tracks in context by reducing volume of unsoloed tracks by 6, 12, or 18 dB instead of muting
     
  • Drag & drop EQ settings across channels in the console view
     
  • Shortcuts for assigning a series of audio inputs, and routing selected tracks/busses to the same input/output/main
     
  • Rename Synths in Synth Rack
     
  • Original SMPTE time stamps now stored with clips with easy revert to original time stamp
     
  • Right-click at cursor to Import audio/MIDI data
     
  • Wave-64 support provides capabilities to record large scale (2 GB+) projects
     
  • High bandwidth multi-track recording optimizations
     
  • New file format import/export options including Sony Wave-64, AIF, CAF, FLAC, Sound Designer II
     
  • File Recovery mode
     
  • Integrated Audio CD ripping and burning
     
  • Cakewalk Publisher 2.0 for uploading and presenting music online
   I have been resarching good DAW's for some time now, and cannot find any at a comparable price with so many features.  I have seen Plugin bundles with less quality plug ins than those that ship with sonar, priced higher than the the entire software.  I definitaly see see Sonar 7 Producer Edition in my future.  If you are running a studio that does not require the compatibility of Pro Tools, then do yourself a favor and take a close look at Sonar.



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