info on SONAR, please

Could someone please give me a little info on SONAR.

Is it any good?

It looks like one can record MIDI sequences in it as well as digital
audio. Well, I just *did* a MIDI sequence in the trial version, in
fact.

But, regarding digital audio, what can it do that _Samplitude_ cannot
or vice versa??

I'm pretty used to my Voyetra _Orchestrator Pro_ MIDI sequencer,
since I even used the DOS version several years ago, but maybe SONAR
is an upgrade. I know that _Cakewalk_ is a big name in MIDI
sequencing.

And, regarding the digital audio, is there anything that _Samplitude_
can do that SONAR cannot?

I'm running the trial version of SONAR here, just to find out more.

Any info. would be greatly appreciated (especially from *users* :) )

jp

Joe,

{you wrote...}
>Could someone please give me a little info on SONAR. But, regarding >digital audio, what can it do that _Samplitude_ cannot or vice versa??

Just a couple of nights ago I downloaded the Sonar demo as well, and have worked a little with it. Additionally, I downloaded Samplitude a couple of weeks ago (you may recall this is one of the apps that I tested Ozone in).

After having worked with them, and having been a Cakewalk user for sequencing needs since Version 2.0, I would say this:

- Samplitude looks to be a digital audio, multi-track workstation with the ability to work with MIDI added.

- Sonar looks like a legacy sequencer with audio recording capabilities added.

The lines get blurred these days because of what? Plug-ins. Both can utilize DirectX plugins, so the same Noise Reduction or Reverb plugin would be useable in both. And therefore the question becomes: which front-end, which basic program do you feel more comfortable working in, and to answer that you need to answer "Just what do I want to do with this?"

- If you still want to do primarily sequencing, with maybe doing a little digital audio stuff, Sonar may be your best bet, as there are still a lot of MIDI manipulation tools left over from the Cakewalk days (sophisticated quantization, note shifting, etc.)

- If you want to have something that functions as a sequencer or can import your MIDI files, but you primarily want to record the output or add acoustic instruments and then do mixdowns, something like Samplitude would likely be much better.

Hopefully we'll have people on the list that have real time with these programs in a project sense, or that know the 2 fields well enough to offer more depth of opinion. That's how these two struck me, as compared to sequencers and DAW's that I've been using for a while...

Cheers,
Jon

--- In MakeMicroMusic@y..., "Jonathan M. Szanto" <JSZANTO@A...> wrote:

/makemicromusic/topicId_2479.html#2480

> - Samplitude looks to be a digital audio, multi-track workstation
with the ability to work with MIDI added.
>
> - Sonar looks like a legacy sequencer with audio recording
capabilities added.
>

***Thank you so *very* much Jon for your first take on this.

Actually what happened was this: somebody at the media place where I
work wanted me to investigate sound applications. It's rather rare
that I can do *anything* related to sound or music at this place, so
this was nice for a change.

What they want to recommend for a client is something to record and
archive both spoken materials and music. It's basically a
*recording* application they need.

According to your description, in this case it would seem that
_Samplitude_ or something similar would be the best bet for them.

Now as to SONAR, this is more for my *own* investigation, since I
have been happy with my current sequencer but just wanted to know
what's *out there* and, also, wanted to investigate the most updated
version of *Cakewalk* which it appears this is. Why? Well, mostly
because of the fame of the particular product. *Cakewalk* really
goes back a long way. I remember it at MIDI conventions in New York
in the 1980's when MIDI was still new to a lot of people.

So I guess the bottom line is:

_Samplitude_ or some such: multi-track recording angle

SONAR: sequencing angle (primarily)....

Thanks again!

jp