Feature:
The features on this thing are endless, the editing tools which are so intuitive and flexible, the fact that you have unlimited audio and midi tracks, the fact that you can throw in video clips clean the audio in the video, the busses, the immense amount of audio fx, the feature list is endless, but the best feature is the improved mix engine, which runs 10 to 20 times more efficient on your machine, using less resources of your cpu but delivering the same power, not only that but it works PERFECT with vista, no issues what so ever.
Quality:
The quality on this thing is amazing, you know that cakewalk puts their best foot forward on their releases, I've been a protools user for years, but discovering sonar was a blessing, having a powerful machine goes for anyone, you will never go in to a protools HD rig and see a macbook, you will see a 8 Core Mac Pro with many gigs of ram, so if you want efficiency invest in a powerful PC, they are inexpensive, and easy to maintain. Thats all you need for Sonar, a high grade PC.
Value:
The fact that you get great tech support, a great DAW, several FX, Dimension Pro, Guitar Rig LE, Unlimited tracks of Audio and Midi, A full on beat of a program that doesn't eat your CPU memory, and all this for 499.99? its a no brainier, Protools requires their hardware and an extremely good PC, i had a pc of 1 gb of ram and pentium 4 with an mbox mini, i couldn't even run Protools, i used my mbox mini with sonar 6 at the time because even that was more efficient. I moved on to an RME fireface and sonar 8, and haven't looked back once, as a musician entering the software realm the DAW is where it starts, buy this product, learn it, use it, and you wont be dissapointed.
Desirability:
This product is sexy, the design of sonar is very modern the look of the mixer is very sleek and the colors mesh very well together, you cant possibly not like how this interface looks. Protools looks like something from the 60's like before color TV was invented, yet a majority of people use it, but sonar, they try to improve the look of the DAW as much as possible so that not only does it run amazing, but it looks amazing as well.
Sound:
64 bit Floating engine?, That's the highest quality available on ANY DAW, and you get it for 499.99, You get 42 Audio FX, you get Guitar Rig LE for anyone who doesn't want to mic there amp, you have FX that sound realistic and GOOD!, You get Dimension PRO, which has an abundance of patches for every type of music, You get to bounce files to OMF, meaning someone who sends you a logic, cubase, or digital performer file, you can open it in Sonar 8, and you can bounce the file to send back to them, so the sound, and flexibility is amazing !
Ease of Use:
This program is easier than people say, people don't sit long enough to understand that, Everything is programmable if you like protools shortcuts you can set the shortcuts to protools on your sonar, its simple, you can share files with logic, cubase, and DP users, you have an easy mixer with easy routing features, this program gives you everything without complexity, all you have to do is give it a chance, and you will not be dissapointed.
Support:
Cakewalk has the best support out of all the software companies, being they have a forum, where the employees look at the problems, and implement them in the software is great, they go to the source which is us the consumers, and figure out ways to make their product better, releasing upgrades, and bringing out better versions every year. The tech support for someone who has sonar is great, they will stay on the phone with you until you are up and going, and if you have to call back that is no problem, Cakewalk is trying their hardest to make the customers happy, and that's something that's important especially for someone who's just starting this music thing.
Overall:
I don't think ill ever leave cakewalk they are a brand that cares about their users, and thats important in a world where no one is trying to give a helping hand. I've tried many DAW's and none of them offer the features, and ease that sonar does. This is the best thing for the price, its worth so much more. All the content sonar users can agree how amazing this piece of software is, and how underrated it is. People give it a try, you will definitely be satisfied.
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