Feature:
The audio snap is perfect for live playing! And it's pack with plenty of sounds!

Quality:
Cakewalk never fails in this section!They are masters at putting a realstic software together, but making it easy enought for first time software users like me!

Value:
The best for the price, plus they offer free downloads on their website.

Desirability:
Looks realistic, beats FL and Reason!!!

Sound:
Plenty of sounds to choose from!I give it a 8 because the sounds could be more authentic, but hey my sound card sucks!

Ease of Use:
They pretty much answer any question I have, plus the website discussion section is very helpful and it comes in handy believe me!

Support:
Didn't need anything!

Overall:
Ok, some of you guys eventually want to become succesful musicians or producers. This product will prepare you if not teach you exactly what you need to know!Reason, Ableton, and FL however are not a popular software used in studios!So mastering those mediocore software wouldn't do you any good, but this product will!!!

• Submitted: 1/12/2008

Feature:
I am using Sonar 6 Producer Edition. This program is loaded deep. It is a little intimidating for a novice user such as myself and has quite a learning curve. I should get some of the tutorials available for this heavy weight audio production software. The manual assumes that the user is a recording engineer. Once I get the hang of doing something it starts to get really fun.

Quality:
Had some problems running a duo core Athlon CPU that was fixed with an update. The program seems stable and appears to be very well engineered, especially considering it's massive depth.

Value:
A lot of bang for the buck. Saving up for Sonar 7.

Desirability:
I think Sonar is a truly awesome piece of software. Being a novice I may have dove in deeper than I expected to. But taking the time to learn how to use has proven to be the most worth while investment in both my time and money that I could have hoped for and I love using this program.

Sound:
The hardest thing I have found in getting the sound right is setting the buffer size and sampling rate. Once the magic settings are found it sounds great. This program takes some tweaking to get where I want to be.

Ease of Use:
Like I said this program is deep. The hardest thing I have trouble with is setting up my Native Instruments software synths in it. Especially Battery 3. Not finding much help in the forums on that matter. But once I figure things out (a time consuming process) it starts to get really cool. The interface get crowded in a hurry but it has a lot of tools to get the job done. I also have difficulty editing midi in the editor. But I have this problem with any midi editor I try so it must be more me than Sonar. It just seems to try to think ahead of me and guess (wrongly) where I want notes. (Even with quantinizing turned off.) I have a lot to learn so I won't blame Cakewalk. Taking the time to figure things out has proven worthwhile as this program has shown me that it is more than capable of doing what I need it to do. This software is very powerful.

Support:
Very Good.

Overall:
For recording my guitar and creating drums bass and harmony this software does exactly what it is supposed to do and then a lot more. It is a powerful application with alot of depth and weight. I'm very glad I bought it.

• User: a customer from gmail.com
• Submitted: 9/28/2007
• Style of Music: Hard Rock
• Location: Tulsa, OK USA

Feature:
I tried logic pro, sony acid, flstudio, protools, dp5 and cubase. Right now sonar is in the lead.

Quality:
Has everything that everyone else and then some. They listen to there user base. Anyone having issues with this program hasn't downloaded the lastest update or has issues with learning this software daw in paricular. It rocks. The vintage channel strip is hot man. The sounds in the instruments sound tight. Add some effects to manipulate the sound the way you want to.

Value:
You better read the reviews on line sonar is ahead of the pack. Great value for the product.

Desirability:
I'm using it now for recording and mastering.

Sound:
Great sound engine, especially in 48k.

Ease of Use:
I learned How to setup midi and route sound in 5 days on my own. I can't however listen to my vocals on the headphones. Just the instro. But it sounds clean as heavon when I hear the vocals on playback.

Support:
Never used it

Overall:
It's great overall.

• Submitted: 9/18/2007

Feature:
The other software I use is Magix's Samplitude. Sonar is less user friendly for recording than Samplitude but it does alot more. The best feature that is not in my other recording software is the Tempo Snapping. Overall the features are great.

Quality:
Given all the aspects of the software, ass long as your have other products up to par(ie. sound card, mic, synths) all the aspects of this software will create a very solid, clean, and professional product.

Value:
The price is good although i would always love to see it cheaper. Yet the price is worth the program.

Desirability:
I stumbled upon the product by accident, I don't know any other producers with this product. I started using other cakewalk products and then found this. Their advertising could be better, but overall I think it is worth writing a review about ;)

Sound:
As far as the sound quality for recording it is just as good as any DAW out there. Now I use soft synths from Native Instruments so I can't comment on any included soft synths. Although I will vouch for Cakewalks new Dimension Pro software. It is still new to me but so far it has excellent sounds.

Ease of Use:
The GUI is pretty good, although I have not yet learned all of the keyboard shourtcuts yet so it still takes me a while to get around compared to what im used to. Yet it is very similar to other of its kind and can be manuvered as such.

Support:
I have not had to use the company for support (yet) but all of the help documents are very in depth and functional.

Overall:
Im sure once i got used to all of the product features and keyboard shortcuts that I would like to replace this with the newer version.

• User: a customer from gmail.com
• Submitted: 6/25/2007
• Style of Music: Hip-Hop/R&B
• Location: USA

Feature:
nice virtual instruments

Quality:
Cakewalk ships beta quality software. Then, there comes a patch that fixes about 400+ bug, and then comes another patch that fixes more bugs. During this time, if you have problems, Cakewalk will tell you that it's your hardware. ..and then comes a new version, and the cycle repeats

Value:
this is harsh. it's not the worse (there are some good components in there), but I'm bitter.

Desirability:
no you don't want it

Sound:
I had written and posted an extensive, honest review of this product here (twice), but it keeps getting pulled down, most likely at the request of the manufacturer. These "reviews" should not be trusted. If you read carefully, it's obvious who planted them. If you're an amateur, this software is fine, but way to expensive for you. If you are a musician, look elsewhere.

Ease of Use:
usability testing anyone

Support:
The software runs great, just make sure you reformat the hard drive, install a fresh copy of XP... still problems? It's your hardware. Oh, and keep checking their website for the next 400+ bug fixes release. Yes - it's still your hardware.

Overall:
this software is a complete waste of time and money.

• User: a customer from nn.com
• Submitted: 2/21/2007
• Style of Music: i record everything
• Location: boston, ma

Feature:
VC-64 compressor is worth the price of admission. You have to know what you're doing with these plug-ins to make the most of any DAW. AudioSnap is great as well. Busses are excellent. I don't know what these people are talking about. This is a fantastic product.

Quality:
One of THE best DAWs out there right now. Make sure you're working with quality hardware and PC and make the music you know you can make. It's that good, really.

Desirability:
Got it. You need to get it. At this price range, you can't go wrong. You can make it look and function however you want it. She can be sexy and look the way you want her to look. She's here for you!

Sound:
64 bit floating processing engine... do I have to say more? Using a mid to high level PC you can produce high quality music. I'm sold on Cakewalk Sonar 6 Producer Edition. I believe that the negative reviewers here had shoddy PCs or hardware that just didn't work with Sonar. I'm producing music for many artists with my PC and mid-level audio hardware interfaces.

Ease of Use:
It's called Cakewalk for a reason. It's very intuitive. You don't have to look far for what you need. I'm accustomed to ProTools HD. With a little study, I'm working Sonar with no problem.

Support:
I'm impressed with Cakewalk's dedication to their customers. When they put out an update, you know it (if you've registered the product). Support is available and ACTUALLY helpful. They are on your side, people. Don't believe any fakers or detractors.

Overall:
Toe to Toe, Sonar 6 Producer is superior to ProTools LE but significantly less in price. I'm really enjoying Sonar 6. DAWs are all the same in general function. You find the difference in ease of use (busses, etc), plug-ins (so many can be interchangeable). ProTools requires their proprietary hardware, Sonar requires a PC. You can use virtually any hardware with it (make sure you get mid to high level hardware) and get around in the environment quickly.

• User: a customer from yahoo.com
• Submitted: 12/14/2006
• Style of Music: Soul/R&B/Jazz/Progressive
• Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Feature:
The features in this software are a godsend. Great sounding included plugins, easy to navigate interface. Logicly setup and highly intuitive. (Not sure what that one guys was talking about)

Quality:
Here I have a real bone to pick witha couple of the reviewers previous. I've found this software to be fantasticly stable, and easy to use. A couple others have complained about crashes and other things they did not list. Remember this: Audio tasks are resource intensive. If you have a weak spot in your hardware it will be magnified using any audio product. Invest in quality hardware and NON HACKED OS and software. You wil find it works very well.

Value:
Would have paid twice the price. In My view this is the best available. yes Pro tools is a defacto standard, but it also requires expensive proprietary hardware if you want a pro style recording.

Desirability:
I have it. Would not give it up.

Sound:
hard to rate this in a category. Love it

Ease of Use:
Everything has a learning curce. However I have found it to be extremely easy to use. Logical setup, things do what you would expect them too.

Support:
Have never needed it.

Overall:
Been using Sonar since ver.3 and have loved every moment. This is probably the best recording software you can buy. Beware of a couple of the negetive reviews here. Remember recording requires a high quality machine with top noch hardware. Latency is not an issue with things properly configured (ASIO dirvers)and good hardware. If your going to record your art, do it right.

• User: a customer from hotmail.com
• Submitted: 12/11/2006
• Style of Music: Rock, pop Folk Funk
• Location: Santa Barbara Ca. USA

Feature:
will read OMF, Acid, all audio formats, all MIDI, uses VST, VSTi, DX & DXi plugins. Control surface support for most major manufacturers & a "generic" template you can program yourself. Sonar has the best bussing arrangement of any of the DAW programs I have used. Included Sonitus plugins in the Producer version are killer, along with a lexicon reverb and another reverb that does convolutions. Also includes a few softsynths and a REX player. it also doesn't lock you in to using any particular hardware. any audio interface with a WDM or ASIO driver will work.

Quality:
Sonar versions 3, 4 and 5 have been absolutely rock solid. No crashes, no lost data, nothing.

Value:
This is where Sonar really shines, you are getting a true professional DAW at this price. Download the demos of Sonar, Cubase, and Protools LE and compare what you get.

Desirability:
of course i want it. i already have it and use it every day.

Sound:
64-bit mix engine. what more do i have to say? new dithering features for final mixing or mastering are top-notch.

Ease of Use:
if you can operate windows then you can operate sonar. everything is laid out in a logical, straightforward manner and there are programmable hot-keys for just about everything.

Support:
tech support people are very knowledgeable. easy to get in contact with on the phone and know the product inside and out. email contact is generally slower but in my experience that is common with many software companies.

Overall:
Killer. But with the availabilty of a downloadable demo, these "reviews" are of limited use. Try the program, and then buy it knowing you are getting the best-supported and one of the most feature-rich DAW programs available.

• User: a customer from worldnet.att.net
• Submitted: 7/22/2006
• Style of Music: Blues, Rock, Experimental
• Location: Milwaukee, WI USA

Feature:
Great FX and mixing utlities. Convolution Reverb is the way to go.

Value:
Can't go wrong.

Desirability:
I own it. Looking forward to its GUI skins in the next version.

Sound:
Sound crystal Clear.

Ease of Use:
Ease of use equals your recording experience overall. There is a learning curve no matter what DAW you are working with.

Support:
Its the best there is.

Overall:
Does everything I want, support is excellent and new updates and versions are continually introduced.

• User: a customer from yahoo.com
• Submitted: 4/21/2006
• Style of Music: Classical, Orcestration, Movie Soundtracks/mock ups
• Location: New York

Feature:
The software synths are awful. Latency is so bad you cant play them real time. DirectX plugins are pretty bad except for intentionally trashy effects. The looping functionality is bad as well, with aliasing being nasty and unuseable, and processing a looped track takes way too many resources. How come Acid does this so intuitively and with minimal CPU strain? And the MIDI stuff hasn't chnanged since the dawn of creation. Hey Cakewalk, there are still MIDI folks out here. And you should have a closetfull of StudioWare panels by now. You havent changed that for like version 8.

Quality:
I read that some folks say it does nothing as intended. I have Ableton, Gigasampler, Samplitude, Digital Performer, Cubase etc. They all have thier quirks and learning curves. I had a ton of stability problems with Sonar 1.3, and 3. 4 was pretty stable, and I have not had serious crashes with 5 that I have not had with other programs. 99% are from plugins from different companies that disagree. I dont use alot of these (hardly any) so maybe thats why. I also have a fairly fast machine with lots of memeory and, the key, nothing on it but Sonar. No internet, no network. Stripped OS. I run software samplers on another computer from Sonar via midi.

Value:
I'm lucky that I started with version 6 and have watched for cheap upgrqdes through the years. 8.1 were great values at the time, and as each upgrade was <$200 I have been happy. Would I be happy slapping $500 down on this? Hey, I once paid $800 for an SEK'D ARC 88 card. I view value through a different prism. New stuff is (*&&^^ awesome pricewise.

Desirability:
The interface is blah. I know you can tweak 12 ways from sunday, but someone needs to come up with a new vision, like a KAOSS pad of recording or the Ozone interfaces. I dont know what it is, but i'll know it when i see it. And what good is surround sound without the encoder to burn it?

Sound:
I've used Cakewalk for midi back in the Cakewalk 6 days, then audio at 8.1, using outboard samplers for loops. I found the sound fine for what I do. With proper recording techniques (good outboard gear and top notch ADDA stuff)I have made some very clean recordings with wide dynamics and little noise. GIGO as they say. I've read TAPE OP where the golden ears of the industry say they can't hear the difference from 24/48 and 24/96. I can't. And in the end it all gets dithered to 16/41 anyway (but don't dither it in Sonar! Get some mastering software for that).

Ease of Use:
I went from tape to this. Select the input. Arm the track. .Adjust the level. Hit record. Stop. Rewind. TO tell you the truth, the slip editing thing is not my fav. I was much quicker with 8.1, and moved up only because it didnt have realtime fx monitoring. Okay, recording and routing is pretty easy. But things like setting up MIDI intruments, DXi samplers, automating fx... arrgh. Someone really has to revamp the whole midi world. Why are we still given MIDI controallable equipment with "implementation charts" that read like element tables? I dont have the time to deal with LSB's!

Support:
They responded (a plus) farily quickly (another plus) and actually with an answer that pertained to the question. I haven't had the need to contact them much. I try not to fuss with anything once it is working

Overall:
I am waiting for something useable to come out on Linux. And I am seriously looking at what Apple is doing with SoundTrack Pro and AU stuff. And when Apple runs on Intel/AMD. Are you listening Cakewalk? Sonar on Linux?

• User: a customer from yahoo.com
• Submitted: 4/5/2006
• Style of Music: comatose trance
• Location: MA