Sonar alternatives

[Tentacle Porn]

So after spending a considerable amount of time roughly a year ago getting sonar to work correctly with my rig, it's decided to make a mess of things all over again.

I feel it's time to look for alternative software, as I have had far too many issues with sonar and would just generally like to explore the possibilities of other trackers in any case.

I have grown accustomed to sonar as my tracker of choice ever since I picked up sonar 6 whilst studying music technology, so what I require is another program that I will be able to migrate too without a large degree of difficulty - I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to reputable software of this sort.

Recommendations are very much appreciated.

[dannthr]

If you want a TRACKER, maybe FL Studio would be best? I don't use it, but I somehow recall it was a tracker in its youth.

SONAR isn't really a tracker--unless you're mistaking the term and are looking for a full on DAW?

[Zephyr]

I'm thinking you have your lingo a tad confused. Sonar is a DAW not a tracker. If you want a DAW then you should probably decide what style you want, I think Sonar is linear (call me on this if I'm out to lunch) so you may want to look at some other linear style DAWs. FL Studio is more of a pattern based DAW that works mainly with midi, try out some demos for some other programs.

[Ronyn]

I think he means "a program for tracking", as in recording live players (yes/no?). On a mac, I've heard rave reviews for logic (probably most popular choice), I personally had good success with cubase although there was a learning curve. PC is a tougher animal to snare, what's your primary audio interface? Thinking just generic tracking right off the bat and compatible with most equipment, I'd say Sony Vegas, although keep in mind it's more of a video editing tool but is probably also the most excellent video program for audio, and tracks great, as well as provides a solid basic mixing tool. In fact, you used to be able to download a free trial, you might google for one.

[OverCoat]

YOU WANT A TRACKER EH?

http://www.renoise.com/

this is what I use

but yeah if you're looking for something like Sonar, you could either go the more expensive route [Cubase] or the free route [Cockos Reaper]. All three DAWs have similar layouts.

Also: FL Studio? Tracker? pah. don't even try elevating that thing :V

[LuketheXjesse]

[Cockos Reaper]

luke echoes this

[Tentacle Porn]

Ah, I feel a tad silly now, all this time I've been calling sonar and the likes trackers, must have been a habit I picked up at music tech.

I've looked into some of the suggestions briefly and most of them look appealing and seem to offer what I'm after. Just for the record, I primarily work with recorded material but do quite a lot of midi composition as well, so both are just as important to me.

Thanks for the help so far, it's much appreciated.

Might I ask what the software of choice would be for prominent OCRemixers?

[analoq]

Not sure who you would consider to be prominent OC ReMixers but if you're really curious you could contact them and ask. As for the forums in general, I made this chart a few weeks ago which should give you an idea:

cheers.

[LuketheXjesse]

Might I ask what the software of choice would be for prominent OCRemixers?

I've seen a lot of electronica people use FL or Reason, while instrumentalists use Sonar or Cubase. (oh wait you're avoiding Sonar)

But that's simply based on my simple observations.

[prophetik music]

flstudio's really flexible, and offers a lot of bang for the buck (and free lifetime updates). i'd suggest that, since there's a lot of people here that use it and it's got a lot of flexibility incorperating live recordings.

of course, that's just me.

edit: best post-forum-template-shift username ever