Sonar X1 Studio

4 Stars because the product has some incredible attributes like samples and instruments and other electronic beats with customizable options. 1 star off because the audio and midi ins/outs along with some other features about the interface and processes can be frustratingly complicated to learn if you are a first timer to this product. Watch tutorials if you're a newbie to this kind of interface or you will be lost!

I have been using Cakewalk products for over 12 years and I am quite happy with this product. I have not explored all of the capabilities as yet but Sonar Studio X1 is so far living up to what it promises. The effects give a real studio feel to whatever you're doing.

So I bought this like around May and I still haven't fully installed it because I'm lazy but when I got installed it it wouldn't let me because the serial number was already used so I was a bit frustrated with it.

Item arrived as described. I love it.

I got this on sale a few months ago for 160$ so it was a really good deal. I installed it on my samsung i3 laptop, which wasnt very old, so it installed with no problems. (I'm using an m-audio fast track pro interface)It worked great for the first few months and now occasionally I get a horrible static when I try to use the live monitor feature, or sometimes when I try to record at all! This can usually be fixed by turning the computer off and on once or twice, but thats not the point. and no its not the the computer, because other DAWs would work fine.It's pretty great once you get the hang of, and learn to work around its glitches though. Probably the cheapest one that will give you semi profesional results. I got it with the SONAR X1 POWER book (30$ on amazon) that shows you hot to use it exnesively and it helps tons! I definately suggest you get it along with the software. Also, a korg nanoKontrol (40$ on amazon) really can help your mixing/mastering proccess.UPDATE 5/18/12 The longer I've had this DAW the more UNIMPRESSED I become with it. if you plan on buying this be prepared to buy an MP3 encoder from cakewalk (20$+) Without it, you can only mix down your projects in WMA format... which makes the files EXTREMELY large. In WMA all my tracks are coming out to an average of about 55 MB, and thats because I usually only use no more than 10 tracks, with NO MIDI. I work with rap/ hip hop music and it also doesnt sound very profesional. It sounds good, yes, but you can tell its a product of a home studio. If you plan on using it for electronic music, perhaps this is the DAW for you, But I DO NOT recomend this product for rap/hip hop. Once again, sounds "good" but not "Profesional"

Incessant interruptions to time signature. If you want to compose in anything but 4/4 time you will find yourself constantly wondering why Sonar keeps re-defaulting your composition to 4/4 time. Extremely frustrating.

This product can be frustrating to the beginner, but once this is overcome Sonar X1 is an amazing product for any type of music production. It contains ideal software for mixing and mastering audio, as well as midi, tracks. Its overall layout and workflow has improved beyond sight compared to its predecessor, Sonar 8.It can suit any musicians' level, wether a beginner to a seasoned pro who owns a complex studio, and wishes to release an album.I recommend this product 100%... the price is also very reasonable.

The item arrived in double quick time. I was using a free 2005 version of Cubase LE..Every Steinberg upgrade path seemed to involve spending more than I wanted for not much of an advance.Also, I still run Win XP and the new Cubase stuff is all WIN 7 I had previously installed a free copy of Sonar LE which was so different from Cubase. Downloaded the Sonar X1 trial and liked what I saw.. The price of a boxed version on Amazon was too low to resist. You seem to get a lot for your money with Sonar. The virtual instruments are all usable without being spectacular and come with supplied midi files which appear to be very quantised and so sound mechanical... perhaps tweaking is required.The program itself installed without any problems. The media browser is handy for auditioning files. .both audio and midi..I am still on the learning curve with this program but am enjoying the change from Cubase. Audio works fine with my EMU 1820M soundcard.. the EMU X sampler works without problems too. I just upgraded the supplied Dimension LE synth module to the Pro version for £34.00 on the Cakewalk site... Over 3GB of sounds for that money was a steal... there are some great sounds. I know that I will need to upgrade to Sonar X2 when I change over to Win 7/8 but am more than happy with what I have at present. Sonar doesn't seem to be as favoured as other DAW software but I like it all the same.

I looked at other DAW's for music creation, before deciding to invest in Sonar. The real world style of the console coupled with it's ease of use and myriad of inclusive VST's make this a bargain. Being 'old school' the interface is more familiar to me, than others such as Ableton and this greatly enhances the work process. I liked it so much that I upgraded to Produce Expanded, followed by X2, X3 and now Sonar Platinum. A good investment for budding musicians.

It seems more concerned with 'eye candy'.On first opening you would think it was the software for a new Boeing jet rather than making music.With Project 5 I had made a track in 2 hours using the trial without a user guide.I still haven't got a track completed with this.

really difficult to set up, let alone use. Had so much trouble trying to set it up and knowing what settings would best suit my laptop and trying to get the drum software to work on it. I gave up and havent used it since. :(

Excellent product. Good Buy !