| Sonar 8.5 vs. Ableton
I got into Ableton when it FIRST came out, waaaay back. I thought it was an amazing breakthrough in electronic music production. Now, i would not consider myself a PROFESSIONAL of electronic music production, but that is because i devote most of my time and efforts to recording and producing rock music with pro-tools. That being said, i was in on computer sequencing back in the days of Impulse Trackers running through DOS. So i have followed its development from something a few people knew about to the explosion of the home production world of today. I had cakewalks program before 'Sonar' existed: some kind of homestudio software with a funny name. Then it became Sonar. I used Acid but found it too limiting in its ability to delve into the details of audio editing and composing as my pre-Sonar program could do. As i saved and collected enough money to afford the equipment necessary to record live musicians, electronic music production moved into a sort of hobby that helps inform my work with real audio. All that being said, I find it interesting that Ableton still dominates the electronic music production software world and Sonar is not even a close second. Perhaps this is because sonar integrates audio production features unnecessary for many electronic music producers. Nevertheless, i have made the switch from Ableton for simple songwriting back to Sonar 8.5. Keep in mind i HATE SONAR X1 and all its various forms. The whole multidock system sucks balls! So i keep my system with Sonar 8.5 and LOVE it for hashing out ideas because it includes 'Matrix View', which is essentially ripped from Abletons production interface. Now, stealing/sharing of great ideas between DAW's is totally common and an acceptable practice I believe...so even though i credit Ableton as the originator of the live triggering of samples, i don't fault Sonar for integrating it, and actually, i feel that it is far more powerful than Ableton, which i find overly simplistic and too expensive, PLUS not as cross compatible as Sonar.
I am wondering if there are any other professional electronic music composers/producers who have an opinion on this. I am very open to being informed of things in Ableton that keep it superior to Sonar. However, i get the feeling that the strength of Ableton over Sonar is its streamlining of the music CREATION aspect, but when it comes to editing details, it falls short of Audio Production DAW's that enable minute editing of details, etc. Not that Ableton doesnt offer minute adjustments, but it does so in a proprietary manner that doesnt translate well when moving between DAW's. As i do that a lot, (writing the basic backbeats, etc in Sonar and then importing it into Pro Tools for editing, mixing and mastering), i am curious to know how others feel about what i am saying. I am NOT bashing Ableton - i have nothing but respect for a company that revolutionized electronic music creation/production. I just feel that the very strength i just mentioned has the downside of over-simplification of a process where in Sonar (now with the matrix system) you can essentially have what works like a 're-wire' insert of Ableton without buying ableton! The Matrix view shows up as a track and you can work sequentially while triggering live samples, and the output track is NOT STEREO but creates tracks for each sample - its AMAZING!
So I'm wondering what die-hard Ableton fans have to say, what people who often move between DAW's have to say, and what people who have used Ableton and even still use it, but rely on Sonar for deeper manipulation of audio/midi.
What does Ableton have that Sonar does not?
What does Sonar have that Ableton does not?
What do you all think of my process of basic songwriting (for electronic music) in Sonar heavily utilizing the Matrix view system and then importing the tracks into pro-tools for mixing/mastering? I just don't like Sonar's system for mix-busses, like i like to sum my drums to one bus, bass to another, melody and leads to two others, etc. Pro-tools however has my favorite mixing/routing system (and that comes from a person who spent years recording with Cubase, making electronic music with Sonar AND Ableton, and then swapping Cubase for Pro-Tools when M-Powered came out).
Any opinions, advice or comments are welcome as long as your not being an asshole. I do not claim that objectively, Sonar is BETTER than Ableton. I am saying FOR THE WAY I DO THINGS and possibly other electronic music people, does anyone feel similarly about Abletons setup being most conducive for the writing and performing aspects, but not necessarily the mixing/mastering process?
Just be nice and share your knowledge/humble opinions. Assholes need not post.
-Jay
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