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Thread best sequencer : cakewalk, cubase or Logic ?

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1 best sequencer : cakewalk, cubase or Logic ?
Hi,

I've been using cakewalk for several years and I'm pretty satisfyed.
With the new version (sonar 3) It has become compatible with VST instruments). But I found that Cubase is still better for audio.

I head that cabase SX 2 version has arrived during the last months. I also heard that the new version is rather instable ?

Has anybody tested the new features, compared it with Cakewalk Sonar 3 ?

What about the last logic versions ?
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11
I used Cakewalk for years because it came free with a sound card, and I upgraded along the way. It's easy to use. I didn't like the scoring utility much, especially compared to Passport, but it wasn't hard to learn. So, all in all, I was happy with Cakewalk.

Then Reason came along. I had to have Reason in my sequencing mix. It works with Cakewalk, but has many issues. In Cubase, it works a lot more smoothly, and functions like any other soft synth.

The one thing that made me switch from Cakewalk to Cubase:
Open Cakewalk. Add Reason as a synth. Set up a sound in Reason. Go back to Cakewalk. Set up a midi track and attach it to Reason. Now press a key on your midi keyboard. Notice a problem? No sound. Hit play or record - now you can hear it. Annoying.

I want to be able to do some test jamming with Reason sounds before I hit the record button. Cakewalk wouldn't let me do it, but Cubase would. So, I switched. I'm glad I did because I like Cubase's mixing and piano roll abilities more - much more fine grain control. I didn't know what I was missing.

I also use a Yamaha Motif in the mix and I have had no problems with Cubase controlling hardware (as stated by a previous poster) or software synths. I use the optical output from the hardware synth back into the system, and I get a great all-digital mix (before I add guitar or voice or other analog input).

I am kinda bummed that I don't have DXi instruments available to me in Cubase (I don't have a VST-DXi adapter.) But, my primary concern is solid Reason support and fine grain controls over levels and note values. Cubase wins here. And, I have a lot of Mac friends, with whom I can collaborate using both Reason and Cubase. Very cool.

As has been stated, it all depends what you want to accomplish. My apologies for an exceedingly long post, but I wanted to share my experience and details, because I know there's a lot of people out there eager to try out Reason with one of the sequencer packages. And a lot of musicians have friends who use the other (Mac or PC) platform, so cross-platform ability rocks.
12
Iam personally hardcore Logic user (have been for a few years) -- started with Acid, then went on to Cubase (and also experimenting at the same time with Cakewalk, DP, PT, Reason, then I tried Logic and haven't looked elsewhere since....
13
Steinberg Nuendo 3.Tried/had everything in the past from Pro-Tools,Sonar 4,Logic5 ect...Nuendo 3 works best for me...
14
Is an apple better than an orange?

That's really the question people are asking here. I've used all 3 sequencers and they all have their + and - sides.
At the moment I'm recording in sonar producer 5.2 and it's excellent both in terms of sound quality and it's highly intuitive to use. Where it falls down in my opinion is that it does not use ASIO plugins directly, it still has a wrapper which means it uses slightly more CPU power. This becomes an issue when you use lots of plugins.

Cubase on the other hand (for me at least is less intuitive) but sound wise it is superb cubase 3 and sonar 5 are pretty much equal in terms of sound quality these days. If you go back to sonar 3 and compare it with Cubase 3 in terms of the sound, cubase walks all over it, there is no comparison. Cakewalk have really improved their sound engine in the latest version of Sonar.

Cubase is better if you like using lots of soft synths, Sonar is better if you are more into recording audio instruments. when i say better maybe i should say more convenient to use, they both record midi and audio very well.

As for logic, in terms of sound quality it is superb, but alas, i don't find it very logical, to use a bad pun (not all that intuitive at first). There is a large learning curve in order to get up to speed with logic, but once you get there, I think out of the 3 programs it is more widely used in the industry so files are more portable than with sonar and cubase. Logic also has some pretty wicked plugins which are as good as the best native plugins you'll find out there. Cubase is somewhat lacking in this department. Sonar is not bad, especially with things like V vocal time, formant and pitch shifting software which is kind of like Melodyne and Autotune rolled up into one, very very useful indeed.

Cubase 3 has something similar inbuilt which allows you to do audio quantising! on out of time audio samples, it's never really worked very well without producing glitches in the sound. I hear sonar 6 now has this feature too.

So in short no one sequencer is "better" than the other, just different, the 3 mentioned above are all truly excellent in their latest incarnations. Try some demos out and see which one has the magic for you.

cheers
Theo C