Which Daw should I integrate with FG7

Reaper is in the same price class as Steinberg Cubase Essential 4.

The normal price for REAPER is $225.00 USD
Cubase Essential 4 is 139EUR ~ $217USD

I wouldn't hesitate a second going for Cubase over Reaper...

Reaper has a nice 64-bit engine, but still needs heaps of work on the interface and on many other areas. Also OMF file support is important in a Daw imho if you ever work with video projects.

- Jesse -

kongwee:

Are you saying that Logic is EASIER to learn than Sonar? I was thinking Sonar because it looked like it was easy to use (as many Cakewalk products are). I was initially planning to go with Logic, but I didn't want to buy a new Mac just now. So I've been leaning toward Sonar Producer 7.

Also, isn't Roland partnered with Sonar now? I really want to choose a DAW that has a Fantom G-specific environment already available, and if Sonar has a relationship with Roland, I'm hopeful that they will have a G-specific environment first. Anyone know if any current DAW has a Fantom G-specific environment?

Yes roland does own most of cakewalk, also the Fantom- G works with sonar.

Thanks. But, is there a Fantom G-specific environment in Sonar 7?

Hi Rezfactor, Sorry for the quick reply I had to rush out.

Is there a Fantom-G specific environment in Sonar 7?

Well if you mean did Cakewalk design it around the Fantom-G or with it in mind I would say no.

Meaning it will not do anything special for the Fantom-G that it would not do with any other keyboard. But it is very Roland friendly and you can customize it to your Fantom-G as much as you need. Roland has the instrument definitions available so sonar’s midi tracks will be able to select the G’S instruments. Also You can control just about anything on the Fantom-G with it, and it works well with the G’s editor. Plus you get Roland exclusive tools such as the V-Vocal which you can use to do just about anything to a wave.

I think it’s an excellent Pro level Program if you do classical, Jazz, Rock, Pop or anything dealing with music theory. If your goal is to do hip-hop or styles like it then something like Logic or fruity loops may be more to your liking. Not that sonar can‘t do hip hop just some DAW‘s put the hip-hop artist first.

You can customize most of the top shelf DAW’s to any Keyboard but for sure The G works well with sonar 7. And the fact that Roland gives you the instrument definitions makes customizing a bit nicer. Overall I’ll say you can make it into a Darn near perfect Fantom G-specific environment, however it does not come that way. But no worriers you have all your pals here at Roland Clan if you should need any help with whatever you buy.

Zephyer:

Thanks, man! Appreciate the detailed reply! I don't even really know what I'm talking about since I don't have a DAW yet, and haven't yet used any of the modern DAWs. As far as I understand (and I understand very little about DAWs at this point), synth-specific environments are sometimes created by either the synth manfuacturer, a user, or some other third-party.

Don't really do any Hip-Hop stuff or "loops." My original intention in buying the Fantom was to do soundtracks for my own short films. But, I've also gotten back into my electric guitar playing lately, and have been writing mostly on guitar in recent weeks (and recording on my Fantom). But, overall, I really never use any MIDI sequencing (not that I won't, once my DAW is set up). But, I pretty much do audio-only recording exclusively on my Fantom.

Sounds like I may be sold on Sonar Producer 7. I know this probably isn't a valid concern, but, I just worry that Cubase may be a bit "Roland-unfriendly," and maybe more "Yamaha-friendly," due to those products' respective alliances. Sonar just seems "safer."

[Note: I also will need to support a VirusTI as another USB audio device within my chosen DAW, and according to Access, they say that their software (Virus Control) supports Sonar 7. But, I think the Virus is really happiest with Logic, since that's what Access used as a development test-bed.]

Glad to help.

Film you say, that's awesome, I have a bother that’s into film we use sonar to do both the music and sound effects for the movies. I think sonar will work good for you, if you want to give it a test run you can Download a demo from cakewalks site.

You could get the Sonar Studio rather than Producer Edition. Producer have more plug-ins. You could save the money and buy the plug-in that you really need. Get Pro version if you want to the kind of bundles that you find in Logic Studio.

Sonar Producer 7 for Video Applications:

Thanks for everyone's input! I downloaded the Sonar 7 demo, and I quite like it (although I have nothing else to compare it with). I imported some of my short films into the demo, and Sonar's audio editing interface, combined with its video playback capabilities are fairly impressive for a DAW not typically seen used in pro environments (compared with the apparent omnipresence of either ProTools or Logic in high-end finishing suites).

Although, Sonar doesn't seem to render my 24-frame progressive footage back correctly (it's rendering it as interlaced video, somehow, in its sub-sampled windows), Sonar's resident SMPTE time code capabilities are, again, impressive for a DAW of this caliber. Both overall picture aspect ratio and pixel aspect ratios appear to be properly handled by Sonar as well, so native 16:9-acquired footage plays back correctly. Its 5.1 surround capability is also pretty cool. Since my primary application is scoring my own films, Sonar may be the ticket for me.

I read quite a bit of Craig Anderton's Sonar 5/6/7 reviews on Harmony Central, but he never really talks about Sonar's capability as a digital audio workstation (he seems to concentrate on its sequencing, EQ, FX, and soft synth features). Since I currently do 100% of my music as audio, and not as MIDI sequences, this is the part I need to know about most.

Anyway, being new to modern DAWs is quite daunting, and there will be a significant learning curve after coming from an all-hardware based synth set-up. I plan to buy the academic "Producer" version, since the "Studio" version actually omits several important features, in addition to its omission of the library VSTi plug-ins, included in the "Producer" version of Sonar 7.

Apple Logic Pro 8 for Video Applications:

Well, after a look over at the Apple Logic site, I have to say, the look of this product is on par with its video counterpart, Apple Final Cut Studio. Slick and professsional. I'm guessing that Logic is the more capable product over Sonar, and seems to have a lot of ease-of-use features as well, including well-tuned video integration features (I would assume, if not inherited by, at least inspired by, Final Cut), and an attractive 5.1 authoring interface as well. Would probably prefer Logic over Sonar for my needs, but that means spending $$$$ on a whole new computer!

Note that Logic Studio is a 32 bit application. 4 gig ram limitation. Your plugins have to address the memory limitation. If you use huge sample base soft synth, only EXS II plug in can address above 4 gig ram.

For me, I would like to work in Mac environment more. I don't need to work too much on the OS stability in order to start working.

For PC, I need to prayer to God. But Sonar is PC only.

Hi rezfactor. I would not recommend doing a professional video with just an audio program.

What my bother and I normally do for video (he’s the video guy I do music) is to make all the music and sound effects in sonar (as it is primarily an audio program) and then we import it into adobe premiere.

We just use the video part of sonar to keep the audio in sync between programs. But the final render of the video and audio is done in adobe premiere, as it is a much more capable video program.

Folks

Things to remember sonar is pc only just like Logic is Mac only.
Looks like FX/G doesn't have patch/ins file for Logic. At least that what I understood from Roland support group.

If you are looking for tweaked PC exclusively for audio production you can buy it from vendors like ADK Pro and others.

I am also at cross roads of getting a Mac pro but for the same cost I can get customized pc with sonar producer,motu audio interface with few soft synth samples.

With Sonar one advantage I can see is, if you are a midi person, record the midi track, then assign corresponding a audio track in sonar . And then you can call individual patch of Fantom x from Sonar. some of my pro friends prefer Logic over sonar. I am not sure if there is any sound/mixing quality difference between them ?!

Arg decisions decisions ..!!

Hi rezfactor,

If you are not familiar with Mac, don't jump into Logic. I switch from PC to Mac six year ago. I will tell you that you need six month to get used to Mac and it overall workflow. A lot of my friend own a Mac, but they are more comfortable on PC. But they never regret buying a Mac of course as Mac has many content building app to play with.

I own Sonar and Logic. I think I will work on Logic more as My Mac is more powerful than my PC laptop with Sonar. Currently, I am learning Sonar. I used to do sequencing on my S88. Now with both DAW, I can do much professional sequencing.

Hey, Zeph!

Don't worry, I've been doing all my finishing in Adobe Premiere for years, now, but I'm about to switch to Sony Vegas, which I like a LOT more. Plus, Vegas is pretty famous for NOT crashing, while Premiere Pro is infamous for Windows instability and frequent crashing. If I had a Mac, the obvious choice would be Final Cut Studio for video editing. Sonar would be used to score already-cut pieces, created in either Premiere or Vegas.

kongwee:

I used to be pretty familiar with Macs, and at one time (early 1990s) had both a Pentium PC and a loaded Mac Quadra 700 on my desk, which at the time was $7000 with all the RAM I had in it!!! This was back when I was doing advertising and prepress work, and 1GB HDDs were over $1,000! In fact, I had a Mac before I ever had a PC. Been wanting to go back ever since.

I'm more concerned with the learning curve of DAWs, period. The last MIDI sequencer I used was on an Amiga! I used to use Cakewalk's guitar-oriented recording programs, and found them very easy to use. Would love to just get started with Logic, but getting the Mac I would want to be able run all my video apps as well, is going to be expensive. I guess I'll struggle along in PC-land for a bit longer.

P.S. Although Sonar supports 64-bit Windows Vista, the G's ASIO driver, currently, does not.

taichi:

Thanks for that info on the Fantom G's lack of instrument definitions (is that what you meant?) for Logic. That may be what pushes me toward getting Sonar 7 instead (plus, saving all that money on not buying a loaded new Mac). And, also the fact that Roland is partnered with Cakewalk, hopefully promises even more improved levels of integration with Roland hardware in the future.

The main reason I was thinking of going with Logic (other than the fact that Macs are way cool) was to guarantee problem-free integration with my VirusTI Polar (which was designed using Logic as a test-bed). But, reportedly, Access' finicky Virus Control software works okay with Sonar as well.

The US-based audio equipment reseller, Sweetwater, also offers "music-production oriented," custom-built PCs, with super-quiet power supply fans, etc., that also look interesting, and seem moderately priced. Haven't seen the ADK Pro products. Do they have a US reseller?