Hello all,

I'm looking for input from those of you that have used both Sonar 8.5 and Samplitude 11. I'm in the market for a new DAW for a modest home studio, and these are the two choices I've narrowed it down to. Initially the ideal use for these are going to be recording multitrack acoustic and electric guitar with the intention of expanding into recording drums and bass as well. The purpose of the recording will be creating demos. I am not a professional audio engineer and maintain no delusion that I will be able to create that caliber product. I am, however, interested in learning it and getting as close as possible while being heard.

Looking at the two side by side, it appears that Sonar has a greater wealth of VSTi, which I'm not concerned with, as I have no intention of using them. It also seems that Sonar has more essential plugs that would be used, but Samplitude has the plugs that I would be interested in. It will be run on a Rain ION rackmount with Windows Vista, soon to be upgraded to Windows 7.

I know that a DAW is a personal preference thing. What I'm looking at from here, would be the workflow ease of one compared to another. If one appears to be more stable and operate with less glitches than the other, and just general overall impression of the two in general. I also know the obvious answer is to download the trial versions and see which one I prefer, which will happen. I am, however, still interested in the opinions expressed.

My thanks for your feedback, and the wealth of knowledge that you guys have provided throughout this fourm.

Jeremy