Product Reviews

Sonar 6 Producer Edition is our top recommendation for music production, but not everyone can afford its price of £329 including VAT. This is where Sonar Home Studio 6 XL steps in. This cut-down package lacks some of the features of Producer Edition, but still includes much more than its price suggests.

Core features are identical to those of Producer Edition, with comprehensive audio and MIDI editing and a flexible mix architecture that allows any audio signal to be routed pretty much anywhere. Recording is at up to 192kHz and 24-bit, and there are no limits to the number of physical inputs and outputs, effects or MIDI tracks that can be used at the same time.

Limitations are imposed elsewhere, and only 64 audio tracks (for recordings or virtual instruments) and 16-bus channels (for effects or submixes) can be used. That said, only the most ambitious recordings are likely to hit these barriers. Other omitted features include track lanes for compiling different takes and V-Vocal for sophisticated vocal tuning. Also, the plug-in bundles are different.

However, you can still get automatic time-stretching of loops to fit the tempo, pitch-shift envelopes, comprehensive mix automation and audio crossfade options, video synchronisation and basic score editing and printing. Compared to most sub-£100 audio software, Sonar Home Studio 6 XL feels anything but home-oriented.

The interface resembles

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Producer Edition more than previous versions of Home Studio, and packs lots of controls on to the screen at once. This makes it fast for experienced users to operate, although it is likely to intimidate and confuse newcomers. Common tasks such as setting up a virtual instrument or an auxiliary effect are hard to locate or unnecessarily convoluted, and the new Track Template feature doesn't go far enough in simplifying things. Managing a balance of powerful features, flexible working methods and ease of use is tricky, but Mackie's Tracktion 3, which is reviewed opposite, does a better job.

Sonar Home Studio's effects are another weak area compared to Tracktion 3, with basic sound quality and user control. The compressor's lack of a graphical display means that inexperienced users will struggle to make sense of its controls. The Sonitus EQ plug-in is the exception, providing surgical precision and excellent sound quality via a straightforward interface.

The bundled virtual instruments are far stronger. The standard version of Sonar Home Studio, which costs £65 including VAT, includes a sampler with an excellent collection of presets, a powerful virtual analogue synth and a couple of less-exciting general-purpose synths. Meanwhile, the XL version adds a superior general-purpose synth with an impressive orchestral sound set, a drum machine that specialises in acoustic kits and a limiter effect for adding welly to final mixes. This bundle is just as impressive as the one included with Mackie's £200 Tracktion 3 Ultimate Bundle and it's less hassle to install.

Ideally, we would choose Tracktion 3 Project Bundle's recording interface and Sonar Home Studio 6 XL's bundled instruments. As luck would have it, this is a viable option because Sonar Home Studio 6 XL's key plug-ins use the VST format, so they work in Tracktion, too. If buying both packages isn't realistic then Tracktion 3 is the better product overall, but Sonar Home Studio 6 XL makes more sense if virtual instruments are a priority.