Noel Borthwick

Yes. If you are not a steam user who had purchased legacy SONAR, this article  doesn't apply to you.

The product center will only handle current cakewalk applications not legacy ones.

Would have to check what scalar is doing. It's very unlikely that the problem is in cbb. The plugin may be blocking audio processing when you drag in midi.

We already have full cross platform project transfer to and from Sonar <==> Next using our own new transfer format. It goes beyond what this does and supports tracks, buses, auxes, plugins, instruments, routing, automation, arranger track, folders and more. Since it's our own interchange format we have full flexibility to rapidly grow as the need arises.

@Klaus M Old versions of SONAR will always open newer files but without any new feature content. This is because we support backwards and forwards compatibility.

Did you try renaming the file back to cakewalk.exe and trying. If it doesnt work then something  is still blocking the Windows services somehow. As mentioned, there are other apps that install hooks or tamper with Windows for nefarious purporses leading to issues like this.

This is the wrong forum to post information on Next

7 hours ago, Klaus M said:

Unfortunately, the same activation problem appears with the newest update version 2023.09.

Renaming the cakewalk.exe did not help. Turning off all firewall also did not help.

If I try to sign in via Help menu, but no feedback happens. After some time, a message Message see attached file. Before  there was a message like "Error 20 ...", which got replaced by the red message (s. attchmt)

Help is VERY appreciated. Thanks!

 

Error 20 means something on your PC is tampering with the system used to check the digital signature of the app. Most likely caused by running cracked software or your PC has been hacked by something. 
Look in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options
Check for a value DevOverrideEnable set to 1 for that key. If its there delete it and reboot your machine and try again.
Also sheck if cakewalk.exe is listed as a sub key underneath there with a value "debugger" or similar.  If so, delete that as well. 

On the next discord channel. The discussion is there. This is the suggestions topic.

https://discord.com/channels/1024921285953863700/1065147809805893712

Introduction

This article only relates to legacy versions of SONAR distributed via the Steam platform. As of 2023 Sept, changes to the Steam platform and Cakewalk's website have caused compatibility problems with activation. Some symptoms of this are the SONAR app being in demo mode after installation from Steam or "communication problem with the server" error messages when trying to register the application.

PS: These instructions are provided as a courtesy to users using legacy versions of Cakewalk that are no longer supported or maintained by us. No support or fixes are provided for these products.

This article discusses how to resolve these and reactivate your software if necessary.

Activation Steps:

1. Open the Steam client and copy the serial number of the software you wish to activate. (Go to Manage | CD Keys to find it)
   
   
   
    
2.  Download and unzip SteamReg.zip  which contains the latest version of SteamReg.exe for both 32 and 64 bit installations.
    
3. Copy the appropriate flavor of SteamReg.exe to your Steam application's program folder.
   e.g for 64 bit SONAR it typically is:
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\x64\SONAR
   Note: The path may be different from above if you have installed Steam to a different folder. This will replace the existing file in that location.
   
   For Instruments (Rapture Pro/Z3TA+ 2), you'll want to place these in the folder with the microhost, the default for x64 Rapture Pro: 
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\x64\VstPlugins\Rapture Pro\ 
   
    
4. Open a command prompt (Start | Command Prompt)
    
5. Type the following command, replacing <serialnumber> with your serial number as obtained in step 1.
   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\x64\SONAR\SteamReg.exe" /SN <serialnumber>
   
   For Instruments, you would use the appropriate equivalent path. Here's how a successful entry for Rapture Pro would appear in Command Prompt:
   
   
    
6. If step 5 succeeded with no errors, you may now open the application from the Steam client. 
    
7. When the app launches you should see the registration dialog prompting you for your e-mail address.
   NOTE: If you have previously registered the product with Cakewalk, its very important to enter the SAME email address you used before, otherwise the registration will fail. Your PC must be online for this step.
   
    
   
   
    
8. The app should now be activated!

The same steps may also be used to activate plugins from Steam such as Rapture. Note that if you reinstall the application, you will have to redo the above steps since Steam will restore the SteamReg file to the original version.

That is also a symptom of old third party software components expiring due to timeouts or certificate expiration.
While we have kept the legacy back end in place as a courtesy, it no longer receives any updates so its subject to failures like this.

This is one reason why we want users running the latest version of our software since that is the only version that is actively updated.

On 9/22/2023 at 11:13 AM, Shayne White said:

Honestly, I hope that Cakewalk brings back something resembling the Command Center when the new Sonar is released. It was a great app and easy to use for downloading and installing all the Cakewalk content. Kind of similar to NI Access.

We are in fact going to have a new product center app to list all user specific product assets. In app updates will still be there, but this will be a simpler way to navigate and reinstall etc.

On 9/22/2023 at 3:41 PM, Andres Medina said:

CW keeps hanging after drawing tempos with the line tool. Got another crash dump, if needed.

@Andres Medinaplease share the dump file with us.

5 hours ago, Keni said:

A bit harsh, but to me it looks like a program version of the Bandlab editor...

No it isn't. There is a lot more beneath the surface and more to come of course. 

What you are reacting to is similar theming and branding that we following for our apps to look consistent. 

7 hours ago, Bristol_Jonesey said:

I see your point.

That page is just the discord invite to switch to the app. Nothing to do with Next guys. We don't write the discord software ?

21 hours ago, RexRed said:

I think the point is, we pay for the program so the company can afford to keep paying the programmers to fix the bugs. 

I will probably not be able to afford Cakewalk Sonar the very day it comes out unless it is a subscription too. If it is a subscription I prefer to pay for that. If it is buy outright only and upgrade later I will probably buy it within the first month (around payday).

A subscription would be very good for Cakewalk and the growth/maintenance of the program.

Cakewalk is not a flat tire, I have been making songs with Cakewalk steady for 35 years. I have hundreds of them and even my oldest projects still open in Cakewalk..

I have tried the other DAWs and I would not use them even if they were free. But I will gladly pay for Cakewalk (lifetime updater here too).

I might also add that I use Cakewalk almost every single day. I will get my money's worth out of a subscription. I sincerely hope that both models are offered a subscription and buy outright and maybe also, rent to own.  

Since when were options a bad thing?

The point is, it is not free anymore and neither should it be..

Some anecdotal data. Back in the SONAR days in 2015-2017, you may be surprised to know that despite having the annual membership option, the monthly memberships were by far the most popular choice for our users despite being more expensive overall if you paid month to month. Even though that might not be the popular choice for many people on this forum, there are many who prefer to pay a smaller monthly fee because it lets them manage their finances better. Payment choices are good for everyone.

BandLab has a limit to song length (IIRC 15 minutes) and also tracks (16 tracks). 
If all you are doing is using it for private file sharing, you could achieve the same with any file sharing service. Of course you won’t get the integration, socializing features that BL has.
Ultimately depending on demand we may provide access to a more advanced tier for this. The upcoming Cakewalk Next has much deeper BandLab integration, and Sonar as well has been enhanced in this regard.

17 hours ago, MarcL said:

Also if I buy a car I prefer that I am able to run it independently of the company's future or other dependencies. Sure I will depend on repair parts, but usually that can be solved in another way.

The fact of the matter is that we live in a connected world. I understand your perspective and I feel the same about some things esp appliances, but like it or not the world has moved in that direction. Even appliances like phones, and electric vehicles are extremely tied to ever changing software on the back end so you are intrinsically tied to the company whether you know it or not. If google or apple were to go under suddenly, its guaranteed that your phone would not work. If tesla were to tank, your car would certainly develop problems.

My point is its pointless fixating on these issues. Its a possibility but unlikely for the reason that if there is indeed an escrow situation, in the vast majority of cases someone takes over and services are restored. You are still using SONAR and its services, more than 5 years after the company tanked aren’t you? If that isn’t a good example I don’t know what is.
Bottom line is if this scenario is not acceptable, then you should consider something else that uses the old desktop software model and isn’t connected to web services.

1 hour ago, Larry Jones said:

@Noel BorthwickWhy not just say what the price will be? From this remark, it seems as if you know.

Because we don't. It has to be officially discussed and approved by the CEO and upper management. Its not my call so please be patient and wait for the due process to be completed.

Cakewalk has supported event based WASAPI since 2008 when it came out. 

You can save MP3 excoder settings, if you save an export task. Click the "Add Task to Queue" button and before it saves the task it will prompt you for the MP3 encoder settings. Once you save the project with the task you can recall the same task in the future with the sae setttings.

3 hours ago, mettelus said:

I do like the "2 years later..." tag above the exhumation! The semi-hidden, necro-thread alert.

Cakewalk remains in a very unique position in that people who have onboarded with CbB (i.e., no access to a prior product) will "eventually" be put into a position where their work can be held hostage based on current pathing.

These threads have become interesting to me more from there psychological perspective; specifically who is chiming in, what they are saying, and what is their motivations.

The cynicism in this forum never fails to amaze me. Why on earth would we or any sane company in our field want to hold users' data hostage? 
You do realize that we are one of the only DAW's whose project files can be opened in pretty much any prior version of the app? Would we do that if we wanted to hostage projects?
If someone really needed to, they could open their projects in any prior product like SONAR 8.5 and get most of the data out. We also plan to have free versions of all our apps so if users needed, they could use the free limited versions if they never owned a Cakewalk product ever.
The bigger question to ask is why anyone who cared about their music in any capacity would not want to pay a reasonable fee to support the development of a product they use.

6 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

Just say I just start checking marking really quickly to speed hiding all those VST twos. What if I don’t pay attention and I have a vst2 but no vst3 and I choose both boxes. Would I be able to see the vst2 even when both boxes are chosen and there is no vst3? 
 

 

Yes it only hides the VST2 when an equivalent VST3 is available.

And why are you cross posting here?  Mark already replied to you and explained that its completely unrelated to the EA.
The purpose of any EA is resolve any issues that are NEW or regressions.

On 8/24/2023 at 12:25 AM, Shayne White said:

There's an option that allows you to hide VST2 versions of VST3 plugins you have. I actually prefer having both versions because I need to access the old .fxp presets for some synths and effects. I don't remember if that option is in the Plug-in Manager or the main Preferences window, you'll just have to look. It's called something like "Hide related VST2 plugins."

Yes this is the simplest solution. No need to use plugin manager.

@Harley Dear thanks for bringing this to our attention. This is the whole point of early access so we can squash any unnoticed issues.
Even bug fixes can expose problems so its critical to have a bigger pool of users such as you do final tests.

My only request is that rather than making new threads, any EA related issues should always be reported in the main EA thread. Otherwise we risk not seeing it.