Noel Borthwick

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 😂

7 hours ago, christian.landstrom said:

tried to sign in through "help" and "sign in to bandlab" nothing happens??? I see a round blue ring next to the mouse pointer and then nothing?

Most likely what happened is the page opened as a tab in your web browser but it did not jump to the foreground so you didnt see it. Either that or something is blocking the application from simply launching a URL in the associated web browser.
If you run into that its generally recommended to close the browser before trying to sign in so it will launch visibly. Again nothing has changed in the sign in process itself. Its worked this way for over a year now.

2 hours ago, Will. said:

As I have stated in an earlier post. I first had to go to the .com site | signed in there and then went to the app before it accepted my sign in through the app. I had to sign in there too. I was confused that day, but thought it was because i had done a clean install of my OS. This was before the EA release about a month and half back. 

Far cry: Could it be related to the jump made with the new servers perhaps? 

Not at all. Even though Sign in is a prerequisite for  activation its a completely independent processes. Also signing in through the web browser on its own has no effect  on Cakewalk. 

24 minutes ago, billp said:

Yes I did exactly that: used the sign-in from within CbB. It has always worked before.

Here's the Fiddler results:

@billp I'm more interested in the errors displayed in the app rather than the HTTP errors. Let's take troubleshooting your issue offline. Check your PM messages and we can try and troubleshoot further one on one. 
The 400 HTTP error makes me wonder if something in your network (firewall, router or AV possibly) is blocking the bandlab OAUTH sign in process which requires communication with the application via a localhost port. 
I'm curious if simply going to the bandlab website and trying to sign in from there is successful. (Even if that works it doesn't rule out something blocking the communication between the browser and Cakewalk itself). 
Also, the digital signature of the application has changed since the last version so it's not impossible that if it was whitelisted before that has changed now. The actual sign in process hasn't changed since 2021 so we're pretty sure it's not directly related to this update.

2 hours ago, MarcL said:

Here it did only work if I installed a version before 2022.11. But then it works to get the full installer.

But it seems 2023.09 cannot be activated offline! I tested this on my laptop to ensure it will work on my other offline systems. Although I could export an activation request, BandLab Assistent told me the request is invalid. Is this true?

This is clearly mentioned in the release notes. BandLab assistant is no longer compatible with CbB since it uses an obsolete activation server. 
Offline activation is not yet available for this version. We'll provide a tool to do that somewhat later.

Quote

• BandLab Assistant has been deprecated and is no longer compatible with CbB or other Cakewalk products. You must use in-app activation as described below.
• Version 2023.09 currently does not support offline activation, so your computer must be online to activate it. Offline activation will be available soon.

2 hours ago, Keni said:

Hi Noel...

I'm ok here, but I'm a bit confused... When performing an update, an activation is required and the experience by my friend yesterday showed more than a 2 hour delay in activation happening after update. So many people are confused, uncertain and bewildered...

You might post a note informing them of such delays and reminding them to be patient even for that long!

 

The OP was asking if he needed to sign in and activate before updating to a new version. I was responding to him.
If its taking that long its more likely that there is a connectivity problem on the client machine. Activation is instantaneous here. Ive never seen it delay. 

2 hours ago, billp said:

@Noel Borthwick

Tried this but am getting Error code: 400

Are you sure you read the code correctly? Please post a screenshot or video showing the message and exactly what steps you took leading up to that.
You must go to help about and then choose sign in, then sign in from the webpage that appears in your browser. Until that is completed the app cannot activate. This is not new, its been a requirement for over a year btw.

8 hours ago, Mark Morgon-Shaw said:

I deleted Bandlab Assisant and although I've had no trouble updating CbB and I'm signed into the App I can no longer view the Bandlab website

 It tried to take me there to show me what's new with the  update and it's just blank

Interesting, is this still happening if you try to go to whats new from the help menu? We're not seeing this.
Also, what browser version are you using?

5 hours ago, sjoens said:

So hopefully 28 won't need "activated" before 29 is installed over it?  Since 28 won't be activatable any longer.

BTW, just successfully "refreshed" my 2022.11 so should be good till March??

Activation or signing in isnt a requirement to do updates. Just do a check for updates and it should find the new update.

3 hours ago, Keni said:

Friend tried to login to bandlab Assistant but was unable. Back end changes?

Bandlab assistant hasn't been used by Cakewalk for login for more than a year and a half. It will no longer work for activating Cakewalk. All sign in must be done within the app from the help menu.

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.

2 minutes ago, Chris Deveroux said:

Thanks for the reply.

No problem adding the same VST into either a new, or the existing track, and recalling it. Presets come up as invalid regardless of the instance.

Not sure what else could have changed. This was an existing project with no changes, except installing the early release update.

Strange thing is both plugins were available from the drop down menu and showed scanned correctly within the plug-in manager despite being "missing"

You can't go by the name. There is a plugin ID stored in the project file. If that doesnt match then the plugin wont load. Use of 32 bit plugins could also lead to issues like this occasionally.

I'm not sure what you mean by presets coming up as invalid. Plugin presets are not stored in the project file.

Please PM me a link to a stripped down project file that has at lease two tracks one which has the plugin version that loads and one which fails to load. I should be able to tell you why it fails based on that.

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.

11 hours ago, Chris Deveroux said:

Previously saved instances of Plugin Alliance bx_cleansweep V2 and bx_solo come up missing in projects.

Have reinstalled both plug-ins and re-scanned correctly. No issue with inserting new instance to replace the missing instances, however presets come up as invalid. 

No issues running them in wavelab or loading presets. 

Both plugin instances were saved and  worked in version 28.11.0.021

@Chris DeverouxWhat happens if in the same project with the missing instances you add the plugin to a new track, save and reload the project? If you still see missing instances send the project file and I can look at it. 
There were no changes to VST loading in this release so its very likely that this is a case of vst versioning or a scanning issue. 

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.

7 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

I have always saved with incremental numbering. I work on v10 then save as v11. Work on v11 and save as v12. I have never created sub folders for each version. I just stack them up in one folder per song. Do you need a video?

@Max Arwood we have verified that this issue is specific to saving to a UNC path and its definitely a preexisting issue. We'll fix it in the Sonar codebase but the fix will not be in CbB for this reason.

18 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

With this new version, I get odd errors. I used save as 4 times the file never got saved.

@Max Arwood sure that its new to this release? Will try and repro.

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.