Misha

Since a feedback loop is a very general topic, I would like to request a small but handy addition , that perhaps can be added to future Sonar while it is being forged. One of the main reasons why I like Cakewalk is a super easy way of tracking. I am talking about auto creation of take lanes on transport Rec/Stop. I use that feature pretty much on every tune. At times I would have a few dozen of take lanes on a single track only with a few take lanes active, while most are muted. Multiply that by several tacks and I get hundreds of muted take lanes (subtracks). Gets a bit busy on the screen. Here is my request: Simple mechanism to hide / un-hide muted take lanes within a track. Or maybe even everything that is "muted" including main track (if it's muted) Thank you for considering.

"2. Chord track" & "14. Updated Browser" should be considered at the same time. Minding "previews" based on Chord Track from browser. +1 16. Updated MIDI editing. ------------------- Chord track had been a very popular request. Hopefully we will see that in new Sonar some time in near future.

When Gibson thing happened, it felt like a storm. Most of us were worried that Cakewalk was to be pieced, sold for scrap and forgotten. Yet, Meng & team proved many of us wrong. Cakewalk became a much better software than it ever was. Five years of pretty intense updates and fixes, amazing support by staff, including Noel himself + retaining status of one of the best virtual music communities in the world. Since it is confirmed that there will be several models, including perpetual licenses and subscription, I really don't see what some people are whining about. Last five years was a joy ride. Given all that had been done so far, I have a feeling, pricing model will be a very fair one and development will progress at faster pace. Thank you Meng, Noel and Bakers for 5 years of fun!

Larioso, Thanks, I have done all kind of troubleshooting and just accepted the reality not to use something extremely heavy for tracking/composing and freeze tracks if computer goes overboard. I just though that rendering vectors are a much "lighter" process then of rendering image content. It would be super nice if one day Cakewalk would get a more detailed performance monitor, similar to latency mon., but that would pinpoint particular active I/O vampires related to current Cakewalk session. Including hardware bottle necks, total plugin load, sorted by intensity, and links to address particular found issues. P.S. I am only guessing, recommended hardware is 8 code CPU for new Sonar. Perhaps they found a way to spread load more evenly. Can't wait to try it.

Sorry if question is silly or was already answered. To my understanding vector graphics might mean better overall I/O performance right? My biggest issue with DAW recording is "Stopped Engine" thing. Sometimes when trying different things I overstuff projects with heavy VSTs. I know that is my issue and I should freeze , bounce etc. But besides that, one big contributor is NVIDIA graphics adapter. It is known for causing issues with audio recording under Windows. I was wondering if new Sonar vector is mainly for "looks" or it might actually lighten up the I/O load? Thanks.

Rendering is definitely not something I want to pursue. We are talking thousands of individual tracks/take lanes. A local license for old Sonar Home or even better last patched CwB will put this to rest for a long time for backup purposes (yes, even if it will be a paid option). I am also aware that there are some converters out there that will decipher / convert Cakewalk projects. But a working backup copy of older original software is obviously better choice as it give much more control. I think, an older i7 / 6 core Thinkpad with 16gb ram mothballed with battery taken out and everything duplicated to flash drive is a good enough plan for backup for my needs. I am looking forward to new releases and to what Jesse said. Perhaps bakers already worked something out that will take care of this. I got to stop typing now and finish up mixing my tune. Thank you all who supported my woodpecker like licensing requests.

Jesse, Thank you for replying! I am concerned, but far from panicking. Likely I would be among first to upgrade, as I use Cakewalk almost daily and have no desire to switch to anything else. Ok I will shut up and patiently wait.

Noel, you are a wonderful programmer and a very dedicated and helpful person. I have zero complains about how Cakewalk was developed in the past 5 years and looking forward to versions that will come soon. I get that this is likely is not up to you... However, it shouldn't be hard to understand to why I repeatedly insist that at least versions sold under Gibson should be permanently unlocked for those who bought them. Simply to have a peace of mind that I would be able to revisit tunes wrote within past 20+ years and not be dependent on a server that might or might not work in the future. Insurance / security whatever terminology fits better. I belong to another forum, where people often re-mix their tunes from decades ago. Senior folks. I can totally see myself tinkering with early stuff when I retire. It is unlikely that I will be using 2017 for re-mixing and do other technical things, but that version will give me the ability to export individual stems with their volume automations, and among a few other things properly. Very likely Sonar will be around and backward compatible .., but things might change. Those older projects of mine will not. I would very much would like to get some kind of input on this. Thanks.

"Cakewalk by Bandlab (the free DAW) will continue to work and be free with it getting its last and final update. " Until it deactivates one day and will not be "allowed" to activate by Bandlab. Local license please.

"old Sonar version do not need the internet or any on line activations." That is not true. Serial is not enough to activate it. For offline activation, you are still dependent on Bandlab's server that generates DAT file for offline activation for these last 2017 versions. ----- "The big question still unanswered is the same as for Splat, will they unlock CbB so those who don't wish to upgrade can carry on. " +1

Lord Tim. "Noel mentioned earlier in this thread that they had plans that if anything..." That "anything" is about to happen, as it is official: "Will Cakewalk by BandLab be discontinued? Yes, eventually. We will continue providing community support and maintenance for Cakewalk by BandLab until Cakewalk Sonar becomes publicly available. " I am not saying give these older Gibson versions away. I am asking to unlock these for those folks who paid for them. So they do not require "servers" or any other bologna with expiring "activation" after 6 month.

"Those old Gibson-era products still work though, so in effect anyone who bought the licenses back in the day still can use those products" But they will still require a "server" to activate and I believe would still de-activate in 6 months! Dear Bakers, seems you are tight lipped on this one.... Why not unlock legacy Gibson versions for those who might need them for archival purposes, and discontinue/retire these gracefully? New kids will either buy/rent or steal new products. Why keep these older 2018 versions caged?

I had been a fan of Cakewalk for over 20 years. I had very mixed feelings about the news. Here is what it boiled down for me. I absolutely believe in supporting a company that makes software I enjoy using. However, what bothers me the most is ability to go back to older projects in foreseeable future. 5-10 years from now if "something" happens to Bandlab. The only way to insure that I will be able to do that is by having unlocked license stored locally. The one that would not "expire" and will not require any servers to re-activate at a later time. To show good faith, Bandlab should unlock last patched version of CwB, even if it will not be supported after the release of Sonar/Next. If that is completely off the table, unlock permanently versions purchased under Gibson.

"The "check activation" thing has been talked about a lot and the short answer is: 1. Small team, finite resources to support the product, so the more people on a current product, the less wild goose chases for old bugs that may already have been fixed in the current version" This makes "0" sense. Most software titles have "Automatically check for updates" option. Same goes for Cakewalk. Locally shutting down a paid license software is not a friendly or cool thing to do to a customer. It didn't bother me too much with cheap / free versions... As I mentioned, only a minor software title (single developer gig) done similar from my experience. That and Cakewalk. I hope some kind of clarity on that is given prior purchasing paid annual license. Bottom line, if a full annual license is purchased, there should be an option/choice to keep this license on a local machine as most companies do, without any trickery with de-activating software.

"Thanks for your support over the years, we just sold Cakewalk to Wal-Mart, have a nice day" LOL. That is actually another concern. It was mentioned several times after Gibson thing (even in this thread), that there was a plan "B" to permanently unlock existing licenses. That brings me to a question. Actually two. 1) Can a similar promise be made on the new paid (non-subscription) licenses if unfortunate (or fortunate) event similar to Gibson happens? 2)Why there is a 6 month de-activation happening in the first place? I do get that "free" is "free" while it's free, but a paid perpetual license, in my view should never de-activate on a chosen machine, while that machine is intact. I own a decent set of musical software. Only one, a very minor app deactivated and asked to be re-activated after a period of time. That one and Cakewalk. What bothers Bakers, not allowing to permanently activate license on particular machine (Machine ID) , like 90%+ of others do?

"But Terry times change... technology changes. As things develop your purchased products wont work" Not true. At least for Windows, which has awesome backward compatibility. I still use a couple of smaller pieces of software developed ~20 years ago on Win11, where companies who developed them are loooong gone. My main concern is of ability to open older projects if needed, when the software license is purchased. Considering I have proper machine with proper hardware / OS that supported that version. I am with Terry on this one.

"I would want my software, that I hold rights to use indefinitely after I've bought it, to be able to install and run even after the company is gone provided all factors such as hardware and OS are intact" +1 That is exactly what worried me since early days of Bandlab. I have projects from 90s that I do want to go back to at some point in my life and I don't want to be dependent on some server that might or might not work or mercy at those who might run he company in the future. I still have boxed X1 and an older laptop that will allow to open older projects. That is what I want to see with "unlocked" paid future versions. P.S. In my view, the whole 6month activation thing is absolutely meaningless, as those who want to steal, will steal, but those who actually pay and support progress will suffer.

Mark, "it makes me laugh when people say they want to "own" it because you never do - it's just licence." License that doesn't expire, unlike subscription only models (possibly excluding future Sonar). I see absolutely nothing funny about that. Do you also laugh at people who prefer to own favorite books instead of going to libraries? It's a choice. So far, Sonar/ Cakewalk was great at backward compatibility. It seems this trend will stay.

Cool!

Bruno, I agree, requirements are pretty steep for "average" machine. A good and noble reason to maintain current CbB version available is... It is almost certain, many folks from less fortunate countries already adopted to it in the past several years, and since there are no compatibility issues with Win11, it should last for years "as is" with very minimal maintenance. P.S. Very curious if new versions will have classic "mercury" skin

Noel, Thank you for your reply! Subscription is definitely something I am not interested in. While I own many great software titles, none are subscription. I like to own my software. Personal preference. And for that matter most of musicians I know will not touch "subscription" model. "For those afraid of the software deactivating, there are models that allow you to purchase an annual (non-expiring) license. " Noel, pretty please, small clarification. "Annual" means no expiry / no deactivation after one year, just no further free updates after the year, right? P.S. I do believe in supporting good software that I like very much, and I am certain team will come up with reasonable non-subscription competitive pricing. Just subscription in not my thing. "Waves" surely proved very recently that subscription only is not what their customers wanted

"I’m pleased to see new life being breathed by the bakers." +1 My main concern is that whatever they do, they will let existing users keep current version, without "deactivating" it ever, even if buck stops now with development for last version. Mainly for backup purposes of existing projects. That surely will give me initiative to upgrade to paid (non-subscription) version and I am certain quite a few users will understand what I am saying. So those of us who have projects from 5-10-15-20+ years ago, have a peace of mind, knowing they will still be able to open their older projects 10 years from now and have them same way they left them. I still have Sonar X1 (in original box) Couple of years ago, for fun I tested it, opening projects from Cakewalk by Bandlab... With some plugin hiccups they did --- Jesse, Thank you for your answer. This was/is my concern since early days of Bandlab.

Question for Noel. Please. Current version expires every few months. When final built is released, what happens in a few months? It gets deactivated and dies in de-activated state? Can users purchase current version, if they don't like new versions for any reason, so Bandlab doesn't de-activate Cakewalk by Bandlab when it wants to? ---- What worries me the most, is that it seems intention is to forcefully take away current version from folks " at some point" by simply de-activating it and never activating it again... I have 2 decades of projects in Cake, and that would be a major disappointment. A honest thing would be to give existing users permanent activation to current version and then try to seduce them with new, better product(s) I don't mind Cakewalk becoming a paid software. Obviously not subscription. If it will be subscription only, I will among first to catch a train to another DAW Hopefully that is not the case.

John, I disagree with you on the "garbage" part. I have some amazing melodic phrases of Piano/EP (played) from Mango Loops and a few others like Studio Keys: Jazz (Fakulty Studio) that have this "not on the 1st bar" thing Obviously, there is no issues of auditioning these individually. The problems starts when you try to use them in EZ keys and similar software. When I manually move them, and re-export to start at bar#1/ beat1, they work as they should (in EZ keys) . There are just too many of these to do it manually. So.. I was wondering if there some kind of automation in Cakewalk that can set all clips, from all tracks to bar1 and re-save them as individual files in bulk ... Ohh yes, here is the vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntYhwLj9sbw ------------------------------------ P.S. something that I probably should of mentioned, if you are familiar with EZkeys. I am not talking about dropping a MIDI clip directly to timeline of EZkeys, but using an onboard EZkeys file browser.

"I have never heard of that." really? Several random packs had exactly that for me. To me more specific 4 out of 5. Yes, many MIDI phrase/loop packs have time offset. The clips would be in some random place on the timeline. Some software titles are cool with that and will play from the start of the loop (not where from it was saved), but for EZkeys, a clip has to start from bar #1 to be interpreted properly. Yes, I can re-save a dozen or two clips. What do you do if you have 500+ files that are all over the place and you want them to be re-saved individually starting at bar#1? (hopefully retaining original names)