Introducing Cakewalk Next and our new brand identity

[Misha]

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.

 

[Matt Rayner]

I see Munch's "Scream" is still much lamented! Was it CWPA 6 ? A great release!

Some people went mental about it, however.

But the one that really sent people over the edge was the very first Tool Tip splash that opened with the new app:
"Pizza goes well with beer."

Haha! People left in droves! Someone must've got a rocket, as CWPA 7 was the most boring (and cluttered) release ever.

Anyway. BIG THANKS to Bandlab for the free years of this amazing DAW. Can't wait to see new Sonar and Next.

[Noel Borthwick]

3 hours ago, Hillmy said:

You actually made me open up Cakewalk to see if that button came up if I pressed that! 🤣

That feature is only in the new version of Sonar

[Will.]

5 hours ago, Noel Borthwick said:

Right here in Cakewalk. Press that button.

🤣 

There goes my coffee. 

[Noel Borthwick]

1 hour ago, Matt Rayner said:

But the one that really sent people over the edge was the very first Tool Tip splash that opened with the new app:
"Pizza goes well with beer."

I totally remember that!

[Greg Wynn]

4 minutes ago, Noel said:

I totally remember that!

I remember both the “Pizza goes well with beer” tool tip AND the nod to Munch button !

 

 

 

[Hillmy]

17 minutes ago, Noel said:

That feature is only in the new version of Sonar

Now I have to get Sonar! 🤪

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/6/2023 at 6:59 PM, Teksonik said:

Right....here we go. We all should have seen this day coming.

In one way having Sonar generate a revenue stream is beneficial as it funds future development and current support. Hopefully it will succeed so a day like this one doesn't happen for it, finding out development has stopped. 

So on one hand I'd like to support the new endeavor but.....having been a paying customer up to Sonar X3 I don't know how much I'd be willing to pay to get back on the train.

Knowing this day would come eventually I never let myself fall too much in love with CbB so it's not one of my most frequently used DAWs.  But I wouldn't want to lose it because it does serve a purpose although not a critical one. Hopefully the last free update of CbB will continue working on Windows for the foreseeable future but of course once development stops on a piece of software you're on your own.  

So for me to purchase an update of something that has been free, that update has to bring something of value equal to the update price.  We'll see what the future holds.....

I'm just curious what purpose CbB fulfilled for you?

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/6/2023 at 7:22 PM, RBH said:

Very much looking forward to Sonar specific Plug-in and VSTi development. It's really great to see a long term plan moving forward - and great team of Bakers staying dedicated to the product. You folks really are stand outs in your field.

I missed the "feature" of "Sonar specific Plug-ins".   Not a fan of proprietary/DAW company-sponsored singular platform plugins.  No disrespect to the greatness of the Cakewalk strip!

[Quinellipe Zorn]

Just to give my own input to Bandlab, I'd like to see both a subscription model and the prior ownership model.  I don't see subscriptions as bad, I see them as "a" viable option, the ideal company providing both "ownership"/perpetual licensing and "rental"/temporary licensing models.

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/6/2023 at 11:56 PM, Mark Morgon-Shaw said:

It effectively expires as it's eventually rendered obsolete by O/s & hardware incpompatibility. I mean techinically I still have a licence for Pro Audio 9 but  I can't run it with any of the gear I own now. 

 No. Only people that make bad analogies 

Wow.  Nope.

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:08 AM, flangad said:

 

and what would you think of such pricing model:

release different versions of the software, based on a number of monthly usage hours. example:

- if you need less than 15 hours/month of Sonar usage, it remain free (you are a very casual user)

- if you need less than 50 hours/month of sonar usage, you have to pay a "small user" price

- if you need more than 50 hours of usage/month, you are an advanced/professional  user, so you have to pay a higher price.

don't you think such model could be fair and acceptable for everyone?

You could also have another "dimension" in pricing:

- one shot subscription: you get the software with time unlimited bug corrections but no future functional updates (you have to pay another 1 shot "upgrade subscription" to go from version N to N+1 or get a pack of new major features) , community support

-Premium yearly or monthly subscription: include functionnal updates as long as you renew your subscription , community suport

- professional yearly or monthly subscription : add premium support with SLA, chat/webconferencing, if possible multilingual

 

so you will get a price matrix like this: (see attach file)

 

Although I really like this, I can see any organization not tolerating the complexity of this.  I would be highly conflicted were I an internal architect working on this, and would depend primarily, therefore, on the company strategy.  If the company is product-centric, it probably isn't a good idea, I believe.  But if a company is customer-centric, I think it is worth embracing the complexity.  

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/7/2023 at 1:38 AM, Lord Tim said:

No you don't if you only purchase their intellectual property, which Bandlab did. They didn't purchase the company at all, just the code to make the program. They also hired the programmers that Gibson fired. But this is 100% a new unrelated company otherwise.

 But, and I'm only curious here, do you believe that the company (in this case Bandlab) should expect its user base to have the same fine parsing  / respect of legalism that you have of this, as opposed to accept that popular perception will see them as inheriting all aspects (however unfairly)?  At least/especially when said company expresses itself via a famed brand name (i.e. Cakewalk in this case)?

[Quinellipe Zorn]

I want to add:  I was not so interested in Cakewalk when Gibson ran it and was uncommitted.  ONLY with Bandlab's curation and in particular not only fixing bugs but improving the software, after years of neglect and what I would even characterize as abuse, did I come fully back to using Cakewalk/"CbB".  

If Bandlab had treated this like "any" software and hadn't committed not only to the software but even the customer base and prior valued designers/engineers, and shown an interest in making up for the history and catering to unusual expectations, I doubt I'd be engaged now.

[Keni]

7 minutes ago, Quinellipe Zorn said:

 But, and I'm only curious here, do you believe that the company (in this case Bandlab) should expect its user base to have the same fine parsing  / respect of legalism that you have of this, as opposed to accept that popular perception will see them as inheriting all aspects (however unfairly)?  At least/especially when said company expresses itself via a famed brand name (i.e. Cakewalk in this case)?

 Is that like Disney making Star Wars movies? 

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/7/2023 at 3:10 AM, msmcleod said:

This is correct.  It'll be just CbB with new images, high dpi support and a few extra feature enhancements.

There is obviously some difference between rendering vector based images vs static bitmaps, but we'll be monitoring the performance of this closely as more of the application is converted over.  There are a few approaches we can take to mitigate any adverse performance effects of rendering vector based images, should it become a problem.

What generative AI features will be added?     (JUST kidding/commenting on the AI-everywhere hype, not actually making any comments on generative AI or the like, nor implying any sort of thoughts at all re Sonar and AI).

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/7/2023 at 6:19 AM, Teksonik said:

You realize of course that whatever you do is going to have to add value to the current free version commensurate to the cost of purchase or upgrade.

So let's just pull a number out of the air...let's say the cost to upgrade from the current free version to the new paid Sonar is $200. So now you've got to add $200 of value to the new Sonar in order to make it worth upgrading.

A new UI with a "few extra feature enhancements" is not likely to cut it at least for me and I'm probably not alone. 

But we're seeing in this thread the problem with partial announcements with the "important details" to follow.  All it does is spark rampant speculation and fear mongering. ("oh my god they're going subscription") and so on.

So I suggest putting all your cards on the table now. Just tell us what the price will be. Just tell us if there will be discounts for paying customer of the old Sonar and so on.

Clearing the air now will help you and the user base as well.

To clear things up from my end I will never subscribe to software so if that's the way things are going tell me now so I can move on and focus on the other 5 DAWs I own, one of which has lifetime free updates.

While that's cool to express, personally I believe I've gotten so much value out of CbB compared to the cost of my email information and having paid again for Sonar many years ago that $200 for no change at all except for a financially-based right to use with clear terms is just fine.  

Edited June 10, 2023 by Quinellipe Zorn
clarification as it's not for "no change"

[Quinellipe Zorn]

I see no urgency to find out more about the coming commercial model.  Now or 6 months or a year from mow, so long as until then the software continues to at least function as it does today.

[Quinellipe Zorn]

DELETED

Edited June 10, 2023 by Quinellipe Zorn
was answered elsewhere, sorry

[Quinellipe Zorn]

On 6/7/2023 at 11:09 AM, Einstein R said:

Sorry, I meant to say an actual person to talk to for techsupport since now that's what people might want paying for the software.....instead of waiting a day or two for emails or virtual chat....

 

Ah thanks!  Apologies (to everyone) I posted my question too soon.