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Best replacement for Cakewalk

RobertWS

By RobertWS
in The Coffee House

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sjoens

sjoens

Posted
Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, RobertWS said:

... because it completely disabled their setup.

Why & how would this even happen, tho?

Not up on the latest versions of other DAWs, but last I checked, nobody does MIDI like TTS/Cakewalk/Sonar/Cakewalk. Especially for outboard gear.  

Edited by sjoens
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Heath Row
Heath Row

Gee, you're living dangerously (I like it 😁), especially for someone who has been around the Cakewalk Forums for a long time like yourself. Put your helmet on and prepare for incoming fire Stud

craigb
craigb

Well, I'm sticking with Notepad!!!  I've been using it for 40 years and I almost have a verse for my first song finished.  Only about three million more ones and zeros to enter...

Shane_B.
Shane_B.

Studio One, depending on how deep in to Midi you are. I've never not been able to do anything in Studio One that I could do in Sonar. That said, I used to read all the time about people comp

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mettelus

mettelus

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, pwalpwal said:

ot, but this is actually why it's all going subscription - if you can already do what you need to do, why would you upgrade/buy a new version? tools for jobs - i don't need to upgrade my hammer because i can still hit nails in with the one i've already got

I have never used Cubase, but it has the reputation for being the best for MIDI. I pretty much use a DAW as a glorified, digital, multi-track recorder, so a lot of "new features" are not going to get used by me personally. One piece of advice I have been giving folks is to pay attention to support for VST3 and ARA/ARA2 (the new kids on the block, and needed to use third-party VST(i)s), and one needed Track Templates for their workflow. I had joked with them and said all they would "need" is SONAR X3, but the real problem is getting your hands on a copy. I still use Adobe Audition 4 (from 2011) as my default wav editor as it is quick, one of the best SRCs, batch processing, and built-in iZotope plugins (from 2011, mind you). Studio One 6 didn't introduce anything special for me, so SO5 would be more than adequate; but again, how to get a copy of an older version.

Younger generations are in a bad place with subscriptions becoming the standard. Unfortunately, folks who were 15 when the last Platinum version was released probably do not have a copy to "fall back on."

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Heath Row

Heath Row

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Bapu said:

Except for Reaper, which is $60 (anytime) for two full release cycles (currently v6 but probably v7 by early next year if not sooner)

Maybe sooner, they just went onto the rc phase (7.0rc1) after 29 or so pre release releases and they're moving fast.

I'm wanting a backup, my REAPER license ran out at the end of v5. Just installed and updated to the final CbB, then uninstalled it so as I could get the full download file of the last CbB, I'll leave it uninstalled, wait to check out the new Sonar then decide betwixt REAPER and Sonar, it's looking REAPER atm, I've seen some screen shots that actually look good. But I'll wait for Sonar to be released and probably grab the bundle they were talking about and check out what Next is about while I'm at it.

REAPER - They've been giving MIDI a bit of love this time around making the MIDI boys salivate.

Edited by heath row
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HOOK

HOOK

Posted
Posted

I've been a Cakewalk user for 30+ years, exclusively.  And with the announcement of paid Sonar again, I downloaded demos for Cubase and Reaper so I could learn them and set up templates.  Wrote and tracked a song in both.  But there are a few things in both programs that I'm sure I'd never get over.   They both ruin my workflow in one way or another - in big ways.  It's hard to break 30 year habits.

I still have both templates at the ready, just in case.  But Sonar it is...unless they broke it.

 

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Bapu

Bapu

Posted
Posted

FWIW

Whenever I start using another DAW I try to find its ways to improve my workflow over how I used Cakewalk for so many years.

To use the weak car analogy: I'll never be able to make a Lexus be a BMW.

Studio One works better for me than Cakewalk did. But I still use Cakewalk occasionally where/where it is required.

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michaelhanson

michaelhanson

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Bapu said:

FWIW

Whenever I start using another DAW I try to find its ways to improve my workflow over how I used Cakewalk for so many years.

To use the weak car analogy: I'll never be able to make a Lexus be a BMW.

Studio One works better for me than Cakewalk did. But I still use Cakewalk occasionally where/where it is required.

This has been the first time that I’m really giving Studio One a fair shot, after upgrading to V6.  I agree, Ed, I’m looking at it in a different light and there’s definitely some thing’s I’m actually liking better.  It takes some time to break old work flow, but now I’m actually preferring the new. 

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Bapu

Bapu

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, michaelhanson said:

This has been the first time that I’m really giving Studio One a fair shot, after upgrading to V6.  I agree, Ed, I’m looking at it in a different light and there’s definitely some thing’s I’m actually liking better.  It takes some time to break old work flow, but now I’m actually preferring the new. 

1. Arranger track makes more sense to me that CbB (and probably the new SONAR too).

2. The fact that I can place buses anywhere in the MIx view lets me do what I want when I want.

3. Chord track suits me just fine and chord detection is pretty good as long as the source material pretty clean (i.e. acoustic guitar, piano and maybe organ work best for me)

4. The creation of buses for a group of tracks is pretty cool for my workflow

5. Copy Song data is really nifty too

Edited by Bapu
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Bapu

Bapu

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, HOOK said:

Can you make busses live on top and visible at all times - like Cakewalk/Sonar does?

Not that I know of, and I personally see no use for that particular feature. If I want to deal with buses only, I just collapse/hide the contents of the bus in the Mixer view.

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

Posted
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On 9/24/2023 at 9:58 AM, pwalpwal said:

ot, but this is actually why it's all going subscription - if you can already do what you need to do, why would you upgrade/buy a new version? tools for jobs - i don't need to upgrade my hammer because i can still hit nails in with the one i've already got

Nor my saxophone, car, music CDs, and quite a few other things.

I shun subscriptions if there is a 'for purchase' alternative. Subscriptions make sense for phone/internet service and many other things, but not for everything.

I know, the company wants continuous cash flow, but really hasn't anything to offer that will make you fork over more money. I think we are starting to see the failure of capitalism, but I have no idea how to fix it or what to replace it with. The problem is capitalism needs perpetual growth to keep the stockholders from jumping ship, and perpetual growth in a closed system is not possible.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

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Wibbles

Wibbles

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

The problem is capitalism needs perpetual growth to keep the stockholders from jumping ship, and perpetual growth in a closed system is not possible.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer ... until the poor run out of money to give the rich. 

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HOOK

HOOK

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, Bapu said:

Not that I know of, and I personally see no use for that particular feature. If I want to deal with buses only, I just collapse/hide the contents of the bus in the Mixer view.

🤣  This is a perfect example of not being able to "do what I want when I want".  The "I" being ME in this scenario.

Reaper also has this problem.

 

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Sheens

Sheens

Posted
Posted (edited)

If it wasn't subscription only, I would be off to Pro Tools.

Only reason being printing in Sonar X3 adds quite a lot of latency imo (even with 64 bit engine (and thus oversampling) unchecked).

Routing / getting a soft synths to work is a pita, Midi view, workflow isn't great, but will be simular probably in other DAWs

Other than that I'm superstoked with Sonar workflow

Edited by Sheens
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HOOK

HOOK

Posted
Posted
36 minutes ago, Sheens said:

If it wasn't subscription only, I would be off to Pro Tools.

Only reason being printing in Sonar X3 adds quite a lot of latency imo (even with 64 bit engine (and thus oversampling) unchecked).

Routing / getting a soft synths to work is a pita, Midi view, workflow isn't great, but will be simular probably in other DAWs

Other than that I'm superstoked with Sonar workflow

Luckily for you...they brough back the perpetual license a couple days ago.

https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/pro-tools-perpetual-licences-return

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