John Vere

I have tried real hard to support the release of SonarI really hope that by this time next year I will own it. But while I can afford to purchase it, I can’t afford to rent it. Who knows why they choose to hold back that one unanswered question that was on the very first page of the June 6 2023 announcement. It was asked by @wetdentist “just out of curiosity, will the CbB software continue working after the the Sonar/Next release?” If you go and keep reading the answers were only from users and all speculation. The next reply from a staff member ignored this important question. I scanned the whole 38 page thread and never saw an official answer. Only that it will give people time to transition to Sonar. And even the answer we finally have now is still open ended. But it is at least a lot more optimistic. I already got a PM from one of my subscribers saying they were just about to purchase another Daw and after they watched my video stopped dead in their tracks. They thanked me for saving them money. They did a lot of damage by not answering this question a year ago. I don't have as many subscribers as Mike by a long stretch but my small crew was very upset and confused. Mike immediately put out a video in support of Studio One and you can only imagine how many people jumped ship due to that one video. The talk all became speculation and about trying other Daw's. All 100% avoidable with just a few words about the future plan for CbB. All we got was a non answer.

Boy do you have that right! I was being corrected by a staff member who quoted me from back in May. That was my answer. If Bandlab doesn’t want speculation flying around this forum then you should have laid it all down a year ago about the future. 100’s of pages of speculation and threats to switch DAWs etc would not have been posted here. I know that the staff are not to blame but there’s got to have been a solution to all this crazy stuff.

That’s not how it works with Cakewalk. Your account is on line and all your products, free and paid for are stored in your account. We have always been able to install Sonar and Cakewalk on as many machines as we want. And Bandlab was even kind enough to keep all of our Legacy products available on their servers even though those products have nothing to do with them . The linked to a machine copy protection is only used by a few vendors like XLN and Celemony. The way it will be is CbB will be available as a download for a ??? while yet. So no point worrying about it. If they do decide to end it they will be able to control this as when that day come all they need to do is shut down the activation system. Every copy of CbB will become unusable once it times out. As they said . It’s the price of using free software. I think that’s totally fine.

Yes I’m aware that now this changed. You will see I even released a video announcement about how CbB is not going away and hopefully not for a long time. When I posted that it was based on the information staff was providing at that point in time. The only statements I found said “Cakewalk will be kept long enough to allow people to transition “ So please don’t blame me for posting miss information. This is an example of the lack of the official information causing rumours and speculation. If they had supplied solid answers a year ago this forum would be missing 100’s of pages of speculation about the future. I just read over the original announcements from a year ago and scattered in that thread are people asking the question. “ Will we be able to use Cakewalk and for how long” Each time this was ignored and only specific questions were answered. The only answer was always the one I just quoted above. That answer to me implies that it would be very soon after Sonar was released. It’s all good now and judging by the comments on my video people are super happy to hear we now have hope to continue using Cakewalk. But they had to get that information from another user, it is still unofficial! Many were on the brink of switching DAWs and like me have now scrapped that plan. But why is this info still hidden from the general public ?

I’ll add this note here because I didn’t go into it in the video. I got a question in the comments about this. People are still stumbling over the whole activation process and there are people who are just discovering that things changed last fall. So this is where we are at You are required to run the latest version of CbB that you can download from the Cakewalk by Bandlab web page. All older versions will not activate. You will be asked to sign in to your Bandlab account to activate. It’s simple but sometimes people get messed up. Do not use the old Bandlab Assistant. There’s a toast messages you can click or go to the Help menu. The other thing you need to know is the TTS-1 is no longer supported and has been removed from all new releases of both Cakewalk and Sonar. It will stay installed on your current system but if you do a fresh install on a new computer you will need to follow my instructions in this video https://youtu.be/kF3tEttGdIQ?si=QHazMYKM6cIEe1o8

This video will bring you up to date on the status of CbB

Well I directly PM's a staff member instead of second guessing all that seems spread over 40 pages here, and their answer was very clear, " Hi John, So the app still needs to auth at the 30 day interval, it just will do it silently rather than in your face. The current behavior was a byproduct of the older 6 month lease. 15 days heads up at 6 months is a big difference. The reauth is just part of the deal with getting free software. " As well as I would guess they still need to keep track of who is using the software. My guess is also that at this point it is in the millions and they are not wishing to screw those users because that would be a huge mistake brand loyalty wise. Each and everyone of those people IS a potential future Sonar customer. I have at this point zero fear of now being shut out as I feel if you are just patient, keep using Cakewalk if you don't like the Backstage Pass option, and in less than a years time all will be a totally a different situation. And it will be to the liking of 99.9 percent of those millions of loyal users. Why do people fear the worst? This is just another transition. Go read the old forum from the end of 2016 forward.

I have a series of tutorials, This one is all about using the TTS-1 https://youtu.be/pwEMq67Zn3s This one is about instrument tracks https://youtu.be/rVWeMsPZ-hc If your new to using Cakewalk it's best to start at the first video on the playlist and work your way through. They are mostly short videos so it doesn't take long to have a when your done you will have learned a lot about using Cakewalk. This is the playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7YqVth30eGsURWrKGeu-fFyg3ETjF-Ox

What I’ve noticed is the track in focus in PRV will have input echo on. This trips me up when I insert a new instrument and I go to record on it and I can’t turn off the input echo of another track? I learned to open PVR and put the focus on the track I want to record to. Not sure if it’s a bug or by default but it annoying.

This will save you slogging through all the dozens of 8 page threads looking for the correct information about what is happening in regards to Cakewalk by Bandlabs future.

Did you want to be using this to set the controls remotely or record automation?

I don’t know if you are out of the loop but we were just informed that they have no plans to remove CbB and it’s download. So all that stuff I guess you got watching a certain video is wrong now. Here is the most updated info https://youtu.be/cOHqt-vj_d0?si=eN8bQfbw3COPBCIp

Did you save the project?

About what? CbB lives on. What else do we need to know. No subscription- free!

You can’t use midi if the original audio recording was not played to a metronome following the project tempo. You can drag an audio track to the timeline and Melodyne will create a tempo map. But there’s more to that to get good results Which drum VST are you using? Which sequencer are you using? I have a few videos that cover the details of writing a song this is my complete playlist so you can look for the topics that you need https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7YqVth30eGsURWrKGeu-fFyg3ETjF-Ox&si=qoQ2eq1JvC-Ti-7Q

@Glenn Stanton Wow! I am a huge fan of zero fret. I’ve only ever had it on old guitars. One of the advantages is open strings will sound brighter. Thanks for the link. I have an old guitar I was going to put a new nut on this is perfect!

In a way no it doesn't, The only way I'm aware of that this happens is when you choose " enable midi output" in the synth properties. The TTS-1 is DX and doesn't have that option as far as can tell. If it does it's most certainly hidden away somewhere. Midi output will allow midi data to loopback to a track that has its input selected to all inputs or none. Possibly the TTS-1 midi output is always on. You could also have a hidden midi track feeding 14, so open the track manager and check. You are not showing the more important dialogue boxes in your screenshot. If I could see every tracks header I might spot something. Drag the divider all the way right to show all the dialogue boxes like I did here.

This is also an new feature available with Cakewalk Sonar. The track manager is always available in the upper left and you can create custom track categories. Very cool.

I have arthritis in my whole dang body and the only cure is to keep moving. Sitting at a computer is bad for me. I had to sell my full size acoustic and I bought an Epiphone L00 Folk size guitar that is easy to play. It has a short scale.

Thanks. I just went and downloaded Cakewalk and installed it with out the Product Center. I guess it’s something we might have to use in the future but right now I guess it’s only needed for off line activation. When I click on Cakewalk nothing happened probably because it wasn’t installed. But why isn’t Sonar listed?

I installed it when it first came out and I guess I've updated it a few times. But for the life of me don't understand what it is for? Or is it even needed? All it shows is Cakewalk Next which I have installed along with Sonar. So why isn't Sonar showing? And Isn't Cakewalk by Bandlab also supposed to be listed? As well as the SI instruments? Melodyn demo? I haven't opened it in a while. I had un installed CbB a few weeks ago so was going to re install it now we have the news it isn't a dead duck, . I thought I'd find it here. So I uninstalled it and then a Google search takes me to a old post on this forum. I click the link and get this weird page? I then, finding nothing else to do, clicked on the link at the top to open with Zip extractor?? That got me this even weirder page? So I gave up. I think there's a lot of work needs to happen on the web sites. And I guess this app is still in development and not actually essential at this point in time.

We’re totally off topic but this is my Fred and I can approve of this. I have a Custom made Tele with 2 humbuckers as well as a G&L Tele with a soap bar at the bridge and Humbucker at the neck. I sold my standard Tele in a down and out of money phase and I want it back! I just picked up a Indonesian Strat for $300 a couple of months ago. It’s the same colour as the Tele above. So I thought a matching set would be cool. I then upgrade the Pups. So now I don’t have to purchase Sonar I’m free to do this instead. There’s a Tele in our local music store with a B and G bender for $750. Tempting but I like the imports just fine. You just have to add better electronics.

I also asked a staff member in a PM and they said the same as in the announcement. There seems to be no plan to end Cakewalk for a long while yet. Why would they? That would mean literally millions of people would be let down in a big way and very pizzid off. Believe me, the development staff are 100% on our side. Show them support! They are not in charge of the big decisions but I think they can make recommendations.

This is actually my best season, I have lots of gigs lined up and some pay me enough I could almost afford that wonderful copy of Pro Tools! But I'd rather a new Blue Telecaster!

What's weird is you don't seem to be able to purchase it on the Avid web site. Its all Subscriptions. But you can purchase a perpetual license from vendors.