Canopus

6 hours ago, Billy86 said:

2. In the PRV Track Pane, there used to be Mute, Solo, Record buttons, now it looks like there's a spot where they're supposed to be, but it's blank. See attached. I can't see how to view them, if that's possible. Thanks.

Your pane is not wide enough for all those buttons. If you move the cursor to the right, it will turn into a double-sided arrow. Then just drag it slightly to the right. And,  hey presto.

They are stored in different folders. For CbB they are stored in %appdata%\Cakewalk\Cakewalk Core\Plug-in Menu Layouts, and for Sonar they are stored in %appdata%\Cakewalk\Sonar\Plug-in Menu Layouts. Just copy the updated layout files between them and you’ll be good.

One more advanced solution, which I use myself, is to create a junction between them. I described it in detail here:

The Sonar application is based on Cakewalk by BandLab, which in turn was based on Cakewalk SONAR Platinum, which in turn was based on Cakewalk SONAR X3, X2 and X1 in decending order. I’ve had them all. Hence, the codebase is not something new, although recent code maintenance, as well as new features, of course, are. Microsoft's C++ runtime library is indeed an integral part of Sonar, but, as I'm sure you know, the same goes for most Windows applications. 

Bottom line: the free version of Sonar is not a new piece of software. 

1 hour ago, linkbekka said:

But what really annoyed me was the fact that when I closed it down and tried to open an existing Cakewalk file it opened in Sonar.

You can only have one app associated with each file extension. In fact, if you during the Sonar installation select Advanced, instead of Basic, you do get a question which file extensions you’d like to associate with Sonar. It looks like the dialog below. Just unselect those you don't want to associate with Sonar.

However, as you most likely already have changed all of them to Sonar, by using the Basic installation, you can change the app associations back to CbB in either Windows > Settings > Standard apps, or do it in File Explorer by right-clicking a cwp file, select Open With and then locate Cakewalk by BandLab. Be sure to tick "Always use this application".  That might in fact be the easiest solution.

I always start by opening the application, and select which project file I'd like to work with from there. That gives total flexibility.

3 hours ago, Fleer said:

Bought. 

Me too, once I noticed they'd sent me an additional €10 personal voucher as an owner of Sonic Bundle. At €29 the price became pretty reasonable. 

Unfortunately for me, PB doesn't seem to have any crossgrade to KORG Collection 5 from 3 KORG products. KORG always have that when on sale, but their crossgrade price has always been above my pain threshold; I think it's been $149 at the lowest.

But I can wait. Oh yeah, I can wait.

A no-brainer price. I've had M1 and Wavestation for a long time. Now, after also adding MS-20 to my KorgID, I will hopefully get a better deal the next time KORG Collection 5 upgrade is on sale.

Didn't care to claim the freebie at PB though. Too many reverbs already.

47 minutes ago, Wookiee said:

@Canopus please correct the above to Sension Drummer 3, not Superior Drummer  3. If you click on the ... in the top right of your post you can edit your error. 

Superior Drummer 3 is a vastly Superior product made by Toontrack.

Thanks, corrected. And, yes, I know.

You also have a number of tutorials on YouTube. Here’s a playlist featuring seven different videos, where the first five are made by Cakewalk. Sure, it’s about 14 years old, but except for the DAW being used is Cakewalk 8.5, nothing has changed in Session Drummer 3.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt3VhS98XSi9n1G4UAsrSAxf2N6w21B7L

Welcome back from the dark side, John.

6 minutes ago, lawrence caine said:

NEED A SPECIFIC LINK TO UPGRADE TO THE NEW VERSION, GOING TO CAKEWALK.COM OR COMMAND CENTER ITS NOT GIVING ME AN OPTION BESIDES GOING TO BANDLAB AND THEN IT APPEARS TO BE A SUBSCRIPTION

As for SONAR, there hasn’t been an updated version since October 2017. As you know, Gibson pulled the plug in 2018. That also means that there are no upgrade options, or additional benefits, to those who once owned it. Believe me, I was one.

Enter the world of Sonar. You have two options; go subscription, or download the free, scaled-down version of Sonar. Although some features have been removed in the free version, it’s still a much more mature product than SONAR Professional ever was.

33 minutes ago, Jonathan Sasor said:

Session Drummer 3 is still included with Sonar. 

If that includes free Sonar, that would be a great solution for everyone missing a drum sampler. 

39 minutes ago, Cobus Prinsloo said:

Which version of Cakewalk or Sonar are we talking about? I'm surprised that such a feature was taken away and not replaced with something similar or better.

I’ve had SONAR since X1, so I’m not sure when Session Drummer 3 turned up. But, for sure, it was included in Platinum, part of the Artist Instrument Collection. As far as I know, it was part of all available versions of SONAR, i.e. Artist, Studio, Producer and Platinum. It might also have been included in the Cakewalk 8.x and earlier incarnations, I don’t know, but for some reason it has never been part of CbB. Maybe BandLab simply didn’t purchase the IP rights to those products.

I think it’s even simpler than that. If you make too much available in the free version, there isn’t much incentive to pay for the full-fledged Sonar. Some functions that most users would want simply have to be left out. Also, I guess that the functional gap between these two versions will increase over time.

Cakewalk XSampler only holds one sample at a time.

I would use NI Battery, but of course any multi-sample sampler would probably do. Indeed, if you have Cakewalk Session Drummer 3 from the olden days, that should be fine as well. In Session Drummer 3, samples can be dragged onto the different kit pieces and then saved as a user kit.

It may be worth noting that VAT is not included in the advertised prices, but it will be added at checkout. I noticed that last year when I was considering Play4Life, so I eventually backed out. 

25 minutes ago, MrFigg said:

How long did you have to wait?

About 10 hours. The license link came through some middle-man called Skuport, so check your spam folder if it doesn'r arrive in due time. Well, provided you bought from JRR Shop, that is.

Just a quick tip for anyone thinking the Lounge Lizard EP-5 GUI lost too much of its contrast compared to EP-4. It is possible to enhance the legibility to more acceptable levels pretty easily. As all EP-5 GUI elements are stored as images in C:\Program Files\Applied Acoustics Systems\Lounge Lizard EP-5\Bitmaps (in Windows, that is), all you need is an image editor that can handle png files. I used Photoshop, but free alternatives like Gimp will do perfectly fine. Be sure to create a backup of the Bitmaps folder before you begin.

As for me, I updated the four background GUI files (two for Tines and two for Reed) by adjusting the levels; first by brighten the midtones and then by increasing the contrast. Here’s one of them, as displayed in Sonar.

It took me some 20 minutes in total for all four images, and, although subtle, I think it turned out pretty well. Of course, much more could be done by anyone so inclined.

38 minutes ago, Promidi said:

Is anyone having an issue with the VST2 version preset dropdown of Lounge Lizard EP5 not staying put....  it disappears before you have a chance the select the preset.  

This is on CbB, VST2 only.  VST3 is fine.

I can't see that when running the VST2 version in CbB. The drop-down stays where it should be. I tested 75 %, 100 % and 125 % scaling to see if there was any difference, but it worked as expected regardless. However, I much prefer the Library view as it allows presets to be changed without the need to press Enter each and every time a new preset should be loaded. Using the Up and Down keys are sufficient there.

On 6/5/2025 at 1:00 PM, MrFigg said:

Let me/ us know if you have no regrets when it finally arrives :).

Wow. Is the site up again already? That was fast! Just a tad more than 24 hours.

As to the question, I can’t really hear any difference when running the EP-4 sound banks in EP-4 and EP-5 side by side. But that may be a good thing. I’m sure the enhanced physical modelling core will add to the realism when put to the test.

However, I honestly prefer the main user interface in EP-4; it’s brighter, has better contrast and larger knobs compared to EP-5. Also, to have all the tweakability that’s available by default in EP4, you have to switch EP-5 to its detailed Expert mode. Sure, you can resize the GUI in EP-5 from 75 % to 200 % in 25 % increments, which is great, but to my aging, not-so-20/20 vision, it’s questionable whether the UI overall can be considered an upgrade.

On the other hand, I do appreciate the new Library with its Search function and possibility to select and filter Favorites. An additional 150 factory presets won’t hurt, and the updated Effects rack is a step forward.

As always, you win some and you lose some, but overall, I have no regrets.

1 hour ago, MrFigg said:

Hmmm. I have Lounge Lizard 4. Also have another 10 (at least) Rhodes plugins. $41.16 though. Hmmm

Yep, my exact thoughts. I have tons of Rhodes and Wurlis, including Lounge Lizard EP-4, and don’t really need another one. But AAS has always been one of the really good and generous companies, giving away a free sound bank every year, so I thought I’d show them some love and pressed the button anyway. Still waiting for my license, though.

However, I bought the upgrade for $41.16 at JRR Shop, and not directly from AAS for $49. My altruism has its limits.

I just noticed that AAS has released an updated version of their electric piano, called Lounge Lizard EP-5. The price is $149 (regular price a pretty hefty $199), or $49 when upgrading from EP-4 (regular price $79). It can optionally be bought at JRR Shop for $125.16, or the upgrade for $41.16, using code GROUP.

Here's what's new.

44 minutes ago, Promidi said:

CAL stands for Cakewalk Application Language.  I have been available in various iterations of Cakewalk going back a few decades. 

Reminds of that song by Paul Simon, “You can call me CAL”. 

You can’t activate such an old version. Instead, download the latest version of Cakewalk by BandLab from here. That version was released in December 2024. Once installed, the activation will most likely work as expected.

Press X.