Misha

Not subscribing, even at $1 a month, or even free for that matter, unless last version after 12 months paid subscription period is granted, or other licensing options are on the table. I would rent a movie, but not a tool I intend to use on regular basis. I voted, with generic contact form Ashwin provided. However, even the Ashwin wording: "we'll be able to compile", hints that their request to "for the relevant team" will also likely be generic. Two other "public" BL emails I think worth of considering are: General: INFO@BANDLABTECHNOLOGIES.COM PR: PRESS@BANDLABTECHNOLOGIES.COM

Halion/Sonic is a great synth, but last version has issues with GM, and there was just simply not enough to justify upgrade. I did use it for trial period. I will stick with 6 for now until/if they fix GM. When they do, I will upgrade. If you are looking for acoustic virtual instruments (pianos, guitars, winds etc,) it falls short and to my ear sounds dated. The strongest are probably electro keys, synths, arps, classic Yamaha sounds, some ethnic material. It's super easy and fun to layer and mix synths within the plugin. I feel they could have done much (Much!) more in areas of UI and workflow in 6+ years from Halion 6. If you don't have 6 and have no use for GM, it's a very powerful synth that I would personally recommend. If you have 6... Well, choice is yours.

Helios, you didn't read the post, but yanked my bit of it. I asked a specific question (Is it safe to assume that Cakewalk will be available for the next 2 years), but was not given a straight answer. Only partial, watered down version. Which is "good temporary news" - Just as I mentioned above. If you are that spy worthy, you may also note, that not once I questioned features, looks, stability or effort put by Bakers. I just don't buy into praising 6 years of Cakewalk development until clarity of it's long term future and future of Sonar perpetual licenses are made known. It's like this: You live in the house, you presume is yours, but then local government says... It's not really yours. You can live in it...for now, but there is no guarantee that you will live here in 2026. Clarity, is what most want.

Jonathan, Thanks for trying. I sincerely hope that this: " If anything changes, there will be a formal announcement well ahead of time." will be close to a year vs 3-6 months.

Educated guess will work.

Jonathan, thanks. I feel better. But please (!!) clarify, if it is safe to assume Cakewalk will work for next 2 years. With this semi-official confirmation, I promise to put the topic to rest. Reason is simple. If you come up with normal licenses for Sonar within one year, I will gladly purchase it. If not, I will continue writing tunes as I did for a year and then will have whole year to make a transition to something else. I hope this explains my frustration. Thank you.

Yes, Hybrid version gets you Studio One... to be yours. Nu Sonar unplugs you as soon as your money expire. That was exactly my point. Then (with S1 and similar) if you feel like some new features give you benefit, you continue to support company, without fear of being left without a tool if/when your money run out. I've collected enough plugins to keep me occupied for the next three lives, I doubt Sonar (or any DAW for that matter) can surprise me in such way that it will be a decision maker. As long as my projects open in pre 2018 Sonar, I will not subscribe. Period. Many of us gave BL a second chance in 2018. Many patiently waited over a year for normal licenses since initial Sonar announcement. Personally, I think it's one sick game they are playing. Zero respect for the people who are holding information hostage, whoever those might be. If no standard licenses are planned in near future (within a year) , it should be made very clear, so users can make informed choices. You, as a customer supposed to get exited when something you waited for a long time comes out. Unfortunately, this was a totally opposite experience. A Cakewalk user of 20 years.

While forum police is actively deleting threads with legitimate concerns, I have spent good 20 minutes following advice of another member to search for Noel B's posts clarifying my question for how long Cakewalk by Bandlab will be available for? Specifically downloading and activating. In search for an answer of discontinuation from this statement by Mortenby Saether: "CbB will eventually be discontinued as future development and support will transition to the upcoming Cakewalk Sonar release." The most clear answer I found from about 8 months ago from Noel reads: "There is no timeline to phase it out currently so it will be around awhile. " Is there a timeline now, as Sonar is presumably released? What does "phase it out" means? Stops working, activating, downloading, or just stopping getting updates and will be available same way as legacy products are?

Hope Dies Last

I am not like a bloody dog. Judging by my avatar, it's predictable that I am a cat lover. But I do despise the philosophy of when somebody makes certain promises they don't keep, especially considering years spent "building trust", but even more, cheap talk of bystanders somehow justifying this behavior instead of challenging unfair practice of keeping in the dark most dedicated group. But hey, what do I know.

Here we go again. I know several people who used Cakewalk/Sonar for years (decades!) After Gibson swallowed too much than it could chew, they moved to other DAWs and never looked back. These customers are forever lost and it's all because of greed. Bandlab should either keep promise it made in 2018 (I can attach a copy of the letter if some "forgot"), or clarify if it will be subscription only going forward, so people can make their final decisions, manage their time and move on.

https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

That's a $1,000,000 question. We tried calling for help, crystal ball, voodoo dolls, spells, potions, mirrors, bats, candles, frogs, goats, etc. It's a great mystery that no one here can solve. As of now, you can rent it for about $180 a year - can't purchase it.

Did you forget Windows 2000 or 8? Never ending BSOD's 11 is OK, once you disable all the nonsense and figure out particular settings. At least... once you do, you can be confident it will last a few good years... unlike the future uncertainty of the DAW that most of us enjoy.

Seems like pressing a single button in Cakewalk to see if works with basic/core project items is easier than editing values in regedit, but hey it's your time and your computer. Hope something will work for you.

Did you try clicking a single magical FX button in Cakewalk I suggested? Cores and ram has little to do with your issues. Seems your specs are sufficient. My new computer has same amount of Ram (32), but less cores as previous. Runs much, much better. Processor, different chipset architecture and I/O bottlenecks mainly are causes of issues you are describing. In my view, #1 thing that gets overlooked is you have to set your power scheme to High Performance. Even if you have crapware installed, it should make a difference how Cakewalk runs. Usually it is set to "balanced" by default.

Did you remove bloatware that came with new computer? One simple test you can do is while in Cakewalk press FX button on upper header panel to disable all VST FX. If project runs fine with disabled FX, start enabling FX one by one until sick one is found. My previous computer was fairly fast, but something in it's processor architecture or chipset would not allow me to use Izotope plugins. And I tried many (many!!!) things trying to make them work. Nothing helped. I gave up on those plugins. A new computer, which is NOT a gaming computer takes Izotope without any issues. Different architecture made a world of difference.

You don't have to convince me. I know

Nope. I am not overthinking, I am confused. Exactly, because it's corporation it should understand "target" audience. By kiddos I mean somebody who grew up with touchscreens and more intuitive controls for loops, triggering, etc. There is nothing bad about it, just different. Gorillaz made whole album on ipad decade and a half ago and it's awesome. However Cakewalk/Sonar never appealed much to beatmakers. To some - yes. Is it capable? Yes. However, mainstream Cakewalk users seems to be in Pop (traditional), Rock and a few other bread & butter electro/acoustic genres. "Next" looks to be the right starter path for what it seems they (BL) are trying to achieve, but Sonar seems to be a misfit for sub only. I want to pay, just not for subscription. Rent-to-own or buy it outright would work just fine. Unfortunately other tools don't have particular tracking feature that Cakewalk has. I tried most. So it will be a trade-off to adopt to something that I've got used to for many years. Actually, I use Cakewalk on daily basis. That is what is bothering me the most. I am afraid that if I start to deep learn another DAW it will slash many many hours of scarce time I have to write tunes. Spending a few minutes to show my dissatisfaction with how I think BL handled this release, that I (and many others) had high hopes for is not biggie. Collective bargaining had worked in some cases

I am also tapedeck oldschool yardstick linear. That's the point. If Sonar adopts some kind of funky looper that kids will love, that is great, I have no issues with the progress. I do have issues how Bandlab treats those "oldschoolers" like me who simply want some kind of confidence as far as DAW goes for the next few years. If I was young and into EDM/beats, likely Sonar - for$ would likely be on the bottom of my list. I did try FL for the fun of it and I can see how it can be useful for newer genres. It's not your fathers Fruity loops. It became pretty advanced DAW since last I have tried it. I didn't find the features I need, but thumbs up to Image Line. Still not sure who BL is aiming for holding Sonar tethered to credit card. I just can't see people joyfully jumping on their subscription wagon for the Sonar.

That what is bothering me... as I don't understand how is tying Sonar to sub only will help BL. Traditionally Cakewalk was used by a more mature audience, kiddos went different route years ago... FL, Reason, Ableton. Now they are mature boys & girls. I don't know a single person who switched to Cakewalk from those who started recording ~15 years ago. Even those who I personally convinced to get Sonar Home pre 2018, as it was cheap and even free at some point, switched to other DAWs. Point is, likely they will release normal licenses at some point, but why disturb long term followers in such way? From my understanding, most of those who sticked around from pre-2018 don't want a "subscription". (But most are ok Rent-to-own). The only piece of information that was publicly made was Noel mentioning "other" ways they are looking into for obtaining a license. Ball is obviously in BL's court, but it's getting heavier by the day.

Trying to wrap my head around this ridiculously strange Sonar "release" While many threads hint that Bandlab is not interested in us, longtime users... Lets try to understand why they tied Sonar to subscription? Judging by content Bandlab hosts... it seems mainly aimed at more modern - kiddo music. Just think for a moment. Kids who are into beatmaking, EDM and similar music will unlikely to use Cakewalk by choice. Don't get me wrong, Cakewalk is perfectly capable of delivering, but there are sooo many options, and some of these crafted specifically minding those genres (that Bandlab widely represents). Froot Loops (Starter at $99 for perpetual) or even Bitwig - perpetual licenses of light version which were given out for free at one point. Why would a kid sign up for $180 pocket drain? To become "famous"? Social stuff? I don't know (and I don't want to know). But intuition tells me Sonar will not be their decision maker. Maybe a byproduct. So why Bandlab is taking a swing a us, most loyal group? Remains a dark & unhappy mystery. I am confident they will leave Cakewalk by Bandlab alone for at least a year, but without known expiration date, as of now to me it's a dead man walking. I will put my urge of switching DAW on pause for a few months in hope that they either release normal licenses or at least clarify plans for the future of Cakewalk & Sonar.

Here is another flat earth conspiracy: Now, that the wording in FAQ of discontinuation is gone and with today's announcement by Jesse, I think it is safe to assume they will keep Cakewalk alive for at least a year or two. Perhaps much longer. Maybe they are just working to add certain features on top of HD GUI to add value to Sonar, so when it's ready for perpetual license release, there will be enough feature differences to seduce us, dear valued customers. For example, if it offered chord track / assist and it would be only available at higher tier, I would consider getting that version.

+1

Well, I drove 3 Toyotas and one Honda in my lifetime. According to you - I can purchase whole Bandlab like a candy bar from a grocery store, with offer Mr.Meng can't refuse. Ohh yes, if I will be a king of the hill, free lifetime licenses to those who are willing tattoo "CAKEWALK" on their backs.