noynekker

Most legacy users moved onto the free version of "Cakewalk by BandLab", or use new "Sonar" with the subscription. Your best bet to re-activate your Sonar 2015 version would be to reach out to Cakewalk support. Also, I think you can still install Cakewalk by BandLab (free), which is miles ahead of 2015 anyways. 2015 is the Gibson era, and they are long gone as an owner.

Mark, seems you've already tried a lot of things. How old is your SSD drive ? If one of the tracks you've recorded is corrupted, it won't reach out and tell you . . . only way might be to run "chkdsk /f" from the command line to try a repair. Do you have any external devices plugged in to the laptop, like a USB back up drive, which may cause system interrupts ? Even possible one of your drivers might have a problem. Look in Device Manager for yellow caution signs, or Event Viewer system logs for driver related errors. Hope you get it sorted, want to hear this new tune soon !

@Camero Jones So , 2 posts, and over usage of the word "suck" . . . makes me wonder what was your first post ? . . . a glowing review no doubt. @Kevin Walsh . . . nice post, though, I would be surprised to see this OP actually reach out for help here. I would offer to help, but all I can offer is my experience that Cakewalk software has recently become even more stable than ever before, and that's the main reason I continue to use it, despite subscription confusions. Anyways, it's kind of an over the top misplaced critique of some amazing software, maybe this belongs on another forum, or nowhere at all.

Another great song Paul . . . some excellent vocals, as always . . . was waiting for the sprawling guitar solo, but you kept this one on the story of the lyric. Yes, I really like the story and the very real feeling of it, as it unfolded . . . top notch songwriting !

Mark, this is an awesome version of an amazing song ! I can hear why it stayed with you. Never heard the song, but thanks for introducing us to it here. You don't need me to tell you your recordings and your guitars are always so great, so I'll just tell you your vocal performance is very well done and heartfelt here.

Nigel . . . I'm always in awe how big and full your mixes sound on my small speakers !! The science we all search for I think. Yes, this song is more pop than your usual rock for Devine Lie, really enjoyed it !

You've really got something there, unique sound . . . a shuffle beat with some funk guitar riffs, and the bending notes of the lap steel really make this an interesting piece to listen to. Your description makes it sound like just an experiment . . . but there's a great song idea baking in there somewhere. Top shelf ! (where grandma keeps the cookies)

Knocked it out of the park . . . loved it.

I'm stuck on monthly subscription, and it's simply costing way more per year than my other DAW, which I can keep using, if I don't decide to keep upgrading. Especially wearing thin, since I don't really use most of the salient new Sonar features. Sometimes I think I just continue to pay out of nostalgia, familiarity, support for the Cake bakers. The BandLab extras don't work for me. When the perpetual version comes, I'm there in a heartbeat, if it never comes . . . _ _ _

Which audio interface do you have ? You say Sonar will not open, but you were able to select "no tracks or busses", so it must be kind of opening. It sounds like Sonar is getting stuck trying to rectify the audio set up. This is only my guess, because I had a similar issue recently . . . and you'll certainly have to give the great people here more info on your environment settings to get to the bottom of it.

No worries @T Boog . . . if there is a need for something, someone out there will make a business out of fulfilling that need . . . so you've just voiced the need for it.

Yes, this is the wrong place for such a theoretical question. The discussion may continue once it's moved to the Coffee House forum. Artificial Intelligence is becoming more and more human, and humans are becoming more and more artificial. You're just wanting your artificial backup singers to get the pronunciation correct, and others are just wanting AI to write the music because they are only lyricists. AI will just keep doing what we tell it to do until that day when AI starts telling us what to do.

Hi Steve, I don't recall hearing this one before, not one of Paul Simon's big radio hits I might recall. You've done an excellent job here, and I can certainly hear the "Paul Simon" flavour when listening, throughout this whole piece. Right away, those flutes reminded me of "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail" (I never remembered "El Condor Pasa" was the song title), it was no doubt written in that same era . . . oops, google says 55 years ago, can that be correct ?, maybe I heard it in a previous lifetime Also, another great sounding recording from your studio ! Good work, good listen. Bruce

Your instrumental playing sounds excellent, and how they blend from one to another, especially by your fireplace (and mine) . . . just drift away, so good !

Hey out there in SonarLand ! Here's a new song, I've been tweaking the mix this last month, let me know how it translates on your ears and speakers . . .

@GBTBassist . . . my main problem was related to many BFD updates and reinstalls over many years, and a Novation controller software that added wrappers for all my plugins. BFD was placing DLL files all over the place on my computer, and I was having to add extra VST scan paths in Cakewalk preferences VST scanning for them to work . . . BIG mess !! (VST2 dll's in the VST3 folder, big no no) I spent a day deleting / moving BFD related DLL files around. Then I came across this new BFD3 VST3 version, which fixes the future, but I still like to open and tweak older projects which use the VST2 versions. There are some checkboxes in the VST area of Cakewalk preferences that I played with regarding VST3 Migration. I think I finally got lucky . . . old and new projects are loading properly again. BIG tip, BFD3 has a setting to automatically load a preset when opening every time . . . turn that off ! Cakewalk's PRV view does not load the drum name mappings like it used to, but I gotta move on and make some music, fix that another day (think it's a new BFD3 VST3 bug, half baked me thinks) . . . since you asked, LOL Cheers

@MIDInco . . . thanks very much for the response ! You are correct, with very little fanfare (even on the BFD forum), there is indeed a VST3 version 3.5 available . . . you really have to go digging to find it, but it is there. Thanks again for the info update!

@MIDInco . . . thanks for your reply. As far as I know BFD3 is still VST2 . . . you're probably referring to a recent BFD3 VST3 version that was put forth . . . but unfortunately it's just a player version, and doesn't have the powerful features of the full BFD drum set. We're all waiting for BFD4, which will be VST3, I've heard rumblings about it, but it's so long in development, and new owners, that it may never happen ?

@msmcleod So, how do I roll back to my previous Sonar version (30.12.0.004 - Dec 2024) . . . because I never had this BFD3 plugin issue with my last Sonar version. I have the .EXE file for Dec 2024 version in my Downloads folder, can I just run that to roll back, or is it more complicated ?

Thanks guys for the replies . . . so I’ve clearly got some troubles with BFD3 on my end . . . I’ll have to investigate.

Did the most recent Sonar update, Feb 2025. I've been working on a project last week or so, and it has been totally stable. As soon as I add the BFD3 drums plugin, and try to do a freeze track or export to WAV, I get an instant Cakewalk crash, and a pop up screen appears which specifically mentions the BFD3 plugin. So, I tried doing a "Replace Synth", for another drum synth I have. This works fine when trying to do a freeze track or audio export. I realize BFD3 is now an older VST2 plugin, but it is kind of a showstopper for me, as this has been a go to drum plugin for me. Steps to reproduce: Add BFD3 plugin as an instrument track to a brand new cakewalk project drag some midi notes to a track freeze the track (or export to audio) Cakewalk crashes instantly

Great stuff Barry ! The vocal, lyric and the acoustic guitar are magical to listen to. You've really captured the right intonation and range for your vocal in this recording. Others have mentioned the drums . . . though, the song is not about drums. Even so, if you made the drums splash along with the arrangement some more, an exceptional song would be made better . . . just a fan's opinion. I'll go leave my like on SC.

Heard this a few times, and really appreciate what you’ve written here, the arrangement is amazing, and your vocals always deliver . . . just had to reply and support you . . . super piece !!

@IgoRr @Jonathan Sasor Thanks guys for the replies and tips ! Bonus screenshot ! I did not know this feature existed, never used it . . . when I remove the "untitled" text it works just like my other projects. I guess this was caused by opening an older project from before this feature ever existed, it defaulted to "untitled" Appreciate your help very much !

When I need to add some delay (usually on vocals or guitars) Sonitus Delay is still my go to Delay Plugin . . . it just works, has great and well defined starting presets, and intuitive stereo controls. Would be great to keep it going. Here's my support chant: VST ! VST ! VST !