Dave Maffris

Thanks for the link, I read the article. Still on the fence about it. What is clear is that this is the cost of updating and incrementally developing Cakewalk, ie. Sonar, et al. I didn't see too much that jumped out at me as a "must have" but I can see it's heading to a point where it might be worthwhile to subscribe. I guess having the option is good.

I am curious what new features and improvements have been implemented in the new Cakewalk Sonar; I would consider the subscription if there was enhanced value vs. continuing to use CbB or trying (again!) to master Studio One. Any folks that can tell me what they appreciate most about the new (subscription-based) version, I'd love to hear from you.

Totally agree on that. I wish I found Studio One useable for everything, but I simply don't get it most of the time. Trying to translate my "Cakewalk" brain after 30 years of it makes it harder than if I just came into it from scratch. But for sure the Mastering and Delivery options are of great use to me.

I'm gonna watch these videos, but on the surface it sounds like we have completely different workflow/styles. I do not use any outboard hardware rack gear anymore, and use MIDI for my keys and virtual instruments. I do, however, do a bit of live tracking when I produce for other artists, such as singer/songwriters, etc. Even my drum kit in my studio is a digital kit. So that partially explains why I find Studio One so perplexing, and CbB (and it's predecessors) so "easy" and simple. I do most everything "in the box" these days, Izotope being my main effects suite, for example. But I am going to pour over these vids and thanks so much for sending them, because I need to learn more (I'm only 73 and still have something left in the tank) and perhaps I will eventually migrate more fully into S1. I do like the idea of the automatic bus creation...I still have some brain lock when it comes to understanding the S1 console--I'm so used to ProChannel that anything else seems weird to me. Thanks again.

Taylor and a few others are making money--surely not from records...and Bruno Mars definitely needs the money--up to his eyeballs in gambling debts, poor soul....

When Sonar was looking like it was going under I panicked and got Studio One, even did one update on it--have never gotten used to it--for whatever reason, things just don't "work" for me, from routing to clicking behavior, etc. No work flow comfort there. How did you get used to it? any tips for a cakewalk user since 1995 or so? I'm up to version 5 of S1, but have only really used it for the "mastering" section and exporting DDP files for CD duplication, which I find very helpful. I'd love to know how to overcome my brain lock on S1, because I'm getting tired of how so many manufacturers (control surfaces, for example) don't make their products compabile with Cakewalk.

Yeah, I never really thought about the platform to release the music, I release stuff to all digital outlets, and of course the streaming royalties are miniscule to say the least, since I ain't Taylor Swift....

I could see it at 7.50/month,maybe, you must know someone, haha. I'm a pro but I haven't quite looked into the whole idea yet, so any feedback you have would be valuable to me, thanks.

So you sprang for the Membership, has it been otherwise beneficial?

Actually it appears that Larry quoted a Cbb version number, not Sonar--I have had Sonar for years,but changed over to CbB when they took over. Still confused--Larry, are you referring to "old" Sonar or CbB and why the heck don't I have the opportunity to get the latest revision?

And I have 2024.02, says it's the latest version....hmmm, what gives here? 29.0.98 is the version...Wonder why it won't/can't allow me to update it?

so I went to Bandlab's site and found the pricing for the "membership" subscription, which would include the backstage pass access to the upcoming Sonar release. I didn't necessarily see anything groundbreaking that Sonar will offer that Cbb doesn't already, but I could be wrong about that. Anyway, the membership price for Bandlab is $150 a year. Probably about what other subscription services are offering, but it was way more than I expected--having been spoiled by Cbb being free for all these years now. Don't know if I will subscribe, but I am curious to whether the Sonar "upgrade", as it is being called by Bandlab, is truly a worthwhile upgrade--and no longer free, too. I have invested so many years in Cakewalk, starting in the mid- 1990's and am so entrenched that I cannot still wrap my head around Studio One, which I purchased when I thought Cakewalk was going away forever. I almost wish I could migrate successfully to another DAW, but when Cakewalk came around I found it the only DAW I had tried up to that time which I truly "got" and could master, more or less. Produced so many albums for myself and others with it--I hate change--as I am in my 70's now, it gets harder and harder. Oh well. I'm just venting.

Man, if I had known you'd list your Stage 3 I would have jumped, although I recently purchased a new one at a fanstastic price because of a mixup that the Store went out of their way to make up for. As far as the Leslie emulation on the Nord, a lot of very wonderful musicians I know who are also Nord owners have said they didn't like it--and I don't know what I did to customize mine, but I love it and consider it as good as any I've played (well, maybe the Hammond itself, the real thing, and who knows, there might be many more), not warbly on fast, and I love using the drawbar emulation, drive control, and percussion, etc. People who hear me way it sounds great, too, but again, very individual thing, I know. Also, I seem to have mastered the onboard controls very early in my ownership, and I use it a ton. So much so that when I decided to pick up a Yamaha CK 88 as an additional board, I did so because it, too, has a fair amount of on board knobs, sliders, etc. that I enjoy using to create instant sound variations without designing separate patches. To each his own, and I get it if someone else doesn't work the same way I do. The result is what matters and your own personal comfort and inspiration is what's most important. Playiing my Yamaha and Nord side by side (or up and down keyboard shelf), the superior sound of my Nord is obvious in many many patches, especially acoustic pianos, and yet so many keyboardists complain that Nord's ac piano is bad and praise yamaha to the hilt. Mind you, I'm comparing a $5000 vs. $1500 keyboard, so I get it. But I've played other brands and find the Nord (as I've customized it) White Grand, for example to be richer and more complex than any other keyboard's. As far as Kronos, I've always been interested in them, but a couple of things stand out to me--I've heard it's a long boot up, which is no biggie except when you have to reboot during a show, and it's weight. I may be uninformed here, but I can't lug a keyboard more than 30 pounds or so anymore, so that eliminates a ton of great machines (Nautilus, Montae, some Rolands, etc.) no matter how great they are. I gig a lot and I'm old and getting weaker every day--or more lazy. I've heard great things about the Kawai keyboards, but their sheer weight would make it impossible, especially since I do a lot of solo gigs. I hae three sub 30 lb keyboards, my Nord 76, casio 3100 and yamaha CK 88. I'd add a Kurzweil PC4, but I think I'm all out of money and space in my studio or car, lol.

Well, I have done a lot of work on my Nord over the years to get it sounding perfect in nearly all situations, from straight jazz solo piano to Tribute Band stuff, to Rock/Pop/Funk. Not using much of the factory patches, mostly my own, doctored ones, downloaded sound banks from Nord artists as well as 3rd party. Seems I can usually find what I need. Probably the weakest link, IMO are the brass sections and such, but I tweak them or layer and it does a decent job, and I don't hear too many other keyboards whose sounds are much better, although that is definitely a matter of taste and type of music.

Yeah, I know you can work around Song mode, but I don't feel the upgrade is worth it and I need as much patch space as possible in my tribute band, etc. As far as the Montage, I won't ever buy a keyboard for gigging that is super heavy, and for me, I prefer the 30 lbs or less, as my age, build and general health require this...and I gig too much to be shlepping too much, which is why I have a Nord in the first place and don't necessarily need two or more keyboards or a computer/tablet to do my shows. For studio, I would consider something heavier, but for what purpose, when in my studio most of what I do is software/controller driven, and I want to rehearse with the band and use the same equipment I use on a gig, anyway. There are so many great keyboards, but the heavy ones are just not for me, not even safe for me to try and deal with them anymore. I now also have a Yamaha CK88, which meets the weight criteria and has 88 weighted keys and sounds very good--not Nord good, but good enough for my jazz and variety band cover gigs, but not my Tribute work, where I use the Nords extra pedals, arpeggiator and other features extensively. As far as Song Mode, Yamaha Live mode isn't bad, but not as good at all, plus they don't have a software editor for me to organize my sounds and sets. So I'm gonna be ok with what I have now.