Should I stay with CW/BL?

[Gary Edelman]

I'm just getting back into recording after a few years off & I'm trying to decide whether or not to stay with CW by BL & was hoping for a little insight.  My last upgrade was Sonar Producer X1 & it did  everything I needed without any problems. I've been using CW since it was just a midi only program & now I'm contemplating about whether or not to stay with Sonar. I've disconnected from the internet on my DAW so I don't use any anti-virus software that slows things down & I only use a desktop so  my questions are:

1 - Should it still run OK & perform like it always had without having to re-register ?

2 - If my computer were to crash how  would I ever reinstall & get a registration code?

3 - In my situation for simply recording myself is there any advantage to downloading the bandlab stuff & connecting to the internet on my desktop?

Any answers to any of the questions or even recommendations are appreciated.

[John]

Cakewalk is an upgraded Sonar Platinum.  You should be able to install Sonar X1. However, I would get Cakewalk. It is a much improved Sonar. You can use your old login and password but you can also start fresh and create a new account with Bandlab. 

There will be things that you wont be able to take advantage of because you did not upgrade to Sonar Platinum. There are more ProChannel modules that were released after X1. Still it is worth it to get Cakewalk anyway. 

 

[Gary Edelman]

19 minutes ago, John said:

Cakewalk is an upgraded Sonar Platinum.  You should be able to install Sonar X1. However, I would get Cakewalk. It is a much improved Sonar. You can use your old login and password but you can also start fresh and create a new account with Bandlab. 

There will be things that you wont be able to take advantage of because you did not upgrade to Sonar Platinum. There are more ProChannel modules that were released after X1. Still it is worth it to get Cakewalk anyway. 

 

Thanks for the reply,

When you say "get Cakewalk" I don't know what that means.

[John]

Cakewalk is the name of what we use to call Sonar.  CW as a company no longer exists.  Bandlab is the new owner. They are giving Cakewalk away free.   It is Sonar but much improved.  

[Mandolin Picker]

51 minutes ago, Gary Edelman said:

. . .I've disconnected from the internet on my DAW . . . .

1 - Should it still run OK & perform like it always had without having to re-register ?

. . . . .

3 - In my situation for simply recording myself is there any advantage . . . connecting to the internet on my desktop?

Any answers to any of the questions or even recommendations are appreciated.

One thing to be aware of is that Cakewalk by BandLab does require an occasional connection to the Internet once it is installed. If the software can't call home, it will come up in Demo mode and at that point you will no longer be able to save any work you do. This is a change from previous editions of SONAR that could operate without any internet connection.

See this post from Noel (the lead designer of the software)

 

[abacab]

You can still install and use Sonar X1 Producer offline and use it like you always have. But Sonar is no longer sold, supported, or updated. Your X1 download is still available in your old Cakewalk.com account.

Cakewalk by BandLab is an updated version of Sonar Platinum that is owned and distributed by BandLab. It is currently supported and updates are periodically issued. You will need to go online to get it installed using BandLab Assistant, and then periodically go online to prevent it reverting to demo mode. But it is free, and always will be.

Get Cakewalk by BandLab here: https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

[Craig Anderton]

The new version is a major improvement of over X1, especially in terms of speed and reliability.

I think the easiest way to deal with the internet issue is to turn on Windows Defender, connect when there's a new update, download it and update, then disconnect from the net and disable Windows Defender.

[John Vere]

A lot of the issues from the X1 days are long gone and over. I was a huge " No Internet " preacher in the past. Now it's a none issue. 

W10 and it's default security systems seem to play smoothly with my DAW and because Cakewalk ( by Bandlab) was made and tweaked to run on W10 I never have issues anymore.  A modern 4 core computer with 8 or 16 GB of RAM won't even break a sweat when running large projects anymore. Only thing I might get is graphics slowing down.  

It's of interest that this is still active, I just followed through and it worked. Home Studio 2017  is also free not that It would be as good as CbB but interesting for those who like free. Possibly the add ons are worth the time it takes to do this. 

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Free-copy-of-Home-Studio-m3718860.aspx

 

[mdiemer]

I stay offline by default, connecting occasionally to update Microsoft Security Essentials or check the forum or research something musical. I am running one of the early versions of CbB (the acronym everyone uses now), as I don't update for the sake of updating. I did not even know about the issue re: having an internet connection now and then.  But I have never had it revert to demo mode. So just causally connecting now and then seems to be enough. I would just download CbB, authorize it, and connect every now and then. Once a week might be enough. It does work really well, and you can use all your plugins from earlier CW versions (so keep them installed).

[Tezza]

I run my version of CW offline, I only had it briefly online to initially authorize, all updates etc are done on another computer then transferred to the offline one, I haven't run into it reverting to demo mode yet.

[Gary Edelman]

The main reason I want to stay offline is because i don't want to have any anti-virus software running on my DAW.  I'm still running Windows 7 professional & don't plan on updating to Windows 10 until I absolutely have to.  For me connecting to the internet when necessary to activate would not be a problem but I hope if CW/BL  does revert to demo mode it only does it on start up & doesn't surprise you in the middle of saving a session.

      

[mdiemer]

I also use Windows 7 Pro. I run MSE for AV and it has no observable effect on Cakewalk. I use a Linux computer fort most of my browsing. On my music rig I go online as needed, as long as you are careful where you go nothing bad will happen.

[Gary Edelman]

3 hours ago, mdiemer said:

I also use Windows 7 Pro. I run MSE for AV and it has no observable effect on Cakewalk. I use a Linux computer fort most of my browsing. On my music rig I go online as needed, as long as you are careful where you go nothing bad will happen.

That's pretty much what I do except I dual boot between Linux & Windows. Most all of my computing is done on Linux with the exception of Cakewalk & one other Windows program.  I just tried the newer CW/BL & it looks just like my older X1 so it might not be too hard to get things going again.  I have to relearn how to use the soft synths but it's coming back to me little by little. It's great that BandLabs is keeping CW going. I probably should start another thread but does anyone know how to use a CAL  program? There used to be an undocumented key combination that would let you access them.   

[Starship Krupa]

10 hours ago, Cactus Music said:

It's of interest that this is still active, I just followed through and it worked. Home Studio 2017  is also free not that It would be as good as CbB but interesting for those who like free. Possibly the add ons are worth the time it takes to do this. 

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Free-copy-of-Home-Studio-m3718860.aspx

From almost the day I downloaded and installed CbB I have had a fierce jones for L-Phase Multiband (and L-Phase Equalizer). Wondering when and if BandLab were going to make them available for sale or as a promo or whatever.

I just happened to have an old Gibson/Cakewalk account left over from the CA-2A giveaway.

Today is my birthday.

You have made me a very happy man.

Anyone who has a Gibcake logon and for whatever reason doesn't have these or Rapture, run, don't walk.

[John]

To Garyed;

Sonar X1 came out early in 2012. It is a very old version with very limited features. Its major reason for being introduced was to implement the Skylight UI. All the versions since then have been refinements of that UI and adding new and very useful features.  The new Cakewalk by Bandlab is an improved Sonar Platinum. 

It is very much in your favor to upgrade to Cakewalk.  (It is free by the way.) You can still use X1 but I believe once you try Cakewalk you wont want to. 

I wish I could list all the improvements in Cakewalk but there are simply too  many from X1 to attempt it.   

[Byron Dickens]

It is of course wise to take reasonable and prudent precautions,  but going on the internet is not really all that dangerous if you stay away from websites you probably shouldn't be visiting anyway.  You know what I  mean.

[Brian Walton]

18 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said:

It is of course wise to take reasonable and prudent precautions,  but going on the internet is not really all that dangerous if you stay away from websites you probably shouldn't be visiting anyway.  You know what I  mean.

Honestly that isn't true at all.  

The internet is a very dangerious place even staying on the "main paths"

However, Windows 10 seems to have some decent protection built in.  

OP has WIndows 7 - not as safe without ad on programs for defense.  

If it was me.  I'd connect and download the latest, authorize it and then go back off the internet for about 5 months, then do another update at that time with the same method.  I also woudl back up all projects and data to an external HD that is not connected during those updates.  

[mdiemer]

58 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said:

It is of course wise to take reasonable and prudent precautions,  but going on the internet is not really all that dangerous if you stay away from websites you probably shouldn't be visiting anyway.  You know what I  mean.

It is indeed dangerous for those who are the unfortunate victims of a hack or malware attack. you can do everything right and this can still happen. But life itself is dangerous. Nature is dangerous. The Universe is dangerous - just ask the dinosaurs (or their descendants, those lovely little flying things. some of which will peck your eyes out if given a chance). I recently installed a BSD system on an old hard drive on death's door. (BSD is a unix-based system, like linux. It's supposed to be even safer). I left my computer for a few minutes, and when I cam back, someone had gotten into computer, and opened a terminal (similar to the windows command line), and was happily typing away. They were well on the way to completely gaining control when I shut it down and got rid of the now compromised system. There are no guarantees.

[paulo]

15 hours ago, garyed said:

does anyone know how to use a CAL  program? There used to be an undocumented key combination that would let you access them.   

Ctrl+F1 ?

[John Vere]

My Observation.

My W10 DAW is always on line and kept 100% up to date at least once a week. It has not crashed or froze Cakewalk in a long time now. Always works.

My W7 Laptop is the opposite and I only update it before I'm going to use it and then shut off the internet.

But I constantly will freeze up Cakewalk if you even so much as sneeze. I'm used to this and just keep saving as I work.  CbB seems to run better on W10.

Both computers are very similar with the only difference being the desktop is i7 12 GB RAM, and Laptop i5 8GB RAM. My projects are not big. Some are only 4 tracks of midi but they can freeze on saving or if I am moving too fast while editing.