Old Sonar Plugins

[Efrem C.'79]

Good morning,
I ask if, how and when it will be possible (for those who do not have an old Cakewalk account and for those who cannot access the Cakewalk Command Center) return to try (and eventually purchase) all the old plugins (virtual Instruments and Virtual effects) that they were part of Cakewalk Sonar. Thank you.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Efrem C.'79

[Byron Dickens]

Likely never.

[Efrem C.'79]

Thanks, I'm sorry though ... ☹️

[Efrem C.'79]

Currently all the "Cakewalk world" is rather confused. The Command Center remains active, but only for those who have created an account from 2014 to 2017. However, those who want to try the Cakewalk-Sonar plugins for free now cannot do so, and cannot even try the old Sonar versions. Another aspect: if the same plugins are no longer updated, what is all this for? I mean, what is the use of keeping and leaving Cakewalk sites if in these sites it is no longer possible to try out the various versions of the DAWs or even the plugins? If I can propose an idea, for me it takes a "General Reset". If BandLab has serious intentions it should reset everything and start over (or from the beginning). Sonar still contains several bugs, it has a rather heavy and "flooded" structure / layout of features that are repeated several times within the software itself. You would start from scratch redesigning everything. You would start with a new, lighter, more streamlined graphic (in vector graphics) with the possibility of resizing the graphic interface, and then inserting the various functions (forgetting the themes editor ...). I would leave the DAW completely empty from the plugin. Then I would create a good line of plugins (maybe for a fee). But by good line of plugins I mean good with a capital B. It is an idea that I propose to try to give new life to Sonar. And you would go back to renaming it with the name of Sonar, since it is the most known and recognizable name for so many ... Thank you.

[user 905133]

Having started with Cakewalk for MS-DOS, having updated a number of times since then, and having stumbled onto the new and improved Cakewalk by BandLab in June, I am able to use almost all (if not all) of the Cakewalk plug-ins I purchased over the years.  I have also been able to use many of the free plug-ins I have acquired. Some 32-bit plug-ins have been problematic.  

I had 8.5 and X3 installed on my current computer; so when I installed the current version of Cakewalk, those plug-ins successfully migrated properly. If you have the original media (CDs/DVDs/Downloads) that include 64-bit versions, from what I have seen others report, you can still install those. 

Fortunately for me, I still have hard copies of my serial numbers--including ones from before the older ones were migrated to the newer Cakewalk Command Center. Perhaps you printed out yours and still have them somewhere in case you no longer remember your password for the Command Center?

Hope you can figure out a way to get your old  plug-ins installed. I have really been impressed by the new Cakewalk software and the support that is available via the internet.  

Steve

Addendum: By the way, one of my favorite plug-ins from ten-twelve years or so ago was the version of z3ta+ that included z3ta+ FX. I was very delighted to find that those (the synth and the FX plug-ins) successfully migrated to the new Cakewalk and were immediately available to me.  So  far, they have worked for me quite well.  Again, hope you can get your old plug-ins working.

Edited August 31, 2019 by MusicMan11712 (aka Dr. Steve)

[Efrem C.'79]

Thanks for your answer. Yes, for those who have kept all the material of the old versions, things work, but for those who first look at this software, things become more complex ...

[scook]

Only BandLab knows the plan for the assets they purchased from Gibson.

The development staff is pretty small and have been concentrating on CbB development.

There was talk after the acquisition about releasing some other products but there has been no mention about it in some time.

AFAIK, BandLab cannot just give away or sell old Cakewalk products, they did not purchase the company. At a minimum, the products must be re-badged.

For now, to augment CbB look to third party offerings. There are thousands of them.

[Jim Fogle]

@Efrem C.'79,

I agree with your assessment that the Sonar/Cakewalk legacy is complex.

On the one hand  Bandlab Technologies is trying to "do the right thing" by maintaining Sonar for former Sonar clients by archiving the Sonar forum, maintaining legacy releases and the Command Center download manager.  Sonar clients continue to have access to the resources they collected as a Sonar client.  It is Bandlab's gift to Sonar clients.  Unfortunately if you were not a Sonar client in the past you can not become a Sonar client now; it's that simple.

Bandlab Technologies has Sonar assets that it has not utilized yet.  They may or may not use those assets in the future .  I bet even Bandlab Technologies doesn't know for sure.

Bandlab Technologies is growing through frequent acquisitions.   Bandlab Technologies has properties in the USA, Great Briton and Singapore and other Pacific rim countries.  There's likely other locations I don't know about.    There's retail stores,  manufacturers, social platform, magazines.  How do you pull it all together into a cohesive unit?  I don't know.

I was involved in two situations where my employer purchased some or all of the assets of bankrupt companies.  It's rarely pretty, there's always loose ends and it takes about five years for the old business culture to  feel comfortable with the new organization and for the new business to come up with a plan with what to do with the assets they bought.

[Starship Krupa]

22 hours ago, Efrem C.'79 said:

The Command Center remains active, but only for those who have created an account from 2014 to 2017.

This is a courtesy service to people who bought software from the old Cakewalk, Inc.

22 hours ago, Efrem C.'79 said:

However, those who want to try the Cakewalk-Sonar plugins for free now cannot do so, and cannot even try the old Sonar versions. Another aspect: if the same plugins are no longer updated, what is all this for? I mean, what is the use of keeping and leaving Cakewalk sites if in these sites it is no longer possible to try out the various versions of the DAWs or even the plugins?

What is the purpose of trying out Cakewalk plug-ins and old versions of Sonar that can no longer be purchased? The old Cakewalk, Inc. web server, with licensing and downloading engines working, is being kept running as a courtesy for the old customers of the company it used to belong to.

It still has ads for the products that Cakewalk, Inc. used to sell. The employees who originally built the server probably now have new jobs and the web developers at BandLab have more important things to do than work on an old server other than maybe keep it patched enough to prevent it from getting hacked/crashing. But it's unlikely that anyone's going to open up the code and change it enough to remove the ads for the defunct products and risk breaking the parts that old Sonar users might need to use to download software.

Think of it like a gas station/grocery store where the grocery store part closed down, but if you had a credit card with them, you can still get self-service gas. At some point, maybe the underground tanks will run out and they'll stop filling them, who knows? At some point people are going to have to download all the installatin files for the old program and do the offline registration or whatever. It will not be there forever.

In the meantime, don't be concerned about the ghost Internet server. If you purchased Sonar and have your serials, BandLab might have some way of helping you out. If not, there's a really great DAW you can use for free. Maybe someday they'll reissue some of the other Cakewalk software too. Until then, there is so much other free music software. Look in the "Favorite Free FX" thread. In my first post, there are links to 80 plug-ins to try out.

I think the name change was a good idea, to distinguish the old program from the new one. I tried the first version of Cakewalk by BandLab that came out and then the next release and the improvement in the first few releases was impressive. Like it or not, Sonar was known for being buggy and crashy. The first version I tried, the transport indicator would get separated from the rest of the program and go cruising across my screen on its own, if the thing went one session without crashing somehow it was unusual. Good idea to distance themselves from that legacy, however it had come about. The current team are slaughtering bugs and doing some good optimizations as well.

[Efrem C.'79]

Ok, thanks a lot for the answers.

[user 905133]

Having paid quite a bit over the years (multiple hundreds of USD, maybe more), this thread has made me realize that I need not be jealous of people who are now able to get Cakewalk for the cost of setting up an account, downloading the software, and updating it periodically--I have some wonderful softsynths and many FX plug-ins that I have acquired as part of my Cakewalk/SONAR purchases!!  ?

 

[Starship Krupa]

This, for sure. I remember at the old forum, people who were hacked off as could be about those of us who would be now "getting SONAR Platinum for free."

?

Uh, yeah, so where's my copy of Rapture Pro, Z3ta, Dimension, Melodyne, CA-2A, half a dozen ProChannel modules, Strum Session, Analog Session, Lounge Lizard Session, TruePianos Amber, Session Drummer, Studio Mixing Suite, Engineering Suite, Creative Suite, Channel Tools, Linear phase EQ and multiband compressor....

I've never seen Melodyne Essentials for less than $49, and more than half of the rest of it is unobtainable, you literally can't buy it for any amount of money. And most of it you can use with other DAW's just fine, too.

[JoseC]

On 8/31/2019 at 8:36 AM, Efrem C.'79 said:

Currently all the "Cakewalk world" is rather confused. The Command Center remains active, but only for those who have created an account from 2014 to 2017. However, those who want to try the Cakewalk-Sonar plugins for free now cannot do so, and cannot even try the old Sonar versions. Another aspect: if the same plugins are no longer updated, what is all this for? I mean, what is the use of keeping and leaving Cakewalk sites if in these sites it is no longer possible to try out the various versions of the DAWs or even the plugins? If I can propose an idea, for me it takes a "General Reset". If BandLab has serious intentions it should reset everything and start over (or from the beginning). Sonar still contains several bugs, it has a rather heavy and "flooded" structure / layout of features that are repeated several times within the software itself. You would start from scratch redesigning everything. You would start with a new, lighter, more streamlined graphic (in vector graphics) with the possibility of resizing the graphic interface, and then inserting the various functions (forgetting the themes editor ...). I would leave the DAW completely empty from the plugin. Then I would create a good line of plugins (maybe for a fee). But by good line of plugins I mean good with a capital B. It is an idea that I propose to try to give new life to Sonar. And you would go back to renaming it with the name of Sonar, since it is the most known and recognizable name for so many ... Thank you.

Maybe you did not notice, but Cakewalk by Bandlab (there is no Sonar anymore) already HAS a very good line of plugins within Pro Channel. About a full graphic redesign, I think that all users would say that it would be nice to have, but for now, the work of the developing team has already made clear that there are "serious intentions" even without it.

[Kurre]

Maybe you have read posts about how good those old plugins where, like Rapture Pro, Z3ta, Dimension and others.

How good something is, have to do with personal taste. There's no guarantee that you would find them good.

I explore the world of free or cheap plugins. The quality of free plugins amaze me. They are very good.

I have used trials of commercial "pro"plugins but am pretty sure i'm not missing on much with free plugins.

[Robert Bone]

On 9/1/2019 at 8:34 AM, Starship Krupa said:

This, for sure. I remember at the old forum, people who were hacked off as could be about those of us who would be now "getting SONAR Platinum for free."

?

Uh, yeah, so where's my copy of Rapture Pro, Z3ta, Dimension, Melodyne, CA-2A, half a dozen ProChannel modules, Strum Session, Analog Session, Lounge Lizard Session, TruePianos Amber, Session Drummer, Studio Mixing Suite, Engineering Suite, Creative Suite, Channel Tools, Linear phase EQ and multiband compressor....

I've never seen Melodyne Essentials for less than $49, and more than half of the rest of it is unobtainable, you literally can't buy it for any amount of money. And most of it you can use with other DAW's just fine, too.

Good post - I would like to add: Guitar Rig, and the Overloud amp modeling replacement to Guitar Rig, and Addictive Drums, and the old V-Vocal, and maybe some additional ones I may have missed - LOTS and LOTS of 3rd-party plugins.  I was always amazed at their ability to bundle in those additional components.  (AND, quite pleased).

Bob Bone

 

[Starship Krupa]

SONAR Platinum was a suite based around the core SONAR DAW, and the current product is still a suite based around CbB, right?

Cakewalk Inc. gave away a version of the core DAW for free with an issue of Computer Music at one point. Home Studio. Even that version had  instruments and FX that aren't bundled with CbB.

The initial announcements that said the new product would be equivalent to SONAR Platinum were....inaccurate. And they caused a lot of angst on the part of existing SONAR users who had bought the lifetime license.

From reading the marketing literature on the old site, the CbB suite is somewhere between Platinum and Artist. It's only equivalent if you already had SONAR Platinum ?.

Whatever it's called, it STOMPS anything else you can get for free, and IMO, plenty of DAW's you have to pay for to use. Maybe that's where the suspicion comes from; CbB just seems too good to be true.

I can understand where it fits in BandLab's portfolio of DAW's. They're on iOS, Android, Chrome browser, and with the purchase of Cakewalk Inc's IP at a liquidation price (and they seem to have skimmed off the cream of the Cakewalk staff as well), now Windows. In a BIG way. The foremost Windows-only DAW is now better than it has ever been both under the hood and workflow-wise, documentation is being worked on, etc.

I like the cut of their jib. While I agree that so far BandLab could be doing more to promote CbB, with the free subscription model, at this point, they don't need to. They can work on their long-term plans without the burden of the financial need to attract new users in the short term. Cakewalk can grow by word of mouth and attraction, and from reports, it has been exceeding expectations.

[razor7music]

On 8/31/2019 at 5:44 AM, scook said:

Only BandLab knows the plan for the assets they purchased from Gibson.

The development staff is pretty small and have been concentrating on CbB development.

There was talk after the acquisition about releasing some other products but there has been no mention about it in some time.

AFAIK, BandLab cannot just give away or sell old Cakewalk products, they did not purchase the company. At a minimum, the products must be re-badged.

For now, to augment CbB look to third party offerings. There are thousands of them.

You can also look here for specials.

[Robert Bone]

I think I would disagree slightly on the notion that CbB is not as good as Sonar Platinum - the thing is, those bundled 3rd-party plugins were all extras - the cost of which was absorbed into the license purchase price of the product.  They never 'owned' those, so they would never have been able to continue to be part of the core product.  The CbB core product has continued to see remarkable maintenance and clean up of bugs, as well as new development, which for free is outstanding, and CbB is outstanding, in its stability, increased functionality, and that it exists at all, given Gibson's involvement in dumping Cakewalk.

Folks legitimately got a bit hacked at paying the one-time lifetime maintenance charge, but as far as I have ever viewed that, that was done by Gibson, the owner of the company at the time, and they seem to have done a cash grab before turning Cakewalk to the wolves and abandoning the company.  THANKFULLY, CbB not only exists, but does so with continued development and maintenance.  

Bob Bone

 

[Mánibranðr Studios]

I wonder if Bandlab will ever partner with Roland and revive some the old plugins that were part of the DAW. Roland GrooveSynth and DreamStation DXi were pretty good for its time.

[LA198]

old versions of sonar and its plugins are now free?