It's official: CbB will not continue for long.

[User 905133]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:00 AM, Alan Tubbs said:

 Hopefully the vanilla version of Cakewalk with come in from  a hundred dollars to 2 hundred and keeps the flow of newbies from Bandlab entering their paid world.  

If you get your wish, I am so out of here. There is no way I can afford that.  That sucks out loud.

[AB9]

As long as it is a reasonable fee, does not lose current features, and as long as it helps the sustainable of Cakewalk for a long, long time, I am very happy.

[marcL]

12 hours ago, Larioso said:

And having a paid versions that still needs timely reactivations is not so good in my world, since I had issues with CbB doing that 3 years ago. So went back to Sonar, I don't want anything just stop working suddenly.

^^^Absolutely agree! That's why I still have Sonar Platinum available on all of my systems! ... just in the worst case!

[Sidney Earl Goodroe]

Lord Tim mentioned a "rent to own" option for the upcoming Sonar release. Is not that the same as subscription?

If you opted to rent Sonar, would it continue to work if you paid it off? 

I was always happy to just pay upfront and still have my older versions of Cakewalk products all the way back to 1990s!! Platinum is still on my working computers. 

I wish they would at least give us a ballpark figure of the price so those of us who are strapped for cash can make some sort of decision as to staying with Sonar or doing as I am doing. 

I am currently porting my projects in to my other DAWs so if the bottom falls out, once again with Sonar, I will be prepared!

I am preparing for the worst while keeping the faith that Meng and Noel will watch our backs!!

[User 905133]

20 minutes ago, Sidney Earl Goodroe said:

Lord Tim mentioned a "rent to own" option for the upcoming Sonar release. Is not that the same as subscription?

If you opted to rent Sonar, would it continue to work if you paid it off? 

I was always happy to just pay upfront and still have my older versions of Cakewalk products all the way back to 1990s!! Platinum is still on my working computers. 

I wish they would at least give us a ballpark figure of the price so those of us who are strapped for cash can make some sort of decision as to staying with Sonar or doing as I am doing. 

I am currently porting my projects in to my other DAWs so if the bottom falls out, once again with Sonar, I will be prepared!

I am preparing for the worst while keeping the faith that Meng and Noel will watch our backs!!

Glad to see there's a modicum of optimism there.

I think it can be a good strategy to cope with anxieties and doubts by preparing for the worst.    I haven't checked my XP SP3 PC in a few years, but the last time I did, SONAR X1 still worked.  Also on my agenda with all the comments from worry warts is to see if X1 and X3 will work under Windows 10 Pro.  However, I gave up on using Cakewalk for MS-DOS and Cakewalk for Windows decades ago. 

[Light Grenade]

The Cakewalk team have been outstanding since the inception of CbB. It simply cannot be overstated just how much better Cakewalk is now since the days of X2. 

I am not joking when I say I used to have one desktop and two laptops running X2 because project files became corrupt every day, and I needed two backup systems to access mixes. It was honestly a nightmare and essentially unusable for heavy, time crititcal projects. X2 forced me learn Reaper. CbB could be better yes, but it's simply a joy to use in comparison to the X series. 

I'm happy about it going paid, as honestly I didn't feel confident in the longevity of a truly free product and I didn't feel 100% comfortable reporting bugs and suggesting feedback for a free product. Like, what more can I expect for something that is free, and does 90% of what I need, when a lot of the competition is upwards of £300 annually? 

On the flipside, once it goes paid, there's an added impetus to make things better and get things fixed. I'll feel more comfortable pushing longstanding issues to the team knowing that I'm paying for it, and I mean this in a productive way, not a threatening way. 

If something goes majorly wrong, which I hope it doesn't, I'll just flip to Reaper full time. In general, it's not a bad idea getting a handle on more than 1 DAW. 

[msmcleod]

49 minutes ago, Sidney Earl Goodroe said:

Lord Tim mentioned a "rent to own" option for the upcoming Sonar release. Is not that the same as subscription?

If you opted to rent Sonar, would it continue to work if you paid it off? 

I was always happy to just pay upfront and still have my older versions of Cakewalk products all the way back to 1990s!! Platinum is still on my working computers. 

I wish they would at least give us a ballpark figure of the price so those of us who are strapped for cash can make some sort of decision as to staying with Sonar or doing as I am doing. 

I am currently porting my projects in to my other DAWs so if the bottom falls out, once again with Sonar, I will be prepared!

I am preparing for the worst while keeping the faith that Meng and Noel will watch our backs!!

SONAR Platinum was rent-to-own.

If you paid 12 consecutive monthly payments, you'd own the version of the product at the point of your 12th payment.  If you paid 12 months up front, you'd own the version of the product exactly a year after your payment.

Once you owned the product, that version would continue to work regardless of whether you continued to pay or not.

This is different from a subscription, which disables the product (either partially or fully) when you stop paying.
 

[Light Grenade]

2 hours ago, Sidney Earl Goodroe said:

Lord Tim mentioned a "rent to own" option for the upcoming Sonar release. Is not that the same as subscription?

'Rent to own' is time limited and ends once you pay off the full cost of the software - essentially like interest free finance. Splice do this with a handful of DAW's and plugins.

Traditional subscriptions are eternal. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Light Grenade

[User 905133]

Could someone please create a poll that allows forum members to rank order up to 5 preferences each for future Cakewalk products and purchase options with the maximum, minimum, and ideal price they would pay?

Let's give everyone a voice, not just those who want to get a head start on their "I'm-naming-my-own-preferred-plan-and / or-price-publicly" posts.

Thanks.

[HOOK]

You guys got me freaked out.  I'm frantically searching my attic for this in case everything  goes to sh*t.  I know it's here somewhere....

Edited September 13, 2023 by HOOK

[User 905133]

8 hours ago, Lord Tim said:

. . . it was suggested in an early post that we would be able to pay off Sonar in a Rent-to-own thing over 12 months, like the old paid SONAR was. [emphasis added]

  Could you clarify this ^^^^?  It used to be that we purchased licenses for new versions of SONAR if we wanted or we could use the last version we paid for.  For example, I paid for SONAR 3, SONAR 5, SONAR 6, SONAR 8.5, SONAR X1 (producer, expanded IIRC) and SONAR X3 (two versions, one for me and the Studio version for my kids' computer).

IIRC under the Gibson "Lifetime Update" Promotion, that could be paid off over time, but was that available before?

8 hours ago, Lord Tim said:

I'd also strongly suggest that any or all of what I'm saying here is subject to change, so until we hear an official announcement, we should sit tight and not buy into any of the FUD.  [emphasis added]

And let us all say, Amen!!!!

[Jonathan Sasor]

1 hour ago, User 905133 said:

Could someone please create a poll that allows forum members to rank order up to 5 preferences each for future Cakewalk products and purchase options with the maximum, minimum, and ideal price they would pay?

Let's give everyone a voice, not just those who want to get a head start on their "I'm-naming-my-own-preferred-plan-and / or-price-publicly" posts.

Thanks.

Respectfully, I don't think we need this here either. People have expressed their thoughts on prices from the moment the new version was announced. We've been around the block a time or two before, so we're pretty familiar with how people feel. We can't comment publicly on price points right now, but we have one in mind that I think most people here will find more than fair, as Noel has mentioned elsewhere. Details will be forthcoming when things are finalized, and nothing is going to change overnight. We just ask that people have a little patience while we do what we need to do on our end. Thanks!

[Alan Tubbs]

Cakewalk has had several different plans for payment.  
 

Mostly you just bought a lease of the software (you don’t own the software and can’t use the code itself ).  You can, tho continue to use the software until MS breaks something.  This usually came with a years worth of updates.

cakewalk has sold versions of their DAW with effects and softsynths included, or just plain.  Those cost more but continue to work to MS breaks something.  Updates incl for the year.

and the most problematic was rent to own.  You sent in a monthly payment for 12 months and then you owned the last version of cakewalk you paid for.   It didn’t die and leave you stranded.  Why this is so hard to grasp is beyond me.  Maybe if cake called it layaway.

 

[Jonathan Sasor]

43 minutes ago, User 905133 said:

  Could you clarify this ^^^^?  It used to be that we purchased licenses for new versions of SONAR if we wanted or we could use the last version we paid for.  For example, I paid for SONAR 3, SONAR 5, SONAR 6, SONAR 8.5, SONAR X1 (producer, expanded IIRC) and SONAR X3 (two versions, one for me and the Studio version for my kids' computer).

IIRC under the Gibson "Lifetime Update" Promotion, that could be paid off over time, but was that available before?

SONAR Platinum launched with a "Membership" program where you could either pay monthly (where 12 months of membership would get you a perpetual license up to that 12 month point), or you could pay for that 12 months up front which was essentially just as you would with buying an upgrade from X2 to X3. 

[User 905133]

21 minutes ago, Jonathan Sasor said:

Respectfully, I don't think we need this here either. People have expressed their thoughts on prices from the moment the new version was announced. We've been around the block a time or two before, so we're pretty familiar with how people feel. We can't comment publicly on price points right now, but we have one in mind that I think most people here will find more than fair, as Noel has mentioned elsewhere. Details will be forthcoming when things are finalized, and nothing is going to change overnight. We just ask that people have a little patience while we do what we need to do on our end. Thanks!

I agree that a poll is not needed. But as long as anxiety-ridden worry warts are using all sorts of manipulative tactics to try to get what they want, having a poll could be a fun, participatory thing that will get all the whiners to stop being so selfish in advocating for what they want.

If you have seen some of my other posts, I previously articulated positions that reflects much of what you said (wait and see what happens before jumping to conclusions, trust the team that has previously shown respect and loyalty to SONAR/Cakewalk users, etc.  Some forum member have agreed. However, some people that don't have the level of trust I have are being overly vocal IMO.  A poll as I described would level the playing field by enabling everyone to voice their opinion and to do so without all the anxiety, negativity, etc.

Who knows, maybe your reply will achieve the same end.  If so, I'm cool with that!!!

Clarification: I never intended for the poll to be used to make decisions--just to allow more people to voice their preferences and "to get it out of their systems."  

[User 905133]

28 minutes ago, Lord Tim said:

Jon kind of gave a fairly definitive answer there to some stuff though:

So yeah, as I mentioned earlier, we just have to sit tight for now and wait for the announcements.  

Yup.  This is what some of us have been saying all along.  Maybe this time . . . .

 

[John Vere]

18 hours ago, T Boog said:

Do u mean they'll be more than two levels John? I'm only aware of "Sonar" & "Next". Are u saying they'll be diff versions of Sonar aside from "Next"?

I know as much as anybody else.  

The problem is information is scattered amongst a dozen threads. But Yes one of the developers mentioned that there will be different version. And why not? 

My educated purely speculative guess is we are about to return to how things were with Sonar Platinum series. 

My video explains some of this. https://youtu.be/dJBT3cs8ILw

But since I made the video I have learned a few new little tidbits.

 

Totally not official but mentioned by staff:

Free starter version, ( possibly like Pro Tools Intro? )  

Projects from Cakewalk will be transferable to Next. At this point it is not clear if this will be direct. As in a  CWP will open in Next or that if the project needs to be uploaded to Bandlab and then brought back to Next. 

What this implies is absolutely nobody needs to change DAW's based on financial situations. 

This is the Old Sonar Pricing anyone want to speculate on how close this will be to the new one!  If you go to that page   https://taylor.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Versions#start   and scroll down you will also see how all the features and add-ons were only found in Splat. Someone straitened me out when I said we had been using a $500  DAW but  they were correct and it has actually been Sonar Professional because of the missing add-ons. So CbB is only a $200 DAW. 

But here's the catch. Nobody else has mentioned this so not sure if it crossed your mind. All of use long time users that owned Splat got the goodies already. We paid for them back then. So unless they sweeten the pot with something we don't have, we might only have to purchase Sonar Artist or Professional.  Of course only using old names as an example. 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by JohnnyV

[John Vere]

Good point, Yes folks please don't look at that and think this is real. Just an example of what is possible if we do have versions. It also gives you examples of how adding more goodies is really what you are paying the extra for. 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by JohnnyV

[Magic Russ]

On 9/7/2023 at 4:13 PM, Jonathan Sasor said:

SONAR went from SONAR 1-8 to SONAR X1-3 to SONAR Platinum, all being new versions of the application with new features. This is no different in that regard. There's a lot of additional work that is currently going into Sonar that is not currently in Cakewalk by BandLab which absolutely constitutes it as a new version of the app. 

Can we talk about what is going into Sonar?

[OutrageProductions]

51 minutes ago, Magic Russ said:

Can we talk about what is going into Sonar?

Could anyone please tell me what Santa Clause will put under the tree for me?

I know that it's only September, but I really don't want to be surprised or impressed.

Or grateful. ?