Best replacement for Cakewalk

[Rain]

Thank to this thread, I just learned that they're also planning a Mac product (Next). I'll be curious to see that, but I'm expecting it'll be something aimed at a different segment of the market and not a full fledged DAW.

[sjoens]

https://www.cakewalk.com/next

[Jim Roseberry]

If you're a long-time Cakewalk user, I'd give the new version of Sonar a whirl.

Even if you have a couple of different options available, it makes sense to give it a thorough try.

 

[HOOK]

I've been a Cakewalk user for 30+ years, exclusively.  And with the announcement of paid Sonar again, I downloaded demos for Cubase and Reaper so I could learn them and set up templates.  Wrote and tracked a song in both.  But there are a few things in both programs that I'm sure I'd never get over.   They both ruin my workflow in one way or another - in big ways.  It's hard to break 30 year habits.

I still have both templates at the ready, just in case.  But Sonar it is...unless they broke it.

 

[Bapu]

FWIW

Whenever I start using another DAW I try to find its ways to improve my workflow over how I used Cakewalk for so many years.

To use the weak car analogy: I'll never be able to make a Lexus be a BMW.

Studio One works better for me than Cakewalk did. But I still use Cakewalk occasionally where/where it is required.

[michaelhanson]

4 hours ago, Bapu said:

FWIW

Whenever I start using another DAW I try to find its ways to improve my workflow over how I used Cakewalk for so many years.

To use the weak car analogy: I'll never be able to make a Lexus be a BMW.

Studio One works better for me than Cakewalk did. But I still use Cakewalk occasionally where/where it is required.

This has been the first time that I’m really giving Studio One a fair shot, after upgrading to V6.  I agree, Ed, I’m looking at it in a different light and there’s definitely some thing’s I’m actually liking better.  It takes some time to break old work flow, but now I’m actually preferring the new. 

[craigb]

Well, I'm sticking with Notepad!!!  I've been using it for 40 years and I almost have a verse for my first song finished.  Only about three million more ones and zeros to enter...

[Bapu]

5 hours ago, michaelhanson said:

This has been the first time that I’m really giving Studio One a fair shot, after upgrading to V6.  I agree, Ed, I’m looking at it in a different light and there’s definitely some thing’s I’m actually liking better.  It takes some time to break old work flow, but now I’m actually preferring the new. 

1. Arranger track makes more sense to me that CbB (and probably the new SONAR too).

2. The fact that I can place buses anywhere in the MIx view lets me do what I want when I want.

3. Chord track suits me just fine and chord detection is pretty good as long as the source material pretty clean (i.e. acoustic guitar, piano and maybe organ work best for me)

4. The creation of buses for a group of tracks is pretty cool for my workflow

5. Copy Song data is really nifty too

Edited September 26, 2023 by Bapu

[HOOK]

5 hours ago, Bapu said:

2. The fact that I can place buses anywhere in the MIx view lets me do what I want when I want.

Can you make busses live on top and visible at all times - like Cakewalk/Sonar does?

[Bapu]

2 hours ago, HOOK said:

Can you make busses live on top and visible at all times - like Cakewalk/Sonar does?

Not that I know of, and I personally see no use for that particular feature. If I want to deal with buses only, I just collapse/hide the contents of the bus in the Mixer view.

[Notes_Norton]

On 9/24/2023 at 9:58 AM, pwalpwal said:

ot, but this is actually why it's all going subscription - if you can already do what you need to do, why would you upgrade/buy a new version? tools for jobs - i don't need to upgrade my hammer because i can still hit nails in with the one i've already got

Nor my saxophone, car, music CDs, and quite a few other things.

I shun subscriptions if there is a 'for purchase' alternative. Subscriptions make sense for phone/internet service and many other things, but not for everything.

I know, the company wants continuous cash flow, but really hasn't anything to offer that will make you fork over more money. I think we are starting to see the failure of capitalism, but I have no idea how to fix it or what to replace it with. The problem is capitalism needs perpetual growth to keep the stockholders from jumping ship, and perpetual growth in a closed system is not possible.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[Wibbles]

24 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

The problem is capitalism needs perpetual growth to keep the stockholders from jumping ship, and perpetual growth in a closed system is not possible.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer ... until the poor run out of money to give the rich. 

[HOOK]

34 minutes ago, Bapu said:

Not that I know of, and I personally see no use for that particular feature. If I want to deal with buses only, I just collapse/hide the contents of the bus in the Mixer view.

?  This is a perfect example of not being able to "do what I want when I want".  The "I" being ME in this scenario.

Reaper also has this problem.

 

[Sheens]

If it wasn't subscription only, I would be off to Pro Tools.

Only reason being printing in Sonar X3 adds quite a lot of latency imo (even with 64 bit engine (and thus oversampling) unchecked).

Routing / getting a soft synths to work is a pita, Midi view, workflow isn't great, but will be simular probably in other DAWs

Other than that I'm superstoked with Sonar workflow

Edited September 26, 2023 by Sheens

[Shane_B.]

1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said:

The problem is capitalism needs perpetual growth to keep the stockholders from jumping ship, and perpetual growth in a closed system is not possible.

Huh. I didn't know shareholding was a requirement of capitalism.

?

[HOOK]

36 minutes ago, Sheens said:

If it wasn't subscription only, I would be off to Pro Tools.

Only reason being printing in Sonar X3 adds quite a lot of latency imo (even with 64 bit engine (and thus oversampling) unchecked).

Routing / getting a soft synths to work is a pita, Midi view, workflow isn't great, but will be simular probably in other DAWs

Other than that I'm superstoked with Sonar workflow

Luckily for you...they brough back the perpetual license a couple days ago.

https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/pro-tools-perpetual-licences-return

[Sheens]

1 hour ago, HOOK said:

Luckily for you...they brough back the perpetual license a couple days ago.

https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/pro-tools-perpetual-licences-return

thanks Hook, but afaik it's only available for schools etc.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Sheens

[HOOK]

15 minutes ago, Sheens said:

thanks Hook, but afaik it's only available for schools etc.

Nope.  $1,500 gets it done for anyone - Ultimate.

$600 for Studio.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTUlt--avid-pro-tools-ultimate-perpetual-license

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by HOOK

[craigb]

53 minutes ago, Sheens said:

thanks Hook, but afaik it's only available for schools etc.

Just tell them you identify as a fish then! ?

[RobertWS]

So, I went into my archives and installed a much older version of Cakewalk.    It recognizes my soft-synth like every other MIDI program in Windows...unlike the newest Cakewalk.

TTS-1 still kept getting inserted as a track so I unregistered it which fixed that problem.  In an admin command shell:

regsvr32 /u C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Shared DXi\TTS-1\TTS-1.dll

Next, I'll spend hours trying get the Edge crapware off my system that Cakewalk decided to infest me with.  Thanks for nothing!

A pox on whomever did that.   And, since I'm part gypsy, that person is going to need Calamine lotion soon!