Jim Stamper Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 Hi Cakewalk Staff ... I'm looking for some sort of official statement on the status of Cakewalk Sonar. I have read this website https://www.cakewalk.com/sonar but otherwise I haven't seen any big announcements to the market that Sonar has been officially launched. When I search the internet a mish-mash of links about old versions, old pricing, or old transitions of Cakewalk. There are some links to the new Bandlab website and some links to the old Cakewalk website with some very outdated information. It's confusing even for a veteran user. Sorry, but this leaves me wondering if the product is now hardened, or is it still a bit "soft" and evolving as it has been over the past year, give or take. I've been using Cakewalk for roughly 30 years. I use it professionally and so I don't like to be an early user of a new product or even updates. I know it's 'available with a Bandlab membership' ... but I'd like to know if the product is still in some state of testing, or is this an official broad release that's ready for prime time? I'm not asking about long-term pricing, although that would certainly be of interest. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Stanton Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 according to @Noel Borthwick Sonar has been in production 2 months? i've been using it for about 45 days and it's pretty solid, i had to pull up some old plugins which i knew might crash it (and not to disappoint they did) but other than trying to deliberating crash it, i only had one incident where it crashed (an update from Karzog) which when i updated the plugin went back to working. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeringAmps Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 Like @Glenn Stantonabove, it’s solid here. I installed it back in March IIRC. It’s the path forward. t 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Sasor Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 @Jim Stamper If you check the site, it lists Sonar as "Available Now Via BandLab Membership". We're perpetually working on more and more improvements, but Sonar is going strong as is. You can always download it and try for yourself. Demo mode just prevents save/export. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Stamper Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 Thanks Jonathon and everyone for your responses. This is giving me a better feel for where it stands. As PWAL23 mentioned, maybe I'm somewhat hoping for something from "Cakewalk marketing peeps". I feel like the new Sonar has been tip toe-ing into the marketplace for quite awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfrommichigan Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 'Cakewalk marketing'... haha, thats a good one. If a department actually does exist, they are the worst in the business. Pretty much nobody even knows about Cakewalk, yet it is probably the best DAW out there. (at best, most people confuse Cakewalk for Bandlab, and think of it as 'that cute little beginner software.' Such a shame. Because it really is/was such a great DAW !! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Stamper Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 jfrommichigan ... I agree, it's a great DAW, and I don't think the marketplace views it as being a contender, or even in the game. Without adequate marketing, I'm worried about its future. Bakers - please understand this is meant to be positive & constructive opinion. Your hard work is much appreciated. Thanks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Borthwick Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 No worries. Sonar is alive and well and has been Production ready since the beginning of this year. We've already had 5 or more official Membership updates since the the official roll out with BandLab membership. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Wynn Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 I switched all my in flight production work into Sonar months ago. LOVE IT ! 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Anderton Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 CbB has been developed on a continuous basis since BandLab took over, which clearly laid the foundation for Sonar. This ongoing development has been happening for six years, so I kinda think the status is "download it and use it." 7 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Stamper Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 On 8/5/2024 at 1:03 PM, Craig Anderton said: CbB has been developed on a continuous basis since BandLab took over, which clearly laid the foundation for Sonar. This ongoing development has been happening for six years, so I kinda think the status is "download it and use it." Thanks Craig, much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Stamper Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 I really appreciate all the comments above. But I wonder is Bandlab aware of the mixed messaging that appears when you go to the Bandlab home page? 1. Cakewalk doesn't appear on the home page. Until you click on Products. 2. Then off to the side, under "Other Products" you see "Cakewalk by Bandlab". If you click on that, you see "Cakewalk Sonar" in a splash titled "New Products Coming Soon". 3. Then clicking on "See More" gives you options to Explore Cakewalk Next or Explore Cakewalk Sonar "Available soon on Windows" 4. Click on Explore Cakewalk to finally see the statement: Available Now Via Bandlab Membership In summary, when a potential user goes to the Bandlab home page, they need to click another 4 levels deep to see that Sonar is Available Now ... while along the way being told that it's coming soon. I hope this mixed messaging will be addressed, and in my opinion a Sonar announcement deserves a spot right up front on the Bandlab home page Thanks! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profwacko Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Once I install the new Sonar software, how do I activate it or pay for it offline? ADVthanksANCE -Jack (user since Sonar 6 or 7 or something like that. It was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Stanton Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 (edited) just follow the instructions - basically export a request, copy it to a machine with internet access (using something like a USB stick), process it, copy the result back to the USB stick, the import the response. Edited August 9 by Glenn Stanton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Sasor Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 20 minutes ago, profwacko said: Once I install the new Sonar software, how do I activate it or pay for it offline? ADVthanksANCE -Jack (user since Sonar 6 or 7 or something like that. It was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...) So long as you have a valid BandLab Membership, you can either sign in through the app or use Cakewalk Product Center to do offline activation using files generated as Glenn has shown above. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profwacko Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 (edited) In the process of installing from Cakewalk_Sonar_Membership_Setup_30.07.0.571.exe, it appears that the software is reaching out to the Internet to install Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime. Since I have no Internet connection available where my studio is located, it has been spinning for 20 minutes now waiting for the mothership to respond. Apparently, the installer software refuses to take No for an answer. Is there an alternate installer available, or is an Internet connection required to install Cakewalk Sonar? -Jack (in Central Texas, hoping this is not the case) Edited August 9 by profwacko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profwacko Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I just came back to my studio to discover that the Cakewalk Sonar installation had completed, in spite of the still spinning request for the runtime from the Internet. I'm now in the process of getting my settings setup and I'm very excited to try the new version. Thanks, y'all. Very much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profwacko Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) I generated the .crq file on my studio computer, imported it into the Cakewalk Product Center app on my office computer, saved the .dat file, which I referenced under the Help menu on my studio computer. Then, I got the Activation Required box in the lower right corner of the Sonar window, asking me to sign in to my Bandlab account. When I clicked the Sign In to Bandlab button. I get a box that says Internet connection required. How do I proceed? Edited August 10 by profwacko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Stamper Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 profwacko .... I get it that you had a question, but I'm not sure why you tacked it on the original thread I started I think they call that hijacking a thread In any case, good luck getting your issue straightened out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profwacko Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Jim, please forgive my lapse in judgement, and accept my sincerest apology for the obvious thread hijack. For what it's worth, my brief view into the newest Cakewalk Sonar showed it to be very responsive as the screen updated during play, and the overall visual experience is much improved and much sharper to my old eyes. I'm looking forward to getting it fully operational as soon as possible. Again, sorry for the hijack. -Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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