norfolkmastering Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 I know this is a well worn topic but … It looks like the original ‘get advance access to Sonar in Beta form’ has been replaced by ‘get access to Sonar’ via the monthly or annual payment options. So I guess I have three questions: Is Sonar now officially released or is it still officially in Beta testing? If I start a monthly subscription then at some point stop, are all my Sonar projects trapped? Is there any hope of getting a statement from Bandlab about future pricing intentions or do folks think the current ‘rental’ option is likely to be it for the foreseeable future (I’m not a fan of renting software) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Simon Fletcher Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 (edited) Sonar is stable enough to be considered live. Your projects aren't trapped to Sonar and will still be openable in Cakewalk. There have been a few threads about the licensing model and at the moment I'm not aware of any non-subscription purchase plans. In general I'm in agreement about rental, but the volume of stuff you get access to, and the significant Sonar improvements in my view makes this worth it. Edited September 8 by Matthew Simon Fletcher 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezerekted Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, Matthew Simon Fletcher said: Your projects aren't trapped to Sonar and will still be openable in Cakewalk. With the proviso that anything that makes use of any feature etc in Sonar that weren't actually in CbB will give issue, it won't be all Beer and Skittles. Edited September 8 by Rezerekted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Simon Fletcher Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 (edited) There shouldn't be anything that will break - my understanding is backwards compatibility is something being considered. There might just be certain functions that aren't as easy to do (i.e. controlling performance of soft synths) or are slower (midi editing) Edited September 8 by Matthew Simon Fletcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 Sonar is officially released, and has been for a few months. There is always a continuing beta program as is common with many software products. This allows us to get early feedback on new features / enhancements, and fix any newly introduced issues before it is released to the wider public. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezerekted Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 (edited) 7 hours ago, Matthew Simon Fletcher said: There shouldn't be anything that will break - my understanding is backwards compatibility is something being considered. There might just be certain functions that aren't as easy to do (i.e. controlling performance of soft synths) or are slower (midi editing) Well I hope I never get you as a taxi driver, I'll never get there, 'cause you'll be going the wrong way. Edited September 9 by Rezerekted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Borthwick Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 16 hours ago, norfolkmastering said: I know this is a well worn topic but … It looks like the original ‘get advance access to Sonar in Beta form’ has been replaced by ‘get access to Sonar’ via the monthly or annual payment options. So I guess I have three questions: Is Sonar now officially released or is it still officially in Beta testing? If I start a monthly subscription then at some point stop, are all my Sonar projects trapped? Is there any hope of getting a statement from Bandlab about future pricing intentions or do folks think the current ‘rental’ option is likely to be it for the foreseeable future (I’m not a fan of renting software) Read these official links. Sonar projects are always backwards compatible with prior versions. We've supported backwards compatible from day one. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezerekted Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 8 minutes ago, Noel Borthwick said: Sonar projects are always backwards compatible with prior versions. We've supported backwards compatible from day one. Yes, and very well done there. But what I am trying to get through to the gentlemen above, something which should be obvious but may not be apparently, is that in the OP's situation, there is no 'forwards compatibility' something that he makes in Sonar will not be 100% compatible with same project opened in CbB if there are Sonar only features used in said project. It's a little hard to to conduct a conversation when you have no control over whether what you actually typed will make it to the post, or for that matter whether your post will make it in a timely manner to be relevant, or whether it will make it at all. So I shall just give up and hit the 'Read Only' option box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Borthwick Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 There is forwards compatibility to the extent that older versions skip data for unknown features. That is essentially the definition of forwards compatibility since older versions cannot have code for features that don’t exist obviously. My point was that this has never blocked anyone in the past from sharing project with others using older or different versions of Sonar. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Simon Fletcher Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 14 hours ago, Rezerekted said: Well I hope I never get you as a taxi driver, I'll never get there, 'cause you'll be going the wrong way. Not sure why you're being personal or how that remark relates to my comment. Mark and Noel have explained the position - new features won't work but it's not going to stop you being able to load Sonar projects in Cakewalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 13 hours ago, Rezerekted said: Yes, and very well done there. But what I am trying to get through to the gentlemen above, something which should be obvious but may not be apparently, is that in the OP's situation, there is no 'forwards compatibility' something that he makes in Sonar will not be 100% compatible with same project opened in CbB if there are Sonar only features used in said project. It's a little hard to to conduct a conversation when you have no control over whether what you actually typed will make it to the post, or for that matter whether your post will make it in a timely manner to be relevant, or whether it will make it at all. So I shall just give up and hit the 'Read Only' option box. I quite often record things in Sonar or CbB, then open in SONAR Platinum - I don't have any issues. Even features such as the tempo track are handled properly - i.e. tempo changes are properly shown in Platinum, and if I save / re-open in CbB or Sonar, it converts it to a tempo track envelope. Arranger sections are obviously lost, but that can be easily worked around by saving your arranger tracks as an arranger template and re-importing it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Morgon-Shaw Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 On 9/8/2024 at 12:36 PM, Rezerekted said: With the proviso that anything that makes use of any feature etc in Sonar that weren't actually in CbB will give issue, it won't be all Beer and Skittles. Like X-Sampler for example. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezerekted Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 (edited) My point being it's not a 1 to 1 compatibility type thing going on, because there just can't be, it's not possible, under certain conditions, going in that (forward) direction, so it shouldn't be conveyed as such. It should be readily apparent, but just for any who may not have thought of it that way there you are, the issue/problem whatever you call it exists. Mathew Simon Fletcher, my comment about the taxi wasn't intended to be taken the way you apparently took it, it was meant as a little bit of humor, with the directions being 'forwards and backwards' (comparability) Taxi direction etc, my apologies, but it was never meant the way you seemingly took it. Edited September 10 by Rezerekted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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