Sonar 2025.07 Feedback

[Noel Borthwick]

If you log a crash send the ticket number or PM it to me.

[Andrey_rbk]

2 hours ago, Noel Borthwick said:

If you log a crash send the ticket number or PM it to me.

I have exactly the same problem. I registered a request (2036005) there in the message there is a dmp file and a project.

Here's the video.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FyezxSiPDThg0ru4D01oPNHD6B4bOKcQ/view?usp=sharing

[Noel Borthwick]

7 hours ago, Andrey_rbk said:

I have exactly the same problem. I registered a request (2036005) there in the message there is a dmp file and a project.

Here's the video.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FyezxSiPDThg0ru4D01oPNHD6B4bOKcQ/view?usp=sharing

@Andrey_rbk I downloaded your project and cannot reproduce the crash following your steps. I don't have all the plugins however.
Your dump file was not very useful unfortunately. It also references an older build. Please retest this in the latest build which is 109. Dump files should always be submitted using the latest version of the Program since the bug could already be fixed. If you can still reproduce it submit a new dump file.

[Sandor Kundrath]

Hi! A beginner here.

I am wondering if we have a built in guitar tuner in the free version of Cakewalk sonar?

Thanks!

[Chaps]

Yes, it has to be inserted as a plugin on an audio track and the track's Input Echo has to be enabled. The audio track must be receiving the output of your audio interface where your guitar's signal is coming from. There are different methods to select the Cakewalk Tuner and all of them are confusing if you are new to the program. Here is one way that may be the simplest for right now. Press b on your keyboard to open the browser. Click the Fx Audio FX tab. Click the > arrow to the left of DirectX, click the > to the left of  Cakewalk to open the menu of Cakewalk DX Plugins. From the list of plugins that opens, Left-Click and Drag the Tuner plugin to the track FX Rack. It's all downhill from there.

There are also free Guitar Tuner VST plugins online VST and VST3 are newer plugin formats and may be more reliable than the older DirectX (DX) format in the long run. I use the GTune VST, myself, unless I'm using the tuner of a guitar synth.

[Andrey_rbk]

9 hours ago, Noel Borthwick said:

@Andrey_rbk I downloaded your project and cannot reproduce the crash following your steps. I don't have all the plugins however.
Your dump file was not very useful unfortunately. It also references an older build. Please retest this in the latest build which is 109. Dump files should always be submitted using the latest version of the Program since the bug could already be fixed. If you can still reproduce it submit a new dump file.

Noel, in the new version of Sonar (109) the problem remains. I sent you a new dmp file in a personal message.

[Wookiee]

2 hours ago, Sandor Kundrath said:

Hi! A beginner here.

I am wondering if we have a built in guitar tuner in the free version of Cakewalk sonar?

Thanks!

The Overloud guitar amp SIM VST plugin has a guitar tuner as part of its GUI. 

[saxon1066]

Build 109 (membership version) has been very stable on my Win 10 system for what I'm doing--not much with midi, mostly audio tracking.  At first I missed the appearance of old Cakewalk--the black lines between tracks seemed to be thicker--but the new look Sonar is really growing on me, and it does seem to be sharper and easier on the eyes.  I appreciate that the nag screen to connect to the Internet for full features has been moved to a line on the startup/projects window.  I stay off-line as much as possible.  So, I'm digging it.

[Noel Borthwick]

1 hour ago, saxon1066 said:

appreciate that the nag screen to connect to the Internet for full features has been moved to a line on the startup/projects window.  I stay off-line as much as possible.  So, I'm digging it.

It's not so much a nag as an informative message to tell you that online features aren't available. No different from when you attempt to open a web page on a browser with no Internet connection.

Sonar is fully functional without an Internet connection besides online features. Please note however that if your machine is permanently offline it will require periodic monthly offline activation to be done. This is no different from how CBB was.

[saxon1066]

6 hours ago, Noel Borthwick said:

It's not so much a nag as an informative message to tell you that online features aren't available. No different from when you attempt to open a web page on a browser with no Internet connection.

Sonar is fully functional without an Internet connection besides online features. Please note however that if your machine is permanently offline it will require periodic monthly offline activation to be done. This is no different from how CBB was.

Yeah, but I had to click the X every day to close the message--every time I launched.  Too much extra work!  Haha.

Why would anyone want to be online during a session?  True story:  a client of mine was in the middle of a guitar solo--a good performance to that point--when an update message from Windows popped on the screen.  Client noticed it and lost concentration, messing up the take.  After that, I didn't want my music computer online.

Not sure how offline activation works.  I'll check it out when the time comes.

Edited 12 hours ago by saxon1066

[John T]

Got a strange behaviour which I think is new to the latest build. Every time I load a new project, then save and close it, the Quick Start menu grows vertically. 

I don't mean it adds new items to the list, that's expected. I mean the actual window itself. It's now too tall for the screen, and I can't access the X to close button. It resets itself after restarting the program.

 

Edited 12 hours ago by John T

[Noel Borthwick]

On 7/30/2025 at 3:50 AM, Andrey_rbk said:

Noel, in the new version of Sonar (109) the problem remains. I sent you a new dmp file in a personal message.

This issue has been fixed for the next update.

[Noel Borthwick]

2 hours ago, saxon1066 said:

Yeah, but I had to click the X every day to close the message--every time I launched.  Too much extra work!  Haha.

Why would anyone want to be online during a session?  True story:  a client of mine was in the middle of a guitar solo--a good performance to that point--when an update message from Windows popped on the screen.  Client noticed it and lost concentration, messing up the take.  After that, I didn't want my music computer online.

Not sure how offline activation works.  I'll check it out when the time comes.

Yes I get that while recording with clients you want to be offline to avoid notifications or other distractions - no different from mobile devices. For general use however being online doesn’t cause  any issues for the most part these days since network drivers typically are much better.
If your machine can go online periodically there is no need to use offline activation since it will acquire a license intermittently as well.

[Noel Borthwick]

1 hour ago, John T said:

Got a strange behaviour which I think is new to the latest build. Every time I load a new project, then save and close it, the Quick Start menu grows vertically. 

I don't mean it adds new items to the list, that's expected. I mean the actual window itself. It's now too tall for the screen, and I can't access the X to close button. It resets itself after restarting the program.

 

Yes its been logged and will be fixed soon. I don’t believe its new to this build. Its a preexisting issue.

[Jim Stamper]

14 hours ago, saxon1066 said:

Build 109 (membership version) has been very stable on my Win 10 system for what I'm doing--not much with midi, mostly audio tracking.  At first I missed the appearance of old Cakewalk--the black lines between tracks seemed to be thicker--but the new look Sonar is really growing on me, and it does seem to be sharper and easier on the eyes.  I appreciate that the nag screen to connect to the Internet for full features has been moved to a line on the startup/projects window.  I stay off-line as much as possible.  So, I'm digging it.

I had a hard time "seeing" things in the new Sonar, until I switched to the Mercury or Mercury Classic color scheme, and using my own track / buss colors. 

The biggest UI item on my wish list BY FAR is please do something to make Folder tracks appear differently than midi & audio tracks. I would suggest Folder tracks should use a slightly bolder and/or larger font, give it colorized track icon that looks like a manilla folder (ie. like Windows folder icons), allow me to change the font & font color on folders to be different from tracks, and indent tracks within the folder just a tad more so the nested look is more apparent. (if I have control over any of these elements, that's not apparent to me)

I use Folders extensively and it's a great way to organize my tracks in a project.   

Edited 6 hours ago by Jim Stamper

[gmp]

3 minutes ago, Jim Stamper said:

I had a hard time "seeing" things in the new Sonar, until I switched to the Mercury or Mercury Classic color scheme, and using my own track / buss colors. 

The biggest UI item on my wish list BY FAR is please do something to make Folder tracks appear differently than midi & audio tracks. I would suggest Folder tracks should use a slightly bolder and/or larger font, give it colorized track icon that looks like a manilla folder (ie. like Windows folder icons), allow me to change the font & font color on folders, and indent tracks within the folder just a tad more so the nested look is more apparent. (if I have control over any of these elements, that's not apparent to me)

I use Folders extensively and it's a great way to organize my tracks in a project.   

I agree, my biggest complaint is not having options for changing things we see, like we had in the old theme editor. Users would share their themes and you could tweak them with the Theme Editor. My workflow has been slowed down by not seeing things as clearly. The different colors really help immensely. It's not a question of just getting used to the new Sonar. Here's my Theme in CbB

[Shaan]

In PRV,  doing multi-track editing is little harder due to the way the note colors are displayed with almost transparent look on the non-selected track's notes especially in the Dark Theme.  Selected Active track notes are fine and very visible, but the other tracks notes are difficult to see.

 

When dealing with hundreds of Midi tracks this becomes a little difficult doing multi-track arrangements.

@Noel Borthwick

Can the note display for the non-selected tracks be improved with little more towards solid color for the Dark Theme by reducing the transparency and increasing the opacity?  

Part of the on-going Theme improvements, please consider this improvement as well.

Edited 5 hours ago by Shaan

[gmp]

4 minutes ago, Shaan said:

In PRV,  doing multi-track editing is little harder due to the way the note colors are displayed with almost transparent look on the non-selected track's notes especially in the Dark Theme.  Selected Active track notes are fine and very visible, but the other tracks notes are difficult to see.

 

When dealing with hundreds of Midi tracks this becomes a little difficult doing multi-track arrangements.

@Noel Borthwick

Can the note display for the non-selected tracks be improved with little more towards solid color for the Dark Theme by reducing the transparency and increasing the opacity?  

Part of the on-going Theme improvements, please consider this improvement as well.

Another good point as to why we need a theme editor. I've run into the same problem in midi editing. I hope they are working to make this better for us. I haven't heard anything about improving the display

[User 905133]

2 hours ago, Jim Stamper said:

The biggest UI item on my wish list BY FAR is please do something to make Folder tracks appear differently than midi & audio tracks . . . .

While you are waiting for some possible visual changes, maybe it would help if you left part of the folder open so the folder details show?

[Jim Stamper]

2 hours ago, Shaan said:

In PRV,  doing multi-track editing is little harder due to the way the note colors are displayed with almost transparent look on the non-selected track's notes especially in the Dark Theme.  Selected Active track notes are fine and very visible, but the other tracks notes are difficult to see.

 

When dealing with hundreds of Midi tracks this becomes a little difficult doing multi-track arrangements.

@Noel Borthwick

Can the note display for the non-selected tracks be improved with little more towards solid color for the Dark Theme by reducing the transparency and increasing the opacity?  

Part of the on-going Theme improvements, please consider this improvement as well.

 

2 hours ago, gmp said:

Another good point as to why we need a theme editor. I've run into the same problem in midi editing. I hope they are working to make this better for us. I haven't heard anything about improving the display

I agree with these posts, I'll add that on my PC it seems that switching to one of the Mercury themes makes the PRV background very light, which I find much easier to work with.