What is the deal with Sonar and Next

[DescendingIntoVertigo]

Hello Cakewalk Team,

I’ve been a loyal Cakewalk user since 1997 (starting with Pro Audio 5) and even purchased the “Upgrades for Life” plan under Gibson. I stuck around through every iteration, and I remain extremely satisfied with Cakewalk by BandLab—its workflow, GUI aesthetic, and rock-solid stability have allowed me to create and manage hundreds of projects without a hitch.

That’s why I’m baffled—and frankly irritated—by the new Sonar and Next releases. After purchasing the BandLab annual subscription last year to be given the opportunity to test drive the new offering. 

The redesigned GUI feels janky, cluttered, and unintuitive compared to Cakewalk by BandLab. Both Sonar and Next programs are less stable than the Cakewalk by Bandlab offering on both my desktop and gaming laptop running Windows 11. The overall user experience is no where close to the feel of the Cakewalk by Bandlab offering. I understand these both of these programs are in their infancy and can't be expected to perform along side a program that has been refined over decades.

Which brings me to my biggest complaint. Why would you completely overhaul a perfectly good interface only to ship an inferior product? What is the point of the NEXT offering? Why should a user waste time creating a project in NEXT when you can create it in Sonar instead and have greater track count and more advanced features later on as the project evolves. 

I have come to rely on the themes and color coding of the tracks and instrument folders as part of my work flow. Dropping back to the monochromatic 2D feel of the new SONAR and NEXT is completely unappealing to me and significantly impacts my workflow. 

On a related note, I remember reading in this forum about a plan for a perpetual license key that would allow Cakewalk by BandLab users to continue using the platform after the retirement date. I'm assuming this no longer an option. I would gladly pay to continue using Cakewalk by Bandlab even if it meant no future updates or bug fixes in the future. Being able to open my existing projects in a format and work flow that I'm already familiar with give me some peace of mind in the future. I can't say that I feel the same way about NEXT and SONAR. They seem like a huge step backwards.

Finally, I’m struggling to see the point of NEXT? Who is this application target toward. It feels kind of like the new Sonar with fewer bells and whistles. Sort of like Cakewalk Studio was to Sonar or Platinum. How does it fit into the long-term roadmap? Just curious did anyone bother asking the end users what we wanted (or needed) from you?  

I do appreciate all the hard work that goes into building these tools for us. I’m simply hoping for more clarity and guidance on the future vision for the product and for a reprieve from having to completely start over with a new workflow.  Looking forward to your thoughts.

[Alan Tubbs]

Next works on both Mac and pc and there are translation tools between the two.  If you use a Mac you may find it useful or have somebody you work with uses apple a sub opens up easy co operation.

[John Vere]

@DescendingIntoVertigo

I think a lot of Cakewalk users will totally agree with your evaluation of the new releases. 
 

Very few people seem happy about this new forced change over. 
 

I think Next was created specifically to finally have a cross platform Cakewalk product. It is very green and every time I tried to compete a simple project I had to abandon ship and finish it elsewhere. I think it was targeted at the Bandlab App users. Judging by the almost zero activity on the sub forum seems like a bit of a looser in the Daw community. 
I gave them a year to fix it but nothing much was done. It almost seems like only one person is in its development. It has a potential but there’s way too many top quality cross platform Daw’s already built and that are mature. Like Waveform free.
Removing the instruments from the free version made no sense to me. I won’t bother installing it again. 

I wish them luck. 
 

Sonar was not quickly adopted by Cakewalk users and now they have to decide whether they want to stay on the bus.  

[AB99]

Here is what ChatGPT says about the change to Vector Graphics and maybe it addresses some of the "baffling.".  See below.  I would add one can record with lower latency with the new Sonar than CBB.  That is worth something.

Here is the ChatGPT:
Sonar switched to using vector graphics for several reasons, primarily to enhance the user interface and improve the user experience: 
Scalability and resolution independence: Vector graphics, unlike raster (pixel-based) graphics, are resolution-independent and can be scaled infinitely without losing quality or becoming pixelated. This is crucial for adapting to a variety of screen resolutions and sizes, especially with the prevalence of high-resolution displays (like 4K). Vector graphics ensure that the interface remains crisp and sharp regardless of how users scale the application or elements within it.
Clean and modern look: Vector graphics allow for a cleaner and more streamlined user interface design, which aligns with modern UI trends.
Enhanced readability: DPI awareness and clearer rendering of fonts and graphics contribute to a more comfortable and readable interface, particularly on high-resolution displays where text might otherwise appear blurry.
Flexibility and future development: Using a vector-based framework provides greater flexibility for future UI enhancements and cross-platform compatibility, making it easier to evolve and adapt the software. 
While some users might initially find the change in appearance jarring or prefer the older look, the shift to vector graphics ultimately aims to provide a more modern, scalable, and visually consistent user experience for Sonar users. 

[Wookiee]

Grand total of three posts since 27th of July 2020 when you joined all rants about product.

Regarding you lifetime licence go talk to the company that sold it to you Gibson. They still own Cakewalk Inc. SONAR Platinum, Professional and Studio by Gibson. Bandlab Technologies did not purchase the company or any of its commitments. They only purchased the intellectual property rights, big difference. 

If you don't like the new Sonar or Next products there is a simple solution don't use them, there is plenty of other DAW's out there.