Migration info from Cakewalk Support(copy/paste)

[Gary Shore]

Posting this info I got back from Cakewalk Support replying to an email I sent them which was basically about the same things as the thread that I set up last week over here asking about some focus aspects of the existing CbBL installation in terms of the new Sonar installation re-migration....

The response I got had some great info-very clear and really addresses the kind of thing I've seen a lot of people(including  myself) wondering/repeatedly asking about over here in different threads(which many of the replies posted to were often somewhat incomplete at best),resulting in people in general being unsure/confused/misinformed about exactly what was going on-so I figured I'd post it so everyone could find out the factually correct info here and see exactly how Support recommends handling this stuff>

(BTW much thx to Lois over there for this)

Project Migration (Cakewalk Projects Folder)

When you choose to migrate your settings during the installation via Cakewalk Product Center, Sonar will not duplicate your Cakewalk Projects folder or move your CWP files. Instead, it will reference the same existing folder for continuity. So rest assured, no extra disk space will be consumed due to project duplication unless you manually move or copy files.
 
That said, Sonar does set a default Sonar Projects path under Cakewalk Content, but you can continue working from your current Cakewalk Projects location with no issue — just point your new projects there in Preferences if needed.
 

Uninstalling Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB)

Our suggestion: hold off on uninstalling CbB until you've confirmed everything is working in Sonar. There’s no conflict in keeping both installed during the transition period. Once you're confident that all your workflows and tools work smoothly in Sonar, you can safely clean up later, and we can help guide you with that step when the time comes.
 

Plug-in Compatibility & Migration (SI Suite, Sonitus, Drum Replacer, etc.)

The new Sonar is fully backward-compatible with CbB — meaning your legacy plug-ins like Sonitus FX, SI Suite, and Drum Replacer should work out of the box as long as they’re already installed on your system.
 
If you’re migrating settings via the Product Center, most of your customizations and plug-in paths will carry over. You don't need to reinstall the SI Suite or Drum Replacer if they’re already present — in fact, leaving the add-ons unchecked during installation, just as you suggested, is perfectly fine and avoids redundancy.
 

Content Folders & Duplicates

Sonar will reference the same Cakewalk Content folder by default — meaning no duplication unless you explicitly move or reinstall things. Items under AppData, Program Files, and Cakewalk Content are still relevant if you rely on those legacy tools or libraries, so we recommend leaving them as-is unless you’re doing a fresh system rebuild.
 

Final Thoughts & Next Steps

We recommend:

Install Sonar via Cakewalk Product Center

Leave legacy add-ons like SI Suite and Drum Replacer unchecked if they’re already installed

Don’t uninstall CbB just yet — wait until you’ve confirmed Sonar is running as expected