Colors???

[Jerry Gerber]

Are the paying subscribers to Sonar ever going to get anything close to the color options that we had in Cakewalk?   Themes?  Ability to customize colors on a level of detail that we became accustomed to?  To my mind that should be the high priority rather than adding new features...

Jerry

[Promidi]

See:  (Colour Optimisations)
 

 

[Jerry Gerber]

I'm familiar with the current color options. 

There's little comparison to what we could do with CwB, the theme editor and the choices once available. 

[Salvatore Sorice]

I'm a big fan and supporter of the Bakers but they should not have committed to "bi-weekly" updates (every 2 weeks) - and then stopped providing them.

Last bi-weekly update was on October 20th, 2025 (24 days ago)...

[AB99]

1 hour ago, Jerry Gerber said:

I'm familiar with the current color options. 

There's little comparison to what we could do with CwB, the theme editor and the choices once available. 

As stated in the link above about their bi-weekly update, the Bakers are aware of what you are saying.  It sounds like they are sending it to the beta team soon.
I know you think it should be prioritized over audio optimizations, but at the same time, no one should want them to rush this as we do not want the audio part to go backward in any way.

I am going to repeat their update below the dotted line, since it appears that it cannot show up too much on this forum!

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Posted October 20
Welcome to our bi-weekly update! We're committed to keeping you in the loop about our progress, much of which is shaped by community suggestions. This week, we're excited to share some key updates on Sonar.

Color Customization

A simple yet effective approach to color theming is well underway. We know it’s important to personalize your workspace, not just for aesthetics, but for creating a comfortable environment that reduces eye strain and helps you stay in the creative space longer. We're designing a system that is both powerful and easy to use. We're closing in on the first edition and expect to release it to the beta team shortly.

Plugin Updates

We're continuing to enhance our suite of plugins based on user feedback. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s in the works:

Long awaited updates for the LP EQ and LP Multiband are almost here. Retooled for modern systems, these plugins provide exceptional sonic transparency for surgical, artifact-free adjustments. The Adaptive Limiter is also getting an overhaul and will be deployed alongside the LPs. This power trio will bring a powerful, mastering-grade toolkit to your mixes, available later in Q4.

Soon, you'll see spectrum analyzer overlays integrated into some of our Core effects. This will provide immediate, precise visual feedback right where you need it, making it faster to identify frequency issues and make informed EQ decisions.

Early Access Returns!

We are reintroducing the Early Access program, which will be available to Next and Sonar users. This will help us gather more pre-release feedback before final deployment. It also reinforces our commitment to transparency and building the future of Sonar together with you.

On the Horizon

We’re cooking up some other new features that we can’t wait to put in your hands:

Soon you'll be able to probe various tap points with integrated signal analysis, helping you visualize your audio's journey in real-time and troubleshoot routing issues with ease and precision. Global app search is in the works, designed to get you to your tools faster than ever. Get ready to turbocharge your workflow!

We’ll be back in two weeks with another update. Thank you for your continued support and feedback!

Best regards,

The Cakewalk Team

[Mark Macwick]

I've never posted here before, but I've been using Sonar since 2001. Before I say anything else, I'd like to say that as someone who is basically just a home,  amateur / hobby sort of musician, I'm extremely grateful that Sonar is still going in a free version, so thank you for that.

Now, about the colours of the track panes: when I open up an older project they all look like they've been washed in mud, and that's putting it politely. For instance, for many years I've had a system that uses a pale yellow for percs like shakers and hats etc, but now it comes out looking like rather dark morning-after urine. I'm now finding it a fair bit harder to navigate because all the colours seem to blur into.... well, mud. Sorry if this sounds like a bit of a moan - I'm actually very grateful for the free app - I'd just like to have the old colours back if that's at all possible as an option. Thanks.

[Promidi]

1 minute ago, Mark Macwick said:

Now, about the colours of the track panes: when I open up an older project they all look like they've been washed in mud

This can be changed in Preferences - Customization - Colors (Advanced)

At this dialogue box, down on the bottom right, you can see “Show Strip Colors”.  Make sure this is ticked (On yours, I suspect it already is). Under that there is “Saturation”.  Moving that slider to the right,  will intensify the colours on the track pane.