2025.11 Early Access Feedback

[Jesse Jost]

2025.11 Early Access Release Notes
Build 31.11.0.058

This build introduces the new Cakewalk Assist feature and includes numerous stability, performance, and workflow improvements.

New Feature: Cakewalk Assist

Stop diving into menus. Cakewalk Assist is your new unified command palette, designed for speed and productivity. Assist instantly puts the entire DAW at your fingertips, accelerating feature discovery and eliminating workflow friction.

• Access it anytime by pressing: Ctrl + / 
• Shortcut is reassignable in Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts

Core Capabilities

• Instant Command Execution: Type any command (e.g., "Insert Audio Track," "Group Tracks into Folder") and run it instantly, without touching the menu bar.
• Quick Navigation: Search and jump directly to any setting, preference screen, or view.
• Unified Discovery: Find application commands, settings, views, and help documentation simultaneously from one place.

Installation and Rollback

You can use the following links or (preferably) try it in the latest version of Cakewalk Product Center. 

• Get the full installer here.
• Or get it through the latest version of Cakewalk Product Center: 
  • To see Early Access builds, click the Early Access toggle switch
  • Then click Download/Install button on the Early Access version item.
• Need to roll back? Get the current stable release installer here, or find it in the latest version of Cakewalk Product Center.

Feedback Please!

Assist's core capabilities are included in the Free Tier to ensure everyone can work faster. Use it often and let us know what works for you and what improvements you'd like to see! 

 

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Performance & Stability Fixes

This update resolves several issues that could cause instability or sluggish performance, ensuring a smoother user experience.

• ASIO Hang Fix: Resolved an issue where Sonar could hang indefinitely if the ASIO driver was in use by another application at a different sample rate.
• Project Save Issue: Fixed a rare bug where saving certain projects could fail with a "Cannot write file - disk may be full" error.
• Clip Editing Performance: Optimized performance to prevent sluggishness during slip editing when playback is underway.
• Lasso Selection Performance: Resolved an issue where lasso selection could be sluggish while playback was running.
• System Idle Crash: Implemented a fix to prevent Sonar crashes during system idle or power state changes by properly suspending and resuming hardware and control surfaces.
• Crash Fix: Resolved a crash that occurred when clicking between tabs in the Start Screen.

Workflow & Bug Fixes

• Arranger Track Sync: Fixed an issue where the Arrangement Loop Enable/Disable command was not correctly updating the Arranger Inspector UI.
• Undo History: Fixed an incorrect Undo History entry; executing a Tempo Offset operation now shows as 'Offset Tempo Map' instead of 'Commit Arrangement.'
• Audio File Location: Added the "Open File Location" option to the context menu for Associated Audio Files. Double-clicking a file in this view also opens the file location in Windows Explorer.
• Articulation Fix: Resolved a critical issue where Articulations could be deleted when using the Transform tool in the Piano Roll View (PRV).
• FX Rack DPI: Resolved an issue where the initial FX Rack window size was incorrect, particularly on high-DPI scaled displays.
• Loop Browser Drag & Drop: Fixed issues where the mouse cursor would flicker when dragging BandLab sounds and prevented dragging past time zero.

[Base 57]

I have updated Product Center to try out the EA. Before I go on with that, I want to thank you guys for adding the Rollback tab. That is a step (back) in the right direction.

[Base 57]

I just locked up Sonar testing the new Assist feature. 

I opened it then typed in Go to Time, which showed up in the list. I clicked on it. aannnnnnddd......

Lockup. (Just Sonar. I am typing this with Sonar frozen in the background.)

The Assist module went away but the Go to Time module did not open, and Sonar will not respond to anything.

[Base 57]

Testing Einstein's definition of insanity, I repeated the experiment, expecting a different result. This time the whole computer locked up.

[Promidi]

2 hours ago, Base 57 said:

I just locked up Sonar testing the new Assist feature. 

I opened it then typed in Go to Time, which showed up in the list. I clicked on it. aannnnnnddd......

Lockup. (Just Sonar. I am typing this with Sonar frozen in the background.)

The Assist module went away but the Go to Time module did not open, and Sonar will not respond to anything.

I tried your recipe and new Assist feature worked fine on my PC.

For me, the Go to Time module did open, I was able to type in the destination time and was able to go there.

[Canopus]

7 hours ago, Jesse Jost said:

Access it anytime by pressing: Ctrl + / 

Depends on your keyboard layout. If Ctrl + / doesn't work, you have to test some other key combination. For instance, for me, having a Scandinavian keyboard layout, I have to press Ctrl + ' to open Cakewalk Assist.

[Promidi]

2 minutes ago, Canopus said:

If Ctrl + / doesn't work, you have to test some other key combination

Or reassign it to another key combination (I have set mine to ALT+F1)

[肖闻Xiaowenn]

This feature is absolutely amazing! I'm looking forward to the future integration of AI capabilities, where we can use natural language to search for the functions we need or exchange tips on music production. It would also be great to incorporate a voice wake-up feature similar to LUNA, where a simple 'hey, SONAR' could prompt it to assist with tasks like starting a remote recording. Additionally, adding a global sample search function, similar to the browser search in FL Studio, would eliminate the need for third-party sample managers like ADSR.

However, I've encountered an issue while using it: when Sonar's language is set to Chinese, even if I type 'Insert' in English, Cakewalk Assist fails to search for Insert-related shortcut operations—it only returns official documentation related to Insert.

[Jorge Tata Arias]

7 hours ago, Canopus said:

Depends on your keyboard layout. If Ctrl + / doesn't work, you have to test some other key combination. For instance, for me, having a Scandinavian keyboard layout, I have to press Ctrl + ' to open Cakewalk Assist.

Ctrl + ç for me

[David Baay]

10 hours ago, Promidi said:

I tried your recipe and new Assist feature worked fine on my PC.

For me, the Go to Time module did open, I was able to type in the destination time and was able to go there.

I am able to repro the lock-up in a simple project with one audio track and one Instrument track and in a new project from the Basic template. I use Go to Time frequently and it works as expected when executed directly with the G shortcut. When executed via the Assist feature, Sonar minimizes to the Taskbar and when brought back to the foreground will not respond to the mouse or keyboard, including trying to close it; it has to be  killed in Task Manager.

I checked other "Go to" functions and they worked okay so it's not affecting all transport functions as I thought it might be.

[msmcleod]

5 hours ago, 肖闻Xiaowenn said:

This feature is absolutely amazing! I'm looking forward to the future integration of AI capabilities, where we can use natural language to search for the functions we need or exchange tips on music production. It would also be great to incorporate a voice wake-up feature similar to LUNA, where a simple 'hey, SONAR' could prompt it to assist with tasks like starting a remote recording. Additionally, adding a global sample search function, similar to the browser search in FL Studio, would eliminate the need for third-party sample managers like ADSR.

However, I've encountered an issue while using it: when Sonar's language is set to Chinese, even if I type 'Insert' in English, Cakewalk Assist fails to search for Insert-related shortcut operations—it only returns official documentation related to Insert.

Thanks - we'll look into this. It definitely should support searching / results in Chinese.

[Greg Wynn]

The assist feature is amazing for newish users.   Well  done !

 

Edited 20 hours ago by Greg Wynn

[Noel Borthwick]

19 hours ago, Base 57 said:

I just locked up Sonar testing the new Assist feature. 

I opened it then typed in Go to Time, which showed up in the list. I clicked on it. aannnnnnddd......

Lockup. (Just Sonar. I am typing this with Sonar frozen in the background.)

The Assist module went away but the Go to Time module did not open, and Sonar will not respond to anything.

IF it freezes can you capture a dump file from task manager please?

[Noel Borthwick]

9 hours ago, 肖闻Xiaowenn said:

This feature is absolutely amazing! I'm looking forward to the future integration of AI capabilities, where we can use natural language to search for the functions we need or exchange tips on music production. It would also be great to incorporate a voice wake-up feature similar to LUNA, where a simple 'hey, SONAR' could prompt it to assist with tasks like starting a remote recording. Additionally, adding a global sample search function, similar to the browser search in FL Studio, would eliminate the need for third-party sample managers like ADSR.

However, I've encountered an issue while using it: when Sonar's language is set to Chinese, even if I type 'Insert' in English, Cakewalk Assist fails to search for Insert-related shortcut operations—it only returns official documentation related to Insert.

We have some plans for enhancing this feature next year with smarter/deeper integration.

[Base 57]

1 hour ago, Noel Borthwick said:

IF it freezes can you capture a dump file from task manager please?

Will try to get to that later tonight. 

[Greg Wynn]

Something is odd when I deselect and reselect a plugin.  In my start template I have plugs I used for years each set up in tracks to give quick starting points with different choices.  With this beta when I reselect a plug it sounds like audio gets all phasy.  It only clears if I stop audio and restart the transport.

That's never happened in 20+ years...but hey, it's what betas are for. 


EDIT - Yikes.  I gotta roll this back as this issue is a show stopper for what I'm doing tonight.  

Anyone else ? 

Edited 17 hours ago by Greg Wynn

[Igor]

Hello everyone!
I installed this new version of EA, and almost immediately discovered several bugs:

1. Sonar locks up when using the "Go to Time" command via the Assistant. The Assistant window disappears, nothing else opens, and the Sonar interface fades to the background, becoming completely inoperable. Meanwhile, the audio engine and processing indicator continues to show some activity. Closing Sonar in this state is only possible via the Task Manager.
I just created a dump file using Task Manager, but I can't attach it here – it's 2.25 GB, and when zipped (maximum compression) it's 380 MB. I can leave a link to my "cloud" here:
https://app.box.com/s/a98t6fm848qg1g2n97tkxz4w9iucqbng
If there's another way to share it, please let me know.

2. When opening the Mixer (Console), the "On/Off" buttons on ProChannels show "Off."  When expanding ProChannel to full size (widen), the buttons are activated, but only on channels that fit in the visible space. Additionally, I've noticed a couple of times that some modules in these ProChannels that are activated in my projects are randomly disabled. After enabling and saving the project, when I reopen the Mixer, a different module might be "Off." However, the "On/Off" buttons are deactivated every time I open the Mixer.

3. When opening the "Notes" section in the "Browser," the "Synths Rack" section closes completely, and then it doesn't open when I open the "Browser." It can only be expanded by dragging its bottom edge. This happens every time. Furthermore, the "Notes" icon itself only appears when the "Browser" is at a very wide display. I have a 2560x1440 on 32'' monitor, and even on that monitor, I have to make the "Browser" bar very wide to see the icon.

As I work on this version, I'll post my observations and any other bugs (if any) here.

Edited 10 hours ago by Igor

[msmcleod]

15 hours ago, msmcleod said:

21 hours ago, 肖闻Xiaowenn said:

This feature is absolutely amazing! I'm looking forward to the future integration of AI capabilities, where we can use natural language to search for the functions we need or exchange tips on music production. It would also be great to incorporate a voice wake-up feature similar to LUNA, where a simple 'hey, SONAR' could prompt it to assist with tasks like starting a remote recording. Additionally, adding a global sample search function, similar to the browser search in FL Studio, would eliminate the need for third-party sample managers like ADSR.

However, I've encountered an issue while using it: when Sonar's language is set to Chinese, even if I type 'Insert' in English, Cakewalk Assist fails to search for Insert-related shortcut operations—it only returns official documentation related to Insert.

Thanks - we'll look into this. It definitely should support searching / results in Chinese.

Fixed for next update.