New Cakewalk Next and Sonar

[Saffran]

Slip-editing aside, Sonar had for a long time most of the stuff that most other DAWs lack.

Cakewalk has slip editing. But it seems that some experience problems with it. Is that what you ment?

[jens]

(I hit quote instead of edit (to fix a type) - it's been a while since the last time I made that mistake )

[jens]

Slip-editing aside, Sonar had for a long time most of the stuff that most other DAWs lack.

Cakewalk has slip editing. But it seems that some experience problems with it. Is that what you ment?

No, it doesn't really have that since each take is an independent file. Most DAWs (thankfully) work completely differently. Usually all takes are just different regions of the same single file. Only then real slip-editing is possible.

[SuperG]

Sonar lost me back in 2018, when I took up a special offer from Steinberg for Sonar owners made adrift. It took a few months time to develop some muscle memory in Cubase, but it was well worth it.

I used the freebie BandLab version of 'Cakewalk Sonar' for about a year at the same time I was getting my chops in Cubase. It's been several years since I've completely dropped and un-installed Sonar. Sonar has a long way to go to match Cubase's feature set - I can't see myself dropping cash on Sonar anytime soon.

[l33t4e]

I recently switched to Reaper because I don't like how things are going with Cakewalk right now. My mind is blown how good Reaper is! Very customizable and as deep as UVI Falcon is to synths. And all I have to pay is $60 and that gets me 2 versions! Unlike the new Sonar which is even worse both in looks and customization than even the old Cakewalk by Bandlab.

[tapper mike]

When I first started producing in the box it was all about Cakewalk. This would be about '95 because I got floppy disks and it was designed for MS DOS 3.1 although I'd just got my hands on a windows 95 fresh after the release date. I came to love home studio and upgraded to Sonar as soon as it was available. I actually made change during the origins of the loop era. When I was contracted to provide loops for flashkit. https://archive.org/details/flashkit-so ... und+Loops/

Later I was doing a lot of collaboration with other artists and producers. Sonar kept slipping behind and the thing about collab work is that you have to agree on a daw. So years go by and bandlab appears out of the blue with a new cakewalk. Absolute crap compared to everything I own now. I only ever need two daws. Mixcraft and Bitwig. Bitwig is simply there for mpe. Usually I'll record my mpe tracks in bitwig then freeze them to wavs only to import to mixcraft. I don't want to learn 30 million things I want to work in a workflow environment that works for me.

[chk071]

Noel posted on the forum: "Nothing will change that will break compatibility. Both sonar and next are not beta software. Backstage pass has more to do with the delivery of the software than the software itself."

From their earlier comments I had assumed that the current Sonar release was a beta. If not a beta, it's the softest launch I've ever seen for a piece of software.


 

He also said: "It's not a beta - it has been in ongoing internal beta for over a year. The feature set is complete now and the app is completely usable hence it's being offered for early access as part of the bandlab membership which is not free."

That's really strange. I would want it out there as quick as possible. The website with "Coming soon" is up there for 3/4 year now, and nobody really knows about the ability to get the early access via a Bandlab subscription. At least that's my impression, I didn't know that at all.

A thread with a pretty descriptive title: https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php? ... -available

[SuperG]

Ok - I DL'd it and tried it out on some old Sonar projects - a swing and a miss.

Since I still have an old BandLab account, I logged it in. Sonar then proceeded to nag every 120 seconds about how I needed a paid monthly $14.95 account to get a 'Backstage Pass' which would then 'activate' Sonar - allowing it to save projects.

The UI has been transmogrified a bit, the usual 'let's make it flat looking' effort to make it more appealing to the kiddies. It is still the same old UI though. Same old Sonar with slightly changed window curtains.

I get it, though. The whole 'Backstage Pass' thing is simply an effort to generate some 'secret' buzz and drive BandLab subscriptions - and that's why it's been in extended 'beta' for what seems like forever. It's time to yank the Band-Aid off and start seeing what Sonar will do as a paid product.

[Trensharo]

The UI has been transmogrified a bit, the usual 'let's make it flat looking' effort to make it more appealing to the kiddies.

Was the ageism really necessary?

[maanga]

A video review on latest version (beta?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pSYI2hb83E

[SuperG]

The UI has been transmogrified a bit, the usual 'let's make it flat looking' effort to make it more appealing to the kiddies.

Was the ageism really necessary?

Apparently, Sonar thought so.

[tapper mike]

Some legacy Cakewalk Plugins and Virtual Instruments aren't really worth much of anything in 2024.

Some?

[Jim Roseberry]

I get that DAW developers want to have "included" processing/plugins (EQ, Dynamics, Reverb, Delay, etc), but (IMO) it can be a waste of development time/effort.
Are these plugins going to be the equal of the best 3rd-party offerings (that each specialize in a particular field)? In most cases, no.

Included processing/plugins are nice for those who don't already have preferred 3rd-party plugins.
For those who already have preferred plugins, included processing/plugins are of little value.

[jens]

A video review on latest version (beta?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pSYI2hb83E

He's easily one of the better Youtubers - I quite like him.

[Trensharo]

I get that DAW developers want to have "included" processing/plugins (EQ, Dynamics, Reverb, Delay, etc), but (IMO) it can be a waste of development time/effort.
Are these plugins going to be the equal of the best 3rd-party offerings (that each specialize in a particular field)? In most cases, no.

Included processing/plugins are nice for those who don't already have preferred 3rd-party plugins.
For those who already have preferred plugins, included processing/plugins are of little value.

The issue isn't how they compare relative to the "best" 3rd party plug-ins. They just don't bring any decent value to the package, as regards to converting someone from a Free User to a Paid User.

1. Most of Cakewalk's 1st party plug-ins have already been added to Cakewalk by BandLab.

A lot of the better plug-ins in SONAR platinum were bundled 3rd party products. TS-64 and L-Phase EQ/Limiter are the only 1st party plug-ins that appear to be missing from CbB. There may be a few PC Modules they could add, as well.

2. The only instruments that may have decent value are Rapture Pro & Dimension Pro - assuming the user doesn't already own a Synth/Sampler workstation like HALion or Falcon.

I don't think Z3TA+ 2 is worth anything as long as Vital and Vaporizer 2 exist as in-development, free options. Just use those instead. They're better synths.

The Samplers have been trash for well over a decade and could all literally be upgraded with a $9.99 AIR Transfuser 2 discount license. That's how bad they are... They really don't have anything to bring to the table as far as that is concerned. I think they're currently planning to port the Cakewalk Next Sampler over to Sonar, Lol.