What's a good DAW to switch to from Cakewalk?

[jancivil]

There's no video link in your post but I believe I know the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKx1wnXClcI

kind of entertaining. I'm glad I didn't buy it.

[jancivil]

I demoed REAPER some yrs ago. It's beyond a 'steep learning curve' in the sense of learning a DAW and its ways, it's just not for a simple person such as myself to have to design so much of it myself before I begin that learning curve. It yooogly, too.

Some people find Cubase a steep learning curve. I don't know, it's all seemed pretty clear from the interface, the way it's laid out {designed}, to me.
There have been one or two things I needed to consult the manual for (and it's not such an ideal manual), but rarely.

But if you like figuring shit out on a certain level great, for me life is far too short for that.

[funky lime]

How come people who actually make music (professionally or semi-professionally) avoid Reaper like the plague?

I would love to see the data backing up this claim.

Yes, we already know (and I mentioned it myself) that Reaper can be hacked, extended and customized in a million of different ways. That's exactly why it's the most inconsistent, unusable and bloated DAW on the market.

Unusable? Bloated? Are you sure we're talking about the same software? Your use of hyperbole here undermines the legitimacy of your argument.

I suggest you study the subject of user interface design a bit before making additional incompetent remarks.

Ah, there it is, the personal attack.

Look, person, just use whatever works for you. My whole point, which you've only served to reinforce with your response here, is that you were making vague and unsubstantiated claims that could be misleading to the OP. I don't feel like fighting about it.

I'm sorry that Reaper seems to be a source of such anguish for you.

[funky lime]

But if you like figuring shit out on a certain level great, for me life is far too short for that.

That's the key. Different people enjoy different aspects of the technology. Some people actually like poking around under the hood, and some, understandably, don't. (some people are annoyed to find out you can't even pop the hood in the first place) And it's not like there's a shortage of options. In some ways, Reaper aligns with the DIY ethos. Why would I build my own fuzz pedal when I could just go buy one pre-made? Because I find it interesting. That's it. Either option still lets me rock out in the end (hopefully ).

[Obsolete236871]

@jancivil

Yes, that's the video. Thanks! Reaper fanboy should definitely watch it!

I fully agree: Cubase and Reaper both are supposed to do the same thing, yet Cubase is pretty much self-explanatory if you have a basic understanding of what a DAW does, while Reaper just does not work smoothly out of the box. It just feels odd when you want to do basic things like recording a MIDI loop. A good software is supposed to work as it's presented to you without too much additional configuration. Configurations are supposed to enhance the experience, customize it according to your individual needs. In Reaper however you need to configure it to make the software usable to begin with, since it just does not work the way it's preconfigured!

I tried Reaper with positive intentions (wanting to like it) over the cause of one decade again and again, but the horrible user experience remained the same.

[THE INTRANCER]

Adobe CS2 IS accessible, isn't it? Actually, it's a perfect example which proves my point, because, it is still available for the people who bought it, and, we're talking about a 13 year old product here (which doesn't run too well on modern OS's, by the way, so, i'd figure there's hardly anyone still using it seriously).

I still have the student version of Photoshop CS2 I picked up in 2006 as part of the Premium bundle of applications, which also has Adobe Audition, another interesting audio app. It works flawlessly on Windows 7. I would have kept using it if it wasn't for Adobe going to the cloud subscription service. I had to chop off my hand to pay for a genuine version of Photoshop CS6 at £630, in 2013...but I use it practically everyday and will for many years to come. In fact I use it for designing my own interfaces for Studio One and have just finished a new template for SO4 (1080P resolution atm).

[Zombie Queen]

I don't know how that contradicts my point.

Point is, even Adobe can encounter a major technological fail.

Adobe CS2 IS accessible, isn't it?

Adobe didn't go out of business. As I read between the lines, they didn't shut down CS2 authorization servers on purpose. It was a technical glitch they could not recover, which forced them to make an unprotected version available. CS2 used to cost arm and leg, CbB is free. Bandlab is not Adobe. Anyone who bought Sonar lifetime thing can sue Cakewalk, which is out of business. Anything goes wrong with Bandlab, they are free to shut down everything as they please.

[chk071]

I still have the student version of Photoshop CS2 I picked up in 2006 as part of the Premium bundle of applications, which also has Adobe Audition, another interesting audio app. It works flawlessly on Windows 7.

Maybe. On Windows 10, i had a error message, and the graphical UI was sort of flakey.

Bandlab is not Adobe. Anyone who bought Sonar lifetime thing can sue Cakewalk, which is out of business. Anything goes wrong with Bandlab, they are free to shut down everything as they please.

I don't see a point in making assumptions about this. They're also free to send users a version which runs forever.

Again, my experience is that companies don't do that (close down business, and everything stops working). And, in the time of the transition, Cakewalk didn't just pull the plug, their website and user area were still accessible, and they informed about what's happening next.

If you don't trust the DAW, fine, stay away from it. For everyone else, i don't see a reason why people have to be scared that they close the doors tomorrow, and noone will be able to access anything anymore. That's not how halfways professional businesses work. As i mentioned, i experienced that a couple of times (Yahoo Geocities, Ubuntu One, Linplug, Camel Audio), and, in all cases, customers were informed a year before those companies closed doors, and told to back up their files, sites, or software. There's no real reason for mistrust.

[Aloysius]

What's a good DAW to switch from to Cakewalk?

[jinotsuh]

Even as it stands now, if you have your DAW PC offline, in approximately 6 months time, Cakewalk/CbB will drop into demo mode rendering it practically useless, you'll have to go online to sort it out. Not a biggie on the outside, but when you think a little deeper. . . . There is a built in 'lease' that will periodically and without notice drop you into demo mode under certain situations. I believe if you are online, and run BandLab Assistant periodically you may never run into the issue, but still, it is built in to drop into demo mode approx every 6 months if certain conditions are not met.
There is a discussion here about the issue
https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php? ... -mode-why/

What's a good DAW to switch from to Cakewalk?

I'd say pretty much anything. I chose Studio One Pro some 3 and a half years ago and have been very happy with the decision.

[zklaus]

What's a good DAW to switch from to Cakewalk?

It all depends on your preferences! Demo, demo, demo

That would be my reply too... you said you had Ableton....do you prefer the workflow of the Session view? If not, look for something else.

Personally, I like "quirky" workflows. I wish there was a DAW similar to the Elektron workflow. I had an Octatrack and loved the strict relationship of parts and patterns, it kept me focused for some reason (again, preference). Also, I've been looking lately at Renoise and sort of like it so far, it's a odd workflow as well...demo as many types of DAW workflows as you can...the free ones too!

[JoseC.]

The real problem, which is probably something most people do not consider is that the future outlook is blurry. We don't know if Bandlab has means and plans to develop it further.

Bandlab is at Namm 2019, and maybe they will announce what direction they are going with Sonar there.

They have just got a new forum for Sonar up and running as well.

As for money, it depends how much money Mings billionaire relative is prepared to extend to him.

From my point of view, CbB is now much more active and alive than Sonar was in the Roland years. It is getting updates almost as steadily as it was with Gibson i.e. once a month, and of course being free has drawn its fair share of new users.

So, saying "We don't know if Bandlab has plans to develop it further" is far from the truth, because Bandlab IS actually developing it further, and it has been since day one.

Of course it being free makes a lot of people suspicious, and there are people in the forums actually calling for some kind of in app paid add ons to get some peace of mind in that sense.

Anyway, at the time CbB is very much alive, and using it, seeing the way updates seem to be improving it, the way the new forum has also improved the old one, how the development team and Meng himself regularly interact with users, give you the feeling that there is actually a plan to make this DAW last.

Of course it is only an impression, but I have been using this for a long time, and it haven't really felt this way since Greg Hendershott was in charge.

[Zombie Queen]

give you the feeling that there is actually a plan to make this DAW last

That's good to hear, thank you. I guess trust is something that's easy to loose quickly, but it takes time to get it back. I will keep an eye on the new forum.

[3ptguitarist]

The real problem, which is probably something most people do not consider is that the future outlook is blurry. We don't know if Bandlab has means and plans to develop it further.

Bandlab is at Namm 2019, and maybe they will announce what direction they are going with Sonar there.

They have just got a new forum for Sonar up and running as well.

As for money, it depends how much money Mings billionaire relative is prepared to extend to him.

From my point of view, CbB is now much more active and alive than Sonar was in the Roland years. It is getting updates almost as steadily as it was with Gibson i.e. once a month, and of course being free has drawn its fair share of new users.

So, saying "We don't know if Bandlab has plans to develop it further" is far from the truth, because Bandlab IS actually developing it further, and it has been since day one.

Of course it being free makes a lot of people suspicious, and there are people in the forums actually calling for some kind of in app paid add ons to get some peace of mind in that sense.

Anyway, at the time CbB is very much alive, and using it, seeing the way updates seem to be improving it, the way the new forum has also improved the old one, how the development team and Meng himself regularly interact with users, give you the feeling that there is actually a plan to make this DAW last.

Of course it is only an impression, but I have been using this for a long time, and it haven't really felt this way since Greg Hendershott was in charge.

I'm hoping they bring back the instruments and 3rd party content maybe for a reasonable price.

Also, one of the problems I'm dealing with is manufacturers of midi keyboards not supporting cakewalk with their midi mapping. For example, arturia keylab 61 mk2 doesn't have a midi map for cbb. Someone tried to do it on the cakewalk forums, but they seemed to have an issue and I'm not sure how much success they eventually had. Arturia supports cubase, logic, studio one, reaper, etc., but not cakewalk and this is one of the reasons I may switch to another daw. Akai mpk249 seems to be similar as they have direct mappings for cubase, so4, and logic, but no cakewalk.

[enroe]

What's a good DAW to switch from to Cakewalk?

Yeah, we should open a new thread discussing this question!