Sonar For Mac?

[MacAhoy]

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Anyone know what happened to Sonar for Mac? The alpha is about 2 months late, it was a big undertaking sure, but the release date for the alpha has well and truly passed and looking at Cakewalks forums it seems to be silent apart from the complaints and requests for an update on progress or some official word or explanation. But Cakewalk seem to be suspiciously absent and not saying a word despite the unrest. You'd think they would or could at least say it's not ready yet because . . . and it will be released when ready, but nothing. They have apparently removed the majority of references or info with regards to the Mac version from their website as noted in this post

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Big-announcem ... 1-p24.aspx (http://forum.cakewalk.com/Big-announcement-SONAR4Life-SONAR4Mac-SONAR4You-m3426481-p24.aspx)

Seems to be quite a few disgruntled Mac users around who jumped on the Lifetime deal before it ended, only to find it looks like vapour ware, myself included, yes it is our own fault, we took the risk, but.

Some are saying it is another money grab like the lifetime updates deal was seen by a lot of peeps, they were saying it was just to grab as much cash as they could, and perhaps to fund the Mac development, back at a time when Cakewalks owner Gibson was seen to be in a bit of trouble, who knows, it happens so?

You would at least think they would say something with all the posts asking questions and knowing that rightly or wrongly there is quite a number of Mac users who jumped at the lifetime deal ONLY because of the advertised lure of a Mac version.

Surely the thoughts of the worst and another cash grab couldn't be true, then again it does happen, here's hoping it's not the case.

[lfm]

I've seen that too, the otherwise very well informed Anderton claims he is not in the loop either regarding Mac and put some strange comments about how he always buys software for what it is and not what might become, or similar excuse.

He ships libraries for Sonar, he writes blogs how to do things in Sonar - but he is not in the loop about Mac version and has no interest either as he claimed????
It does not add up - something is going on here.

And I don't get the lifetime updates thingy either, how Anderton argued for that how it will bring in everybody on the planet, kind of. That they would get new sales, and new sales again forever.

Sadly it seems there are some bad advisors on the board at Cakewalk. I find Sonar a very nice daw in so many ways, they are just not updating things that I care about - so haven't been activating updates for a year, and not used for two years.

But I hope Cake are doing alright. Steinberg indicated with new Halion 6 that no support for Windows 7, so figure Cubase will have that soon too, and I am out for something else than Cubase probably - yet another dead end you threw money into.

[jinotsuh]

Yes something just doesn't smell right with the whole SONAR4Mac thing, and as dear old grandma use to say, "If it smells off and looks off . . . . . . . . " well you know the rest

Anderton, while obviously fairly knowledgeable in certain areas is and can be a bit of a tool. His need for SONAR to be seen as not lacking in any area, being the perfect door, to be without issues, and any bugs are not bugs, but either misunderstood 'features' or problems with 3rd party software, or your computer or "pilot error", his constant need to go in and mark problem threads as 'SOLVED' at times even when they aren't solved at all and the OP has to either complain or remove the 'SOLVED' from the thread title, (don't worry I have seen it many times) from my perspective it is that he doesn't like it to appear that there are any issues with SONAR for people visiting the forums, why else would he be so intent on doing it? He also as you have mentioned seems to have 'selective' knowledge of things within Cakewalk, when it suits his purpose he has the knowledge, when it doesn't suit his purpose he knows nothing His defensiveness when anyone dares point out that SONAR may have an issue or be lacking is very tiresome, he will go to extraordinary lengths to try and show it's not so, novel length posts ducking and weaving, often leaving the reader unsure what it was all about in the first place, I guess mission accomplished from his side There was a thread recently that this chap by the name of SilverBlueMedalion or something like that had a problem, said it was a bug, along came Anderton and the SONAR Soldiers berating him, telling him it wasn't a bug and that he should learn how to use SONAR and not expect SONAR to work the way he wanted it to work, all the usual stuff, anyway I think they eventually locked the thread, funny thing, when the next update came out guess what was listed as BUG which was fixed in the release notes? you guessed it, the exact same thing that MR Medalion was talking about you think Anderton or any of the SONAR Soldiers who berated him telling him it was not a bug and to learn how to use the program apologized to him? take a guess

But yes, it appears things are not as they seem when it comes to SONAR4Mac, be interesting to see what happens in the future, neither here nor there to me as I am a PC user, but interesting all the same, and the SONAR forums can be an interesting and amusing place to watch, if not a little pathetic. Interesting times ahead

[shay]

Disappointed to see Cake hasn't followed through on this. I started on the path of computer recording a long time ago on Sonar (v1-3) before eventually moving over to Mac. Despite ditching it, I always thought it was a decent daw. I was itching to try the alpha port but wasn't inclined to drop money down until it saw the light of day. Glad I didn't but I feel for those folks who did. Hopefully Cake comes through but I can understand if they drop the project altogether; may cost too much time and money for very little reward. Can't blame them if that's the case despite getting some ppl's hopes up.

[Jim Roseberry]

The fact that it was not mentioned at NAMM tells me they need more time.

It was a public Alpha they talked about releasing.
You know what's going to result from that...
Complaints about bugs/etc.
My prediction: If you like Sonar for Windows, you'll ultimately like it for OSX.
If you don't like Sonar for Windows, or you don't like the company/etc, you're not going to suddenly fall in love with Sonar for OSX.

Regarding Craig, I think he's a great liaison between Gibson and Cakewalk.
Decades of practical experience dealing with music technology
IMO, That shows commitment on the part of Gibson... ensuring Cakewalk is an active part of their business plan (not just a brushed aside afterthought).

FWIW, I've met Craig numerous times... and consider him friend/colleague.
He's a knowledgeable, personable guy... with a good sense of humor.
Craig is one of those folks... from whom who even the most tech-savvy can walk away having learned something applicable to their work.

It's popular to slag Cakewalk on these forums.
I don't understand the financial logic behind Lifetime Updates...
But thus far, I find Sonar Platinum to be working well... and steadily developed/refined.
Personally, I'm not worried about the OSX version of Sonar.
My main studio DAW will always be the best custom PC I can build.

While Cakewalk may not be lighting the world on fire...
That doesn't mean their demise is anywhere eminent.
Folks were worried that Gibson had a bad 2015.
You've got a 100 year old company... that defined a "Herritage" (no pun intended) set of guitars.
They're classic for a reason. If you go changing them too much, it hurts sales.
That's what happened in 2015.
Back to locking Grovers and normal nuts... and suddenly sales are back up.

IMO, The sky is not falling.

[aMUSEd]

Seems to be quite a few disgruntled Mac users around who jumped on the Lifetime deal before it ended, only to find it looks like vapour ware, myself included, yes it is our own fault, we took the risk, but.

I'm just as disgruntled that they never answered any of my questions about whether or not the offer would be extended for Mac owners if and when it finally appeared, I was not prepared to take the risk on the basis of almost nothing.

[lfm]

The fact that it was not mentioned at NAMM tells me they need more time.

IMO, The sky is not falling.

You make things worse by just twisting what people write.

Did anybody say Anderton was anything but a good contributing guy at Cakes?

I know I said it does not add up what he claims - about Mac version - about lifetime updates.

Comments on Cakewalk forum are legit as I see it - what happend?

A year ago Cake accounced there would be a huge announcement in june.
So it was already decided, and most likely started a Mac version.

- Lifetime updates was such a huge success that we prolonged it till end of year.

Time goes by, and people start to raise the big uncomfy question.
- How are you doing?

......silence......evasive comments.....silence......silence.....thunderlike silence....

New info like - will be another year fore alfa for Mac - is better than uncertainty that now is raised. It took spreadsheet guys a year at Avid to realize how bad that was for business - and share is now less than a third of top noting and has not recovered from that yet.

My own experience says it is very difficult to forecast such a big undertaking as releasing a product on a new platform. I've been there - got a sponsorship for 6 months and it took a year. I've seen Digital Performer how it still struggles with performance on Windows - it takes time to optimize since OS are very different. I remember even Reaper guys has issues doing plugin scan on Mac some years ago - it took really long.

So Anderton sends his best mate to cover for him - does not work....

[Jim Roseberry]

I'm not twisting anybody's words... nor am I Anderton's best mate.

Trying to offer a more balanced (non emotional) view of the circumstances...

The obvious (no announcement at NAMM) is that Sonar for OSX needs more time.
When first released, it's going to be a public Alpha.
Alpha means bugs and unfinished features...
If someone is unhappy with Sonar Platinum under Windows, I seriously doubt they're suddenly going to love an Alpha version under OSX.
If that's the expectation, it's unrealistic.

This situation is exactly why some developers don't mention anything about new products... until they're released.
If a timeline is set and not met, people complain.
If the product is rushed out the door, people complain.

Could communication be much better? Absolutely.
Could support be much better? Absolutely.
Ever dealt with Steinberg support? Three business days for a lame initial response.

Carry on...
Sonar sucks, Cakewalk is going out of business, and Anderton is a tool...

[Robert Randolph]

I'm not twisting anybody's words... nor am I Anderton's best mate.

Trying to offer a more balanced (non emotional) view of the circumstances...

The obvious (no announcement at NAMM) is that Sonar for OSX needs more time.
When first released, it's going to be a public Alpha.
Alpha means bugs and unfinished features...
If someone is unhappy with Sonar Platinum under Windows, I seriously doubt they're suddenly going to love an Alpha version under OSX.
If that's the expectation, it's unrealistic.

This situation is exactly why some developers don't mention anything about new products... until they're released.
If a timeline is set and not met, people complain.
If the product is rushed out the door, people complain.

So... why'd they announce it at all?! It wasn't even a random forum post mentioning it; it had its own landing page, video, announcement etc...

THEN they announced the lifetime license thing. There was no clear communication about whether Mac users would get the opportunity to take up the offer, so if you only want Cakewalk for Mac then you were forced to take the blind leap or wait and potentially pay much more.. It seems to be somewhat of a money grab really.

Could communication be much better? Absolutely.
Could support be much better? Absolutely.
Ever dealt with Steinberg support? Three business days for a lame initial response.

Yes, Steinberg responds to you. This is a thread about Cakewalk not responding AT ALL on the topic.

If you're trying to defend cakewalk, I'm not sure that you're doing it right.

and Anderton is a tool...

Let's be realistic here, he's not that useful.

[Resonant- Serpent]

I've talked to Anderton and have no problem with him as a person. He likes Sonar and is a mediator on the site. The recent decision of Cakewalk to cancel the Ezine for the updates, which Anderton organized, shows just how off track they are. It's been a year, and support still isn't ironed out. People are still reporting on the forum that they are waiting weeks for a response to their problems.The program is still filled with bugs that have gone on for months and sometimes years. This is all documented on the forum.

Finally picking up Cubase is the best studio decision I've made in years. No more Cakewalk monkey on my back. No more messing with runtime libraries. I use Cubase. It works. It doesn't crash. In every single area from track colors, to MIDI, to audio manipulation... Cubase is superior in every way. There's no comparison. Cakewalk was on the right track for a while, but they've obviously made some bad decisions in the last six months. Glad to not have to deal with it anymore.

[Jim Roseberry]

If you're trying to defend cakewalk, I'm not sure that you're doing it right.

and Anderton is a tool...

Let's be realistic here, he's not that useful.

I'm not here to defend anything or anyone...

Complaining that an ** Alpha ** (not product release) isn't available is a waste of time/energy.
If Sonar for OSX (public Alpha) were available this very second, there would be complaints about outstanding bugs and unfinished features.

The comment about Anderton is pretty mature.
I'd guess that Craig has done more to define, educate, enlighten, and help "Electronic Musicians" than most folks on this Forum (including myself).

[Jim Roseberry]

I've talked to Anderton and have no problem with him as a person. He likes Sonar and is a mediator on the site. The recent decision of Cakewalk to cancel the Ezine for the updates, which Anderton organized, shows just how off track they are. It's been a year, and support still isn't ironed out. People are still reporting on the forum that they are waiting weeks for a response to their problems.The program is still filled with bugs that have gone on for months and sometimes years. This is all documented on the forum.

Finally picking up Cubase is the best studio decision I've made in years. No more Cakewalk monkey on my back. No more messing with runtime libraries. I use Cubase. It works. It doesn't crash. In every single area from track colors, to MIDI, to audio manipulation... Cubase is superior in every way. There's no comparison. Cakewalk was on the right track for a while, but they've obviously made some bad decisions in the last six months. Glad to not have to deal with it anymore.

If that had been my experience with Sonar, this is exactly what I'd do.
I've got all the major PC DAW apps including Cubase (necessary for what I do).
Cubase is a mature/refined DAW application... with advanced MIDI features/notation currently not available in any other (single) program.

Steinberg support may be better than Cakewalk, but IMO you're talking degrees of "sucking less".

ie: I don't typically need support, but I recently had an issue with a HALion 6 upgrade Activation Code.
Took three days for a lame response.
In the end, the solution was a refund for the transaction.
If you own Steinberg's Absolute VSTi Collection + (which includes HALion Sonic 2), you cannot use that license to upgrade to HALion 6. If you (spent less) and bought the standalone version of HALion Sonic, you can upgrade that license. I own all the products in the Absolute 3 VSTi Collection (except The Grand). Didn't want or need The Grand. Steinberg's helpful response, "You bought the wrong upgrade."
Well... I'm not the only one who, "bought the wrong update." Steinberg should clarify on the website.
So... yes, I'll lightly complain... and move on.

[lfm]

Complaining that an ** Alpha ** (not product release) isn't available is a waste of time/energy.

I think what most wanted on Cake forum and here was a hint how it is progressing - not getting a hands on alfa.

But that is me.

Complaints I heard on Avid forum and Cockos forum about Sonar has been that as a professional you need a tool on both pc/mac platforms to be realistic alternative/complement to PT.

So I feel the strategic move is right for Sonar.

I followed discussion about gaming consoles since last summer when Playstation Pro(Neo) was rumoured, and MS also announced Scorpio to be released later this year. MS has provided updates in interviews and they are a bit ahead of schedule and so on.

I think Cake can give folks a hint at least. I can't see why not.

[BBFG#]

In using Cakewalk over the years I've come to sense they code with a borderline personality. It's almost as if they had a 'Munchhausen by Proxy' element in almost everything they do so that they can make themselves the 'hero' fighting for you later on. Problem is, they seem to forget what they did in each version/update to keep up with it.
Perhaps they've found that Mac is less forgiving of this trait?

[chk071]

I'm usually not a guy to pull off an extensive rant about a company, but, the way they supported Z3TA 2 was beyond horrible. Release a pimped up version of version 1, with no significant changes to the sound engine, do a few updates, and then people have to live for years without an update fixing major bugs in the synth. Then, after years, they release some updates, and fix SOME bugs, and now it's all silent again. As i have read many complaints about Sonar here, i doubt that it is much different for their DAW. At least the version i tried, Sonar X3, crashed on me on the first start, when doing a simple plugin scan (no DAW has ever done that before here).

Anyway, maybe in this case, they just don't manage it in time. Let's just say, it doesn't surprise me at all.