Gibson axes Cakewalk /Sonar

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I think now is time for Microsoft to buy Cakewalk

If they did even half as much for Sonar as Apple have done for Logic, it would not be a bad thing at all

[topaz]

Sure, the only thing that worries me is one man show ?

[Nothing's certain obviously but I reckon Reaper could be one of the safer bets; I gather it's a real labour of love (may be not the right expression...) and as the creator has already made his millions elsewhere, no commercial pressure maybe?

As well as that it's a simple keyfile authorisation and supports portable installs (so no installers to rely on).

[acoustica]

Hi Hink, By the end of the 90's, I was handling international distribution, so I did not have the pleasure of visiting and training at Action Music or Mars at that time! Loved to hang out at Daddy's in Boston, lived a block away.

Thank you ATS for the kind words. Quite a story. I was lucky enough to witness the beginning of an era and unfortunately, the end of one.

I just heard the news that Cakewalk’s Boston HQ offices have closed. My name is Anthony Conte (currently VP for the Mixcraft DAW), and I spent 19 years at Cakewalk, including 12 years as the Vice President of Sales. For decades I worked with many of the brilliant, incredibly talented folks that now find themselves out of a job. My heart aches for the current Cakewalkers and the thousands of SONAR users across the globe. Simply put, this is the end of an era in the world of MIDI and Digital Audio recording.

While I do not know the fate of SONAR or what Gibson’s plans are for Cakewalk, I can assure all the current Cakewalkers that their future is bright. For the last six years, I have been lucky enough to have landed at a like-minded company, Acoustica, makers of Mixcraft 8, an award-winning DAW for the PC. Not coincidentally enough, Acoustica freakishly reminds me of the early days at Cakewalk. A small but growing music software company made up of great people who are passionate, innovative, hard-working, and who have all become my family.

Acoustica is committed to making Mixcraft a DAW that SONAR users will want to seriously consider adopting. I would be remiss if I did not let you know that beginning now thru Cyber Monday, Mixcraft 8 Pro Studio is on sale for only $99. If you’d like to take a look at Mixcraft, please visit Acoustica.com for more details or a free trial.

For those interested in reading about the history of Cakewalk from my perspective, please read my blog anthonyshomestudio.com

Thanks,
Anthony Conte

The body's not even cold yet...

it pretty much is and BTW that article he wrote is very interesting. His link did not work but here it is http://www.anthonyshomestudio.com/

were you in Boston/Cambridge back in the late 90's? I worked in a small music store at Davis Sq in Somerville (Action Music), the guys from Cakewalk use to come in the store to see what interesting used stuff we got in. I didn't even own a computer then but I had contemplated going in that direction, I was so clueless and they answered many of my questions. Wondering if you were one of them though I dont remember names, I do remember selling one guy a Tech 21 Trademark amp. They were indeed pretty cool guys.

FWIW I went on from there to MARs Music in Natick where though I'm a guitar player I was in pro-audio/recording (hd recording was pretty much my specialty)/keyboards/dj, I learned more there. I can picture the cakewalk rep but cant remember his name, I remember the debut of Sonar and training on it. Then as MARs looked bleak I moved to Daddy's Junky Music where from the same rep I started with Cakewalk Home Studio.

We didn't sell Cakewalk at Action Music so to my knowledge I didn't meet the rep until MARs

[aMUSEd]

Microsoft would not know what to do with it. They have no positive experience with creative apps and those they have purchased, eg Expression, they just gutted for technologies they could incorporate into making web pages or whatever else they could get out of it. They would probably turn it into a consumer app for making ringtones or something.

[Hink]

Hi Hink, By the end of the 90's, I was handling international distribution, so I did not have the pleasure of visiting and training at Action Music or Mars at that time! Loved to hang out at Daddy's in Boston, lived a block away.

I worked in Nashua NH which was 5 miles from my house, always slammed because of being on the New Hampshire border. I grew up in Bedford though so I grew up going in and out of Boston hitting Boylston, Mass ave and Newbury street often (Jack's Drum Shop back in the 80's was the best place to buy guitar strings and loonytunes was great for vinyl). The guy I worked with at Action Music owned the rehearsal space at the bottom of rte 2 across from where Alewife is now. Tom Sholtz bought or leased some of that for his company though.

[fmr]

Microsoft would not know what to do with it. They have no positive experience with creative apps and those they have purchased, eg Expression, they just gutted for technologies they could incorporate into making web pages or whatever else they could get out of it. They would probably turn it into a consumer app for making ringtones or something.

But not long ago Microsoft was looking for programmers specialized in audio (they posted here). This would be a great opportunity for them. They would get a mature application, closely attached to their OS, with a large user base, and could hire the programmers that worked on it, all at the same time. What could be better?

[jonljacobi]

I remember having a discussion with Jimmy Landry when Gibson bought Cakewalk. They were keen on how much the head of Gibson loved the program. I had my doubts. Still, sorry to see this.

On the other hand, Sonar is a highly competent DAW that's capable of producing excellent results. My issue with it has always been the workflow and interface. Put a modern face on it, and no I don't think that's a modern face, and you'd have a very competitive product without a whole lot of effort. I'm hoping someone with the wherewithal sees that or they hand it back to someone who cares.

[lingyai]

I think now is time for Microsoft to buy Cakewalk. Then they can compete with Apple also on DAWs.

Maybe add a touch friendly gui, a wobble and raiser synths and some one knob instant plugins. Make it more EDM friendly, you know. Then replace Windows sound recorder with it. It would then sell tons of Windows 10 licenses, Surface Pros and recently announced MS branded laptops.

Oh, god forbid. Microsoft is an anti-Midas, not unlike Gibson

[fmr]

I think now is time for Microsoft to buy Cakewalk. Then they can compete with Apple also on DAWs.

Maybe add a touch friendly gui, a wobble and raiser synths and some one knob instant plugins. Make it more EDM friendly, you know. Then replace Windows sound recorder with it. It would then sell tons of Windows 10 licenses, Surface Pros and recently announced MS branded laptops.

Oh, god forbid. Microsoft is an anti-Midas, not unlike Gibson

Microsoft would have the means and the motivation (as I said, they seem to look for a way to enter the audio market). I don't see anyone else, at the moment, with the "muscle" and the resources to pick it.

And Cakewalk is perhaps the DAW with the closer integration to the Windows OS and technologies.

[Robert Randolph]

Sure, the only thing that worries me is one man show ?

[Nothing's certain obviously but I reckon Reaper could be one of the safer bets; I gather it's a real labour of love (may be not the right expression...) and as the creator has already made his millions elsewhere, no commercial pressure maybe?

As well as that it's a simple keyfile authorisation and supports portable installs (so no installers to rely on).

Reaper is not a one man show.

[robotmonkey]

I think now is time for Microsoft to buy Cakewalk. Then they can compete with Apple also on DAWs.

Maybe add a touch friendly gui, a wobble and raiser synths and some one knob instant plugins. Make it more EDM friendly, you know. Then replace Windows sound recorder with it. It would then sell tons of Windows 10 licenses, Surface Pros and recently announced MS branded laptops.

Oh, god forbid. Microsoft is an anti-Midas, not unlike Gibson

Microsoft would have the means and the motivation (as I said, they seem to look for a way to enter the audio market). I don't see anyone else, at the moment, with the "muscle" and the resources to pick it.

And Cakewalk is perhaps the DAW with the closer integration to the Windows OS and technologies.

Even though I was not entirely serious, at some level it would make sense. Hell, they could even port some of the earlier versions of Cakewalk to the recent Nokia 3310 remake. It might get the Nokia sales going again and the billions they spent on the mobile device department wouldn't be wasted.

[lingyai]

I think now is time for Microsoft to buy Cakewalk. Then they can compete with Apple also on DAWs.

Maybe add a touch friendly gui, a wobble and raiser synths and some one knob instant plugins. Make it more EDM friendly, you know. Then replace Windows sound recorder with it. It would then sell tons of Windows 10 licenses, Surface Pros and recently announced MS branded laptops.

Oh, god forbid. Microsoft is an anti-Midas, not unlike Gibson

Microsoft would have the means and the motivation (as I said, they seem to look for a way to enter the audio market). I don't see anyone else, at the moment, with the "muscle" and the resources to pick it.

And Cakewalk is perhaps the DAW with the closer integration to the Windows OS and technologies.

They would have the means but they would not deploy them properly. It's not in their DNA. They are too big to be excellent.

[lingyai]

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

Yeeehaaa, just as I predicted here in a post almost 2 years ago, that Cakewalk would be gone within 2 years, and so it has come to pass

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

dick

[SuperG]

They got raided years ago for using illegal wood in their guitars, and it's widely known that their entire guitar line has turned to sh*t within the last decade

Not exactly illegal wood, as this article from 2014 explains.

http://humanevents.com/2014/05/30/the-t ... -revealed/

And, further, I bought a couple Gibson guitars over the past year, and they have far from "turned to sh*t." Still, overall, the best guitars money can buy in whatever respective price range.

But, hey, don't let facts get in the way of Gibson hate.

How so ever true - just use some fetid wingnut propaganda article like the above to obfuscate the truth...

[flugel45]

Thank you Cakewalk 3.0 for getting me started on electronic music production all those years ago. My heart goes out to the employees; holiday layoffs are the worst of typical modern corporate behavior.

I remember the snide remarks in the forum given with an air of superiority. People saying "I have Lifetime updates so I don't have to worry, you should have jumped on when you had the chance. They gave you plenty of opportunities! Your loss!" Good times. Now everyone is on equal, disappointed footing....

And who's being snide now? Just because one or two individuals were jerks to you on the forum, this happens and you sound like you can barely contain your glee: "Now everyone is on equal, disappointed footing"... Seriously?