KVR Audio

telecharge · Post by **telecharge** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:10 pm

Saffran wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:54 pm It was 2018 that Cakewalk was sold to the Chinese Bandlab company that made it a free product.

Nope -- BandLab Technologies is a Singapore-based company. It's not the same, and this will be an important difference for some.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:18 pm

I was a Cakewalk/Sonar user up until I went completely Mac, about the time Bandlab took over. I’ve used it alongside Studio One, Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, FLS, Live, etc. Anyone who tries to tell you Cakewalk isn’t on par with these paid DAWs is selling you some serious BS. They each have their different strengths and weaknesses, so you deal with the compromises and either get comfortable with the workflow, or find a better fit. As for being (un)intuitive, of course it’s going to be unintuitive if you’re accustomed to a different workflow. Try going from PT to FLS, or Logic to Ableton, etc., and yes, everything is going to be unfamiliar and unintuitive. It’s free, so try it and see for yourself. If you can scrape up enough money, maybe buy the Groove3 tutorial to speed up the learning curve.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:25 pm

I'd like it to be more simple. I like simplicity, and no bloat.

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:31 pm

telecharge wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:44 pm It is a bit curious there isn't more enthusiasm for Cakewalk by BandLab. I wonder if feelings of "if you're not paying for it, you're the product" might have something to do with it.

I do think that is a factor.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:36 pm

chk071 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:25 pm I'd like it to be more simple. I like simplicity, and no bloat.

I’m not sure what you mean. They got rid of all the third-party add-ons/bloatware when it became free, leaving a pretty streamlined DAW that’s highly customizable in terms of screensets, shortcuts, etc. Personally, I like instant access to some features via buttons on the interface, and relying on keyboard shortcuts for others, all of which can be easily customized to be as simple or complex as one wants it.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:38 pm

When you choose the screenset with all the function (not sure how it was called now), the upper bar is very, very crowded. Same with the inspector view, it's really full of stuff. I really think you can do a simple interface without it feeling to busy and crowded, while maintaining a lot of functionality. Actually, for me, that's the art of interface design. Which, unfortunately, many companies in the audio software business don't really master.

Don't get me wrong, I think the interface of Cakewalk is OK, but, the DAW simply feels busy.

Examigan · Post by **Examigan** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:16 pm

I use it all the time.
I have used SONAR since version 4 and continue to use Cakewalk.

Examigan · Post by **Examigan** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:30 pm

In the upper-right you can select a pre-configured Workspace preset to make it easier to work with, or save your own settings.

Double Tap · Post by **Double Tap** » Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:34 pm

I started with Cakewalk when I began making music again last year. There's nothing wrong with it, but I moved on to Tracktion Waveform about a month later - I think I found more tutorials, or I found them more easily. The difference between them is small, although I'd suggest, from memory, that Cakewalk is probably better for live instruments and Tracktion is better for electronic music. But they're both very usable.

THE INTRANCER · Post by **THE INTRANCER** » Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:08 am

It needs to phone home periodically vie your internet connection and in my experience, it's been a buggy mess of a program with graphical glitches and instability. I had spent over a week using it for it to then just crash and burn and decided to wipe the mess of the installation off my machine and use a reliable modern DAW I could depend on which happened to be Studio One. The installation of CbB got so messed up that it refused to reinstall. On top of that, if you need to use the Band Lab Assistant app to update, you get told that there was an update to the band lab assistant which you needed to download again... Seriously, the experience was so annoying...

If you are serious about music, buy a modern commercial DAW that doesn't give you headaches.

l33t4e · Post by **l33t4e** » Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:11 am

I only started using Cakewalk since last year and I am new to the whole making music thing. So it is my first DAW. I only made a few tracks with it. So I am very much a newbie to the whole music making scene. I have since tried Reason, Ableton, MPC, FL, and Bitwig. I find Cakewalk more straightforward, intuitive and easier to use. I have barely watched tutorials and read manuals about it yet (more because of procrastination lol). I just figured it out along the way.

So as a beginner I would say that it is a great DAW. And they have improved and updated on it so much even just from when I started last year. I don't see me using another DAW as my primary. Maybe when I get really good at this and have other specific needs, then things may change. But so far It's works for me.

Everyone is different though. So YMMV. If it works for you and you are comfortable using it, then keep using it. I have Reason 11 Suite mainly for the Reason Rack Plugin instead of the DAW. Also have a bunch of free and paid VSTs. I have the money to buy any DAW I want, but I'm sticking with Cakewalk because it works for me.

JoseC. · Post by **JoseC.** » Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:07 am

THE INTRANCER wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:08 am It needs to phone home periodically vie your internet connection and in my experience, it's been a buggy mess of a program with graphical glitches and instability. I had spent over a week using it for it to then just crash and burn and decided to wipe the mess of the installation off my machine and use a reliable modern DAW I could depend on which happened to be Studio One. The installation of CbB got so messed up that it refused to reinstall. On top of that, if you need to use the Band Lab Assistant app to update, you get told that there was an update to the band lab assistant which you needed to download again... Seriously, the experience was so annoying...

If you are serious about music, buy a modern commercial DAW that doesn't give you headaches.

It seems that your experience is obsolete. You do not need Bandlab Assistant anymore, and you only need to reauthorize every six months, so you can actually run it offline if you want.

It is being updated as often, if not more, as any other commercial DAW, both with bug fixes and new features, and the response from the dev team to the users feedback in the user forum is phenomenal.

Currently it is a very solid DAW, if someone cannot make music with it, it certainly is not its fault.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:13 am

JoseC. wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:07 am It seems that your experience is obsolete. You do not need Bandlab Assistant anymore

Can you install and update it without using the Bandlab Assistant?

telecharge · Post by **telecharge** » Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:16 am

JoseC. wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:07 am It seems that your experience is obsolete. You do not need Bandlab Assistant anymore, and you only need to reauthorize every six months, so you can actually run it offline if you want.

Really? Where can I download Cakewalk without BandLab Assistant?

crickey13 · Post by **crickey13** » Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:06 pm

telecharge wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:16 am Really? Where can I download Cakewalk without BandLab Assistant?

Within the DAW, there is an update notifier which allows you to download a rar file if I remember correctly. Then you re-install it from that and you're good to go. I don't use the assistant anymore because it doesn't work correctly for me, I have an outdated version, so I update via the DAW.

Is there something wrong with Cakewalk?