New Cakewalk Next and Sonar

[chk071]

Next seem interesting to me.
It is tightly integrated with Bandlab online resources.
Bandlab is free and i anticipate Next to be free too.

IIRC, it is planned to be free indeed. Pretty basic program though.

[chk071]

They also said that CbB will coexist for a while with the new versions, but eventually it will be shut down.

Ok. That's bad news for the Cakewalk free users then.

[jinotsuh]

or perhaps as has been discussed on the Cakewalk forums, if the uptake of the new Sonar doesn't go so well and it is seen that the majority of users remain using CbB, they may then shut down the Authorization servers and CbB will no longer have the ability to re-authorize, which it must do every 6 months, and then . . .

This sounds like the worst kind of conspiracy theory thought up by the worst kind of disgruntled past user... That wouldn't be you, would it? For example, if we were to search your name + Cakewalk, would it show an endless barrage of hate posts aimed at Cakewalk over the years? I'm just guessing wildly here...

Go and have a read at the Cakewalk forums, as I said this has been discussed, it won't be hard to verify, and who cares about what I have posted in the past, and YES I HAVE, all have been accompanied by links to verify what I have said, apart from that which needs no support. You wouldn't be a but hurt fan boi would you?

This has nothing to do with the past, this is the present, and perhaps the future, starting with a clean slate which Next certainly is, built from the ground up. Sonar, we will see, it's another chance for them. I'll be first at the door on release day, probably not Next though, although they said there would be a bundle, so I might as well get that. I was a Cakewalk user from Pro Audio 9 to SONAR Platinum, and it was my first DAW way way back when. Interested and curious to see what it's like.

Also in new news

and on the new Sonar webpage under FAQ's it states...

Will Cakewalk by BandLab be discontinued?

Yes, eventually. We will continue providing community support and maintenance for Cakewalk by BandLab until Cakewalk Sonar becomes publicly available. At some point after the release of Sonar, Cakewalk by BandLab will no longer be supported. Note that existing Cakewalk by BandLab users will be able to continue using the software after the release of Cakewalk Sonar. In the meantime, Cakewalk by BandLab continues to be available here.

and from Msmcleod aCakewalk Staff member

There are no immediate plans to prevent re-activation of the final 2023.09 version of CbB. Part of the reason for the delay in releasing 2023.09 is because we needed the new activation server to work with both Sonar (a paid product) and CbB... but it will stop re-activating at some point in the future.

I could be wrong, but personally I don't see this happening in as early as six months time. However, it's not my decision.

Go and have a read around the forums yourself, it won't take long before you find these discussions.

[jinotsuh]

Next seem interesting to me.
It is tightly integrated with Bandlab online resources.
Bandlab is free and i anticipate Next to be free too.

IIRC, it is planned to be free indeed. Pretty basic program though.

Next is not going to be free.
There will be a very cut down version of one or the other available for free, but both Sonar and Next are to be paid.

[flugel45]

A lot of misdirected venom...

I was a paying customer of Cakewalk's just as long as you were (since CWP 9). And no, I wasn't happy with how Roland and Gibson dropped the ball with Sonar.

But that was Roland (and especially Gibson). Bandlab acquired the property and has provided a FREE flagship-level DAW, continually updated and developed, for what, five years now? Clearly, you were too pissed and disgruntled to pay attention or care about that.

So yeah, for me and many others, that earned them some goodwill and our appreciation for what's to come. If you want to call that being fanboys, so be it.

Mad at Gibson for what they did back in 2017? Believe it or not, I get it.

You directing your wrath at Bandlab all these years later? Tiresome.

[Saffran]

Next seem interesting to me.
It is tightly integrated with Bandlab online resources.
Bandlab is free and i anticipate Next to be free too.

IIRC, it is planned to be free indeed. Pretty basic program though.

Next is not going to be free.
There will be a very cut down version of one or the other available for free, but both Sonar and Next are to be paid.

So...Bandlab is free. The apps for Iphone and Android is free.
But you say that a desktop app, called Next, would be a paid app.
What's the logic in that?
Bandlab do offer premium paid services but making music is free.

[chk071]

So...Bandlab is free. The apps for Iphone and Android is free.
But you say that a desktop app, called Next, would be a paid app.
What's the logic in that?
Bandlab do offer premium paid services but making music is free.

I'm not sure what you are trying to say.

[jinotsuh]

Mad at Gibson for what they did back in 2017? Believe it or not, I get it.

You sir, aren't rowing with both oars. Anyway, I am not nor have I ever been mad at Gibson, without getting to far into it, the blame lays squarely at the foot of Cakewalk, under Roland and then Gibson, Cakewalk lost money year after year after year, and as Mr Anderton himself said, Gibson was looking at Cakewalk once again loosing money, so they decided to shut it down. What would you do if a company under your control just kept loosing money hand over fist, year after year, loosing YOUR money. No the blame lies squarely at the feet of Cakewalk, for not being able to make a product that could succeed in the commercial market at that time. If you want proof, just do your search on my posts and you will find all the quotes, including links to where this is all being discussed, including Mr Anderton, who was at the time high up in Gibson the company, links to documents showing the looses under Roland, Documents from the Roland site itself, there is no avoiding the truth, it's all laid out there in black and white.

Second point, it never bothered me one bit what happened to Cakewalk, I jumped ship to Studio One in 2015, the shit hit the fan in 2017, I couldn't care less about it, I actually thought it was quite humorous.

But like I said, that's all in the past, this is the present and perhaps the future, so let it be, it's a clean slate for all, lets see how things unfold.

[flugel45]

... it never bothered me one bit what happened to Cakewalk, I jumped ship to Studio One in 2015, the shit hit the fan in 2017, I couldn't care less about it, I actually thought it was quite humorous.

Lol. You've ranted paragraphs in this very thread (not to mention OVER THE YEARS) on how CW is just the worst company ever for screwing you over, and when anyone calls you out on it, they're " a butt-hurt fanboi"...

Yeah, sounds exactly like someone who claims to be indifferent about it and that it's all in the past.

Tell you what, I'll stop posting in this thread if you will. Surely that would be a piece of cake for someone who "couldn't care less about it"?

[jinotsuh]

... it never bothered me one bit what happened to Cakewalk, I jumped ship to Studio One in 2015, the shit hit the fan in 2017, I couldn't care less about it, I actually thought it was quite humorous.

Lol. You've ranted paragraphs in this very thread

Could you please point out that ranting?, I can't seem to find it, apart from having to reply to you.

No, I will keep posting in this thread, you can do what you will. Until having to reply to you, all my replies hear were in answer to some questions and to correct some misunderstandings, and post about related discussions happening on other forums, all of which I will continue to do.

I have no problems with what I have posted in the past and take ownership of them, so you just post your little heart out, it doesn't really bother me, except I will just ignore it unless its about the current situation.

oh, and as you seem to have a comprehension problem, the "couldn't care less about it" was referring to when Cakewalk bit the dirt, reason being because as already mentioned, I had jumped ship 2 years before the event. Happy days

[jinotsuh]

For those who may want to get an early peek at what things look like, you can apply to be a beta tester, although I think there may be quite a line up from the folks at the Cakewalk forums, however you may be lucky. You can find the link/links on the main Cakewalk site where you can check out both the new upcoming products. Not sure if it's just for 'Next' or for 'Next' and 'Sonar"

https://www.cakewalk.com/

Looks like it's just for 'Next'

[JamminFool]

piece of cake

[jonljacobi]

Just took a first look at Sonar. New logo and the default color scheme is very reminiscent of Bitwig, which I like. Interface seems a bit cleaner, but it's still Cakewalk/Sonar. Many of the dialogs still have the old look. It's been a long time and I'm not that familiar, hence the rather vague report.

[jens]

How did you take a look at it when not even the new features have been announced yet?

[Trensharo]

Next seem interesting to me.
It is tightly integrated with Bandlab online resources.
Bandlab is free and i anticipate Next to be free too.

IIRC, it is planned to be free indeed. Pretty basic program though.

Yea, that's unfortunate, since anyone on macOS can just... use GarageBand and not have to deal with BandLab's [basically] Social Network. It actually looks quite a bit like GarageBand (but darker, which I kind of like).

I think Sonar would be more attractive if they brought it back into a decent price bracket and added in the bundled [Cakewalk] plug-ins and virtual instruments. Even moreso than Free. I feel like Free only works for products with mindshare advantage. Otherwise, it is sold as a disadvantage and a lot of people buy into that (rightly or wrongly).

I guess ditching the free version for a paid version sort of feeds into that sentiment, to some extent.

Being Windows-only is rough, though. There is actually quite a bit more competition on Windows than macOS - especially in the more budget price brackets of the software market. I have never understood companies that allowed their code bases to rot while staying Windows-only. It has only worked against them as Macs became more accessible and began trickling down-market.

I don't really see Cakewalk NEXT being "it." I do hope they are working on a macOS port of Sonar behind the scenes, though.