Any Cakewalk/Sonar users?

[Awats]

Not any more. I really like it but it’s not worth the rental only terms. There are several worthwhile alternatives.

I’m using Reaper now.

[flugel45]

It's main for me, good old Sonar Artist.

I have bought Samp ProX8 and dived into a bit, but still too many awkward things to really start projects there.... have licenses for StudioOne 4.x, Reaper 4.x and Cubase 9.5.
- when Presonus make a reality check on policies and fix certain things I might get StudioOne in future.

Long time Cakewalk/Sonar here as well, and was also put off by the rental only deal. Glad to see someone else using an older version of Sonar as their main DAW.

I'm currently using my second (third?) choice, Mixcraft, which does the job, but I miss the old Sonar look and workflow.

If I may ask, are you finding Sonar reasonably stable? I've been considering going back to Sonar Platinum, but am worried it may no longer be reliable enough as my main DAW. That said, I'm no power user, and would be using it for basic MIDI and audio. Even back in the day, I probably used only 5% of its features, and never experienced any of the bugs reported by others.

Are you on Win 10? Win 11? TIA.

[lfm]

If I may ask, are you finding Sonar reasonably stable? I've been considering going back to Sonar Platinum, but am worried it may no longer be reliable enough as my main DAW. That said, I'm no power user, and would be using it for basic MIDI and audio. Even back in the day, I probably used only 5% of its features, and never experienced any of the bugs reported by others.

Are you on Win 10? Win 11? TIA.

I'm on windows 11 pro and it's all fine with stability.
- it's a 2015 version last updated feb 2016
- I did not renew for another year then

I had it freeze if I kept it going during a whole day and opening and closing projects like a dozen times or so.
- but remedy that with just doing a couple changes of projects before I exit fully to desktop and start Sonar again.
- no problem since doing that
- no problem working a full day on one project, it's something about changing projects
- I have the setting to just use one project at a time, not opening several a the same time

I have not needed to give any compatibility settings either, like if to run as windows 7 or 8 or similar.

I used challenge response offline on my old Cakewalk account, not using the central thingy installer.
- don't try to change any email on your account, contact Cakewalk to do that if needed
- the verification of new email does not work and account is in limbo otherwise

[Awats]

Personally, if someone wanted to continue with Cakewalk, I’d go with Cakewalk by Bandlab until they shut it off (which they will.) But for now it is much better and stable than the old Sonar. I have Sonar 8.02 that I can fall back on but Reaper is proving to be quite good. I just had to stop thinking in terms of Cakewalk methods.

Otherwise open the wallet and rent the new Sonar. Not worth it to me.

[clintmartin]

I've been a user since 2012 but I will not do the subscription thing.
For those interested in that, they currently have a black friday sale for $71 for a year.
 I'm trying to get used to Waveform 13 and hopefully make that my primary daw. I also keep Mixbus 10 current.
Waveform will probably be better for tracking and editing and it has ARA.
Cakewalk was my favorite. It's sad what they've done to it.

[sonidomolino]

another longtime Sonar user here, ended up running the majority of projects through it when the pandemic hit and grateful for the BL bailout and investment. The focus on core improvements was much appreciated vs. the glut of half-finished features and add-ons they used to promote.

the issue here is not the cost of the subscription, it's the uncertainty of putting commercial productions at risk on a platform with a record of multiple near death experiences. BLs complete lack of definitive communication on the topic has only fed the FUD.

and it's still a WIN only platform. the potential for x-platform support via Next was promising, but the lack of traction and clarity going forward coupled with an extra layer of admin for productive collaboration is not helping to make the case.

and ya, it's still about the $$. i'm building a network of remote session musicians to efficiently enable income across a range of collaborations. the plan is based on x-platform project templates to facilitate timely contributions for aggressive deadlines. the admin/cost associated with maintaining this capability under a subscription plan is a showstopper.

granted, hardly a typical use case but it's unfortunate as their workflow is probably the best fit for my needs. currently trying to pound Reaper into submission and create a portable install that won't traumatize my right brain crew... ymmv

[Chris Hawkins]

WOW - Thanks for the feedback guys.

Ahh the 'subscription' model. I am not a huge fan of it either. But I am starting to see many talking about 'Subscription Fatigue' so maybe the model will fade soon