Cakewalk Sonar Platinum is now free!

[dellboy]

Whatever the psychology involved it is becoming clear that once something is free it loses its perceived value for many people.

Is there any reason to believe that if Cubase, Logic, Live, or any other expensive daw was to follow suit and declare itself free then its former appeal would largely be diminished ?

[Zexila]

Whatever the psychology involved it is becoming clear that once something is free it loses its perceived value for many people.

Is there any reason to believe that if Cubase, Logic, Live, or any other expensive daw was to follow suit and declare itself free then its former appeal would largely be diminished ?

I wouldn't pay anything for this DAW or even consider using it, so free is good value for it and they have chance to have me using it, easy as that.

Sonar was underdog and Cakewalk was brought from dead, let's get reality check on this, plenty of user base jumped ship already, this DAW can't do any worse than this, being Cakewalk best free DAW is actual achievement.

[chk071]

Will, for me, I was thinking about giving it a try, but, nah... I really need another DAW like a fifth wheel on a car. And, reading what is being posted here, I think I can pass without regrets.

[festeringheap]

Cakewalk was brought from dead, let's get reality check on this, plenty of user base jumped ship already...

I keep hearing this from some forum posters, but what actual proof do you have that "plenty" of users have jumped ship?

[jsp1979]

Cakewalk was brought from dead, let's get reality check on this, plenty of user base jumped ship already...

I keep hearing this from some forum posters, but what actual proof do you have that "plenty" of users have jumped ship?

If you're looking for actual evidence of virtually any claim, then you've come to the wrong forum.

[Steve Bolivar]

Whatever the psychology involved it is becoming clear that once something is free it loses its perceived value for many people.

That plus an inherent hostility towards Cakewalk/Sonar in some people is really bringing out the hate. It just got re-released and someone is already prophesizing it's future as abandonware. Bandlab bought a fully functional DAW that lots of people use, dumped the corporate bloat and brought in some of the core development team to continue development. Bandlab itself is a very small company personnel wise. Maybe they're giving it away for free because it's part of a larger business plan that we don't know about. This isn't some shitty investment capitol firm that just wants to make a quick buck. People should be rooting for them to succeed and bring more innovative technologies to the DAW table. I'm not saying Cakewalk is the only innovator in the DAW game, they are not. But having more successful DAWs competing is a good thing for the end consumer.

It's not like they bought DubTurbo or Magix Music Maker to market to their users. Those are crap and should be free or the user should be paid to use them. If Bandlab had no interest in keeping Sonar going and developing it they just would've gone with something like DT or MMM. I'm not a Sonar fanboy. I did have a lifetime license but moved to Waveform during the great Fall of 2017 Migration. I hope they make it because that gives me one more option to move to or use alongside whatever my current DAW is in the future.

[toonertik]

Whatever the psychology involved it is becoming clear that once something is free it loses its perceived value for many people.

Would we have Ableton's clip launcher if Cakewalk's Project 5 didn't bring it to the table first? I'm not saying Cakewalk is the only innovator in the DAW game, they are not.

Erm what!!!
The clip launcher was introduced in Project 5 version 2 in 2005...
I rather think Ableton had clip launching in Live somewhat before that!!!
Anyway, as I remember it... Cakewalk did not design P5... they bought it in from another developer

[dellboy]

Would we have Ableton's clip launcher if Cakewalk's Project 5 didn't bring it to the table first? I'm not saying Cakewalk is the only innovator in the DAW game, they are not. But having more successful DAWs competing is a good thing for the end consumer.

I am sure you already know this but Project 5 is partially implemented inside Sonar. The Matrix clip view is a great way of playing around with clips and loops. Personally I am not interested in pre-recorded clips, but making your own is as easy as recording something with a microphone or guitar and dragging the resulting clip into a matrix cell. It can then be triggered as per Live or Bitwig.

[dlawlis]

I learned all about MIDI on Cakewalk back in college, so I'm pretty tempted to try this out. I just wonder what the future holds as far as updates and further improvements (not to mention availability) are concerned.

Speaking of availability, I see that Z3TA is no more. I've never used it, but I find it a little sad when a soft synth disappears from the market completely (VAZ Modular comes to mind). At least with hardware synths their availability lives on in the used market.

[Nielzie]

I find it a little sad when a soft synth disappears from the market completely (VAZ Modular comes to mind)

Yeah, such a shame about the developer not selling the VAZ Modular anymore. And I don't understand the reason behind it. He stated on his website back then (and still does) that it was/is because of the UK/EU cross-border VAT regulations that changed in 2015, but it's the only one of the many small EU companies that I know of that ceased selling because of that reason since then. Weird and very unfortunate!

[brozobob]

I've noticed that the Boutique & Engineering Suite effects aren't available under their normal spots. I can only access them through the Audio Effects/Prochannel/Effects chains. They don't seem to be available on their own, only part of a chain. Any workarounds? I might just load up my version of X3 and see if everything falls into place, but wondering if anyone noticed these effects missing as standalone's.

[Steve Bolivar]

Whatever the psychology involved it is becoming clear that once something is free it loses its perceived value for many people.

Would we have Ableton's clip launcher if Cakewalk's Project 5 didn't bring it to the table first? I'm not saying Cakewalk is the only innovator in the DAW game, they are not.

Erm what!!!
The clip launcher was introduced in Project 5 version 2 in 2005...
I rather think Ableton had clip launching in Live somewhat before that!!!
Anyway, as I remember it... Cakewalk did not design P5... they bought it in from another developer

Oops! You are right. Sorry to sell AL short on that innovation.

[Woodgardens]

Maybe I read something wrong, but I thought Ableton session view was there from scratch:

https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech ... ive-357837

[husker37]

Cakewalk was brought from dead, let's get reality check on this, plenty of user base jumped ship already...

I keep hearing this from some forum posters, but what actual proof do you have that "plenty" of users have jumped ship?

Anecdotal only, but I was very active on the Sonar forums in the November/December timeframe. When the announcement hit, a good portion of the userbase (myself included) bought another Daw. Whether or not they totally abandoned Sonar (as I did) is unknown.

[Zexila]

Cakewalk was brought from dead, let's get reality check on this, plenty of user base jumped ship already...

I keep hearing this from some forum posters, but what actual proof do you have that "plenty" of users have jumped ship?

If you're looking for actual evidence of virtually any claim, then you've come to the wrong forum.

Exactly, it's just mine personal worthless opinion based on what I think reality is from my own understanding of things, I saw enough people around here and based opinion on that.