Sonar is free.

[paulred67]

https://www.soundonsound.com/news/sonar ... lk-bandlab

[Soeno]

it`s called Cakewalk by BandLab

[sdst]

BandLab should put the RE-2A for free

for a good promotion

I wonder if they know about the RE

[miscend]

Sonar is one of the DAWs I've never tried before. It might be worth giving it a shot, but I would have preferred if they made it open source like Blender. I'm not convinced that Bandlab are commited to giving it 100% full support because it's free and there's no way for them to get their money back.

[Oquasec]

Is this permanently free? I might be trying it out.

[Soeno]

Is this permanently free? I might be trying it out.

yes, 1st post ,QUICK UPDATE
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Cakewalk-By-B ... 43935.aspx

[Psuper]

Cakewalk (now sonar) was the first real pc-based DAW for the masses - it was THE big boy on the block even when ProTools took over the "pro" scene, minus the hardware. I loved it very much, DAW nostalgia to the highest, will never use again after the thousand+ projects I completely converted to RNSs.

If it became open-source I'd dig back in, however I certainly wish bandlab success . I have Reason and Reaper down and I'm good.

[esselfortium]

BandLab should put the RE-2A for free

for a good promotion

I wonder if they know about the RE

I hope the new owners can be convinced to put the RE-2A back in the shop. It's a great one.

[Loque]

Started sonar... Ieeek!... Closed sonar.

Tbh, iam more interested in the fx and content.

[QVprod]

Sonar is one of the DAWs I've never tried before. It might be worth giving it a shot, but I would have preferred if they made it open source like Blender. I'm not convinced that Bandlab are commited to giving it 100% full support because it's free and there's no way for them to get their money back.

I'm sure they will. Their own app (prior to the acquicsition) Bandlab is free so no difference there. Idea is to both get customers who cross-graded to other DAWs back as well as some new users who might try it out since there's no price tag. Then comes the things they will charge for. The CEO even mentioned future not free products on the cakewalk forum. http://forum.cakewalk.com/Cakewalk-By-B ... 43935.aspx

[avasopht]

How does it compare to Reaper?

[Oquasec]

Nice. It will be kept then.

[Psuper]

How does it compare to Reaper?

I stopped using Sonar after X1, always liked it (because cakewalk was my 'first'). I just found Reaper to be more worth my time - small footprint and I had Reason as my 'instruments'.

No traditional DAWs can compare to Reaper in the customizable/capability aspect - Reaper is absolutely miles ahead of current DAWS if you want to dig deep. Functionality, layout, etc all are similar to what you'd expect.

Reaper has always been about a low price entry point with constant updates and configurability. Their plugs are simple looking but powerful (think Kilohearts or other simplistic GUIs), and frankly I rarely use them as I do almost everything with Reason these days if possible.

I Respect Cockos immensely, they've always deserved my money -- they keep their customers happy and engaged, keep Reaper updated to be more than current, with all the bells and whistles incorporated into every configuration imaginable, and at a very low price. Plus the community is very strong and more mature than most.

[Oquasec]

vwFW

[miscend]

I downloaded it and tried it out yesterday. First impresions are that its a little bit janky. Even though I asked for the full install it didn't install everything, some content is missing, some track templates are not working as a result. Also it crashed on me when using the drag and drop feature - making me lose a half hour of work. The best feature so far is the Pro Channel - it sounds very impressive. And I like there's an integrated drum sequencer instead of piano roll for drum instruments. VST plugins are all automatically categorised for you as well.

Sonar (or Cakewalk as its now called) is definitely not as solid and stable as Reason. It's made me realise just how well engineered and thought out Reason is despite all it's short comings.

[Oquasec]

Decided to replace reason vst bridge with jbridge, workin better than I thought.

[aeox]

Reason/Reaper user.

I thought you were done switching DAWs? Last time you said that, you switched it to Reason/(something?)/Protools(for good this time) . Now you've switched again within a week or so!

Just teasing you but seriously.. I'm genuinely curious. Why do you switch DAWs so much? I only ask because I have always noticed your signature says you are using a different DAW every week or month.

[Oquasec]

Because each daw has their own bridge and rewire lets you choose any bridge.
Jbridge, stock bridge, other daw bridge etc.

Or I could call it a day and just 64 bit to 64bit jbridge, and 32bit to 64bit jbridge and use em like that.
Or just keep reaper for that too as well. But anyways enough trying methods out.

[swamptooth]

Sonar is one of the DAWs I've never tried before. It might be worth giving it a shot, but I would have preferred if they made it open source like Blender. I'm not convinced that Bandlab are commited to giving it 100% full support because it's free and there's no way for them to get their money back.

There are several ways to get their money back. This is 21st century economics, not 19th.
Cakewalk is basically a loss-leader.

[Ostermilk]

Yay!

I haven't updated since 8.5 as X1 was so bad it scared me away.

Splat without the froth.

Looks like these guys are getting a creative community together if they are offering Sonar...err, I mean Cakewalk by Bandlab as a means of participation, it sounds like they mean business.

That's a killer freebie to get Windows, not just Cakewalk users to get them to come and see what's going on.

As well, AFAICT. it looks like the CTO of Cakewalk is still about so there just may be some life in this ol' Grand Dame yet.

[CharlyCharlzz]

awesome , I never used that one so will try it out

[swamptooth]

Yay!

I haven't updated since 8.5 as X1 was so bad it scared me away.

Splat without the froth.

Looks like these guys are getting a creative community together if they are offering Sonar...err, I mean Cakewalk by Bandlab as a means of participation, it sounds like they mean business.

That's a killer freebie to get Windows, not just Cakewalk users to get them to come and see what's going on.

As well, AFAICT. it looks like the CTO of Cakewalk is still about so there just may be some life in this ol' Grand Dame yet.

FWIW and I don't know how this applies to the model but cakewalk has been huge in southeast Asia the last several years.
Dwindling in the states and moreso in Europe.

[clone]

I almost bought Sonar years ago. It's when I was deciding what software I should buy. It was between Live, Reason and Sonar. So I went with Reason 3.0

[Oquasec]

ableton edged fl studio out barely as my permanent

[esselfortium]

ableton edged fl studio out barely as my permanent

I'm not sure why any of this is in the Sonar thread, but while we're here, I've been watching the changes to your signature over the past few weeks and I think you and I may have different definitions of the word "permanent"...