Since the last news I'm feeling - should i continue using Sonar X3 or not? If Sonar will be bought by any other company I'm ok with that. But if not should i consider to stop using it?

 

Does it still do what you need?

 

I will continue using it until it is no longer feasible to. For example if VST4 comes out or something like that.

 

during June 2016, just out of curiosity I started thinking about MacOS, as Cakewalk announced Sonar4Mac,

in the end of 2016, I started my transition towards Reaper, as I was so much happy with MacOS I wanted to learn a reliable multiplatform DAW,
by that time I was using Sonar Platinum as my primary DAW workstation in my recording studio, but in my mixing+mastering studio I configured hackintosh workstation (dualboot with Windows 7 on another drive) where I started using Reaper but I could go back to Sonar Platinum and Sonar X3 with any older unfinished projects, also I figured out the Sonar4Mac was just a lie (well, just a Windows version packed into a MacOS app, which was a clear sign of development problem),

then in July 2017, I finally got a pristine-condition second-hand MacBook Pro 13 (mid-2012) and so I could finish my move towards MacOS and Reaper workflow as a whole, I realized there is absolutely nothing holding me on Sonar, plenty things actually work much more reliably in Reaper (timestretching transients or tracks, batch export/rendering and countless other things), also I figured out for my needs there wasn't any more efficient DAW to start learning,

by now, I don't regret leaving Sonar and Windows at all, especially when I learned the great plugins I used in Sonar are crossplatform (Overloud Breverb, TH3 etc..) and even the next-gen ARA2 Melodyne integration is now scheduled in Reaper as soon as Celemony releases new version of Melodyne,

from a little different point of view, if you're happy with the DAW as you have it by now, and have a stable running workstation, I don't see a reason to throw it away, unless it lacks features you need - in which case you should consider learning some other DAW, as it's not likely Sonar would advance at all...

 

if it works why stop using it? im sure it will be bought out by another company and marketed a different way, camel audio was bought by apple and logic still has alchemy, so the question is, if it still do what you need it to do as a DAW then keep using it, it dont matter if no more updates will be available, as i have said before without repeating myself, a DAW is a DAW, you are the creater the DAW is the tool to allow you to do that

 

My bet would be native instruments will have a look into it,
it all comes down to the books ,if it makes they takes or someone will jump on it
There was something posted here before about NI getting funds last year
as they say time will tell all

 

U can use it but the case is What gonna happen after 2 ,3 years...cause things get update like Windows and macos will the sonar still work like today! And if there is any bugs even bugs in sonar how u gonna work with a daw that never update! So this things u must thing about!

My opinion. ..no matter if sonar will change owner or not. its a dead daw..allways have been!

Thats why they are where they are today!

 

Yeah, after the "dawn of the dead" now we have the "dead daw" situation. Windows will get updates and most likely your compressors will vanish and your channel strip will vaporize.
Well...I can argue from here to eternity there is nothing such as a dead daw. Too many brain dead peeps for sure though.

 

I have been using Sonar/Cakewalk since Cakewalk 1, when I heard the news about discontinuing it, I figured I would use it until it would no longer work, which I will probably do. However, I took this as an opportunity to broaden my horizon a little, and I installed the latest version of Reaper, (last time I fired it up was version 3.x). I am glad I did because it really is an awesome DAW. I have been exploring it's capabilities and I am very happy so far. I will still use Sonar as my go-to, but I will switch to Reaper whenever the need arises.

 

If your brain is dead I dont take responsibility.

My meaning with dead daw was not that way.

Its about selling..not much costumers. .buy that daw
If nobody buy your product normal its dead..

 

If a daw already works for someone, they already got over the software bugs, if there are any. Bugs and ommissions always comes with the software territory, users learn to overcome them unless they are critical.
For what it's worth i 've always encouraged my friends to learn as many daws as they can, in case they reach an inevitable point where they have to switch. But this choice, is about what a user needs not what a daw is capable of. A user's switch is dictated by their own personal approach to music making/mixing etc. If they feel another daw is more close to what they need they should go for it. Fear of no updates very rarely kept people from using their favorite soft and should not be a major concern.
(As of Nov 2017 42.5% of the people still use Win7 and Win 10 is at 41.3%:
http://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide )
I remember the same talk about Cool Edit and then Adobe happened and Cool Edit became Audition. Ex-Sonic Foundry/ex-Sony Acid Pro last version was released 9 years ago, since last year it's owned by Magix who announced Acid Pro 8, a 64bit- Vst3 version tbr in spring. I am confident that sooner or later someone will acquire the Cakewalk ips because despite what some say, Sonar has quite the following in legit users and it has always been at the top 10 DAW countdowns/shootouts in all related media and many studios around the world.
Cheers

 

If the DAW still workable, use it. But at the same time, learn to use other DAW as well. If you can afford a second DAW, why not just live with 2 DAW or more instead of one.

I have been using and loyal to Sonar for about 15 years now. But since the end of 2016, I have jump ship to Studio One 3. And I'm happy with Studio One 3. Just because it runs smoother on my system and my workflow improves tremendously with Studio One. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Sonar is bad nor worst, I love Sonar. It just as I'm getting better and my workload demands more commitment, I can't afford to deal with something that slows me down. But I still keeping Sonar for open up old projects, or sometimes use it for recording or arrangement upon client request.

I hope Cakewalk will take the initiative to make Sonar better for future endeavor. Especially make it run smoother in every aspect, like plugin manager, audio pool, screen logistic, simple GUI organization, and CPU usage.

 

No, it's not about this actually. It's about mismanagement by Gibson.

 

Hi. I think you should not worry because Sonar X3 features are more or less likely similar to what you can do with any other major DAW (e.g. recording, audio/midi editing, automation, mixing, mastering, etc). With ARA support, I think Sonar X3 will remain decent until VST4 exist.

 

Haha dont belive everything that u read! Be little smart.
Gibson is more smartere than us.they see no big business with sonar thats why they stop it.

Do u think if it was good busiess and much costumers buy sonar everyday,they will stop it?

I work in a music instruments shop .we sell many daw.trust me...bitwig sell more than sonar!bitwig 3 years old

 

Ouch! Not certain that I deserve that admonition.

I've sort of based my opinion on what I've seen here, and other production forums.
Sonar seems to have a lively following from what I've witnessed. Bitwig, not so much.
Granted, I'm not in a retail environment and definitely not a bean counter (accountant).
As for Gibson being smarter, I'd say I look to recent feedback regarding their instrument line. At one point they were making a superior product both in terms of craftsmanship and quality. Not a lot of people purchasing their currently made instruments, inferior quality being the most predominate reason. I had no reason to suspect that Cakewalk would be improved by such a company that has lost a grip on an already successful instrument lineup.
Doesn't mean the DAW itself was bad to begin with.
Have you used it yourself?
Some people like Coke, some prefer Pepsi. Successfulness of either depends on a lot of factors. Marketing primarily.

 

dont u understand what i write!!!...im a seller and user.when u sell u must know what u sell.

i don't say its bad daw...its have been out around over 15 years...sonar and cubase is the oldest daw

can u compare cubase with sonar??

its not the daw that make music...u make it...its just a tool .

but like u said....some like coke som like pepsi...but in the end is always a winner!

 

20 years ago, people asked the same question about Opcode Studio Vision. Now how many people use it? None!
You will switch for sure. It's just a matter of when. I'd say the sooner the better.

 

Bitwig 2 was released about 10 months ago. Version 2.2 was out about 3 months ago. What is it you sell again?

I own both and i have done comparisons many many times. I prefer Sonar for creation and Cubase for multitrack editing/mixing. But they are both very powerful, complete and feature rich daws. For me, Sonar Platinum's software pack was a better deal for the money than Cubase Pro because it came with a ton of original top software like Addictive Drums, Melodyne etc.

Sure, they bought Cakewalk 4 years ago and now they discontinued all their soft products. Very smart. The only "smart" (meaning devious) thing they did is the subscription payment method they scammed their Sonar clients with, which may eventually lead to a mass lawsuit.
And to sum it, even Apple had rough times with Logic which is favored by many proffesionals in the industry and it was them who kept Apple from discontinuing their premiere DAW.
https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac...igital-audio-pros-fear-logics-future-3413212/
And another -not exactly related but- funny post is here:
https://whogavethemmoney.com/2015/1...t-want-to-use-final-cut-pro-x-or-logic-pro-x/
All major companies report RnD costs a lot, especially for old ips which mainly sell upgrades. Even for Avid, the largest audio soft company globally, half of their audio line's net revenue, is made from services not actual product sales.

Hehehe, funny thing you mention another one of those Gibson "smart" moves, in that case it was even dumber than Cakewalk's cease of operation: In 1998, Gibson bought Opcode only to close it down in '99. So much for the first ever DAW, best midi Librarian soft and top hardware line. Imho, the "suits" in Gibson are so "smart" they make a chimp look like Einstein.
Luckily, that was not the case with Zicarelli's other ip, MAX which started commercially in 1989 when he licenced the academic version from IRCAM and continues to develop it with his company Cycling 74. Live users and others enjoy flexibility and new made custom tools all the time with MAX integration.

 

Just looked up that Cakewalk One came out in 1987 (DOS version). So it's been in the trenches for just over 30 years!
I've only been a user since the Windows days. About 25 years or so, but not in any way consistently.
I just recently looked at Reaper and will likely start learning it in the event that Sonar doesn't get picked up by anyone else. Seems it's a tweaker's dream in the DAW world.
It's my hope that someone will take the reigns and continue development. Maybe Acustica and a cool built in Nebula implementation, haha. We can all have dreams, right?