Another Lifetime Updates user very, very disappointed.
 
I have been with Cakewalk for decades. This is the most stable version of Sonar that I have experienced. An excellent product. Very disappointed and a bit annoyed with this decision - I suspect they had this in mind for some time. Takes our money and runs.
Seems crazy to ditch such a good product with such a loyal fan base. Not surprised then that Gibson are in trouble.
 
This User Forum has also been an excellent place to use and contribute - people are so knowledgeable, helpful and respectful with it.
I feel sorry for so many who have been let down - both customers and the staff who have lost their jobs.
 
All that said, I wish you all a great Christmas and better things to come.
 
JCB

458 has signed the petition to make Microsoft help us out.

deswind
[I know.  I have been using Platinum and trying out Cubase today.  I do not want to make this a Cubase thread.  But let me say that there is a lot about Platinum that I took for granted.] 

Well I should of known when Roland sold them to Gibson and knowing Gibson's history as trashing good comapnies should of sent signals. However it seemed that it was a good move for Sonar. When the lifetime updates were offered for $99, that should've sent an alarm off but I and others got blindsided by "too good to be true". We feel right into the trap. I don't blame Sonar. I believe their intent was real, however Gibson on the other hand had no intention of honoring a "lifetime" deal. We all drank the kool-aid and got poisoned from it.  Getting Microsoft to buy Sonar and turn it into a subscription like Office is not for me. Like the jilted lover, I don't think I can trust the future of Sonar anymore. I need to move on while others are luring me to their DAW. Cubase with Sweetwater's deal looks very tempting.


Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye but one has to move on.

I'm just reading it and am very shocked.
Been using it around ten years now and it's the only DAW I've ever loved.
Also all my sympathy for all you folks at Cakewalk, I whish you all the best and good luck with everything to come.
 
As for Gibson or anyone responsible for the pricing/sales/marketing etc. , might I suggest a sincere effort to accomodate the 'lifetime' upgraders like myself.
Maybe it was too good to be true, but you made it look so and that makes it your responsibility.
The least you could do is hand out some licenses of CW products not yet owned.
If you've stopped selling them and we all know a financial reimbursement (which most likely would be our right under consumer laws in most of the countries you've sold in) this would seem like a fair, smooth and virtualy costless way to do right by your loyal customers.
 
Having aired my angry feelings in regard to this mostly sad and unfortunate situation, I would like to also add to the positive whishfull thinking about a new possible future.
 
As I've read in one of the comments, a "Steve Jobs" might be pulled and they would arise from the ashes like a Phoenix.
 
When I read the news and was digesting everything, the same kind of idea arose in my hopeful mind.
I really hope Cakewalk will persevere and come back from this stronger than ever before.
 
It is suggested here more than once partnering with MS might be an option, but I was thinking someone else.
Why not try and get Google interested ?
There are so many great apps and hardware for Apple.
It is very frustrating to a small time musician/producer like me who really doesn't want to buy Apple products.
I've been thinking at times even to buy an iPad just because, but more than that I'm thinking why no one is bold enough to start hoggin' on the Android pie ?
 
You can keep Cakewalk going for PC, make it functional for Chromebooks and make, just like 30yrs ago, professional music software available on a platform where it (virtualy?) doesn't exist.
Another good thing is that Google isn't exactly short on cash :)
 
Wouldn't it be great if they could be convinced it's about damn time Android took audio serious?
This could mark the beginning of  a new age where anyone with a tablet or smartphone, rather than just those with an iPad or iPhone, could start making music with professional tools and in likewise quality.
 
Anyways, that all might be whishfull thinking, still I really hope and will keep hoping this end will lead to a new beginning for Cakewalk/Sonar.
Now, like anyone with a Cakewalk heart out here, I'll just be letting it sink in more and be sad about this.
 
Best to all of you...
 
 
 
 
 

If it were any kind of option - I would volunteer whatever time I could, as a programmer, to develop fixes for any portion of Sonar that would break for some upcoming Windows maintenance, just to be able to keep Sonar alive and working, in its current functional state.
 
I am quite sure other coders among us would also likely be willing to devote their resources for the minor tweaks that will at some point need to be made to keep Sonar working in an active Windows environment (meaning Windows being allowed to be maintained, versus us keeping a dedicated computer 'frozen in time' (disconnected from internet)  to keep Windows and Sonar working together).
 
Anyways - were such an option available, I would absolutely commit my time to performing such maintenance to Sonar as needed to let it continue working with Windows moving forward.  I have 38 years of programming experience.
 
Bob Bone

Savij
Not sure if anyone is monitoring these forums anymore, but this morning I put in an email to support. I am trying to get a name and phone number (and/or email) to discuss the possibility of open sourcing Sonar. Here is a copy of my support ticket: 

Hello,
I would like to inquire about the future of Cakewalk Sonar. I understand that Gibson is spinning down operations for the DAW products and I would like to talk to someone about open sourcing the project. I am a Senior Software Engineer and would be interested in leading the discussion. I know this would be a big decision and would have to happen at a fairly high level within the company, but if the plan is mothball everything DAW related, then open source should be at least considered.
 
As an open source project Sonar would be one of the most polished open source software titles in existence. Gibson would also join the ranks of companies like Redhat, Mozilla (FireFox), Facebook (React) and Google (Angular) to name a few that support the open source movement. It would also say a lot with regard to how people are treated when the company had to sunset a product that musicians, professionals and most of all customers count on. With little effort on Gibson's part, people will feel included rather than left out as things spin down.
 
Thanks for your time and efforts on a great product. Please get me a name, phone number and email so that I can present some possible options to letting Sonar live on as free open source software. I love the product and I'm sure I could get a lot of support behind the initiative!
Thanks,
Jeff Noble 
 

If anyone can get me this information I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
-Savij

robert_e_bone
If it were any kind of option - I would volunteer whatever time I could, as a programmer, to develop fixes for any portion of Sonar that would break for some upcoming Windows maintenance, just to be able to keep Sonar alive and working, in its current functional state.
 
I am quite sure other coders among us would also likely be willing to devote their resources for the minor tweaks that will at some point need to be made to keep Sonar working in an active Windows environment (meaning Windows being allowed to be maintained, versus us keeping a dedicated computer 'frozen in time' (disconnected from internet)  to keep Windows and Sonar working together).
 
Anyways - were such an option available, I would absolutely commit my time to performing such maintenance to Sonar as needed to let it continue working with Windows moving forward.  I have 38 years of programming experience.
 
Bob Bone

I suggested this earlier in this thread, and I would be more than happy to devote my time to help maintain Sonar. I've got around 35 years programming experience.
 
Even if Gibson didn't want to make Sonar open source, they could always get us to sign an NDA.
 
Mark.

476 signatures on our petition.
 
Microsoft! Rescue us Cakewalk, Sonar and Music Creator user! Gibson has pulled the plug. @Microsoft #SAVECAKEWALK
[link=https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/microsoft-please-rescue-cakewalk-and-sonar-out-of]https://www.ipetitions.co...ewalk-and-sonar-out-of[/link]

gcurrie 
On hopes that Sonar will be somehow sold off:
I'd personally love to see this happen, but from what I have experienced of product and technology killings (a LOT) the time to try and sell IP is BEFORE any announcement. Afterwards the value moves significantly closer to zero. 

 
I agree. I worked for 30 years in the corporate s/w development world and went through quite a few M&A's. Believe me, if Gibson could have gotten something for Cakewalk they would have. They are shuttering it to save $. Cakewalk is clearly a loser, costing more in salaries, facilities and other overhead than it generates in revenue. 

Sylvan

Jarsve
401 signatures
 
https://www.ipetitions.co...ewalk-and-sonar-out-of

I want to sign this but can whoever made this re-write it to correct the grammar and spelling issues? I am not trying to be a punk here, but in order to be taken seriously we should put forth our best effort. I feel that if someone from Microsoft that has any kind of authority to actually do something about this reads this page with the poorly written English (grammar and spelling issues,) they will immediately get the impression that this is not very serious.


Please, let's do this right. Fix the poorly written English.
 
Thank you,
-Charles

Wow! 450 people signed it? This is embarrassing! Somebody, please, write meaningful text! Obviously who ever wrote this has very limited English vocabulary and English skills! I would say- take it off the web until it is completely rewritten, preferably by someone with at least high school education. Thank you. 

daveny5
This really is sickening. I just wrote a soundtrack for a short film for a charitable organization using Sonar. When Sonar no longer works, I will have to buy something else after all the money I sent to Cakewalk. I really feel like I've been screwed. So whereas I feel bad for the people who developed the product, I don't care for the greedy bastards that are pulling the plug on it. I hope Gibson's management rots in hell. I will never own another Gibson product. Besides, Strats are better.

Hey Dave,
 
Hadn't seen you post in a while. I totally agree about Gibson. Of course, I am the Stratman   :-) 

robert_e_bone
If it were any kind of option - I would volunteer whatever time I could, as a programmer, to develop fixes for any portion of Sonar that would break for some upcoming Windows maintenance, just to be able to keep Sonar alive and working, in its current functional state.
 
I am quite sure other coders among us would also likely be willing to devote their resources for the minor tweaks that will at some point need to be made to keep Sonar working in an active Windows environment (meaning Windows being allowed to be maintained, versus us keeping a dedicated computer 'frozen in time' (disconnected from internet)  to keep Windows and Sonar working together).
 
Anyways - were such an option available, I would absolutely commit my time to performing such maintenance to Sonar as needed to let it continue working with Windows moving forward.  I have 38 years of programming experience.
 
Bob Bone

Even in case there can be  2-4 programmers in "Sonar maintenance team". Look at that seriously and realistic...
 
1. Sonar is not homogeneous one team developed program. It for sure use a dozen of components. One well known, since exposed, is iZotope. Some for sure require license fees to use (I mean to continue develop with them). There can be something with already unmaintained/expired license agreements, may be even without the source code nor the person to contact (that can be a good explanation why CW was not touching some questionably working core engine parts for years...).
 
2. There will be some direct maintenance costs: signing certificates, bug tracker, repository, etc. At the moment the community is "brave" with posts "We are ready to invest extra $$$" (looking precisely, more like $$ or down to $...). Who ever was a part of a community with an order of $100 per month maintenance (f.e. some Online Game Clan) knows how good such idea works.
 
3. How many huge projects you know which are alive, suitable for pro use and not coordinated by an organization which has at least some money flow (commercial, sponsors, etc.)? Which organization can take this role for Sonar and why?
 
4. There are several concurrents. Imagine Sonar is Open Source or free to use and well maintained. I can imagine that will damage DAW industry even more then dropping prices on DAWs by Apple...
Now think it is not Open Source nor free. But not commercial. That means continuous reduction of users while increasing maintenance (new VS and Windows version will introduce more and more incompatibilities).
 
So, if you are going to develop something for a DAW, see you on the the "dark side" (Reaper, the only other DAW which allows that, Mixcraft will not, Cubase/S1 has not answered yet but have a good reason to not allow that as well).