Well, it's kind of history repeating. Does anybody remember Emagic? And what happened to the Logic PC users? O.K., that was not really similar - but unfair to the users though. And remember what happened to Steinberg through the Pinnacle-Yamaha-odyssey. Of course they all ensured their users that nothing would go worse and how we all would benefit from the money those big players will pump into Steinberg. But in the end they fired many developers, led the support to the grave (as we say in Germany...), lost their technical leadership in the DAW market. Sorry Cakewalk for being suspicious but I just jumped in from Cubase. So let's wait and see what the future really brings und decide where to spend our money then.

But nevertheless I wish everybody at Cakewalk all the best! Really hope you all keep your jobs and they let you do great work in the future!!!

Wolfgang

Thanks, Cake. There's no hint of weakness or sense of subjugation in your message. That is most refreshing. Clearly, you are still your own entity.

I've been using Cakewalk software alongside Roland hardware for many years. I am a mere entry level consumer, a home hobbyist with modest discretionary income. You don't hear much from us types on this forum, yet I suspect we home-hobbyists constitute the majority of your software sales.
You guys, both you, Cakewalk AND Roland, made home recording possible for folks like me. I am VERY grateful for to both of you. While you have your eyes focused on big fish, I hope that in your alliance you have something in mind for us little fish, as well. The future of home recording looks bright; I do share your enthusiasm. I just hope folks like me aren't priced out of participating in it. All the best to both of you; Leonard

You are right about writing manuals at least cakewalk gives you tutorials to help walk you through the material. Im a Roland user started on a VS-880 went to a 1680 and upgraded to the 1880. Great stuff! There effects are great we will benefit from that, Own the BOSS GT PRO its like having all of boss effects in one box. They have really lush reverbs and great delays compressers arent to bad either. Its going to be like having your cake and eat it too! we will all benefit! as long as cakewalk does the software programing. cakewalk needs to stay cakewalk!

ORIGINAL: Marketing [Cakewalk]

Hey everyone,

I want to reiterate what Brandon was saying. This is a wonderful development for Cakewalk. Seriously, everyone here is psyched about the news, especially the long-time employees

We are staying in Boston. We will continue to develop stand alone software products as well as joint hardware and software products. We are not cutting our customer service or support. There are not going to be layoffs, especially of developers. As good a job as I think I am doing, I am quite certain that Roland's primary interest was NOT to acquire the marketing dept. We understand software much better than they do, so it was in their best interest to work more closely with us. If anything we will be adding people to our staff this year.

And all this speculation about us being financially on the ropes was pure hogwash. We maintained or gained market share against our competitors who were much better funded than we were. The music products industry was down 9% overall, yet we were profitable last year.

The truth is as Greg stated it. We've been working closely with Roland for years. As a result we've had some ideas, that Cakewalk could not do on our own. The funding Roland is providing will allow us to create and market some new joint products. It's going to be exciting stuff.

The people I know who work for Roland are some of the best people I know in the industry. They really care about music and musicians, and they are all happy to work for Roland. They are a great company with great products and I am happy we are associated with them. I think this is going to be my best year I have ever worked for Cakewalk, and I have been with the company since 1995.

Please let us know if you have any other concerns. We'll do our best to answer what we can.

Thanks,

Carl

Now that's more like it. That's what I wanted to hear. Hopefully it will be proven true.

The stuff that's been announced so far is interesting, but if I can, I'd like to put in a word for what my ideal outcome would be. It's kind of obvious--the development of PC expansion hardware tightly integrated with SONAR. PCI cards that run all of SONAR's bundled effects and VI's--VC-64, the new multiband EQ/Compressor, PerfectSpace, Rapture, Dimension, Boost 11, and so on. Interfaces, control surfaces, the whole nine yards. In other words, for Cakewalk/Roland to directly compete with Pro Tools--to play Microsoft to their Apple. Provide the same functionality at a lower price, aimed at the PC platform.

Fantom G & Sonar!!

I can't resist - I have to chime in. I use to work for a small software company; we made some great graphical spreadsheet software, and integrated packages – it was an exciting place to work. Then we were bought by a large database company, with its primary focus being UNIX based database servers. Over the next several years, one really great technology after the other was axed, so we could all work on ill conceived projects that that had no market. Then I went on to work at a very large software company (I won't mention any names) and I watched as smaller companies with great ideas and growing market share were gobbled up by the aforementioned large company; lots of people lost their jobs, products were either assimilated (reduced in scope and scale, and shoe horned into existing products) or killed off all together. I’ve seen this time and time again.

Don't get me wrong, I own a bunch of Roland stuff; the 1st guitar synth (GR-1), a VG-8, GI-20 etc., but my concern is that the folks in power positions at the parent company almost always win out. I curse my Tascam FW-1884 almost daily, but I don't want to be forced to scrape together money to buy a new fangled control surface from Roland that together with Sonar suddenly becomes the other Pro Tools. I have a lot of time and money tied up in Cakewalk products, and I really don't want to see development resources pulled from Sonar to work on Roland centric products that I will likely never own. If this is indeed a buyout, then there will be an effort to "streamline" the companies, which means some of the Cakewalk folks we have all come to love will be headed elsewhere. And you better believe that the days of a new version of Sonar every year will cease. Furthermore, start looking at the Cakewalk products that will likely land on the chopping block. I’m not making this up – it just happens. Could things happen differently, and Cakewalk loyalists reap the benefits of new and exciting integrated products – possibly; I certainly hope so.

I'm sorry this sounds so negative; it's based on my own observations as a member of the software industry for over 25 years. I hope I'm totally wrong. I prefer to eat my crow grilled, with a hint of lemon, garlic, and pepper.

From a concerned Cakewalk customer for over 12 years – someone please cheer me up!

I don't know, a surprising warm service makes me want to buy an Asus board!!

This is a wonderful development for Cakewalk. Seriously, everyone here is psyched about the news, especially the long-time employees

We are staying in Boston. We will continue to develop stand alone software products as well as joint hardware and software products. We are not cutting our customer service or support. There are not going to be layoffs, especially of developers. As good a job as I think I am doing, I am quite certain that Roland's primary interest was NOT to acquire the marketing dept. We understand software much better than they do, so it was in their best interest to work more closely with us. If anything we will be adding people to our staff this year.

And all this speculation about us being financially on the ropes was pure hogwash. We maintained or gained market share against our competitors who were much better funded than we were. The music products industry was down 9% overall, yet we were profitable last year.

The truth is as Greg stated it.

With all due respect to any of the CW "old guard" none of you is now in a position to pronounce confidently about the future. Roland is the majority shareholder so it has control. You will be around until either your usefulness to the corporation drops below the costs of keeping you (and the new guard plucks up the courage to "let you go") or you get frustrated by the difficulties of having a boss half-way around the globe (it gets wearing when you have to join video conferences at 2:00am your time, just when your boss is finishing lunch) and the burden of complying with corporate policies, initiatives, and information-gathering sorties that you neither understand nor have time to deal with. Something that you earlier would have done because it is "the right thing to do" you now can't do, because someone in corporate HQ has decided that all such decisions need to be made there - but they don't have the time or the specific knowledge to make the decision, so it doesn't get made and sclerosis sets in. These fracture points may be reached in weeks or years, but AFAICS they are always reached at some time.

Is my view of corporate real-politik jaundiced? Yes, but that doesn't make it invalid. And, of course, I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone at CW ... I like CW and its distinctive house-style and I shall be just as sad to see it go as many others in this forum. Roland may be a hugely enlightened corporation for all I know - but, if so, it is a rarity.

Your analysis is very logical and rational. However, history shows that corporate acquisitions and their aftermath are rarely ruled by logic and corporations cannot be relied upon to act rationally. I have lived through many such scenarios and they are characterised by many things in addition to logic and rational behaviour. Most have not been as successful as was expected (which is not to say that they have all been unsuccessful). Politics; greed; vanity; ignorance; the need to demonstrate early success; lack of a robust strategic justification for the alliance; cultural misunderstandings; misjudgement of customer reactions; inability to build trust between the partners; energy diverted into business process change and re-organisation; energy diverted out of innovation and market development; and many other factors can play into the process (not all with beneficial results!)

ORIGINAL: rchristiejr

Fantom G & Sonar!!

Sign me up! My favorite keyboard keyboard manufacturer teaming up with my favorite audio app.

Could be the next Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

Jon

I would love to see something like the Rolands VS units that both runs Sonar (must be upgradable so that it can take on new version of Sonar as they come out) AND works as a digital mixer AND sound card (just like the Digi003).

That would give us a KILLER stand alone unit, killer sound card, and incredible control surface.

Now that's something I would save up for and be sure to make the center of my studio.

nothing new in your posts.

... nor yours! So why did you give in to the temptation to join us?

ORIGINAL: Dappa1

The Famous line in the !

K sarar Sarar!!! (please...its not a spelling B)

Que Sera Sera

Whatever will be will be

My Edirol by Roland ROCKS!
SO do my Boss pedals!
and SONAR6 is alright with me too, I guess

Better for Cakewalk - better for you
Now get on the TTS1 and V Vocal enhancements

ORIGINAL: KevinD

There's a TON of buy-outs that happen daily that companies don't even publish .... probably to stop threads like this one.......


Just remember - Adobe + Macromedia = Goodness

Roland + Cakewalk = Larger market share, better for everyone hardware and software joined at the hip.

Macromedia would be an awesomer name than Adobe.

It's also important to remember that the music business is slightly different from most other industries. There tends to be a greater appreciation for the importance of creativity and freedom. I'm not necessarily saying Roland is the ultimate company in that regard, but in general, music companies recognize the perils of being too ruthlessly profit-driven. They have to create products that will sell to creative people. If they don't cater to the customers they'll get a bad reputation, and eventually they'll be toast.