I upgraded to X2 but could not / did not want to use it because of the graphical issues - so I have got no value for money on that product. I am still on X1
I don't think too many of the third party stuff in X3 is of much interest to me, as I either have  the full versions (Melodyne  / Addictive for instance) or I have alternatives I am quite happy with.
 
So US$149 to get X2 to work (hopefully) and perhaps a couple improvements such as ARA and VST3.
And of course if they have rewritten Sonar, the host of new bugs they will have introduced!
 
So If I buy X3 at another $149 just to get X2 to work properly (which I think was about $100) but when I install X3 I find another load of bugs that Cakewalk then WILL not address until the next paid upgrade........................the merry-go-round continues - me forever paying more and more for Software that is NEVER right.
 
I think the only way I would even consider X3 is if we had a WRITTEN commitment from Cakewalk / Gibson / Tascam that THEY WILL address and fix bugs free of charge.
 
I have been with Sonar for over 10 years I think it is now - Guitar Tracks then Sonar 3 - this new upgrade scenario  might just have made my mind up that X2 was a waste of money, X3 another waste of money and for the combined investment I could well have purchased and been learning an alternative. Sad days in my book.
 
I think if someone / anyone ( and I suppose it is Craig Anderton)  is going to rescue this situation, they really need to address the total foul up that was X2. Perhaps not foul up product wise, but foul up customer relation wise. Lets face it X1 was a bigger mess than X2 on launch, but they DID fix it.
 
I KNOW some people have no issues with X2, but many people do - some issue are not major, MANY are unrepeatable, but it's these nuisance non repeatable problems that make it a no go in my book.
And someone further back in this thread was surprised at the animosity - I'm not - whilst I won't be chaining myself to the  railings outside Cakewalk Head quarters, my silent protest will probably take the shape of a move away from Cakewalk products. And I bet many have either done this already or are thinking about it.
 
Mr Andertons challenge will be to rekindle some kind of confidence in Cakewalk products - that X3 will be made to work properly FREE of CHARGE for those who should buy it. If you buy it at the moment there is NO guaratee that you will not be asked to buy it again (as  X4) in a years time to correct the problems that will undoubtedly exist in X3.
Nigel
 
 

...I have been with Sonar for over 10 years I think it is now...- this new upgrade scenario might just have made my mind up that X2 was a waste of money, X3 another waste of money and for the combined investment I could well have purchased and been learning an alternative...
 
This pretty much echos my sentiments, although I've only been with Cake since Studio 6, so about 5-6-7 years. I've upgraded every time, usually at $99.00, whereby I jumped up to Producer @ 8.5.3 and so on.
 
I hesitated in getting X1 and when X1'd' came out, like others, I was finally satisfied & relieved.
 
I also went with X2a - but I too share the many feelings here that Cake dropped the ball on this one, literally punishing the 'faithful' with silence and inactivity, even knowing all too well just how many unhappy customers have been on the forums here - all the while quite comfortable in purposely & consistently ignoring them.
 
Myself, I have all the Nomad Factory plugs I want as well as Melodyne Editor - not Essential, which I got because Presonus Studio One had an upgrade path that I jumped on, since it was integrated right into their DAW.
 
In hindsight, I too wish I hadn't bothered with X2, and now consider it a waste of money that I could have spent on what I did recently, which is the full version of Cubase 7.
 
It already has VST3, and between that and Presonus Studio One and all the plugs I have, these 2 DAWs offer everything I need & more - one of them much much more. In fact, just seeing what Q7 has to offer is simply jaw-dropping! 
 
So while waiting for the 'silent bakers' to bring X2 'b,c & d', I was enticed by a much better option & so my investment has gone elsewhere.
 
What dollars I might or could have spent here went to Yamaha/Steinberg instead.
 
I've never paid full price for a DAW before, always using the LE versions & through the upgrade paths instead.
 
But paying full for Q7 seemed right and some 3 months later still feels right - even better.
 
They've done what I feel, [my opinion], Cake could have done, but didn't - which is actually 'listen' to their customer base AND then implement the changes/improvements, complete with now 6 - yup count 'em - 6 updates in only 8-9 months!
 
So as far as I'm concerned this is almost a 'slap in the face to the faithful' & should be all but 'free' [minus any 3rd party plugins of course] to all those who have been waiting ever so patiently for the 'X2 mess' to be cleaned up but never was. 
 
I'm with Bit on now being able to use all that I have already - in fact I have even more than I need.
 
Sorry Cake - but this $149.00 [up from the usual $99.00???] went to a competitor.
 
In fact, for just $220 more, I got their full DAW version plus their flagship instrument HALion 5 [priced at $349.00 alone].
 
Great deal for the money. Too good to pass up!
 
For those who do bite, I sure hope you'll not let them down this time.
Your customers neither deserve nor can tolerate yet another farce.
For the most part, they've been very patient and many seem rather forgiving already from what I've read so far, considering the audacity to be asking for even just $1 more dollar at this point. 

I bought Sonar 6 but stayed on 5, bought X2 for $49 but have stayed on X1d(e). I missed 8.5 because I didn't have a DAW for a few years. I'll just wait until they have the big sales. When X3 goes on sale, I'll buy, but stay on X1 until I see a reason to install it. I'm mostly still happy with X1 and don't really want to mess around with my DAW. I'd rather turn it on and know it's gonna work...
 
Regards,
Dan

Bah, nobody cares about that stuff. Do you know if the new tapesim reels spin while the transport is running?

Agree that Noel is a treasure trove of interesting Sonar information. The great thing about it is sometimes when the other Cakewalk guys have put up the cone of silence, Noel stumbles in blissfully unaware and answers stuff straight up. I wonder if the other guys get mad sometimes 

Your buddy is correct: Addictive Drums is pretty good. It may well be the best drum sampler any DAW comes bundled with. Expansion packs are reasonably priced and often on sale. 
 
It's not a selling point for me, and I expect it's not going to sway many others here, either. New users, though, are getting a good deal, as are old-timers who've been getting by with Session Drummer.

Jonbouy
I see Craig as the most likely person to steer a DAW manufacturer into creating what could be one of the most useable DAWs ever given his background of 'How To's' but I'm darned if I'm going to earnestly set about getting the matching face of a two year old minutes after he's been set free with a fine chocolate pudding any time soon...

About the only other person to best him would be Stephen St. Croix.
 
Is that brown-nosed enough for you?
 
Remember I have a pic of me an Craig at NAMM 2013 and it ain't photoshop'd.

drewfx1
I think I'll wait until CW at least, you know, actually announces it and puts up the web page before passing judgment.
 
They're always going to throw bundled stuff in to entice more people to upgrade, given that they're only being able to produce so much new code every year. I, like many here, certainly don't lack for plugins, but I also don't have to upgrade if the total package isn't attractive. And the trick for them is to try to make the total package attractive to the largest number of users.

Hey, we don't need any of that reasoned, sensible commenting here - take it somewhere else buddy !! ;)

I still have to upgrade my hardware in order to fully use X2!  I'll probably do that before I can even think about X3.  I've had a few distractions this year that delayed the hardware upgrade. 

Peter J

MachineClaw
 
I'm leaning toward Reaper / FL Studio.
 
I really just want to make noise, not have a bunch of stuff I have to learn workarounds because it's included.
 
So far reading the specs I'm not that impressed with X3.  guess it's a wait and see.

Hey Claw, I left the farm for awhile and did deep searching. I was *almost* settled on Reaper until I ran into some deal breakers. Don't like the FL Studio paradigm. Mixcraft was too Garage Band-y. Samplitude was too convoluted, Digital Performer was too obtuse. In the end, I came home to S2. Now I'm building a new DAW, *perfect* time for S3!

Yeah I'm not really positive about Reaper and FL Studio yet.
 
maybe *gulp* Cubase 7.
 
I'm very glad that Sonar X1d works solidly for me and I really don't HAVE to choose anything.  Just feature envy I guess.  Maybe Bitwig will answer all prayers (joking people, really joking).
 
The more I read the officially unofficial feature information Bakers post I'm more and more inclined to think X3 might be pretty damn cool - IF it works good.
 
This week I 've been running into hardware PC issues and thinking that it's actually time to invest in a production UBER PC.

bitflipper
 
Noel has already explained that V-Vocal will still work in X3. Marketing will never mention V-Vocal ever again. Noel has told us that comping will be a vastly improved experience. That's not mentioned in the feature list. He's said that plugin scanning is now transparent and automatic, that the Waves UI flickering has been resolved, that CW now owns the Bitbridge source - all factoids you'll never see in any print ads. 

I would get fired for marketing a feature that is no longer in the program :)

Not for X2 users http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/2895652

Day of launch and there's ALREADY an X3a....

That's scary...

Well, in knowing that this is Cakes FIRST attempt
at VST 3, ARA, and many other things, I'm prone
to believe that the bugs will abound...that's why
I'm not jumping RIGHT on the bandwagon, as I always
have before...

I'm waiting it out, and waiting for sale...$150 is too much (as far as I'm concerned)

carl

cclarry
Well, in knowing that this is Cakes FIRST attempt
at VST 3, ARA, and many other things, I'm prone
to believe that the bugs will abound...that's why
I'm not jumping RIGHT on the bandwagon, as I always
have before...

I'm waiting it out, and waiting for sale...$150 is too much (as far as I'm concerned)

I hope all the eager beavers are swift enough to remember to backup first before installing a major release.

ditt

carl

cclarry
Well, in knowing that this is Cakes FIRST attempt
at VST 3, ARA, and many other things, I'm prone
to believe that the bugs will abound...that's why
I'm not jumping RIGHT on the bandwagon, as I always
have before...

I'm waiting it out, and waiting for sale...$150 is too much (as far as I'm concerned)

I hope all the eager beavers are swift enough to remember to backup first before installing a major release.

[/quote)
 
Ditto that....