Praise for Cakewalk over the years

I started out using Cakewalk when it was only midi, I don't remember the year.  Over the years i would make huge leaps in the versions for upgrading. I never participated much on the forums, as you can probably tell.  I know i had Pro Audio 3 and think i waited till Pro Audio 9 and then Sonar 3 and keeping current with the X3 series.  I recently went back and found some old bundle files from 1999, not sure what version they were from, but the first year i started backing stuff up. I opened them up in X3 with no problem, all midi and audio data was there and useable.  Of course i don't have the same hardware/software for the midi sounds so have to use the new gear and some tweaking but as can be guessed, it's mostly an improvement. the audio is just as i recorded it for better or worse.  Now with the new mixing/editing capabilities things sound much better on some very mediocre music lol.  Anyway, it's nice to be able to use the old files and bring them into a new era and to find out how compatible everything still is.  :)

yup . . . more praise here, I have Cakewalk projects spanning the decades that still open, and can be interpreted into the X3 version. Always nice to see how far we've come with digital audio, especially the ability to be reworking old recordings with the new plugins and technology of today's Sonar.
 
I'm able to open old .bun, .wrk, .cwb files from ancient CD burns without a hitch, with the software prompting me to update to my current midi and audio systems . . it just works, and I hope Cakewalk never abandons this approach in future versions.
 
I wasn't aware (as John points out) that Cakewalk may be one of the few DAWs who offer this long term backward compatibility . . . after all "Art is never finished, only abandoned" (Leonardo Da Vinci)
 

I just opened a old backed up Audio folder I had. The clips in it were from a song I did on CWPA 9. I was able to drag and drop the audio files into X3 and they acted just like any other clip.

So yes, this is something I take for granted. I thought all DAWs did this. Oh well, to bad for them. Must be a PITA!

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
Perhaps more impressive than backwards compatibility is forwards compatibility - for the most part you can open even brand new projects in earlier versions of the software dating back to 10 years ago. The newer feature content is discarded but the main clips and envelopes etc should load fine.

The first time I noticed this, it blew my mind because just about every program throws an error message along the lines of "This was created in a newer version, you need to upgrade." The forward and backward compatibility have made collaborating with other SONAR users a piece of...uh...cake.
 
And let me add my heartfelt thanks to all the people at Cakewalk. As any forum regulars know, I was using SONAR by choice long before the Gibson acquisition. I of course realize that different people have different needs, but for me, SONAR's strength is that it can handle such a wide variety of projects - I do narration, songwriting, audio-for-video, remixing/groove, live performance, library creation, and just regular ol' recording -  SONAR can deal with all of them.
 
No product is perfect and there will always be room for improvement. What I like most about Cakewalk is that the company is constantly striving to make those improvements. Just seeing the difference in stability and functionality between X1 and X3 speaks for itself.

I've mentioned this before on my other account, which I lost on a board transfer.  I had Cakewalk running on a Commodore 64.  I just opened up my earliest file (.wrk) that I could find which was dated in 1992, looks fine.  I know I can find some 5.25 (c-64) floppies if I try hard enough.  My previous discussions was about copying those files from various old media.  I told everybody there are people out there that make Floppy USB drives, even for non DOS formats.  I got one for my Ensoniq Mirage.  ...I don't feel like a fossil...   tee hee hee. 

dappa1
X series was a bold step but the best step for Sonar.

Wow, do I ever agree!! It took a lot of cojones to completely change a product line around and run the risk of alienating your core following. And from what I understand, a lot of users did drop by the wayside, and some are going to keep using 8.5 until their hard drive melts. But SONAR is picking up a lot of new users and "switchers;" I believe that would not be happening if X hadn't happened. 
 
The biggest difference to me was that the X-series made recording fun and fast again. 8.5 did what I needed to get a project done, and I knew my way around it. X1 wasn't there yet but showed promise, and I think X1d fulfilled that promise. X2 was a logical progression, but X3 was like discovering that your transmission actually had five gears, not three   It's one of the very few programs that puts a smile on my face just by opening it up.

My first Cakewalk purchase was v. 1.0 for DOS, on a single 4.25" floppy. I used it with my brand new Ensoniq VFX.

The next big change was Cakewalk for Windows (Win 3.11 at the time). I got that and upgraded through several subsequent versions. I remember getting on the Cakewalk Compuserve forum, where Greg Hendershott would show up from time to time.

Years later I became aware of Cakewalk Pro Audio (digital audio recording!) and picked it up. It was version 4, I think. I tried it out with the SoundBlaster that I had installed, and that was the beginning of a series of purchases that has never ended - audio interfaces, microphones, preamps, mixers, monitors, plug-ins. I have bought every single release of Cakewalk Pro Audio and SONAR since then.

My home recording adventures go back to two channel sound with sound machines and (the big leap forward) a Dokorder four channel tape recorder. I learned all kinds of strategies for getting along with four channels, explored the limits of bouncing tracks, etc. etc. I never dreamed of being able to do wihat can be easily done now with SONAR.

I imagine that it can all be done with other DAWs as well. But Cakewalk/SONAR is what I've learned on. And the learning curve has been especially steep with the X versions, because of their increased power. Collaborating with people using Protools is no problem, as I can export OMF files or just wav files. So although I am mildly interested in the competition, they would have to offer something very interesting indeed to get me to switch at this point.

I too got started with the Cakewalk Express that was offered free through Computer Music magazine. Then decided to upgrade to the 'Home Studio' version. When I went on-line to order the upgrade, Cakewalk actually gave me a discount for being an 'owner' of another version of their product.
 
Since then we have played around with other DAWs (especially the 'lite' versions that tend to come with any computer audio product you buy today) but I still come back to Cakewalk. Sonar X3 has really been a nice piece of software, and I learn more and more about it every time that I use it (and every time I come to these forums as well!).