All this talk of GUI problems - an open letter

Sorry to wade in here folks, but with all this talk about things that are wrong with S6, I just had to post- and, mind you, I don't post here often.

I'm a professional musician by trade- a session bassist to be exact- with lots of years on both sides of the console, both as a player and as a producer/engineer. I've been a fairly devoted use of Cakewalk products from way back in the Pro Audio 8 days, and have spent lots and lots of time with other apps from ProTools (before they were owned by Digi, in fact), Cubase, Logic, Samplitude, Vegas- pretty much whatever's out there- and I actually started my career out with the dreaded 2" analog machines, a pile of razor blades for editing, some strong nerve and a good stiff drink.

At any rate- I'm not touting my experience to say that I know better about anything necessarily- I just know what works for me- and I have to say that S6 has been the single biggest leap forward of any Cakewalk product I've seen to date. So much so that I honestly think that if Cakewalk keeps going the direction that they have been going and continue to innovate and release things like the new Sonar interfaces, etc., along with the true innovations that I've seen with my last 2 days of S6PE use, they're really gonna start giving Digi a run for their money.

I had some fairly serious issues with S5PE right from the start. Most notably, my brand new machine that I bought from JSChild on this forum would suffer random lockups and BSOD's during S5 use. There were items that I thought got missed from S5 that seemed like things that should have been there, given the times and what was going on in the marketplace in competing products: naming your I/O; screen customizations; better control surface support; better handling of some menus and plugins, etc. The problems I had were getting severe enough to where I was actually considering making the jump to the dreaded ProTools/DP/Mac snafus I've seen and worked through in other studios, and decided that perhaps my investment in Cakewalk was worth one more try with S6PE. (Hey- it's $179, right? How bad can it be?)

Man! Am I glad I did. Within just a few minutes of install, I noticed a gigantic improvement. No crashes- no weird latency issues- solid performance. Audio Snapping, Clip Locking, Customizable Menus and Layouts, I/O naming- good lord! It's all there!!!!

Yeah- the GUI is different. Yeah- there's still probably a few more issues. And, I'm probably not through the woods yet on all the problems I've experienced, but I tracked 3 different sessions today with not one single crash or BSOD, and life is GOOD. (I was basically having crashes almost every hour or so no matter what I did.)

I'm really sorry that some folks don't seem to like things or feel that they have real issues with the software- and, for the record, I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's problems along the way. I just feel like I need to say something positive about this last release- and how much of my confidence in Cakewalk has been restored- and perhaps to let you folks know that it does seem that Cake is listening to us. In the last 24 hours, I've had a substantial reduction in issues, and an equally substantial rise in productivity, and I have to attribute that at least in part to the new release and to Cake's ability to listen to constructive criticism that is offered from this forum.

Flame me if you wanna, but I am really impressed by S6PE and its refinements, and I know that Cakewalk will eventually work whatever bugs are out of the system. In the meantime, I'm just thanking my lucky stars that I have the sound I hear in my head for a lot less than it costs to get into PTHD........

....so, back to work. It's mix time.

-Marc Miller
mmiller@prezbass.com
http://www.prezbass.com

Well said.

I have added some of my concerns in several threads, but overall things are heading in the right direction for Sonar I believe. Despite how it may seem with many complaints (some of them mine), S6 has some excellent new features, and is a very nice product overall.

You make a fine point that some positive feedback should be given prominent notice, and I offer mine. S6 is overall a huge success, and I thank the hard working people at Cakewalk.

D.

rocket, exactly.

Prezbass: As I wrote in another thread, having criticism for some aspects does not mean we are unpleased with the whole thing. That having been said, I think it is great that you made this post. Cakewalk have indeed produced a GREAT new version of Sonar and I think it is good that Cakewalk get that feedback and can bask a bit in the glory. :) I mean it really sucks when you spend alot of time and effort on something and are very proud of what you did and only encounter criticism. That is a serious blow to ones ego.

Go Cakewalk!

I intend to write a ballanced review of my epxeriences with Sonar 6 in a while. So far I have just been responding to specific threads about specific aspects of the new version and gives a very biased impression as those threads tend to address the lesser points rather than the greater points.

UnderTow

Ditto. 6P rocks. Unlike some other companies, the Bakers do listen. Just like anywhere else, they don't always answer, or we may not get the answer we want, but Cakewalk does listen. And, I agree with what has been said. I skipped 5 after upgrading every edition since Pro Audio 9. 6P is the best yet, period. Thanks to the team at Cakewalk, even with the "constructive criticism" please know we all stick with Cakewalk for a reason, it works, it works well, and the company on the whole is more responsive than most others. Keep it up.

YMMV,

Jon

Excellent and as I have stated on another thread many of the knockers appear to be people who are looking for a justification not to upgrade. I have been delighted with 5.2 and did not hesitate in taking the upgrade to 6. Apart from a greatly reduced CPU it looks better and has sufficient additional benefits to make it a must.

I can only talk on my brief experience with 6 but it installed first time without any problems, all plugins were immediately found and are available.

OK there may well be some minor glitches and yes some valid suggestions for imrpovement but IMHO Six takes Sonar to a new level and the Engineers at Cakewalk can be justifiably proud of their creation.

Bottom line I made the decision to go for the upgrade to 6 and can honestly say that my initial contact with it only confirms that I made the right one. Oh and believe me I thought 5.2 was and still is superb but 6 just pushes it to another dimension.

Thanks Cake,

Gerry

+1 for the prez

ORIGINAL: UnderTow

Prezbass: As I wrote in another thread, having criticism for some aspects does not mean we are unpleased with the whole thing. That having been said, I think it is great that you made this post. Cakewalk have indeed produced a GREAT new version of Sonar and I think it is good that Cakewalk get that feedback and can bask a bit in the glory. :) I mean it really sucks when you spend alot of time and effort on something and are very proud of what you did and only encounter criticism. That is a serious blow to ones ego.

Oh, I get that- I really do. Criticism doesn't always equal complete displeasure- but, I'm afraid (and I guess this was the point of my post) that folks are gonna just keep and deal with prior version's problems because of the amount of the problems that have been perceived.

Or, to put it another way- early on in my career, I used to get angry from time to time when people would complain about something I had played- until I realized that they said nothing (generally) when they did like something. I took comfort in the fact that the number of "complaints" was significantly lower than the number of tracks I had actually done, which, in my (little) mind meant that I was actually doing something right. Forum participation is very much like that, in that most users scan the topic threads for issues that are pertinent to them, but if all they see is "THIS SUX!" constantly, they are more than likely going to conclude that the product sucks overall.

Anywho- I'm starting to sound like a suckup brown-nose to Cakewalk, and really have nothing more to add to the noise vs. signal ratio, so I'll just shut back up until I have something to contribute.

-Marc Miller
mmiller@prezbass.com
http://www.prezbass.com

thanks for the great post Marc

(and yes I did do a double take when I saw your name. Nice website

Thanks Hans I have now been almost six hours working in 6 and certainly no eye strain or perhaps I should say no more than on 5. It feels easier to look at on 6 but I really need a few days to confirm that.

Just used the Vintage Channel mind blowingly good.



I need to put up a before and after but you can hear my first track using the Vintage Channel plug on Guitar and the final mix. Believe me the difference it has made is amazing.

Track 1 It's A Crime. On the link below. Not fishing for plays just mentioned it in case its of interest.

Gerry