Goodbye

I have been a Sonar user since version 6. I enjoyed the programme and was glad to support one of the smaller companies.
Since X1, Sonar has been a pain in the a** for me: very unstable, loads of crashes, buggy - it felt like I spent more time trying to fix problems and get X1 to work instead of being able to make music with it. Even with X1d, I still have occasional crashes.
Known bugs (sandybridge processors) have been ignored, customer support was terrible.

Then it seems the company's policy changed to massively manipulate you to buy more of their products. New plugins, but only if you have Producer Expanded (although you initially bought the flagship Producer, know you need to buy a module to keep your flagship up-to-date).

For me, this is the end of the line. I am not throwing more money at a company that has been unsupporting, published the buggiest piece of software I ever had and simply seems out for my money. And I seriously need a DAW that is reliable and helps me make music.

However, there are many people on this forum that helped me learn how to use Sonar, and were helpful when I had problems. I would like to leave a big and honest thank you to everybody who took the time to help me solve problems! I utterly appreciate it!

I tested several other DAWs, and this is where I'll go:

Goobye Sonar, hello Studio One.

So long.

Bye.

Now I gotta get back to happily using Sonar X1. 

What's the sandybridge bug(s) the OP speaks of? I have one, and it seems pretty solid. The only issure i've come across recently is the 64 bit drivers for my AlphaTrack. i've crashed 2x. But no data loss, as I've gotten good at saving alot. If you ask me, all you hafta do to induce a crash is fail to save your work for an hour or more...

Goodbye and goodluck native.

I have heard (from Jeff Evans) that Studio One does not lack any features whatsoever and never crashes. 

When X1 was released in 2010 it was so buggy it was able to anhialate many ASIO based systems and cause people to depend on full system restores just to boot their computer past bios.

Sure, Cakewalk fixed that after a few days of counting our money... but the fact is, other companies don't screw their customers like that.

Many companies reserve the release for after the product is ready for use.

Cakewalk routinely releases product that is then patched a week or two later so that it's customers can actually use the product.

That's no way to keep customers, like me, happy.

Some companies simply make a friendlier feeling product.

Not everyone has got the fortitude to be put up being treated like a mark, or a patsy, or a "consumer" with income they can dispose of while annihilating their computer so it will not boot past bios.

Us SONAR aficionados are a special breed.





Good luck Native.


best regards,
mike

I've just been invited onto a public beta program for another product update due for release soon.

It made me feel like somebody listened to something I said and wanted my thoughts and active input on further developments.

I sometimes get banned from here for 'seeming' contentious.  I like my stuff to work and when it doesn't I'd like to think it is being fixed.  That's about as contentious as I get about software.

Some companies seem to have well thought out strategies, some seem to supply hand-pumps and patches to plug the worst leaks as they go.

One company I'm aware of has had a trade-mark pending for it's proprietary add-on format since 2008 it is due to launch this format very soon with at least a dozen confirmed and well-known developers on board (eerily including Softube who were initially in on PC with initially a Saturation Knob, yet for this new format they seem to be producing their 'big gun' devices for it. ).  How many PC developers are there 18 months after launch even given the simplicity involved in the port over from a standard VST?  It won't be an Expanded paid for update either, it will be 'free' for current users.  Strategy shows that module sales and the appeal to new users will cover the development costs without having to impact on existing users, in fact it will add good-will to the existing base that will be the market for the new modules.  Gotta love strategy, especially when it is so simple to grasp the idea of it.

This new approach makes both instruments and effects available via a dedicated app store to go with it and actually weaves the add-ons directly into the fabric of the host program which is already distinct in itself.  It is a product that has developed from it's purpose that it originally had for me as an instrument plug-in for Sonar in the space of a few years.

I like progress as well as reliability.

I'm not saying goodbye though I still have uses for Sonar albeit increasingly fewer uses but I still have them.

Somebody said on one of the forums here awile back that perhaps Cakewalk could benefit from hiring somebody that could explain to the Boss what once satisfied customers were complaining about.  I agreed with that although it is quite possible an accountant has worked it out by now.

the debate of  lifetime.
i respect your views but fail to understand why you,me or the next guy comes on this forum to write there good bye letters.
weather sonar works for me or not is not the point.
to me the point is,these goodbye letters are nothing but detrimental to cakewalk and yourself as "one last plea" for attention.

a few months ago a good guy left the forms,he came back awhile later,but you know what?
when left,he just left ,
"had enough of it ,moving on now"

he didnt openly list his complaints,he didnt tell everyone his new daw,
"studio one"
he also didnt openly accuse the companys policys.
he left,said bye.
i understand you frustration but to be honest goodbye posts like this,
i could care less.

for those of you that havent figured out who it was that left,it was me.
i searched out there but found sonar x1 to be the best daw on the market.
i found every single daw out there that itried(bought and trials)had its issues,so if you think this is the only daw with its issues,your wrong.

sure one daw may have a feature that works much more stable then sonar but when your going to use another tool and its either not there or doesnt have the functions,dont complain.

auto_da_fe


The more I use X1 the more l like.  Been using sonar since CW 9.

I have not had a crash in a month.  Very stable for me.

JR

I had my first system wide lock up while opening an X1 project last night on my DAW.


Not sure I'll blame X1 though. Reboot solved it. My DAW was up 24/7 for about six or seven weeks at that point. User stupidity.

I have come to a point of contentment...... 

X1 essential build "C"  running on XP. 

It works, it's rock solid..... why upgrade when it works. 

I would say the same to the OP..... if whatever you were using before X1 was working, instead of throwing cake out the proverbial window..... why not just use what worked? 

I don't really get the need for the goodbye speech either - 235 previous posts in 8 years doesn't exactly suggest a vast amount of interaction with the rest of the forum members, but that said, the OP makes a fair point about the current policy with all the new add ons.

For the record, I haven't bought X1 yet, still on 8.53 PE. I delayed at release because I always felt it was gonna be a bit of a problem child for various reasons, which turns out to have been a good call. Not trying to sound clever after the event, it was just a gut feeling at the time, nothing else.

It seems that the general consenus is that it's pretty solid now and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the webinars with Brandon and Seth. There are some nice features in it for sure, still don't like the lack of colour choices, but with all the offers of late starts looks tempting, until you see that to have all the bells and whistles you have to add this, add that.......

Sure, you don't have to, it still works without them, but with the now seemingly endless add-ons it does feel like they're never quite giving you everything there is, because the next must-have addition seems to come out only weeks after the last.

In this respect, I have to say that  personally I preferred the predictable annual version upgrade. You knew, or at least felt, that you had the "state of the art" version at least for a year and it nearly always felt like it was worth the money. Now I just feel like if I bought all the bells and whistles today, they'll be another add-on next week and I would in honesty feel a bit cheated.

Just checked.

Expanded + all Cake PC modules cost me $177.50.

X1 cost me $129 (I got the box set).

paulo

bapu


Just checked.

Expanded + all Cake PC modules cost me $177.50.

X1 cost me $129 (I got the box set).

Also, this doesn't take into account the never properly explained special extra download premium for not living in USA. Whether an upgrade is "worth" the price is something only the individual can decide, but it just felt much better that there wasn't gonna be something else next week.

See, I guess that's where it's different for me. The "next week" thing is kind of exciting to me.

there are 2 vsti I need in 64 bit (catanya and jamstix) and I will never upgrade or add again...won't need to.

(brave words I know.....but really I think with X1, i7 and octa-capture I am there)

JR

auto_da_fe


there are 2 vsti I need in 64 bit (catanya and jamstix) and I will never upgrade or add again...won't need to.

(brave words I know.....but really I think with X1, i7 and octa-capture I am there)

JR

I totally agree.

This is the thing from now on in there is no need for more.  Pretty much anything you choose today is enough for anyone.  Differentation is no longer about what you need to get the job done.  DAW wars are over since they all work well enough to produce the top quality finished article these days.  Recently and readily available powerful hardware has helped greatly here.

What comes next will be even more interesting though as people start voting for what they want to use to make the job work for them with the least interruption to creative flow or that even promote ways of working that are more creative.

I'm normally not a fan of Goodbye threads either but I do think it is quite poignant here as the real meaning of DAW 2 is about to descend on the whole industry in a big way.

Bapu can rightly be very excited.

mike_mccue

Otherwise I'm ambivalent. 

I'm envious of guys and gals who can play left of right.