If we don't own the Production Suite, will we pay more for our upgrade?

Now that we know officially from Andrew that the Production Suite is their top of the line package for Sonar X1 - what is going to happen for us who bought into Expanded and then the modules separately?  Andrew did send me a message stating that the Production Suite was available earlier in the year, which included Sonar Producer. But the point I'm trying to make is that the Production Suite wasn't made available as an upgrade option to existing Sonar X1 Producer customers - you had to buy the entire suite for $499. This is their flagship product and it wasn't made available to us existing Sonar X1 Producer customers. Why does it effect us? Because we weren't able to get the top version which will effect our future upgrade pricing.  Here is a mock up of what they may do, it's only hypothetical but makes a lot of sense.


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Upgrade to Sonar X2

Download for Sonar X1 Production Suite Customers $99

Download for Sonar X1 Expanded Customers $149

Download for Sonar X1 Producer Customers $179


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As you can see, there's a discount for Expanded customers but not a $49 discount because that's how much their selling Expanded for and doesn't make sense to give a $49 discount on the upgrade.

If you bought Expanded and the modules separately or those modules in a bundle... you don't own the Production Suite. You may have what's equivalent but your store account will not register it as the Production Suite. 

Would you have wanted to upgrade to the Production Suite for $100 if it was made available earlier in the year when the retail version of the Production Suite was sold for $499? This included Expanded, PC4K S-type Expander/Gate and Z3TA + 2

If the answer is "Yes", Cakewalk didn't make this upgrade available for existing Sonar X1 Producer customers.

Instead, we had to buy Expanded separately, believing that was their flagship version for Sonar X1 but the Production Suite is their flagship version all a long. See the current promotion running if you don't believe me.  http://www.cakewalk.com/p...px/First-class-upgrade

This marketing scheme gives them an upper hand in making a lot more sales off of the unsuspecting customer who couldn't upgrade to the Production Suite, the customers who had to buy Expanded, the modules and Z3tTA +2 separately. Now they have more Expanded customers than the Production Suite customers.

And when it's time to upgrade to X2 or whatever they name it, those customers will again have to pay a higher price because they do not own the Production Suite.

Unless... Cakewalk takes a different approach and level the playing field. They can acknowledge the customers who own Expanded,  PC4K-S Type Expander/Gate, Z3TA +2 as having the Production Suite - even though they were purchased separately. 

Fastbikerboy, Expanded was never intended to be Cake's flagship product for Sonar X1. The Production Suite is their flagship product, which is sold in stores unlike Expanded.

And that is why Cakewalk can give Production Suite customers a bigger break when it comes time to upgrade, because they own the flagship product.

Why didn't you just post this in the other thread? I think everyone who is peeved about this should just buy the full package next time. This is getting kind of silly. Peace.

Beepster... The Production Suite wasn't made available to existing X1 Producer customers when it was originally released. It sold for $499. So if you already had X1 Producer, it didn't make sense to fork out another $499 just for Expanded, the module and Z3TA +2 

The concern that I have now is that if we don't officially own the Production Suite, even though we may have purchased the products separately - Cakewalk may not see it as us owning the Production Suite, hence it may effect our upgrade price.

And the only thing I'd want as a Suite owner is to have access to the normal Producer Expanded upgrades and then separately be able to upgrade the goodies on their own. If they wanted to offer a lump deal for all that would be better but I wouldn't get upset if they didn't.

Fastbikerboy, Expanded was never intended to be Cake's flagship product for Sonar X1. The Production Suite is their flagship product, which is sold in stores unlike Expanded. And that is why Cakewalk can give Production Suite customers a bigger break when it comes time to upgrade, because they own the flagship product.

Why do you keep saying the suite is the "flagship" product?

To me its always been the producer version that is the flagship product. Everything else are just addons. If you bought the production suite you still would be missing some addons.

CW offered the VS 700 and X1 Producer in a single package would that be the "flagship" product?

In my case I have all the PC modules and Z3TA-2 plus Rapture. I also got expanded. Now what would I do with the production suite? It seems to me it would be a step down.

As to what is in the store account it may or may not make one bit of difference as far as a future upgrades. There was no production suite available when X1 came out. When X2 comes out there may not be one either.

Your point is of no merit. If though when X2 is out and CW offers you an upgrade to it via a production suite you can, at that point, upgrade or not.  Or you can do what I plan to do and go with what I have always gone with and that is the Producer version.

Why don't you simply wait and see what happens. At that time you can protest all you want.

 

John, refer to the current promotion if you don't believe me that the Suite is their flagship product.  

http://www.cakewalk.com/p...px/First-class-upgrade   

Beepster, yeh... the Production Suite upgrade wasn't available to existing X1 Producer customers until they ran the current Promotion. The Production Suite has been out for a very long time.

Yea, if you sit down and crunch the actual numbers, not the numbers you assume they are, there is not an issue to this.

I can't speak for CW sales, marketing or development but I'd have thought the only part of the production suite to see a paid upgrade any time in the foreseeable future will be the X1 element.

I have no idea if there are separate serial numbers for it but I'd be very surprised if that's the case. Perhaps someone who has bought it can let us know.

That doesn't sound much different then. I have separate serials for producer, modules, z3ta+2 and guitar rig....

This issue may be significant, or not. I feel Cakewalk made a big mistake when they started this confusing marketing strategy. There should be no need to sit down with a calculator to figure out what product, or equivalent, you own. It's stupid, or should I say I'm stupid? Good, better and best is as complicated as I want it to be.

Bottom line, if an update arrives I will consider all factors, including the shabby X1 roll out and confusing bundle marketing. If X2 Producer is good enough I'll buy it, but I'll wait until ALL the options have been put on the table before doing so.

It is advertised as it's flagship product but in reality it's their flagship "bundle". I think Producer Expanded would be their flagship "DAW". It's all semantics at that point though. If CW wanted to make me REALLY happy they'd give me Pyro and some of the other little things they put out that don't seem to be in the Suite. I kind of bought the Suite so I'd have it ALL and to see there are silly things missing... well yeah, it's a little lame but I'm not upset. I haven't checked yet but I'll be disappointed if I didn't get the Garritan Pocket Orchestra along with DimPro. I see it is included when you buy DimPro as a standalone but it is not mentioned for the Suite. I certainly wouldn't want to shell out for DimPro again just to get it but I would really like to check that Garritan package out. Is the pocket orchestra even available separately from DimPro? Whatever. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it though. I'm still slogging my way through learning how to use this behemoth.

Perhaps we're all wrong? Maybe Sonar X1 is officially the flagship program. You choose either Studio, Producer, Expanded or Production Suite. Expanded may be an upgrade to Sonar X1 Producer but it can't be bought and run on its own. It's one step up from Producer, nonetheless but the reality is it's just a few features that expands X1 Producer.

Skylightron, what you're saying makes no sense and does not reflect the past practices of Cakewalk.  Okay, so we have this "Production Suite" which contains Cakewalk's "flagship" program.  But it is not a product unto itself; it's a bundle.  Registered users of Sonar X1 Expanded are likely to get the SAME UPGRADE PATH whether they purchased the "Production Suite" or not.  The sky is not falling.  There's positively no reason to go off on a tangent for something that hasn't happened yet, isn't likely to happen, and has no precedent. 
 
This is a lot of hype over nothing, and it's really getting old. 
 
Here's what a rational person would do.  A rational person would wait and see what offers are available when they roll out X2 (or whatever).  If by some extraordinary twist of fate you were right, and they offer a "special" upgrade path for "Production Suite" customers, then that hypothetical rational person would call up Cakewalk, explain that they purchased the components of the "Production Suite" individually, and inquire about getting the same deal.  Chances are more than likely they'd say "no problem" and set him or her up. 
 
That's what a rational person would do.  YMMV.

HeatherHaze, just making sure it won't cost us more for Expanded customers who don't own the Suite. It will most likely get them to take things into consideration when it's time to set the upgrade prices. I do like your suggestions. You can blame my tangents on Bub.