Thank you for your replies, will finish reading in the morning. I thought, HeatherHaze, calling someone else's post dumb is against of forum rules. Price tag does makes product professional. In this world you get what you pay for. Been shopping for toilet seats the other night. 2 toilet seats, both black, one is $30 the other is $60- guess what- I expect the one at $60 to be harder and dont slide. Read the reviews- the reviews are better for $60 seat. Are you saying that Camry is not better car than Corolla? Most of things in this life have price range and expectation of luxury v/ entry level. Higher price usually means better materials, more work to produce, higher paying specialists, etc. But this is not even issue I have with the program. It's the kids. There is entry level software that should be free, and then there is full featured software that should have price tag. Having basic software for free and then offer paid features is different from having everything for free. I do not expect serious growth and development of the free software. The fact that thousands of immature will use this software will change the focus of development and make it surface deep. Why would they create professional features if immature will never use it AND they will not make any money selling it. Social networking platform hardly requires pro level features such as comping and MIDI automatization.   

 - If someone gifts you a $4,000 guitar, is that instrument no-longer professional grade?  I bet it would sound like garbage in the hands of someone who has never played before, but "professional" in the hands of Phil Keaggy.   
 
Is someone gifts you a $4000 guitar, just one guitar just to you, you will be lucky owner of $4000 guitar. If Guitar company takes their entire line of top shelf guitars, makes more of them and gives away for free couple of millions of guitars, the price will go down and these guitars will not be sold for $4000. The price will drop significantly. Would you expect the guitar company (Let's say Gibson) to use the same quality materials, the same expansive wood, maintain their factories and pay their workers top salaries if all they were doing is giving away guitars for free? Eventually they would have to use cheaper wood, less expansive hardware, cheaper strings and pick ups to be able to mass produce the guitars. It is easier to give away serial numbers and downloads because it does not cost anything when you purchased 30 years of development that someone else paid for. We, users, helped to develop this product by paying annual fees for it, by the way. And then some guy who paid nothing, will get the same software for free without paying and use money that he/she saved for unfair advantage. When it comes to future development of software and when you have to pay team of developers to move product forward, this is where it starts getting expansive. When you have millions of free users, how can you provide tech support and assure high level of customer experience if nobody pays for anything but everybody wants to be able to get support? The more users, the more issues, the more time it needs to support everybody- without paid manpower, the issues will not get resolved.  

vladasyn

abacab
Best recommendation for OP.  Buy Cubase! 

Actually I did buy Cubase, soon as Cake went bally up. 

Yes, I also bought Cubase when news of the Sonar demise seemed permanent last November . . . and there are a lot of things I really like about Cubase. Right now I'm so glad to have two favourite DAWs, and I've found creative ways to move projects back and forth between the two, to utilize the strengths of both Sonar and Cubase.

The fact is that BandLab are not giving away the full product, new users get the core program which is akin to the original 'Artist' version. When I opted for the former flagship release my decision was based on the wealth of additional extras it included and I can still use the majority of these with CbB. I have pretty much what I paid for with the added bonus of continued development.  
 
Base versions of other software titles (including MS Visual Studio and Unity) are also available for free. This doesn't seem to have a detrimental affect on their popularity.
 

Songroom
The fact is that BandLab are not giving away the full product, new users get the core program which is akin to the original 'Artist' version. When I opted for the former flagship release my decision was based on the wealth of additional extras it included and I can still use the majority of these with CbB. I have pretty much what I paid for with the added bonus of continued development.  
 
Base versions of other software titles (including MS Visual Studio and Unity) are also available for free. This doesn't seem to have a detrimental affect on their popularity.
 

I did not see it says anywhere that only basic version such as Artist will be free. Did it say so anywhere or is it an assumption? 

:)

@vladasyn -- I agree that there will be a perception that *some* people will view "free" software as somehow inferior, and not worthy of paying for session time in a professional setting like a studio, of course. It's a fact of life. How *many* people that will affect for your specific case will be related to the kind of clients you have and how much they trust you. Some people really DO want to feel like they're paying for something that they can't get for free, whether or not the "free" software is professional. In this case, Cakewalk can absolutely produce professional results, of course. And yes, it's free. So you have a potential issue with *some* clients, and I get one of the points you're making. And I do think it's valid for *some* situations. HOWEVER, and this is a BIG however, there are plenty of things to think about in this situation:
 
1) As has been stated by several other people in this thread, just because Cakewalk is now free, it has NO impact on the kind of professional results you can get out of it.
 
2) Just because Cakewalk is now free doesn't mean that BandLab will now somehow focus development mainly on a bunch a new amateurs that will be coming onboard to Cakewalk. We really don't know yet, and we'll have to watch this carefully. But from what Meng and Noel have said, they will definitely be keeping professional features in the plans, so for now, let's take them for their word, and then hold them to that if they get distracted! So I think the current direction is very much a positive direction for professional users. There is NO evidence so far that Cakewalk will be dumbed down to a limited consumer product. 
 
3) And also, BTW, no matter WHAT they do in the long run, this has a big business advantage to you because a whole new market of clients may open up to you to help them polish off their projects more professionally in your studio. You could corner a market in your area of users who use Cakewalk. 
 
4) Any professional studio is made up of MANY MANY things other than its DAW software, as you know. The entire signal chain (from microphones to preamps to converters to plugins to the computers to the monitors to other tools and outboard gear to the physical space itself in the studio, etc.) all have MASSIVE impact on how professional a studio is. The price of a DAW is a TINY slice of the cost of a professional studio, vladasyn. So what if the core DAW software itself is free?
 
5) And let us not forget the MOST important part of a professional studio is the expertise and professionalism of the engineer/producer who operates the business and provides the whole professional experience for the client. 
 
6) Additionally, to emphasize, just because Cakewalk itself is now free, doesn't mean you won't be investing tons of money in other software and plugins and tools that the client won't have access to normally.
 
But STILL, yes, I agree that there will be *some* clients who will NOT like you to be using "free" software like Cakewalk. They won't be common, but they will indeed have issues with you. So they are easy to deal with. :-) I have experienced this MANY times in a very similar situation regarding Pro Tools, for example. Some of my clients INSIST that I use Pro Tools, no matter what. They are totally ignorant about the issue, and just simply have it stuck in their brains that I have to use Pro Tools. Doesn't matter if I use ANY other DAW, for them, it HAS to say Pro Tools on it. Those people are rare, but it still happens to me. This is a similar situation to people who may INSIST that you do NOT use "free" software like Cakewalk.   
 
So here's the solution I use for any client who doesn't understand that it doesn't matter WHAT DAW I use:
 
 
1) First, I try to educate them respectfully and carefully over time to help them understand what really matters and what doesn't matter. In most cases, over time and because of the professional results and treatment I give them, they then begin to trust me entirely and then all this is no longer an issue. 
 
2) During the period where they still require Pro Tools, for example, I simply use Pro Tools for them! Simple as that! Or at least I use it in FRONT of them. Either way, they perceive that I'm using Pro Tools for them. But I do NOT like Pro Tools at all, and when they don't need to be in the studio, if possible (and of course depending on how the project is structured and what deliverables they need), I just simply use the DAW that I want! Problem solved. In many cases, they don't NEED to KNOW I didn't use Pro Tools, for example, and I will basically use the DAW I feel best suits the project.
 
Bottom line is that you don't have to sacrifice anything by using Cakewalk if you WANT to use Cakewalk. But you just have to educate your clients and/or create a workflow that works around their personal issues for them. It's not a big deal. You will have clients with all sorts of quirks, and as a professional you have to learn how to work with them or work around them and still be professional.
 
In the end, Cakewalk being free is a net positive for everyone in the DAW community IMO. And BTW, the new business model of Cakewalk has yet to be fully revealed over time. We really only have a few comments from Meng and Noel about it, some very good comments BTW, that present a very positive potential for Cakewalk. But it should come as NO surprise to you that the ENTIRE DAW market has been adapting to new business models over the last several years. DAWs becoming FREE, with paid modules/plugins/content, etc., is a *natural* progression of business models in the entire software industry. I think BandLab is in fact being very bold in trying this business model on DAWs, and maybe it will work, maybe it won't. We shall see. But the whole industry is watching, and for all we know, many other DAWs may follow this model in the years to come. 
 
None of that changes the fact that *some* clients will ALWAYS want one particular DAW for one particular reason or another, or maybe they want one particular microphone, or preamp, or plugin, or lava lamp, or voodoo doll, and you have the opportunity to provide services to that market if you want to. In all cases, being a professional has almost NOTHING to do with the tools you use, but rather HOW you use them and the kind of relationship you build with a client.
 
Case in point, I still have some clients from 15-20 years ago who trust me implicitly because I earned their trust with my work and professional attitude over the many years. I could use an old version of the open-source Audacity on a 10-year old crappy laptop with them, and they would trust my work, not my tools. And in my years of experience, I've seen *miracles* come from musicians and producers and engineers using old, obsolete hardware or "cheap" or "free" software, and they create brilliant masterpieces because they are so good at what they use. Some people these days are spoiled by the incredible tools we have, and they think about image first, and quality and creativity later. But in the end, quality and creativity always win.
 
The truth is that Cakewalk (and most other top DAWs) have FAR exceeded in many cases the market's actual technical needs to create the art that they were built for. We are now in a very lucky golden age of equipment and software, totally democratizing creative fields, and the ONLY differentiating factor in a production is honestly the skill, talent, creativity, hard work, and professionalism of a producer/artist/engineer. 

vladasyn

Euthymia

vladasyn
I cant take freeware seriously. Can you?  

Absolutely.
 
Without Linux and Apache running most of the sites on the www, and LibreOffice, Audacity, MusicBee, Voxengo SPAN, Meldaproduction Free Bundle, ffmpeg, libflac, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, iZotope Imager, iZotope Vinyl, Sonalksis FreeG, VLC, MediaHuman Audio Converter, MP3Tag, and now Cakewalk (among many, many others) on my desktop computer, I could not do what I do without the existence of and my personal use of freeware. It's in my critical path daily.
 
What I can't take seriously is the inability take freeware seriously. You can't be serious.

Except Melda Production and IE, I never heard of any of the software you listed. I do not install any free software, never install any trials. I have Melda Creative bundle, I would not install Free bundle. 

 
You've never heard of Linux. Nor Google Chrome nor Mozilla Firefox. And although you have the Meldaproduction Creative Bundle, you wouldn't install the same developer's free bundle of (excellent) utilities and FX that aren't included in any other bundle on his site, presumably because of your inability to take freeware seriously.
 
That is very serious indeed. I did not know how serious.
 
Here is a partial list of the free software that Gibson/Cakewalk installs with SONAR Platinum. You may take whatever action you wish to rid your system of it:
 
Softube Saturation Knob
BOZ Labs Bark of Dog
SQLite
 
BandLab is using the same pricing used by Audacity, Debian, Apache, VLC, Red Hat, IrfanView, PostGres, MySQL, Blender, Lightworks (winner of both technical Oscar and Emmy awards) and Ubuntu. If you've never heard of these programs, it may be because the people who develop them don't waste money on advertising. The people who use them learn about them by their reputation for excellence.

vladasyn
Professional means exclusive for Pros. If anyone gets to use it, what makes my studio professional? Most trades required to get license to provide services. When you go to doctor, you expect this doctor to have degree and license, right? What makes software professional- exclusive access granted to those that willing to pay for it to become privileged exclusive users. I had an asset, not I have nothing because I use Freeware! 

 
Sure, the doctor shouldt have degree and license. And the musician shouldt have musical skills and hopefully some musical knowledge. It doesn't matter, if your doctor writes his diagnostic analysis on a Linux based Computer in Libre Office (all freeware!!!). What counts, is his knowledge and his skills. It's the same with music. There are technical perfect productions produced with "professional" Software that sound like sh*t, while a simple song recorded on an old tascam four track recorder by a really talented musician gets you goose bumps . . . professionalism is not the question of tools, it's your skills that matter. Playing a Stradivari Violin doesn't make you a professional, but a professional will sound great with every cheap violin.
 
Cheers 

Anderton
Vlad, it's a common business model to sell something inexpensively because people will buy accessories that are profitable. For example, a razor or printer is inexpensive. The companies make their money on razor blades and ink cartridges.
 
If those items weren't hardware and could be given away for free, I believe the companies would do so because they make their money on the aftermarket sales, not on the initial sale.
 
Although Sonar Platinum was $499, a lot of that was for licensed plug-ins, accessories that cost more to users of other versions (e.g., ProChannel modules), and monthly updates.
 
I am hoping that BandLab will leverage giving the software away for free to get more users, and therefore have a wider market for accessories. For example the Adaptive Limiter was given away to people who paid $499 for Platinum. But not everyone wants an Adaptive Limiter. With the new business model, buying software would become much more of an a la carte experience for end users. I didn't need to pay for Melodyne Essentials, I have Melodyne Studio. I didn't need to pay for Addictive Drums, I have Battery and BFD. I would buy the L-Phase plug-ins, Adaptive Limiter, and Rapture Pro if I didn't have them. But I wouldn't buy any of those if I wasn't running Sonar.
 
Microsoft doesn't make that much money from Windows; think of how many people still use Windows 7, and haven't bought a new OS in years. But no matter which Windows you use, you can take advantage of their cloud services. MacOS is free, but Final Cut and Logic Pro X aren't.
 
The cost of software is creating and maintaining the code. Sonar is a mature program. It's probably better that BandLab put their efforts into maintenance and new products - which people can choose to buy, or not - than charge people for a program that in the past, too many people chose not to buy.
 

Honestly, if I have learned anything over the last several months and the unexpected events of Sonar; I would rather put my money into plug ins that I can use in any DAW, than to pay for add-on's that are limited to one DAW.  The base program being free works great for me.  That gives me the freedom of choice on where I do want to spend my money.