I think it will force Cakewalk to really up their game - big time. They have produced excellent products for years and I still believe that they will produce something stellar at some point - hopefully soon.
The lack of maintenance fixes is dreadful though and its what finally tipped me over to the dark side :) One patch since Sept 2012 is no where near good enough.
Looking at C7.0.5. its not just a maintenance release - there are new features too. Its brilliant. Come on cakewalk - get it together!!

I can't help but be reminded of how Apple very quickly came out with those numerous TV ads with John Hodgeman in a suit representing the troubled Windows Vista and that other younger guy, much more casually dressed, representing the newer Macs.
 
Where they say, "I'm a Mac & I'm a PC".
 
And while Microsoft was scrambling to bail on Vista [as an admitted failure], and do their best to get Windows 7 out, all the while just counting all the lost sales going to Mac instead.
 
I can't imagine being behind the 8 ball and having the pressure of getting something out quickly to secure some of those sales before they go elsewhere, and yet having to make sure that it's going to be something worth contending with.
 
The dichotomy of "Let's take our time & make this really good this time, since much of our customer base are clearly pissed, & yet "HEY, WE'RE LOSING SALES TO OUR COMPETITORS NOT BY THE MONTH, NOT BY THE WEEK, NOT BY THE DAY, BUT BY THE HOUR NOW!!" 
 
"We better hurry up!"
 
Oh the pressure of it all!  

dmbaer,
 
If you find the Cubase 6 + Halion bundle it says 449...add it to the cart, you get a discount 
of 67.35

Total Price = $381.65

cclarry
dmbaer,
 
If you find the Cubase 6 + Halion bundle it says 449...add it to the cart, you get a discount 
of 67.35

Total Price = $381.65

Thanks.  I poked around a bit and found two or three vendors selling the bundle for $369 (including an advertised free upgrade to v7).  I must say, this is a tempting opportunity.  I wasn't even considering jumping into these waters, but at this price ... Hmm!!!!

Studious

Zo
I'm amazed to see how people compare Daw , specially according to upadtes and fixes !! lol for real i'm amazed !!!
 
a lot of updates indicates 2 things :
 
1) Good maintenance
2) a lot of bugs
 
OR
 
1) alot of bugs
2) Slow maintenance ....

 
https://www.steinberg.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=181&t=43780

In my opinion, a lot of updates indicates:
     1) Dedication to resolving issues
     2) Product improvement
     3) Respect for customers and two-way communication
For six months now, Sonar X2a still has a lot of bugs, and its maintenance is not just slow, it's non-existent.  Also non-existent is any communication whatsoever from Cakewalk/Roland about the product's status.
 
The X series is a great direction, but it needs a lot of work.  The UI enhancements are wonderful, yet with the other hand they taketh away.  Does anybody find it incredible that X2a Preferences STILL has full color customization, yet barely 10% (less?) actually work??  Not a dealbreaker in itself, but what an amateur move across two major versions.
 
It's not just about colors, of course.  I run into new bugs regularly.  The bug reporter has been a black hole...never a word back (how about, "thanks for taking the time to report that; it is in our list to be fixed; here's the bug # and a link").  I've stopped reporting bugs, based on zero feedback.
 
I wouldn't be here if I didn't want Cakewalk to pull through this funk (the bad kind of funk ).  But being kept in the dark by the company I've supported for 12 years is a dealbreaker.

12 years ? so you know that this funky wait is only happening with this release ...and all the relase were damn quik upadted ...including X1

dmbaer

zakufan

JRR blowout is selling cubase 6(Free upgrade to 7) and Halion 4 bundle for $343

$343?  Is there some discount code required?  The price I see listed is $449 (probably still not a bad price for the bundle).

I am a new user here so I can't post links.

JRR blowout has a different web address than there normal store.

If you ever bought an audio interface or controller keyboard etc... and have a Cubase LE 4,5 or 6 it will get you $100 off.  I ended up paying $326 for the Upgrade at Music123 when they beat a Musicians Friend 15% off deal.  
 
My bottom line is Cakewalk's complete refusal to do even the simplest upgrades to notation.  Now that I'm using Cubase 7 I'm blown away by so many other things on top of the incredible notation.   If you work with large libraries with keyswitches Cubase is WAY better than even Sibelius in that regard.  There are still things that Sonar does better such as track templates but I'm still learning and getting perspective.  If Sonar cared at all about notation I never would have checked out the Cubase demo so I guess they did me a favor in the long run.
 
That's great vintagevibe. Go and post on the Steinberg forum now, this is not comparative DAW 101. Bye Bye.

The Band19
To me it seems like ****ing where you eat? I'm not familiar w/Q anything, I use Sonar 8.3 pro and it works "perfectly..."  I'm sure poo tastes well to some? I like Sonar...

I like Sonar too (I 've used it since ver. 6), but......(nevermind, I don't wanna start another fanboi fatwah)...I just think people should do themselves a favour and see what Steinberg is currently offering. That's all.

 
It seems to me that company like Cakewalk can make good use of the info in this thread.
 
Timing tools that work, and color customization are two compelling reasons for me to consider spending the $400-500.
 
 
 
 
 
 

...I poked around a bit and found two or three vendors selling the bundle for $369 (including an advertised free upgrade to v7).  I must say, this is a tempting opportunity.  I wasn't even considering jumping into these waters, but at this price ... Hmm!!!!...
 
Exactly what happened to me. 
 
That's what I paid with free shipping. 
 
Interestingly, this guy alone has sold 17 just this month alone, and 30 since May 1.
 
When I got mine, there was just 1 left.
At that time 24 had been sold.  Now it shows 30 sold - none in stock. 
 
He's sold out now. And that's just one vendor! 

jimusic
...But to be fair, he has posted in 'Software - Discussion focused on non-Cakewalk audio software'.
 
Garry...
 
+1 Garry.
 
...I'm sure poo tastes well to some? I like Sonar...
 
???
 
Good for you, I guess........whatever........
 
I like Sonar too, but I now have 3 DAWs, as is mine and everyone else's option so long as they pay the funds for a legitimate copy. 
 
On the other DAW forums, Steinberg, Presonus etc. other DAWs are openly & freely discussed, so I don't see the problem here. 

another +1 for Garry...

I have 5 DAW's....and I use them all....without exception...

X2 is my favorite for Workflow and interface...if I could get ALL my needs in X2...I wouldn't have any others..but I can't...
that's just the reality of it...

Cubase is my fav for features...miles ahead....especially in the MIDI and scoring Dept of the PC based DAW's

MixBus has an awesome (Harrison) sound...it's only Audio, no MIDI..but it sounds spectacular...

Acoustica Mixcraft Pro Studio (a highly underated DAW IMHO), while being 32 bit, as is MixBus, is a very useful tool..(PT just
recently went to 64 bit).

Studio One 2.5 has some really strong points...while (to me) the interface is a little clunky, it is a strong contender

I also have all the freebies...I try them all, to see where they are going...AND to maintain an "objective" outlook and opinion...
I try all the demo's...just Demo's DP8...if the interface had been better I might have bitten..it's an awesome DAW, but it was
even clunkier (to me) then Studio One...

I went from Cubase 5 to ProTools 8.4 and then to 9, and from ProTools 9 to Sonar X1....trying to find the ever elusive "all in one" DAW...

(When Cubase 7 came out...I upgraded from 5...and GLAD I did...)

I finally realized that I'm not going to find that...I've realized that you have to be "objective" and use the tools provided for their
STRENGTHS.....to get to where you are going....

And YES, this is the Software forum....so all discussion about ALL THE DAW SOFTWARE, and OTHER SOFTWARE, should be relevant, ...
and, GUYS...EVERYONE is entitled to talk about, and find what WORKS for THEM...so please, be civil, and don't bash others for what they
want to talk about...just because the discussion isn't about Sonar doesn't make it problematic...unless YOU make it that way..

I wish I could demo cubase without having to buy a dongle . If I don't like it why should I have to buy a dongle I would never use . Seem like a waste money and time . I can download the demo . But I have to order the dongle and wait . I kinda don't wanna spend $400 and hate the software . Or $30 and hate the demo. Then I don't wanna spend $30 on a dongle and then like cubase and have to spend more money to get the full version with another dongle . To bad they don't give you a credit ..

djjhart@aol.com
I wish I could demo cubase without having to buy a dongle . If I don't like it why should I have to buy a dongle I would never use . Seem like a waste money and time . I can download the demo . But I have to order the dongle and wait . I kinda don't wanna spend $400 and hate the software . Or $30 and hate the demo. Then I don't wanna spend $30 on a dongle and then like cubase and have to spend more money to get the full version with another dongle . To bad they don't give you a credit ..

 
I feel your pain.  I had a Syncrosoft dongle left over from Gigastudio (remember that?!) and amazingly it worked and was already registered at Steinberg.  (They purchased Syncrosoft)  If I didn't have the dongle already I don't think I would have tried the demo.  However now that I know that it is a far better tool for my orchestral needs I would gladly buy the dongle.  There are things that Sonar does far better and that I miss but for orchestration and manipulating libraries Cubase 7 beats out even Sibelius IMO.

cclarry
It's well worth the money.  I use it.  It's feature set is vastly "above" X2 ( I shall again suffer the WRATH OF THE CAKE-ITES )

Hope you're right, because I pulled the trigger on this one.  The Halion 4 was just frosting on the cake, but I'm looking forward to exploring that as well.  But even without it, $369 seems like a fine price for Cubase 7.  Funny ... a week ago the thought of purchasing and learning another DAW was the furthest thing from my mind.  But I kept hearing how Cubase had the best MIDI capabilities and the thought of becoming a Cubaser did cross my mind from time to time.