I asked Nektar if it supports Sonar ... and they say, Cakewalk is refusing to work with them for integration of the Panorama Controller ... is that true? I'm looking for a good all in one controller to control NI Kontakt, UVI Falcon, other VSTs and a DAW. That means it has to be a good, decent general masterkeyboard, and provide good ways to switch between VST control and DAW/Mixer/Transport etc control. Panorama was one of the few contestants, but apparently they can't support Sonar due to Cakewalk not cooperating with them.

What a bunch of B.S., pushing their problem off on someone else. I have a P6, and like it, and have made some effort with AZSlow's MIDI controller plugin for SONAR (http://www.azslow.com/index.php), but I still didn't get the level of integration that I wanted and, frankly, expected. When I look at my available downloads on the Nektar site, it seems kind of obvious to me that they put new products on the market with new software to support them, but they all turn into orphans pretty quickly. The Panoramas require a custom driver on Windows, and that's part of the problem. I still use the P6, but have given up, for the moment, using it a a control surface.
 
The next keyboard I'm looking at now is NI's S88. Several of the VIs I own are already NKS compatible. I'm sure others with follow.
 
Could ACT use some work? Sure. But is that the reason Nektar can't make the P4 and P6 more tightly integrated? I doubt it. And even if they could/did, I don't think the end result would justify the mess. For example, when I loaded Nektar's custom code for Bitwig, it totally bolluxed up the P6's performance in SONAR. I had to factory reset the P6 and remap it all over again. Totally sucked. So, if you plan to use the keyboard/controller with ANY other piece of software, like another DAW or a notation program, be aware.

voon
I asked Nektar if it supports Sonar ... and they say, Cakewalk is refusing to work with them for integration of the Panorama Controller ... is that true? I'm looking for a good all in one controller to control NI Kontakt, UVI Falcon, other VSTs and a DAW. That means it has to be a good, decent general masterkeyboard, and provide good ways to switch between VST control and DAW/Mixer/Transport etc control. Panorama was one of the few contestants, but apparently they can't support Sonar due to Cakewalk not cooperating with them.

I have not heard the conversation between Nektar and CW, but there are facts from which you can make your own conclusion either what they say is true:
1) Naktar has integrated Impact controllers, they know how that goes
2) CW provides controllers integration API, with documentation as an open source, without any prior agreements, fees, etc.
3) Nektar is using proprietary protocol, and no-one knows how to get access to any related software nor documentation.
4) as such plug-in author, I can claim that no cooperation from CW is required to integrate any controller, sure that if something is not yet available in Sonar/API, that can not be used. But the level of integration for VS-700, Mackie, etc. can be achieved.
 
And so the question: what they really want from CW to integrate Panorama? Till they provide reasonable answer, my opinion is that they just do not want spend time for that and blame other side without a reason.

Hi All,
This is Justin from Nektar Tech support. I want to apologize, as it appears that there was some miscommunication.
Cakewalk has has been a valued partner in our mission to support as many DAW applications as possible. As the previous poster mentioned, we provide Sonar integration for our Impact iX, GX, LX and LX+ controllers and we would like to support Sonar with other products in the future. Cakewalk provides a comprehensive API for control surface support, which gives us the flexibility to make our controllers perform as we'd like. 
 
When it comes to Panorama, I can't discuss which DAWs will be support or when. We've found making announcements is best left until we are ready to release something. I hope you all understand.
 
If anyone has any other questions, please get in touch via the Nektar support system (I can't post a link here, so you'll find a 'Contact Support' link on the Support page of our website).
 
All the best,
Justin Sullivan