I'm sure this info is obvious and posted somewhere but I have recently got back in the DAW game after 10 years and have some new hardware (PC, Interface, etc) and starting from scratch. Can someone answer this in one sentence or less (haha).
 
I bought Sonar Platinum last year, should I continue to use this DAW? Was this 500 USD wasted? What about bandlab? This all has me confused as I have finally got current with an Interface (RME) now freaking out that I have to switch software as well....
 
Thanks in advance guys

Install Platinum and all its plug-ins then create a BandLab account using the same enail address as your Cakewalk Account, install CbB and use CbB.

sonicaudio
I'm sure this info is obvious and posted somewhere but I have recently got back in the DAW game after 10 years and have some new hardware (PC, Interface, etc) and starting from scratch. Can someone answer this in one sentence or less (haha).
 
I bought Sonar Platinum last year, should I continue to use this DAW? Was this 500 USD wasted? What about bandlab? This all has me confused as I have finally got current with an Interface (RME) now freaking out that I have to switch software as well....
 
Thanks in advance guys

Your money was not wasted, as you got to use the software for a year and there were some great extra programs included with SONAR that you can use with Cakewalk by BandLab. And even though the company that was developing the software was dissolved by its parent company, the users of the software got lucky and another company has made it so that the software is back in development again and they (you) are now getting free upgrades.
 
Installing Cakewalk by BandLab is not so much "switching" as it is upgrading the software you have already been using, as it is a direct descendant, built from the same code base, similar but with more features and fewer bugs.

sonicaudio
....I bought Sonar Platinum last year, should I continue to use this DAW? Was this 500 USD wasted? What about bandlab? This all has me confused as I have finally got current with an Interface (RME) now freaking out that I have to switch software as well....

Check out the comparison chart between SONAR Platinum and CbB: http://forum.cakewalk.com/Cakewalk-By-BandLab-vs-SONAR-Versions-Comparison-Chart-4282018-m3750958.aspx
 
Whilst CbB is the equivalent of the full Sonar Platinum core software, you'll see a bunch of extra software that came with Sonar Platinum that isn't part of the CbB offering. Many of this software is 3rd party, which if you added up would probably be more than your 500USD. Addictive Drums 2 & Melodyne Essential alone account for around half of that.
 
So do what scook suggests: install Sonar Platinum with all the extras, then install CbB alongside so it picks up all Sonar's extras.

msmcleod
Whilst CbB is the equivalent of the full Sonar Platinum core software....

I know what you meant by this, but even with the initial release of CbB, there were bugfixes that reportedly made it more stable, even a few new features, and with each subsequent release it's gotten even more stable (on my system, anyway, it's been pretty amazing to watch it "settle down" so quickly), and gained even more new features.
 
I never ran Platinum, I let my SONAR license lapse a long time ago, but I ran the first release of CbB, and from my perspective, it's already a superior program.
 
So to call it "the equivalent" is, happily, no longer true. Props to the new owners and the devs for making this so!
 
Anyone who sticks with SONAR Platinum for whatever reason apart from being on a 32-bit OS is missing out on some great new features and a more bug-free program.
 
I have been spending a lot of time with CbB, importing stems from Mixcraft projects and doing new mixes in CbB, and I can't remember the last time I had a crash. The audio engine still stalls from time to time, but hit play and I'm back in business.
 
So far this is such a great outcome. From my perspective, much as I loved Mixcraft and what a great learning platform it is, I was ready to "graduate" to a more full-featured DAW, and for everyone who had licenses for SONAR, the DAW they invested so much in is back in development and better than ever.

great answers thank you