Is there an easy way to know which plugins/instruments I may purchase from Cakewalk will work in other DAWS?
 
I know some are Cakewalk specific like Sonitus even the 3rd party freebies like Nomad Factory which will not work. I would tend to buy them but only if they work cross-platform.  
 
  

Hi There,
 
There are plenty of people here who can answer that question for you, but here's my shot at an answer:
 
There are different plugin formats; Sonar supports VST3, VST2, and DirectX (and maybe others?). The Sonitus plugins you mentioned are DirectX plugins, and I'm not sure if any other DAWs support them. However, many other DAWS support VST2 and (to a slightly lesser extent) VST3, so you should be relatively stable with those formats.
 
The best way is to know for sure is to check the format of the plugin you'd like to purchase and verify that it is supported in any other DAWs you use.

I just opened the Sonitus EQ in Reaper (and all the Sonitus Suite from my X1 Prod Suite install on my laptop appeared in the Reaper plugins menu thingie).
 
Could be just that Reaper is special in this regard (DX support) but a huge swath of the instruments and effects from X1 Production Suite seem to open in it.
 
I do not really use Reaper but I wanted to check it out on my laptop and I installed X1 Prod Suite just to see what would transfer over (and to see if maybe I could get Sonar running on this underpowered POS).
 
Various synths like SD3, Zeta+2, DimPro, etc seem to work as well but all of these working could simply be because it is a) X1 and/or b) back then I splurged on the Prod Suite (which maybe unlocked all those tools). I don't have any newer versions of Sonar installed on my laptop.
 
BUT this OP seems to be asking whether extra things they buy from Cake (not stuff that comes bundles with Sonar) will work in other programs.
 
It depends. You can buy the new CA2A and it will work as a VST in other programs but the PC2A would not (because it is Prochannel only). Zeta or Rapture Pro bought as standalones are full instruments able to work in other platforms (and even on Mac).
 
Anything that is Prochannel only will not work because Prochannel is only available in Sonar.
 
Just look at the product description in the Cake Store listing for more detail or contact customer support for more info on specific products.
 
Cheers.

I am pretty sure this is a question about bundled plug-ins or there would be no mention of Nomad Factory. The Nomad Factory plug-ins are not "freebies" but are priced in the product.
 
The general rule of thumb is Cakewalk plug-ins are not locked to the DAW. Bundled third party plug-ins are. The third party exceptions are Melodyne and Addictive Drums 2 and Tone2 BiFilter2. The rest of the 3rd party plug-ins from Nomad Factory (Blue Tubes series), Overloud (TH2 Producer/Sonar and BREVERB SONAR), AAS (Strum2 Session and Lounge Lizard Session 4) and TruePianos Amber are locked to SONAR.
 
As noted above SONAR is a VST2/3 and DirectX host. Some plug-ins bundled with SONAR are DirectX, these include the Sonitus Suite and the bundled Called the Classic Creative Suite. The DirectX synths are TTS-1, Cyclone, PSYN II and Roland Groove Synth and RXP. While not locked to SONAR, other DAWs may not load DirectX plug-ins without a wrapper to make the plug-ins look like VST2 plug-ins.
 
Finally some plug-ins are proprietary. These include the Drum Replacer, VocalSync, ProChannel plug-ins and the Anderton Collection. These only load in SONAR.

johnjoseph
Hi There,
 
There are plenty of people here who can answer that question for you, but here's my shot at an answer:
 
There are different plugin formats; Sonar supports VST3, VST2, and DirectX (and maybe others?). The Sonitus plugins you mentioned are DirectX plugins, and I'm not sure if any other DAWs support them. However, many other DAWS support VST2 and (to a slightly lesser extent) VST3, so you should be relatively stable with those formats.
 
The best way is to know for sure is to check the format of the plugin you'd like to purchase and verify that it is supported in any other DAWs you use.

Thanks John...I have been using Studio One for compatibility/help with a friend for his songs and so I have noticed a few items do not work.
I was also wondering about the ProChannel modules. I see that Soft Tube works in Studio One but not any of the other ProChannel modules that I purchased from Cakewalk. 
1.Strum Acoustic Session works but Strum Session 2 does not.
2.Lounge Lizard loads but no sound.
 
Thanks,
John
 

scook
I am pretty sure this is a question about bundled plug-ins or there would be no mention of Nomad Factory. The Nomad Factory plug-ins are not "freebies" but are priced in the product.
 
The general rule of thumb is Cakewalk plug-ins are not locked to the DAW. Bundled third party plug-ins are. The third party exceptions are Melodyne and Addictive Drums 2 and Tone2 BiFilter2. The rest of the 3rd party plug-ins from Nomad Factory (Blue Tubes series), Overloud (TH2 Producer/Sonar and BREVERB SONAR), AAS (Strum2 Session and Lounge Lizard Session 4) and TruePianos Amber are locked to SONAR.
 
As noted above SONAR is a VST2/3 and DirectX host. Some plug-ins bundled with SONAR are DirectX, these include the Sonitus Suite and the bundled Called the Classic Creative Suite. The DirectX synths are TTS-1, Cyclone, PSYN II and Roland Groove Synth and RXP. While not locked to SONAR, other DAWs may not load DirectX plug-ins without a wrapper to make the plug-ins look like VST2 plug-ins.
 
Finally some plug-ins are proprietary. These include the Drum Replacer, VocalSync, ProChannel plug-ins and the Anderton Collection. These only load in SONAR.

Thanks Scook this makes sense but I got thrown off when Soft Tube worked and Lounge Lizard loaded but did not play. Same with Strum Acoustic...confused me.

Soft Tube has made that one particular plug in a freebie in a number of applications. Normally they are all iLocked.

Meno
 
Thanks Scook this makes sense but I got thrown off when Soft Tube worked and Lounge Lizard loaded but did not play. Same with Strum Acoustic...confused me.

As mentioned above Soft Tube a free from the developer. Each developer handles their plug-ins differently. AAS appears to handle locking in a different way. The original Strum Acoustic was not locked at all. The new Strum2 session is locked.
 
I was surprised BiFilter2 worked outside of SONAR.

There is a major Z3TA+2 stuck note issue in other DAWs. Similar to the Rapture Pro issue which got resolved recently. I don't think it will ever be fixed Cakewalk don't seem to care.

Doktor Avalanche
There is a major Z3TA+2 stuck note issue in other DAWs. Similar to the Rapture Pro issue which got resolved recently. I don't think it will ever be fixed Cakewalk don't seem to care.

do keep up at the back http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3265339