SilkTone
Does anyone know of a definitive list of CW products, and the year they were released? Even Wikipedia, which usually has tons of info on stuff like this, only has vague references to different CW products.

I have such a list, which I compiled during a period when my audio interface was broken and my computer was mute for a month. It's not 100% complete and sloppily formatted in a text file, but it includes original list prices, new features, initial and final release dates and links to contemporary reviews. It also correlates the timeline with other DAWs (e.g. Steinberg Pro 16 MIDI sequencer predates Cakewalk by 4 years).
 
It's much too long to paste into a forum post, but here's a small synopsis:
 
1987: Greg Hendershot writes a MIDI sequencer
1988: Cakewalk for DOS 1.0
1992: Cakewalk Professional for Windows
1995: Cakewalk Pro Audio
1996: Pro Audio 3
1997: Pro Audio 6 
1998: Pro Audio 7 - support for DirectX plugins
1998: Pro Audio 8 - automation, MIDI plugins
1999: Pro Audio 9 - Session Drummer, stereo tracks
2001: SONAR 1 - first DAW to combine MIDI and audio
2002: SONAR 2 - adds Rewire and ASIO support
2003: SONAR 3 - first VST support (wrapper)
2004: SONAR 4 - freeze function, track folders, TTS-1, list price $959
2005: SONAR 5 - 64-bit engine, V-Vocal
2006: SONAR 6 - AudioSnap, ACT, first native VST support
2007: SONAR 7 - Sidechaining, Z3ta+, step sequencer
2008: SONAR 8 - first release under Roland
2009: SONAR 8.5 - lots of new plugins
 
 
 
 

Pro Audio combined MIDI and audio. Hence the name Pro Audio.  Sonar 1 added Acid looping.

bitflipper
I have such a list, which I compiled during a period when my audio interface was broken and my computer was mute for a month. It's not 100% complete and sloppily formatted in a text file, but it includes original list prices, new features, initial and final release dates and links to contemporary reviews. It also correlates the timeline with other DAWs (e.g. Steinberg Pro 16 MIDI sequencer predates Cakewalk by 4 years).
 
It's much too long to paste into a forum post, but here's a small synopsis:
 
1987: Greg Hendershot writes a MIDI sequencer
1988: Cakewalk for DOS 1.0
1992: Cakewalk Professional for Windows
1995: Cakewalk Pro Audio
1996: Pro Audio 3
1997: Pro Audio 6 
1998: Pro Audio 7 - support for DirectX plugins
1998: Pro Audio 8 - automation, MIDI plugins
1999: Pro Audio 9 - Session Drummer, stereo tracks
2001: SONAR 1 - first DAW to combine MIDI and audio
2002: SONAR 2 - adds Rewire and ASIO support
2003: SONAR 3 - first VST support (wrapper)
2004: SONAR 4 - freeze function, track folders, TTS-1, list price $959
2005: SONAR 5 - 64-bit engine, V-Vocal
2006: SONAR 6 - AudioSnap, ACT, first native VST support
2007: SONAR 7 - Sidechaining, Z3ta+, step sequencer
2008: SONAR 8 - first release under Roland
2009: SONAR 8.5 - lots of new plugins

Wow, that's awesome. So I started using CW sometime between 1988 to 1992. That's ~25 years. Holy crap!
 
I still remember when Pro Audio came out. Some people were complaining about adding audio into the product. Something to the effect that it would ruin the sequencer or something. IIRC it had 4 audio tracks initially.

shawn@trustmedia.tv
I remember switching from Bars & Pipes Pro on my Amiga 4000 to Pro Audio 9 on a 500mhz PC...WOW! Real time sample playback and recording of multiple tracks...it was amazing! -S

Ah, Memories are made of this, and Deluxe Music Construction Set on my Amiga 1000...Have come a long way!
 
Walt

This thread takes me back.

My first computer sequencer proper was Music-X on an Amiga A1200 with an upgraded 68030 cpu, extra RAM (which cost a relative fortune back then), floating point unit and factory internal hard drive. The A1200 and A4000 could trample over DOS/Windows 3 PCs back then. It took quite a while for PC operating systems to catch up with Amiga OS 4's effortless multi-tasking and graphics ability.

The A1200 still works, or it did about a year ago when I plugged it in to an old television out of curiosity. Music-X was MIDI only, I tracked into a decent 4 track cassette portastudio and mixed down first onto hi-fi VCR (because we had one and it was way better than cassette), later DAT.

And yes, the piano roll editor was pretty much like Sonar's current one in terms of the basic concept. Not surprising really, it's an approach that works very well. Rather like written or printed staff notation hasn't needed a major "upgrade" in a couple of centuries or more. Unlike Sonar's staff editor.....

I never really got on with OctaMED, there was something about the sample trackers and the way my mind works that never quite synced for some reason. Could be why I don't like Live now, other than using the lite version to run MIDI sequences to synths live once in a while.