I completely understand the OP question.  I am currently using the last published version of Sonar Platinum, including my so-called "Lifetime Upgrades".  My question is this:  Is the final version of Sonar Platinum and the first release of Cakewalk by Bandlab exactly the same except for the third party packages that came bundled with Sonar Platinum?  Would it be wise for me to now discontinue using Sonar Platinum and get on the CbB bandwagon?  It's obvious that I want to continue to get new developments because I purchased "Lifetime Upgrades" for just that reason.
 
I have been a Sonar Producer/Platinum user for many, many years, beginning with Cakewalk v9.0.  I was happy to see that Bandlab was making CbB available to the Sonar masses, and offering fixes and improvements.  I had no way to know this fact until I stumbled upon this forum.  
 
So, a little patience with us "masses" please, until we become acclimated as to what's changing and what's staying the same, and what proper name we must call it in order to not be patronized by the more informed among us.  When I saw the way Gibson sold me out, I was pretty disgusted with this product, so much so that I came perilously close to ditching Sonar completely in favor of a competitive DAW, before I accidentally became aware of the ongoing effort to continue Sonar in the form of CbB.  So, only tonight did I learn not to refer to the continued development of my DAW as Sonar.  For me, it's purely semantics and nonsense to argue about that.
 
Best wishes to all fellow users,
Wade C.

abacab
I would be happy to see one decent update a year.

 
Part of the reason for the monthly update was because of Sonar having a reputation for bugs and lack of stability. The sense was that releasing monthly updates with lots of bug fixes, rather than having to wait a year for them to be rolled into a big update, would be perceived as an improvement (even if obviously, not all of the bugs were going to be fixed). When Sonar did the yearly updates, there was a lot of grumbling that bug fixes didn't happen fast enough.
 
I do think during that time Sonar did become more stable, and now that quest for better reliability is happening with CbB. When there is a bug fix, I certainly don't see any reason not to release it as soon as it's been tested.
 
 

sdwest61275
... Is the final version of Sonar Platinum and the first release of Cakewalk by Bandlab exactly the same except for the third party packages that came bundled with Sonar Platinum?  Would it be wise for me to now discontinue using Sonar Platinum and get on the CbB bandwagon?  It's obvious that I want to continue to get new developments because I purchased "Lifetime Upgrades" for just that reason...

The first release of Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) was what Sonar Platinum 2017.11 should have been, plus a few more bug fixes, and as you say without the 3rd party plugins.
 
CbB has had more or less monthly releases since then, with both enhancements and bug fixes. It's without doubt the most stable incarnation of Sonar to date.
 
If you install CbB, don't uninstall Sonar. They'll happily live side by side, and all your Sonar plugins (including 3rd party) will work with CbB.

sdwest61275
My question is this:  Is the final version of Sonar Platinum and the first release of Cakewalk by Bandlab exactly the same except for the third party packages that came bundled with Sonar Platinum?

 
Technically, no. The first CbB release is what would have been the next Sonar Platinum release, had Sonar continued.
 

Would it be wise for me to now discontinue using Sonar Platinum and get on the CbB bandwagon?

 
Yes, CbB is a better program and is the only way you'll continue to get new developments. When you get on the CbB bandwagon, you've basically discontinued using an older version of Sonar, and started using a new version that happens to have a different name.
 
HOWEVER, don't uninstall Sonar Platinum!! You get to keep all the goodies, plug-ins, virtual instruments, etc. you paid for previously. CbB will recognize them.
 

.

I need to learn to type as fast as Mark 

msmcleod
 
The first release of Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) was what Sonar Platinum 2017.11 should have been, plus a few more bug fixes, and as you say without the 3rd party plugins.
 
CbB has had more or less monthly releases since then, with both enhancements and bug fixes. It's without doubt the most stable incarnation of Sonar to date.
 
If you install CbB, don't install Sonar. They'll happily live side by side, and all your Sonar plugins (including 3rd party) will work with CbB.

Mark,
Thank you, that was most helpful to me.
Wade C.
 
 

For a while, the updates were being released around the same time each month. For me, that meant I could plan my monthly disk-image backups to coincide with the updates. But if they don't come, it's not a big deal.
 
So I do get the OP's question. It's really about knowing whether we should expect regular updates or not (we look forward to them! )
 
Personally I'm just grateful that Cakewalk is still around, so I don't really mind how often updates occur. In any case, with Cakewalk being so stable nowadays, I rarely find something that is showstopper that there isn't a workaround for.
 

abacab
I would be happy to see one decent update a year.

 
If it's once a month, or maybe once every 2-3 months, I'm happy. Personally I'd prefer more than once a year, but if it becomes once a year so be it... I've still got the DAW I love.
 

Kamikaze

msmcleod
 
 
If you install CbB, don't install Sonar. They'll happily live side by side, and all your Sonar plugins (including 3rd party) will work with CbB.

Is that a typo?

Yes - well spotted ... don't uninstall Sonar
 

Anderton

I need to learn to type as fast as Mark 

But without the typos!!
 

mettelus
 
 
[Good grief... just reread this and made me feel like a walking thesaurus, sorry about that!]

No need to apologize for using language well. How else can we communicate?