I learned Digital signal processing on Logic Audio Platinum for PC.  Three months later they were bought out by Apple and I was told I had to buy a Mac at $7000 to continue to get support.  I didn't.  I installed one of the early versions of Cakewalk instead.  However, due to the poor sampling technology back then dominated by soundfonts (SF2) I moved on to better things.
 
I am a composer who once played cello in our local symphony orchestra.  I used a piano for tuning and can play a few legato chords but due to the complexity of what I compose now using a keyboard is a waste of time - inputting each note using piano roll or score sheet is quicker.  In other words, I'm working with MIDI to realize my compositions.  I have spent thousands on Spitfire Audio Libraries.  I work alone.  I don't need to record anything, send anything or share anything.
 
About 9 months ago (maybe more) I bought Cakewalk Sonar Platinum.  The learning curve since the early 2000s is immense and not long after I was informed that I would have to move to Bandlab.  According to the comparison sheet I'll lose most of the effects filters I use... great.  And, I'll get a whole bunch of sharing and co-operation features that I not only don't need, I actually don't want unnecessary CPU power being spent on a PC that is unplugged from the internet.
 
It gets worse.  As a paying customer of Cakewalk, I had a reasonable expectation of quality and support.  I'm now faced with a situation similar to the Logic Audio fraud.  If I want updates, patches and fixes I have to download Bandlab but since Bandlab is free I really can't expect any more support than a Youtube customer gets.  Am I wrong?  I want to be.
 
So I wait.  I peruse Bandlab's features fearing the destruction of my work and looking for something I want.  Bandlab caters to performers.  What are they offering to orchestral composers?  Anyone?       

Your wish has come true.  YOU ARE WRONG.
 
 I am a 20+ year Cakewalk user and I assure you that Bandlab is offering a contiually updated version of the SONAR Platinum you purchased - for free.  You don't lose anything and it won't destroy anything. 
 
If you install alongside your SONAR, Cakewalk by BL will find, incorporate and use most if not all of your existing effects. You can manually point it to any it misses.
 
There is about ZERO (yes - nil, nada, 0) learning curve.  It is just an continuation and refinement of SONAR Platinum.  Except for the new features (which you don't have to use until you grow up), it works exactly the same.
 
It's great.  No worries.  And did anyone mention - it's absolutely free?

Bandlab support is great. Quick, responsive, friendly. 
 
cheers :)

Wow, that's quite a negative summary. I used to use C-Lab on an Atari, but it got renamed to Logic and moved to PC/Mac :)
 
What I would say is that if you just keep Sonar installed and install and use Cake By BL, you will have all your plugins. The install of Cake does not affect Sonar.
 
There are not loads of sharing stuff and other junk using up CPU cycles in Cake by BL. So you don't have to worry about that. 
 
Support actually seems to have improved with Cake by BL. Support from Cakewalk Inc was virtually nonexistent during the last couple of years. BandLab actually does have support that you can contact!
 
Lastly, Cakewalk by Bandlab has been getting monthly updates since it was released and it has improved substantially over Sonar. I still have Sonar installed for the plugins, but I never use it as all my old projects work fine in Cake. There really isn't a reason to not install and use Cakewalk by BL unless you want to invent one.

35mm
There really isn't a reason to not install and use Cakewalk by BL unless you want to invent one.

I almost miss sparring/trolling with some of the more vehement naysayers who were convinced that BandLab's changing the program to a free license meant that they must be up to no good. What motive could anyone possibly have for giving away a program to end users except spying on them? (You know, like the web browser I'm using to read and reply to this forum.)
 
Either that or the company was doomed to fail almost immediately due to having no doubt spent billions to purchase the codebase of a dead product line from a company that has been hemorrhaging money, hiring a few of its engineers to start polishing it up, and licensing it for free.
 
Because nobody has ever made money by giving away software for free, not Google, not Adobe, not Mozilla, not Microsoft....
 
Another great fear that some may yet hold is that BandLab will START CHARGING for Cakewalk licenses, which would mean that....I guess....you'd start paying a license fee after using the program for free for however long, or refuse and be happy using the last free version that already runs way better than the last version of Platinum. Gee, talk about a scam. Somebody call the FTC.
 
I think there are still some "spite" holdouts who paid the $600 for the perpetual license for the Platinum suite and view it as a slap in the face that other people now get a free license for a similar core program without the rest of the suite. Deny yourself the free upgrade because other people get it for free? So that the people who get it for free wind up with a better core program than you who paid for it?

Euthymia

35mm
There really isn't a reason to not install and use Cakewalk by BL unless you want to invent one.

I almost miss sparring/trolling with some of the more vehement naysayers who were convinced that BandLab's changing the program to a free license meant that they must be up to no good. What motive could anyone possibly have for giving away a program to end users except spying on them? (You know, like the web browser I'm using to read and reply to this forum.)
 
Either that or the company was doomed to fail almost immediately due to having no doubt spent billions to purchase the codebase of a dead product line from a company that has been hemorrhaging money, hiring a few of its engineers to start polishing it up, and licensing it for free.
 
Because nobody has ever made money by giving away software for free, not Google, not Adobe, not Mozilla, not Microsoft....
 
Another great fear that some may yet hold is that BandLab will START CHARGING for Cakewalk licenses, which would mean that....I guess....you'd start paying a license fee after using the program for free for however long, or refuse and be happy using the last free version that already runs way better than the last version of Platinum. Gee, talk about a scam. Somebody call the FTC.
 
I think there are still some "spite" holdouts who paid the $600 for the perpetual license for the Platinum suite and view it as a slap in the face that other people now get a free license for a similar core program without the rest of the suite. Deny yourself the free upgrade because other people get it for free? So that the people who get it for free wind up with a better core program than you who paid for it?

Meng has already stated Cakewalk will stay free.
 
He's also been fairly straight about the fact that the income comes from different sources - i.e. his chain of music stores, audio hardware & gig bags etc. There's a bunch of business owned by BandLab, some of their products are free, some are not.
 
I can see a few things coming in the future:

• Paid software such as Rapture Pro, Z3TA 2, ProChannel modules.
• More hardware products, some which may be more tailored to Cakewalk - i.e. it'll work well with all DAWs, but you'll need to go to Cakewalk for the "special" features.
• Pure speculation here... but if you go from a free collaborative web-based platform, then introduce a free professional DAW, the next logical step to me would be an online record label.

 
Also, there's a bunch of companies out there making money out of free software - look at all the Linux distros, which > 90% of the worlds servers run on. They make money by offering:

• Paid courses and consulting
• Premium support contracts

 

What a silly posting. 

Some people complain when hit with even a golden hammer.

@djwolf: I get where you're coming from. Finding any software these days that does the job you want done without a lot of fun-necessary extraneous features is a lot harder than it used to be. It may even be impossible. Those who have responded so far don't get this, likely because they're young and have never experienced non-bloated software, but that's totally beside the point.
 
If you're as serious about music as you sound, you might have to switch to Pro Tools to get what you're after. It'll still be bloated and there'll still be a steep learning curve (it's a given they're not doing things the same way as Cakewalk), but as far as odds go, Pro Tools is less likely to sink, drastically change their approach, or dump their software into the public domain.
 
On the other hand, you could just do what you can with what you have where you are. (I'm quoting Roosevelt)
 
Your choice, mate.

bitman
Some people complain when hit with even a golden hammer.

I would rather avoid this... I'm having low pain threshold.