My name is Greg Ondo and I have represented Steinberg products for over 25 years in the United States.  We were shocked to hear of Gibson's decision to cease development of the Cakewalk brand and products.
 
We know that there are many currently available alternatives to compose and create music on your Windows computer.  Steinberg has a long history of innovation spanning more than 33 years including the VST and ASIO standards.  Steinberg offers a broad portfolio of music and audio software solutions including Cubase, Nuendo, WaveLab, Dorico, HALion and Groove Agent.
 
We wanted to invite you to attend an interactive google hangout where you can ask specific questions on how to translate your workflows in a Cubase environment.  You can send questions on what a feature is called in Cubase, where to locate and execute a function or how to do a specific type of edit.  There may be features not available currently in Cubase and there will probably many that are similar but have different names
 
There are promotions on crossgrades available to transition into Cubase with discounts starting November 24th.  If you are interested in a streamlined project migration process let us know if that would be of use to you  Steinberg and our parent company Yamaha Corporation are focussed and dedicated to providing solutions for musicians and audio professionals at every level.
 
If you are interested in attending the google hangout you can watch it live or offline and find info about it at  at 12 PM US Eastern time November 28th.  You can also submit questions in advance to .  We will go through the submitted questions and do multiple hangouts or create a series if necessary.   
 
All the best,
 
Greg
 
 
Host Edit :----------------------------
 
In the interest of fairness, I've been talking to Rick Naqvi, VP of sales at PreSonus.  They will be announcing a special offer for Sonar users on Tuesday.
 
Karyn
 

Thanks Greg -appreciate the support (and crossgrade offer ;)
 
 

Hi,
 
Main question I have now is when a Cubase 9.5 demo will be available and if it will be in time to still coincide with any special crossgrade offers.

I have to say I would much prefer to stick with my current working version of Sonar as long as possible, but until I have more solid official information about the continuation of authorization I have to explore all other options. Also there is the looming possibility that some Windows update could break an essential (for me) feature at any time.

Thank you Greg!

I have stickied this post as I believe it is useful to the community and as Cakewalk is no longer trading it can not be detrimental to Cakewalk in any way.
 
 
 
Please keep any replies very on topic....
 
 

Eh... jet another DAW without controller SDK.... Oder??? Vielleicht nur für mich? Bitte! Ich kann nach Hamburg fahren es persönlich auf jeder mögliche Media abholen!

I am very interested in moving on to Cubase. I had Cubase SX 1,2 and 3. after Emagic was bought by Apple. I still have my dongle. I have loved Sonar but I see no reason to continue with it. The offer of a grossgrade to Cubase 9.5 is very thoughtful of the Steinberg team. I thank you for doing this at this time. 
 
I hope we are given some time to gather our thoughts on this and that this offer it in effect for awhile.  

Greg - FYI, remember Cakewalk users are not accustomed to the eLicenser requirement.  If the crossgrade is "digital" be sure to remind that the eLicenser is also required for purchase if it's not going to be "included".
 
 

With Cubase, how does licensing work? I've heard about an e-Licenser, do I need that for Cubase? Presumably it's a USB dongle type solution? Is it a proprietary thing or can I use any USB stick? If not, can I at least use iLok? I have my Waves/IK/Overloud on a USB stick and I really don't want to use multiple ports on my laptop just for dongles.

Sorry, but I'm not paying for a hardware dongle.