jb101

Gregkonji
So my membership just expired and I now just have a week to buy the lifetime upgrade.  I know the marketing suggests that I'll miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity but experience tells me if I don't upgrade now life will go on.  There will be other great deals in the future.  The coming soon updates I'm seeing look good but aren't game changers for me.  
 
My guess is future upgrade deals at this $150-$200 price point will include the core software updates plus the additional add-ons the "lifetimers" won't get....I've got a week to decide.    

 
Lifetime updates will receive exactly the same as monthly or yearly updates..

I've read the FAQ page:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Lifetime-Updates-and-SONAR-OS-X-Alpha-m3429473.aspx
They are talking about core software updates.  They talk about add-ons that at their discretion will be an extra cost.  Cakewalk will probably balance it to where some add-ons will be included in the core and some will be extra.  That balance will be determined to maximize profit.  It's a smart plan.  If they wanted they could reduce these core updates to bug fixes.
 
What I'm saying it's possible these extra non-core add-ons will come as a bundle deal for those not already in the update program.  I think it's possible in a year they'll offer deals where you can get the core updates for say $100 but for $200 you get the updates plus some yet to be announced add-on.  I haven't seen anything to prove this isn't possible.

Sylvan
 Is there a link to apply for refund from Cakewalk?

Send email using the link at the bottom of http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Email/OrderSupport
You can also follow up with a PM to one of the staff on this forum

I fully expect the lifetime updates to sound great until it doesn't. I see them separating 'core' from the other stuff that currently gets included like bundled VST Plugins and such so they can still milk their user base. Naturally there is no way this would be announced while the offer is on, it would get revealed afterwards.

Gregkonji

jb101

Gregkonji
So my membership just expired and I now just have a week to buy the lifetime upgrade.  I know the marketing suggests that I'll miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity but experience tells me if I don't upgrade now life will go on.  There will be other great deals in the future.  The coming soon updates I'm seeing look good but aren't game changers for me.  
 
My guess is future upgrade deals at this $150-$200 price point will include the core software updates plus the additional add-ons the "lifetimers" won't get....I've got a week to decide.    

 
Lifetime updates will receive exactly the same as monthly or yearly updates..

I've read the FAQ page:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Lifetime-Updates-and-SONAR-OS-X-Alpha-m3429473.aspx
They are talking about core software updates.  They talk about add-ons that at their discretion will be an extra cost.  Cakewalk will probably balance it to where some add-ons will be included in the core and some will be extra.  That balance will be determined to maximize profit.  It's a smart plan.  If they wanted they could reduce these core updates to bug fixes.
 
What I'm saying it's possible these extra non-core add-ons will come as a bundle deal for those not already in the update program.  I think it's possible in a year they'll offer deals where you can get the core updates for say $100 but for $200 you get the updates plus some yet to be announced add-on.  I haven't seen anything to prove this isn't possible.

 
Cakewalk have stated repeatedly that there will be no difference between Lifetime Updates and the regular Monthly/Yearly Membership.  They will both receive exactly the same core content, but may have to pay for any extras - just as we do now, e.g. the extra ProChannel modules, Rapture Pro etc.
 
In all the years that I have been a Cakewalk customer (since Sonar 6) iI have never seen them act in an underhand way.

Yes I've been with Cakewalk since Sonar 2 and they've never been underhanded.  I've just had it where I've gone from updating every year for about $150-$200 to only updating every few years for the same price.  The years I waited, I saved money and put the cash to other things in the studio.  I'm just trying to get the most bang for the buck and I'm pretty happy with the July Platinum Sonar that I've got (the updated comping in August's release does have me on the fence). 
 
If I don't renew, yes I'll miss out on the latest and greatest updates.  However if I wait a year, I'll get these updates anyway at either a cheaper price or with a cool new add-on.  I don't believe in 3 years from now I'll be kicking myself that I didn't get the lifetime upgrades when I had a chance.    

The lifetime upgrade was the first time I've paid for an upgrade without getting anything thrown in on the deal.  With previous upgrades, from X1 onward for me, we received substantial bonuses like AD2, DSF Synphonic Strings, etc.  This latest 'forced' upgrade - coming only 6 months after I upgraded to Platinum - is full price with no 'gifts'.  Buying from Musician's Friend you at least get the CA-2A thrown in.  Not complaining, just pointing out.
 

Having just purchased the lifetime upgrade myself, finally, my take on it is that the "extra benefit" this time around is not having to renew.  Extra $$ =  extra toys, even if over a period of time.   Not to mention continued updates which so far are well worth it for my needs.   And it just keeps getting better...
 

If they would have made the comping improvements in July it wouldn't have been such a struggle to decide whether to upgrade or not.  My renewal expired Aug 17.  I do a ton of comping and the new crossfade feature within the comping tool sounds very promising for when I'm running out of options.  That and the ability of adding plugins to multiple channels at once.  I have a number of Slate Digital plugins I usually put on each track.  Copying and pasting those over 40+ tracks takes time.  I've been trying to convince myself to not upgrade.  Crap. 
 
Oh well.  I'm upgrading.    
 
 

Gregkonji
Yes I've been with Cakewalk since Sonar 2 and they've never been underhanded.  I've just had it where I've gone from updating every year for about $150-$200 to only updating every few years for the same price.  The years I waited, I saved money and put the cash to other things in the studio.  I'm just trying to get the most bang for the buck and I'm pretty happy with the July Platinum Sonar that I've got (the updated comping in August's release does have me on the fence). 
 
If I don't renew, yes I'll miss out on the latest and greatest updates.  However if I wait a year, I'll get these updates anyway at either a cheaper price or with a cool new add-on.  I don't believe in 3 years from now I'll be kicking myself that I didn't get the lifetime upgrades when I had a chance.    

I'm with you on this one.  I bought SPlat for a 1-time fee, with 12 months of rolling updates.  When my time runs out, I don't plan on renewing.  I'll keep loving what I've got until my DAW becomes obsolete enough that I need a new product.  And when that happens I'll come back to Cakewalk for whatever version they're selling then.  
 
It's important to note one's recording practices and styles though; i don't think SPlat improvements would really benefit someone like me, who uses a DAW like a 2" tape machine with awesome editing capabilities.  Most of my stuff is played live in 1 or 2 takes.  I think the tweaks that will come will probably benefit other workflows, but not necessarily mine.
 
I've been with Cakewalk since HomeStudio2.  I upgraded to HS2XL, Sonar Producer, X1, and now SPlat.  I've gotten my money's worth with each of these products and the upgrade costs have been negligible.  I'm happy to keep this pattern going.

resurrecting this - I don't completely understand the rolling updates feature. I am thinking of moving to Sonar and Platinum might be a bit expensive at the moment for me. In which case I will get Professional and miss out on the lifetime updates. Will rolling updates allow me to miss years, just like in the past one might miss a version and only update every couple of years? eg I buy Professional and update for 12 months. I am happy with where Sonar is at so cancel updates until a year or two goes by and start thinking the improvements have been great enough for me to want the current version. So I start rolling updates again for a year - do I get the (new for me) current version plus a years updates or do I get a years updates from the time a year or two ago when I discontinued my subscription to the update method?
thanks