Official customer support statement

This is copy and pasted statement from an ex cakewalk employee who is still working at keeping things going at cakewalk...not my words...
Hey all,
 
Let me help try to dispel some of the myths that seem to be making the rounds in this thread. I'm also being a bit candid here, and it probably won't be the stock response you'd expect at this point.
 
First, while we didn't specifically mention install/reinstall in the FAQ, we've mentioned there, and also now on our home page, that our servers and website will remain active, and there will be no changes to how you can access your products. I know the feeling you get when you read "at this time" or "as of now", etc, but that's the best way we can be open and honest with you. We have no control over what happens to us next, but we were told that moving forward, servers will remain up. There's currently no indicator that this will change, what day that could change, etc, so all we can say is what we know. As strange as this may sound, it's sort of business as usual for now. Uninstall, reinstall, and authorize as little or as often as you need. If it makes you more comfortable, get the downloadable installers and put them on a hard drive, another machine, etc. If one day someone decides to shut everything down, we'll have a plan in place for you to authorize without the server.
 
The less fun thing for me to bring up is all the mentions of bug fixes. Unfortunately, this is another "at this time" situation. Gibson has in fact ceased operation and development of Cakewalk products. Bug fixes are definitely part of what the development team works on, and without a development team... well... you know the rest. The few of us here have been working on plans A, B, and C for different scenarios. If we get sold, shut down entirely, or somehow repurposed, we're doing our best to ensure we have a plan in place for our users. Don't forget, we're still SONAR users too, and we still want it to exist as much as anybody else.
 
Though I may get some flack for this, I'll even mention Lifetime Updates. In short, it looks good on paper. If Gibson didn't shut down Cakewalk, it'd still be something we could honor. Of course, the term "Lifetime" should always be met with the question of "what lifetime?". During the promotion, we said "even if we change SONAR Platinum to SONAR ___, you'll still get updates" and believe it or not, we meant it. I personally would have looked with caution, but if the plan was for updates to be enhancements and bug fixes, and then charge for new content, instruments, and major features, the business plan now seems to make more sense. It's unfortunate that it comes off as a "too good to be true" situation, but considering annual updates were $249 on our site for just about all of 2017, I still think the price for the now dreaded LTU wasn't all that bad. I know of a certain industry standard that costs more for a single year anyway, and they definitely weren't handing out new features each month.
 
Now a question for you all: would it be helpful if we continued to update the FAQ when we receive new information, or to address some of your concerns? Otherwise, what do you think the best way for us to relay information would be? I'm open to doing whatever it takes to keep you all in the loop.

 

Thanks for the update.  I was hoping to pass on my thanks as well to Seth Kellogg who was the Cakewalk representative on Steam (which is how I purchased Sonar) as his profile has been replaced with some generic Gibson branded thing, so I assume he's one of the many who've been sent packing.  He was a huge help to me when I encountered a number of technical issues trying to install Sonar on a new machine and would have had to give up without his assistance.

yep it was on the tail end of another thread, I thought it should be made into a headline...thanx cakewalk guy.....awesome news..very helpful

How did they ever manage to get word out from the pit of misery?
Thanks to whoever that is. 

Really not sure whether to leave Sonar and export to another format or not. 
 
I mean when will my copy stop working. If it's a checkmate situation then the company should at least freeze the license so it never expires or dies a software death.
 
Basically I don't really want to lose my stuff because of a decision by a guitar maker.
 

interpolated
Really not sure whether to leave Sonar and export to another format or not. 
 
I mean when will my copy stop working. If it's a checkmate situation then the company should at least freeze the license so it never expires or dies a software death.
 
Basically I don't really want to lose my stuff because of a decision by a guitar maker.
 

And this sums up the quandary we all face really. I personally don't trust that SONAR will be properly working long term. But I can't afford to shell out for another DAW currently. My ideal go to would be Studio One, as I've used the free version before and I'm comfortable with it.  But to even get the more basic version, it's going to set me back nearly £200 if I want to be able to use VSTS and virtual instruments outside of those which come packaged with it and I don't have that kind of money to drop on it right now. There's always Reaper but I found it a bit fiddly the time I tried it.
 
So yeah, what to do? 

user4325874

kevmsmith81

interpolated
Really not sure whether to leave Sonar and export to another format or not. 
 
I mean when will my copy stop working. If it's a checkmate situation then the company should at least freeze the license so it never expires or dies a software death.
 
Basically I don't really want to lose my stuff because of a decision by a guitar maker.
 

And this sums up the quandary we all face really. I personally don't trust that SONAR will be properly working long term. But I can't afford to shell out for another DAW currently. My ideal go to would be Studio One, as I've used the free version before and I'm comfortable with it.  But to even get the more basic version, it's going to set me back nearly £200 if I want to be able to use VSTS and virtual instruments outside of those which come packaged with it and I don't have that kind of money to drop on it right now. There's always Reaper but I found it a bit fiddly the time I tried it.
 
So yeah, what to do? 

I agree on your lake of trust for Gibson's promises (there's no more Cakewalk after all) after the lifetime updates scam, but are you aware you can get the full pro version of Studio One for $125? Others have also offered reduced prices for Sonar users.

I'd not seen it that cheap, even the crossgrade price I'd seen was near the £300 mark (and I'm not entirely sure how a crossgrade works, like do I lose access to Sonar and the bundled stuff, cos I really like a number of the VSTs and virtual instruments with Sonar).  Sadly I can't afford it currently due to a number of upcoming things I need to pay for, but out of interest where did you see it so cheap? 

the news of the termination of the development of Sonar due to the sudden closure of all activities decided by Gibson (thank goodness I always thought that his instruments that did not deserve their price and I never bought them) lost me very disappointed.
The thing turned out to be even worse because it happened between head and neck only a week after upgrading to Platinum.
I therefore decided to look around me doing my surveys on where to fall in the search for replacement software also in light of the fact that learning the use of this type of software requires a lot of time and effort.
There are proposals from Presonus, Overloud and Cubase proposing cross-grade at an acceptable price.
All but in anticipation of abandoning Sonar completely. And this is very sorry.
In the meantime, I would be happy to know that the program works, but sometimes unexpected problems arise especially in the use of some VSTi that do not find samples or programs or produce clicks or beeps.
And it is precisely the promise of updates and frequent bug fixes that, at the time, had convinced me to choose SONAR.
If now this promise falls, too much, the affection towards him falls also!
I think I'm not the only one among the current users of Sonar, who thinks so and I'm very sorry!

Cakewalk Employee:
Thanks for updating us.  And if we feel like we've been kicked in the gut, then think about this person!!  We lost a DAW, they lost a job!! 
 
Thank you very much for thinking about us!!

I just want to apologize. Im highly irritated by this whole thing and im not myself.
Sure im normally a jerk, but this has 10 folded my behavior.
Again, My apology's. 

Who knows what to believe anymore?
 
Other than Noel's announcement here and Gibson's press release, the last I heard from Cakewalk was a "last chance" offer for 50% off MasterWriter on Nov 14.
 
I can't imagine myself doing business with any of Gibson's brands from here on...

chuckebaby
I just want to apologize. Im highly irritated by this whole thing and im not myself.
Sure im normally a jerk, but this has 10 folded my behavior.
Again, My apology's. 

You're being hard on yourself. You've helped so many here. And probably, the truth be told, you've got a right to be irritated (in the very least, it's entirely understandable).
 
Apology unnecessary.

chuckebaby
I just want to apologize. Im highly irritated by this whole thing and im not myself.
Sure im normally a jerk, but this has 10 folded my behavior.
Again, My apology's. 

Chuck, that's very gracious of you, but this would make Mother Theresa cuss.  I think we all feel like you do.

kevmsmith81
 
And this sums up the quandary we all face really. I personally don't trust that SONAR will be properly working long term. But I can't afford to shell out for another DAW currently. My ideal go to would be Studio One, as I've used the free version before and I'm comfortable with it.  But to even get the more basic version, it's going to set me back nearly £200 if I want to be able to use VSTS and virtual instruments outside of those which come packaged with it and I don't have that kind of money to drop on it right now. There's always Reaper but I found it a bit fiddly the time I tried it.
 
So yeah, what to do? 

Traction Corporation has offered jobs to former Cakewalk engineers, and a half-off Waveform deal for Cakewalk customers. That means you can get the full version for $50.  it will run your VSTs, and includes Melodyne.
 
>>> http://forum.cakewalk.com...tunities-m3705627.aspx