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Cakewalk 3 for windows was my first. It was brilliant!

I also started with Cakewalk 2.0 - I managed to get a very new
Roland SCC-1 Sound card - in fact I've still got it - just no slot
in my PC to put it in.

And being able to play 16 different sounds - Wow!

Yamaha QX1, I think).

sure it wasn't a QX5? I produced hundreds of songs on a QX3 and then moved to Cakewalk. Took me a while to be convinced about the audio (soundblaster), so I used 3 DR4's with sympte for a long time. I was never tempted to go to Cubase, etc. I never felt that Cakewalk/Sonar set limitations on what I could achieve. It is only my lack of talent that holds me back.

ORIGINAL: michael japan
It is only my lack of talent that holds me back.

I've heard your stuff; if you're lacking in talent then I'm a complete hack

ORIGINAL: michael japan
sure it wasn't a QX5? I produced hundreds of songs on a QX3 and then moved to Cakewalk. Took me a while to be convinced about the audio (soundblaster), so I used 3 DR4's with sympte for a long time. I was never tempted to go to Cubase, etc. I never felt that Cakewalk/Sonar set limitations on what I could achieve. It is only my lack of talent that holds me back.

No, thinking back, I'm pretty sure it was a QX1. It was a long time ago, though!

Lack of talent? You must be speaking of a lack relative to infinite talent...

ORIGINAL: Thud
I wouldn't mind have a DX7 as a controller, they are built like tanks.

That is true, both about the inside and the outside, particularly the older, heavier, metal-case variety.

You could even save and load patch and sequence information from a CASETTE deck via an analog data port.

For a long time, that was the only way to do backups without spending a fortune. Then floppies came along and solved everything...

Those were the days.....

I've been here since version 2.0 - which was distributed on floppy disks incidentally. I was running a 486 with a whopping 8 MB of RAM!

I have pretty much bought every Cakewalk/Sonar upgrade, although I have not upgraded to ver. 4.0 yet - I guess I am still hoping for a better deal!

I started with Cakewalk for DOS v.2. I've faithfully upgraded each version, though I haven't gone to Sonar 4 just yet.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity of the DOS days.

That's my 2 cents,
Greg

ORIGINAL: moniker
My Mk1 DX7 is still going like a good 'un here as a mother!

Judging by their track record, I would expect no less. I've had mine (a first-edition '84 model) open a time or two and gotten a good look inside. It's really very much like a technological work of art, down to the miniature bends in the wiring harnesses so that they make perfect fits to the case contours.

Mine came mail-order from Rhythm City, Atlanta, with a broken key. It wasn't their fault, the box was sealed. Back then, returns were a little more of a hassle, and once I was feeling that great action (velocity sensitive, no less) smelling the sweet savor of the new electronics, I did not want to part with it. So I voided the warranty the first week, opened it up, and got after that key with super glue (and a vengeance). The note was fixed, and the whole thing worked perfectly through over 15 years of gigging.

The key/glue finally gave way in 1999, whereupon I took it as an excuse to refurbish it a little. The internet had since been invented, so I surfed around and found where I could order a replacement key directly from Yamaha. I replaced the broken key, then cleaned the contacts with Caig DeOxIt. I also took it as an excuse to change out the original solder-in battery (still working at almost twice its rated shelf-life) for a coin-battery holder like the one that modern motherboards have. I also took a Dremel and cut out a square hole for an actual IEC power cord socket. (The original cord just jutted out of the case and had since worn completely through and was about to short out!)

If you can believe it, I still have an original Grey Matter E! board that I bought and never got around to putting in. Now, after all this time, I'm almost afraid to!

Cakewalk 3 and 5 for DOS. It didn't do audio at all but was the most reliable MIDI sequencer ever made. Wicked fast, 256 tracks of MIDI, smooth scrolling even view, save during run, never crashed or glitched, solid sync with my ADATs... good stuff. If I were on a MIDI life support machine I would only trust Cakewalk 5 for DOS to run it. I just sold my Music Quest MQX-32M on e-bay but I still have the MQX-16s, guess I could fire it up.. I'll bet it's fast on a 3Ghz P 4 !!! Ooops... the card is ISA, looks like PIII 1Ghz is as far as I go on that one. Oh well.. there is the old LPT port one, might be on the Cakewalk extra drivers list...

My old setup was to drive my Roland U220, EMU Procusion, and Akai AX80 synth in sync with my ADAT (only one at that time). Man those were the days.. I just truned on the PC and it worked.. What was cool was when I got Sonar my old .wrk files opened right up and worked fine. I love that. Not too many programs maintain backward compatibility like that.

I started off with Cakewalk 2.0 DOS. I still have the floppies and manual...and all disks/manuals of all versions since then through SONAR 4 Producer.

My first computer had an 8088 processor, 5 1/4" floppy and 10 meg HD!

My first synth was an ARP Odyssey.

My first 'multi-track' work was done bouncing 2 portable cassette decks.

I was an Amiga 1000 then 2000 user through the Eighties. I remember how amazing it was to sample with Perfect Sound back then. Since the demise of Amiga, I have been a cakewalk user. I cannot remember at what version I jumped aboard but it was after Windows 95 (I guess I'm not really old school ). I remember being one of those people who thought moving to PC/Win land was a huge step backwards .

-Erik

Cakewalk 2 for DOS running on an IBM XT w/ 10 meg HD. Funny thing is I think I controlled lights with it more often than I made music.

ORIGINAL: losguy

What a luxury. That would have been a pretty hot machine in its day.

Yeah, I was thrilled with it. It was a Christmas gift from my Father-In-Law. I went right out and bought a (excuse my language) Sound Blaster. It was really exciting to hear 'music' being generated from that system.

Mass-storage was cassette tape via audio modem technology (FSK).

I used to back up my Korg Poly-800 and Alesis SR-16 data to cassette tape.

A real beauty in its day.

It made a great bass synth. It had 2 oscillators, could generate white and pink noise, had portamento and a bunch of other 'hands on' features. My room-mate in college used to hook it up to his bass amp, point the amp out the window and make pig noises across campus with it!

Glad you brought that up. Before Portastudios, that was the cheap way to go. Man, that brings back memories.

I still have those recordings. They remind me to be thankful for what I have now.