Should I Go for the Black Friday $49 X1 Upgrade Special

Greetings all - I have been away from the forums for several months now and have not been following all the X1 talk. I received an e-mail today with a Black Friday offer of a $49 upgrade from 8.5.3 Producer to X1 Producer. My question to all the "now experienced" X1 users - is it worth it? My gut says at only $49 it sounds like a can't lose proposition - nonetheless I have a few questions given that I am extremely comfortable and totally satisfied with 8.5.3 which I have been using for close to 2 years now. I searched this forum for the words "Upgrade" and "X1" and the most recent threads I found were (I think) April '11. The general sense of those threads was that there is no change in the basic engine going from 8.5.3 to X1. However there are a few features such as Pro Channel, screen sets, FX-chains etc that are nice additions. There was also mention of drawbacks/bugs such as incompatibility with projects made in earlier versions, problems with projects using embedded Sonitus FX, and a rather dull color set 9compared to earlier versions). At the risk of having some of your answers be repetitions of earlier forum material, I would appreciate if those with X1 (and preferably Sonar 8.5)experience provide specific answers to the following: 1)Is the X1 installation totally independent of the 8.5 installation? Any potential for registry problems if I do not uninstall 8.5.3? I am currently working on several important projects and need to be able to fall back to 8.5.3 if I run into X1 hurdles. As long as I can have both the $49 upgrade appears to be a winner! 2)Are there still known incompatibilities with opening 8.5 projects or have these been fixed in the patches? 3)Do the current X1 patches offer any improvements in color schemes? Many thanks in advance.

I have been a LONG time user of Cakewalk products. I was miffed at first about all the major changes to our beloved 8.5 but I must tell you, the more I use it(just over one year now) the more I tend to think that this direction is a good one. Every DAW has it's weaknesses and X1 is no different. I have been thru all the patchs,quickfixs,etc. and as far as I am concerned, I am very satisfied. If you buy now you can probably be sure that you are getting a very stable workstation. When we first got X1 last year, it was disasterous for a lot of users. I am thankful I have not had the problems most have had. I have said this before and I am sure that you will hear it again. X1 is probably the new direction for Sonar. Everything before, Sonars 1-8.5,are history. Whether we like it or not. I would advise you to make the leap from 8.5. Keep it on your drive and use it while you learn X1. The older versions of Sonar will not be supported much longer, I'm sure. BEWARE, X1 should be approached as a brand new daw. Don't go in expecting the good old Sonar you used to love. I wish you luck, my friend.

1)Is the X1 installation totally independent of the 8.5 installation? Any potential for registry problems if I do not uninstall 8.5.3? I am currently working on several important projects and need to be able to fall back to 8.5.3 if I run into X1 hurdles. As long as I can have both the $49 upgrade appears to be a winner!

Yes, X1 is an independent installation, so you'll still have 8.5.3 as a fallback. Don't uninstall it.

2)Are there still known incompatibilities with opening 8.5 projects or have these been fixed in the patches?

Most of the weirdness I've seen has been with projects much older than 8.5, and there were no show-stoppers. But then there's the recent post about PC4K Channel Compressor not wanting to work in an 8.5 project, so it's not possible to say you won't see any problems.

3)Do the current X1 patches offer any improvements in color schemes?

There have been no color scheme improvements from Cakewalk to speak of. See Panu's mod site for alternatives: http://www.sonarmods.com/

You should, because at this price it will save you $50. But what I want to ask is there going to be any special holiday special to upgrade to Expanded? Since a vast majority have already upgraded to X1. And the specials where they give a discount on those 3rd party programs like the Notation and synthesizer one just isn't very appealing for those who just want a great deal on Expanded or Expanded Bundles. It's like they completely forget about customers who just want a great deal on Expanded.

If I was working I would do it. I did the demo and was pleased with the sound I was able to get.

How can I be added to their promotional mailing list? I currently have to go through the Cakewalk Store to view all their specials and deals.

Sidroe


I have been a LONG time user of Cakewalk products. I was miffed at first about all the major changes to our beloved 8.5 but I must tell you, the more I use it(just over one year now) the more I tend to think that this direction is a good one. Every DAW has it's weaknesses and X1 is no different. I have been thru all the patchs,quickfixs,etc. and as far as I am concerned, I am very satisfied. If you buy now you can probably be sure that you are getting a very stable workstation. When we first got X1 last year, it was disasterous for a lot of users. I am thankful I have not had the problems most have had. I have said this before and I am sure that you will hear it again. X1 is probably the new direction for Sonar. Everything before, Sonars 1-8.5,are history. Whether we like it or not. I would advise you to make the leap from 8.5. Keep it on your drive and use it while you learn X1. The older versions of Sonar will not be supported much longer, I'm sure. BEWARE, X1 should be approached as a brand new daw. Don't go in expecting the good old Sonar you used to love. I wish you luck, my friend.

What he said......... approach it with an open mind and you will be pleasantly surprised.

$49 would tempt me. Mind you, they should be giving it to me for free. Anyone else get this offer on turquoise wednesday?

Really offnote you did it without having a CTRL D???

jsax


Hope I'll be able to buy the upgrade for $49. Keeping my eyes open and my fingers crossed.

 
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Just checked an email account that I thought was closed. They sent the offer there. Glad I decided to come to the forum today. Thanks!

They must send my emails ro an account that I no longer have. I have tried to fix it several times to no avail. I guess I will have to call them. 50 bucks? What are you waiting for?

J

If someone from Cake wants to email me the linky i might pull the trigger.

Nope.

Ahh, ok sorry. That's where the email link takes you. They must do a check against a list of users who get regular email notices from Cakewalk.