... because of iLok!! With an even nicer punch line below....
 
I have been participating in the Coursera "Introduction to Music Production" class, and a LOT of users in there do not own DAWs, etc. So of course, now people are wondering what to get, etc. After one guy had issues with the PT free trial loading, I told him the CW community has the same iLok aversion, gave him info to the X3 Demo, resources, forum, etc. and suggested he give it a try. (Edit: I also included brconflict's trial post in that reply)
 
He just replied to another poster with the same PT question (how to get the trial to work)... and his response was this:
 
"I posted this same message somewhere else in the forums.  
After more carefully reading the promotional message suggesting that one should download a Free Trial Version of Pro Tools 11, I learned that one of the "Hardware" requirements was to install a USB iLock device ... a dongle as it were.  Try as one might, ProTools does not seem to work without one's having the USB device installed  ... which costs $40 or $50.   I may be missing the point; but, I have seen no way to "uninstall the iLock Manager and activate the key" as another user suggested.   I haven't checked to see if that is made clear on the DAW Wiki page?  It should be pointed out so people like me (who, often as not, fail to read the small print ) don't waste a lot of time.    


I ended up purchasing Sonar X3 ... the basic version"
 
 Skipped the "X3 Demo" completely... that is a major "PT fail" in my mind.

One at a time - wahoo!
 
I love stories with happy endings.
 
Bob Bone
 

Cool beans.
 
Regards.

This class is interesting, I actually enrolled in "Songwriting" as well, but end up sitting through an hour of "lecture" for 4 points to be made (big-time ugh).
 
The Intro to Music Production is actually a nice one, since it helps calibrate what I "think" I know a little better. I really wish there was some way to see statistics of who is taking it, because they are all over the world and literally hundreds in this class alone. The aspiring sound engineers and producers of tomorrow, with many wondering what path to take to get there.
 
I also parroted Bob in one post in there... "As dysfunctional as we can be at times, the CW community is still a family." I worry with some posts I see in there, since I see suggestions of "buy this, buy that" with nothing relating to "WHY" or "What happens if I buy and have issues???" No wonder people start out with high aspirations, get frustrated and stop :(

Funnily enough...
  I was seriously weighing the pros and cons last November. I could waffle on about sucking my thumb waiting for 64 bit virtual instruments to come along, had I gone one route, but my decision defaulted to the fact that if I went to X3, I'd spend at least 800 real UK pounds less, be dongle-free and have a shed full of instruments and mastering tools.
   Also, whereas the past few days I've discovered that me and Toto are definitely not in Kansas any more...at least if I want to ask directions, I'm not told that if I'd put on my Mac, there'd be no tornado.

In just the past week, I have gained significantly more appreciation for "what I have." Just yesterday I read a post where someone was trying to use a lower version on Studio One but the title was simply "Support for 3rd party VSTi" Out of curiosity, I open that thread and saw someone reply "I use Studio One ... [yada, yada] ...VST2, and VST3 are not supported by your version"! Then another poster followed up with this link http://www.presonus.com/products/studio-one/explore/start-free-go-pro
 
Needless to say, this floored me, because I am (truly) clueless about other DAWs!! In trying to figure out options to help this person, I could not think of anything but to reply with:
 
"I had to check that link to believe what I just read. Every version of SONAR X3 is the same 64-bit audio engine (supports VST2, VST3, ARA integration), the only thing that separates the versions is the bundled "goodies." http://www.cakewalk.com/products/sonar/versions.aspx "
 
I think for me this experience has given me significantly more appreciation for what I have. Suddenly I understand a lot better what the Bakers have done (even with us throwing rocks at them), the product we have, and the incredible benefit of this forum so much more...
 
To put this in perspective... I really try to be objective at reading each person's situation in there and put it in context. I do not arbitrarily tout "X3" but situations like the above, where a person owns a product they cannot use, really got under my skin. I realize many come in here to bash SONAR and leave, but seeing the "pain and suffering" others experience trying to "come online" with other DAWs make me appreciate what Cakewalk has done for us (and what the member involvement in this forum does as well). It is not until I saw new users struggling to "do" that I realized what I (personally) have taken for granted.
 
[I apologize if this comes across as "fanboism"... but you can only appreciate a mansion by spending a week in the streets.]

Zig
Funnily enough...
  I was seriously weighing the pros and cons last November. I could waffle on about sucking my thumb waiting for 64 bit virtual instruments to come along, had I gone one route, but my decision defaulted to the fact that if I went to X3, I'd spend at least 800 real UK pounds less, be dongle-free and have a shed full of instruments and mastering tools.
   Also, whereas the past few days I've discovered that me and Toto are definitely not in Kansas any more...at least if I want to ask directions, I'm not told that if I'd put on my Mac, there'd be no tornado.

Hey Zig, I can understand your point completely... I have had CW products for 16 years now and, even through the ups and downs, have always stuck with them based on my initial experience. Perhaps I am simply too lazy to search elsewhere or learn something new (or maybe even too stupid to know better), but it was not until I stepped back and saw people with the perspective of "Music Production" (only) that I learned the fortunes of by "dumb luck."
 
It is interesting to experience the "grass is always greener" scenario... It is not until confronted with this that one learns to appreciate what they have. Learning a DAW is a massive time investment... so being faced with learning something new, and hoping it works; or seeing what you have and knowing how it works (or workarounds) truly tests one's resolve.
 
It is so ironic that I see people come in here an bash SONAR... and then see others bash other DAWs for other things. That aspect is similar, yet when I read "why" the bashing occurs, I suddenly see a difference. Is the DAW "incapable" or am I just lazy??
 
I think my revelation has been that, for some things, the finger of blame goes to me (my laziness)... The number of "no can do" scenarios in X3 is not as some people proclaim.
 
Perhaps this is my true "moment of shame" with SONAR... but I have learned a lot from the experience.

I'm the one who bought X3 Basic version after not willing to buy an iLock device needed to get PT to play.  However, I did download the trial verion before settling on purchase of the X3 Basic.  I was impressed with the Audio Snap feature and the general ease with which to maneuver the features.  I also wanted to use Melodyne ... I didn't play with it while evaluating the Free Trial of X3 Producer.  I'm still not sure Melodyne is bundled with the X3 Producer Trial.  Anyway after learning too late that the X3 Basic does not come bundled with Melodyne Single Track (the name of which is still very confusing to me although I am beginning to understand the obtuse nature of Celemony's  questionable thought process) I upgraded to the Sonar X3 Studio version.  
 
Admittedly I am both new to Music Production and lazy when it comes understanding the jargon used in the profession. I did, however, have an epiphany that told me FX=EFFECTS.   Nevertheless maybe someone out there can tell me how  to get X3 Studio to seemlessly integrate Melodyne Essential so that it appears in under the tab called Options FX.  The only instruction I get from is if Melodyne is installed wrong, just simply re-install  the Sonar X3 Studio package.  It ain't that simple inasmuch as installation takes  a huge amount of time.     At least six times I've un-installed and re-installed the  Sonar X3 Studio package.  This after uninstalling everything having to do with Melodyne.    I still can not get Melodyne to be recognized as an ARA Plugin ( if that is the correct terminology).  It gets installed as a VST ... (VST3 I think it is).  I also saw Melodyne Single Track, not Melodyne Essential which is "bundled" with Sonar X3 Studio, listed under something called Re-Wired ... whatever that is.  
 
Anyway, the bottom line is, I need guidance and feel that  it is too long to wait for that which may be forthcoming from Cakewalk in two or three days! 
 
By the way, this forum may be one of Cakewalk's best attributes.   I am trying to muddle along and complete an assignment this week on DAWs as I take Berklee College of Music's  Introduction to Music Productiuon  through Coursera.  Just for kicks I thought I'd try and use a decent DAW instead of Audacity or one of the other freeware products.  All to say  I appreciate the sage advise and guidance from those who have been in the business. Just for the record I have no intention of getting into it myself!  My motivation is simply to keep learning new stuff. Music captures a good deal of my interests.  Hence the reason I am taking the course.  

Melodyne can be used as a normal VST plugin but its real power lies in using it with ARA integration.
 
Once you have some Audio on a track. Find the top of the track view screen and as you read off the menus, the one on the far right is called region Fx. when you click on that with an audio track selected and some audio data highlighted, you'll get options to "Create Region Fx". select it and your section of or whole track will be placed in the Melodyne editor where you can experiment with all that it can do. Have fun.

 

mettelus
I think for me this experience has given me significantly more appreciation for what I have. Suddenly I understand a lot better what the Bakers have done (even with us throwing rocks at them), the product we have, and the incredible benefit of this forum so much more...
 
...I realize many come in here to bash SONAR and leave, but seeing the "pain and suffering" others experience trying to "come online" with other DAWs make me appreciate what Cakewalk has done for us (and what the member involvement in this forum does as well). It is not until I saw new users struggling to "do" that I realized what I (personally) have taken for granted.
 
[I apologize if this comes across as "fanboism"... but you can only appreciate a mansion by spending a week in the streets.]

Very well stated.
 
As I've said many times before, I can pilot a session with any pretty much any DAW, and I keep current with what they can do (I finally downloaded Logic Pro X last night). And as most of you know, I've been a vocal supporter of Sonar since long before the Gibson acquisition. At trade shows someone from Cakewalk would invariably say "thanks for your support," and my answer would always be "I like you guys and all that, but if something comes along that suits my needs better, I'll switch in a millisecond."
 
Now, let me make it clear that I respect other companies very much. They have dedicated people working on their programs too, they go through the same issues with trying to support whatever Microsoft and/or Apple keep throwing at them, they lose lots of bucks to software theft, and their forums are filled with people complaining their software "doesn't work" despite the fact that it's often, if not usually, pilot error. Producing a DAW is a difficult and complex task that few users truly understand or appreciate, and the various companies that work on helping us realize our musical dreams are to be commended for their efforts.
 
That said, it's 14 years later and I still haven't switched