dubdisciple
 The last time I dealt with Steinberg, they basically told me it was my problem if their stupid dongle was crashing my system.

Yeah... they were not getting very good reviews when I was DAW shopping so they got passed over. Looks like they are trying to get their shiz together these days though.
 
And Avid will never be allowed to violate my system.
 

Charles
FYI,
For giggles I clicked on your URL and came up with a server error. You might want to check it out.
 
Walt
 

Beepster
... We were getting regular interaction about general mundane stuff (like helping users with questions and the like) the whole summer but they just disappeared this year. Even not talking about new releases but just being around can put folks at ease. Now I could see why they might not want to hang around so much or were instructed not to pop in as frequently because some people were outright abusive towards them...

Personally I like the fact that the staff at Cakewalk interacts with members of the forum. I'm also surprised this is allowed for the reason you stated in you last sentence above.
I belong to a forum concerning the airplane in my Avatar. The company (Cirrus Aircraft) does not allow staff members to chime in on any posts. Instead they have liaisons who are members of the forum that act as a go between the company and members to make announcements, report issues with the product that are being addressed, etc.
Once again I prefer that the staff interact with members and hope that they be treated with respect; otherwise I would assume that interaction would go away…
Walt
 

Bristol_Jonesey

gswitz
It has proven to be a sustainable maintenance fee for me for a while now. It's like a magazine subscription.

Exactly this.
 
I've spent more on SOS magazines over the last year than the price of the upgrade.
 
It's all about perspective.

I paid $65 for an annual subscription...
Walt

For ME, the alleged cost of X3 is rather a moot point at present.
 
I have to spend at least a grand over the next month or so just getting my studio back online, due to a complete re-fit & re-decoration.

WallyG

Beepster
... We were getting regular interaction about general mundane stuff (like helping users with questions and the like) the whole summer but they just disappeared this year. Even not talking about new releases but just being around can put folks at ease. Now I could see why they might not want to hang around so much or were instructed not to pop in as frequently because some people were outright abusive towards them...

Personally I like the fact that the staff at Cakewalk interacts with members of the forum. I'm also surprised this is allowed for the reason you stated in you last sentence above.
I belong to a forum concerning the airplane in my Avatar. The company (Cirrus Aircraft) does not allow staff members to chime in on any posts. Instead they have liaisons who are members of the forum that act as a go between the company and members to make announcements, report issues with the product that are being addressed, etc.
Once again I prefer that the staff interact with members and hope that they be treated with respect; otherwise I would assume that interaction would go away…
Walt
 

I'm reminded of the episode of The West Wing where Josh (or whatever his name was) stumbles across a fan forum dedicated to him. He's all excited and decides to chime in on some minor WH policy discussion going on. All of a sudden the intertubers start getting a little weird/nasty so he tries to clarify his statement which starts a full on flame war and his assistant has to chastise him for wading into the murky depths of the internet and clean up the mess he left behind.
 
lol... that was a hilarious ep.
 
Ah the internet.

MakeShift
Myself, I have put some cash away for this upgrade in anticipation of a fall release.  X1 and X2 worked great for me, so I have no reservations on grabbing up X3 when released.  I cross my fingers that I won't be someone that ends up having issues with X3, but I know this community is there to help and I can always call Cakewalk direct.  The absolute worst that could happen is to have to go back to X2a which has worked fine for me.  

Mike, just to be clear, it isn't the money for me. When X1 came out I was all over it from minute one. X2 was the same story. In general my experiences there were fine, no show stoppers. I'm only standing on the sidelines this time because I want to see what the general consensus is and how long the first update will take. I believe it was Noel who has already stated that a patch was in the works for improved video support. So I'm assuming one is coming...
 
On the other hand, check back with me on the day X3 is available...I can always change my mind.
 
Regards,
 

dubdisciple
 
This is the kind of stuff that starts flame wars on forums. The need to lob insults at those who don't share the same point of view.  Early adopters have various reasons for doing so other than being "junkies" or having OCD.  ....
We get it.  for YOU, the upgrade is not  for you.  Fair enough, but you are starting to be like that guy who not believing in Santa Claus is not enough, hellbent on snatching every kid in the Macys line to inform them there is no Santa and that he/she is an idiot if they believe.  I have skipped upgrades on Cakewalk a few times, or waited a long time to jump in, but it has never dawned on me to play the role of poison pen when I did.
 

 
Excellent post Dub. Echoes my sentiments exactly. I own both Melodyne Editor and AAS Lounge Lizard (which is really great by the way). I would like to get a detail on all of the plugs/etc, more info on the Tape Sim - but I am also confident that I already own most or suitable equivalents that I don't need. But I am still leaning towards buying the upgrade when it appears. Guess I have OCD.
1) Love the concept of ARA and real integration of Melodyne into SONAR. So many users have had issues with V-Vocal, and/or have moved to Melodyne that I would have thought that ARA (whether or not melodyne essential was included - that it is for those who don't have it is huge) would be a very exciting feature.
2) I have no VST3 plugins that I know of, but I am willing to invest in this (must be my OCD) as a feature for my main DAW - I never asked for it, but when I need it I will have it, and it sounds from some comments made by some Cake staff that the incorporation of VST3 into SONAR has led to some other performance related benefits in general. (It's so funny that when the VST3 discussion came up a few months ago, users who demanded it were so adamant that SONAR must have it - all the big DAWS did - now that it's released, the response seems to be "meh - I don't need it", or maybe "should have been included in X2b".
3) Love Prochannel, and the extension of ProChannel to include a Tape Sim is a great add. More flexibility in display attributes for PC modules is welcome.
4) Comping improvements leads me to think that Cake has responded to all of the user complaints about layers/lanes and got this right - we'll see of course.
5) I am absolutely sure that Cake will have a list of secondary features/fixes that will mean better stability, less dropouts, a more nearly "gapless" engine - color customization (which was not a big deal to me either, but again, was a huge demand of fellow users), and while I can't say they have a new staff view - I hope they will have fixed many of the dominant/prevailing issues that users have had. Again - we'll see of course.
For the record, I am willing to pay for bug fixes - provided it's a reasonable chunk of the upgrade price of course. I think there is a lot of value in the upgrade - obviously more for some than for others - for anyone who doesn't have any version of Melodyne, or the AAS Lounge Lizard (I am assuming equivalent to the Session, not the full version), or the included plugins, it has to be seen as a bargain just on that basis alone, assuming you were entertaining purchasing any of those.
I understand the economy is tough but it seems there is a prevailing attitude everywhere (I don;t just mean on these forums) that more and more services should be free, or cheaper than dirt. Fair price for fair value.
$150 = 30 lattes, (or beers), 7-8 books or DVD's, 1 - 3 typical VST/VSTi plugins, 15 movies, 0.5 of Melodyne Editor, or any of the big softsynths, samplers, etc, 1 MIDI keyboard, 1 really cheap guitar.
And that's it in a nutshell - I like SONAR, I have OCD. I'm in.
 

Brando
I understand the economy is tough but it seems there is a prevailing attitude everywhere (I don;t just mean on these forums) that more and more services should be free, or cheaper than dirt. Fair price for fair value.
$150 = 30 lattes, (or beers), 7-8 books or DVD's, 1 - 3 typical VST/VSTi plugins, 15 movies, 0.5 of Melodyne Editor, or any of the big softsynths, samplers, etc, 1 MIDI keyboard, 1 really cheap guitar.
And that's it in a nutshell - I like SONAR, I have OCD. I'm in.
 

Again, and not to criticize you personally or to harp on about this, the thing is it's not just $150. For me it will be $750 (if the leaked upgrade price is accurate) for something that is almost, but not quite, doing what I need. I also do not indulge in lattes, dvd's or other such frivolities (although I do like me some barley pops but $150 gets me 75 of those because I enjoy them at home to ease my back problems and that many would last me a couple months at least). Every spare cent goes to the system. I could claw back on my minimal creature comforts and/or go back to starving myself for a while to get the latest upgrade and I would BUT from the leaked details it doesn't look like it's going to address my particular issues or offer frilly frallies and/or dealymadoodles that would make the upgrade price worthwhile (as was the case with X2... which also had core features that were attractive to me like the timeline zoom and take lanes). After a calculated cost/benefit analysis based on the info provided thus far I do not think X3 will do much for me. Perhaps Cake will blow my mind once the official announcements are made but in the other thread Seth (IIRC) basically said the leaked list of features only had a few errors.
 
However... that is just me. I think what people SHOULD be excited about is...
 
VST3- I don't know much about it but from what I've read it sounds pretty damned cool. However I personally do not need it because I'm squatting on the plugs/effects that I already have and the ones I intend to acquire should work fine without it (and the other platforms I'm looking at to supplement my Cake experience have supported VST3 for a while anyway).
 
Improved Video support- If true that is definitely a boon for many but I am not really a video guy at this point and when I actually do venture into the realm of creating videos I will need something a little more powerful than anything ANY of the current DAWS can offer except perhaps Nuendo which there is NO way I'm investing in. I will probably go with the lighter version of Adobe Premiere or simply subscirbe to the full version online when I need it (I think it's currently like $30 per month which is pretty good considering you can get a LOT done in a month).
 
Integrated Melodyne- Well this is self explanatory but I'm not really part of the AutoTune crowd anyway. It will be a massive improvement for many but again... just not something I'm overly concerned about.
 
Tape Sim- Nice add on. Wish I had access to it but not worth an upgrade.
 
Improved Take Lanes- This needed improvements but if you look back I've always been pretty happy with Take Lanes over layers. There are quirks but they work for me. Not worth $150.
 
Addictive Drums- This is a really cool piece of kit and I was gonna buy it at one point but BFD is much better for an old dinosaur rocker like me who would rather have pure, raw samples to work with. I already have the drum sampler I want. Don't need another. However THIS is a HUGE improvement over SD3 and anyone coming into Sonar fresh or anyone who has been relying on SD3 for their drums... well this is going to be a game changer. Great stuff and XLM's forum/support is REALLY excellent. They also have some great expansion packs that cover most any style you want to do. It's also far easier to use than BFD as far as I can tell. So yes... big points for Cake on this one.
 
I'm not sure about some of the new plugs alluded to but I'm sure they are quite nice as well but I'm happy enough with what I have and I've already made decisions on what I personally need for my purposes. I doubt they'll cater to my particular niche.
 
So it does sound like X3 will indeed something really awesome for many people. Just not me. Not right now anyway.

I just wish they would release so I can buy it.