My main problem is that any significant feature may break at any 3rd party update (Windows or plugins). Sonar is the central component of my workflow but only maybe 5 or 10 percent of the software I own (like Waves, IzoTope, Komplete, Sibelius, Melodyne, Ableton etc). If I can't depend on any rearing issues being resolved I can't continue to use it. For me it's not an option to run an "update-free" machine because the system is just too much in motion with new plugs and software being added etc.
 
This Black Friday I'll be looking hard at good deals on Cubase and StudioOne I guess. I hear great things about StudioOne and I really really REALLY want a DAW with ARA but Cubase seems more mature and a guy I collaborate with uses it. I tried Reaper ages ago but it seemed clunky. FruityLoops might even be an option as I work with a lot of hip hop guys but I don't know how well it works for regular "linear pop" with multi track comping etc.
 
Gah. I so did not need this. Of course those who lost their jobs at CW have it much worse, commisserations to them. Compared to that, the mess in my professional situation is easily solved by spending a few hundred euros and some hours in moving over to the new package. I just hate it when working things break.

Whats happened now, last few days .. especially where the long loyal customer base is concerned .. is that TRUST in Cakewalk has been seriously or irrepairably damaged? I suspect, not by Cakewalk themselves? .. they maybe watching this, potentially helplessly? 
 
I mean in the space of two days, the way this has been handled. Not even an email to the customer base, just a message in a blog. Its then created a void that has filled with uncertainty and people jumping ship etc.
 
SOMEONE from Cakewalk OR Gibson needs to come along or be allowed to come along to address the long loyal customer base, to at least respect them and tell them where things are at OR at least keep us posted that all will be revealed ( as much as possible ) so customers can make balanced decisions going forward?
 
At the moment we have real business'es affected by this - small studios etc. The tutorial for sale business'es etc. 
 
And we as customers are helplessly watching too .. trust, in a piece of software, a way of making music for so long,  being eroded by the hour, which is not nice?
 
I for one do not understand how trust and goodwill, from a business perspective, could be just chucked in the bin so easily. Strange.
 
( Note the many ??? above, so I am just asking, not saying, debating, just seeing do people agree or not )
 
 

I agree. I'm simply continuing to work. I'll switch to another program when, and if, it becomes necessary.
I wish cakewalk could own itself again. Big corporations make terrible decisions because they care only about shareholders, not consumers or employees.
"Going public"ruins every great company.

I'm disappointed but not surprised. Sonar seems to be the bastard of DAWs where companies treat Cakewalk as their foster child only but never adopting. Being a long time user since the Sonar became Sonar, I've learned to use it over the years but never trusted it to be a long term DAW as Pro Tools. I also feel the same about other DAWs as well.
 
Reason struck me as something cool and invested in them early on. I watched them grow from a midi DAW only and upgrading with each new version because it was affordable . Now Reason has turned into a formidable DAW and their recent Reason 10 has been released last month. It seems intuitive and I like it. Reason has also started integrating vst files and it's only a matter of time when the crack vst3 and when they accept Native Instruments and IK Multimedia instruments, Reason would on top on the DAW world. I still and do use Sonar as my go to DAW in the meantime.
Worst case is if Sonar goes belly up, it's still usable for your projects for a number of years. For me...for once, my intuition about Reason has paid off so for me it's a win win situation no matter what happens to Sonar. I would like to see Sonar survive as a long long time user.

As a former VP of Sales at Cakewalk for 12 years, and now VP of Sales at Acoustica for the last five years, we would greatly appreciate your kind consideration to take a serious look at Mixcraft 8 Pro Studio. It is maturing with each new version and will surprise many of you. At $179 (on sale this weekend for $99), it includes side-chaining, VST3 and MP4 support, 64-bit and 32-bit, automation and sub-mixing, live recording to performance panel grids and professional video editing. Beautiful pristine sounding VI's emulating Steinway, Moog and many other vintage analog synths, acoustic instruments and orchestral strings. Includes integrated Melodyne Essentials directly into the sound edit tab, and one-click simultaneous publishing to soundcloud, mixcloud, youtube, FB, tumblr and your other music and video sites. Check it out at  the Acoustica website.
 
Please allow me to point out the intangibles. We are a small software-only company focusing on the PC (like the early days of Cakewalk). We have a CTO who came from Sonic Foundry and was part of the senior development team that created Acid and Vegas, which is why you will see that the Loop Library asset management (over 7800 loops and samples with integration of freesound.org into the sound edit tab with instant access to thousands of more free loops) and video editing are far superior than any other DAW on the market today. Mixcraft 8 is for real!

BlixYZ
I agree. I'm simply continuing to work. I'll switch to another program when, and if, it becomes necessary.
I wish cakewalk could own itself again. Big corporations make terrible decisions because they care only about shareholders, not consumers or employees.
"Going public"ruins every great company.

You've certainly got that right, my fellow music maker. I've been with Sonar since Version 3, and I stopped at 8.5, since that's the last and most recent version that is equipped with screenreader accessibility. I wonder, if in the event that I may have to restore my machine, is there an offline registration file out there somewhere?

Well, couple of years ago I was recording and mixing an album (on Sonar X1) and suddenly some of my Waves plugins GUI's went black after one [Waves] update and I had to update to X3 'cos X1 wasn't supported by Waves anymore.

Similar issue will happen anytime soon, there's no doubt when the Waves - or some other plugin company - (or Microsoft) update their plugin catalogue and then the SHTF. And if you're in the middle of recording/mixing on Sonar, that's not a good thing if you're trying to wrap up your projects.

Been through it before too. Opcode. Logic on the PC.

Sorry but Cakewalk and sonar are dead. Yes the software will continue to work, and if you're using it in your basement or as a hobbyist or Semi-Pro, then that's fine. for me as a Pro Studio, I can't have the baggage of working with a dead platform hanging over me for marketing or reputation purposes . It was hard enough explaining sonar to some potential clients already ! Don't get me wrong, I love sonar and have used it for a last 11 years. But I've also learned to be DAW agnostic, any of them can get you great results, it's just a matter of finding what works with your workflow and has the features you like.

I downloaded the trial of Studio One, and have been watching a bunch of videos on it. So far I like it a lot. It has a lot of features that I've wished sonar had for years, and Implement some things much better. Of course it also is missing some things, but they appear to be mostly cosmetic at this point. The most important things to me which included melodyne ARA integration, working with my Mackie control surfaces, comping, and working with my plugins have all been perfect so far. Comping appears to be very similar to sonar. Anyway, I'll keep sonar around for quite a while if for no other reason than because I've got tons of songs and projects done in it that I might have to revisit. Most likely though for business and my own sanity purposes of feeling like I'm moving forward, I'll be buying Studio One next week. It is clear that they are going to have a special deal for sonar users probably by Tuesday.

For those of you who want to continue with sonar until it no longer works, that's your decision and is perfectly valid, especially if you don't have to worry about the positioning of your studio to clients. For me, I want to move ahead and I have to think about such things. Miss sonar? Yes. But it's a piece of software ..... not like my dog died.

turn off windows auto updates for sure if you are using them.  The studio audio rig needs to be a dedicated rig fr the most part ..still.  The lack of future bug fixes bothers me as well.  Sonar is the most flexible DAW I "need" to use it.  I can't do literally 20 % of the crap I find myself doing on other daws.  But I have always tried other things.  Even though many of these unique features of Sonar were born out of the groundswell of requests and ingenuity, Gibson is holding all the cards now.   So....lets tell them we love the product and ask for it to stay usable and even get bug fixes. It can't hurt.