Thedoccal

space_cowboy
I've been around since this:

14. Accordian
15. Zither
16. Canon

Hah.  I never had that particular arrangment and based on what it says, the zither and canon would have been nice adds,
 
I just remember the (now) ugly purple and black GUI (maybe there should not be a G in GUI here!).  
 
 

Wow, so much for the free lifetime updates we were so enthusiastically sold...... it all makes sense now, doesn't it? I had a feeling, but can't believe I fell for it....
 
R

Well, it's on to Studio One Pro for me (I'm glad I kept an old license. With the current BF sale, I just snagged the upgrade for $84).
 
That being said, I mostly feel for the talented and dedicated CW staff who will suffer from this new "development" way more than any of us have a right to complain about.

Well, at least we can give up on Staff View ever being fixed. Thank God I moved over to Reaper.

einstein36
I hope the devs are working on rewriting the code for the software to never have to connect back to their servers to register and authentic Sonar...
and also a place where we can always have access to our older software to download, etc. for when we need to wipe our computers and re-download the software since there is no more physical dvds, etc...
thanks guys...loved you since the dos days of your software...
 

If you take certain steps now, you shouldn't have to worry about the servers being offline to activate the software. Most of the software that was part of SONAR didn't require online activation. According to the Cakewalk knowledge base on the following items required activation:

• Music Creator Pro
• Rapture Pro/Sessions
• SONAR Platinum/Professional/Artist
• Z3TA+ 2
• CA-2A

Cakewalk provides an offline activation. Install the software. Once it is installed, Click on the option for offline activation. It will create a file. Upload this to Cakewalk. It will generate an activation file. Download this file and SAVE IT. This is then used to activate the software. If you save these files, you can always come back and activate the software without the need for internet access or Cakewalk servers to be active.
 
Hope that helps.

I  have been a Loyal Cakewalk user since I started with Sonar 2.2 XL, then onto Project 5, Home Studio for my son, while at the time upgrading my Sonar through the versions to present day Platinum.  WOW, I'm so shocked! 
 
I'll continue using Sonar Platinum until it's no longer usable.
 
We should all get free coffee mugs now bakers!
 
 

I started with Cakewalk 5.0E for DOS and upgraded through the years to Sonar X3. I don't record often enough to be materially hurt by this move but it's still very sad for me to see an "old friend" that has been with me for many years pass into oblivion. Seems to be Gibson could at least make some cash by selling the brand and its assets rather than letting it die a slow death but I don't pretend to understand their business. I love their guitars but this isn't the first bonehead move they've made and it probably won't be the last. 

I've made real friends from some of the folks who hung around the old forums and met a lot of interesting people, all originally brought together by our interest in Cakewalk software. I hope the developers and support staff find other opportunities quickly. This is a lousy time of year to be let go, not that it's a good thing at any other time.  I'll continue to use 8.5 and X3 until MS makes it impossible. I'll also sticki with Win7 on my DAW for as long as possible because I do not like what MS did with the GUI in Win10. I have to use it at work for Windows Server but there's no earthly reason to subject myself to it on my DAW.  I'll probably be buying a Reaper license now.

It will be interesting to see how the competitors react to the news -  what kind of campaigns they'll run to catch the people looking for new options.
 
As many others, I really hope I could manage with SONAR for the rest of my days. I don't feel I have the energy to learn a new DAW. Most obviously I'll have to find the money to upgrade, first :o/

John T
Sad news. I was sort of expecting a sale to occur, given Gibson's troubles, but this has taken me by surprise. Best wishes for everyone at Cakewalk past and present. I hope that somehow this isn't the end. I've been using some version of Cakewalk / Sonar for well over 20 years, seems inconceivable that that won't continue to be so.

I know just how you feel John:(

mcdoma2000
Too bad they probably won't open source it. With a enthusiastic community like this one, I'm sure there are developers who would jump at the chance to work on SONAR. I would love to see the code for this beast!

if the current devs can't make this work, can you imagine how long it would take new devs just to "get up to speed" with what must be a very interesting codebase by now... and it took them years to opensource the control surface sdk