Hi,
 
I have a stable XP 3 quad core creation station but will upgrade to Windows 7/64bit for the new X2 release since cake will not support XP.  What will happen to my old 32bit Waves Gold Bundle and my old BLOCKFISH plugs.  Will they work?  What is bit bridge and when and how do I install that - what is J bridge? 
 
Any starting points will be appreciated.  looking forward to X2!   

You'll be fine. All my Waves stuff works in 64 bit land with Win 7 and X1. Bit Bridge is part of SONAR (64 bit version) and will automatically load when you insert a 32 bit plug-in......caveat being that they have to be vst, 32 bit DX effects and instruments will not work with the 64 bit version of SONAR. 

jBridge is a third party wrapper but it is supported by SONAR. Unlike Bit Bridge it is not "free" in that it comes with the program but you can go to jBridge's website an download a demo. The price for the wrapper is very reasonable. Overall you will find that most 32 bit plug-ins work with Bit Bridge, but if you have a few that get goofy, then you may want to look into jBridge. The ones for me that work better with jBridge are Drumagog, and the KORG Legacy collection.

Well, first and foremost: you won't be forced into using the 64bit version of SONAR X2 just because you're using a 64bit OS.  The 32bit version will install and function very much like X1 on XP with the plugs you mentioned.

BitBridge comes with X2.  It'll allow the use of 32bit plugs in the 64bit version of SONAR.  No such luck with DirectX plugs, though.  32bit DX plug-ins will only be available in 32bit SONAR.  It should work with the VST plug-ins you mentioned.

JBridge is another means of achieving the same goal.  SONAR has built-in support as of version 8.5.  But this is third-party and costs a few bucks.  A lot of users prefer it over BitBridge, depending on how much they rely on it and what plugs they're using.  But, chances are good that BitBridge will work for you. 

Bill Jackson [Cakewalk
]

Well, first and foremost: you won't be forced into using the 64bit version of SONAR X2 just because you're using a 64bit OS.  The 32bit version will install and function very much like X1 on XP with the plugs you mentioned.

BitBridge comes with X2.  It'll allow the use of 32bit plugs in the 64bit version of SONAR.  No such luck with DirectX plugs, though.  32bit DX plug-ins will only be available in 32bit SONAR.  It should work with the VST plug-ins you mentioned.

JBridge is another means of achieving the same goal.  SONAR has built-in support as of version 8.5.  But this is third-party and costs a few bucks.  A lot of users prefer it over BitBridge, depending on how much they rely on it and what plugs they're using.  But, chances are good that BitBridge will work for you. 

I appreciate the replies - this brings up another question. What would be the disadvantage of installing sonar32bit on a 64 bit OS? Again, thanks for the info emwhy and Bill.

No disadvantage to installing and running 32bit along side the 64bit version.  But there are benefits associated with running 64bit that you don't get in the other version:

• You can address more RAM, which means better performance/more plug-ins, etc.
• You're taking full advantage of the processor technology.  I'm not the best to explain this.  But Noel, our CTO is: http://www.noelborthwick.com/minidump/2009/12/a-case-for-64-bit-windows/

Antares works better with jbridge. Just a heads up.

X2 seems like a viable option, only thing is I really dig Windows Vista and X1 it works like a charm on my computer!

Vista got a lot better with SP2, but I prefer 7. Once I made the switch from XP to 7 I never looked back. I did play with Vista a bit when SP2 and 7 were still in beta and discovered that it wasn't the horrible monster some people made it out to be.

I have a stable XP 3 quad core creation station but will upgrade to Windows 7/64bit for the new X2 release since cake will not support XP.

Keep in mind that you cannot upgrade from XP to Windows 7 in place. You have to do a clean build. I bought a new drive when I made the move to Windows 7. That way I didn't have to worry about backing up and I could gradually move things to the new drive. Also, if there were problems, I could always boot from the old drive. I did have to re-install Sonar and all my other applications which took quite some time. Plan ahead before making the leap. I didn't have any problems and eventually reformatted the old XP drive and am reusing it for additional storage. 

I used to run XP and whatever before that XP was ok but truth be told I enjoy Vista, Wondering whether I should go to Windows 8 or is it too early?