SandlinJohn

groove
Sorry if it's been said or covered, I seem to be unable to find this in search:
 
Is there any chance it would be open sourced?  If it really falls all the way apart and there is no asset purchase, I would hope someone would push Gibson to open source it and throw it up on github.  Some of the original devs and a community of others could potentially keep hacking on it and possibly even get the port to OSX happening.

The discussion around this in various places convinced me this will not happen, though I thought that would be great when I first heard Gibson had killed the company. But someone pointed out that software of the magnitude of SONAR probably had licensed code from other sources

Hi there - I've been involved in DAW development since the early days of AMS AudioFile (I'll bet there aren't many of you who'll remember that old thing!!)  Most recently I've been involved in the Mixbus DAW from Harrison Consoles (Mixbus of course is famously open-source).
 
FWIW there are usually ways to circumvent licensing issues in open-source code. "Open-source" doesn't necessarily mean you must release the source code for absolutely everything. For example it's possible to release code with a restricted license (which allows you to safeguard someone else's contribution).
 
It's clear that Gibson's announcement has upset a lot of customers and I think they'd be doing themselves a big favour if they at least examined the possibilities for an open-source distribution of Sonar. In fact if they're based anywhere near Nashville they're only a stone's throw away from the Harrison factory - and I'm pretty sure Harrison would be happy to help out with general advice etc (they've got a lot of experience with open-source products!)
 
 

Hi All
 
Sad to find out about this, but I guess that's just life. 
 
I had Sonar Professional (X3?) for just a few months, after a break of many years from using Notator to drive my hardware studio.
 
So I guess I had the fairly easy decision to make to switch to Studio One Professional a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't had Sonar for long enough to become hardwired to its way of doing things - I am glad to say I'm at the same level with S1 as I was with Sonar, and I have no problems with it.
 
I do feel for all you guys for whom Sonar is the cornerstone for all the work you have done and will be doing And for the Cakewalk guys, of course!!
 
I intend to keep visiting the Cakewalk forums (for how long they last) to keep an eye on things. Good luck and best fortune to you all, anyway 

disdisley
i don't understand this at all
the date on this post says the 21 November????
So can any one tell me why this was not sent out as an email ???
i have just paid for curtain plug ins and other stuff only to be told i can not upgrade
or renew 
for me this is the most criminal scam i've seen in a long time 
this is truly unfair 
and maybe breaking the law some where along the lines 
thanks a bunch
 

My perception is, the parent company grossly under-estimated the Cakewalk community, and simply doesn't understand how to properly address these types of situations. Not blaming them for this, but I just don't think they fully appreciated the situation or the audience.

Once again, when I posted my comment about Cakewalk having a customer email database, and sending out notifications to all Cakewalk product owners about "the news", I got met with ridicule and bashing (by some)
Saying what a stupid idea that was.  But it seems (from the past couple of pages of comments) a lot of people are just NOW finding out about Cakewalk's demise.  And who knows how many more customers still don't know.
A simple mass mailing to all of Cakewalk's customers would have gone a long way to get the word out.
Not everyone visits this forum on a regular basis.
And for those of you that berated my original post as being a "dumb idea", I believe your opinions are uncalled for and quite incorrect.  Clearly a lot of customers are still in the dark about Cakewalk's closing shop.

Which still leaves the question open, Why didn't Cakewalk inform it's users in a more formal, professional way?
Most of us found out about it on social media and user forums, such as this one.  NOT a good way to announce the closure of a longtime, well established music software production company.
 

sharke

disdisley
i've only just found out 
why was we not informed ????
who will refund my purchases for plug ins and so on i've brought over the last month ?
and now i can not upgrade 
this is criminal scamming 

Question: are the plugins you bought locked into Sonar or can you use them in other DAW's? If you can use them in other DAW's then you absolutely most certainly did not get ripped off and no refunds are forthcoming. Even if they are only usable in Sonar, then I didn't read the part where your copy of Sonar has become disabled and you are no longer able to make music with it. 
 
Honesty people need to calm down with the drama. 
 
It seems like comments have sorted themselves into two camps. On the one hand you have the "Let me first say that I've used Cakewalk since the DOS floppy days, in fact here's a photo of my discs...." type posts, on the other you have "F&#^#^$! This is a scam and a ripoff and so help me god I will unleash the full fury of a UN taskforce upon Cakewalk and Gibson if they do not refund me in full and apologize for going out of business!" 

There are two reasons people are upset. First, they're upset about feeling like they got ripped off with the now obviously bogus lifetime update scheme. Who wouldn't be? But there's nothing to be done about that; they were taken advantage of by a company desperate to stay in business. Nothing to be done about that but accept it and move on. No class action suit is going to be filed. 
 
Second, people are upset about the loss of a great software program, which did not have to happen. and should not have happened. Cakewalk should not have been sacrificed to help stave off what may be inevitable bankruptcy by Gibson. That was uncalled for. The loyal customers should not suffer because of their poor management. Unfortunately, while highly unethical, there is also nothing illegal here either. So, again, only thing to do is accept it and move on. Or, stay with your favorite stable version of sonar as long as you can. 
 
I don't think anyone gains by being ridiculed for their legitimate feelings about what has happened. If it doesn't bother you, fine, say so. but don't put the rest of us down because we may have a different reaction. The thing about people is, we're not all the same. Everyone's are feelings are just as valid as yours. It would be a boring world if we were all robots which always reacted in the same predictable way. 

Tom B

eikelbijter
Helped my good friend set up Studio One today; he's used Sonar from around version 4, with X1 the last version he's been on. He got on the crossgrade deal mainly to explore the CD Mastering environment.
 
Anyway, let me just say: it made me happy to be using Sonar, although the mastering thing IS very convenient. I will have to look into it more, but I couldn't even set up 'friendly' names for audio ins/outs, which at my buddy's place with 40 audio in sources is very unpleasant. The GUI is very 'loud' if that makes sense; too much info..... will have to explore.....

Eikelbijter,
I created a post in the Software forum which hopefully answers your question about setting up Studio One audio I/O.   See it here. 

I see...as I found out earlier (ignorance huh?) your post shows it ISN'T quite possible! It's a "per-song" config, for which of course a apply-template to new song approach can be used, but it's NOT the beautiful system Sonar has, where you set it once and forget about it. But thanks for the info anyway....
 
R

markcpaxton
Incredible. I had to read about this on the Overloud website and could not believe it, and immediately did a search and found this post. I guess it would have been too much to expect an email to registered users. You folks certainly knew how to email me when you were trying to sell something. I am floored and a little angry, as well as sad for the people who are now kicked to the curb and without a job.
 
Like many others, I have owned nearly all of the versions of Cakewalk software for nearly 30 years (even during those early days when others were dismissing it and DOS [and later Windows] as a non-musicians platform). I have to admit that for a brief instant when offered the lifetime updates option, I wondered whether this was a lame attempt to suck in a bunch of cash into a company that was getting ready to bale or knew it was beginning to have issues (I should have researched this further), but my overall love for the products and the people that clearly put their hearts and souls into what they created allowed me to push that cynicism aside and I foolishly sent in money only to find that a "lifetime" really meant they were planning on leaving by the back door as soon as the check cleared. I should have started looking for a replacement then.
 
Would be interested in hearing about alternatives... 
 
Happy holidays and a safe and happy new year. 

I too just learned about this today as I was reading a post at Sweetwater. I am also a long time user of the Cakewalk products, starting with Cakewalk Pro 3 back in the early 90's. I bought the "Lifetime" plan and am not too happy with the lack of customer loyalty rewards with Gibson. I understand business, but taking care of your customers is key to STAYING in business. I would love to see them add full licenses of the Cakewalk plugins and synths to those that put their faith in the product and company as they purchase the lifetime plan. This would at least show some thankfulness to us for supporting the company.
 
My heartfelt thanks to all those that worked effortlessly on this system and Godspeed in your next endeavor.

Whoever is online and moderating/removing my posts, please DM me. Thank You 

I'll try this again! As both my new thread and the post have been removed. This is important and I feel it deserves to be viewed and forum users/Sonar customers input. If you are to remove my post, please send me an explanation via PM.
 
ORIGINAL POST
As customers, some who are professionals, others using the software in education or for personal use, I feel there is now a need to make a formal request for Cakewalk to take the steps necessary to allow offline, permanent activation of the software. Cakewalk/Gibson have given little detail about the future timeline and our ability to continue using the software. Personally I find that unacceptable and unprofessional. I appreciate the company may, at this time be unsure of how long the servers will be online. Unfortunately I'm unable to accept that situation. It directly effects my ability to continue my own project and to plan ahead in the confidence that I'll be able to finish it uninterrupted.
I applied for and gained access to grant funding for my project. I need the assurance that I'll be able to complete it and the only way to do that is to have my copy of Sonar activated and fully operational offline.
 
Please let me know if anyone else would consider joining me in making a formal approach to the company. I'd like to request this situation is resolved before the 15th January 2018. 
 
Thank you
 
 
 
 

I join you. 
 
 

MMontgomery
I'll try this again! As both my new thread and the post have been removed. This is important and I feel it deserves to be viewed and forum users/Sonar customers input. If you are to remove my post, please send me an explanation via PM.
 
ORIGINAL POST
As customers, some who are professionals, others using the software in education or for personal use, I feel there is now a need to make a formal request for Cakewalk to take the steps necessary to allow offline, permanent activation of the software. Cakewalk/Gibson have given little detail about the future timeline and our ability to continue using the software. Personally I find that unacceptable and unprofessional. I appreciate the company may, at this time be unsure of how long the servers will be online. Unfortunately I'm unable to accept that situation. It directly effects my ability to continue my own project and to plan ahead in the confidence that I'll be able to finish it uninterrupted.
I applied for and gained access to grant funding for my project. I need the assurance that I'll be able to complete it and the only way to do that is to have my copy of Sonar activated and fully operational offline.

Please let me know if anyone else would consider joining me in making a formal approach to the company. I'd like to request this situation is resolved before the 15th January 2018. 

Thank you