Members nat whilk II Posted June 1, 2016 Members Share Posted June 1, 2016 This is an interesting move. $499 for new buyers owning no prior version. Update prices run $399 to $199 depending on what you currently own. So for me, already owning Platinum, it would be $199. Prices good 'till Aug 31st. Will they sweeten the pot if I wait? CW has a long history of doing so. But LIFETIME....I'd save the subscription fees from here on out. Geez, wish I was younger Cakewalk has a long history of annual versions, then fairly recently went to a subscriber model - monthly for the most part. So this lifetime option is pretty radical for them - I would love to see their pro forma revenue stream spreadsheets that estimate what this new option will do for them over the next five years.....they will have to replace the old revenue stream with something - new customers (they are also heralding a Mac version) and new add-on products (VST stuff, "plus" versions, etc)....will it be enough?? But the paranoid bird on my shoulder tweets, "are they mortgaging their future for the benefit of a current short-term burst of revenue??" Loading up this big base of "permanent" customers and then, what, selling the company?? Will Apple buy them now??? Actually, I've forgotten who owns them now - maybe it doesn't make that much difference? Or all the difference?? I do get frustrated with Sonar - little bugs here and there that waste my time which is so limited (and therefore so precious) for music production. And some dead simple improvements that never seem to happen. At the same time I am constantly amazed at it's depth of features. But I'm also envious of the smart, streamlined workflow built into platforms like Ableton and Reaper. I know all platforms have their strengths and weaknesses - and I so...do...NOT....want....to have to climb any new major learning curves for recording. I'll probably spring for this one and if Cakewalk undergoes some future unpleasant seismic shift, write it off and move over to Ableton or Reaper. Or tape. (not really) Any thoughts, insights, rumors, inside info, yeas or neas out there? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted June 1, 2016 Members Share Posted June 1, 2016 I know all about it First, check out the third announcement. Cakewalk is re-visiting older aspects of the program that need some love, like true "ripple editing" to get rid of the archaic "delete hole" function, pipelining in the audio engine to allow more plug-ins to load and minimize dropouts, and optimizing the comping and take management - which started off on the right foot, but hasn't been updated. Cakewalk is very much aware of some people's sentiment that "I love the program and I'm not going to switch, but jeez, can't they fix [long-standing bug of your choice]? It really annoys me" and want to focus on fixing more of those underlying issues. For example I'm pushing hard for something like ACT 2.0 and some Matrix view improvements. As to the financials, believe me, a lot of thought went into this. The proof of concept is FL Studio, which went to this model and it has worked for them. Cakewalk isn't following the same model completely, but the concept is the same. The reality is that a lot of SONAR users are still using X3, SONAR 8.5, etc. because regardless of how good the latest version is, you can get the job done with older programs. They could have been giving lifetime updates and it wouldn't have had any impact on the bottom line one way or the other. I believe Cakewalk's financial situation will also be helped by signing up new users. A more recent example is Windows 10, which does the same concept of core updates for free, and optional-at-extra-cost add-ones. One complaint about Cakewalk's updates was that they might contain something people already had, like Melodyne or Addictive Drums. That will no longer be an issue; you get program fixes and features, but if you want to buy other things, you get to choose what to buy. One other element I'd like to stress but don't want to go on about in the Cakewalk forums is that this is all part of a larger, more comprehensive plan. Gibson is very much committed to Cakewalk's success and while I don't want to minimize the importance of today's announcements, they're kind of like buying a cool car. You like the cool car, and it looks great...but where you drive it is what makes the car really interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dendy Jarrett Posted June 1, 2016 Members Share Posted June 1, 2016 Did I read that Cakewalk will now work on a Mac? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Did I read that Cakewalk will now work on a Mac? It sounds like they're working on a Mac compatible version, although I'm not positive that it's a direct port of the PC version. We probably won't know for sure until the Alpha is released in the Fall. The site doesn't give a lot of specifics on it... but a Mac version of SONAR is big news. _______________ [TABLE] [TR] [TD=colspan: 2]SONAR OS X Alpha [/TD] [TD=width: 40] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 640, colspan: 4] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 40] [/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]We receive a lot of requests for a Mac version of SONAR, so we’re very excited to announce SONAR OS X Alpha. This free trial version runs SONAR’s built in plug-ins, and works with any Core Audio compatible audio interface. Starting in the Fall, please join us in testing out this new frontier for SONAR—and then share your experiences, or find support, in the new SONAR Mac forum. [/TD] [TD=width: 40] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 640, colspan: 4] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 640, colspan: 4] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 40] [/TD] [TD=colspan: 2][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] _______________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 [video=youtube;PCmnsai1ENg] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted June 1, 2016 Author Members Share Posted June 1, 2016 I know all about it pipelining in the audio engine to allow more plug-ins to load and minimize dropouts, and optimizing the comping and take management Dropouts are an issue on my system. Sure, I can increase the latency and at some point they go away. Then I end up recording in the echo chamber.... Cakewalk is very much aware of some people's sentiment that "I love the program and I'm not going to switch, but jeez, can't they fix [long-standing bug of your choice]? It really annoys me" and want to focus on fixing more of those underlying issues. For example I'm pushing hard for something like ACT 2.0 and some Matrix view improvements. My vote is for input soloing. Arm a track for recording and it defaults to "ready, and this is the only track that will accept input - midi or audio." As to the financials, believe me, a lot of thought went into this. The proof of concept is FL Studio, which went to this model and it has worked for them. Cakewalk isn't following the same model completely, but the concept is the same. The reality is that a lot of SONAR users are still using X3, SONAR 8.5, etc. because regardless of how good the latest version is, you can get the job done with older programs. They could have been giving lifetime updates and it wouldn't have had any impact on the bottom line one way or the other. I believe Cakewalk's financial situation will also be helped by signing up new users. Since CW always updates so often, I routinely skip versions. Same thing I do with NI's Komplete. Also - downloading big updates takes a long time. Too much time spent fiddling with the computer, regardless of juicy new features. I'm still catching up with the "new" stuff that showed up five versions back... A more recent example is Windows 10, which does the same concept of core updates for free, and optional-at-extra-cost add-ones. One complaint about Cakewalk's updates was that they might contain something people already had, like Melodyne or Addictive Drums. That will no longer be an issue; you get program fixes and features, but if you want to buy other things, you get to choose what to buy. Interesting. My guess is that CW has to pay 3rd-party outfits like Melodyne or Addictive Drums a certain amount that CW only recoups once some target number of paid updates is met. So that goes into the price of the updates - whether these 3rd-party products are needed or not by the users. So yeah, uncouple some of the pricier 3rd-party stuff from the updates, fine by me. One other element I'd like to stress but don't want to go on about in the Cakewalk forums is that this is all part of a larger, more comprehensive plan. Gibson is very much committed to Cakewalk's success and while I don't want to minimize the importance of today's announcements, they're kind of like buying a cool car. You like the cool car, and it looks great...but where you drive it is what makes the car really interesting So look for newer new stuff is my takeaway. Ok, but remember, I would like a simpler musical life at this point. I think a lot of DAW users feel that way. And thx for all the insider info.... nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted June 8, 2016 Members Share Posted June 8, 2016 Since CW always updates so often, I routinely skip versions. Same thing I do with NI's Komplete. Also - downloading big updates takes a long time. Too much time spent fiddling with the computer, regardless of juicy new features. I'm still catching up with the "new" stuff that showed up five versions back... This is why CW made updates cumulative. So if you want to update once a month, once a quarter, or once a year you can do so. My guess is that CW has to pay 3rd-party outfits like Melodyne or Addictive Drums a certain amount that CW only recoups once some target number of paid updates is met. So that goes into the price of the updates - whether these 3rd-party products are needed or not by the users. So yeah, uncouple some of the pricier 3rd-party stuff from the updates, fine by me. I'm not involved in that aspect but I believe it's a licensing situation, so it's more like paying out royalties. The "uncoupling" is one aspect of creating software that's more a la carte. So look for newer new stuff is my takeaway. Ok, but remember, I would like a simpler musical life at this point. I think a lot of DAW users feel that way. That is being taken into account...and I'll leave it at that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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