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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Aug 2011
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OP
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Bandlab +++ announced +++ the free Cakewalk by Bandlab DAW will be deactivated August, 2025. Sonar free and Next free are available to anyone with a Bandlab account.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Nov 2008
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The Sonar journey continues... Hey, the "lifetime" upgrade license I purchased in 2016 is still good for the "free" version. I guess. 
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
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So that's why you download it and run it as a resident DAW. It will still function as intended but don't expect support or updates.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,809
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,809 |
The Sonar journey continues... Hey, the "lifetime" upgrade license I purchased in 2016 is still good for the "free" version. I guess. That was the "other" company.... you're up the proverbial creek as they say. I bought one of those "lifetime guarantee, no questions asked" otter box things for one of my cell phones. They replaced that thing a good 3 or 4 times until on the last replacement they indicated that I couldn't get a free replacement anymore because they had stopped making that particular case...... so much for lifetime replacement guarantee. I guess they weren't referring to my lifetime.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,583
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Posts: 3,583 |
I was with Cakewalk since the early DOS days when Greg Hendershott was at the helm. When they folded the first time I moved on out of necessity, but it's still nice that a piece of that very cool legacy remains...
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,015
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,015 |
So that's why you download it and run it as a resident DAW. It will still function as intended but don't expect support or updates. That's not correct Herb. After the last activation period ends Cakewalk by Bandlab loses the capability to save. I believe I've also read that export capability is lost. Essentially CbB will only have playback capability.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 7,235
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 7,235 |
I had Cakewalk ProAudio 9.3 a decade or so ago. It was great but collaborations required me to move to Reaper & I've been happy with that. I did try Bandlad for two songs & it was fine but I had little faith in their business model. Seems I was right.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 1,086
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 1,086 |
I've had one foot in Cakewalk by Bandlab (free) and the other in Reaper (almost free) for the last couple of years, so I guess in future I'll be Reaping the benefits.
I hope BIAB will always stay with its current business model - it has allowed me to upgrade when I can or when I need to.
Andrew
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