I just made the switch from cakewalk by band lab to the "free" cakewalk Sonar.

After hearing from a few people that the old CWBL registration was not going to renew on August 1, 2025, I figured I had to do something.

I contacted a friend from way back in the old cakewalk from Boston days and discussed this topic. His advice, make the change.

So yesterday evening, I downloaded the software and installed it.

Different look, but everything I needed seems to be there and while I didn't do a lot of digging other than a quick check to see if it would work well, but everything seems to be functional and there including the project history.

I will have to go into the vst scan manager and disable the vsts I don't want to use.


So far, so good. If you use cakewalk, make sure you have the new version.

There's a free version and a subscription version. In the subscription version you do get a fairly extensive loop sample library and time stretching capability. There's a chart on the website to show you the "advantages" to paying for the subscription.

Since I don't use loops very much or do time stretching, I've got the free Sonar. One can always subscribe if necessary.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add 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.