Cakewalk by BandLab is finaly launched.. for FREE !!!

[James Argo]

Yeah that's right! Cakewalk by BandLab is now launched, for FREE via BandLab Assistant.

Bandlab Assistant for Windows
https://www.bandlab.com/download/assistant/windows

for Mac
https://www.bandlab.com/download/assistant/mac

Too bad they don't give offline installer, you must download and install Cakewalk via BandLab assistant only.
It looks like Sonar Platinum without 3rd party instruments / plugins bundle. More info will available later.


BandLab Technologies x Cakewalk | Important Announcement


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Quoted by Meng himself in Cakewalk.com forum:

‘Cakewalk By BandLab’ is here. Free. Available for Windows now. [4/4/2018]
Hi Everyone,

Today is the day! Let’s dive straight in with a TLR version:

Today we’re launching Cakewalk by BandLab – a free, streamlined version of SONAR Platinum
There is only one version, with full authentication and the advanced feature set for free
Cakewalk by BandLab is available via BandLab Assistant for Windows (sign in with your BandLab account)
No matter what plug-ins or bundles you’ve bought in the past – anything that worked with SONAR before will work with Cakewalk by BandLab and should integrate seamlessly.
This is just the beginning, we have an aggressive feature roadmap ahead

Firstly, thank you to everybody here for your incredible support in the last month (and a bit!).
As you might have guessed, it’s been a busy few weeks for us at BandLab. On top of maintaining the steady flow of feature releases that we consistently do on BandLab every week, the whole team has been working tirelessly to pull together the new flagship, streamlined version of SONAR so that we could get it to you ASAP.

We have an aggressive vision here at BandLab – and that is a world in which there are no barriers, physical, geographical or technical to the making and sharing of music. For the millions of creators already on BandLab in more than 180 countries around the world – this vision continues to develop every time we push a new release.

For the professional musicians who use our platform, access to a complete toolset is a key part of this vision and this release is one of our biggest yet. The big news is a business model change that is only possible because of our ecosystem – we’re releasing the entire feature set of SONAR Platinum (sans certain 3rd party plugins and content) in its new form of Cakewalk by BandLab completely free.

We want anyone to have access to the highest level of professional music production tools in the same way that we empower musicians to make and share their music around the world with BandLab’s creation, collaboration and social tools.

Cakewalk by BandLab has all the premium features of SONAR Platinum that you know and love but we’ve also added some small new features for now: you now have the ability to replace Track Templates and enjoy a theme-capable Piano Roll View (easier on the eyes for those late nights). These are just two quick additions – there’s a lot more coming based on your feedback and I’m confident you’ll be excited about what’s on the horizon.

Existing Platinum users: all previously purchased third party bundles, plug-ins and instruments already installed on your system should automatically integrate with Cakewalk by BandLab. If you have all your third party products and plug-ins previously downloaded from the Command Center, everything should work seamlessly.

People who are downloading Cakewalk by BandLab or experiencing SONAR Platinum’s features for the first time (not relevant to many people in this forum, but still including it to cover all bases!): we have removed certain 3rd party plug-ins and content that we felt were unnecessary and/or not feasible to be released in this first version. Updates will come and more features and content will be available in the core pack. For now, check out the Sounds tab on BandLab Assistant - there are thousands of loops available there - just drag and drop. ;-)

For anyone concerned that downloading Cakewalk by BandLab via BandLab Assistant might mess with your system or existing software – we’ve put a lot of effort into making sure that it doesn’t affect previous SONAR installations - Cakewalk by BandLab and previous versions of SONAR can run on the same machine with no issues. That said, there will be no more updates released for legacy SONAR products. As always, keep in mind that if you make changes to your operating system, this could affect performance of any legacy products as updates won’t happen in the future.

Many thanks to everyone who has already signed up for a BandLab account. As mentioned before, it will be necessary for tagging other purchases you have made in the past - for example, the next iteration of Rapture will not be released for free when it is ready unless you are an existing owner and eligible for a crossgrade. Having your obsolete Cakewalk ID linked to your BandLab Account ensures that we can verify your previous purchases, and any future upgrade or cross grade opportunities are available to you. For those who haven’t signed up yet, you’ll also need a BandLab account to install and authenticate Cakewalk, as well as to receive future updates and new releases.

On a side note, we’ve also been busy organising some Cakewalk swag (featuring new and vintage looks) to celebrate the launch and offer something fun for some of you lifetime Cakewalk fans. We’ve souped up our Tip Jar and released an early version of our upcoming Rewards feature, and you’ll visit this page once your install has started. A reissued version of Noel’s famous Cakewalk mug is there as well as some other swag - I'll add the link in a second, we're just updating some photos! There is no obligation to send a tip.

I want to thank all of you for your support, your encouragement, your feedback and suggestions. We are constantly humbled by the passion and wealth of knowledge among the Cakewalk community. We are so proud to be able to continue development of SONAR’s core feature set as Cakewalk by BandLab and are committed to investing in this excellent product - we will continue to innovate to ship new and improved features as we do with all the products we develop.

We hope that you, the dedicated core of long-term SONAR users, will be able to keep creating music with your preferred workflow for decades to come – and that a whole new generation of music creators, artists and producers will be introduced to this fantastic professional music software.

I hope you’re as excited about the future as we are. Please jump in and explore Cakewalk by BandLab – for existing SPLAT users, you’ll find it very comfortable and I hope we’ve alleviated some of your worst nightmares. For those of you that never could justify spending on an upgrade – welcome to the real deal In the coming days and weeks, there’s much more I will share and I’m sure you’ll discover some of the other things you can do with BandLab Assistant and maybe try out BandLab too, if you haven’t already!Happy downloading and music making! Long Live Cakewalk!

With love,

Meng

p.s I meant it when I said we were baking something special up for you!

p.p.s RIP the runner up names of TDFKAS, BONAR, LabraDAWr and BADASS

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QUICK UPDATE: The 04-10-2018 in the license/about us is just an arbitrary 6 month date set for authorization checks - it's confusing and will be removed in future versions. It's NOT an expiry date

 

[James Argo]

Reserved for future update info...

 

[Pinky]

I'm holding off to see how this all ends up shaking out. Not in a hurry.

Nothing is free forever, so eventually they'll announce and force everyone into some sort of revenue generating channel. If it's cost effective I'll gladly given them my money, if not I'll simply jump ship which is what I expected to have to do at some point anyway. Resurrection of Cakewalk has just given me more options.

 

[dachay2tnr]

I’m on the fence about this as well. I am currently on Sonar X3. It’s a few years old, but in all honesty it does everything I need it too.

Upgrading to this would update my engine, but I think I’ll take a wait and see for now.

 

[Bruthish]

Agreed. A little upset that something I paid $$$ for is now free but I get it. What I have now is perfect for what I do but would like to see if anything actually improves.

 

[TeyshaBlue]

I installed it immediately when it became available. X3 Producer was not playing nice with Win10 updates. The Bandlab version functions perfectly...no bugs so far. Finished one album project with it that I started in X3.
All legacy plugins are supported, so if you had something installed for an earlier version, this BL version scans it and picks it right up. I only had to move one dll to restore functionality. Seamless transition.

 

[dachay2tnr]

So my main worry card is the lack of a disc version.

If BandLab goes under, or changes their policies, how do you port this to a new computer? Or reinstall if you have a hard disc crash?

I like the security of a hard copy.

 

[Jonesey9]

I installed on the first day and have been running it non stop ever since with ZERO issues

If anything, it's more stable then my Platinum installation.

 

[Jonesey9]

So my main worry card is the lack of a disc version.

If BandLab goes under, or changes their policies, how do you port this to a new computer? Or reinstall if you have a hard disc crash?

I like the security of a hard copy.

You haven't a version on disc since X2 - what would you do if your system crashed?
Re-download it? Yeah, that's what I thought.

 

[dachay2tnr]

You haven't a version on disc since X2 - what would you do if your system crashed?
Re-download it? Yeah, that's what I thought.

I downloaded the files and burned my own discs. Doesn’t everyone do that?

If you’re telling me I can do that with the BandLab version, then I might take the plunge.

I bought a new recording computer last year. Reinstalled Sonar with no issues that I can recall. That’s what I’m talking about.

 

[Pinky]

I downloaded the files and burned my own discs. Doesn’t everyone do that?

If you’re telling me I can do that with the BandLab version, then I might take the plunge.

I bought a new recording computer last year. Reinstalled Sonar with no issues that I can recall. That’s what I’m talking about.

Ditto, I have all the X3 install and update files on my hard drive (burned to dvd as well). I simply will not accept a purely digital ('streamed') copy of something so important (and eventually expensive) to me.

 

[Chili]

So my main worry card is the lack of a disc version.

If BandLab goes under, or changes their policies, how do you port this to a new computer? Or reinstall if you have a hard disc crash?

I like the security of a hard copy.

If there is no other way to back it up, you should think about 'imaging' you c: drive using Acronis or something similar. It's not just about backing up files, but capturing the registry, as well. When you restore an image all the programs will be there, ready to go.

I have been using this free app for years

DriveImage XML Backup Software - Data Recovery Product

 

[DM60]

If there is no other way to back it up, you should think about 'imaging' you c: drive using Acronis or something similar. It's not just about backing up files, but capturing the registry, as well. When you restore an image all the programs will be there, ready to go.

I have been using this free app for years

DriveImage XML Backup Software - Data Recovery Product

Clonezilla - Clonezilla - About is another often used and trusted cloning utility. Not as easy as Acronis, but the price is right and many in the business trust the source.

 

[Pinky]

If there is no other way to back it up, you should think about 'imaging' you c: drive using Acronis or something similar. It's not just about backing up files, but capturing the registry, as well. When you restore an image all the programs will be there, ready to go.

I have been using this free app for years

DriveImage XML Backup Software - Data Recovery Product

The problem with subscriptions in particular is that the product can be deactivated as soon as you go online, or can be programmed to require reactivation after a certain amount of time or application launches. This effectively forces a degree of control that is not yours (the owner's). You can't fully escape an aggressive activation system with any simple tricks/tactics.

 

[jiff 41]

I downloaded this to check out & was playing around with TH3 & when I finished with one preset I pressed the REMOVE button & now I think I've deleted the presets I think 25,29?,

is there a way to reset them?

Can't find any info in the manual?



ANY help much appreciated!

 

[dachay2tnr]

I downloaded this to check out & was playing around with TH3 & when I finished with one preset I pressed the REMOVE button & now I think I've deleted the presets I think 25,29?,

is there a way to reset them?

Can't find any info in the manual?

View attachment 102499

ANY help much appreciated!

Did you try the Add button? I suspect remove just removes it from the options shown, and doesn’t actually delete it. Add should allow you to put it back.

Otherwise maybe try reinstalling the plugin.

 

[jiff 41]

Yeh I tried that but it's for buying the rest of the banks I think?
I just need to reset the free banks?, I tried the update which came today hoping it would reset them but no luck!
It just seems a bit strange that if you make a mistake there's no way to undo?

 

[Vectorfire]

"100% Free Online DAW"

So i have to put my music into the cloud to put it into the mix?!
What kind of latency does shuffling audio data to and from the internet introduce to your tracking?
No thank you.

So their intent seems to be on selling our analytics now.

 

[jimmys69]

Hmmm....

 

[Mickster]

If there is no other way to back it up, you should think about 'imaging' you c: drive using Acronis or something similar. It's not just about backing up files, but capturing the registry, as well. When you restore an image all the programs will be there, ready to go.

I have been using this free app for years

DriveImage XML Backup Software - Data Recovery Product

Hey Chili.....I downloaded this app but haven't tried it yet. Is there any advice you can give me about using it?