This explains a lot about Cakewalk/Sonar

[vintagevibe]

It amazes me how oblivious they are to the way they've insulted and alienated so many customers. It's really turned into a cult.

[lingyai]

Don't worry, others will always be there to insult and attack you. It's the new Cakewalk! It's just what they do.

I think it's clear that, between Mr. A's messianic lectures-to-oblivion and that "Dr." who clearly suffers from some hitherto undiagnosed personality disorder, the forums are now just as bad or actually worse than they were before, TBH.

+1

+2

Though to be fair .... a) Mr. A seems to have something of a split personality, one of which is very knowledgeable and helpful, and b) there are some excellent folks there too. If you need help, explain the problem clearly, and don't betray frustration with the product or question the new business model, you can get in, sorted and on your way pretty quickly.

[lingyai]

It amazes me how oblivious they are to the way they've insulted and alienated so many customers. It's really turned into a cult.

Wow ... though that might be going a bit far, actually only a few hours ago I responded to Mr. A. and the Doctor that at times the place did have a whiff of Scientology to it .... only other time I've expereinced that on a forum was on the unofficial MOTU user site, where they actually forbade the word "Reaper". Such a silly Rich World problem, this intense gear rivalry thing.

[chk071]

What happened to the Cakewalk sales? Seriously, when i had an account with Sonar X3, Z3TA 2 and Rapture, they had like one sale every 2 weeks, and i was busy emptying my inbox, now that i got rid of that account, but kept a copy of Z3TA 1, which i want to upgrade to version 2 now, there's no sale since 2 months or so... did they somehow change their market strategy or something?

[incubus]

It amazes me how oblivious they are to the way they've insulted and alienated so many customers. It's really turned into a cult.

Wow ... though that might be going a bit far, actually only a few hours ago I responded to Mr. A. and the Doctor that at times the place did have a whiff of Scientology to it .... only other time I've expereinced that on a forum was on the unofficial MOTU user site, where they actually forbade the word "Reaper". Such a silly Rich World problem, this intense gear rivalry thing.

I rarely respond to sonar threads these days, but that is weird and best.

The problem with most who have left sonar has nothing to do with anything but one point: Crash city.

Now, if it's different these days and people are happy, I'm happy for you! But many of us have been scorned to the point where it doesn't matter anymore.

You have two choices: Fanboi away or realize that there are some bitter people who have some legitimate complaints: The choice is yours.

(I know, then "if you are so bitter then don't post/use/blah" ) well, that's the hardly ever post part but when quoting someone who has been wronged (like many of us) it's important to understand it in perspective. Now I'll go

[digitalboytn]

What happened to the Cakewalk sales? Seriously, when i had an account with Sonar X3, Z3TA 2 and Rapture, they had like one sale every 2 weeks, and i was busy emptying my inbox, now that i got rid of that account, but kept a copy of Z3TA 1, which i want to upgrade to version 2 now, there's no sale since 2 months or so... did they somehow change their market strategy or something?

Henry took over the reins

[trimph1]

It amazes me how oblivious they are to the way they've insulted and alienated so many customers. It's really turned into a cult.

Wow ... though that might be going a bit far, actually only a few hours ago I responded to Mr. A. and the Doctor that at times the place did have a whiff of Scientology to it .... only other time I've expereinced that on a forum was on the unofficial MOTU user site, where they actually forbade the word "Reaper". Such a silly Rich World problem, this intense gear rivalry thing.

I got the feeling the last time I was there that it was almost getting to be a cult. I seen people getting told the mantra...it's your machine's fault!!

I think it is almost a circling the wagon's move...they have to be on the defense.

[Grizzellda]

I'd like to mention that I am not a fanboy...I upgraded because of the super value of Addictive Drums & the ProChannel, basically.

Hey, I have had the issues too, believe me, I can appreciate the complaints.

But SONAR has some good stuff man, and I just keep tweaking my system & my workflow, you know?

And the latest update is all about new routing options & techniques, very flexible stuff here.

I said earlier that I felt Cakewalk was listening to customers. You guys think that they aren't aware of the critics? I really think they are improving things.

[chk071]

You guys think that they aren't aware of the critics?

They could start with an update to Z3TA 2 which was last updated in *drumroll* december 2012 (for Mac, i think the last update for Windows hails from 2011), and has a LOT of known bugs (actually the kind of bugs which are kind of hilarious, because more or less every user will encounter them trying to do the most basic tasks). With Cakewalk, i often feel like they throw a product on the market, do a lot of sales to sell a lot of copies, and abandon the software then. Frankly, i wouldn't pay more than 25 € for updating my Z3TA 1 to version 2, because i know what i get for my 25 €. A product with flaws which doesn't get any love in form of updates and bug fixing. Fair enough, but then i have to say that the price i pay is absolutely justified, and it's not worth 1 cent more.

Sorry for being so harsh, but, "listening to customers"? "Aware of critics"? Why don't they do something about it then. And if they can't, or are unwilling, fair enough, i know where to put my money at the least then.

[Grizzellda]

Alright, alright, you make some good points...

Still though, I plan on using SONAR for mixing & alot of audio stuff, because I think it is quite stable there.

I know that they like marketing, and frankly, I have gotten some great deals from them, which I appreciate.

[chk071]

To be fair, i think they're doing a much better job on Sonar than they are on their virtual instruments though. Frequent updates and new versions, and it seems to be stable for the most, so i guess there's not much to complain about there. Puzzling even more why they don't (or rather are not willing to) get their act together on their plugins.

[Grizzellda]

I surely hear what you're saying...man it would be cool to have a z3ta 3 come out huh? And SONAR could use a nice modern sampler.

But it does seem that they are focusing on SONAR, agreed. It may be easier just to get instruments from XLN & AAS, so they can concentrate on the app.

[Mystic]

Keep in mind when Z3TA+ 2 came out, Cake was still owned by Roland and they were running themselves into the ground. Had X3 bombed as much as X2 did, I would have left Cakewalk for something else but X3, which came out without the Roland name during the interim, was a step in the right direction for the company and actually I was very pleased with it.

Now they are doing more than ever. I think they paused on Z3TA updates because they are focusing on Sonar now more than anything else. Sadly, it seems Rapture is also taking a hit because they have to put a lot of their resources into their main product, which I'm actually okay with. Z3TA was a good synth for what it was but I rarely use any of their synths/samplers because the competition is just so much better. I'd rather them keep the focus mostly on Sonar since they do monthly updates and add new features.

[trimph1]

All they need to do is make it stable.

[EnGee]

They are focusing on audio recording with Guitars at the centre.
Think about it. You buy Gibson.guitar, what do you need more to record yourself playing solo or with a band?

The direction is clear to me. There is no reason for them to enhance any midi or electronic composition seriously at all.