There are about 6 Studio One "basics" videos on this channel that are gold for learning this. www.youtube.com/@CreativeSauce/search?query=studio%20one%20basics
Really appreciate the time to create this video, thanks! Having heard a lot about Studio One, I'm grateful for the comparison. I come away with a sense that the differences would be a mixed bag for me. What I really love here is how SO handles the drum outputs. Dealing with that in Cakewalk is a real pain. Drum maps are awful to work with and it's clunky to split outputs (I often use the CAL script to split the full MIDI track by notes). Watching you add & remove tracks just by clicking on the mapped drum instruments looks so refreshingly easy in comparison. The chord track is a great feature, but as I like to actually play the various parts, I'm not sure I'd want that much of the composition to be automated, and I'd rather tweak it in performance than in the interface. With the bus creation, it is quick & easy but the outcome is a mixed bag - I wouldn't want the bus named for the first effect applied, I don't care for the bus being visually grouped with the track, and I often change the preset or effect settings once I hear it, so I'd probably be doing a lot of the same work after the drag & drop. I do like the effects defaulting to 100% wet. All that said, the real takeaway for me is that every DAW has something that's better than the others, and that Cakewalk has some things that would be really nice to add to and improve on. The initial impression that Cakewalk Sonar will effectively be the exact same product but now at a cost seems strange to me. Updating a few workflows and adding a few actual new features would prompt more people to jump in and pay right away. Even if I want to pay for the new Cakewalk, and I expect I will, it's going to be hard to justify paying right away if I'm not really gaining any meaningful new functionality. Cheers!
That impression of the same software but for money is indeed a little peculiar. I'm really hoping that the free version will be available forever - for access to existing projects for those that can't afford to pay or decide to go elsewhere - but this makes me nervous. Regardless of that it is odd.
I’m a complete newbie in the world of music production. I fell into Studio One by happenstance, and I thank my stars every day that that’s where I landed.
thanks Mike....like you i'm hoping the new cakewalk will be a great product, hopefully they learned from other DAWs and incorporate some of the things you mentioned...,i will wait and see
For those of us who use Cakewalk for backing tracks, I wish they would implement something like Studio One's show page for playing live. Cakewalk's playlist feature is severely inadequate.
My view on this is that the workflow of Cakewalk was developed more for mainly mixing. That's why the prochannel is always inserted, it was meant to emulate working on a console. If you're in that workflow then it's great. Anything else especially midi based production it's not the worst but it takes sometime getting used to it. I love it and have used it for a long time and will continue to use it regardless of it being free or not. Studio One has a workflow that somewhat reminds me of Cubase which is what Presonus used to ship it's interfaces with before developing their own Daw. Recently it has incorporated elements of Logic and Pro tools so it's great for midi and such but Cakewalk to me has the best mixing workflow.
Thanks, Mike. You've been the source for all things Cakewalk forever. I greatly appreciate your time, efforts, and advice over the years. That said, I've used Cakewalk for well over a decade, paid and, now, free from Bandlab. If Cakewalk Sonar is similarly priced as Studio One 6, I plan to move to Studio One for all the reasons you highlighted.
I have been using Cakewalk in its many versions for over twenty years and it works perfectly for my needs. I will continue to use the new Cakewalk Sonar 2023. I have the financial means to purchase the new DAW and will continue to produce music on Cakewalk. These little time saving routes in Studio One does not justify making any DAW changes for me. I'm happy that Cakewalk continues to evolve even if it is now a paid for product. If I was just starting out perhaps another DAW would be a option however at this point I am staying with Cakewalk.
@blackiewheeler4706 it does if you go with sphere. ALL presonus plugin plus melodyne, and notion are also included. All presonus plugins work well with their mixers and faderport. Plugins like nueralDSP and BiasFX don't work as something usable in those devices. Other plugins do.
Like you, I had used Cakewalk products over 20 years. After the Gibson fiasco, I switched over to Studio One, and I never looked back, even after Bandlab brought out the free version. Studio One is so much easier and faster creating music than Cakewalk. I also don't miss the constant crashing I had with Cakewalk.
Mike, firstly huge fan of the channel. Thinking you could add that once those Drum tracks are done, loaded and labelled and the like. You can save as Track Templates. I do this with Superior Drummer and I do it for Orchestral arrangements for Cakewalk. One thing I will bring to this discussion in addition is that Cakewalk channel strip is very well featured. Eq and Compession is brilliant. Not only that, but layout and operation is very like a real physical mixer. Routing is very much the same. Side Chaining too. As a former owner of the Studiolive 16.4.2 (2008 or 09) which was then a Flagship mixer for Presonus I recorded to Cakewalk. Still believe it to be the best DAW despite flaws. Still track / Analog feel to it that is appealing to us old fellas that started on 4 track fostex x30's and Tascam 250...
started with Cakewalk, as a MIDI software around 5.0 version, that's Cakewalk Pro 5.0, long time ago. I hope they move back in that direction, it may very be easier to write music for Sonar.
@@salintium No no, I think Mike's accent is closer to that of Gregor ;-) ... Jokes aside, I actually mean that the level of detail in combination with actual usecases is fantastic. So, when Mike wants to broaden his career I'm sure the door will be open at Presonus
Effective comparison of workflows. I have tried to use Cakewalk a number of times and kept getting frustrated so when BandLab announced the coming changes I went back to look at some other free DAWs and I found Ableton Live Lite from my Focusrite account and have found it much easier and more intuitive. Like others have said the best DAW is the one that works for you. Cakewalk is powerful and adaptable but maybe too much for me. Thanks for all the videos.
I'm new and also have a S1 subscription, and I'm also learning Cakewalk from you. Ease of use is important but from my "new" perspective seeing "how" it works in terms of work flow is good too for me.
I've only used the Studio One 6 Artist DAW. I don't have any reason to look for another. It just works and that's fine. Drag n drop is easy. The designers knew how to get some things like the send creation nailed to be very easy.
I'm another one of those Cakewalk or die folks who have used it for decades and will happily pay for it (again). Nevertheless, the workflow points you bring up are valid and compelling, and I would love to see them addressed in the new Sonar. It sounded like you have a lot more potential material for a follow-up video, so if you have the energy to make one, I think it could only help. If Cakewalk isn't listening to you, we should _make_ them! Someone else mentioned that Cakewalk's strength is in its mixing and editing, and I think that's true. It's primarily what I use it for, doing my tracking elsewhere (mostly) and bringing the raw tracks into Cakewalk for the rest of the production, occasionally doing additional recording in my studio.
Hi Timothy. Curiously, I always thought Cakewalk was stronger in MIDI than other DAWs. Having said that, I mostly just record and di basic edits in MIDI. Maybe I'll do some velocity, adjustments etc. My hope is that when it comes to objectively looking at workflow in Cakewalk, that they won't be defensive in their thinking, but embrace that in the past 20 years, people's expectations of how 'slick' software should be, has changed.
@@Zaquria I think you missed the point of my comment. I have ~30 years of experience with Cakewalk, so from my perspective, _nothing_ beats Cakewalk for mixing and editing. (That might not hold true for you, but I'm me, and I know what works for me.) I am, however, very interested in seeing Cakewalk evolve, and the announced upcoming release of (non-free) Sonar seems like an opportunity for that to happen. I'm hoping that things like this video (and, dare I hope, future videos from Mike) will provide guidance to the folks responsible for that evolution.
@@TimothyPeierls I didn't miss the point of your post. Like yourself, I have used Cakewalk products for many years (Right back when Cakewalk was nothing more than a midi editor). After trying many other DAWS, I just couldn't see past Cakewalk, as I knew it inside out and back to front. I tried switching to PreSounus right after Gibson closed down Cakewalk, but I didn't like it for many reasons. I was happy that Bandlab took over, and they have done a fantastic job with bug fixing and new features. However, after switching to Studio One 5 (and 6), I have found that I prefer it to Cakewalk as it speeds up my workflow for recording, editing, mixing and mastering. I tend using the stock plugins from instruments of Studio One, where I hated the stock plugins for Cakewalk. If Cakewalk works for you, that's great! I totally get where you are coming from. But, I personally, am not about to spend a ton loads more money on another DAW. After they kill the free version, that will be me fully moving on from Cakewalk. I wish you well, my friend! 👍
Thanks Mike. Very well illustrated as usual and I agree - Cakewalk has to implement their paid model cautiously (learn from Waves experience) and will have to do more than "maintain the current user experience" to be competitive. I know Noel watches your videos and I am sure he and his team will be working hard to improve the DAW we all love and support. The passion and innovative drive with which Studio One has advanced, is exemplary - and hugely inspiring - and users remain confident in their sustainability / longevity. Keep up the good work Mike!
I presently use Cakewalk by BandLab when I use a software DAW but started with Cakewalk's consumer product, Music Creator. My brother uses PreSonus Studio One with Presonus hardware. We are always talking about each others DAW but rarely have the opportunity to see a side-by-side comparison. Thanks Mike for the comparison.
I posted about usability, or lack thereof, in Cakewalk recently and offered the fervent hope that the next version would concentrate on improvements to the user interface. (That didn't go down well but hey.) I don't believe that will be the case in the next version but we can hope. My feelings were reinforced watching a friend use Logic Pro. I think it's more than saving a little time. It's about an easier learning curve, less errors and problems, etc. As you say concentrating on what you're here for: making music. I think you can do most things in Cakewalk but I get constantly frustrated that many of those things that are clearly more difficult than they need to be. I seem to spend ages doing the simplest things, especially where midi is concerned. Your comment that if it's a paid daw it will be judged against other paid daws is spot on. I still really hope that they will improve the interface but I'm also interested in Studio One, and others, and even more so after watching this. Thanks.
Wow! Thanks so much for this presentation! I actually used SONAR for years since it's first inception to replace the "Cakewalk" for Windows DAW. I switched to Studio One almost a decade ago due to hardware incompatibilities with Windows (yes, I switched to the Apple/Mac platform, consequently) AND the sale of Cakewalk to Gibson. You've confirmed that my decision to switch was "a good one" with this video and I'm a very proud user of Studio One! I look forward to seeing what else you have to compare between the two products in future videos. Thanks again!
Thanks Mike, great video. Cakewalk? I've been using it before DOS had a GUI. Everything was command line. I still have the floppies of Cakewalk I bought when Greg Hendershott worked alone, and own continued updating with every version since. Being 76 now, I'm getting back into electronic music, ( I went off to playing Hammond in a blues group), I'm semi retired, and looking to convert 100's of .wrk files into either Sonar Platinum, or Cakewalk Bandlab. I have a studio full of 80's, 90's, and recent synths........tons of Ensoniq and Roland antique dating back to the 80's. I fooled around a bit doing this in Sonar and it's kind of awkward. Would Studio One be an easier option?
I started with Cakewalk Sonar with their lifetime upgrades, but never really got into it much, ended up with Presonus Studio One by accident due to the Presonus Interface I had bought and I have never looked back- Studio One is the easiest drag and drop DAW, and after setting up quick keys, and presets , with Faderport , It is the quickest DAW . and I would not ever want to change to another at this time. Loved the video- I was curious about the old Cakewalk daw- I appreciate the vid- Thanks
Hello Mike. I'm starting to run out of exclamation words about your videos, how good explanations are, etc... Since I'm back in music, I'm using only Cakewalk because I know it and not really interested to learn a new DAW. After seeing this video, I've been surprised how some tasks are easier in Studio One, and I totally agree with you that Cakewalk will need to make some work on it to support the comparison with other DAWs. However, as a retired software developer (you know about development), I also think that the work will be more on the GUI side rather than the backend, this one being long-time stressed and tested code. As you probably know, there's a "main-line" in soft. development: "If the thing works well, don't touch it"!!! I love to use Cakewalk and, like a lot of people say, it will depend on the pricing of the product, especially if the price is about the same as other products such as Studio One. Thanks a lot Mike.
Mike, thanks for this! As a big Joe Gilder fan, I've been debating switch from CW to S1 for a while. This may be the time to finally make the jump. Could you make a short video comparing S1 Artist vs Pro? I can't find anyone doing a side by side comp. I don't want to spend $400 if $100 gets me everything I need. Thanks brother!
I was a long-time Cakewalk Sonar user from the 90’s. After paying nearly $300 to update my Pro version (I think from 3 to 6) a newer update came out that was another few hundred dollars. I was furious and immediately switched to Reaper and used that for a long time. The free CbB came out and I teetered back and forth between as I liked CbB’s workflow. Now with this mess I’m not sure what to do. Agh! lol
@@CreativeSauce True. That is why S1 has such methods loaded up in RAM. Workflow's got higher priority and with todays RAM at 32 or 64 and more GB, it should not be a big issue.
Before I discovered that Cakewalk was free, I was about to migrate from Cubase 5 to Studio 1. Studio looks like it's about to get my attention. I also like that the keyboard commands can be configured for all the popular DAWs at the click of a mouse. Thanks for a great video.
Thanks for the video. Like you, I'm waiting to see what Bandlabs is going to do for legacy users. If I could be so bold as to make a request, I'd love to see you try out Reaper and hear your thoughts on it. Appreciate you, sir.
I have used Cakewalk for decades exclusively. I had always paid for it, kept it updated, and even paid for lifetime updates. I am hoping the new Sonar will be good and they will do something for those of us who supported this platform through the years. I really don't want to start over with a completely new DAW if I don't have to.
Your loyalty is admirable, if unilateral. Sadly, they're not going to do squat for you. You'll be invited to continue to show your loyalty by paying for this product with a troubled history that you've helped them refine for years. I'm tempted to send THEM a bill.
Yeah I fell for that Cakewalk to Sonar transition once before. It was the same code washed over with ui changes and still had all the same bugs, plus a few introduced by new version. Many of those quirks are still present in the free product and I'm sorry, Bandlab, but I don't trust you to pull it off this time either. I use Cakewalk because it works for what I do and I'm familiar with it. The fact that it's free is a nice perk, but if I have to pay for something, Mike is exactly right: that raises the bar much higher than Cakewalk can clear. If I have to pay, and I have to learn a new DAW, I'll go straight to Protools.
Thanks a lot Mike and I can add a big fact that stretching and pitching audio files in Studio one is just a child step .. made so simply that I can’t imagine more simple than that while in Cakewalk it’s still impossible or at the best a very bad result with artifacts.. even if I’m still a huge fan and user of Cakewalk.. but on that point they are so late to face their concurrents which do a great job like Logic Pro for instance !
I've been a long-time Cakewalk (DOS version to Sonar to Bandlab) but also received the free version of Studio One with my recently purchased Presonus Audio Interface (thanks to your reviews of it) and I've got to say, I think you've sold me on Studio One.
Really useful video - thanks! Would it be right to say that some of the things you've mentioned (like the chord track for instance) are not available in all editions of Studio One? It'd be great to see you do a comparison of Studio One Artist and Professional at some point in the future - please!
Hi Frank, yes that is correct. I don't tend to recommend S1 Artist, unless it's just to get a taste of Studio One. Will do a comparison at some point on my other channel!
This is one thing I don't care for with Studio One. There are dealbreaker features missing on the intentionally-hobbled Artist and you can't get the full feature set without subscribing. I hope Cakewalk doesn't take this approach.
I have been a Sonar Platinum user up to the very last payed version. I work to picture a lot now and Cakewalk was just not equipped adequately for working to picture. The video codex were prehistoric, and the tools for working to picture inside Cakewalk were again very clunky and missed a lot of key features. I know I will not return to Cakewalk because of this. But as far as sound quality and midi composing, Cakewalk was a joy to work with. The editing, though basic, was efficient. Cakewalk for pure music production was very very good. The included plugins collection, synths and what else was very rich and powerful, as well as other onboard features to classify sounds, work with loops etc etc. Now I have seen what Reaper can do in terms of ...well.. EVERYTHING!.. I mean this program is simply mind blowing as far as professional features. I work in a professional studio on Pro Tools all day and I know it very well, at home I've got Reaper and I find that with Reaper I can do the same things I do with Pro Tools Ultimate probably even quicker with Reaper.. heck I could produce and mix a 5.1 feature movie in my little M1 mack running Reaper. If Cakewalk wants to come back in the game, they will have to propose something much more modern and evolve than the good old Sonar Platinum Platform. When Gibson dropped them, the other platforms kept evolving, and Sinar can not simply come back as it was,.. Banlab must propose something completely new and more powerful to be able to compete in today's market. Good luck though to Sonar. I always liked working with this DAW. Maybe Banlab will come up with something totally unexpected... Let's see..
I started out on cakewalk (free version) and shifted to Studio one pro . S1 is really good in terms of workflow . Had tried Logic Pro as well but ended up sticking to S1
Studio One at this point is a cleaner, faster, more intuitive DAW than Sonar but Sonar definitely is a full featured software and if they do things right they could come back swinging in the DAW world. My prediction is if they try to go the subscription only route at release they'll be dead on arrival. Everyone I know says if they offer a perpetual license they'll at least take a look but if not they're not interested and i'm in that camp myself. I believe in owning my software license. Mike, you're tutorials are very well done and I'll always have a look when you do a video on any software.
I'm new to mixing and audio editing so decided earlier this summer to pick up Cakewalk as it was free. I've been watching a lot of your Cakewalk tutorials online and playing with the software. But I've just been shocked to hear that it's gonna be discontinued! Should I bother continuing to learn on it or move to another DAW? Are there any other free DAWs I can move to that are just as good as Cakewalk?
Impressed with Studio One, but I wouldn't change. Using your examples, if I were going to use three different MIDI guitars, I would not want them all to be using the exact same articulations by sharing the same MIDI file. So, for me I do not see the advantage there. I'd generate the MIDI files separately for each one so each can "stand out" a little more as an individual instrument. As for having to go through the Additive Drums setup in the DAW, you only have to do that once in Cakewalk, then save it as a template and it's always there. The Studio One drag and drop feature of the plugins preset (reverb example) is a nice one though and would love to have that in Cakewalk. All in all, thanks for the comparisons - and all the other videos you do!
im a long time cakewalk/sonar user... going back to the early days long pre bandlab got their grubby little mitts on it... it's strong points were always that they used to listen to user feedback, kept updates rolling out that were meaningful improvements, and the thing that used to set it apart for me that was always under-rated [and now others have surpassed] was the groove clip looping time stretching options... i still use it out of familiarity more than anything, but over the years i have watched this product get less user friendly... it was pretty decent when it was a paid product, but with the various ownership transfers and becoming a free product... it somehow lost it's charm... not sure what the future holds for this once beloved DAW
Hi Mike. Another great video. I’m a Cakewalk user who just started to use Studio One 6 (and yes, subscribed to this channel as well 😉). Have you noticed a difference in latency/dropout issues between the two? With my Scarlett 8i6 Audio Interface in Cakewalk, I can use a buffer size of 32 and even 16 to track vocals but in Studio One i get dropouts unless I go to 256. I’m at a loss. My mobile workstation has plenty of grunt. I wonder if I need an audio interface with DSP or a USB-C (or Thunderbolt) with Studio One.
It may help you, as the settings in Studio One work a little differently. Particularly in the 'Processing' tab, where you may want to increase dropout protection.
@@CreativeSauce Thanks Mike. Yes, I had watched that video but I’m afraid I can’t use a Device Block Size of lower than 512 (or perhaps 256) without dropouts on recording. It baffles me. Perhaps S1 is a resource hungry beast compared to Cakewalk.
I will say though that to me there is no perfect Daw. It's a matter of preference and what you like working with. People will hate on Cakewalk but it does what it needs to do and once you get used to it it works great. The same with any other Daw.
I don't know that anyone is "hating on Cakewalk", merely pointing out certain things. I think the functionality provided by Cakewalk is excellent but that it's not always matched by excellence in the user interface. I would like them to do more work in that area then it would probably be the best daw going.
It wouldn't be a big problem to create series of templates for our favorite plugins in Cakewalk. For example track templates or project templates may be prepared once and being used forever. Superfluous functions of Studio One can be successfully got around by Cakewalk.)
Im definitely getting more curious about Studio One and other DAWs now. I manage to get around a lot of the clunky cakewalk steps you showed by having a track template set up with drums, busses, colour coding, reverbs etc already set up. However i suspect from your comments ar the end of the video that we're just scratching the surface here.
Great comparison Mike! In these examples S1 certainly looks much slicker - I like the GUI too. I'll probably stick with CbB until it breaks but S1 would definitely be a consideration in future if Sonar proves to be far more expensive
I love the work flow of S1...but, not fond of the UI. And I know it does not have much to do with the quality of music, I just love the look of Cakewalk and most of all the pro channel being so handy. CW just eats up too much of my crappy CPU.
Great video, although the orientation seems to be "why I think S1 is slicker." And while agree that those drag and drop operations are very handy, and I'd love to have them in Cakewalk, Cakewalk has some slick stuff that S1 seems to be lacking. Two of my favorite time savers in Cakewalk are: Smart Swipe, where you can click on a button, such as a track's mute, and drag across multiple track headers or console strips to actuate them on every track you swipe across. Quick Groups, where you can select multiple tracks, then hold Ctrl to perform most operations such as fader moves, plug-in changes, etc. These features are powerful, especially once you get used to them, and save me a LOT of time, and S1 doesn't seem to have equivalents for them. Please do make a part 2. I'm a Cakewalk user, and while I plan on staying that way after the transition to Sonar, I also agree that these S1 features are desirable and would like to see Cakewalk incorporate them or similar ones. But they can't do that unless they know about them. Your videos are popular in the Cakewalk community and your words and opinions have a lot of clout.
Yes, it was a little hard with this video not to come off as "S1 is better". Ultimately, people should listen to their own intuition on that. Interestingly, Quick Groups in Cakewalk was gonna be something I criticised it for! Since the same functionality is in S1, but in my opinion implemented a little better :( However, my main point was, that whether the better workflow was in Cakewalk, S1, Cubase, Logic or whatever - I hope they can take inspiration from it.
Thanks! I think if I did change/add a new DAW this would be the best one, as you cover it & as it looks a little like Cakewalk, can CWBBL projects successfully open in Studio ONe 6 Mike?
Is that correct, that when you hold control and drag to copy a midi clip in cakewalk it links to the original? I do that all the time but thought it just made a copy. That's probably caught me out loads if I've misunderstood that because I often copy some chords and then remove some of the higher or lower notes depending on the instrument.
Hi Oji, yes it has its own version of Arranger which can be combined with another feature called Scratch Pad, to not only reorganise sections, but make alternatives.
I really think showing how effed the metronome in Cakewalk compared to S1 would have really shown how easy the metronome works in s1. It doesn't keep opening up a window to turn it on or off you just click the icon and turn it off/on.
Not sure I understand this comment. Cakewalk has buttons for turning the metronome on and off for recording and playback right on the main control bar, next to the time display, without any need to open windows.
As long as the new SONAR product is THE SAME AND BETTER than Cakewalk by BandLab, then I am perfectly happy to pay for it. As long as they don’t DUMB IT DOWN.
In other words you are ditching Cakewalk as they made it paid now, i really appreciate that because if we have to pay then we have lot better options then Cakewalk
Cakewalk is doing something to prevent it from opening quickly. I have two versions on two different computers and they both are taking 2-3 minutes to load. I figured out that if I turn off my wifi, they load like normal.
Is this the free Bandlab release of Cakewalk? Maybe it is checking your Bandlab login...? It doesn't happen for me, but another option could be some plugins dialing out..?
@@CreativeSauce Thank You Mike. I am sure we will find toghether the best option in Case of Cackewalk retirement take place - unfortunately sooner or later. Cheers
There are some things Cakewalk does better than Studio One. Last time I checked, articulations on S1 were not as flexible as Cakewalk's for example and you might run into some pain points with plugins that have multiple modes and different articulations per mode, like MODO Bass. But one of the features that should've be covered in detail is the Musical Functions menu. The custom selection part alone is worth an upgrade and makes writing drum parts so much faster, because you can do things like select every other note for example.
They won't. Eventually they will stop updating it. Mike has said they will offer one final update before the paid version comes out. So you'll probably be good for a few years until Windows doesn't support it or something like that. They just won't have the free version download available after the paid version launches.
I used Cakewalk since 2018. Now that it will become paid for software, I had similar thoughts. Cakewalk is the best FREE DAW, but that doesn't mean it can hold up with all paid DAWs. I won't touch on the fact that Cakewalk went broke for a reason. But it's fair to compare Cakewalk to paid DAWs. I was lucky to get a copy of Studio One Artist from a friend who already has Professional. It misses some of the workflow you presented (no chord track, no combining of instruments). But within 30 minutes of using it, I had dozens of moments where I thought "oh, how clever"! I'm making electronic music (no EDM). MIDI is a crucial part for me, as well as using audio loops to chop them up, stretch them, turn them into something else. In these parts, Studio One is far ahead. I can't help but think that Cakewalk is basically a mixing console first and foremost. There are additions that help, like the step sequencer or the matrix view. But in both cases the handling is complicated. Especially when compard to Studio One, but others as well. There was no real vision involved when adding such tools on top of the console. That was totally fine while it was free. But when I have to pay for a tool, I carefully select the one that offers the best workflow for my needs. And that is not Cakewalk.
I switched from CW to S1 a couple of months ago. The learning curve was shallow. There are several things that never worked right for me in CW, they all work perfectly in S1. Even just going back to CW to export stuff that I'm bringing back into S1 reminds me that the CW interface is not modern, not responsive, and has many bugs. Using Melodyne in S1 is a breeze compared to the clunkiness in CW. Same with Midi editing. Sphere at $20/month is a no brainer. And even though I just built a 13700K computer in Dec 22, using the SSL 360 system bogged down CW to the point of unusability. It all works perfectly fine in S1 even with 40+ tracks. Sorry CW, our 30+ years have come to an end. I found someone younger and more to my liking. Now, if only S1 would realize that occasionally we need 5.1 audio...
can anyone tell me why cakewalk doesn't release my audio driver on windows 10...? after i close cakewalk the audio driver on my laptop isn't available until i restart my computer...very inconvenient to say the least.
I hear many times that summing sound of Cakewalk one of the best among other DAWs. What's your opinion about this? I don't like summing sound of S1 6. S1 5 sounds way better.
Hi Mike. Great content and video. I've been using Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro, and HS XL Studio and Sonar Artist and now Cakewalk by Bandlab. They all had something to offer. I think that if it's now going to cost something for this new Cakewalk Sonar, it has to be different from Cakewalk by Bandlab. I also am using Acoustica Mixcraft Pro 9 Studio (just upgraded to 10 for a small fee). I'll still keep working with Cakewalk by Bandlab but I won't buy Sonar unless there are some big changes (just my opinion). Thanks again for all of your videos and content. It makes a difference in learning Cakewalk.
Have recognized the clunky-ness of Cakewalk for a while now. Hopefully now it will be updated (integrated AI) to compete with other DAW workflows - we'll see.
in the news they will be removing AI from online they are talking about pulling the plug in its to dangerous ai is very dangerous it will be shut down they are force the maker to take it offline or they will pull the plug them selfs they say in the news
Mike is an absolute gentleman sharing all of his audio knowledge. Thanks Mike for this new video.
And for those wondering, Mike's Studio One Channel is a HUGE help, especially for those just starting, or getting used to, Studio One. Thanks Mike 🙂
@eshortsax what is the name of that channel? I'd like to subscribe to such.
@@vancenichols9490 youtube.com/@studioonerevealed
@@vancenichols9490 It's in the notes above - @studioonerevealed - I can concur that it is a very useful channel.
I concur
There are about 6 Studio One "basics" videos on this channel that are gold for learning this. www.youtube.com/@CreativeSauce/search?query=studio%20one%20basics
I've been using Studio One from version 1 and youur video has highlighted some functions even I wasn't aaware of 😂another gem Mike thank you..
After testing a lot of Cakewalk, Reaper; Cubase, Mixbus... I went to Studio One... it's great
I switched to studio one because of your videos and I got a faderport and I don't regret it thanks Mike love the channels.
Really appreciate the time to create this video, thanks! Having heard a lot about Studio One, I'm grateful for the comparison. I come away with a sense that the differences would be a mixed bag for me. What I really love here is how SO handles the drum outputs. Dealing with that in Cakewalk is a real pain. Drum maps are awful to work with and it's clunky to split outputs (I often use the CAL script to split the full MIDI track by notes). Watching you add & remove tracks just by clicking on the mapped drum instruments looks so refreshingly easy in comparison. The chord track is a great feature, but as I like to actually play the various parts, I'm not sure I'd want that much of the composition to be automated, and I'd rather tweak it in performance than in the interface. With the bus creation, it is quick & easy but the outcome is a mixed bag - I wouldn't want the bus named for the first effect applied, I don't care for the bus being visually grouped with the track, and I often change the preset or effect settings once I hear it, so I'd probably be doing a lot of the same work after the drag & drop. I do like the effects defaulting to 100% wet.
All that said, the real takeaway for me is that every DAW has something that's better than the others, and that Cakewalk has some things that would be really nice to add to and improve on. The initial impression that Cakewalk Sonar will effectively be the exact same product but now at a cost seems strange to me. Updating a few workflows and adding a few actual new features would prompt more people to jump in and pay right away. Even if I want to pay for the new Cakewalk, and I expect I will, it's going to be hard to justify paying right away if I'm not really gaining any meaningful new functionality. Cheers!
That impression of the same software but for money is indeed a little peculiar. I'm really hoping that the free version will be available forever - for access to existing projects for those that can't afford to pay or decide to go elsewhere - but this makes me nervous. Regardless of that it is odd.
I’m a complete newbie in the world of music production. I fell into Studio One by happenstance, and I thank my stars every day that that’s where I landed.
thanks Mike....like you i'm hoping the new cakewalk will be a great product, hopefully they learned from other DAWs and incorporate some of the things you mentioned...,i will wait and see
Fingers crossed!
For those of us who use Cakewalk for backing tracks, I wish they would implement something like Studio One's show page for playing live. Cakewalk's playlist feature is severely inadequate.
My view on this is that the workflow of Cakewalk was developed more for mainly mixing. That's why the prochannel is always inserted, it was meant to emulate working on a console. If you're in that workflow then it's great. Anything else especially midi based production it's not the worst but it takes sometime getting used to it. I love it and have used it for a long time and will continue to use it regardless of it being free or not. Studio One has a workflow that somewhat reminds me of Cubase which is what Presonus used to ship it's interfaces with before developing their own Daw. Recently it has incorporated elements of Logic and Pro tools so it's great for midi and such but Cakewalk to me has the best mixing workflow.
Would love to see a Part 2 of the differences you weren't able to cover in this. Very helpful!
Thanks, Mike. You've been the source for all things Cakewalk forever. I greatly appreciate your time, efforts, and advice over the years.
That said, I've used Cakewalk for well over a decade, paid and, now, free from Bandlab. If Cakewalk Sonar is similarly priced as Studio One 6, I plan to move to Studio One for all the reasons you highlighted.
I have been using Cakewalk in its many versions for over twenty years and it works perfectly for my needs. I will continue to use the new Cakewalk Sonar 2023. I have the financial means to purchase the new DAW and will continue to produce music on Cakewalk. These little time saving routes in Studio One does not justify making any DAW changes for me. I'm happy that Cakewalk continues to evolve even if it is now a paid for product. If I was just starting out perhaps another DAW would be a option however at this point I am staying with Cakewalk.
Perfectly understandable.
@blackiewheeler4706 it does if you go with sphere. ALL presonus plugin plus melodyne, and notion are also included. All presonus plugins work well with their mixers and faderport. Plugins like nueralDSP and BiasFX don't work as something usable in those devices. Other plugins do.
Like you, I had used Cakewalk products over 20 years. After the Gibson fiasco, I switched over to Studio One, and I never looked back, even after Bandlab brought out the free version.
Studio One is so much easier and faster creating music than Cakewalk. I also don't miss the constant crashing I had with Cakewalk.
Mike, firstly huge fan of the channel. Thinking you could add that once those Drum tracks are done, loaded and labelled and the like. You can save as Track Templates. I do this with Superior Drummer and I do it for Orchestral arrangements for Cakewalk. One thing I will bring to this discussion in addition is that Cakewalk channel strip is very well featured. Eq and Compession is brilliant. Not only that, but layout and operation is very like a real physical mixer. Routing is very much the same. Side Chaining too. As a former owner of the Studiolive 16.4.2 (2008 or 09) which was then a Flagship mixer for Presonus I recorded to Cakewalk. Still believe it to be the best DAW despite flaws. Still track / Analog feel to it that is appealing to us old fellas that started on 4 track fostex x30's and Tascam 250...
started with Cakewalk, as a MIDI software around 5.0 version, that's Cakewalk Pro 5.0, long time ago. I hope they move back in that direction, it may very be easier to write music for Sonar.
I used Cakewalk Sonar for years and many albums from like 2012-2019 and it was great. Stock plugins were wonderful as well.
Fun to see Mike's journey towards becoming the new Gregor Beyerle. 😊 I enjoy the contents!
Lol :)
don't forget Joe Gilder too
@@salintium No no, I think Mike's accent is closer to that of Gregor ;-)
... Jokes aside, I actually mean that the level of detail in combination with actual usecases is fantastic. So, when Mike wants to broaden his career I'm sure the door will be open at Presonus
Effective comparison of workflows. I have tried to use Cakewalk a number of times and kept getting frustrated so when BandLab announced the coming changes I went back to look at some other free DAWs and I found Ableton Live Lite from my Focusrite account and have found it much easier and more intuitive. Like others have said the best DAW is the one that works for you. Cakewalk is powerful and adaptable but maybe too much for me. Thanks for all the videos.
The problem with lite is there are only 8 tracks you can create.
@@salintium True, but right now that is all I need. I expect I will need more in the future and will need to make a decision.
@@salintium yes, and even the Intro version only has 16 tracks.
Excellent explanation formation Point Cakewalk should hire you to explain their products on the regular!
I'm new and also have a S1 subscription, and I'm also learning Cakewalk from you. Ease of use is important but from my "new" perspective seeing "how" it works in terms of work flow is good too for me.
I've only used the Studio One 6 Artist DAW. I don't have any reason to look for another. It just works and that's fine. Drag n drop is easy. The designers knew how to get some things like the send creation nailed to be very easy.
Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Mike!!
One of the best videos I've seen on UA-cam this year. Thanks bro.
I'm another one of those Cakewalk or die folks who have used it for decades and will happily pay for it (again). Nevertheless, the workflow points you bring up are valid and compelling, and I would love to see them addressed in the new Sonar. It sounded like you have a lot more potential material for a follow-up video, so if you have the energy to make one, I think it could only help. If Cakewalk isn't listening to you, we should _make_ them!
Someone else mentioned that Cakewalk's strength is in its mixing and editing, and I think that's true. It's primarily what I use it for, doing my tracking elsewhere (mostly) and bringing the raw tracks into Cakewalk for the rest of the production, occasionally doing additional recording in my studio.
Hi Timothy. Curiously, I always thought Cakewalk was stronger in MIDI than other DAWs. Having said that, I mostly just record and di basic edits in MIDI. Maybe I'll do some velocity, adjustments etc.
My hope is that when it comes to objectively looking at workflow in Cakewalk, that they won't be defensive in their thinking, but embrace that in the past 20 years, people's expectations of how 'slick' software should be, has changed.
Studio One beats Cakewalk for mixing and editing, and also mastering hands down.
@@Zaquria I think you missed the point of my comment. I have ~30 years of experience with Cakewalk, so from my perspective, _nothing_ beats Cakewalk for mixing and editing. (That might not hold true for you, but I'm me, and I know what works for me.) I am, however, very interested in seeing Cakewalk evolve, and the announced upcoming release of (non-free) Sonar seems like an opportunity for that to happen. I'm hoping that things like this video (and, dare I hope, future videos from Mike) will provide guidance to the folks responsible for that evolution.
@@TimothyPeierls I didn't miss the point of your post.
Like yourself, I have used Cakewalk products for many years (Right back when Cakewalk was nothing more than a midi editor). After trying many other DAWS, I just couldn't see past Cakewalk, as I knew it inside out and back to front.
I tried switching to PreSounus right after Gibson closed down Cakewalk, but I didn't like it for many reasons. I was happy that Bandlab took over, and they have done a fantastic job with bug fixing and new features.
However, after switching to Studio One 5 (and 6), I have found that I prefer it to Cakewalk as it speeds up my workflow for recording, editing, mixing and mastering.
I tend using the stock plugins from instruments of Studio One, where I hated the stock plugins for Cakewalk.
If Cakewalk works for you, that's great! I totally get where you are coming from. But, I personally, am not about to spend a ton loads more money on another DAW. After they kill the free version, that will be me fully moving on from Cakewalk.
I wish you well, my friend!
👍
Thanks Mike. Very well illustrated as usual and I agree - Cakewalk has to implement their paid model cautiously (learn from Waves experience) and will have to do more than "maintain the current user experience" to be competitive. I know Noel watches your videos and I am sure he and his team will be working hard to improve the DAW we all love and support. The passion and innovative drive with which Studio One has advanced, is exemplary - and hugely inspiring - and users remain confident in their sustainability / longevity. Keep up the good work Mike!
I presently use Cakewalk by BandLab when I use a software DAW but started with Cakewalk's consumer product, Music Creator. My brother uses PreSonus Studio One with Presonus hardware. We are always talking about each others DAW but rarely have the opportunity to see a side-by-side comparison. Thanks Mike for the comparison.
I posted about usability, or lack thereof, in Cakewalk recently and offered the fervent hope that the next version would concentrate on improvements to the user interface. (That didn't go down well but hey.) I don't believe that will be the case in the next version but we can hope. My feelings were reinforced watching a friend use Logic Pro. I think it's more than saving a little time. It's about an easier learning curve, less errors and problems, etc. As you say concentrating on what you're here for: making music. I think you can do most things in Cakewalk but I get constantly frustrated that many of those things that are clearly more difficult than they need to be. I seem to spend ages doing the simplest things, especially where midi is concerned.
Your comment that if it's a paid daw it will be judged against other paid daws is spot on. I still really hope that they will improve the interface but I'm also interested in Studio One, and others, and even more so after watching this. Thanks.
Wow! Thanks so much for this presentation! I actually used SONAR for years since it's first inception to replace the "Cakewalk" for Windows DAW. I switched to Studio One almost a decade ago due to hardware incompatibilities with Windows (yes, I switched to the Apple/Mac platform, consequently) AND the sale of Cakewalk to Gibson. You've confirmed that my decision to switch was "a good one" with this video and I'm a very proud user of Studio One! I look forward to seeing what else you have to compare between the two products in future videos. Thanks again!
excellent perspective Mike. really interesting. chord track is eye opening. great, timely!
Hi Mike. I appreciate you making this video. I literally spent an hour or two LAST NIGHT looking for videos that compared the two programs.
I hope it helped John!
cakewalk forever!!
Thanks Mike, great video. Cakewalk? I've been using it before DOS had a GUI. Everything was command line. I still have the floppies of Cakewalk I bought when Greg Hendershott worked alone, and own continued updating with every version since. Being 76 now, I'm getting back into electronic music, ( I went off to playing Hammond in a blues group), I'm semi retired, and looking to convert 100's of .wrk files into either Sonar Platinum, or Cakewalk Bandlab. I have a studio full of 80's, 90's, and recent synths........tons of Ensoniq and Roland antique dating back to the 80's. I fooled around a bit doing this in Sonar and it's kind of awkward. Would Studio One be an easier option?
I started with Cakewalk Sonar with their lifetime upgrades, but never really got into it much, ended up with Presonus Studio One by accident due to the Presonus Interface I had bought and I have never looked back- Studio One is the easiest drag and drop DAW, and after setting up quick keys, and presets , with Faderport , It is the quickest DAW . and I would not ever want to change to another at this time. Loved the video- I was curious about the old Cakewalk daw- I appreciate the vid- Thanks
Please make a video comparing stock plugins(quality and features) used for mixing and mastering....
Hello Mike. I'm starting to run out of exclamation words about your videos, how good explanations are, etc... Since I'm back in music, I'm using only Cakewalk because I know it and not really interested to learn a new DAW. After seeing this video, I've been surprised how some tasks are easier in Studio One, and I totally agree with you that Cakewalk will need to make some work on it to support the comparison with other DAWs. However, as a retired software developer (you know about development), I also think that the work will be more on the GUI side rather than the backend, this one being long-time stressed and tested code. As you probably know, there's a "main-line" in soft. development: "If the thing works well, don't touch it"!!! I love to use Cakewalk and, like a lot of people say, it will depend on the pricing of the product, especially if the price is about the same as other products such as Studio One. Thanks a lot Mike.
Fantastic explanations and comparisons Mike, you are a legend. Now i see the need to upgrade from Bandlab to Studio One. Thank you😎
why? sonar is not out yet.....strange move
Mike, thanks for this! As a big Joe Gilder fan, I've been debating switch from CW to S1 for a while. This may be the time to finally make the jump. Could you make a short video comparing S1 Artist vs Pro? I can't find anyone doing a side by side comp. I don't want to spend $400 if $100 gets me everything I need. Thanks brother!
Hey Kale. Also a fan of Joe! Will keep this video idea in mind thanks.
Then don't. Get sphere for $15 a month.
I was a long-time Cakewalk Sonar user from the 90’s. After paying nearly $300 to update my Pro version (I think from 3 to 6) a newer update came out that was another few hundred dollars. I was furious and immediately switched to Reaper and used that for a long time.
The free CbB came out and I teetered back and forth between as I liked CbB’s workflow.
Now with this mess I’m not sure what to do. Agh! lol
Cakewalk RAM usage upon startup\idle: 175MB
Studio One RAM usage upon startup: 470MB
Well, RAM usage is one perspective, however, workflow for me during production will affect my creativity more.
@@CreativeSauce True. That is why S1 has such methods loaded up in RAM. Workflow's got higher priority and with todays RAM at 32 or 64 and more GB, it should not be a big issue.
I would be highly interested in a studio one playlist for beginners like you did in cakewalk. Creating a whole song from scratch
Give thanks for that Mike. I'm giving S1 a try due to the unsure future of CW, definitely a great DAW!
Before I discovered that Cakewalk was free, I was about to migrate from Cubase 5 to Studio 1. Studio looks like it's about to get my attention.
I also like that the keyboard commands can be configured for all the popular DAWs at the click of a mouse.
Thanks for a great video.
Thanks for the video. Like you, I'm waiting to see what Bandlabs is going to do for legacy users. If I could be so bold as to make a request, I'd love to see you try out Reaper and hear your thoughts on it. Appreciate you, sir.
I have used Cakewalk for decades exclusively. I had always paid for it, kept it updated, and even paid for lifetime updates. I am hoping the new Sonar will be good and they will do something for those of us who supported this platform through the years. I really don't want to start over with a completely new DAW if I don't have to.
I am a sonar user since Sonar 8.5. Studio One workflow is actually quite good. It is fun. So I use both today.
Your loyalty is admirable, if unilateral. Sadly, they're not going to do squat for you. You'll be invited to continue to show your loyalty by paying for this product with a troubled history that you've helped them refine for years. I'm tempted to send THEM a bill.
Do you remember ProAudio 4? :)
I can't remember what versions of Pro Audio I had before Sonar but I had at least one version before Sonar came out. @@arpeggioblues5924
I setup my most common tasks. Then save it as my default template. Skipping many steps automatically when I open a new project.
Yeah I fell for that Cakewalk to Sonar transition once before. It was the same code washed over with ui changes and still had all the same bugs, plus a few introduced by new version. Many of those quirks are still present in the free product and I'm sorry, Bandlab, but I don't trust you to pull it off this time either. I use Cakewalk because it works for what I do and I'm familiar with it. The fact that it's free is a nice perk, but if I have to pay for something, Mike is exactly right: that raises the bar much higher than Cakewalk can clear. If I have to pay, and I have to learn a new DAW, I'll go straight to Protools.
Thanks a lot Mike and I can add a big fact that stretching and pitching audio files in Studio one is just a child step .. made so simply that I can’t imagine more simple than that while in Cakewalk it’s still impossible or at the best a very bad result with artifacts.. even if I’m still a huge fan and user of Cakewalk.. but on that point they are so late to face their concurrents which do a great job like Logic Pro for instance !
No chord functions in S1 Artist version.
I've been a long-time Cakewalk (DOS version to Sonar to Bandlab) but also received the free version of Studio One with my recently purchased Presonus Audio Interface (thanks to your reviews of it) and I've got to say, I think you've sold me on Studio One.
Really useful video - thanks! Would it be right to say that some of the things you've mentioned (like the chord track for instance) are not available in all editions of Studio One? It'd be great to see you do a comparison of Studio One Artist and Professional at some point in the future - please!
Hi Frank, yes that is correct. I don't tend to recommend S1 Artist, unless it's just to get a taste of Studio One. Will do a comparison at some point on my other channel!
@@CreativeSauce Cheers, I'll look forward to that. Already a subscriber on the other channel :)
This is one thing I don't care for with Studio One. There are dealbreaker features missing on the intentionally-hobbled Artist and you can't get the full feature set without subscribing. I hope Cakewalk doesn't take this approach.
I have been a Sonar Platinum user up to the very last payed version. I work to picture a lot now and Cakewalk was just not equipped adequately for working to picture. The video codex were prehistoric, and the tools for working to picture inside Cakewalk were again very clunky and missed a lot of key features. I know I will not return to Cakewalk because of this. But as far as sound quality and midi composing, Cakewalk was a joy to work with. The editing, though basic, was efficient. Cakewalk for pure music production was very very good. The included plugins collection, synths and what else was very rich and powerful, as well as other onboard features to classify sounds, work with loops etc etc. Now I have seen what Reaper can do in terms of ...well.. EVERYTHING!.. I mean this program is simply mind blowing as far as professional features. I work in a professional studio on Pro Tools all day and I know it very well, at home I've got Reaper and I find that with Reaper I can do the same things I do with Pro Tools Ultimate probably even quicker with Reaper.. heck I could produce and mix a 5.1 feature movie in my little M1 mack running Reaper. If Cakewalk wants to come back in the game, they will have to propose something much more modern and evolve than the good old Sonar Platinum Platform. When Gibson dropped them, the other platforms kept evolving, and Sinar can not simply come back as it was,.. Banlab must propose something completely new and more powerful to be able to compete in today's market. Good luck though to Sonar. I always liked working with this DAW. Maybe Banlab will come up with something totally unexpected... Let's see..
I started out on cakewalk (free version) and shifted to Studio one pro . S1 is really good in terms of workflow . Had tried Logic Pro as well but ended up sticking to S1
Studio One at this point is a cleaner, faster, more intuitive DAW than Sonar but Sonar definitely is a full featured software and if they do things right they could come back swinging in the DAW world. My prediction is if they try to go the subscription only route at release they'll be dead on arrival. Everyone I know says if they offer a perpetual license they'll at least take a look but if not they're not interested and i'm in that camp myself. I believe in owning my software license. Mike, you're tutorials are very well done and I'll always have a look when you do a video on any software.
I'm new to mixing and audio editing so decided earlier this summer to pick up Cakewalk as it was free. I've been watching a lot of your Cakewalk tutorials online and playing with the software. But I've just been shocked to hear that it's gonna be discontinued!
Should I bother continuing to learn on it or move to another DAW?
Are there any other free DAWs I can move to that are just as good as Cakewalk?
Impressed with Studio One, but I wouldn't change. Using your examples, if I were going to use three different MIDI guitars, I would not want them all to be using the exact same articulations by sharing the same MIDI file. So, for me I do not see the advantage there. I'd generate the MIDI files separately for each one so each can "stand out" a little more as an individual instrument. As for having to go through the Additive Drums setup in the DAW, you only have to do that once in Cakewalk, then save it as a template and it's always there. The Studio One drag and drop feature of the plugins preset (reverb example) is a nice one though and would love to have that in Cakewalk.
All in all, thanks for the comparisons - and all the other videos you do!
im a long time cakewalk/sonar user... going back to the early days long pre bandlab got their grubby little mitts on it... it's strong points were always that they used to listen to user feedback, kept updates rolling out that were meaningful improvements, and the thing that used to set it apart for me that was always under-rated [and now others have surpassed] was the groove clip looping time stretching options... i still use it out of familiarity more than anything, but over the years i have watched this product get less user friendly... it was pretty decent when it was a paid product, but with the various ownership transfers and becoming a free product... it somehow lost it's charm... not sure what the future holds for this once beloved DAW
thanks to this video im trying studio one
Hi Mike.
Another great video. I’m a Cakewalk user who just started to use Studio One 6 (and yes, subscribed to this channel as well 😉). Have you noticed a difference in latency/dropout issues between the two? With my Scarlett 8i6 Audio Interface in Cakewalk, I can use a buffer size of 32 and even 16 to track vocals but in Studio One i get dropouts unless I go to 256. I’m at a loss. My mobile workstation has plenty of grunt. I wonder if I need an audio interface with DSP or a USB-C (or Thunderbolt) with Studio One.
Hi Rob, have you watched this video?
ua-cam.com/video/We75LCn9jT4/v-deo.html
It may help you, as the settings in Studio One work a little differently. Particularly in the 'Processing' tab, where you may want to increase dropout protection.
@@CreativeSauce Thanks Mike. Yes, I had watched that video but I’m afraid I can’t use a Device Block Size of lower than 512 (or perhaps 256) without dropouts on recording. It baffles me. Perhaps S1 is a resource hungry beast compared to Cakewalk.
I will say though that to me there is no perfect Daw. It's a matter of preference and what you like working with. People will hate on Cakewalk but it does what it needs to do and once you get used to it it works great. The same with any other Daw.
I don't know that anyone is "hating on Cakewalk", merely pointing out certain things. I think the functionality provided by Cakewalk is excellent but that it's not always matched by excellence in the user interface. I would like them to do more work in that area then it would probably be the best daw going.
It wouldn't be a big problem to create series of templates for our favorite plugins in Cakewalk. For example track templates or project templates may be prepared once and being used forever.
Superfluous functions of Studio One can be successfully got around by Cakewalk.)
Im definitely getting more curious about Studio One and other DAWs now. I manage to get around a lot of the clunky cakewalk steps you showed by having a track template set up with drums, busses, colour coding, reverbs etc already set up.
However i suspect from your comments ar the end of the video that we're just scratching the surface here.
Studio one seems pretty great, feels bit morden compared to other daws. I'd love if you'd do a comparison between Studio one and Reaper
Mike…Awesome 👍 As always. 🙂
Excellenty content Mike. Thank you
Great comparison Mike! In these examples S1 certainly looks much slicker - I like the GUI too. I'll probably stick with CbB until it breaks but S1 would definitely be a consideration in future if Sonar proves to be far more expensive
Reaper is always an alternative, and this is from a dude who has cakewalk Sonar 8.5 and 9 manuals in paper. :D
I moved from Cakewalk SONAR to Studio One after Gibson acquired Cakewalk and then told its customers they didn't matter. This scenario seems familiar.
Hi Mike, I wonder, what abortus waveform free in sted of cakewalk. Can you say something abortus it what abortus some comparing and so...
I'm def gonna check out the free trial.
I love the work flow of S1...but, not fond of the UI. And I know it does not have much to do with the quality of music, I just love the look of Cakewalk and most of all the pro channel being so handy. CW just eats up too much of my crappy CPU.
Great video, although the orientation seems to be "why I think S1 is slicker." And while agree that those drag and drop operations are very handy, and I'd love to have them in Cakewalk, Cakewalk has some slick stuff that S1 seems to be lacking.
Two of my favorite time savers in Cakewalk are:
Smart Swipe, where you can click on a button, such as a track's mute, and drag across multiple track headers or console strips to actuate them on every track you swipe across.
Quick Groups, where you can select multiple tracks, then hold Ctrl to perform most operations such as fader moves, plug-in changes, etc.
These features are powerful, especially once you get used to them, and save me a LOT of time, and S1 doesn't seem to have equivalents for them.
Please do make a part 2. I'm a Cakewalk user, and while I plan on staying that way after the transition to Sonar, I also agree that these S1 features are desirable and would like to see Cakewalk incorporate them or similar ones. But they can't do that unless they know about them. Your videos are popular in the Cakewalk community and your words and opinions have a lot of clout.
Yes, it was a little hard with this video not to come off as "S1 is better". Ultimately, people should listen to their own intuition on that.
Interestingly, Quick Groups in Cakewalk was gonna be something I criticised it for! Since the same functionality is in S1, but in my opinion implemented a little better :(
However, my main point was, that whether the better workflow was in Cakewalk, S1, Cubase, Logic or whatever - I hope they can take inspiration from it.
Thanks!
I think if I did change/add a new DAW this would be the best one, as you cover it & as it looks a little like Cakewalk, can CWBBL projects successfully open in Studio ONe 6 Mike?
I think you sold me on buying Studio One Pro. Do you think Sonar might be upgraded to catch up with Sonar One when it releases?
Excellent video! Which version of Studio One are you using for the comparison? Artist or Professional?
@@stephenr2434 Thank you for your input. Since I am a beginner, I will start with the Artist edition.
Is that correct, that when you hold control and drag to copy a midi clip in cakewalk it links to the original? I do that all the time but thought it just made a copy. That's probably caught me out loads if I've misunderstood that because I often copy some chords and then remove some of the higher or lower notes depending on the instrument.
So for voice-over work only which would be better??
Hi Mike, is there something like CW's Arranger in Studio One?
Hi Oji, yes it has its own version of Arranger which can be combined with another feature called Scratch Pad, to not only reorganise sections, but make alternatives.
@@CreativeSauce that's awesome. Thanks for replying!
I really think showing how effed the metronome in Cakewalk compared to S1 would have really shown how easy the metronome works in s1. It doesn't keep opening up a window to turn it on or off you just click the icon and turn it off/on.
Not sure I understand this comment. Cakewalk has buttons for turning the metronome on and off for recording and playback right on the main control bar, next to the time display, without any need to open windows.
Excellent Video Thanks.
Cheers Paul.
As long as the new SONAR product is THE SAME AND BETTER than Cakewalk by BandLab, then I am perfectly happy to pay for it.
As long as they don’t DUMB IT DOWN.
How do you get those same mixer tracks for each drum channel to show up in the track view? I still only have the single instrument track.
Will you create a Studio One getting started class now that you have sold me on Studio One?
I really don't miss the way Cakewalk deals with Multi-out tracks. So much easier within Studio One.
In other words you are ditching Cakewalk as they made it paid now, i really appreciate that because if we have to pay then we have lot better options then Cakewalk
How is it with foldertracks and busses over Cakewalk like in studio one. One time Foldertrack and create a bus out of it, i never looked back
Cakewalk is doing something to prevent it from opening quickly. I have two versions on two different computers and they both are taking 2-3 minutes to load. I figured out that if I turn off my wifi, they load like normal.
Is this the free Bandlab release of Cakewalk? Maybe it is checking your Bandlab login...? It doesn't happen for me, but another option could be some plugins dialing out..?
Another example is EQ icon (EQ diagram) in track in Cakewalk. It doesn´t allow me to open EQ with one simple click on this EQ icon.
23:40 Why there are only left channels in the list, Overhead L, Room L? How to get Overhead R?
Hmmm. Two versions... Anyone remember Project5? I liked it. Didn't last long.
Mike what do you think about Tracktion Waveform free ?
Hi Darro. I havnt personally tested it, but I'm aim to very soon.
@@CreativeSauce Thank You Mike. I am sure we will find toghether the best option in Case of Cackewalk retirement take place - unfortunately sooner or later. Cheers
I like Cakewalk Sonar to be master in loop making and sound designing 😏
with all those weird and experimental things
There are some things Cakewalk does better than Studio One. Last time I checked, articulations on S1 were not as flexible as Cakewalk's for example and you might run into some pain points with plugins that have multiple modes and different articulations per mode, like MODO Bass.
But one of the features that should've be covered in detail is the Musical Functions menu. The custom selection part alone is worth an upgrade and makes writing drum parts so much faster, because you can do things like select every other note for example.
I am using cakewalk, can you tell how will the company restrict to people who are using this?
They won't. Eventually they will stop updating it. Mike has said they will offer one final update before the paid version comes out. So you'll probably be good for a few years until Windows doesn't support it or something like that. They just won't have the free version download available after the paid version launches.
I used Cakewalk since 2018. Now that it will become paid for software, I had similar thoughts. Cakewalk is the best FREE DAW, but that doesn't mean it can hold up with all paid DAWs. I won't touch on the fact that Cakewalk went broke for a reason. But it's fair to compare Cakewalk to paid DAWs. I was lucky to get a copy of Studio One Artist from a friend who already has Professional. It misses some of the workflow you presented (no chord track, no combining of instruments). But within 30 minutes of using it, I had dozens of moments where I thought "oh, how clever"!
I'm making electronic music (no EDM). MIDI is a crucial part for me, as well as using audio loops to chop them up, stretch them, turn them into something else. In these parts, Studio One is far ahead. I can't help but think that Cakewalk is basically a mixing console first and foremost. There are additions that help, like the step sequencer or the matrix view. But in both cases the handling is complicated. Especially when compard to Studio One, but others as well. There was no real vision involved when adding such tools on top of the console.
That was totally fine while it was free. But when I have to pay for a tool, I carefully select the one that offers the best workflow for my needs. And that is not Cakewalk.
Do we know if our current plugins we have on Cakewalk by Bandlab transfer to the new Sonar 2023.
Yes, they will
I switched from CW to S1 a couple of months ago. The learning curve was shallow.
There are several things that never worked right for me in CW, they all work perfectly in S1.
Even just going back to CW to export stuff that I'm bringing back into S1 reminds me that the CW interface is not modern, not responsive, and has many bugs. Using Melodyne in S1 is a breeze compared to the clunkiness in CW. Same with Midi editing.
Sphere at $20/month is a no brainer. And even though I just built a 13700K computer in Dec 22, using the SSL 360 system bogged down CW to the point of unusability. It all works perfectly fine in S1 even with 40+ tracks.
Sorry CW, our 30+ years have come to an end. I found someone younger and more to my liking.
Now, if only S1 would realize that occasionally we need 5.1 audio...
can anyone tell me why cakewalk doesn't release my audio driver on windows 10...?
after i close cakewalk the audio driver on my laptop isn't available until i restart my computer...very inconvenient to say the least.
I hear many times that summing sound of Cakewalk one of the best among other DAWs. What's your opinion about this? I don't like summing sound of S1 6. S1 5 sounds way better.
Hi Mike. Great content and video. I've been using Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro, and HS XL Studio and Sonar Artist and now Cakewalk by Bandlab. They all had something to offer. I think that if it's now going to cost something for this new Cakewalk Sonar, it has to be different from Cakewalk by Bandlab. I also am using Acoustica Mixcraft Pro 9 Studio (just upgraded to 10 for a small fee). I'll still keep working with Cakewalk by Bandlab but I won't buy Sonar unless there are some big changes (just my opinion). Thanks again for all of your videos and content. It makes a difference in learning Cakewalk.
Have recognized the clunky-ness of Cakewalk for a while now. Hopefully now it will be updated (integrated AI) to compete with other DAW workflows - we'll see.
Hey Doug :) I actually think it's quite possible. Many of these things don't require revolutionary coding.
in the news they will be removing AI from online they are talking about pulling the plug in its to dangerous
ai is very dangerous it will be shut down they are force the maker to take it offline or they will pull the plug them selfs they say in the news
Great video