Anyone using Bandlabs Cakewalk?

[UlricvonCatalyst]

When my last music computer died on me a few years back, my copy of Cubase SX3 went with it. SX3 was already well past its sell-by date, but it worked fine for what I was doing with it at that point. Unfortunately I couldn't continue to use it with my latest machine as I'd lost the installation kit and keycodes, so I've been using (I think) an even older version of Cubase since, inasmuch as I've had the time and space to do any kind of music production.

Anyhoo, a few days back, while looking for free VST plugins, I came across one of those 'Top Ten Free DAWs in 202x' type artcles and came away with the impression that maybe the latest free version of Cakewalk might actually be a better option than the Steampunk verion of Cubase I've been working with in recent times (v5 for the record).

Of course switching would entail a steeper learning curve than biting the bullet and shelling out for an up-to-date Cubase package, but on the plus side it wouldn't cost me anything. I also like that it's VST-friendly and seems kind of an open-source affair, which I'm generally drawn to but previously failed at epically when I tried Reaper and got nowhere fast with it.

I've already downloaded Bandlabs Cakewalk onto my workaday laptop and had a quick go on it yesterday. I was able to import some audio, trim it to create a loop, and try out some FX with that, but I found it less intuitive than Cubase or ProTools. I guess that's to be expected as I've used both for years . There were a couple of elements I went looking for in the menus and couldn't find, and I didn't have time to see if they magically appeared if I chose a more advanced option than the 'basic' set-up I'd gone with or were just buried somewhere under a sub-sub-menu.

Overall I liked the 'tabs' for looping, recording audio, etc. but thought the desktop looked pretty cluttered, though I found things can be tucked away out of view fairly easily, so maybe it's about starting from a template you like. The mixer section seemed quite basic, but again, my inability to quickly find a way of creating group busses and doing fancy signal routing without consulting a manual/tutorial could just be down to user error, impatience with menu-diving, or choice of the basic mode.

Just wondering if anyone here swears by it/wouldn't touch it with a bargepole/thinks it's a viable option but a bit meh overall/whatever...?

[Futuron]

I'm using it, and you've brought up the issues regarding finding things etc. I think every recording software takes a bit to get used to where everything is. I used Reaper, Logic Pro, Garage Band, Audacity, Sound Forge, Adobe Audition and the PreSonus one in the past. I wouldn't go back to most of them, and since Cakewalk is free I'm glad I can easily go with that and not be tied to using Apple devices. Windows gaming laptops are just as (if not more) capable as MacBooks at a fraction of the price.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

I'm using it, and you've brought up the issues regarding finding things etc. I think every recording software takes a bit to get used to where everything is. I used Reaper, Logic Pro, Garage Band, Audacity, Sound Forge, Adobe Audition and the PreSonus one in the past. I wouldn't go back to most of them, and since Cakewalk is free I'm glad I can easily go with that and not be tied to using Apple devices. Windows gaming laptops are just as (if not more) capable as MacBooks at a fraction of the price.

Thanks for the reply.

Audacity! That was another one I couldn't get anywhere with.

Yeah, probably just a case of getting used to the new interface. I think I'm about ready to ditch Cubase - I can always go back to it if Cakewalk doesn't work out for me in the long term.