The DAW that is Worth More than Free



Some products get passed around by corporations for various reasons. This DAW was initially developed independently before being acquired by Gibson in 2013. As a company Gibson made many mistakes but Cakewalk also know as Sonar had some positive success. However as Gibson started to implode in 2018 it was acquired by a Singaporean company that seems to be in the music meets social space.









I do not believe it is available for Macs.



Minimum System Requirements

Windows 7 or higher (64-bit only) Multi-core Intel or AMD CPU 4GB RAM

3GB free disk space 1280x800 screen resolution ASIO compatible hardware is recommended However the best bit of this software's tale is that it is now freeware. It is still receiving updates and I have seem both bug fixes and feature updates. I have not explored much else that Bandlab offer but am pleased with their work and thank them for saving a product I have grown to love and rely on.I do not believe it is available for Macs.

What this means is that Cakewalk is pretty light on if you need it to be.

What does Cakewalk do well?

Input/Output

Cakewalk allows for all configuration of inputs and outputs. This means you can input directly from hardware into

an audio track - for recording

an aux send - for applying effects

back out to hardware - monitoring and applying external effects Using the the outputs with dedicated hardware channels lets you visualise your audio interface and how your room is set up. Using the the outputs with dedicated hardware channels lets you visualise your audio interface and how your room is set up.





Being able to have multiple outputs within the DAW will allow you to make use of external hardware. This isn't important to everyone but it is make or break for me. Keep in mind this is dependent on your audio interface as well.





Routing

The DAW allows you to have a track output as well as sends. The sends can be before or after the track's effect chain as well as being available for automation for volume and pan.

These sends can also be used for sidechaining where Cakewalk allows you to send signal across the mixing board.

Buses

Where I find this program really excels is that it feels like a real console that just happens to be the exact size I need at any given moment.





Having the aux sends within the track view is fantastic for creating thing like reverb sends but if you want to group all your drums or create a stereo bus you will want to change the output to a bus.

You can see here I have set the output of the audio track to be the Super Bus. This type of signal processing structure fits very well in my workflow. I tend to ensure everything has a bus and then bounce them for a mixing session.





Below is the entire console view which demonstrates the audio track, the aux send, the super bus (output to the master) and then the master which is output to my ASIO4ALL driver output 1.

I have used other DAWs which did not provide this visual segmentation and I find this superior in design and operation.

Prochannel

Cakewalk provides an inbuilt effects chain that is actually quite helpful. It makes applying some basic tools such as EQ and compression very easy. I often use it for insert effects on certain chains. The Prochannel is also great for adding those subtleties that allow for you to remove that sounds like it was made on a computer feeling. Look for the Console Emulator, Tape Emulator and Saturation Knob.

Render and Export

Cakewalk is very strong in this area. It allows you to export any track, bus or output in any format with any bit and sampling rates. Great for sending stems. Can even render in real time with external inputs.

Arranger

In a recent feature update Bandlab added the arranger. This is a great tool for both composition and efficient finalisation of tracks. I have found that this tool helps me take an idea to a song faster than anything else.









It allows you to control your tracks vertically. Instead of copying and pasting your break, rise and drop you might create sections called "break no drum", "break melodic", "riser", "drop", "drop snare". Now when it comes time to make your second drop use the arranger view and try some combinations of your already made building blocks.





This can also be used once you have finished composition. You might notice that a guitar heavy part at the start of the song would fit the energy better before the final chorus. Creating different options in the arranger before settling on an arrangement is such a point of difference to both a real studio and other DAWs.

Summary

It feels like the real deal and allows you to connect things inside and out. It doesn't demand much in terms of resources and I have made large projects with it. I have had success using hardware and this matters to me.





Being able to process signals in any way is also high on my priority list. Recording and entering automation is easy and again this is important to my workflow.





Cakewalk also has plenty of keyboard shortcuts which when utilised allows you to move around the software seamlessly.

What does Cakewalk do poorly?

Copy, Paste, Move, Remove from blah blah blah

I feel bad, I love this product but there are a few things I just can't do. Whether its the program or me here are my experiences.





I can never tell if when I am moving, or copying or cutting or what whether the thing I have pasted will be connected to what it came from.





For example sometimes I copy and paste midi and it will link to the earlier midi which can be annoying when trying to compose melody but great when keeping the same bassline and tweaking it.





There are settings to change and keyboard shortcuts but I just fail at it sometimes. I would say as time goes on it's become less of an issue.





I have gotten better due to the arranger and learning the copy and delete special. From these special edit menus you can select just markers or remove automation from the selection before copying, pasting or deleting.





Maybe there are keyboard shortcuts for the more detailed editing that I am not utilising.

TTS and Soft Synths

I don't know if this is due to the decoupling from Gibson but Bandlab's Cakewalk is short on native synths. It isn't a big deal for me as I have plenty of purchased and free soft synths that I rely on already. Its TTS is crappy in my opinion. The sounds are never what you want them to be. Probably my fault again but hey I'm the user. I even struggle to get it to work as multi track out.

No Drum Machine

So it has a step sequencer for programming drums. It is good. It also has a midi track which is useful too. I cannot find how to use it as a drum machine however. To select samples and have them all programmed together. This means I often end up with more audio tracks than desired and bouncing down a lot.

Summary

The areas it seems to be weak in are potentially content areas that Bandlab has not been able to address. That on its own isn't great if you are paying full price, but at free, plus a few free vsts you are in the money here.



