How to convert Cakewalk (.cwp) files to a Studio One .song file

[bapu]

cwp2song thread

If you are a past Cakewalk user and are familai with azslow3 (Alexey) you will know he's reputable.

His reacwp.dll plugin for Reaper took a .cwp and made a Reaper project with some pretty good results.

With some cajoling by me he has created a command line utility called cwp2sons.exe. I was the Alpha tester and had some pretty darn good results with it.

BEWARE: ypu need to be command line savvy to use this utility so please read the first two posts in the linked thread above to understand the nature of this command line utility.

It is *not* installed by a conventional installer, you unzip the cwp2song.zip file to place that is in your path, such as C;\Program FIles (x86). If that is not in your windows path, it's really best to add that path to you windows path environment variable. Save a lot of typing down the road.

Last note: this does not produce a nullable song but a very reasonable starting point since it will bring over all audio, midi, VSTi and 3rd party VST plugins. He even will convert ProChannel EQ and Compressor to native Presonus Studio One's EQ and Compressor settings.

I've converted several complex midi and audio projects and over the end of year break I intend to do nearly 100 Cakewalk projects so that if I decide to ever revisit those projects I can do so in my beloved Studio One.

Enjoy.

 

[BobF]

Hey, Baps. I remember Alexey and the cake->Reaper conversion - top notch.

Q: Does Cake not support .dawproject format?

 

[bapu]

Hey, Baps. I remember Alexey and the cake->Reaper conversion - top notch.

Q: Does Cake not support .dawproject format?

Cakewalk does not support DAWProject and hints from Noel is that they probably never will, No real gain for them, I suppose.

 

[JBMusic]

Mike at Creative Sauce has this tutorial on converting the MIDI but it seems like it's very time consuming, at least for somebody like me who has more than 100 Cakewalk projects.

Cakewalk | Exporting Projects for Another DAW

💡 7% off at DistroKid with my VIP link: http://distrokid.com/vip/creativesauce🎓 ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO CAKEWALK: https://www.cakewalk101.com👪 CAKEWA...

www.youtube.com

JB

PS-Great to see you here, Bapu. Is Darryl coming over too?

 

[bapu]

Mike at Creative Sauce has this tutorial on converting the MIDI but it seems like it's very time consuming, at least for somebody like me who has more than 100 Cakewalk projects.

Cakewalk | Exporting Projects for Another DAW

💡 7% off at DistroKid with my VIP link: http://distrokid.com/vip/creativesauce🎓 ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO CAKEWALK: https://www.cakewalk101.com👪 CAKEWA...

www.youtube.com

JB

PS-Great to see you here, Bapu. Is Darryl coming over too?

Daryl is a diehard Cakewalker. Not likely to see him here. But...... never say never

 

[Gray Wolf]

Cakewalk needs to support the DAW Project format. https://github.com/bitwig/dawproject

Cubase is on board already.

 

[bapu]

Cakewalk needs to support the DAW Project format. https://github.com/bitwig/dawproject

Cubase is on board already.

I have not had that great of results with DAWProject.

Example: I took a Studio One song and exported it to DAWProject and opened it in Bitwig. Some things were missing. Exported that song to DAWProject (from Bitwig) and opened it in Studio One. Even more things were missing.

I've not done any testing yet between Studio One and Cubase yet. Soon.

I was not impressed. I'm more impressed with cwp2song utility I linked in the OP.

 

[Gray Wolf]

It's a new format, it's getting there. The upside is potentially wider compatbility, not just with 3 products.

But sure, if you need to convert Cakewalk projects , that does seem like a good choice. Cakewalk should still eventually support the new format

 

[bapu]

It's a new format, it's getting there. The upside is potentially wider compatbility, not just with 3 products.

But sure, if you need to convert Cakewalk projects , that does seem like a good choice. Cakewalk should still eventually support the new format

Sure, Cakewalk Sonar should support DAWProject if only BandLab could see it as a possible way to get new users into their ecosystem (off other DAWs), but I fear they see it as a drain on their customer base and probably will not support it.

Disclaimer: I have no insider knowledge of BandLab's decisions, I just know my public suggestion to the CTO have gone unnoticed (i.e. no response).

 

[BobF]

Sure, Cakewalk Sonar should support DAWProject if only BandLab could see it as a possible way to get new users into their ecosystem (off other DAWs), but I fear they see it as a drain on their customer base and probably will not support it.

Disclaimer: I have no insider knowledge of BandLab's decisions, I just know my public suggestion to the CTO have gone unnoticed (i.e. no response).

If they're that fearful, then things must not be going well.

 

[Craig Anderton]

When the DAWproject format was first announced, I asked Noel if Cakewalk was going to support it. He said their main focus was file transfers between Next and Sonar. If the DAWproject format gets major traction, I wouldn't be surprised if they support it eventually.

So far, the results of my experiments with Studio One and Bitwig have been mixed. I also wondered if version 7 files could be exported in the DAWproject format and imported into version 6 as a compatibility workaround, but it wasn't as successful as I would have hoped.

 

[Lukas]

I also wondered if version 7 files could be exported in the DAWproject format and imported into version 6 as a compatibility workaround, but it wasn't as successful as I would have hoped.

Studio One Toolbox is your compatibility workaround to bring version 7 songs to version 6

Studio One Toolbox

Studio One Toolbox - Free online tools and scripting add-ons for Studio One users. Our Tutorial Database includes more than 500 free Studio One video tutorials!

s1toolbox.com

Drag a song file onto the website and you can convert & download it as a v6 file. For example, you can convert the v7 demo song and open it in Studio One 6. Works with v6 and v5, too.

Disclaimer: This depends very much on the features used in the song and should only be used - as you say - as an workaround and with caution. It can lead to unexpected behaviour if certain features are used that are not available in older versions.

 

[Craig Anderton]

Thanks Lukas, that's good to know. Actually I didn't need to convert a project, I was just curious whether DAWproject could handle the task. I hope more companies adopt DAWproject.

 

[JBMusic]

Actually, I don't see see the point of going from a project created in S1 v7 back to S1 V6. To other DAWs sure. but what would be the point of making a v7 project able to open in v6 Studio One?
Not ridiculing. Just curious.
John B

 

[bapu]

Actually, I don't see see the point of going from a project created in S1 v7 back to S1 V6. To other DAWs sure. but what would be the point of making a v7 project able to open in v6 Studio One?
Not ridiculing. Just curious.
John B

Maybe you're working with a collaborator who is on 7 and you are 6 and not yet ready to work in 7 (for technical reasons)? But ypu want to get the guts of what they did.

As I mutter this out loud, I see that DAWProject is probably the best candidate to do this, if it would work as expected.

 

[Lukas]

but what would be the point of making a v7 project able to open in v6 Studio One?

To send songs to friends or collab partners who are still on v6.

 

[JBMusic]

OK. That makes sense. Collaborating is something I don't do much but I can see how that would be useful in that situation.

 

[Midiboy]

Just tried this on a song I never really finished in Cakewalk years ago...and wow. I was just going to forget about this song, cuz I didn't want to have to recreate everything I had already done...THIS REALLY HELPED ME at least get motivated to get back to the song. This is GREAT!

 

[bapu]

Just tried this on a song I never really finished in Cakewalk years ago...and wow. I was just going to forget about this song, cuz I didn't want to have to recreate everything I had already done...THIS REALLY HELPED ME at least get motivated to get back to the song. This is GREAT!

I know, right?

 

[Soundwise]

Just pulled the trigger on the new and shiny SO7+. Always wanted to try extra features. Didn't know it's possible to convert .cwp projects to .song. Excited to try so many new and interesting things. Thanks Bapu!