Cakewalk’s SONAR Home Studio has always stood in the shadows of big brothers SONAR Producer Edition and Studio Edition. But the fact is, Home Studio is a powerful DAW in its own right, offering a comprehensive set of recording, editing, and mixing tools. HS also includes big-boy features such as
the capability to freeze instruments and effects to get the best performance out of your PC, and non-destructive crossfades for pro-level editing and comping.

If you’re already an HS user, then I’m preaching to the choir. But if you haven’t made the jump to HS7 yet, you should know that Cakewalk is offering a 25% discount on upgrades to both HS7 and HS7XL. The upgrade path was already very affordable; now it’s almost silly to pass up. Upgrade price for Home Studio users, regularly $59, is now $44.25. HS users can also step up to HS7XL for $59.25. The upgrade price for Home Studio XL users is also $44.25. The catch is, you must buy at the Cakewalk store by August 31.