Sample rate confusion

So, what I think happened is that I started a project at 44.1k, put several days into it and set it aside.

Opened a new project in which I wanted to use some 44.1K material but it was all getting sample-rate converted as it came in, so i checked "Default settings for all new projects" and it was 48K (No idea why) So I set it to 44.1k. (I think at that point I wasn't noticing the "new projects" part.  Who cares? All pro software plays any kind of audio, no matter what the rate or bit depth, right? I mean, Vegas' been doing it since before Clinton met Lewinsky, right?

Right???

So I did some work on that and this morning opened project # 1, which commences to play all out of tune. When I remember having changed the settings, I go back to Preferences and change them to 48k.

But --after repeated restartings of project, Sonar and computer--my project stays about a half-step out of tune and the little blue box in the transport keeps reading "44.1", BECAUSE IT'S NOT A NEW PROJECT!!!

Or maybe I'm totally batcrap and everything's really ok.

Someone PLEASE tell me I can get all the 48k audio in this project to play properly again. PLEASE. I really, really , really don't want to re do the whole damn thing again. Where's the magic twanger, Froggy?

I still have a synth part to add and cannot get it in tune with the existing audio.

Widetrack, I don't know much about this but have my own questions as well. Please forgive me for hi-jacking your thread as I should make my own, but I had a few questions about this same thing. Let me tell you what I HAVE noticed on my end pertaining to your issue before I ask my own questions.

I'm constantly changing my bit and sample rates for different clients at least 3 times per day. This has really gotten on my nerves so I use Sonar 8.3 for 16/44, Sonar X1 for 24/44 and Sonar 8.5 for 24/48 and above at this time. If I ever screw up on a bit and sample...it does that converting thing and I know I screwed up. I believe if you save that file once it does that, you're screwed. Everytime I have seen that convert thing you mention, I close out of the project and set my bit/sample rate to be right for the project. I have never had a problem with pitch or anything as long as I do not save under these circumstances.

As for my questions...

What happens if we have a project set for 24/48, close out when we're done on that, and open another where we change bit/sample rates....close out of that and open the 24/48 project back up and record while the bit/sample are set to 16/44? When we export....I would imagine we should use no dithering due to there being some tracks recorded at 16/44 within this project, correct? I do not usually dither inside Sonar though I have had great results with Pwr 3.

But what bit/sample rate would you export out at with a project like this? It's rare for me to have done this, but I admit it's happened a few times and instead of worry about it, I got rid of all my new recorded tracks, didn't save the project closed it and then set my drivers for the right bit/sample of the project, and re-opened it to save myself any possible grief.
 
Could I have left those 16/44 tracks in there and exported out with success? Keep in mind, because I forgot to change the drivers to the original bit/sample it was recorded at, would changing export options to 24/48 bring on any issues for the stuff that was recorded at 16/44? Hope I'm not confusing anyone with this. Thanks.

X1b now tries to reset your interface to run at the sample rate of the project. If you're not getting errors, it seems it must be successfully doing that (I get an error, because I use an external clock reference that SONAR doesn't have access to).

If you're opening an existing project the Default Setting for New Projects in Preferences shouldn't matter... but apparently it does. I think there's a problem here that Cakewalk are looking into.

Here's a thread I started about this to which the CTO of Cakewalk contributed:

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2259612&mpage=1

There was a second thread to which Noel also contributed - just yesterday, I thought - but I can't find it for the life of me now. Seems like it's been deleted. Even my post to it is gone from my posting history...?   

Danny:

Yes, Sonar's rate/resolution bigotry is a big drag.

It seems if you just settle on a sample rate and bit depth and never, ever, ever change, you'll be all right.

You'll always have to let Sonar create new, converted files if you import heretical specs, but that could be livable.

Now that I know where my last problem came from, I'm going to have to rethink exactly what Sonar does, but I think if you change your "New Project settings," you may still be able to play correctly an old project done at different specs.

Maybe.

Yes, I just installed it yesterday

I always hated the default sample rate selection, it should be asked every time your start a new project!!