OK, I got no audio from midi.

Do you have a synth inserted in the project?
 
If not insert a synth.
 
Is your track properly routed to the synth?
 
If not Route it or you can use the Insert Softsynth dialog and it will set up a track (or series of tracks) for you auto routed.
 
Is this a MIDI clip or are you trying to play live with a controller?
 
If it's from a controller then make sure you have the MIDI Echo button enabled on the track (and that your device is installed properly and selected in the Edit > Preferences > MIDI - Devices area).
 
Just covering the usual suspects first. If none of that works then provide more details.
 
Cheers and welcome to the forum.

kennyrosenyc
Yeah I've got the DropZone set up in the project. The input was auto routed to itself and the output routed to Master. I want to play/record soft synths. The only option for MIDI output is the dreaded MS GS Wavetable and I know that's not right. I cant even get audio from Addictive Drums tracks. I can see the meters moving but there's no sound.

So you are using a controller? Make sure the "MIDI Echo" button is enabled on the track.
 
If that doesn't work then (with MIDI Echo still enabled) check the "Input" on the MIDI track and either make sure it is set to the right MIDI channel for your device (which you would need to know in advance) or simply select "Omni" (which will accept all incoming MIDI from external devices).
 
This however requires that Sonar is indeed detecting your MIDI device so as I said go to your MIDI Preferences and make sure the device is listed and selected.
 
If you do not see your device in the list close Sonar, turn off your device, turn the device back on, wait for abotu 30 seconds or so THEN open Sonar (sometimes with my devices Sonar will not recognize them unless I do this).
 
If it is STILL not being detected you may need to uninstall and reinstall the device drivers... then try again.
 
What MIDI controller are you using? That might help. Also always be sure to download and install the LATEST drivers for such devices fromt he manufacturer website (and make sure it is the correct driver for your operating system... so Win10 64 bit get the Win10 64bit driver... for Win7 32bit get the Win7 32bit driver... etc).
 
Cheers.

I did all that but I can't even get audio out of the virtual controller in SONAR. I can see where SONAR sees the events coming in. The LEDs light up when I hit a key. This used to work. Suddenly it doesn't and I'm completely confused as to why. I've got the right type of track (It has both the little palette and the keyboard symbol on it). I just have no MIDI output options.

I hate to say this but...Sometimes rebooting your computer will solve a problem.
Also, Is the problem in just one project, or multiple projects?

"Input = DropeZone 1 Primary Output Steroe"
 
There's your problem.
 
Instead of the Dropzone as your Input do this...
 
Click the Input dropdown > Virtual Controller > Omni (or you can choose a specific channel if you need to but Omni will always work as I said earlier).
 
Make sure Input Echo is engaged on the track which will make sure that the MIDI will be recieved by the track (but it sounds like you already have that covered).
 
Basically you need to have the "Input" set to whatever your controller is. In this case it is the internal virtual controller.
 
Check it out and let us know how it works out.
 
Cheers.

Well I just tested it out with Dropzone so something else is wrong.
 
Close your project, open a new project, insert Dropzone (as a Simple Instrument Track) and set the input to the Virtual Controller as I described above. What happens?
 
I'm getting you to do this so that all previous changes you may have made will be deleted because you may have set something else that's now screwing things up.
 
Remember you NEED to make sure the MIDI Echo button is enabled. If you do not see a big blue button on your track controls it is not engaged. If you need help with that let us know.
 
Cheers.

Oh... and by the way the "Default" patch for Dropzone is a "swelling" type patch so that may be misleading. There is no sound at first when you hold down the Virt Keyboard keys (or the keys in the Dropzone GUI). You have to hold it down for a while before the patch swells up and is audible.
 
Switch to another patch to get a more immediate sound when you press the keys.
 
That screwed me up a bit when I tested this.

You can also replace Dropzone in the tutorial with any other bundled synth. The all connect the same way either with an instrument track or at least one audio and one MIDI track.

williamcopper
Good thing for a very clear manual chapter --- how to get a simple midi to audio thing working immediately.

I take it that you are not actually commenting on the usefulness of scook's suggestion of going through Tutorial 4 or the many videos on Cake TV, but choosing instead to make what you think is some oh-so-clever sarcastic remark instead of actually reading his post and trying to be helpful. His problem is obviously not getting it to work, he already had it working. His problem is finding out what changed so that it no longer works. 
 
If the premise of a thread is asking for help, comments that contribute nothing to that process have no value.
 
We have no idea what type of audio interface is being used, how Windows is set up, which operating system, how tracks are assigned...it's crucial to define the problem more precisely, particularly since we are talking with someone who describes himself as a "newbie."
 
I'm still waiting to find out if it's an audio or MIDI issue as determined by playing DropZone's keys, then more constructive troubleshooting can begin.

kennyrosenyc
Sorry guys figured it out. When I added my Soft Synth tracks the tracks were defaulting to 'First Synth Audio Output' or something like that. Once I changed it to 'All Synth Audio Outputs: Stereo' it started working though now I get a ton of tracks.

Yes. That's actually more desirable because it gives you an audio track for every voice but it can be more complex to use at first (and you may need to go into the synth/instrument GUI to set the outputs from the synth manually to each track).
 
If you don't want all those tracks you could try using a Simple Instrument Track (which is an option in the Insert Synth Dialog). That is a combination MIDI and Audio track in one BUT they limit your mixing options in Sonar. SIT is actually the default so you changed something to make it load as "First Synth Audio Output".
 
It is weird though that you did not get sound from "First Synth Audio Output" because that usually makes the audio track inserted route to the "Master" bus from synths. So all sound from the synth would get mixed (inside the synth) and sent to that track. That would normally mean you'd get sound from it.
 
So in that case maybe your Master output in your synth got muted/turned down somehow (or maybe one of the other channels got soloed).... OR for some reason the audio track associated with the synth in Sonar (which is actually called an Instrument Track... not to be confused with a "Simple Instrument Track" which is the hybrid track I referred to earlier) is getting muted or routed improperly.
 
The above may sound like gobbledygook but there is a logic behind it all. You just have to really study what each of those terms mean and how the routing works in Sonar and in the individual synths/intruments you are using. It's all available in the Reference Guide.
 
There is also a good video series up on youtube that describes this as well as many other topics.
 
Google SWA Sonar Complete Youtube.
 
That should bring up the vid and a couple forum posts here on the forum that has the Chapter names/details so you can look up the one on inserting softsynths and general MIDI concepts.
 
Cheers.