[Solved] Sonar Xx stability......

Hey there.
I have been using Cakewalk, Pro Audio, and Sonar for many years, but stopped when the X1, X2, and X3 releases kept giving me unacceptable issues. I gave up on Sonar, and the PC in general, and got into the Apple Macintosh land (iMac) and Apple's Logic Pro (which has worked perfectly for me.)
However, with the release and supposedly better reliability of Windows 10 x64 Prof., I was willing to give Windows/PC and Sonar another chance. To make a long story short, Windows 10 has been great to me so far. Everything works wonderfully that I've tried so far. However, Sonar X3e is the only software giving me a hard time. I've concluded, due to all the issues I had with Sonar X(x) over recent years, that Sonar X3 (& X2 & X1) is the culprit, not Windows....
What issues am I having, you may wonder? Namely, when I load any VST instrument, I get the whole "stuck notes" issue as I try to play a soft-synth. Doesn't matter who the VST instrument is by, or what it does, I consistently get stuck notes. Stopping the audio-engine with that button does stop the notes temporarily, but merely mutes them - when I re-engage the audio engine, the stuck notes still sound. Hitting the MIDI Reset button does nothing to resolve this, either. I did try increasing latency on my ASIO audio interface (and kept Sample Rate at 44.1kHz/16-bit in the project), but that did nothing to help, either.
I did read on the site here somewhere that Cakewalk is bettering/rebuilding the Sonar "engine". Can I trust, as I plan to try & buy Sonar Platinum, that all this "garbage" I got on previous versions of Sonar will be fixed and laid to rest???
You may also be wondering why I am even bothering, given the success I've had with the iMac and Logic Pro.... My musical brother has relocated near me, and we plan on working on music together some more. He is using Windows XP with Pro Audio 7, and he rarely has any issues. I'd like to be able to work in some Cakewalk product with him, thus, my attempt on the Windows machine. I am seriously considering installing a "Pro Audio" product, and forgetting about Sonar products for the time being.
 
What are your guys thoughts?????
 
My system (main pieces worth mentioning): AMD FX 4350 CPU Quad-core @ 4.2/4.3GHz, Asus motherboard and video card (with 2GB video RAM), 16GB RAM, 240GB SSD (SATA3)
Audio interfaces: Asus Xonar U7 Surround, and (default) Tascam US-144 MkII audio & MIDI interface. (The motherboard audio is disabled in BIOS...)
M-Audio Oxygen 61 USB keyboard controller (worth noting this is an older USB 1.1 device, and it seems to work fine everywhere else, except Sonar.)
All the latest available drivers for each piece of gear is successfully installed, so, I'm assuming that isn't the issue????
 
Thanks, everyone.
JT

Hello.  Sorry to hear about your difficulties.
 
If you want, I could tell you a nightmare horror story about instabilities in Sonar X2.
 
However, it sounds like you do NOT have a stability problem, but do have a problem with VST instruments, MIDI, and stuck notes.  And you are saying this happens will ALL VST instruments you try, which is an important piece of information.  So I don't see this as a problem of Sonar stability, but rather a pervasive problem involving MIDI and VST instruments in your system.  I can tell you that I do not have a problem with stuck notes using Sonar Platinum on my computer.
 
I think this problem is very fixable, so I suggest you write a new forum post specifically about this problem.  In the meantime, look thru the manual for your MIDI keyboard to see what they say about stuck notes, and check the M-Audio forum for similar stuff.  You might also try to record a few MIDI notes onto a MIDI track, and then send the output of that track to your VST instrument (try to bypass your MIDI interface).

I would point my finger at your audio interface. Tascam did upgrade the drivers for many of it's older interfaces a year ago, make sure you look for yours, but generally the older interface drivers where terrible. 
In my 16 or so years of using Cakewalk, stuck notes were never the fault of the software, they were more to do with my system and interfaces. 
Also it is a standard practice to increase the default midi buffer size, I set mine at 800, the default is way too low. 

I just had a look at the available drivers for your Tascam US-144 MkII, and it does not look like they have released any drivers for Windows 10, and since this interface is discontinued, it would not appear likely that there will ever be Windows 10 drivers released for it.
 
I don't know if that plays any part of your issues - but thought it worth mentioning.  (They DO seem to support up to Windows 8.1 64-bit, which is good, and the interface seems to be meant for use with USB 2.0 ports)
 
Bob Bone
 

Note the OP wrote: "I get the whole "stuck notes" issue as I try to play a soft-synth." I took that to mean playing live from a controller, and MIDI buffering isn't applicable to real-time MIDI input. Also, I don't recall that the MIDI Prepare Using buffer has ever been implicated in stuck notes (i.e. dropped Note Offs), only dropped Note Ons, though I suppose it's possible.
 
That said, I would recommend setting the MIDI Prepare Using buffer to the old default of 500ms as a starting point.

Hey JT. I would suggest you try the suggestions here to find the solution to your stuck notes issue before you download the new Sonar demo. It is much more likely to be a system issue rather than software. Once you have your system ticking along, I think you will be very impressed with how far Sonar has come in the last 12 months.
 
I too have a couple of Macs that I use for various things but still use Sonar as my main DAW.
 
Welcome back!

....Another thing I tried: in the Audio Configuration settings/file, I did set the ExtraPluginBufs up to a value of "8". Didn't fix the problem, but am I at least barking up the right tree??

Is the Oxygen keyboard connecting directly to a motherboard USB port, or through a hub? Hubs are problematic, and a 1.1 USB device is a little scary. Also try disabling the surround audio i Device Manager, you almost certainly don't need it and it may be causing issues.
 
The "it works with other programs" may or may not be relevant. SONAR is tied very deeply into the Windows OS (which is one reason I am quite sure a Mac version will never exist). This has the advantage of being able to take advantage of Windows features, but the disadvantage of being very sensitive to the host environment.
 
Finally, Platinum did modify the MIDI engine so there's always an exact match between note on and note off events. IIRC this was about fixing some specific stuck note issue, which may apply to your situation. How about this: Set a system restore point, try the Platinum demo, and see if there problem goes away.
 

I have "interesting USB issues" with both Mac and Windows. Still haven't figured out the exact reason why some things need to be powered on before booting, some need to be powered on after booting, some things lose their connections (even though I've disabled USB power management in Device Manager).
 
I'm basically resigned to computer and software sometimes behaving erratically, and this started back when I was using Z80s with CP/M and 8" floppy disks...  So I just do what I need to do, like unplug/re-plug, or re-boot, and carry on. Life in the modern world, and all that.

Good morning, fellas....
Wow, again, thanks for all the help and posts.
@ Brundlefly - Yes, I do "insert" the VSTi's appropriately, not through the FX thing.
I will try to change the settings as some of you had suggested, as well as try different USB cables and ports (and no, it is not connected to a USB hub - I already know to avoid that.)
 
Thanks again, and I'll keep you folks posted....
Have a great day!

It is a per-project setting. To view per-project settings in preferences a project must be open. Zero controllers is in Preferences > Project > MIDI. Set the value in project templates to establish the default per-project setting in new projects.

OK, did all of the above, and still- stuck notes when I hit Spacebar to stop....
I'm next going to try disconnecting the Tascam audio/MIDI interface, and enable the ASUS Xonar U7 surround interface, see what that does, if anything....
Will keep you posted, and thanks again for the assistance!

Have you tried downloading the demo? The results would provide a useful data point.

The reason I'm asking you to try the demo because the results could give useful clues on how to fix your issues with X3. I'm not saying you need to give up X3. The inability of people to reproduce this issue implies something system-specific but if it happens with Platinum, which has a different MIDI engine, then we'll know not to look at SONAR but at other elements. OTOH if Platinum (or Artist, or whatever) solves the issue, then we need to look at what about X3, or X3 i conjunction with your hardware, is misset or unfriendly to MIDI.
 
Software is like a combination lock where all the elements have to be in place for the "lock" to open. Often a Preference is one of the "tumblers" but gear designed for older protocols with drivers written for older operating systems can be a problem. Many posts in this forum have not been super-complementary to M-Audio drivers, although I'm using an Axiom keyboard and it works fine. However, it's a much later design.

OK - So:
With the Tascam disconnected and Oxygen controller turned off, I installed Sonar Platinum, let it migrate my settings from X3, let it (successfully) scan all my VSTs, and I loaded the test song I am using.
Hit Play, everything's fine, hit spacebar to Stop - and - wait for it - still get the stuck notes!!!!!
Just for clarification's sake, I have loaded this MIDI track into Cubase 5, FruityLoops Studio 12, and Logic Pro, and I do NOT get the stuck notes issue at all.
I'm ready to say - Exit Sonar, Enter Logic Pro. I wanted a Cakewalk product to work with my brother, but, I can figure out a way (with various export options) we can meet in the middle and work together (without Sonar on my PC.)
Thanks for all the help, guys.