An easier way to bounce MIDI clips to audio

I don't know whether you're using a version of SONAR that was released since synth recording was introduced, but I don't use simple instrument tracks so I just record-enable the instrument's audio track and the MIDI track when recording. Then after recording the part, I already have rendered audio as well as MIDI without having to do anything else. This is also good for backup, and of course, sometimes you want to make some edits that are easier with audio than with MIDI.
 
However you can also simplify your current process. You can assign "Bounce to Track" as a keyboard shortcut (ctrl+B is unassigned with the default keyboard shortcuts, so you can use that if you like). Create a Preset that sets up the dialog box the way you want for bouncing. The preset will persist until changed, so if you're bouncing a bunch of Kontakt tracks, all you'd need to do after selecting the audio and MIDI tracks you want to bounce is hit Ctrl+B, then Enter.
 
 

Cool! But don't overlook synth recording - the "Friday's Tip of the Week" for Week 84 discusses how I also use it with songwriting.

I use this function all the time and have set up a bounce to track shortcut,  but I get what you are saying! Having to select both the audio and synth track seems unnecessarily convoluted.  One small change that would make a big difference would be to have Sonar assume that when you select a midi track and choose 'bounce to track' it should use the VST synth out to which  the track is routed. I could be wrong, but I can't see any situation where this would not logically be the case.
 
 

stevec

tenfoot
I use this function all the time and have set up a bounce to track shortcut,  but I get what you are saying! Having to select both the audio and synth track seems unnecessarily convoluted.  One small change that would make a big difference would be to have Sonar assume that when you select a midi track and choose 'bounce to track' it should use the VST synth out to which  the track is routed. I could be wrong, but I can't see any situation where this would not logically be the case.
 

But what if there are multiple MIDI tracks routed to that synth?   I wouldn't want to "disable" those other MIDI tracks by essentially freezing the synth.   Unless there's some way to bounce that specific MIDI+Synth combo to an entirely different track altogether... 

I'm talking about the bounce to track function  SteveC - it has nothing to do with freezing the synth. Bouncing to an entirely different track, as you describe, is precisely what it already does. The synth remains active and untouched.
 
Ironically, there is already no need to select the source midi track if you a ARE freezing a synth. but you have far less options in the bouncing process and face the very limitation you mention. 
 
I am pretty certain there Is absolutely no advantage to having to select the downstream synth track as well as the midi track when using the bounce to track feature on a midi track. It just seems to be one of those legacy limitations from days long since past. That said, it is by no measure a show stopper:)

Anderton

tenfoot
I am pretty certain there Is absolutely no advantage to having to select the downstream synth track as well as the midi track when using the bounce to track feature on a midi track.

What if multiple instruments in a multitimbral synth are all listening to the same track?

Hmmmm...fair call, but that's a whole lot of inconvenience for a rare exception. By all means include a check box for the upcoming 'set midi bounce by track output' option so that it can be disabled in the event of an Anderton exception:) Everyone's a winner!
 
To be clear, this is by no means anything I consider a priority fix. I was just agreeing with the OP that it could be simpler.

tenfoot

Anderton

tenfoot
I am pretty certain there Is absolutely no advantage to having to select the downstream synth track as well as the midi track when using the bounce to track feature on a midi track.

What if multiple instruments in a multitimbral synth are all listening to the same track?

Hmmmm...fair call, but that's a whole lot of inconvenience for a rare exception. By all means include a check box for the upcoming 'set midi bounce by track output' option so that it can be disabled in the event of an Anderton exception:) Everyone's a winner!
 
To be clear, this is by no means anything I consider a priority fix. I was just agreeing with the OP that it could be simpler.

I don't really use simple instrument tracks so am not all that qualified to comment on the subject, but wouldn't that also simplify the bouncing process?
 
In any event Synth Recording has turned out to be a surprisingly big deal for me. I never sign off on a project until everything is an actual audio file. It used to be that doing so added a step of making multiple bounces at the end of a project, but with synth recording, it happens transparently, along the way. It's perhaps unconventional, but has totally altered my overall workflow for the better. 
 
As to the "rare exception," it may be for most people but my songwriting template uses a multitimbral synth for the sake of speed while composing. I often want to bounce the tracks that are "keepers," while ignoring the ones that are placeholders until I put on the "real" part. I find it too confusing to have a separate instrument open for each track when my primary concern is trying to get ideas down as fast as possible.

tenfoot
When you say you use synth recording Craig, do you mean that you record both midi and audio real time in a single take?

Sometimes I do by accident . But my general workflow is to record MIDI, then edit the MIDI data. After it's edited, at some point during playback, or while recording something else, I record-enable the instrument's audio track so the MIDI track ends up as audio. This is what I mean by happening transparently, in the background - I don't have to bounce, freeze, or think, just enable record and voila, I have audio. 

Anderton

tenfoot
When you say you use synth recording Craig, do you mean that you record both midi and audio real time in a single take?

Sometimes I do by accident . But my general workflow is to record MIDI, then edit the MIDI data. After it's edited, at some point during playback, or while recording something else, I record-enable the instrument's audio track so the MIDI track ends up as audio. This is what I mean by happening transparently, in the background - I don't have to bounce, freeze, or think, just enable record and voila, I have audio. 

Ahh - got it. I shall give that a try. I am not sure I have enough consistent uninterrupted playbacks in my writing/arranging process for it to work for me though. It would however partially address what I think is a significant missed opportunity in track rendering, that being be the ability to select multiple clips on a single track and have Sonar bounce them to identical separate clips on the rendered track in a single action. An export feature was introduced relatively recently that allows this - unfortunately it deesn't seem to apply to bounce. I find having separate  clips of great visual benefit at mixdown, as well as the secondary gain of smaller audio folders and lighter HDD load.
 
If anyone knows a way to do this I would love to hear.

brundlefly

Anderton

tenfoot
When you say you use synth recording Craig, do you mean that you record both midi and audio real time in a single take?

Sometimes I do by accident . But my general workflow is to record MIDI, then edit the MIDI data. After it's edited, at some point during playback, or while recording something else, I record-enable the instrument's audio track so the MIDI track ends up as audio. This is what I mean by happening transparently, in the background - I don't have to bounce, freeze, or think, just enable record and voila, I have audio. 

I can't see that working as transparently as you describe. You would still have to think to mute the MIDI track or disconnect the synth after recording to prevent doubling on playback, and to disarm the Synth track to prevent more takes being recorded. Also, record latency compensation isn't applied to synth recording which will be problematic if your buffer isn't as low as you would have it when recording a live performance, which is really what synth recording was intended to address.
 
All things considered, I wouldn't recommend this approach for most users.

After bouncing, you have to mute something so I'm okay with muting the MIDI track. I hadn't really thought about record-enabling because my workflow is such that if the master record enable button is on, I turn it off prior to doing a recording. I think this is a holdover from my tape days that I'll probably have until the day I die...I like to do deliberate record-enabling of something before hitting record.
 
Latency doesn't seem to be an issue. I tested it; the top waveform is the synth-recorded one and the bottom one is the bounced one. However note that both of them are 2 ms behind the onset of the MIDI note.
 

 
The biggest advantage to me is not having to wait for tracks to bounce, or deal with the dialog box...what I hear is what I get. Because the data is always the same until you change any settings, you can even record things in pieces. So basically, the rendering of tracks becomes a background process, although sometimes I also use the audio to try out different edits or songwriting (something I covered in a tip of the week). For some applications, like chopping up pieces of sound, at least for me it's a lot faster with audio.

Steve_Karl
After the midi is recorded ...
You can also insert an AUX track and a send and record only one track in real time from any vsti as opposed to having to freeze the whole synth.

...or just record-enable the soft synth's audio track, if you're not using a simple instrument track.