How do you stack synths?

A recent conversation on KVR had me wondering. I sometimes like to stack synths for a very complex sound. The only way I've ever done it or known how to do it in Sonar is insert the synths, write the part on a midi track, then clone the midi track for each synth so that each one gets the same notes. Some DAWs make it easier. Does Sonar--but I've simply never known about it?
 
I do have a license to P&M Chainer and Nryv Agent. They insert as effects, though, so even though they can load up VSTis, I don't know how to send a MIDI track to them.
 
For those of you who do that, is there an easier way?

I've never found Ctrl+c and Ctrl+v to be overly taxing. Maybe I'm missing the point ?

paulo
I've never found Ctrl+c and Ctrl+v to be overly taxing. Maybe I'm missing the point ?

Imagine you have 20 MIDI tracks, each identical, and each driving its own synth. Now you want to edit a couple of notes, play the resulting segment of the track and hear the result in all the synths, then change a few more notes etc. How many control C  control V exercises are needed to make fifty such changes? Perhaps linking clips would help, but copying is obviously not that simple except in simple cases. 

slartabartfast

paulo
I've never found Ctrl+c and Ctrl+v to be overly taxing. Maybe I'm missing the point ?

Imagine you have 20 MIDI tracks, each identical, and each driving its own synth. Now you want to edit a couple of notes, play the resulting segment of the track and hear the result in all the synths, then change a few more notes etc. How many control C  control V exercises are needed to make fifty such changes? Perhaps linking clips would help, but copying is obviously not that simple except in simple cases. 

I think I would probably get the midi track how I wanted it before introducing the other synths. Maybe that's just me, but I take your point.
 
20 though? Really ? Wow. I'd have picked a sound that I liked more to begin with ;)

OK, so the answer is no, Sonar doesn't have a convenient way to stack synths. That actually makes me feel better, because at least I'm not a dope!
 
I use linked clips sometimes, but that is a workaround in this case and can be a tedious one at that. It would be wonderful if you could just drop another send into a MIDI track. That capability instantly suggests creative possibilities to me. Studio One's Multi-Instrument mode is a dream. Hopefully something similar is on someone's to-do list at Cakewalk.
 
Thanks folks!

Oh, so close to not being a dope but I didn't quite make it.
 
It turns out that you get two P&M Chainer plug-ins when you buy the product, one is effects and the other is a VSTi for instruments. I had what I needed all along!
 
The instrument one works a treat. Load it up like a synth and start stacking. It has some very nice capabilities--you can do some mixing, panning, FX, etc. And one MIDI track to rule them all. I thought it was money well spent when I thought it was only for effects! I still think Cakewalk should be mindful of what the competitive DAWs are doing, but in the meantime this will do very nicely.

I've always found that the added flexibility I get from having separate MIDI tracks to control separate intstruments is worth more than whatever convenience might come from separate MIDI outputs. Sure, I might want to stack sounds to create bigger or more complex sounds, but what if I don't want them stacked all the time? What if I want the second layer to come in later for bigger effect, or drop out to bring things down? Easier/more flexible to have them visible on separate tracks to see what's happening where and when. If I really need to get them out of my visual space I can always just put them in a folder and collapse it! 

KeithAdv
OK, so the answer is no, Sonar doesn't have a convenient way to stack synths. That actually makes me feel better, because at least I'm not a dope!
 
I use linked clips sometimes, but that is a workaround in this case and can be a tedious one at that. It would be wonderful if you could just drop another send into a MIDI track. That capability instantly suggests creative possibilities to me. Studio One's Multi-Instrument mode is a dream. Hopefully something similar is on someone's to-do list at Cakewalk.
 
Thanks folks!

Currently, the best way to stack synths in Sonar, without copying midi tracks around, is to use a multi-channel synth that can stack synths internally, like Omnisphere, or to use a VSTHost like Blue Cat's PatchWork or Vienna's Ensemble.
 
Dan