How to add a second soft synth playing the same part

Hi,
 
I have a bass part written as a Soft Synth track, with a certain sound. I'd like to add a second soft synth to play the same part, without making a second copy of the notes (so that I can edit just one part for both synths).
 
If possible, I'd like each Soft synth to have its own volume and mute automation, but that's not essential.
 
Can anyone advise me how to achieve this?
 
Thanks,
Andrew

+1, yup.
 
Bob Bone
 

Trying to clone an instrument track? Don't do it. Split the instrument track into an audio and MIDI track, then clone the MIDI track.

Thanks very much guys. I'll try this when I get home.
Andrew

Thanks Djoni,
That is indeed what I ended up doing, because I couldn't find a way to play two different synths off the same MIDI part. No matter what I did using the Clone command, the two parts would always end up with the same synth.
Andrew

bitflipper
Driving two synths from one MIDI track is very common, and SONAR's (old) way of doing it is easier and more flexible than most DAWs.

How do you do this? I asked about this in the past and was basically told it was impossible without using 3rd party software to create extra MIDI inputs.

That's fine, if your performance is already finished. It doesn't let you hear the performance through both synths as you record, and it doesn't work well with recording overdubs or extras (which sometimes go into fresh clips, meaning you have to copy and paste them again). Bitflipper explicitly mentioned 2 synths from 1 MIDI track, so I am interested in seeing if that is possible.

Understood - I actually CAN and DO hear the multiple synths playing, as all I have to do to accomplish that is to enable Input Echo On for the other layers, and they all sound together, even when either just playing or when recording.
 
Further, I can always arm each layer if I want to capture new data all in one shot.  Editing would still be done on one layer and the changes copied over to the other layers, but overall I am not troubled at all with the process.
 
Perhaps  a feature request to support more than one associated synth for a given midi clip or track would be a good thing to ask for.  I don't know what would be involved in implementing it, but it certainly would raise the bar by having such layering available as a powerful option to the midi processing that is already very good.
 
Bob Bone
 

Sounds like Bitflipper has a way of doing it. Any chance you could give us a brief setup procedure Bitflipper?
Andrew

Kylotan
That's fine, if your performance is already finished. It doesn't let you hear the performance through both synths as you record, and it doesn't work well with recording overdubs or extras (which sometimes go into fresh clips, meaning you have to copy and paste them again).

 
Sure it does. Just arm and enable input echo on both tracks to record/monitor both together. You only have to copy as linked clips if you want to edit them later and keep the edits in sync. In the grand scheme of how long it takes to manually edit MIDI tracks, making that linked copy is a pretty minimal burden.
 
I've been doing this for years with layered hardware synths. I used to daisy-chain them off of one port so I could use one track, but I prefer the flexibility of having independent control of MIDI volume, velocity offset, automation, etc that separate tracks offer.
 
 

As far as editing multiple copies of the same MIDI track, I select both of them, open PRV and edit them together as if they were one track. Or you can link them and open just one in PRV. I think you can link and unlink at will.

abell_oz
Thanks for all this input - you guys are extremely helpful.
 
While we're here, is there a quick way to select all the events on one track, so you can ctrl-drag or cut and paste into another?
 
Andrew

I just:
 
1.  Click on the track number at the far left of the track pane, and that automatically selects all clips on a given track
2. Right-click on the track data, click on Copy.  This will open a dialog box, and you can select Events On Track - that's usually all I copy, skipping markers, meter changes, etc.  This will copy all the midi events in all clips on the track, to the Windows clipboard.
3.  I can now paste or paste special the events to a new track, or new location on the same track.
 
Super simple.
 
Bob Bone
 

Find what works best for you.
 
Some folks use Piano Roll View
Some folks use Step Sequencer
Some folks edit event data
Some folks don't know they just played jazz and should edit but don't
 
I usually either just record the clip over or sometimes do it in Step Sequencer if a really challenging part.
 
I keep posting here that I will get around to getting good at using the Piano Roll View, and I DO believe that this would WELL worth you learning, as I am quite sure it would become your fastest method of editing midi data.  I am not currently any kind of anybody on it, but it is just because I haven't put in enough effort to get good.  Nonetheless, this is the method I will recommend you look into using.
 
Bob Bone
 

Soens,  I would credit you, but someone would just take that and add it to my accolades.  (can't rest on my laurels, you know)  hee hee
 
Oh, OK.  good job....again... for the zillionth time....
 
Bob Bone
 

I don't like to link clips - but that doesn't really matter. I find it easy to copy the midi data from the orig track onto a new midi track and output that track to any synth track I choose. AMK, the limitation versus other daws is one synth module per track. Some daws let the user load synths like we do an fx bin. However, I do like that sonar allows us to point more than one track to a synth track.