Importing Pro Tools Tracks to Sonar X1 Essential

You cannot import a Pro tools Session, so the best way to do it is Export each track as a wave file form Pro Tools and then import the wave files into Sonar. I do this many times a day without any hiccups.
 
Just make sure you export each track from zero or the same place or export them as a Broadcast Wave File so it lines up when you import them into Sonar.
 
CJ

Excellent!  Thank you so much, CJ and Loptec.  I'll let you know how this works out.

drhauser
Can I just export the tracks with the effects applied so I can then import the tracks into Sonar and adjust the levels?

Yes. Hazy on the details of how to do it at the moment (not in front of a computer with PT), but have done it in the past when I wanted to take PT projects into Sonar to take advantage of the better editing options.

Hello,
 
Again, thank you all for your advice.  I've tried to export the tracks from Pro Tools as Broadcast Wave Files as has been suggested.  However, I do not see this option available to export.  Could someone please describe how this is done, or perhaps direct me to a site or a posting that does? 
 
Thanks for your time!  I'm obviously very new to this and I really appreciate the help that has been supplied.
 
Dan

Thank you, CJ.  The video in particular is really helpful.  However, since both my versions of Pro Tools and Sonar do not have the same plugins we used in the studio, will I therefore lose the effects that those plugins produced?  Or, will the effects be saved on the consolidated track?
 
Again, many thanks for all of the help I've received. 
 
Dan

Hello All,
 
I apologize for all of the questions, particularly after receiving good advice.  Thus far, I'm good on exporting the .wav files out of Pro Tools and have learned that the plugins are included once they've been bounced.  Thank you for you help with this.
 
Anyhow, I have the .wav files from Pro Tools.  I've tried to import them into Sonar.  However, after I import a track, I just see a series of dots as opposed to the wave forms.  I've selected the options that allow me to import a Broadcast Wave (as described on the Sonar documentation pages seen here: ). 
 
I can send screenshots, if that helps.
 
Incidentally, I've used Sonar X1 on my own for several years to record MIDI tracks mixed with audio tracks (via an M-Audio Fast Track device).  These have recorded/played back fine.  Could it be I have a setting incorrect as I import the files?
 
Again, I really appreciate the help I've received.  CJ, et al, if you live in the DC metro area, I'd happily buy you dinner and drinks for solving my issue.  You rule. 
 
Thanks again,
 
Dan
 
 
 

You are correct, Steve C!  I checked the full line and the recorded line started playing at an hour, eleven minutes!  I'm assuming I have a time stamp problem, no?  Do you have an idea of how to eliminate this and make sure all instruments start at zero?  Perhaps the wave files I have do not have the bext file embedded correctly?
 
Thank you, kind sir!  
 
Dan

Okay, I'm going to get weird.  
 
Suppose I sent someone 270 audio wave files from Pro Tools that apply to a single song (raw Pro Tools wave recordings for eight individual instrument/vocal tracks, but with an ungodly number of plugins associated with each track), which all focus on eight individual instruments/vocals (with extensions for which I don't realize what they mean), could such a person bounce those eight tracks back in a manner individually into eight separate tracks with which I could import to Sonar X1 Essentials with the same time-stamp so that I could simply adjust the volume levels on those individual instruments on said song without any weird time differentials?  That is all I want to do.  
 
And then, could that same person proceed to explain what they did (with screenshots) so I could learn how to to this in the future?  
 
Just throwing this out there,
 
Dan

Dan
 
I agree that the 270 raw ProTools files will be essentially unusable. I've done a lot of importing into Sonar from ProTools and it just needs a small amount of attention at the ProTools export stage to save you from wasting a huge amount of time trying to assemble clips manually.
 
Ask them to lengthen each track so that every one starts at time 0 and finishes at the end of the song, and export each track individually. This will mean adding a lot of silence in many cases, but will mean you can check that all the exported AIF files have exactly the same length. 
All these functions are basic to all the DAWs (ProTools, Cubase, Sonar, Logic,...) - it's just the terminology which is different. I've sometimes offered to go and do the export myself, or offer to pay them something if they are being obstructive; it usually shames them into doing it, because it's simple.
 
Make sure that when you import each track it goes EXACTLY at time 0: I do this by dragging the bounced audio into a new track in the Track View one by one, looking at the indicator near the top of the screen to make sure it's going at time 0. Having Snap on and set to (say) 1/2 will help. 
 
For the effects, you could get close to what you want by having two versions of each of the 8 tracks bounced out of ProTools: one bounced with effects applied (wet), one without (dry). Don't use both together, but you'll then at least be able to tell what sound difference the effect chain has been making, and either keep it (by using the wet version) or try and re-create its effect on the dry version of the track by choosing Sonar plugins that you do have. There's always a way to get close with Sonar X3 Producer, IMHO.
 
 

The start times are not correct because they are the raw pro tool tracks. They are not wave file that have been consolidated and exported. 
 
There is no way to import them and make then sync as you do not have the actual pro tools session, correct? you just have the raw files.
 
Call that studio and tell them they screwed up. If its a professional studio, they should know how to export wave files to be used in other programs. Its done all the time..
 
CJ

You actually have that in Cake.... if you screw up and delete your tracks..... the raw waves are saved in a folder and not in any particular orderly way.... You would have to fit them back together again like a musical jigsaw puzzle.
 
I know this because I did this with ONE vocal track I deleted by accident and didn't realize it until several days later.  I did recover that one track by piecing the clips together and arranging them... it wasn't fun. I couldn't imagine doing 8 tracks with 270 clips..... nope, I'd turn that one down.