Hello all,Is anyone successfully using the Impulse 49 or 61 with Sonar X3?  I purchased an Impulse 61 and have been experiencing issues getting it working correctly with Sonar X3.  I have submitted a few support tickets with Novation support and have yet to even receive a response that they even got my requests for support.  I have finally gotten it to sort of work (when I press a key X3 plays a note) but have been having problems with their Auto map software.  How do you set up a midi controller mappings manually with the DAW that you are using? or is this even possible?  I am thinking that the problems I have are due to Novations Automap software and how it does things (or rather doesn't do things).
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Robert B.

I just got the 25 to replace an Le 25 and it set up pretty much automatically.  One nice mistake - automap found X1, not X3, so I can use SONAR X3 itself for mapping using midi learn.
 
But the keys play fine, the pads work, but I haven't mapped anything yet.
 
Automap is a wrapper for your VSTs, so the novation automatically wraps hardware to which software control.  I haven't messed w/ it yet, and the old (very old) Le 25 didn't include automap.  I'm happy not to have to learn any more software.
 
In SONAR, however, you have to choose the novation as a controller in SONAr.  If you do that the keys should work and the pads and the wheels - like any standard keyboard.
 
@

Search for "Active Controller Technology" (ACT) and the "Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug In" in the SONAR Reference manual or the SONAR Help file. These controller technologies are feature rich and take some effort of reading and practical hands on application on the part of the user to see the benefits.
 
Not trying to be a smart alec, but you really have to read this stuff and get some hands on use.
 
There is a learning curve for setting up your MIDI controller to get the most out of it using SONAR, but your efforts will be positively rewarded, and many of us had to go through this. You also need to know the features and capabilities of your controller good. That may require more reading and hands on experience.
 
To try to explain to you how to setup your controller using SONAR would mean I would have to write as much as is in the SONAR Reference manual or the SONAR Help file to come close to conveying the capabilities accessible through these technologies (ACT and the Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug In.) The SONAR manual and Help contain detailed instructions for using both.
 
There is just no shortcut for this. You just have to read and dive into it.

Thanks to you both for taking the time to reply to my post, at least I know that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with my Impulse 61 and that with some continued learning on my part I should be able to get it working satisfactorily.  One of the problems I am encountering is that I purchased my Sonar X3 via Steam, because of this Sonar is in a non standard install location, it is in my Steam account folder that has its own drive due to the number of games I currently own on Steam which are currently occupying 1.2TB of space on a 2TB drive so Novations Automap software does not even detect it on my system.  That is why I asked about perhaps setting up the keyboard manually with Sonar.  And to reply to Thomas Barnes, I appreciate your answer and I knew that I would not receive a complete guide on how to do this in a reply to a post only perhaps some links on how to do this.  You have done this by giving me a direction in which to start looking and I will be availing myself of the things you directed me to search for about Sonar.  I am a complete newbie when it comes to all of this including doing anything with music other than listen to it.  I used to play clarinet and oboe years ago when I was in school but I lost interest like an idiot after a family relocation and the new school band was awful, I have regretted this for many years.  I am currently am on a medical retirement and have too much time to fill and I had often thought about trying to get back into doing something more serious with music for quite a while and when Cakewalk started selling some of their software via steam I purchased the Music Creator Touch on a steep discounted sale back in November and then purchased X3 Studio in December when they also had this on an irresistible upgrade for owners of Music Creator Touch so I bought it mostly on a whim.  I want to do more than just vegetate playing games so what I paid for the software was not much more than I have been spending on a couple of games and knew that I would get enough enjoyment out of using it to justify what I spent.  After just playing around with it I decided that I really want to learn how to use it as well as try and learn how to play the keyboard so I started shopping around for a midi controller keyboard and finally purchased the Impulse mainly due to price consideration.  Amazon sells it for $308 dollars and there is a $50 rebate that it qualifies for from Novations US website and I could not find anything else with the features of the Impulse without spending a couple of hundred dollars more.  I subscribe to Lynda dot com, a site that offers video training for a wide variety of software and I recently saw that they have a pretty extensive course that covers Sonar X2 that I will be working through.  I also just subscribed to the monthly plan on Groove 3 and have watched some of their videos on the Impulse that have been very helpful, they also have the videos that Cakewalk sells in their store on X2 and X3.
Once again thanks a lot for your assistance,
Robert Backlund

Hi Robert:
 
I also have a lot of time on my hands. Due to my military service, my present situation is quasi-retirement. My plan is to get into music production and related ventures, as well.
 
Those Groove3 videos on SONAR are great learning resources, but, unfortunately, none cover ACT or the Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug In. Cakewalk just released the source code for ACT to open source development, so hopefully, good things will happen for us all because of that! The SONAR Reference Manual and Help file cover the use of those two control surfaces very well, except in some minor places. Read the info about them for setup help. It may be pleasantly helpful for you, concerning using your controller with SONAR. If you have any more questions, just ask in these forums. The users here are very helpful.
 
I hope you find much excitement in your use of SONAR!
 
Cya around.

Let me know how the Impulse works out.  I just really like the keybed on it- Fatar still, I think.
 
I haven't been messing w/ Automap but I've set up SONAR's ACT which Thomas talks about.  Others here use automap, tho most of us use ACT. It is a long row to hoe learning the ins and out of software plus the basics of recording.  I don't think SONAR is the holdup here, if you are going to be using Automap.  I think Novation has some set up videos at their site for that end.  But SONAR must know that you want it to use the Impulse as a controller.  That is under the preference pop up.  I'm not at my music computer just now so I can't tell you precisely.
 
There are lots of people here to answer questions.  The manual is necessary, just for the terminology, but once you get past the basics of getting your recording hardware and SONAR set up it is kinda like the dictionary.  How are you supposed look up a word you can't spell? The Groove stuff is very good, but maybe a little advanced.  You should check out CakeTV first as you get your system working, and then graduate to Groove 3.  That is my suggestion, anyway.
 
Scott's book comes highly recommended by many here and testimonials are sure to follow:
 
http://www.garrigus.com/powerbooks.asp
 
Recording is fun and more rewarding than raising chinchillas.  It takes some learning, tho.  It is all necessary before we can start grinding out top-forty hits.
 
@
 
 

Hi there,
 
I just bought Sonar X3. I got the Novation Impulse 61 a few months ago, and managed to get it to work as  basic midi controller with my previous DAW, but after a few poor starts using Automap I gave up. I don't really need that, to be honest. I will read the material mentioned in this thread. But in advance of that -- is it that difficult to use the Impulse to control basic controllable VST parameters (something on a VSTi which has midi learn; e.g. to control, using the Impulse's knobs, the resonance knob on a soft synth which is designed to be controlled this way)? I'd like to be able to do that without a huge struggle. I don't need the full-blown control of the mixer and transport controls which Automap is designed for.

Midi learn will work, as will ACT - SONAR's own controller app.
 
Midi learn is as simple as it sounds.  Bring it up w/in the synth (right click on a knob, etc.), and turn the non-virtual knob.  And there it is. 
 
@

can this work with sonar 8

MIdi learn does, as does ACT.  Don't know about Novation's software.