I'm sure I've said a very bad word here in the Sonar forums, but I need to export a project from Sonar X3e to ProTools...I've recorded this tune in my home project studio, and the artist wants it mixed down by a professional mixer in a real studio.  My understanding is that I need to export in OMF format.  However, my project is now sitting at 172 tracks and counting (yes, really).  About a third of them are archived, but the rest really are all part of the song...it is a layered monster.  To Sonar's credit, it has only started to become marginally unstable once I crossed the 150 track threshold.
 
Here's my problem...exporting to either OMF1 or OMF2 formats fail...OMF1 with a message about an invalid object in the project, OMF2 with a "catastrophic failure" in Sonar...forcing a restart.  And either way, nothing gets exported...the folder that should contain the exported data is empty.
 
This is really going to be an issue if I can't export...we are looking to start work in the mix in the next month or so, and I need to have something for the mixing engineer to look at soon.  Anyone got any suggestions as to what to do to facilitate a clean export that ProTools can handle?

OMFs have a maximum file size. I regularly have to export between DAWs, ProTools included, and while the OMF route sounds nice it's usually more trouble than it's worth. Just export stems. Have a talk with the mixing engineer of the studio and ask which tracks he'd like bussed and which separate and which fx to leave on etc.

If it is an all audio project you can export as Broadcast wavs. Keep in mind any effects that are not applied will not work in the other environment if that person doesn't have the same effects as you.

Just in case all the exporting options have fail...Bounce All the tracks manually and then Drag them out in to a folder... make sure each audio track its rendered in one Clip (1 wave file per track)... From 1:00:000 to the end...(including silences)
remember PT will have no idea how to place disperse clips from other software... so 1 wave fiel per track its the safest way to go
 
This is kind of monumental task but will work for sure...
 
 Note:
Remember to apply any FXs to the clips Before take them to PT,. But i strongly suggest to take  with you RAW audio tracks, with no Fxs as possible
Hope this Helps:)

what is a "stem"

joey90405
what is a "stem"

It's essentially a term used to describe a sub grouping of tracks. Like if you have 2 guitar performances with 3 tracks each (for microphones, effects, whatever) you might/would send them to a "bus" to mix them all together before they go to your Master bus/outputs.
 
If you exported the audio of JUST that bus then you would have created a "Bus Stem Export/File". So the grouping of the tracks is (AFAIK) the "stem" whether you use busses or export them or whatever. It's just a vagueish concept to describe the grouping of those tracks.
 
A common procedure when sending files to other studios is instead of sending every single track in the project you would send them "stems" of all the multi mic'd tracks, effects send tracks, etc so the recipient just receives the entire sound in one file they can mix from there.
 
So a standard "Stem Export" would be an export of a bus receiving all your rhythm guit tracks thus creating one file out of multiple tracks, another for lead guits, another for lead vocals, another for bass, another for drums, etc.
 
This makes things easier/more manageable for the recipient in certain cases.
 
However... yeah, it just means a bunch of track outputs grouped together in whatever way is required.
 
The Master/Main outputs are not considered "stems" really because it's the full mix of everything. Every other grouping could be considered a stem.
 
Hopefully that makes sense.
 
Cheers.

It might also help to visualize your audio track/bus routing as a tree which I believe the term draws it's origins from.
 
As in a tree "stem" that branches off into different directions/comes together at the larger branch/trunk/roots.
 
Of course with the wild way audio can be routed you may end up with some funky lookin' tree in real life. lol
 
So the metaphor only goes so far.

Tell the artist to find a real studio and professional engineer that use Sonar. 
 
 

thank you for clearing that up for me.
jp

Also if you want to transfer tempo and markers you could save the project as midi and import it into PT. Then import the audio files. If you are using virtual instrument that exist both in Sonar and PT you could possibly save settings in it on the Sonar side and load the same in it on the PT side. It is hard to work with the same project in two systems unless you commit the track canges in each system and only move rendered audio files between them.