Is there a known issue with the MIDI engine not seeking back for controller information when starting playback in the middle of a piece? For example, I have the Expression (CC11) of one channel in a song set to 80 at the beginning of the track. However, if I start playback anywhere other than at 1:01:000, I don't always get that Expression value (or so it sounds - the track is noticably louder).
 
I searched for a similar problem but have found none. Any advice? Need more info? Please help!

Do you have midi searchback enabled in preferences?
 
Dan
 

Project | Midi | Other Options - both Zero Controllers When Play Stops and Patch/Controller Searchback Before Play Starts are checked and should be active.
 
Still having the problem. It was working in Sonar X3e, but it's not in Sonar Platinum.

There was along running thread about this a while ago, and I was never able to reproduce a problem where searchback didn't work as expected on playback except in a very unusual case where the MIDI clip had been slip-edited so the clip boundary was earlier than the first event in the clip.
 
It was also discussed that the "shadow" of a controller disappears further into a piece (like 100 measures later) but the effect of the controller searchback is still audible - it's just a display issue.
 
And it was also discussed that searchback is strictly a playback function, and doesn't work when bouncing a section of a track where the selection doesn't include the most recent controller. 
 
I haven't re-checked searchback in Newburyport, so it's possible there's a new issue. What synth are you using, and how consistent is the problem? Do you still have X3 available so you can see if there's a difference with this particular project?
 
At the risk of re-opening a can of worms, here's a link to a summarizing post near the end of that earlier thread: 
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3336197
 
There's a lot of noise in the thread, so you need to read carefully to follow it from the start.

Reproducible sequence was earlier in this thread:   http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3335939
But that was still not the same as for OP.
 
In any case, try to either make one clip from the whole track or put corresponding CC change into the clip you want play separately.

brundlefly
I haven't re-checked searchback in Newburyport, so it's possible there's a new issue. What synth are you using, and how consistent is the problem? Do you still have X3 available so you can see if there's a difference with this particular project?
 
At the risk of re-opening a can of worms, here's a link to a summarizing post near the end of that earlier thread: 
 

 
There's a lot of noise in the thread, so you need to read carefully to follow it from the start.

To answer your first question, I'm using a Roland SC-88 Pro, connected via an MOTU micro lite box to a PC with an Intel CPU. I'm pure General MIDI on this project - no audio, no internal synths.
 
Second question: the problem is consistent in Sonar Platinum, no matter what the track or what clips are involved. The only fix I've found is to disable "Zero Controllers When Play Stops."
 
The thread summary you posted does seem to address this problem, or at least a similar one. I'm still in the dark for a comprehensive fix, however. Hope they fix this in the next release.

I can't reproduce a problem using a hardware UltraProteus synth. I played a section of a clip near the beginning of a project where Modulation (controlling brightness of a piano patch) was 0, then stopped playback (with Zero Controllers enabled), and moved the Now time to a point much later (~measure 300) to play a separate clip with no controllers in it. The modulation jumped to 127 as expected - the value of the last controller in the earlier clip back at Measure 6.
 
I suggest you put a MIDI monitor on the port to see what is or is not being sent.