Hi All,
 
Completely new to the world of DAWs so my learning curve is going to be steep. I can't figure out why the return signal of a simple kick/snare/hats/crash pattern for 16 bars in clipping at random points during the loop. Is there a known issue using non cakewalk plugins with the step or is it something with the latency setting? there are no other tracks currently recorded so it seems like it shouldnt by my hardware (win10 64 bit, i5, 8gb RAM)
 
Please help :)

A MIDI editing tool like the step sequencer is not likely to cause clipping. It might be helpful to describe your setup a little more fully, starting with the audio interface configuration. Are you using a dedicated audio interface or the internal PC sound chip? Looking in SONAR preferences, what are the driver mode and latency settings. A little more about the audio failure might also help, is the sound distorted or are notes not being played back?

thanks so much getting back.
 
My ASIO is a Focusrite Scarlett 2I2. my sample rate is 16bit at 44.1hz
 
I dont have my comp infront of me to look at the ASIO config. the notes are being played but they're either distorting or "jumping" where I'll only get the second half of the sample. the result is the same whether I'm monitoring through the focusrite OR using the headphone jack directly on the computer

Is it possible that its because the VST manager is showing the 32bit plugin for AD and I have a 64bit os?

If the audio meters aren't going into the red, it might be worth trying this - it may be worth trying anyway...

In advanced MIDI preferences there is a setting for the MIDI preparation buffer. By default it is 250ms. Try increasing it to 500 or even more. That buffer tells Sonar how far ahead to read MIDI tracks to make sure it's ready to play the notes etc. when the now time reaches them. If that buffer overflows then dropped MIDI notes and all kinds of other strange things happen.

The power of the PC concerned seems to make no difference, either the default 250ms buffer works on a particular system or it doesn't. And for some reason the step sequencer in particular seems prone to overflowing the MIDI preparation buffer.

wherewithal
Is it possible that its because the VST manager is showing the 32bit plugin for AD and I have a 64bit os?

I don't think so. The OS does not matter but the host might. You should run the AD designed for your host. IOW, if you are running 64bit SONAR run 64bit AD. There is no reason to run 32bit plug-ins in a 64bit host unless the vendor does not supply a 64bit version in which case it is time to look for a replacements.

Have you compared the velocity values of your SS clips to those that ship with AD?
 
 

AD2 outputs VERY "hot" (aka: loud) for some dagned reason.
 
In the Console View select ALL the active audio output tracks that are accepting signal from AD2 (in Sonar they are called "Instrument" tracks), hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard (QWERTY keyboard that you type with... not your MIDI controller) and turn down the "Gain" knob of one of the track strips (this will be at the very top of the track strips). The gain knobs for all the selected tracks should turn down simultaneously.
 
Alternatively you could do the same thing in the Track View by selecting all the same tracks as before, holding Ctrl and lowering the Gain slider control on one of the track's (you will need to have your "Track Control Filter" set to "Mix" to expose the Gain slider).
 
You could also turn down the volume faders inside AD2 as well so they don't output as "hot" but I usually just use the Gain control in the Console view.
 
If you are expereincing WILD level fluctuations though this would be due to your "Velocity" settings for each Step Sequencer pattern so read up on the Step Sequencer and how to adjust note velocity levels.
 
It could also be you have manged to accidentally insert some kind of Volume/Gain envelope on the track somewhere that is turning the volume/gain up and down in an undesirable fashion... but that probably isn't it.
 
Cheers.

all Awesome suggestions folks, I'll run some tests tonight and check back.
 
many thanks

adjusting the velocity settings did the trick, I also didn't do the best job in preferences setting up the focusrite now that I review it. Thanks so much everybody. I'm sure I'll be back.