pwalpwal
ted, tim, some synths add randomised stuff that is different each playback, so there's a use, but if your premise were true generally why do other hosts offer this? (this = recording the synth out into another audio track) cakewalk's previous explanation was to prevent rubbish users creating feedback loops...
Although I understand this is something some people want, it doesn't get in the way of my working with soft synths for the following reasons.
1. If you want to record real-time control tweaks, in most synths any parameter you can tweak in real time is recordable as MIDI or VST automation.
2. If the playback truly does something random, then you won't know whether you like what it does until you hear it do its thing. But that's also the case if you render and listen back. The difference is whether you hear the change being generated in real time, or hear the change being generated in real time after rendering. So the only advantage of real-time recording is it would allow you to decide whether a part was a "keeper" or not right after it played, instead of rendering first and then evaluating.
3. You can always use the external insert to do a physical loopback. It requires going out of the box, but it works.
4. Jack Audio supposedly has a 64-bit version under development so you can do what Soundflower does on the Mac, which is more sophisticated than simply recording an instrument out.
I'm not arguing with anybody who wants it; if you want it, you want it. I just don't think it's a big deal, given there are ways to do what you want to do.