Hi, I'm thinking of using SONAR live to run some backing tracks, run a click to the drummer, control lights, and maybe even play some videos eventually. Anyone doing this successfully that could offer some advice/warnings/tips/etc.?
Thanks!
Kimmie
 
SONAR X3 Prod (x64)
I'll be getting a new laptop for the above described use.

Hi. We do this (and many others meanwhile) ... click track, several playback tracks & changing mixer scenes and FX via Sonar ... no video (yet) ...
 
A few tips:

1. you need a digital mixer that can handle the audio output in a rock solid manner (don't use a regular audio interface)
2. create a Sonar template that fits your exact needs (might be an iterative process)
3. one song = one Sonar project (not all songs in one project)
4. check out the playlist feature in Sonar - that's the key to a flexible setlist (drag and drop to change song order)
5. test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test ... because there are pitfalls that may be very specific to your setup (e.g. we had a hidden MIDI loop problem that crashed the mixer .... it appeared all the sudden and took ages to figure out ... real nightmare)

Have fun :-)

Works for us, running backup tracks, midi outs to hardware synths and processors, and live computer animation cues. (On adventurous days, we plug into the board and actually record performances at the same time, for evaluation later. Just simple stereo.) Everything FFB says above. Also, when you load each project for testing, size it so that it's a bit shorter than the width of the display (size to window and then scrunch it in a bit), so that Sonar doesn't do a hop-scroll just a few bars from the end of the song. We tried Sonar playlist, meh, have better results with a list of projects sorted into a File Explorer window and just down arrow to the next and press enter for each song. When using the laptop in performances, we kill everything on the machine that's not needed, including services like network, Bluetooth, virus, etc. ONLY Sonar and that one file explorer window! We get by with a pretty simple usb audio (an Edirol works fine), because we're generally only playing back. Make sure you have all the song sections markered, just for peace of mind when you glance over at the machine.

I'm thinking of trying to use Sonar and the Playlist for my solo act.
It would be cool if different people who are doing this could add their advice and compare notes. 
 
I use stereo tracks played from Win Amp but I miss the old day's of midi playback which also controlled my effects. Lights would be cool too, never did it but I understand how it works. 
 
Not sure post in #2 what you meant by not using an audio interface? Seems that good solid ASIO drivers would be the ticket. Do you mean not running the vocals through an audio interface? I would agree with that. 
My plan would be 4 audio tracks out from my Tascam us1641 and the midi from the us1641 driving a few devices like my Lexicon effects unit. 

Thanks everyone. I think I'll give it a shot. One thing I forgot about is that I only have a chromebook, so guess I'll have to get a laptop since I'm assuming there's no way to get the Chromebook to run SONAR. Correct? Thanks!

Kicksville's live show is completely built around Sonar. I can go into more details if you want, but basically, all the technical elements you see in this video are driven by Sonar: lights, video, MTC feeds, patch changes for the remote computers (we have 8 onstage), and console automation. The mix you hear is actually the 2-track mix we send to FOH, recorded directly back into Sonar during the show, with no post-processing beyond a limiter to bring the levels up for the video.
 
https://youtu.be/omElhthKQIQ
 
A lot of folks do this, but we've taken it far beyond most.... 70 inputs, 10 stereo monitor mixes, extensive dynamic automation (meaning we don't just change scenes on the console - we're directly controlling things like FX sends, channel EQ, etc.), and a lot more.
 
Some things to keep in mind as you try and implement this kind of thing into your show:
- We have everything laid out in one large Sonar project, so there's no loading files during the show. Some folks use the playlist feature or call up separate files for each song, but for us, one file was a better solution considering lighting changes and video cues happen between songs.
- Don't stress the main computer. The less load you put on a machine, the less likely it is to crash. We have separate machines for each person's rig, running softsynths, VST effects, etc., so the master machine doesn't have to do the heavy lifting.
- Test, test, test, and test again.
- Take the time to carefully prep any playback tracks. Match RMS levels from song to song, and make sure things aren't going to surprise you at the gig. For example, that 808 bass drum that sounds awesome at home may have so much 40Hz that when you play it back on a full PA, you rattle the trusses out of the grid ;-)
- Did I mention testing?
 
I'd be happy to go into more detail about the technical details if you'd like, but it's pretty complicated and involves lots of eye-wateringly dense Excel spreadsheets I can say this though: in 7 years of doing this show, we've never had a single problem with Sonar. Not once. So, there you have it.
 
cheers!

Yo!! Kicksville - great show dude and a brilliant use of Sonar.

Yo!! Kicksville - great show dude and a brilliant use of Sonar.

Cactus Music
I'm thinking of trying to use Sonar and the Playlist for my solo act.
It would be cool if different people who are doing this could add their advice and compare notes. 
 
I use stereo tracks played from Win Amp but I miss the old day's of midi playback which also controlled my effects. Lights would be cool too, never did it but I understand how it works. 
 
Not sure post in #2 what you meant by not using an audio interface? Seems that good solid ASIO drivers would be the ticket. Do you mean not running the vocals through an audio interface? I would agree with that. 
My plan would be 4 audio tracks out from my Tascam us1641 and the midi from the us1641 driving a few devices like my Lexicon effects unit. 

I recommended using a digi mixer instead of a studio audio interface straight away because a fairly similar post recently started a pretty similar discussion (taking sonar to the stage and routing vox and guitars thru it as well) ... mixers are made for the road, audio interfaces probably not ... and once you start mixing vocals and the rest of the band you're out of options with an standard interfaces really quickly ... latency, FX, and other issues come into play and you're definitely better off with just a digi mixer than an audio interface that feeds a mixer ...
 
We first used a single Sonar project, but then switched to "one song = one Sonar project + using Sonar playlist" because the single project approach required too many manual interactions on stage (start, stop, jump to marker ... all achieveable but still a little "too stressful") ... and since our sets change from gig to gig the playlist allows to rearrange on the fly ... it's not perfect but good enough - and we quite like the option that you can select between wait between songs and auto-start after x seconds ... this allows us to do blocks of songs without any interaction with Sonar i.e. we start, play 5 songs, then have Sonar wait for a key press, and then go through the next block of songs ...
 
The Kicksville setup is very impressive - we can all learn a lot from them !!!
 
BTW - did I mention you need to test, test, test and test again ... and you need at least one backup DAW ... remember Murphy's law, dont you???

Sir William
Yo!! Kicksville - great show dude and a brilliant use of Sonar.

Thanks, man!