Bitflipper makes a nice (and very accurate) comment in the thread posted in #6 above - "A lot of users get frustrated with AS (and V-Vocal, for similar reasons) because they've been suckered by the marketing hype into assuming it's a one-click automated process. Truth is, these tools are editing aids, not magic processes. They require attention to detail - and a lot of practice - to get good results. [...]"
 
Please realize that AudioSnap is a wonderful toolbox, but understanding what each function does, and "feeding it properly" does require some time investment. Quantumeffect's point about "meticulous" is true, as it gives you back what you tell it to do, so there is little leniency with being complacent using it.
 
Out of curiosity, since you are using backing tracks and recording vocals, would it not be easier for you to first listen to the original recording (such as on YouTube) to get familiar with the track?
 
Karl's (FastBikerBoy) video linked is very good (9 hours of material) and most of it is still applicable to X3. He also has some other tutorials posted which are extremely helpful.
 
@Karl - Has the SWA Complete SONAR X2 been chopped up into chapters for folks buying it? I actually did that on my own when I was learning Adobe Premiere Pro, because the resolution of the playback using the slider with Windows Media Player for 9 hours was troublesome (plus I would forget where I left off without writing it down ). I remember asking you this before but completely forget what you said now

mettelus
Karl's (FastBikerBoy) video linked is very good (9 hours of material) and most of it is still applicable to X3. He also has some other tutorials posted which are extremely helpful.
 

 
Thanks. Much appreciated. 
 

 

@Karl - Has the SWA Complete SONAR X2 been chopped up into chapters for folks buying it? I actually did that on my own when I was learning Adobe Premiere Pro, because the resolution of the playback using the slider with Windows Media Player for 9 hours was troublesome (plus I would forget where I left off without writing it down ). I remember asking you this before but completely forget what you said now 

 
I think so but I'm not entirely sure, SWA isn't my site, I author videos for them so I have little control over the end product. I'm sure it was something we'd spoken about and I am fairly certain it was done as well as the resolution improved IIRC.
 
Windows Media Player doesn't seem to read the chapter information very well, VLC is a reasonably good free alternative that can read the chapters for precise location.
 
Chapter detail is available from the link in my signature.

Thanks for that feedback... I never even heard of VLC before (yikes). Unfortunately, I tend to rely on the crap garbage programs that Microsoft just gives us (my error).

mettelus
@Karl - Has the SWA Complete SONAR X2 been chopped up into chapters for folks buying it? I actually did that on my own when I was learning Adobe Premiere Pro, because the resolution of the playback using the slider with Windows Media Player for 9 hours was troublesome (plus I would forget where I left off without writing it down ).

If I remember correctly, when I first bought the video it was one big file and Karl had supplied a link to a chapter list.  The video was then broken up into pieces (a bunch of mp4s) and I just downloaded it again from the Cakewalk store and got the separate files the second time around.  So if you bought it from Cakewalk, you should just have to download it again.
 
See http://forum.cakewalk.com/SWA-X2-Complete-Tutorial-m2799988.aspx
 
[I see that in this thread I mentioned two links in my account, but today I only see one.  I'm not sure what happened with that.]
 
I don't know what the procedure would be from another vendor.
 

I just went back into my store account, and originally purchased the SWA Complete SONAR X2 on 10/19/12. I just downloaded that a second time and the new download it is already separated into the 50 chapters (doh!).
 
Since I hijacked this thread, I should get it back on track a bit... 4 chapters of that video set Karl mentioned (~33 minutes) are devoted to using AudioSnap.

I had one of Bob's "DOH!" moments using AudioSnap this week pulling in an mp3 and synchronizing it to put a soft synth onto it. This is the third time for me now, and proof I am still a fumbling novice with AudioSnap.
 
The step I always seem to miss is when aligning that first beat to a measure, I forget to bounce to clips. After wondering why the pool was "rather odd" skipping this step, I went and reviewed Karl's videos (and this is explicitly stated as an important step about 1/2 way into the second chapter). Third time now, so perhaps I will remember, but the interval between uses makes it easy to forget.
 
Now I am curious of the "mechanics" behind this step? If the BPM is close enough, and that first beat is on a measure (can even "lock" it there with Shift-M), why is this bounce necessary and what exactly is it doing for us?

I don't *know* but I believe any existing transients in the front part of the clip confuse "Audiosnap". I discovered that trick through some (very) frustrating sessions of trial and error with Audiosnap. Remember that when a clip is split or slip edited the underlying clip isn't really affected at all, hence the ability to drag it back out.
 
I believe that the still existing beats cause Audiosnap problems. That's the reason I recommend bouncing to clip first. It has certainly made Audiosnap a lot more reliable for me.
 
The above is of course all personal opinion that seems to make a big difference to success with Audiosnap.
 

mettelus
Thanks for that feedback... I never even heard of VLC before (yikes). Unfortunately, I tend to rely on the crap garbage programs that Microsoft just gives us (my error).

I was KM a player user for awhile. I now use Potplayer. it is as good no better then KM without the ads. VLC is an old standby not as useful. Both KM and PotPlayer give a time line thumbnail for finding the right place. http://potplayer.en.softonic.com/