Larry Jones
Right now my concern is that other projects might begin to exhibit this behavior. Have not checked that yet. Thanks to those who tried to help. If I find an answer I'll let the group know.

Well, consider this. I don't ever recall seeing this problem crop up in these forums, or for those of any other software for that matter. So while I can't guarantee this issue is unique to something in your system or way of working, it sure seems to look that way. Therefore, you could run into it again. I think it's worthy of further investigation. All it takes is one misset something somewhere...
 
 

I know this is dead obvious,, but did you ever look at the GAIN level? 

sock monkey
I know this is dead obvious,, but did you ever look at the GAIN level? 

Spencer - Obvious stuff often escapes me, so it's cool. Alas, the gain setting does not change when the volume drops. In fact, NONE of the settings that I can see change. Just the sound.

 
 

Anderton

dcumpian
I've seen weird stuff like this with some Kontakt libraries due to the fact that there are several ways to adjust levels in Kontakt and they can conflict with each other. You might check if you have any other automation in the track by turning on Automation Lanes and see what shows up.
 
Regards,
Dan

He doesn't mention that the tracks were generated with Kontakt, so I assumed they were just regular audio tracks.
 
The reason why I asked about MIDI was that this kind of issue is fairly common if you have controller 7 messages where MIDI reads something like a low level on a fade out, then returns to the beginning but misses a piece of data that resets the level. But he said MIDI wasn't involved in the track. 
 
The next step is to find out what in the virgin track is different from the other track.

I got that, I was really saying to check if there is any other automation on the track that the OP isn't aware of. Guitar Rig is just as complex as Kontakt in it's signal path and automating a parameter for any of the racked modules could cause something like this. Opening the Automation Lanes lets you see all of the automation at once. There might be a surprise in there.
 
Regards,
Dan
 
 

Larry Jones
2.) Why won't the lead guitar track let itself be dragged to a virgin track?

Each track has a dropdown list that allows you to select what you want to edit (the edit filter). If this is set to an automation envelop, then you will not be able to select the clips.

dcumpian
 I got that, I was really saying to check if there is any other automation on the track that the OP isn't aware of. Guitar Rig is just as complex as Kontakt in it's signal path and automating a parameter for any of the racked modules could cause something like this. Opening the Automation Lanes lets you see all of the automation at once. There might be a surprise in there.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Thanks for the followup, Dan. I'll be looking at this later today and tomorrow, and I'll check all possible automation. This issue has turned out to be more widespread and intractable than I first believed. Basically, I am screwed on ALL my work if I don't find a real solution.

js516

Larry Jones
2.) Why won't the lead guitar track let itself be dragged to a virgin track?

Each track has a dropdown list that allows you to select what you want to edit (the edit filter). If this is set to an automation envelop, then you will not be able to select the clips.

Thanks, Joseph! So much I don't know...

Larry Jones
Basically, I am screwed on ALL my work if I don't find a real solution.
 

That's the bad news. The good news is it's probably something simple and once you find the answer, you'll never have to worry about it again.
 
Maybe you could strip it down the basics and post the project on dropbox or something?
Have you tried opening the project in Sonar's "safe" mode (open the problematic file with the Shift key pressed)?

I'm not opening the champagne yet, but I may have discovered the source of the problem. It is -- as a couple of you have suggested -- in Guitar Rig. I should clarify that I'm using Guitar Rig 3, the version bundled with Sonar a while back. Never bought the full version or any upgrades, because 3 seems to be all I need.
 
That said, I found a module nestled out of sight at the bottom of the GR interface labeled "OUTPUT." It has a control labeled "PRESET VOL," with a button next to it labeled "LEARN." I noticed that the preset volume knob TURNS ITSELF ALL THE WAY DOWN WHENEVER I STOP PLAYBACK.
 
I had some trouble embedding this image, but you can click on it to embiggen.
 
I suspected the "learn" function was involved, and when I right-clicked on the volume knob, the dropdown menu included a "Clear" command. So I "cleared" it, whatever that might mean, and now the volume knob stays put when I stop playback or restart the track.
 
I don't recall ever messing with this control, and in fact the module containing it is scrolled off the bottom of the Guitar Rig UI, where I would not ordinarily be looking, however apparently I did something with it while in a trance. I'm cautiously optimistic that this is a real fix, but because of previous false positives I'm not ready to mark this thread "Solved" quite yet. I want to do more testing.
 
But that reminds me -- how do I mark the thread "Solved" when the time comes?


Thanks everybody, for your kind concern.

But you said the problem happened if Guitar Rig is bypassed...

Anderton
But you said the problem happened if Guitar Rig is bypassed...

I forgot I said that, but you're right. In light of what I discovered today I must not have. I apologize for the bad information -- it's hard enough to fix something when you know what's actually wrong, not to mention when a clown like me is feeding you incorrect symptoms. This is one good reason to do more testing. The good news is, if I misled you about that, you're off the hook for not figuring this out. In my defense, Guitar Rig was supplying a lot of gain boost, so when I deleted the plugin I may have thought I was hearing the same problem -- loss of volume. I should have paid closer attention.