On with my perpetual quest to make Sonar usable again. My latest "hunch" (if you can even call it that) is that perhaps this settings-destroying problem is somehow related to Sonar's ARA integration. I can't find the post now, but I have some vague memory of Noel saying that an earlier problem related to different plugins losing their settings (Native Instruments synths?) was an issue with ARA, and that a fix was rolled out. However, I'm perhaps only 50-60% sure of this. Maybe someone remembers. 
 
Anyway I'm in the middle of going over my most problematic project with a fine tooth comb to look for stray Melodyne clips. I have dozens of tracks that are archived and hidden, so it's a matter of unhiding them all one by one and checking them. I already found one, and deleting those clips caused Sonar to crash. This is in keeping with lots of stability issues and problems that I've had with Melodyne clips in the past (I logged a few bugs in this area). I don't think Sonar and ARA ever quite "got there" in terms of bugs and stability, so perhaps these clips are continuing to cause problems. I wouldn't have thought that Melodyne clips would affect plugin settings in a million years, but something Noel said stuck in my mind and hey it's worth a try. 

What happens when you do a Mix Recall?

jackson white
What happens when you do a Mix Recall?

I don't know, I don't use Mix Recall. 

sharke I wouldn't have thought that Melodyne clips would affect plugin settings in a million years, but something Noel said stuck in my mind and hey it's worth a try. 

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Waves-92-VST3-plugins-resetting-to-default-settings-after-saving-m2898482.aspx

I've been revisiting old projects lately and have been shocked at how 'sloppy' I was at archiving things.
When a project loads up and it says 'transients being formed' I know I'm in for a surprise ;)
 
My only advice, working forward, could be to make detailed notes of your settings and freezing/bouncing tracks that you're happy with, then archiving the original with fx etc. noted somewhere safe. Process those stray Melodyne fx or drum replacers etc..
I used to take screen grabs of all the settings in fx chains that I was happy with for future reference as I was never sure they would stay the same. I've got gif files in my project folders showing all the fx open on each track. 
 
I know it's time consuming and shouldn't be necessary, but it's not like we have a choice these days!
 
BTW: I find that since Overload unlocked their fx, the Sonar preset fx chains containing their Breverb gets confused and will load with the reverb FX in default, losing any changes you may have made.

Basseman
HI:)
 
These Presets ar saved in:
 

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\ActiveMovie\Presets\

 
I've tested it: 
Typed in a name for the preset, pressed Enter:
-->Not written in the registry yet
 
Saved the Project and Exited Sonar:
-->Not written in the registry yet
 
But after clicking on save it's there in the registrypath for this plugin!
 
So perhaps this is why it cannot be saved for only pressing Enter. 
 
Maybe this is the point, Sharke is loosing his Plugin Settings. He should try to save a preset for all plugins......
 
Bassman.
 

It may well be a Windows version specific issue, as I can't reproduce this on Windows 7 (although I do use a subtly different process):
 
- Insert plug-in to FX bin on track
- Double click in preset name box to make it editable
- Type "Sausages" (without quotes)
- Hit Save icon
- Click preset name drop-down icon
 
"Sausages" is present in the list.
 
Not that there is any need to save a preset for SONAR to remember it: the plug-in's settings are (should be!) saved irrespective of whether a preset has been created for said settings.
 
I don't want to belittle Sharke's problems, but this clearly isn't and never was a widespread issue as it wasn't exactly mentioned much on the forum - I've had it happen myself with specific plug-ins 100% of the time (the plug-ins themselves have the problem as the same issue arises in other hosts), but the case here is almost certainly something "unexpected" about Sharke's projects, environment or plug-in combinations that causes this.

pwalpwal

sharke I wouldn't have thought that Melodyne clips would affect plugin settings in a million years, but something Noel said stuck in my mind and hey it's worth a try. 

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Waves-92-VST3-plugins-resetting-to-default-settings-after-saving-m2898482.aspx

You're obviously a better Googler than me!

KPerry

Basseman
HI:)
 
These Presets ar saved in:
 

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\ActiveMovie\Presets\

 
I've tested it: 
Typed in a name for the preset, pressed Enter:
-->Not written in the registry yet
 
Saved the Project and Exited Sonar:
-->Not written in the registry yet
 
But after clicking on save it's there in the registrypath for this plugin!
 
So perhaps this is why it cannot be saved for only pressing Enter. 
 
Maybe this is the point, Sharke is loosing his Plugin Settings. He should try to save a preset for all plugins......
 
Bassman.
 

It may well be a Windows version specific issue, as I can't reproduce this on Windows 7 (although I do use a subtly different process):
 
- Insert plug-in to FX bin on track
- Double click in preset name box to make it editable
- Type "Sausages" (without quotes)
- Hit Save icon
- Click preset name drop-down icon
 
"Sausages" is present in the list.
 
Not that there is any need to save a preset for SONAR to remember it: the plug-in's settings are (should be!) saved irrespective of whether a preset has been created for said settings.
 
I don't want to belittle Sharke's problems, but this clearly isn't and never was a widespread issue as it wasn't exactly mentioned much on the forum - I've had it happen myself with specific plug-ins 100% of the time (the plug-ins themselves have the problem as the same issue arises in other hosts), but the case here is almost certainly something "unexpected" about Sharke's projects, environment or plug-in combinations that causes this.

I've heard quite a few people say it's happened to them, usually when I brought it up myself though. Makes me wonder why others weren't so vocal about it. It drives me nuts!

I don't think there's anything particularly "out there" about my projects other than the fact that they tend to get very large. Sometimes in the region of 100+ tracks, two or three dozen synths (most turned off after bouncing), a lot of routing (sidechaining, patch points etc), and a LOT of MIDI and automation flying around.

From reading discussions on the Facebook group about how many tracks and plugins people use in their typical projects, it does look like most Sonar users put light or moderate demands on the program - tracking a few traditional instruments and only using a couple of synths if any. The majority of people were saying they never get any higher than 20-30 tracks. I've noticed these problems always happen in large projects that I've been working on for a long time (across multiple Sonar versions/updates) and so I remain convinced that a combination of age, size and complexity are the factors which determine whether or not this bug manifests itself in a project.

MIDI and automation have never been watertight in Sonar and there are a lot of times when this data ends up in places it's not supposed to. I think somewhere along the way, Sonar is firing off a message to these plugins to reset themselves. Like I've said before, someone else on the beta team said they saw it happen with the Quadcurve while they were clicking the playhead to different positions on the timeline, so perhaps it is something which is sent to the plugin while changing the playhead position (which in turn seems like it might have some kind of link to ARA).

I'm sure you're not imagining this :-)  More than annoying, I agree, but if "normal" usage is, as you say, 20-30 tracks, then large projects probably are the exceptional case...

I seem to recall a discussion once in a computer science class regarding the testing for "corner cases" (not obvious) situations, and how important it is to conceive of every possibly combination of variable uses in order to break the program.
 
I am sure there is probably a set of conditions that needs to be tested for that would only arise given the scope of a project that sharke described.  Probably difficult to achieve that exact combination of variables in a testing lab, especially considering that some of the projects have existed, been modified, etc., through several versions of Sonar and/or Windows ...