I use the synth recording function as well but you have to be aware that the larger your buffer size, the more the timing will be off. If for example I record a straight four to the floor kick drum from Geist with my buffer size at 256k, the resulting waveform is clearly a little off the beat when zoomed in. If I set them to 96k it's right on the mark. I actually spoke to Noel in relation to this because I thought I was going mad, and he told me that you should use a smaller buffer size when recording synths.

SilverBlueMedallion
...when do you guys print your MIDI to audio?  Also, do you keep the original synth/midi in the track but just archived or just delete them completely?...

I bounce or export individual instruments for 3 reasons:

1. Although I don't often max out CPU or RAM, I do have a low limit on the total amount of UAD plugins that can be active within a project at any one time. Hence the need for the occasional bounce.
2. If an instrument is deemed "ready", I don't want to be distracted by having the option of messing with it further.
3. A program with fewer softsynths and effects will launch quicker.

The way I normally do it is as follows. For example, if I want to print the piano softsynth, I start by saving a a copy of the project in the same folder under a name like <original-name>_PIANO and export the piano as a 24-bit WAV. Then I go back to the original project, delete the piano softsynth and import the WAV. If I later decide that I am not happy with the piano sound after all, I can easily go to the <>_PIANO project and alter it and re-export/import.

I use external hardware instruments (as well as VST's) and there the tendency can be to easily leave them alone and not print to audio even right up to the mix but overall I think it is best however to print any external midi parts though.
 
The idea that you may always be wanting to change part is silly in reality.  At some point you have to let the music alone and just mix it anyway.  Opening up midi parts later on say a year later and just having midi tracks present with no information as to what instruments and what sounds were used can also be frustrating.  Even if it is just an idea for example.  If you do this though it is best to include as much information as you can ie what instrument and what patch.  Also try printing just a stereo mix of a bunch of hardware synths too.  It will at least give you a mix and you can hear what the sounds are too.
 
Don't agree with bitflipper about printed audio not sounding the same.  I am just not hearing that ever.  If I print an external synth it sounds excellent and I cannot tell any difference.  As far as printing a VST instruments I am pretty well hearing the same thing too. (certainly in Studio One that is)
 
What can happen with some VST instruments is there may be variations each time you print a part especially off line or fast.  That is what Dave may be hearing, not a sound quality difference.  In those cases it may be best to print these parts in real time which you can now do in Sonar easily.  Some VST's just behave better at real time.  If you really like what a VST does in real time then try printing it that way.  It does not take that long.
 
 

I haven't bounced a synth down in forever. I always use them in real time.
 
However, and maybe one of you guys that knows better than I can comment here....
 
One thing I have noticed is, some of my older projects where I bounced the synths, they literally had a bigger sound size. Meaning, the bigness of the actual sound was like....well, huge. I don't seem to get that these days unless I tweak for "big". Is there something that happens to the sound once we bounce it compared to if we don't?
 
I don't know how it can be possible to have a larger sound size by bouncing....but I know every song where I did this compared to songs where I did not. Anyone know anything about this? Maybe I should start bouncing again. LOL!
 
But I seriously don't have a need to bounce with the power I have in my machines today.
 
-Danny

That is interesting Danny for sure.  Maybe they are just bouncing a little louder and could it be a volume change you are hearing.  The main thing is to match any live synth levels to the bounced level. 
 
Another thing to watch is some software may bounce a virtual instrument with some included effects inserted on that same channel.  Then the bounced audio with effects printed in could be running through the same channel adding in the effects the second time around.  I have seen that happen in some programs.
 
With Studio One there is a transform to audio mode that includes effects but brings the new bounced audio in onto a fresh track with no effects so they playback the same.  The original instrument is then muted so you dont hear both, only the bounced audio.
 
I am hearing the opposite in terms of bouncing.  I am hearing virtually an exact replica of either a hardware synth in my case or a virtual instrument being bounced.  I bounce synths at the ref rms level in my case and then reset the fader on the bounce playback channel for the required balance in the mix.

I'll print synths to audio right before I export each track as a WAV and call my project "closed."  
Then, i give the WAVs to my engineer/producer who helps me mix and master the track.  He and his studio (Soundhouse Studios, Toronto) can work the magic from there.  If i need to go back and reprogram the synth, or "fix" something, I simply open the project back up in Sonar and tweak.  Then re-export to Audio, and send him the updated track.

the good thing about either bouncing down the synths to print,
or freezing in place,
is that you free up the CPU to a degree, and, you have committed the 'sound' of the synth off line, which means the system takes as much time as it needs, to create the audio, and not DURING a bouncedown.
 
i guess i'm just old school that way, but i always want to deal with audio,
versus midi data creating audio on the fly.
 
typically, if i have keys in synth, or i'm working with Superior Drummer,
i leave it midi throughout the 'writing' and arranging stage,
but once i know i like my sounds, and have finished arrangements, i commit.
 
it makes me more cognizant of making decisions, and moving on.
 
leaving it in midi, means you can tweak it forever.
until you die.
 
 
LOL

batsbrew
leaving it in midi, means you can tweak it forever.
until you die.
LOL

*Raises hand from coffin* guilty as charged! Lol!

bitflipper
Another possibility is that a synth or sample library doesn't sound the same after freezing. It's not common but it does happen. There have been times when I didn't realize the problem, until I un-froze a synth for editing only to find that I could not get back to its previous sound. Sample libraries can be prone to this, if you've installed an update or modified an .nki since the original library was frozen. 
 

Especially when you consider round robins. What you freeze may not be what plays the next time it's unfrozen. Then again that could be tru from play to to export, right?

Danny Danzi
I haven't bounced a synth down in forever. I always use them in real time.
 
However, and maybe one of you guys that knows better than I can comment here....
 
One thing I have noticed is, some of my older projects where I bounced the synths, they literally had a bigger sound size. Meaning, the bigness of the actual sound was like....well, huge. I don't seem to get that these days unless I tweak for "big". Is there something that happens to the sound once we bounce it compared to if we don't?
 
I don't know how it can be possible to have a larger sound size by bouncing....but I know every song where I did this compared to songs where I did not. Anyone know anything about this? Maybe I should start bouncing again. LOL!
 
But I seriously don't have a need to bounce with the power I have in my machines today.
 
-Danny

Could this be that when you play back the bounced track, you still have the output from the synth coming through the track as well as the bounced audio? Because this sometimes catches me unawares when I record synths. When I'm done recording it I always play it back to check that it sounds OK. And sometimes I forget to set the input of the track to "none" in order to stop the synth output coming through as well. Result - HUGE sounding synth track!