A weird problem has occurred with session drummer, I have two session drummer plugins running a linn drum and then an old zep kit. On either one, but moreso on the zep kit one, it will randomly play patterns while the track is playing. Is there any way to fix this? I've tried removing all patterns but it will do it anyway.

It might be a minor glitch. I do remember that if you load some kits they have the loops. Over time I learned to build my own kits from scratch and then the loops were gone. Do they come back when your go to /MIDI/ and choose UNLOAD ALL PATTERNS? 

You might have pattern playback engaged in SD (or it engages when the Transport is in Play).  What I do, whenever I load a kit in SD3, is that I unload all patterns (by right-clicking on the MIDI button and selecting "Unload All Patterns").  That way there is nothing for SD to playback unexpectedly.  It's a pain that every time you load a new kit you also get a set of patterns to go with it.  Wish that would be changed.
 
Kind regards,
 
tecknot

tecknot
 It's a pain that every time you load a new kit you also get a set of patterns to go with it.  Wish that would be changed.

Instead of loading programs, load kits using the Drum drop down. Programs may contain MIDI patterns, kits do not.

scook

tecknot
 It's a pain that every time you load a new kit you also get a set of patterns to go with it.  Wish that would be changed.

Instead of loading programs, load kits using the Drum drop down. Programs may contain MIDI patterns, kits do not.

Thanks for the tip, scook.  I figured that Drum was for individual pieces (and not kits), so I never used it that way.  Cool deal.
 
Kind regards,
 
tecknot

To the OP, unexpected playback could have a couple of causes mostly related to unwanted MIDI input. Double check the instrument/MIDI input drop downs, make sure they are set in a way that will not pick up unwanted data (especially if another plug-in has "Enable MIDI Output" turned on). Having "Always Echo Current MIDI Track" enabled can set inputs to Omni causing tracks to pick up unwanted MIDI data. This data could trigger the drums themselves or MIDI patterns. MIDI notes 24 through 34 control playback of MIDI patterns. A handy feature but can be confusing if triggered by data coming from an unexpected sources.

tecknot
I figured that Drum was for individual pieces (and not kits), so I never used it that way. 

It is for either individual kit pieces or the entire kit. Of course, programs do not have to contain MIDI patterns and the program browser is a little nicer than the Windows picker used for kits. To use the program browser for kits, load or create a kit and save it as a program. It is also possible to unload all patterns and save programs (maybe under different names to keep the factory programs).

Hi Scook, yeah that seems to be the problem, thanks for pointing it out. I'm using a midi keyboard and for some reason Sonar defaults it to my audio drive rather than the controller itself for the input, so I think I'm getting data that way onto the other tracks when I record because it's picking up the midi from them.

I think you are still running X3. At least that is the last version referenced in your posts. When posting questions here it is useful to know which DAW and version, the question is about. Make sure SONAR is updated to X3e (or better still consider upgrading to CbB if running 64bit Windows 7 or newer). There were some issues with a so called "MIDI crosstalk" bug in older versions of SONAR, including older builds of X3. AFAIK, the only time something like this happens since X3e (maybe d) is by design and may be easily avoided.
 
Taking manual control of "input echo" (IOW turning "Always Echo Current MIDI Track" off) prevents tracks from automatically changing their inputs from None to Omni. While not entirely necessary, I find it easier to remember to reset a track input when manually setting "input echo" rather than having to adjust inputs every time an instrument/MIDI track looses focus.
 
Making sure to turn off "Enable MIDI Output" when inserting synths prevents them from sending MIDI data. Not all synths have this feature but for those that do, starting with X3 it is enabled by default. Of course, there are cases when "Enable MIDI Output" needs to be turned on, this is when manual control of "input echo" really comes in handy.