In all my years of playing keyboards and working with Sonar/Cakewalk for eons, I cannot believe I never ran into this situation before.
 
I just went on a wonderful spending spree at Sweetwater, and a couple of the items I picked up are 2 identical Nektar LX61+ 61-note midi controllers. (I am gearing up for a Genesis tribute project, and wanted to simplify life by spreading things out among 4 controllers instead of only 2).
 
Anyways - Windows sees both of the new controllers, and thinks they are both functioning properly, being class-compliant and all.  In Sonar Preferences, Sonar sees both controllers as available Input devices, (and only a single device as an available Output device - which I don't need, but I thought I would mention what showed up in Preferences).
 
I gave each controller a different 'friendly' name, and checked the box that tells Sonar to use Friendly Names, and also checked the boxes for both controllers in Input Devices, so that they would both be available in projects.
 
When I clicked on Apply to make them available for use in Sonar, a MIDI Device Failure window opens, and it indicates that one of the two devices cannot be enabled, and the explanation listed for that is the following:  
 
"Reason, as reported by Windows - the specified device is already in use"
 
I did some additional attempts, to add one or the other, rather than both, and didn't get either able to be added separately.
 
Does anybody have two identical midi controllers that can see if Sonar would allow them to be enabled as Input Devices?
 
Any ideas for a work-around?  (I'd hate to lose several days waiting for a return/reship of an alternative controller - I have a major rehearsal coming up one week from today).
 
I am running Sonar Platinum x64, with the June release (2017-06).
 
Bob Bone
 

If you had a  USB MIDI multiport it can be done that way. Sonar would only see the ports and not the device.

Could it be related to this? (MIDI port limit in Windows and phantom devices taking them up)
http://www.harmonycentral.com/articles/solving-the-windows-midi-port-problem
 

robert_e_bone
...Any ideas for a work-around?...

 
I would piggyback them. Sonar would then see one single keyboard device (i.e. the one that connects directly to the computer) but would receive MIDI signals from both equally. Set them to different MIDI channels to trigger different softsynths.

Kev999

robert_e_bone
...Any ideas for a work-around?...

 
I would piggyback them. Sonar would then see one single keyboard device (i.e. the one that connects directly to the computer) but would receive MIDI signals from both equally. Set them to different MIDI channels to trigger different softsynths.

I don't think that can work if Sonar sees them coming from the same port. But its worth a shot.

Why not connect the OUT of one to IN of the other. Then the MIDI thru function will then send parts from both. Just have one set to ch 1 and the other to ch 2.

There is no problem with the devices being 'seen' by Windows, or Sonar, or my other stand-alone VST-Hosting software.
 
Both devices are identifying themselves completely identically, and none of the software knows what to do with that.
 
In Sonar, I cannot enable both controllers on the Input Devices side, though both are there in the list.  On the Output Devices side of things (which I do not need anyway, but what I see is interesting), there is only a SINGLE listing, so even within Sonar, the code between those two sections are not even consistent in their displayed info.
 
In my VST-Hosting performance software, Forte (Brainspawn), the software also has both midi controllers available in the MIDI Routing dialog box, and it lets me choose either one of the controllers - to be the device that will trigger notes, and yet no matter which of the two device listings I choose, it is only 1 of the controllers that responds - and it is always the same controller, even if I had selected the other.
 
SOOOOOO - I called the Sweetware technical support folks, and they contacted Nektar on my behalf, and expect a response by Monday.  In the meantime, I also spoke to one of the sales guys, and after reviewing everything, they not only emailed me a pre-paid shipping label to send one of the midi controllers back, and even though I had offered to pay up front for a replacement controller of a different make/model, they instead will be trusting enough in me that come Monday - the earliest day I can actually ship it back to them, as long as they get the tracking information that I have begun the shipping process for the return, they will go ahead and ship the alternate midi controller to me - AHEAD of them receiving my unit back.
 
That is one AMAZING experience - that saves me a couple of VERY critical days, because as I had explained to them, I have a critical rehearsal next Saturday, and need to set up nearly 70 presets, so instead of getting the replacement controller by maybe Friday - instead I will get it on Wednesday.
 
How kewl is THAT?!?!?!?
 
And, the fact that multiple software has issues dealing with the presence of identical controllers leads me to believe it is just something the various manufacturers didn't seem to bother accounting for, in their software development for various midi controllers.
 
Thanks to those who responded - I had looked online for a couple hours early into the whole episode, and hadn't come up with any workable way to resolve the issue, so with the for SURE solution able to happen no later than this Wednesday, I will be able to get everything set up in time for the rehearsal on Saturday.  (running through 14 Genesis tunes, auditioning a drummer and a bass player).
 
WAHOO!
 
Bob Bone
 

its a shame there isn't a way to name one of the devices (Device2) or something. although im guessing with exact midi messages being sent things would get funky, unless there was a way to send each to their own port.

Well - I thought that despite the 'names', Windows actually assigned some sort of numeric designation for each connected midi device - but I guess I might be wrong on that.
 
I thought the software (both Sonar and the VST hosting software) would have simply given each device its own logical name, appended like how you see synths in the synth rack, where you can have multiple instances of Kontakt, and you can see Sonar works with each one separately - Kontakt 1, Kontakt 2, etc., or whatever the exact convention is.
 
Anyways, THAT works, so I thought multiple identical midi controllers would work too.  NOPE.
 
Fortunately, the fine folks at Sweetwater are going to swap out one of the Nektar Impact LX61+ controllers for an M-Audio controller, and I save $20, PLUS they sent a pre-paid shipping label for me.
 
So, all in all, I will be fine.  I am just a bit surprised that this situation has never confronted me before.  Huh.
 
Bob Bone
 

joden
Why not connect the OUT of one to IN of the other.

 
That's what I meant by "piggyback".