Sonar 7: First Impressions / Bug Report

ORIGINAL: Gerry

After importing a project into sonar 7 which was originaly recorded in Sonar 6, 7 failed to accept the VC 64 plug ins on that project. it loaded the project and although the VC 64 could be seen it the FX box it could not be opened and even stranger it willl not allow me to open the plug in manager to rescan it.

I'm now going for a reboot, anyone else had this problem. I won't report it yet just in case I am quietly going mad.

Most strange on the reboot the VC 64 is showing as being a missing plug in and the Plug In Manager has still dissappeared. **** why did I remove 6, OK any ideas you folks?

Did you remove 6 after 7? Perhaps reinstalling 7 on top of itself might cure it.

ORIGINAL: cbarrett1974

ORIGINAL: Gerry

After importing a project into sonar 7 which was originaly recorded in Sonar 6, 7 failed to accept the VC 64 plug ins on that project. it loaded the project and although the VC 64 could be seen it the FX box it could not be opened and even stranger it willl not allow me to open the plug in manager to rescan it.

I'm now going for a reboot, anyone else had this problem. I won't report it yet just in case I am quietly going mad.

Most strange on the reboot the VC 64 is showing as being a missing plug in and the Plug In Manager has still dissappeared. **** why did I remove 6, OK any ideas you folks?

Did you remove 6 after 7? Perhaps reinstalling 7 on top of itself might cure it.

Yes once 7 appeared to be working correctly I decided to uninstall 6. I'm having a clear out at the moment and have unistalled 7. Hoping a completely clean reinstall will sort it out. When uninstalling 6 I gave a yes to all with removing associated files and I suspect that may well have been my error. Old age and a general PC dimness is most probably responsible.

Gerry

you can install certain programs like plug ins on their own. Maybe change the registry path a bit a see if that works.

ORIGINAL: Dappa1

you can install certain programs like plug ins on their own. Maybe change the registry path a bit a see if that works.

Thanks friends clearly pilot error LOL Working perfectly after uninstalling, clearing out the shared plug in folders and a clean reinstall.

Thanks

ORIGINAL: cbarrett1974

The wierdest thing is happening now after installing Sonar 7 PE on Vista (32 bit).

The GUI's in DimPro, DimLE, SD2 and DropZone are no longer giving real-time feedback in the controls.
For example turning a pot does not visually change until the mouse is released. The tooltip that appears above the control does give feedback however, as does moving the control with a control surface.
Rapture, RaptureLE and other instruments are all OK.

I decided to keep both Sonar 6 and 7 on my XP and Vista x64 partitions, but wanted a fresh install on Vista 32. I uninstalled Sonar 6, removed shared folders and registry keys, then installed 7, and the problem appeared.
On Vista 32, I had no problems previously with DimPro or SD2.

It seems Sonar 7 has possibly updated some shared library somewhere. The problem also occurs if I use these instruments in another host (I tried them in Kore, and in Plogue Bidule).

Looks like a return to XP for now. Any ideas / similar problems anyone?

lickle bump...

ORIGINAL: cbarrett1974

The wierdest thing is happening now after installing Sonar 7 PE on Vista (32 bit).

The GUI's in DimPro, DimLE, SD2 and DropZone are no longer giving real-time feedback in the controls.
For example turning a pot does not visually change until the mouse is released. The tooltip that appears above the control does give feedback however, as does moving the control with a control surface.
Rapture, RaptureLE and other instruments are all OK.

I decided to keep both Sonar 6 and 7 on my XP and Vista x64 partitions, but wanted a fresh install on Vista 32. I uninstalled Sonar 6, removed shared folders and registry keys, then installed 7, and the problem appeared.
On Vista 32, I had no problems previously with DimPro or SD2.

It seems Sonar 7 has possibly updated some shared library somewhere. The problem also occurs if I use these instruments in another host (I tried them in Kore, and in Plogue Bidule).

Looks like a return to XP for now. Any ideas / similar problems anyone?

I just installed Sonar 7 on a different PC with a completely clean install of Vista (32 bit) and I got exactly the same issue (with DimLE, DropZone and SessionDrummer2)!
Can anyone with S7 on Vista32 confirm this bug?

You probably just did with that clean install. I would like to help youo but I cannot until much later tonight. Hopefully, someone else will have come through for you by then.

I have enough time now with V7 to state that the popping and clicking associated with multi-processor support has been corrected. I've done a recording session and 6 hours of mixing work. Not a single pop or click. If you're a veteran of this problem and waiting to buy V7, I say go for it.

I did, however, notice a couple of other nagging problems that weren't resolved:

1) that annoying motorboating noise (it's an extremely annoying noise that sounds like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber making the most annoying noise in the world). Still random. Still there.
2) the black screen of death that appears every time you open V-Vocal.

Whatever - not show stoppers. Happy just to be able to take advantage of the MP thingy now.

On another note, I sent a quick email to Noel about the bus solo bug. Noel originally could not reproduce it but has now confirmed it and a fix is in the works. He mentioned the bug was a result of changes made for the the new solo dim mode feature. I'm looking forward to the fix because I can then start using S7 completely for mixing.

Eric

Larry,

What is this motorboat noise you are talking about? I've never experienced something like that with 5, 6 or 7.

Eric

ORIGINAL: Hansenhaus

You probably just did with that clean install. I would like to help youo but I cannot until much later tonight. Hopefully, someone else will have come through for you by then.

Yes, you're right! I'll file a problem request with Cakewalk...

I noticed this bug last night. I have a MIDI drum track whose input selection always comes up Omni when I load the project. I change it to None and all's well until the next time I load the project, at which time it's back to Omni. My workaround is to set the input to an unused channel, since the problem only occurs when the input is set to None.

I had a bit of a lagging problem also last night, and discovered that it was due to inputs on the tracks; they were set to my GS-10 which has both input and output audio/midi, and I am using it as a sound card for now..... (I would also hear a sound like a chord when I pressed any of the Mute/Solo buttons...)

When I set all the inputs to "none" (that I could), the problems went away... I don't know why that is true, but there it is (was)............

Chuck

But, anywho, what you have described while using the Step Sequencer is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't recall using 3rd party plugins while I tested it so I will try it once more to confirm this. On top of the weird "lagging, inconsistent glitching, timing issues" you describe I've also experienced Dropouts in some ocations. I think this was even at 512 buffers and my CPU meter in Task Manager was hovering at 60%, even though Sonar was only reporting around 15% CPU usage on each core. It's kinda like the Audio is behind what I see beeing displayed...very wierd.

I had

ORIGINAL: Hansenhaus

Larry,

What is this motoboat noise you are talking about? I've never experienced something like that with 5, 6 or 7.

Eric

My rig does it too, SPE 6.2.1. Pressing play occasionally results in audio suttering loudly and repeatedly, most often with clients present. :)

You'd definitely know it if your system was so inflicted.

ORIGINAL: krizrox

I have enough time now with V7 to state that the popping and clicking associated with multi-processor support has been corrected. I've done a recording session and 6 hours of mixing work. Not a single pop or click. If you're a veteran of this problem and waiting to buy V7, I say go for it.

I did, however, notice a couple of other nagging problems that weren't resolved:

1) that annoying motorboating noise (it's an extremely annoying noise that sounds like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber making the most annoying noise in the world). Still random. Still there.
2) the black screen of death that appears every time you open V-Vocal.

Whatever - not show stoppers. Happy just to be able to take advantage of the MP thingy now.

Hey Larry,

I can't say I have experienced either of these bugs. No motorboating noise nor Black SOD when opening V-Vocal but what I have experience though is a new White SOD when openning S7. Have you or anyone seen this?

Thanks!

ORIGINAL: Hansenhaus

On another note, I sent a quick email to Noel about the bus solo bug. Noel originally could not reproduce it but has now confirmed it and a fix is in the works. He mentioned the bug was a result of changes made for the the new solo dim mode feature. I'm looking forward to the fix because I can then start using S7 completely for mixing.

Eric

Eric,

Thanks so much for this info. These are good news.

(P.S. And here I thought it was due to Side Chaining ).

Take care!

ORIGINAL: BuleriaChk

I had a bit of a lagging problem also last night, and discovered that it was due to inputs on the tracks; they were set to my GS-10 which has both input and output audio/midi, and I am using it as a sound card for now..... (I would also hear a sound like a chord when I pressed any of the Mute/Solo buttons...)

When I set all the inputs to "none" (that I could), the problems went away... I don't know why that is true, but there it is (was)............

Chuck

But, anywho, what you have described while using the Step Sequencer is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't recall using 3rd party plugins while I tested it so I will try it once more to confirm this. On top of the weird "lagging, inconsistent glitching, timing issues" you describe I've also experienced Dropouts in some ocations. I think this was even at 512 buffers and my CPU meter in Task Manager was hovering at 60%, even though Sonar was only reporting around 15% CPU usage on each core. It's kinda like the Audio is behind what I see beeing displayed...very wierd.

I had

Chuck,

I'm not sure if I'm following you correctly but are you saying that the lagging went away by merely selecting "none" on all Track inputs? Is this with the Step Sequencer or with Sonar in general?

Thanks in advanced!

Jose,

I've seen the white screen of death when loading Sonar too. I attributed that to Sonar just loading into memory or scanning plugins. It's doesn't last very long and only happens to me when I load Sonar for the first time since booting my system. Once Sonar has been opened and closed, it will start up much faster. I didn't suspect it was a bug or a problem.

Eric

ORIGINAL: Hansenhaus

Jose,

I've seen the white screen of death when loading Sonar too. I attributed that to Sonar just loading into memory or scanning plugins. It's doesn't last very long and only happens to me when I load Sonar for the first time since booting my system. Once Sonar has been opened and closed, it will start up much faster. I didn't suspect it was a bug or a problem.

Eric

You might be right about this too. I just tried it again and it only happens when first opening Sonar after booting. The white screen doesn't show up again after that. It happens very quickly, but it's there. I didn't think it was a bug either but I thought it was strange. Anyways, thanks for confirming this.

Take care!

Jose, I didn't "feel" any extra usage or see it in the sonar meters (though I'm sure you expected that). I didn't realize I was to be looking at the system CPU meter. I'll try to check it out in the next day or two to add my vote, but it seems like pretty much everyone who has looked has seen the same thing as you.

I have a potential bug, not sure but here goes.

The Sequencer does not always become available but is greyed out even after highlighting the midi track. The only work around is to run View, Piano Roll. Then the button for opening the sequencer becomes available.

ORIGINAL: Middleman

I have a potential bug, not sure but here goes.

The Sequencer does not always become available but is greyed out even after highlighting the midi track. The only work around is to run View, Piano Roll. Then the button for opening the sequencer becomes available.

I'm gonna check this tomorrow cause I'm super tired right now. But, as far as I can remember, merely selecting a MIDI track enabled the Step Sequencer icon for me. Hopefully someone else can verify this.

Take care!

ORIGINAL: krizrox

I have enough time now with V7 to state that the popping and clicking associated with multi-processor support has been corrected. I've done a recording session and 6 hours of mixing work. Not a single pop or click. If you're a veteran of this problem and waiting to buy V7, I say go for it.

I did, however, notice a couple of other nagging problems that weren't resolved:

1) that annoying motorboating noise (it's an extremely annoying noise that sounds like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber making the most annoying noise in the world). Still random. Still there.
2) the black screen of death that appears every time you open V-Vocal.

Whatever - not show stoppers. Happy just to be able to take advantage of the MP thingy now.

I wish someone to would have a clue about this "motorboating noise" and how to resolve it. I have it too Larry and it drives me freaking nuts. I can reproduce it by simply opening a project and playing an audio track for the first time. After that it seems to occur randomly.

What hardware? From your description it seems like it would be driver related. A noise like that can happen when the driver is continuously repeating a buffer of audio rather than streaming the audio we send to it.

Middleman,

I did a little bit of experimenting and here's what I've found:


- Selecting an empty MIDI track enables the Step Sequencer on that track.

- Selecting a MIDI track with MIDI data in it does NOT enable the Step Sequencer when in Tack View but it does in PRV (probably what you're seeing).

- If MIDI data exists in the MIDI track you have to right-click and choose "Convert MIDI clip(s) to Step Sequencer" from the menu to be able to use the Step Sequencer.

- To return a Step Sequencer clip to a MIDI clip you have to use the "Bounce to Clip(s)" command.


This is the way it should be or else you end up with inconsistencies. For example, double-clicking a MIDI clip opens the PRV but doing the same to a Step Sequencer clip will open the Step Sequencer. So it makes sense that SS in enabled when viewing a MIDI clip in PRV and not in Track View. If SS was automatically enabled for a MIDI clip in the Track View then double-clicking on it wouldn't let you go to PRV, instead you would always be going into the SS view, you know what I'm saying?

I hope this helps.

Here's a breakdown of my system specs:

Intel DG965RY Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, 1066 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache, LGA775 socket
XFX GeForce 7300 GT Video Card w/512MB RAM (PCIe)
2) Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA drives
Pioneer DVR-212 SATA DVD/CD burner
2GB Crucial Technologies DDR2-800 RAM PC2-6400
Creamware Scope Pro soundcard (IDE)
Creamware Pulsar XTC soundcard (IDE)
Zalman CNPS9500 AT CPU cooler
WinXP Pro - with a number of audio tweaks for better performance

The two Creamware soundcards occupy two IDE slots inside the computer and are linked together via Creamware's STDM cables (it appears as one large set of DSP resources to the Scope software). The two cards do not share any IRQ assingments with other mobo peripherals.

This problem popped up in V5 (I think) but I don't remember now. For sure it was happening in V6. It's very random. Like I said before, if there is a constant, it's that it normally happens when I am doing a lot of clip editing (zooming in and out, slip editing ends of clips, etc.). Never during recording. Only during playback. Stopping playback and starting it again makes the problem go away. It has nothing to do with the size of the project as far as I can tell. Nothing to do with 16 bit vs 24 bit. I am using Creamware's ASIO drivers. Little or no Cakewalk VST plug-ins (I don't usually use VST plug-ins because I use Creamware's Scope devices almost exclusively). No MIDI. No synths. Just audio. Pretty much like a tape deck. Hope this helps. Thanks!

ORIGINAL: dbmusic

ORIGINAL: krizrox

I have enough time now with V7 to state that the popping and clicking associated with multi-processor support has been corrected. I've done a recording session and 6 hours of mixing work. Not a single pop or click. If you're a veteran of this problem and waiting to buy V7, I say go for it.

I did, however, notice a couple of other nagging problems that weren't resolved:

1) that annoying motorboating noise (it's an extremely annoying noise that sounds like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber making the most annoying noise in the world). Still random. Still there.
2) the black screen of death that appears every time you open V-Vocal.

Whatever - not show stoppers. Happy just to be able to take advantage of the MP thingy now.

I wish someone to would have a clue about this "motorboating noise" and how to resolve it. I have it too Larry and it drives me freaking nuts. I can reproduce it by simply opening a project and playing an audio track for the first time. After that it seems to occur randomly.

do you have read/write caching (or buffering) turned on? if so try turning it off. i forget exactly where the setting is, somewhere in audio preferences. if the number is too low i used to get that sound. I don't even have them checked anymore.

I have to check but I think I do have caching turned on. I'll have to look and report back but it seems to me my system didn't work well with it turned off. But thanks for the suggestion I will try it and see what happens and respond back.

ORIGINAL: krizrox

I have to check but I think I do have caching turned on. I'll have to look and report back but it seems to me my system didn't work well with it turned off. But thanks for the suggestion I will try it and see what happens and respond back.

Larry,

I would turn caching OFF in Options>Audio>Advanced Tab like suggested by Duojet. Let the Barracudas handle that. To do this:

- Go to Device Manager and click the plus sign next to "Disk drives".

- Right-click on one of them and select "Properties".

- Click on the "Policies" Tab and select "Enable write caching on the disk".

- Click "OK" and repeat on the other one.


HTH.

Jose -

Another vote in the "my cpu usage in task manager rises dramatically with SS GUI open". Seems like some sort of system level gui update function or something. Another sort of related on I see is if you leave the mouse hovering over a pad or something in SessionDrummer2 while a pattern is playing, the animations for the patterns are stopped. It's no big deal (though a little wierd unless you just keep yoiur mouse out of that gui or simply don't care about the animations of the drums being hit), but it seems to be linked to the same sort of "I'm too busy for you right now" issue. I haven't checked the CPU usage when this occurs.

Blades,

Thanks for confirming this. It is a very strange behaviour as it only happens when the SS view is open. I've also noticed that the TM shows increased CPU levels on the first core while the other one remains the same.

I tried to emulate what you have described about the pads in SD2 but I haven't been able to reproduce it. Everything seems to be working even when I have both the SS and SD2 views opened. Either way make sure you mention that when filling out the error report form. Thanks again.

Take care!

Okay, here's mine:

This is one bug I'm in the middle of crushing - been around since Sonar6.

Names missing from Plugin Menus!

I'm not sure when it began to rear it's ugly head, but sometime last year certain VST plugins just wouldn't show up in any Plugin Manager menu, no matter what I did. I first noticed with microTonic, a plug I use a lot. I can see it in the list of installed VSTs, and it's in the menu editor. But where it counts it just doesn't show up. Oatmeal & V-Station are two others I know of off the top of my head that have gone MIA. I can get to some through track templates (yea for remembering to create them), but I can't figure out how to get V-Station into a Sonar Project.

I was hoping 7 would be the magic number and it would all be good. Nope.

In frustration, I ripped all my versions of Sonar off the computer, along with a whole lot of old software. Old Project 5. Gone. I didn't touch my plugins too much, including Dimension Pro and Rapture, but all those versions of Sonar I had going back to version 2 - outta there. I washed the registry several times with two different registry cleaners, including by hand. I was careful but thorough. But no luck.

So today I'm thinking of strategies to clean out my plugin folder. Granted, there's a lot of detritus in there. I'm pretty good at deleting what I don't want, but there's freebies I thought were cool, mag-ware I might have used once or twice, some of the lesser SynthEdit creations. I'm going to whittle it down to just the commercial plugins and the free/donation-ware I know works and use a lot. I guess I'll create a 2nd vst foler that sits right next to the current where I'll move most of this stuff, so I can still use it in other programs; perhaps bring it into Sonar with eXT as a plugin. I also think I'm going to toss any overall folder structure ("c:\program files\audio_plugins\instruments\samplers\..") and go with just splitting them up by developer and project ("c:\program files\audio_plugins\u-he\zebra2\..").

If anyone knows where exactly in the registry I could look to see what's not show up that would be great. I'm hesitating going back to a completely blank slate because there is so much work involved in reinstalling all my plugins - all those multi-disc sets! Oy.

Jose7822,


Thanks for clearing that up. The experience is a little confusing but apparently consistent regrading the sequencer becoming available.

ORIGINAL: Duojet

ORIGINAL: dbmusic

ORIGINAL: krizrox

I have enough time now with V7 to state that the popping and clicking associated with multi-processor support has been corrected. I've done a recording session and 6 hours of mixing work. Not a single pop or click. If you're a veteran of this problem and waiting to buy V7, I say go for it.

I did, however, notice a couple of other nagging problems that weren't resolved:

1) that annoying motorboating noise (it's an extremely annoying noise that sounds like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber making the most annoying noise in the world). Still random. Still there.
2) the black screen of death that appears every time you open V-Vocal.

Whatever - not show stoppers. Happy just to be able to take advantage of the MP thingy now.

I wish someone to would have a clue about this "motorboating noise" and how to resolve it. I have it too Larry and it drives me freaking nuts. I can reproduce it by simply opening a project and playing an audio track for the first time. After that it seems to occur randomly.

do you have read/write caching (or buffering) turned on? if so try turning it off. i forget exactly where the setting is, somewhere in audio preferences. if the number is too low i used to get that sound. I don't even have them checked anymore.

I checked to be sure - read/write caching is disabled. I've never enabled read/write caching ever. One time I think I tried it but it made things worse so I left it off. Thanks for the suggestion though.

ORIGINAL: Middleman

Jose7822,


Thanks for clearing that up. The experience is a little confusing but apparently consistent regrading the sequencer becoming available.

Yes, it seemed weird to me too at first but, after further study, it does make sense. I'm glad I could help.

Take care!

ORIGINAL: Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]

What hardware? From your description it seems like it would be driver related. A noise like that can happen when the driver is continuously repeating a buffer of audio rather than streaming the audio we send to it.

Lynx 2-A here, Noel. Larry is using the Creamware Scope, I believe.

A new annoyance of sorts...

exporting tracks in V7 poses a new set of problems.

There is a dialog box that pops up now which contains a number of extra encoding options. Which I guess is important for some people. Not for me. I tried clicking on the help button and I got an error message indicating "fails to launch help". That button doesn't work.

Apparently there is no way to configure a default setting for all files. If I export two dozen tracks (or whatever number), I have to manually select an encoding option for each track of audio that is being exported. I can't imagine what would happen if I had to export 80 or 90 tracks. YUCK!!!! Please fix this. If I missed a default setting somewhere - sorry - no reference to one in the user manual.

And one last comment for today - regards the CD burning option - anyone thinking this is going to replace CD Architect or Nero or Pyro or whatever other CD burning software you already have is mistaken. I really have to question the thought process that goes on with new features sometimes. What is the point of this one? I would jump for joy if this was something on par with Samplitude or CD Arc or whatever but this thing is just a small innocuous utility that only allows you to select 16 bit WAV files and then burn to a CD with no other options of any sort to speak of. I'm just curious - how many people will find this useful? It's a strange thing to add to a Pro-sumer application if you ask me. Rant over - have a nice weekend y'all

Motoboating appered in my rig with V6. Haven't yet heard it in 7.

Regarding the cd burner, I can imagine it would be useful for one offs after a session. It's not meant to replace a standalone burning app.

Lately, we've been emailing more MP3s than burning CDs, though.

ORIGINAL: stratton

Regarding the cd burner, I can imagine it would be useful for one offs after a session. It's not meant to replace a standalone burning app.

Lately, we've been emailing more MP3s than burning CDs, though.

I guess that makes sense - if you're working at 16 bit (which I know a lot of people are). I'm working exlusively at 24 bit and would have to dither down (as a separate process) in order for this utility to work. Bundling Pyro would have made more sense if you ask me. Whatever. I'll stick to Sam Pro for my mastering needs. No biggy.

Agreed about the MP3 thing - same here. CD's are slowly but steadily becoming a thing of the past. Many of my clients prefer to have MP3's so they can post to MySpace or whatever.

Larry,

I've checked on this but haven't found anything out of the ordinary. For one I'm able to click on the "Help" button and see the help file pop up as usual. I've also just exported one of my projects using "Tracks" as the Source Category and "Wave" as the File Type. After clicking "OK" it just showed me a window with a list of all the files that were gonna be created and the option to proceed or to cancel the operation. It exported as usual. I was not prompted to select these options on each individual track....unless I'm missing something....everything seems OK.

The CD burning feature is useful when you want to import tracks into Sonar from a CD for mastering. It's just easier to do this from within Sonar than to have to use a 3rd party plug. To me this would be the main reason why it would be convenient to have it in Sonar but I'm sure there are other reasons too.

Take care!

ORIGINAL: Jose7822

Larry,

I've checked on this but haven't found anything out of the ordinary. For one I'm able to click on the "Help" button and see the help file pop up as usual. I've also just exported one of my projects using "Tracks" as the Source Category and "Wave" as the File Type. After clicking "OK" it just showed me a window with a list of all the files that were gonna be created and the option to proceed or to cancel the operation. It exported as usual. I was not prompted to select these options on each individual track....unless I'm missing something....everything seems OK.

The CD burning feature is useful when you want to import tracks into Sonar from a CD for mastering. It's just easier to do this from within Sonar than to have to use a 3rd party plug. To me this would be the main reason why it would be convenient to have it in Sonar but I'm sure there are other reasons too.

Take care!

Sorry - my bad - I see now what I was doing wrong. A clear case of operator error and learning curve. I had to go back and reinvestigate to make sure I was doing this correctly. Thanks for setting me straight

I agree the CD audio import feature is very useful (actually, if you stop and think about it, it's amazing it took this long to implement that feature) - but the CD burning thing - ehh.. maybe. I guess if you're still working at 16 bit this might be an ok feature.

Larry,

I think I saw what you're talking about. It's a small windows that asks you for a Sub Format with extra encoding options, right? This window shows up when choosing WAV (microsoft) or AIFF (Apple/SGI). I haven't tried with other formats though. Try using the one named "Wave" instead. This one didn't show the extra window I think you're refering to.

HTH

I haven't touched Audio in S7PE yet - have been concentrating on midi which the step sequencer is responsible for. Have not noticed CPU hogging with the SSV gui and I only have a 2Ghz Athlon XP with 512MB ram - purely single core!

I have noticed some graphical artifacts - particularly the midi key/drum maps pane in the piano roll being out of alignment with the edit pane - especially after executing a "fit content". Since Sonar 1 I have always had the odd graphical glitch - odd lines in waveform views, mysterious blocks in the piano roll, missing grid lines etc. I can live with these because I suspect the program is giving a low priority to the graphics in favour of audio functions - but I can imagine some people not being impressed with the program for this.

SS2 seem particular about the midi clips (of mine, originally created in the synths midi track) I load it with, haven't sussed this one at all - I can get it playing the notes completely out of order and a 4bar (16beats) clip only lasting 3 bars while a 1bar clip created in the prv (4beats) in a seperate track plays perfectly.
The SS2 drum map was inexplicably set to point to one of my midi ports instead of SS2!

ORIGINAL: jim y

I haven't touched Audio in S7PE yet - have been concentrating on midi which the step sequencer is responsible for. Have not noticed CPU hogging with the SSV gui and I only have a 2Ghz Athlon XP with 512MB ram - purely single core!

I have noticed some graphical artifacts - particularly the midi key/drum maps pane in the piano roll being out of alignment with the edit pane - especially after executing a "fit content". Since Sonar 1 I have always had the odd graphical glitch - odd lines in waveform views, mysterious blocks in the piano roll, missing grid lines etc. I can live with these because I suspect the program is giving a low priority to the graphics in favour of audio functions - but I can imagine some people not being impressed with the program for this.

SS2 seem particular about the midi clips (of mine, originally created in the synths midi track) I load it with, haven't sussed this one at all - I can get it playing the notes completely out of order and a 4bar (16beats) clip only lasting 3 bars while a 1bar clip created in the prv (4beats) in a seperate track plays perfectly.
The SS2 drum map was inexplicably set to point to one of my midi ports instead of SS2!

You have to monitor the CPU usage from the Task Manager (Crtl+Alt+Delete) NOT Sonar. Sonar doesn't report this.

ORIGINAL: Jose7822

Larry,

I think I saw what you're talking about. It's a small windows that asks you for a Sub Format with extra encoding options, right? This window shows up when choosing WAV (microsoft) or AIFF (Apple/SGI). I haven't tried with other formats though. Try using the one named "Wave" instead. This one didn't show the extra window I think you're refering to.

HTH

Right - that small window that popped up confused me. I found the workaround. Thanks!

Hey, just want to report back that you can write my "bug" off as, well, pilot error, or "How it was time to clean out my plugin folder."

Everything that I want is apparently showing. I may have to reinstall a few things after the house cleaning, but not a major overhaul. There's some weird ghost entries that I want to track down but they're not getting in the way per se.

So yeah, thumbs up.

Clean up your plugins, kids.

Any thoughts on where specifically I should target in the registry to remove entries that just shouldn't be there?

Hello
I just upgraded from V5 to V7 2 days ago.
I like the look of the interface better now. What I did is uninstall V5 (Sonar Uninstaller), and then install V7. So far everything seems fine except when recording Audio.

As soon as I enable Input Echo I get a Buzzy Distorted sound and if I record just a bit then dropout. Without Input Echo enabled all is fine but no plug-in FX.
This was not the case in V5. I have checked and double checked all my audio and global settings but cannot solve this issue. I am wondering now if I need a new driver or a re-install of the current driver for my RME Fireface to go along with V7? Any thoughts greatly appreciated...

Puffer,

I'm glad you got it worked out. Thanks for letting us know .


The Goose,

Are you using the latest driver for the Fireface? Which plugin are you trying to record with?

Some first impressions.

The GOODS:
The Sonitus fx are now available outside of Sonar - I think that's new, and it's great because the gate especially is cool.

In general I love how many of the Sonar extras are included as VST and dx. Some other software does not do this, and it makes me super glad to upgrade Sonar knowing that I'll have 4 new synths and 4 new effects (or however many) to use anywhere I want.

I like the linear phase EQ - I read in a great review in TapeOp of a different LP EQ that it was like simply changing the sound of the audio, it doesn't sound like eq'ing it. This one does that thing, I think.

The flash publisher thing looks cool, and if it works it will be cool. The midi improvements are big.

The BADS:
The new buttons are dark when not applicable, I suppose to make the screen less "busy", since apparently people complain about Sonar in that respect. I never found it busy, but not being able to see the buttons is bothersome, and I don't believe this is accessible in the color options.

The new buttons are also larger than the old ones - less screen for tracks etc.

The external effect plug doesn't report the same delay for the same chain on my system (RME Multiface II). That seems wrong, and in my experience the frozen track was off by enough to matter (ie more than, say 5 samples or so, I guess - is that asking too much? maybe). It does make conceptualizing the process of patching a box into the daw simpler though, and it saves the extra track real estate.

Update on the buss soloing bug -

I got another email from Noel saying the bus soloing bug has been fixed but no time table given on a patch release.

Eric

ORIGINAL: brian brock

The new buttons are dark when not applicable, I suppose to make the screen less "busy", since apparently people complain about Sonar in that respect. I never found it busy, but not being able to see the buttons is bothersome, and I don't believe this is accessible in the color options.

The new buttons are also larger than the old ones - less screen for tracks etc.

Since you brought it up - I didn't want to be the first one to complain about this because in the scheme of things, it's not that important - but I agree. There's something odd about those new buttons. They are hard to see because of the darkness or the change in appearance (even with a 20" monitor). They have more of a 3D effect now and I think that's what makes them kind of hard to see. In terms of the size, I don't see it as an issue per se but the appearance... not a big fan of the new buttons. Here's another case where they could have left that alone and devoted time to other things. I still say that area above the track pane looks funny and unfinished. It's been like that for years now. Throwing a clock in there helped but it still needs some attention if you ask me. Whatever. Not a show stopper.

ORIGINAL: brian brock




The external effect plug doesn't report the same delay for the same chain on my system (RME Multiface II). That seems wrong, and in my experience the frozen track was off by enough to matter (ie more than, say 5 samples or so, I guess - is that asking too much? maybe).

Yes, you're asking for too much. By the way, you can further tweak that to make it sample perfect if that bothers you .


Peace!

Hello,I upgraded from 5 to 7. I like the look and feel of 7. I used the Sonar 5 uninstaller program before installing 7. In Sonar 5, my system was stable and perfect.

Now with Sonar 7, I am noticing that MIDI is studdering and clicking and poping but in a manner that has me questioning my sanity. In 5 the same files sounded perfect. In 7 there are artifacts clicks and pops here and there. Also clicking on a dropdown window or control while in play may cause an artifact of sound to click also where I did not have this problem before. When midi track plays through right at the end there will be a click or crackle as the Midi track ends and that is annoying.

Also, recording audio is a problem. Electric guitar into RME Fireface then into Sonar. Set up I/O and all was great in Sonar 5. In Sonar 7 I cannot enable Input monitoring without total buzz distortion then dropout. I have checked and double checked my options settings to ensure they are consistant with how they were in 5 and they are. I must be doing something wrong...Anyone else seeing this? Do I need new Drivers for the RME Fireface now that I have gone to Sonar 7 ?? Thanks

ORIGINAL: Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]

ORIGINAL: krizrox

ORIGINAL: Duojet

ORIGINAL: dbmusic

ORIGINAL: krizrox

I have enough time now with V7 to state that the popping and clicking associated with multi-processor support has been corrected. I've done a recording session and 6 hours of mixing work. Not a single pop or click. If you're a veteran of this problem and waiting to buy V7, I say go for it.

I did, however, notice a couple of other nagging problems that weren't resolved:

1) that annoying motorboating noise (it's an extremely annoying noise that sounds like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber making the most annoying noise in the world). Still random. Still there.
2) the black screen of death that appears every time you open V-Vocal.

Whatever - not show stoppers. Happy just to be able to take advantage of the MP thingy now.

I wish someone to would have a clue about this "motorboating noise" and how to resolve it. I have it too Larry and it drives me freaking nuts. I can reproduce it by simply opening a project and playing an audio track for the first time. After that it seems to occur randomly.

do you have read/write caching (or buffering) turned on? if so try turning it off. i forget exactly where the setting is, somewhere in audio preferences. if the number is too low i used to get that sound. I don't even have them checked anymore.

I checked to be sure - read/write caching is disabled. I've never enabled read/write caching ever. One time I think I tried it but it made things worse so I left it off. Thanks for the suggestion though.

What hardware? From your description it seems like it would be driver related. A noise like that can happen when the driver is continuously repeating a buffer of audio rather than streaming the audio we send to it.

Using an RME Fireface 800 here with XP SP2. Different driver updates have had no effect toward resolving this "motorboating".

ORIGINAL: Hansenhaus

I found the LP 64 Mastering EQ annoying to work with. Maybe it's just my system but when I adjust the EQ the sound getts stuttery and fades out until I stop adjusting it. Then it can take a second to get back to normal once I stop adjutsing it. Does that happen to anyone else?

Just having a play with these and having same problem, Seem to get slightly better with high latency. Pity as they do seem to have a nice sound to them

Wookiee

ORIGINAL: Jose7822

<snip>
- Selecting a MIDI track with MIDI data in it does NOT enable the Step Sequencer when in Tack View but it does in PRV (probably what you're seeing).
</snip>

I've found you can enable Step Sequencer on a track containing midi data in Track View. Dont actually select the track or midi data but click on a track parameter (eg patch). Step Sequencer is enabled. On my screen layout PRV is also open & displaying this track & others.

For me it now gets really strange - opening the Step Sequencer in this way (I'm using some h/w synths) on track 8 that points to midi port 13. Click some Step Sequencer notes hit play on Step Sequencer & the midi triggers the synth connected to midi port 13 (as "expected"). stop the Step Sequencer, disable notes in Step Sequencer & close it (no explicit saves etc).

Look at h/w synth rack - notice midi activity light on a different synth is flashing. Check Sonar transport, it's stopped.

Mute all tracks in Sonar - midi activity stops. Fire up MidiOx, turn off all filtering - no midi out shown. Unmute Sonar - no midi out activity shown in midiOx, but midi activity shown on the h/w synth (& the Sonar taskbar midi indicator display matches the h/w synth activity indicator).

Use track mutes to identify which track is generating the midi its track 2 pointing at midi port 3.

Save project. Close project. Midi activity on h/w synth stops.

Close Sonar. Reopen Sonar & reload the project - midi activity on the h/w synth starts up.

Close Sonar & reboot Windows & cycle all USB synths etc off/on, reopen Sonar & project - no midi activity on the h/w synth - until I repeat the Step Sequencer insert as above.

This is now 100% repeatable for me.

The project started out in Sonar 5, went via 6 & once this has happened in S7 cant be reopened in S6 - I guess something about the Step Sequencer is written to the project even though nothing was explicitly saved in the Step Sequencer. It's probably not relevant but I have been playing with External Instrument fx in this project though none are currently present.

FWIW the box on port 13 is a Yam RS7000 connected via midi to a Yam i88x mLan firewire interface, port 3 is a Yam Motif ESRack (USB midi) & I've also seen the behaviour on a Roland VSynthXT (USB midi plus via midi to a MidiSport 2x2 USB) & FantomXRack (USB midi) before I knew what was initiating the issue. All USBs are connected to separate USB ports on the mobo (though may share a common hub).

The h/w synths aren't doing anything apparent with this midi activity btw.

Can anyone replicate this?

I'll try to work out which tracks trigger the issue on those other synths tomorrow.

Just to be precise, I think expecting sample-accurate delay compensation for external effects is probably asking too much, but I >don't< think it should be reporting significantly different latency when re-checked.

The odd thing is that it seems to increase, like 180ms, 206ms, 228ms, that sort of thing - then it will settle into something for a while - I have to look into it. Has anyone else seen any oddity like this?

ORIGINAL: Jose7822

ORIGINAL: brian brock




The external effect plug doesn't report the same delay for the same chain on my system (RME Multiface II). That seems wrong, and in my experience the frozen track was off by enough to matter (ie more than, say 5 samples or so, I guess - is that asking too much? maybe).

Yes, you're asking for too much. By the way, you can further tweak that to make it sample perfect if that bothers you .


Peace!

Ducatibruce,

I can't really check for this cause I don't have a hw synth just a MIDI Controller. Hopefully some can verify what you're seeing.


Brian Brock,

Yes, I agree that it should't be reporting different latencies whenever you hit the "Delay" button more than once. I too have seen this behaviour but it hasn't been a real problem for me. Either way, this should be brought up to Cakewalk just in case. I will be doing this and I suggest you do too. The more the marrier.

Take care!

Just some thoughts on the external plug in. If you are doing a straight wire ping and still getting different times then that's an issue. If the ping is through external gear, make sure it's in by pass mode for reverbs, delays compressors etc. These could produce variable latency.

At one point I had my latency come back at 145ms but since that time I cannot get it any lower than 151ms and sometimes it jumps up to 168ms. Not sure why this is happening and I am bypassed for the test. This is with SPDIF going out and coming back. I am curious if this is project dependent i.e. plugins and routing not associated with the buss loop for this plug in, having an effect on latency. Buffer settings of course are affecting the measured latency but wonder if the ASIO implementation is also a factor. Hopefully this will be more stable in the future as it is a critical link for using external gear.

Middleman,

I just reported this issue to Cakewalk. Hopefully they can find a fix for it.

I'm getting the same exact behaviour, even when bypassing the FX, so that was not the problem in my case. It just seems odd, even though it hasn't really affected me, it's better if they can fix it. So I would like to ask for you to report this as well if you don't mind.

Take care!

Will do