VS700C "light show" w/ midi input

You don't have your Midi ports set up right in the controllers/surfaces box in Sonar. What do you use as a Midi controller and what is listed in the first slot in controllers/surfaces?

Akai MPK88 through the Midi in and out? BAD IDEA! Put the VS700 in the first slot and V700 C in the in and out ports for that slot. Put the Akai in the second slot, since you're using the Midi in/outs on the V700R I'm not sure what will be listed as ports for that. It's not a good idea to have two conrol surfaces vieing for control. A midi keyboard controller is a different animal than the MPK88. I have the V700C and two keyboard controllers operating on the VS700 system with no problems. You have to give the V700C priority control. The Akai unit may not sit well with it. You'll have to play that. Whatever you do, do not port the MPK88 to the V700C. 

I must have misread, but the result is the same. I assume you're using Win 7? Windows chooses whatever driver is present when you boot the computer. Theres a turn on routine you should follow so the V700C will be your Midi controller and the V700R will be your soundcard-interface. Turn on the V700R, turn on the V700C, boot the computer to the desktop, turn on any other Midi devices, open Sonar. In addition, you have to go into Windows sound section and make the V700R your default device. If you boot the computer with other devices on and the VS700 system off, windows will grab whatever driver is present which will throw off your setup both in Sonar and Windows. This partly due to the fact that anything plugged in via USB is a peripheral device. If it ain't running, windows can't find it. You'd think windows would remember and that things would rewrite when you turn them on but it don't happen that way.

Last time I experienced this it was due to a midi track that was default to OMNI out.

What you seem to experience is a badly routed midi track. 

Be shure to check every midi tracks, Especially the one that are loaded by default when you create a new project choosing a template containing midi tracks. 

In my setup, these tracks are always default to "Omni" in and out (probably the routine Crg mentioned above should cure this behavior) so every midi message are routed to this track and sent to EVERY connected midi devices. 

So you can trigger a synth note by pressing a random button on the console and create a light show on the board by playing your keyboard....

Bottom line: make shure ALL midi track are assigned correctly. NO OMNI!!!

Also take some time and create your own templates once everything is assigned correctly, this save a LOT of time patching stuff! If you need help to do so just ask, that's pretty simple!

Hope this help!