lost with midi

I hate to say it but I'm lost with midi in X1: I don't use a midi controller...all I want to do is import some midi tracks & assign a soft synth to each one for play back, or maybe several tracks all played by the same synthfonts (create a folder?). And just have them all output to a stereo bus. What is the simplest way to do this? I have Scott Garrigus' book but it seems mostly geared for more power midi users. I'm used to doing this very easily in a dif software...Thanks for any suggestions!!!

If I understand correctly what you need:
You can open the MIDI file in Sonar and manipulate it, or you can create a new project in Sonar, open the MIDI file in another window, and cut and paste MIDI data.  Here is scenario 1.

1.  Open the MIDI file in Sonar.
2.  Insert a soft synth or virtual instrument.
3.  Go to the track with the original MIDI data.  Highlight it all (Select | From=Start, Select | Thru = End) and click Edit |Copy (or Ctrl + C) to copy it.
4.  Paste it into the soft synth track.
5.  If you have selected a soft synth sound, you should be all set.
 
If you are pulling in MIDI data from separate files, you can create a new project in Sonar, add some soft synths as described above, and then open the MIDI files one by one and paste data into the new project.  Once you created the new project, you would go to File | Open to open the MIDI file.  The Window option on the Menu Bar lets you go back and forth between two projects so you can cut and paste from multiple projects.

Notes:
• When you insert the soft synth, you can choose either to create a Simple Instrument Track (which is a combination MIDI and Audio track), or you can choose to create separate audio and MIDI tracks.  If you created separate ones, be sure you paste the MIDI in the MIDI track and not the audio track or nothing will happen.  If you chose Simple Instrument Track, you should be OK.
• Instead of copying the MIDI data, you could just assign that MIDI track to the soft synth, but that requires more steps and could be confusing to understand without seeing someone do it.  Since it only takes 15 seconds to copy and paste, that may be less confusing.

Good luck and let me know if this does not answer the question.

Your friend, The Mighty Konrad

Thank you very much. I will take some time & try each of these.

FastBikerBoy


You may find my video on MIDI for beginners helpful. It's HERE anyway.

What? No vid for dolts like me? Pffffft.

Paresh K


Thanks for yr interest!! OK - to be more clear - I create midi songs in a midi creation software (Jammer - like Band in a Box) & then import into Sonar to use better soft synths for playback. So - I imported the whole song - several tracks, inserted a soundfont synth into an instrument track, & changed the output for the midi tracks to the instrument track. It works...although there may be a more efficient way to do it. It's a combination of dif advice above that you offered, since I am importing a whole song & not just loops. So if I want other synths for certain tracks, I just repeat the process - create instrument track & insert a synth, & do the routing? It seems needlessly complex to have 2 tracks for 1 instrument, as opposed to just putting the soft synth as the output of the midi track... One other thing - I am getting some clipping on playback & I can't figure which is the correct fader to lower. None of them seem to get the meters out of the red.

Well..  The midi faders in the red..  that's pretty trippy huh?  I don't worry about that.  I'm only worried about audio faders in the red.  Now..  I'm spanking new to Sonar, so please, "someone correct me if I am wrong on that."


My guess, is that you might wish to try simple instrument tracks.  Which I believe are hybrid midi-audio tracks for synths and instruments.


But I haven't used the simple instrument tracks yet..   I'm pretty comfortable figuring out the features and the program slowly over a year..  which, imo, is probably what it takes to get used to.