I've been a cakewalk user since the beginning (literally, version 1) but this is something that for whatever reason I've never tried to do...
 
I use a lot of loops from Groove Monkee with either BFD or, now that it's part of X3, AD2. They work very well for my purposes but I have hours and hours of tracks from my drummer that I would love to turn into similar type loops.
 
I've looked a little at how to do drum replacement in general and have done a couple of tests that worked out OK.
 
But what I need to know is the bird's eye view of the steps involved in going from "here's a drum track that, while it has a click track in the recording, is not synced to sonar's timeline" to "here is a bunch of cool loops I can choose from."
 
I probably don't need a huge amount of detail as I can search out the details if I know what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance for your help on this. It seems like it should be very possible if I know where to start.

I haven't tried using Melodyne Editor's polyphonic options yet, but possibly that could break the individual drums out to individual tracks, which you could then convert to MIDI by dragging the region FX into MIDI tracks.
 
As most loops are relatively short, it shouldn't be too hard to have them follow tempo for long enough to do the loop, then tweak any residual timing issues.
 
I realize this sounds a little like Monty Python's "how to play the flute" skit ("blow into this end, then put your fingers over the holes to make melodies") but it just might be that simple. I'm curious now, so if there's time I'll try to do the Melodyne thing later and see if it works.

Oh sorry, I was not clear, I already have the drums on individual tracks (kick, snare, tom1, tom2, and overhead.)
The only tricky one would be the overhead and I could program that one in if I had to.
Being that I want to convert it to MIDI, do I need to create a loop or just a 4 bar phrase, for example, in order for AD2 to pick it up?

Using Melodyne's polyphonic option won't separate out individual kit pieces very well from an entire drum "performance".  You would need to have individual tracks/mics for the various kit pieces.
 
If you have separate tracks for snare/bass/hi-hat etc., then make sure you have minimised "bleed", with a gate or manually, then convert them with Melodyne etc.  I guess you have tried this if "I've looked a little at how to do drum replacement in general and have done a couple of tests that worked out OK."
 
As for aligning the performances with Sonar's grid, it may be worth watching "Fast Biker Boys" videos on youtube about extracting a tempo map.
 
HTH

gtrgriff3
Oh sorry, I was not clear, I already have the drums on individual tracks (kick, snare, tom1, tom2, and overhead.)
The only tricky one would be the overhead and I could program that one in if I had to.
Being that I want to convert it to MIDI, do I need to create a loop or just a 4 bar phrase, for example, in order for AD2 to pick it up?

Ooops, I was writing my post as you replied.
 
I don't really use AD2, but AFAIK you will only need to create a e.g. 4 bar phrase, and then put it somewhere that AD2 will see it.
 
Someone else will be along with more experience with this soon, no doubt.

When I did this I used audio snap to convert the Audio into a MIDI note. Works great on Kick, Snare, toms but not so good on the rest. 

What I don't understand is, Melodyne can't turn a polyphonic drum loop into a MIDI track because it can't identify the different drums in the loop, but when I slice a drum loop in Geist it does a great job of categorizing the slices into kick, snare, hat etc. Or maybe I'm comparing apples to oranges.

I think there is a product called drumagog that does exactly this ?
 
Takes drum audio and spits out midi ?
 
JR

sharke
What I don't understand is, Melodyne can't turn a polyphonic drum loop into a MIDI track because it can't identify the different drums in the loop, but when I slice a drum loop in Geist it does a great job of categorizing the slices into kick, snare, hat etc. Or maybe I'm comparing apples to oranges.

I've not used Geist, but since Melodyne Editor works with pitch, then I do think that you are comparing apples and oranges.
 
From the brief tests I have carried out in response to this thread, Melodyne will work as long as individual kit pieces play don't play simultaneously. 
 
I will have a further play with it, but I think it will end up more hassle than it is worth.
 
Use the right tool for the right job, I guess.
 
Geist may be able to tell a hi-hat from a "toppy" snare.  Melodyne Editor will be able to pick out a Bbb from an Ab7b9#5 chord on my mandocello.

You could use Melodyne, Audiosnap, Slate Digital Trigger or whatever strikes your fancy for the kick, snare and what ever else is close mic'd. If need be you could program the hi-hat. I think you can pull off the overheads for hi-hat, toms and cymbals in Melodyne Editor by cloning tracks and judicious editing.
 
Rocky