Hi and thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
 
When I track, what I end up with is very low volume. I was using a UA-25ex (and I am now on Sonar version X1). I switched to a Roland Quad Capture thinking that the auto-sens might help but it didn't. I always have to process those tracks with gain or normalize, but then I get distortion. This happens with guitar and vocals but my biggest concern is the vocals. Imported loops are fine and do not have this problem.
 
Can anyone tell me what is happening here? It doesn't seem to be a common problem so it makes me think that I am doing something wrong, like I am missing something fundamental about how sonar works; maybe there is some sort of input adjustment within sonar that I am not aware of.
 
Thanks very much,
Michael
 
 

Are you compressing before SONAR?
 
IOW is your signal chain for recording guitar/mic->compressor/processor->Quad Capture?
 
If so, maybe you're applying too much compression and your level is set too low, then you have to adjust the level and the effect of the compression is rearing it's head. 

ultralight
Hi and thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
 
When I track, what I end up with is very low volume. I was using a UA-25ex (and I am now on Sonar version X1). I switched to a Roland Quad Capture thinking that the auto-sens might help but it didn't. I always have to process those tracks with gain or normalize, but then I get distortion. This happens with guitar and vocals but my biggest concern is the vocals. Imported loops are fine and do not have this problem.
 
Can anyone tell me what is happening here? It doesn't seem to be a common problem so it makes me think that I am doing something wrong, like I am missing something fundamental about how sonar works; maybe there is some sort of input adjustment within sonar that I am not aware of.
 
Thanks very much,
Michael
 
 

You need to be sure your levels are up enough going into your sound card. You can check your levels with the meters in Sonar. Make sure you do not adjust the faders when you are in record mode. They must be at unity to give you an accurate reading.  Adjust the input level of the Sound card, that is the hardware. Never try to adjust the level while recording within Sonar. It wont give you a true level if you do that.

I plug my microphone directly into the Roland Quad Capture audio interface, so there is no compression. If I plug my guitars directly into the Quad Capture, the result is the same.
 
I have the input up as high as a can without it clipping, but the result in sonar is still very low volume.
 
I am recording with a laptop, though I used to have the same problem with my desktop computer (also using an external audio interface).
 
Thanks for the replies!
 
 

How low is "low"? When you play a track all the way through, what does the peak level for the meters indicate?

Couple of thoughts off the top of my head. Check to see if the quad-capture's built-in compressor is engaged and what it's set to. There's also an autosense margin setting that can be set anywhere between 0 to -18db, I believe. I have mine set to -6db. Good Luck.

It's barely more than a line in the track window.

And my margin in the Quad Capture is set at -6 db also. And it happened with my previous audio interface, too.
 

Really its very simple you do not have enough gain in your signal path. It seems clear that you may need a pre amp to augment your quad capture.  For the guitar are you using Hi Z?  

I got a pre-amp, hoping that it would fix the problem but it didn't. I can have the input to the point that it's clipping and the result in sonar is still way too low.