cpkoch
... As to why not do all live vocals [...] I tried messing around with Multi-track using Audacity and/or NCH Wave Pad and the like  but became a little frustrated as I tried syncing the several parts ...

Conrad, I apologize for the late response to this since I am on my cell more these days and quoting is a bear.
 
I forget what audio interface you are using(?), but I am 100% with sharke on the "why not sing all parts." A few reasons for this one:

1. SONAR is not the programs you mentioned, and you can easily playback a song while recording (input echo on the track being recorded off, even without direct monitoring... if you have direct monitoring on your interface you are golden for this).
2. You will get a richer mix from this method, as those slight variations make it sound even fuller and humanized. If the notes are within your range, then all the better!
3. Lastly... time... software has the appeal of being able to surgically modify EVERYTHING. This is all well and good until you start spending 5 hours to do what could be done in another performance in 10 minutes. Additionally, performance improves your capabilities with your instrument (voice), so that is another factor to consider. But as I know you are on your "one song per week" crusade, time is the most limiting factor IMO.

   I am also with sharke on the vocals being damn good... and honestly (my opinion), it would benefit you more overall to unleash the capabilities of SONAR to get those other tracks done via performance. SONAR is extremely powerful, so do not "assume" things based on past experience with "other" programs.
 
   BTW, what audio interface are you using? I truly forget  (a signature would be nice for you too )
 

Hi Mike
Re: Audio Interface ... I am using TASCAM's US 122 ... plain old ordinary US122!  I will soon get a better AI.  
 
Re: Software versus Live  vocal performance  I'll say it again.  It was principally an experiment to check out Melodyne's capabilities.   I also mentioned  I fully intend to use Sonar X3e Producer and do live vocal harmonies and synchronization.  It is much much better/easier than the free stuff I was using.  I'll have to tighten my briefs to get the some of the tenor parts however. I know the robotic sounds that come out of Melodyne are not terribly pleasant, yet I was quite impressed with how Love is a Many Splendored Thing turned out.
 
Re: Signature ... I'll have to figure out what that entails. I'm sure it's easy to do; but, why is it encouraged?
 
As an aside ... I signed on to the Play With Your Music  Online Course and felt it was dis-organized to the point of my getting frustrated.  So I dropped out without really getting into the thing.  How about you?
 
Mike thanks for staying in touch.  I appreciate the feedback and guidance.    

 

Hi Conrad, the vocals in Love is a Many Splendored Thing are very nicely done!!! So much so that the recording everything you possibly can via performance and only using Melodyne for the "tightening you shorts" stuff might be your quickest and most effective workflow (plus the credit should go to the source (you), not Melodyne, IMO).
 
I realize you are new, but SONAR X3's "Comp mode" is the quickest way to do vocals, by far (for me). For the sake of time, I will often run a take until I hit a spot I know I do not like. Rather than "play through" as many recommend, I have gotten into the habit of stopping, backing up a couple bars, and continuing. The reason for this is I have identical recording settings (and am in "studio mode"), so when I finish I know I have a complete "good" take with those settings. I have burned myself in the past with punch in/out because of the settings being "unknown" and the variation in performances can be audible.
 
I am not familiar with your interface, but you can easily record new tacks with "Input Echo" disabled, and monitor the master bus via headphones plugged into your audio interface (so it doesn't feed back into the mic). If you do not fully cover your ears, you have achieved "direct monitoring" sufficiently without having to fiddle with software anyway. If you have direct monitoring on your interface (which most have), it simply routes the mic signal to the headphones directly (same idea, all about latency). SONAR will then synch the tracks based on your latency without any modification by you (in most cases). There are a few instances that will require this; but honestly, until you get to those hurdles appreciate all of the things SONAR does for you automatically (which is a lot).
 
As far as signature, it helps when folks ask a question, since some are based on the system/interface they are running. All the detail given in a post gets the best and quickest response. It is frustrating to readers to see something like "Why won't my MIDI work???" and that is about the crux of it. It helps others help you (and this forum is an AWESOME group of folks). You can modify your signature by clicking "User control Panel" in the upper right, and then "Signature" in the left navigation pane. Of course, it is not a must, but helps a lot.
 
Unfortunately, I have been enveloped in other tasks lately, so music has taken somewhat of a back burner. I think this is why I continue to stay an "avid hobbyist," since I do it when I can but still love it to death "just because." Perhaps one of these days I will get around to allotting time "just for music," but until that point I sometimes feel like a closet recluse when I am doing music, lol. I signed up for a music theory course for next month (forget the exact name now); since I feel that is my biggest hurdle, but a part of that was hit on in the Develop Your Musicianship course, and I realized that maybe I do not give myself enough credit at times.
 
As always, advice is free, so take it for what it is worth (Actually, I told you when this all started that I do not abandon people... so I do read things, just not always respond.)

cpkoch
It was principally an experiment to check out Melodyne's capabilities.

I think that is smart.  I learn a lot better when I am working through a practical problem.  And if you did all of that with Melodyne, then you learned a lot about that software.  That is time well spent, IMHO.
 
I think all people are saying is that the harmonies are so nice, we'd love to hear you also go through the process of multi-tracking those vocals.  I think the end result will be much more powerful, and again, you will learn a lot.  Tracking with Sonar is way more powerful than Audacity.
 
I'd definitely nominate Melodyne for the computer software hall of fame.  It is truly amazing software.  Are you using the free version or have you upgraded to the full version?  That is well worth doing.
 
However, anytime software deconstructs and reconstructs waves, there will be some loss of fidelity.  And of course it won't have the natural nuances of separate live tracks.  But one step at a time.  It is all good.
 
It is probably obvious, but I simply note that the side-chaining technique is just as useful if the vocals are all live tracks.

Hello again Mike
Thanks for the kind words and sage advise. I think I operate similar to the way you do  as far as mutiple takes are concerned.  I use the COMP approach after taking maybe 8 takes.I use the best of the 8 and attempt to fix the variations.  I say "attempt" because there is a lot  to learn in the recording process itself. I have no studio nor a desk-mount sound chamber. I need to look into building something and learn what difference acoustic treatment makes. The takes, unlike yours are sometimes at different audio settings .. sometimes close the mic ... sometimes standing up ... so the best of the takes need adjustments.  
 
I am going to try another Multi-Track very soon  ... maybe tomorrow!  Maybe something by the Platters ...  e.g., Smoke Gets In Your Eyes of My Prayer ... with a real Doo-Wop type sound.  I'll do it with live takes and try to apply the lessons you folks ( you, sharke and cparmerlee  as well as all) have been so good as to share.  
 
Funny thing about the Signature discussion you offered.  The very question you raised about why "my MIDI don't woik no gud" is the one that I'm trying to iron out.  I got the thing to playback once using Cakewalk TTS then replaced it with another Soft Synth.  So far ... nothing! My Yamaha keyboard through the  US-122 works but not through my speaker set that receives the US-122 output.   Yup!!!  I've much to learn!  
 

Hi Conrad,
 
   That is sort of ironic! The forum is already loaded with a lot of useful information, and the best way to search it is via Google, and putting "site:forum.cakewalk.com" before the keywords you want (such as, site:forum.cakewalk.com Basic MIDI Setup). For basic setups, the Reference Guide and tutorials in it are a good starting point, and a lot of folks have posted videos on YouTube as well.

 
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I think that is smart.  I learn a lot better when I am working through a practical problem.  And if you did all of that with Melodyne, then you learned a lot about that software.  That is time well spent, IMHO.
 
I think all people are saying is that the harmonies are so nice, we'd love to hear you also go through the process of multi-tracking those vocals.  I think the end result will be much more powerful, and again, you will learn a lot.  Tracking with Sonar is way more powerful than Audacity.
 

cparmerlee
It took a bit longer than I planned  but I did do Smoke Get's in Your Eyes using my own voice box.  This time  I  sparingly using Melodyne to make some modifications.   To be frank, it took me about 5 times as much effort as I expected; but, on the other, hand I think much of the effort was due to the piece being more difficult to produce than I expected.  Comments are more than welcome.  I also put the master bus thru Boost 11 which I noted made quite a difference.  I still nee to try out Side Chaining (I think that was the technique sou suggested)   
 

mettelus
Hi Conrad,
 
   That is sort of ironic! The forum is already loaded with a lot of useful information, and the best way to search it is via Google, and putting "site:forum.cakewalk.com" before the keywords you want (such as, site:forum.cakewalk.com Basic MIDI Setup). For basic setups, the Reference Guide and tutorials in it are a good starting point, and a lot of folks have posted videos on YouTube as well.

Mike
 
I know it's me and not Sonar Producer (nor is it a problem with my Audio Interface Unit)  but,  I tried the MIDI playback today and it went along absolutely fine using  Cakewalk's TTS1 (I think it's called).  
 
I forget which Soft Synth I tried next but I got an error message  suggesting that the program was unable to find my AIU.  I more or less randomly replaced  the soft-synths onto a track which produced the MIDI output sounds.   Some worked  some didn't.   I haven't spent a lot of time ferreting out the problem; but. I will.  Live and Learn.  I will try and remember to let you know where I went astray!