Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orETQsMhf9A
I think this Problem has been in Sonar at least since 8.5, but It might be older. It happens when loop recording MIDI with Input quantize turned on.
 
First problem is that while loop recording, subsequent loops won’t play all of the notes back you played in previous loops. Some of the MIDI notes are not played, but some are. When you stop recording and play back the track, it plays as expected.
Second, after the first pass, if you want to play notes on the beginning of the loop, but are early on your timing, (starting your notes at the end of the loop) then sonar will cut those notes short and place extremely short notes at the beginning of the loop that are often inaudible.
 
I like to build a song while recording, never stopping the transport, like people often do with beat machines. I know Ableton Live can do this, but If this one thing was fixed then I would be happy with X3.
Can others reproduce this? Does this bother anyone else but me? Am I one of the few Sonar users that like to work this way? Please let me know, I am quite curious.
 
Cris.

Have you tried shifting the record mode (X3) to Sound on Sound?

Yes, I always record Sound on Sound. If I was on overwrite mode, then I would not hear any notes from the past loops on subsequent loops.
 
Cris.

This is in X3 (not X2), please right click the record button and verify "Sound on Sound." It defaults to "Comping" mode otherwise (and you will not hear the last take you made). I just did the first part of your video and each take sounds on each successive loop with Sound on Sound set. Comping was added in X3, and threw me at first as well.
 
The issue with hitting notes just prior to the loopback is valid (the "note on" data was missed during the loopback), and this would be a good feature request to have.

I can reproduce this.
 
STEPS
 
1) New project
2) Add a softsynth + patch
3) Set loop to be around 4 bars
4) Click and hold record and select sound on sound
5) Loop record several times.
 
EXPECTED
 
All MIDI Notes are being displayed.
 
ACTUAL
 
Not all MIDI Note are being displayed, a lot are missing loop after loop.
 
STEPS CONTINUED
 
6) Expand so you can see takelanes.
 
EXPECTED
You can see a new takelane created every time we see a new track.
 
ACTUAL
 
You don't see any takelanes created (maybe one).
 
NOTE
 
The all the tracks and takelanes get displayed one the stop button is pressed
The issue is purely to do whilst performing.
 
Thanks...

I recently submitted a bug report for this, but it hasn't been opened yet.

Well I've submitted CWBRN-22704
Cheers...

Well I'm speechless, I've also logged (as I can reproduce) ->
MIDI notes just don't land as expected when looping - CWBRN-22705

Hello
Playing looping MIDI is really buggy in X3D.
Here are the steps to reproduce (a video can speak a 1000 words):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orETQsMhf9A

I've already logged CWBRN-22704 which is demonstrated in this video, but that isn't what this particular issue is about, this is about where the MIDI notes land. Please note I've managed to reproduce this issue without MIDI quantize as well.
 

I know about the Comping default. As I said I always use Sound on Sound so that was one of the first things I changed when updating. The problem is the same in X3 as X2 for me. If you are getting it to work on your setup, I am quite curious as to what you did. Remember that the problem only occurs when you turn on Input Quantize for the track you are loop recording on. If you didn't turn on IQ, then it would work without missing any of the notes during loop recording.
 
Cris.

Cris I didn't just need MIDI quantise on....
 
Anyway to be specific I could reproduce all the issues in the video (there is more than one issue being explained), and for a change I'll make a comment (normally I try to say nothing after I've understood an issue and reproduced it, as it generally leads me into trouble, trolls start wailing in as I'm not allowed to have an opinion), but this is a bit of a dogs dinner and surprised more people haven't expressed an interest in fixing this, I remember this working in the earliest versions of Cake (maybe I am imagining) ... I'll refrain from saying any more.....