Anyone get this message?  
 
"The MP3 Encoder must be unlocked before use.  Please visit cakewalk..."
 
Do we really have to pay extra for an encoder?  You would think that type of stuff would come standard with a DAW...  Am I crazy or is there something else I have to do?  I was also exporting MP3s an hour ago and it all of the sudden stopped.  Why now?  It's not the 30 days or anything...

Cakewalk has one available, which due to licensing issues they have to charge for, and the same one (I believe it is from Lame) is I think available on the web for free.  There are also additional free ones you can configure for use with Sonar.
 
Bob Bone
 

Thanks Bob,
 
I have the Lame Encoder for Audacity...  Do you know how to set it up within Sonar so I don't have to export then go into another program?

To use an external encoder such as LAME in SONAR, use the standalone version of the encoder (not the Audacity version) and add it via the Cakewalk External Audio Encoder Setup utility. The setup is a follows

• launch the utility
• click New to create a new encoder definition
• leave source as wave
• add the path to the external program in the Path field
• add the name of the external program and any command line switches in the Command line.

Yup - thanks Mr Cook - saved me some typing.
 
Bob Bone

Ok, all I can see for the Lame encoder is source code...  Is that right?  Do I download from here:
 
http://sourceforge.net/projects/lame/files/lame/3.99/
 
Also, having a little bit of trouble finding the Setup Utility...  Any help is appreciated.  Thanks!

Compiled LAME here
The "External Encoder Configuration Utility" is on the SONAR Utilities menu

Ok, downloaded the encoder and I though I followed instructions...  But I think I did something wrong.
 
I made a new definition, pointed it to the folder that I extracted in the paths section, then typed lame.exe in the command line.  
 
The friendly name shows up when I export.  It adds .*** after the title when I select it from the drop down menu.  It asked if I wanted 8pcm, 16pcm, or 24pc,.  I chose 16pcm.  Didn't seem to work...  Do you see where I went wrong?

At a minimum the command line should be
lame %I %O
You might want other switches depending on your requirements. Refer to the LAME documentation for the available options.

I think I'm missing something.  I've looked through the documentation and read in a few other forums about parameters that people set up, but I'm still a little confused.
 
I'm only really using this to make some reference and listening tracks for myself.  I would like to export the highest quality MP3 I can (320) and be allowed to encode the file with artist name, album, and track title.  That's pretty much it... 
 
Should I write "lame %I %O -b 320"?  I wouldn't even mind having a drop down menu or something like it comes up in Audacity.  This is basically just so that I don't have to export as a wave, then open up Audacity, then export - eliminates a step.