Hi Guys, LONG TIME!!   Can't seem to get my hear around something in x2...
 
I want to setup a bunch of audio tracks to layer loop recording (like a looping pedal).
 
For example:  setup loop length
 
-arm track 1 (bass) 
-hit record and record the bass 
 
(while Sonar is still recording)
-disarm track 1 (bass), and arm track 2 (pads)
-record the pads while bass track is playing, and so on...
 
All works fine and dandy re: arming / disarming and recording, 
problem is, I can't hear the previously recorded tracks to play 
along to without stopping and re-starting the transport.  
 
Is this possible with Sonar?  I want hear hear the recorded audio
as soon as the playback head has gone back to the start of the loop.
 
THANKS!
Tomek

Two things:
1. You need to be in Sound on Sound record mode - Comping will automatically mute each take as the loop repeats.
2. You can't have Input Quantizing enabled; it's a known bug that this causes some or all notes to be dropped on playback while looping.
 
Other than that, it should work.

I think he may want to do this with audio tracks.

My apologies gentlemen, yes audio tracks.
 
brundlefly, love the name!  :) 

Ah, okay; when I saw "pads", I assumed MIDI. Same story for audio, except, of course, the input quantizing issue doesn't apply. And if you enable autopunch, you need to un-check Mute Previous Takes which overrides the default behavior of the record mode.

Thanks brundel.. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, 
 
but once the loop goes back to the start, 
 
I cannot hear what was previously recorded, 
 
nor see the waveform, until I hit stop (then play again).
 
This has always been Sonar's behavior in my experience.
.
 
Hope I'm explaining myself correctly.
 
 
Cheers, Tomek

Yes you are explaining it clearly, and it's a known issue with loop-recording audio; I forgot the history on this. Here's my post in a relevant thread from a few years ago with a "creative" workaround:
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/2083051
 
 

You might be barking up the wrong tree. Looping like this is not a normal thing for most DAW's to do. Check this out:
 
http://www.krispenhartung.com/software-looping.htm
 
A list of programs actually designed to do what you want to do. Ableton has the looper pedal built in as well. It requires programs with perfect gapless performance to which Sonar is not. I have fiddled with this in Studio One audio wise and it sort of can be set up but it requires some fiddling. One thing I do know is that Studio One can do this midi wise and Sonar definitely cannot. It is one of the main reasons I use it. You can set up a bunch of tracks (with either VST's on them or external instruments) in Studio one and create a loop and jump the midi tracks all on the fly while in record and looping and it adds the data in to the track you land on etc. You have to manually switch tracks though but it does all this rather seamlessly.
 
But if you are wanting to do this for audio it might worth a look into some of the programs listed above. Some are free and some are paid. Perhaps give some of the free ones a shot and see how it goes.

Thanks for the great explanations guys.  Just pulled out my old copy of Reaper,
 
and can make it happen with that.  Still not perfect, but I haven't played around
 
with the settings at all.   It's a great feature for quickly recording a tune
 
(laying down layers), while jamming with a mate to two.  :)
 
Cheers!
 
Tomek