Thanks for understanding the wonderfullnessicity that is the English language (except for that butchered bit to the left there).
 
As far as the notes numbers / note names issue for the different kit pieces, this is true for any of the drum modules.
 
Each kit piece will correspond to some note number, whether that is for Battery 3, SD, the Abbey Road stuff, etc.
 
What I did for myself was to create a simple Word document with my kit pieces in one column, and the corresponding note numbers in another column, so that when I am entering or editing midi data, I have a clue as to what goes to what.
 
The audio routing assignments are done once for me per custom kit, as I save off the routing assignments and the kit with the track folder and relative level settings and such as a project template.  So, I will load up a kit as a starting point, swap out any cells needed for that particular kit I am trying to create, change the audio output routing assignments within Battery 3, insert a track folder for Drums in Sonar, add a single midi track to hold the drums midi data for all of the kit pieces, and then will insert all of the audio tracks needed for that kit and rename and assign the audio tracks to match the assignments in Battery 3.
 
Then, still with no midi data or any actual recording done, I save off the project as a project TEMPLATE, so that the custom kit and the routing assignments and such are preserved for any future project where I want to use that particular kit.
 
AFTER all of that, when I DO fire up a new project using that template, I pull out my Word document with the kit piece and note number values so that when I am adding or editing drum midi data, I know what kit pieces go to what note numbers.
 
Does that help explain it any better?
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
Does that help explain it any better?

Yes.  Not being a percussionist, I have long had a feeling that I was missing something very basic.  These drum setups seem extraordinarily tedious.  I have struggled with this for years in Finale, and it seems equally tedious in the world of VSTs.  It is comforting to know that it is, in fact tedious, and I wasn't really missing something that would make the job a lot easier.  Of course, the templates will save much of that tedium -- but the underlying complications are still there.
 
It seems like there ought to be an easier way, but I don't know what it would be.
 
For a real drummer, maybe this wouldn't be much of a problem.  He might have one template that matches his live kit, and he might just play in all the MIDI sitting on his drum throne.  But for those of us working "by hand". it is a load.
 

Here's something that I don't get about editing drums in the PRV. I play all my parts in live. How does one adjust the velocities of a single hi hat note in the velocity pane, without adjusting the velocity of a coincident bass drum or snare hit? I know I can adjust the single notes by double clicking and adjusting the value numerically but it quicker to just sweep through the velocities in the velocity pane. Am I missing a trick?

The reason you would route your drum kit parts to separate tracks is so that you can eq, compress and add fx to them separately.  For instance, I may want to add a little bit more highs to a ride cymbal and add just a touch more reverb to it; than say the bass drum.  On the bass drum I may want very little reverb and just to bump the EQ at a certain frequency.  I tend to also feed all of these tracks into a drum buss as well.

STinGA
Here's something that I don't get about editing drums in the PRV. I play all my parts in live. How does one adjust the velocities of a single hi hat note in the velocity pane, without adjusting the velocity of a coincident bass drum or snare hit? I know I can adjust the single notes by double clicking and adjusting the value numerically but it quicker to just sweep through the velocities in the velocity pane. Am I missing a trick?

That's why I split the midi track into separate midi tracks for each kit piece.

That makes sense.

I think it's easier to insert a second instance of SD3 in your synth rack.  Then you can just mute one or the other of the SD3s in the rack.  You can also have different kits that way.
 
If you want drum part 2 to be similar to drum part one, or have the same snare but different kick patterns or whatever, you can drag the MIDI from one instance of SD3 to the other and then edit as you like.

MakeShift
The reason you would route your drum kit parts to separate tracks is so that you can eq, compress and add fx to them separately.  For instance, I may want to add a little bit more highs to a ride cymbal and add just a touch more reverb to it; than say the bass drum.  On the bass drum I may want very little reverb and just to bump the EQ at a certain frequency.  I tend to also feed all of these tracks into a drum buss as well.

ABSOLUTELY - that's why I do what I do for AUDIO tracks, but for midi, I only have a single midi track that holds ALL midi events for the whole kit.  Having each kit piece routed to its own dedicated audio output channel from Battery 3 sets it up to feed dedicated audio tracks for that particular kit piece, PRECISELY so that I can control all of the kinds of things you list - reverb, phase, flange, delay, compression, a trip to Chuckie Cheese, EVERYTHING.
 
In dealing with the midi aspect, I do it differently - I find it much easier to edit the midi events for the whole kit in a single midi track.
 
:)
 
Bob Bone
 

Yep, Bob...same way I do it.  All drum midi is in a single track, but routed out to separate audio tracks.  I believe that when you first insert the midi drums, Sonar asks you how you want it routed.  
 

In dealing with the midi aspect, I do it differently - I find it much easier to edit the midi events for the whole kit in a single midi track.

I feel it is easier as well to keep all the parts straight.  I also like to visually pull up the screen with the drum kit on it sometimes and play the track back to "watch" the kit being played.  It helps me to think like a real drummer.  Kind of follow the playing pattern and ask myself...would a real drummer reach all the way across an hit that cymbal or hit the one in the natural flow of things.

Yeah - I almost always have all check boxes unchecked in the Insert Soft Synth dialog box, with the exception of the one to open the synth's UI.
 
I then manually insert whatever audio/midi tracks I wish to use for that synth.  There is nothing wrong with using the check boxes - I just prefer to do it manually for a couple of reasons: 1) consistency - I used to have to change which boxes were checked and I just got tired of that, and 2) it keeps me from having to undo unwanted actions from having forgotten to check or remove checks.
 
It's a personal preference thing, 
 
Bob Bone