dear all, first off, i should mention that i am not a midi guy at all. Still, i think it is time to discover its power! i have checked out chuckebaby's video about how to use a drum machine, and BOM! got stuck right at the first point: he said i should check if my midi devices are checked in the check box in the midi device folder...and i cannot find ANY midi devices mentioned in my folder. i have sonar x1 studio and bought the so-called "ez" drummer which, to me is not ez at all and is causing me a lot of headaches ;-) why can't i find the softsynths in the folder? and how can i get them to appear? thanks a lot speedtom

I think you are confusing MIDI devices with soft synths...MIDI devices are external devices such as keyboards, drum machines, controllers. Softsynths, such as EZ Drummer, are plugins that you insert into a track via several diferent methods..maybe I am misunderstanding you here, as I am not sure what you mean by showing up "in the folder"....

Yes - the midi devices in Preferences are your external hardware, such as a midi controller keyboard, or an external synth, or a drum machine, or any external effects that happen to support midi - that sort of thing.

Soft synths refers to software synthesizers that live in your computer.  These would not be found in the midi devices.  Soft synths are loaded into projects through the 'synth rack'.

So, if the video clip is talking about making sure your midi devices are checked in Preferences, it would in this instance be referring to an external drum machine that is connected to your computer via either an actual midi connector or by a USB cable that carries midi data (more common these days).

Some of this should be covered in one or more of the Sonar tutorials that came with Sonar.  There are also a ZILLION videos out there that can walk you through just about anything you would ever need to do with either external midi devices, such as drum machines, or with internal soft synths, such as EZ Drummer.

I hope that helps a little in clearing it up for you - there is a bit of a learning curve, but I can PROMISE you that if you invest a bit of time into watching tutorials, you will be extremely happy once it starts to click in your head.  You have some amazingly powerful tools, and it should not take too long for you to be up and running with midi.

Bob Bone

If you don't have a MIDI interface or MIDI keyboard, etc. Then you won't see any devices listed in SONAR.

You don't necessarily need a MIDI keyboard to work with soft synths, but it does make recording MIDI tracks easier... as long as you know how to play the keyboard, of course.

If not, then you can use the Piano Roll view or Staff view or Step Sequencer view to enter notes into MIDI tracks in SONAR.

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com - SONAR X2 Power! - http://garrigus.com/?SonarX2Power
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar ProAudioTutor video tutorial series: http://garrigus.com/?ProAudioTutor
* Publisher of the DigiFreq free music technology newsletter: http://digifreq.com/?DigiFreq
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hey tom, you pick up an old drum machine with midi capability's for dirt cheap now a day on ebay or even craigslist.
im guessing 30 dollars you can get an entry level drum machine that has midi.
see you wont be using the sounds of the drum machine, your really only using the pads.
by tapping those pads, they are each triggering a different drum in sonars session drummer, or in your case, would be ez drummer.

you can also go the route of a keyboard that plugs in usb as well.
just substitute it for the drum machine, its almost exactly the same.

glad you took interest.

also tom for now, since you don't have a controller(a drum machine, keyboard) im guessing.
just insert EZ drummer(insert/softsynth/EZ Drummer
chose simple instrument track=midi source and all outputs stereo from the synth options when they pop up
(that menu that looks like this:http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.ashx?m=2286638

now try dragging in midi clips from the browser, or create your own tracks very easy like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruAnAPR6-hQ

the video above and this video,Basic midi:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k83UVo1OiKA
along with the video you have already seen are a three part series I made to cover almost everything you need to know to get started writing your own drums in sonar.
ez drmmer is very nice, don't give up on it, believe me compared to other software out there, ez drummer is fairly easy, but like anything can whip a curveball right at your head.
 
don't be afraid to ask any more questions.

dear all, thanks, you are right, i got confused about the midi devices and soft synths...this shows you how far i have to go with this midi stuff ;-) but i will continue, i surely believe you that it will be rewarding some day. dear charlie, thanks for the links, i will check them out. and thanks for your videos, i really like how they start right where they should for noobs like me, most videos tutorials start when there is all set up and ready to go...and i am far from that! this whole midi-thing...i mean, i have been making music for decades, and suddenly i feel like that little boy again, on his way to the first rehearsal ever ;-) i guess learning never ends!

speedtom


dear all, thanks, you are right, i got confused about the midi devices and soft synths...this shows you how far i have to go with this midi stuff ;-) but i will continue, i surely believe you that it will be rewarding some day. dear charlie, thanks for the links, i will check them out. and thanks for your videos, i really like how they start right where they should for noobs like me, most videos tutorials start when there is all set up and ready to go...and i am far from that! this whole midi-thing...i mean, i have been making music for decades, and suddenly i feel like that little boy again, on his way to the first rehearsal ever ;-) i guess learning never ends!

tom, im still a noob at heart, that's probably how I relate so well  :)
I know what's its like to open up a software and feel like your in a rocket ship, where everything looks like its written in another language.
 
ive got another video almost done, its a quick look in to a project from start to finish.
it was a request from a you tube user.
if you have a request feel free to post it in the comments of my videos.
 
ive realized something very important, that while there are many videos for the experienced sonar user,
there are more new users using x1 and x2 now than ever so there  must be videos addressed to the newer users.
 
we all have a long way to go.
thanks for the props buddy :)
 
Charlie
 

  dear charlie, thanks for the courage you are giving, and i am looking forward to that new video! and please do not be surprise if i come around with a ton of questions...