I am using Sonar X1 in a 64 bit environment.
Every time I combine a soft synth with the sounds already on the computer, the midi play back is out of sync with each other.  Any idea how to solve?

Is this a 32 bit vs 64 bit problem?
Thanks for your ideas!!
mididrummercpa

Please explain further how you have the tracks and synths configured

Bob Bone

You don't give much information :-(

Firstly, I doubt it's anything to do with 32 or 64bits. Are you using Sonar 64 or 32 bit?

Are the sounds on the computer ones you have recorded or loops, or what?

What is your soundcard and MIDI interface?

One thing to try, and a good idea anyway if you've not already done it, is to increase the MIDI buffers in preferences.

Open Edit menu/preferences and click the "Advanced" switch at the bottom.

Go to MIDI/playback and recording and where it says "prepare using...buffers" set that to 500ms. This may not solve your problem, but can sort out a lot of MIDI timing issues and is usually a good idea.

mididrummercpa


I am using Sonar X1 in a 64 bit environment.
Every time I combine a soft synth with the sounds already on the computer, the midi play back is out of sync with each other.  Any idea how to solve?

Is this a 32 bit vs 64 bit problem?
Thanks for your ideas!!
mididrummercpa

Its doesn't appear to have anything to do with which particular version of X2 you have. We're not sure exactly what you mean by 'sounds on the computer', or how your 'combining' them, so it's a little bit difficult to give a correct answer. We can only speculate, and that might be incorrect and confusing.


We need a bit more specifics about what you are doing, and depending on that, we might need also need information about your computer environment if the issue leads us in that direction.

Well, when i loaded Cakewalk, there were a bunch of general midi sounds ready to assign to midi tracks.  Bass, drums, piano, etc.
These play just fine for assigning existing midi tracks.
Then  I read about this neat function called insert soft synth that brings many other (better) sounds.  So I inserted a couple of them.
They have better sounds all right, but the soft synths do not play in "synch" with the original general midi sounds.
Thanks,
Midi drummer CPA

mididrummercpa


Well, when i loaded Cakewalk, there were a bunch of general midi sounds ready to assign to midi tracks.  Bass, drums, piano, etc.
These play just fine for assigning existing midi tracks.
Then  I read about this neat function called insert soft synth that brings many other (better) sounds.  So I inserted a couple of them.
They have better sounds all right, but the soft synths do not play in "synch" with the original general midi sounds.
Thanks,
Midi drummer CPA

Ok  - if these are general midi sounds, the only way they can play is through a soft synth. As described, you'd then have two synths loaded after initializing the second one you mentioned - but I'm not quite convinced that's exactly what you have. Are you sure that you weren't loading wave files (loops) onto an audio track?

Actually there are 4 synths:
A) Microsoft GS Wavetable synth- This is the one that is NOT in the synth rack.  It  seems to be "native" to the computers sound card.
Synth Rack:
B) cakewalk Sound Center
C) SI Drum kit
D) SI Bass guitar

A plays well alone, but a few milliseconds  behind BCD
B, C, & D play well together, but not with A.
Thanks!

mididrummercpa


Actually there are 4 synths:
A) Microsoft GS Wavetable synth- This is the one that is NOT in the synth rack.  It  seems to be "native" to the computers sound card.
Synth Rack:
B) cakewalk Sound Center
C) SI Drum kit
D) SI Bass guitar

A plays well alone, but a few milliseconds  behind BCD
B, C, & D play well together, but not with A.
Thanks!

Great - exactly what we need to know.


The first one, the GS wavetable synth, is actually a soft synth but not of the same type as the others. It has to be accessed via a midi port. Some years ago, Microsoft came up with this as something that PC's without a soundcard-based midi synth could use - but it's all implemented in software.


The other synths are either VST or DXI based softsynths. These are intended to be accessed within DAW software such as Sonar.


Most folks here would suggest to avoid the Microsoft synth, if only because it is a bit of an unknown beast as far as performance and other things.


A great substitute for it is the TTS-1 synth in Sonar. It is a GM synth also, meaning it has the exact same instrument mappings as the MS GS one. Even better it's from Cakewalk/Roland, who pretty much invented GM. Use this instead of the GS and I'm pretty much sure the timing delay will disappear.

This sounds really close to the exact problem I am having with midi sync/timing as well. First I had to move the midi buffer up to 500 (default is 250). And it allowed me to record and replay a single track at the correct sync. As soon as I split the single track, even before moving it, something goes slightly whack with the sync at where the split is. From there if I copy and paste any of the snippets into more tracks each goes progressively farther and farther "out of sync"... So i went back deleted all the new pasted tracks and rejoined the original track leaving just the original and goes right back into sync as it should. So I split it again and once again as soon as it hits the split, again off sync it goes... it's drivnin' me nuts!

Thank you!
I will avoid the microft synth.
Regards
Midi drummer