I'm trying to enable Guitar Rig 5 to accept MIDI from Sonar so that I can use it's MIDI learn to control effect parameters. 

So apparently I have to configure Guitar Rig as a synth. I've done this from the plugin manager. 

However it's not showing up as a Soft Synth in the menu, only as an Audio FX as before. I've tried rescanning my VST's multiple times. I've restarted Sonar. But it's still only showing as an Audio FX in the menu when I go to insert it into an FX bin. It is, however, listed as a VST instrument in the plugin manager and not as an Audio Effect.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? 

Well, I managed to get it to work, although I'm not sure why. 

I'm running X2 64-bit. So I went and deleted Guitar Rig's 32-bit .dll. And after going through the above again, I can finally see it registered as a synth. 

So what gives - was X2 showing me the 32-bit version of Guitar Rig all this time? 

It is a possibility. I just tried setting Guitar Rig 5 as a synth and it worked ok. I only have the 64 bit version installed. The only thing that does not get changed is the "X2 Producer Effects" layout in the Plugins>Audio FX browser. That has to be manually maintained since is it a custom plugin layout.

Well, having solved one problem, I've just run into a whole new set. 

First of all, even though I now have Guitar Rig configured as a synth, the MIDI learn is still not working. It works fine in standalone version - I just right click on a knob, select MIDI learn, and turn a knob on my controller. Thus, control is achieved. But nothing happens when I try this within Sonar. 

Even worse, I now discovered the following behavior:

I had Guitar Rig configured as an effect in a ProChannel FX Chain on another synth track. Now that I've reconfigured Guitar Rig as a synth in Sonar, if I try to open the synth that's on that track, it immediately disappears and is replaced with Guitar Rig instead (with no effects loaded). I figure this is some kind of weirdness because I had added GR to the FX Chain as an effect, and now it's not available as an effect.

So OK, I thought, I'll just delete GR from the FX Chain and insert it in the FX bin instead (since you cannot insert a synth in an FX chain). However, I'm getting barely any volume through it now, unless I set the ProChannel to "Post." In fact without the ProChannel turned on and set to Post, there is hardly any input going into Guitar Rig in the FX Bin. 

I know this is all awkward to describe, but does anyone have the slightest idea what's going on here?  

Are you using instrument tracks? If so, try separating the tracks?

Yep. Why would I separate the tracks? All I'm trying to do is use the knobs on my controller to record automation in the automation lanes. 

http://youtu.be/BYpvafjzpDA

Split out the tracks. I do not use MIDI to control Guitar Rig but I just fumbled around with it a bit using separate MIDI and audio tracks instead of an instrument track. Lacking a keyboard controller, i could control Guitar Rig effects from another MIDI track. I was suggesting not using instrument tracks because they sometimes have some odd behavior. The original way CW handled soft synths was with separate MIDI and audio tracks.

swamptooth


http://youtu.be/BYpvafjzpDA

Hmm, so I have to set up a separate MIDI track to record my Guitar Rig automation. Interesting. I'm not sure how this would work with multiple instances of Guitar Rig on multiple tracks, though. 


The problem is that now that I've run into another set of problems by configuring Guitar Rig as a synth (see above), I'm leaning toward configuring it back as an effect and just drawing in the automation. 

Yea, I have always drawn my automation. But it was a good experience for me to investigate how the MIDI stuff works.