Here's the situation: I have Laptop (Quadcore 2 Extreme 2.53Ghz, 8Gb RAM, 64-bit Win7 Ultimate SP1) Sonar X1d Producer Expanded. Imported the MotivXF.ins file Yamaha USB driver installed brand new Yamaha Motif XF8 2Gb flash (no firewire) Laptop (above) is connected to Motif and the Motif is set to output to USB. I have recorded a piece on the Motiv Sequencer using 16 tracks: one instrument per track. It's classical and not partcularly complex. No sfx added or wheel expressions. Each of the 16 tracks on the Motif XF is set to a respective track number. On Sonar I created a 16 track (blank) file with each of the sixteen tracks set with the input to the corresponding Motif XV output (i.e. Sonar track 1 set MIDI input to Motif 1, Sonar track 2 set MIDI input to Motif 2, 3-3, etc.) Here's my first two issues (there will probably be more later): Each track recorded a composite (like MIDI 0) of the combined sixteen tracks. I wanted track 1 to track 1, track 2 to track 2, etc. What I gat was tracks 1 through 16 to track 1, tracks 1 through 16 to track 2, etc. What am I missing? Secondly, is there a way to have Sonar start recording triggered by when the Motif starts to send MIDI data? The meters and tempos are set exactly the same but although my personal timing is good, it's not 'computer accurate' good. Some background about me: I started with Cakewalk back when it was a DOS program. I used to create a lot of MIDI productions that were classical (typically 50-90 tracks for a full orchestra) with a rack of hardware synths which I still have (Yamaha TG-77, Korg 03/RW, Roland String Ensemble, Kurzweil K2500r, Kurzweil PC88, Roland XV-5080, Yamaha EX5) Now I have all these old cakewalk files that I'd like to update to the softsynth/sampler era and I need to methodically adapt to current technologies. Since I've been only peripherally involved since the addition of audio/sampling/looping into MIDI applications makinging them DAWs, my own, now fossilized expertise in MIDI, has a steep learning curve ahead. Fortuantely, I do have a lot of experience in digital audio editing. TIA, bobcat

If the Motif is outputting the tracks on a port/channel & Sonar's tracks are set to that port/channels then each track on the Motif should be recorded on individual Sonar tracks.
I've no experience with the XF, but typically the Yamaha USB driver creates a bunch of midi ports even though the device will only output midi on one port (usually port 1). Are you sure you've selected input for the correct port/channel in Sonar rather than the other ports?

Another option is to use the CAL file "split channel to tracks" on the combined Sonar track that you already have.

For the syncing issue have a read up on Midi Synch (page 1083 of the X1 reference manual). Yamaha usually has a section on DAW playback/record control in the Motif manual that may help too.

The best way to use a workstation and daw is the daw to be the master, not the other way around.

1. midi sync
this is the first step in integration... locking sonar and the motif together with the midi clock... the motif by default iirc has an auto setting for midi sync, so set sonar to send midi clock.... you can verify this by having an arp running on the motif and varying the tempo in sonar.
2. sonar remote control
if your workstation is away from the keboard you can use a variety of remote control surfaces, from an android phone, usb controller, ipad or even the motif itself..

3. combined midi tracks..
it seems that the motif has saved your files as midi type 0.. you can split that either in the motif or sonar.. a bit of work but straightforward.

hope this helps

First, thanks all for the information. I'll try the appropriate solutions and see what the results are today. A quick (and odd) update. After I shut down my Motif and saved my Sonar file, when I later reopened it, the file was correct. I hadn't actually done any editing on the file. I had viewed individual tracks in event view, staff view, and piano view and all were as originally described until after the close and save. Specifics responses. Gary: I hadn't planned on trying to run everything at once in terms of software based production. I was going to reconfigure a mix of software based synths (once I knew how to use them) and resetting up my rackmount hardware synths. I used to use an Opcode 8Port/SE but I think they stopped writing drivers for it after Windows NT. My general intent is to rerecord the music in a collection of files and do a 5.1 mix. My old hardware mix was a Ramsa mixer which was fine for the time but completely analog and not suitable for 5.1 mixes. The laptop I'm using right now is just temporary while I wait for my new one to get fixed, but I wanted to get a head start on the learning curve. The new laptop is an i7 3.5Ghz Alienware M18x (no, I'm not a gamer, but I do a lot of 3D work in modeling and rendering so I need processor power and speed) with 16Gb RAM and a 512Gb SSD. It runs faster than my dual Xeon desktop (but that system is 3 years old.) As for Music Quest, I used to own a copy of it at least 15 years ago and may still have the floppy. I assume it's improved, but I found that the setup time was prohibitive since my setups had so much customization that would have required (in the old version) re-entering so much information manually that the I found simply templating my cakewalk wrk files was a far faster operation. Maybe things have changed in the new version. I don't use loops or arpegiators generally since they are geared more towards high speed production of commercial pop/dance/hiphop music. ducatibruce2: Thanks for the syncing info. Though I don't need the CAL now, I'll have to look at the current offerings. I used to write a lot of CAL macro-scripts and had forgotten that they were there, so that was a good reminder. As for the Yamaha USB driver, I guess I'll have to experiment to find what does and doesn't work. I had in fact noticed all the Midi ports created by the USB driver installation and I had chosen port 1 (which may have been the reason that it worked, eventually.) Mystic38: Although I almost always use the daw as the master since it really is the best way, I was just playing around with the onboard sequencer of the motif and got carried away since I had literally just taken it out of the box. I'll check on the midi clock setting issue in Sonar. I'm not sure how to use (access, setup, and implement) ARP settings but I can certainly learn. As I mentioned above, I don't have to much use for them but I'm never averse to learning anything new since who knows what unexpected ways they could be applied. (as an aside, although I currently live in the SF Bay area of CA, I lived in CT for 30 years, last in Guilford and used to frequently visit Mystic (for the aquarium, not the pizza.)

try using the synths as vst plugins.just find your .inf file from the manufacture.