I have Sonar Pro but can't for the life of me work out how to convert or render Midi files to audio... I have a bass and drum midi tracks together with my audio tracks (vocals, guitar etc) and would like to turn them into a wave or mp3 file... When I try to export them as audio the vocals and guitar are exported but not the midis. Probably a simple answer somewhere I'm sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated...
Cheers

To Freeze a soft synth
Do one of the following:
              
In the Track view, click any associated track’s Freeze button .

              
Right-click a synth track or a synth’s MIDI track, and choose Freeze > Freeze Synth from the menu that appears.

              
In the Synth Rack (Synth tab in the Browser), click the Freeze/Unfreeze button .

SONAR bounces the synth’s audio data to the synth track. SONAR disables the synth’s output, and disables the effects bin on the synth track.
  
Note 1: If a soft synth has been inserted to an audio track’s effects bin, the Freeze/Unfreeze button is not present in the Synth Rack for that synth. To freeze that synth, right-click the track or the synth’s MIDI track and choose Freeze > Freeze Synth from the menu that appears.
  
Note 2: A MIDI track can only be frozen if it is routed to a software instrument.

MIDI tracks need to be routed to a virtual (or external) instrument to make sound.  The output of a virtual instrument (VSTi) is an audio track in your project, that can be routed to a physical audio output in your audio interface so you can hear it through your monitors.
 
When you open up a General MIDI file in Sonar, it should insert the TTS-1 GM synth with the MIDI tracks already routed to the necessary GM sounds.  In order for this to happen, ensure that you have no MIDI outputs selected in Sonar options.
 
Routing path:  MIDI > VSTi > audio
 
If the MIDI file is not GM, you may have to set up the synths and sounds you want manually.  You can select any VSTi synth plugin and preset available for each MIDI track.
 
Once you have the synth tracks assigned, you should be able to press play and hear the sounds being played back.  When this is working, you are ready to create audio tracks from your MIDI.
 
Freeze Synth - Audio from a soft synth is bounced and placed on the synth’s track. Output from the synth is disabled, as is the effects bin on the synth track.  https://www.cakewalk.com/...mp;help=Mixing.23.html
 
Direct Synth Recording - Introduced in Sept 2015 - Thanks to direct synth recording, bouncing is no longer necessary to convert a virtual synth output into audio because you can now record the synth audio in real time.  https://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013427/SONAR-2015-Ipswich-Update-Notes

Thanks guys but I made the backing tracks (bass, drums, piano etc) in Band in a box and brought them over to Sonar Pro to put vocals to the track and edit the midi files and was hoping that I could render or export the whole song. The freeze button for the midi tracks is not there but is for the audio tracks (go figure). Is there any other way I can save the midi tracks as audio? Your help is much appreciated...

davis
Thanks guys but I made the backing tracks (bass, drums, piano etc) in Band in a box and brought them over to Sonar Pro to put vocals to the track and edit the midi files and was hoping that I could render or export the whole song. The freeze button for the midi tracks is not there but is for the audio tracks (go figure). Is there any other way I can save the midi tracks as audio? Your help is much appreciated...

I cannot imagine why you don't see the freeze button? 
 
It is there on the oldest version which I have installed, Sonar 6.  Not exactly a new feature, but it's probably older than that.
 
Did you try using the F1 key to open the help manual?  Search for "freeze".  It also mentions that you can use the right-click context menu to access the freeze function.  That appears in the track strip for the track to the left of the clips.
 
Are you sure that you have the MIDI tracks routed to a soft synth?  The freeze synth function needs a synth to generate the audio with.

davis
Thanks guys but I made the backing tracks (bass, drums, piano etc) in Band in a box and brought them over to Sonar Pro to put vocals to the track and edit the midi files and was hoping that I could render or export the whole song. The freeze button for the midi tracks is not there but is for the audio tracks (go figure). Is there any other way I can save the midi tracks as audio? Your help is much appreciated...

You may have missed the posts above this one. When you play back those imported files, do you hear the MIDI tracks? This is very important, since MIDI is only note information, not audio. As stated above, you must route MIDI data to a soft synth (VSTi) for any audio to reach the audio engine. I "suspect" that the lack of 1) export and 2) a freeze button means that you only have MIDI tracks and no VSTis.
 
Quickest check... play the track end to end in SONAR... BIAB is automatically routing MIDI to internal BIAB instruments, but if you exported MIDI, that may be all you have.

Yes I do hear the midi tracks (Drums, base etc) from front to back along with the audio tracks (guitar, vocals etc)...
The freeze button is present in the midi track but is shaded out. I can't click it...
However the freeze button is available in the audio tracks...
 
I have looked in the help index and this is the message there.
Note 2: A MIDI track can only be frozen if it is routed to a software instrument.
What does this mean?
 
Sorry for not understanding but with Band in a box you can simply just render your midi file tracks with your audio to a wave file when you're ready, it's very easy.
 
Thanks for your help...

davis
Yes I do hear the midi tracks (Drums, base etc) from front to back along with the audio tracks (guitar, vocals etc)...
The freeze button is present in the midi track but is shaded out. I can't click it...
However the freeze button is available in the audio tracks...
 
I have looked in the help index and this is the message there.
Note 2: A MIDI track can only be frozen if it is routed to a software instrument.
What does this mean?

Sorry for not understanding but with Band in a box you can simply just render your midi file tracks with your audio to a wave file when you're ready, it's very easy.

Thanks for your help...

MIDI is not sound, it's like digital sheet music. You have to route this "sheet music" to something that plays it,  making it audible (=virtual instrument, soft synth). If a MIDI track is not routed to a soft synth, there is nothing that can make the MIDI audible.
Selecting the synth of your choice you also decide, what are the sounds that you hear (this is the option that Band in a Box does not have, right?).
 
Maybe doing SONARs tutorial #4 might help you understand these basics of working with MIDI.

davis
Thanks guys but I made the backing tracks (bass, drums, piano etc) in Band in a box and brought them over to Sonar Pro to put vocals to the track and edit the midi files and was hoping that I could render or export the whole song. The freeze button for the midi tracks is not there but is for the audio tracks (go figure). Is there any other way I can save the midi tracks as audio? Your help is much appreciated...

If you are hearing everything that you want to hear on playback, you can export audio without converting anything. File->select all then go to File->export audio, give it a name and select "what you hear." this will give you a stereo file of your mix.
 
Rocky
 

davis
 
I have looked in the help index and this is the message there.
Note 2: A MIDI track can only be frozen if it is routed to a software instrument.
What does this mean?

 
It means that if you add a software instrument and route that MIDI track to it, you will enable the freeze button for that MIDI track.
 
If you look at the track inspector for a MIDI track, what do you see for 'Output ='?