Hello,
 
I am new to Sonar (I have X3 Producer) and I am having difficulty mixing a song in stereo. I have a number of tracks: drums, guitars, bass, vocals etc. When I pan the sound of any of the tracks all the way left or right the sound still plays on the other side. For example if I pan the bass all the way to the left I still hear it on the right. It actually just sounds quieter on both the left and right and not louder on the side I am panning to. Am I doing something wrong? I want to be able to mix the instruments to the left and right but right now they all sound naturally mixed to the left slightly and I can't fix it.
 
Also on a side note is there a way to create a new mono track? All my new tracks are stereo and I end up converting them to mono. In Pro Tools I could just create a stereo or mono track and it was much simpler.
 
Thanks
Chris

You will get quicker more precise answers if you add a few more details to your questions or better yet put you system specs in your signature like most of us do for this reason. We have no clue what your using so can only guess your problem. 
 
Anyhow your audio interface ( hopefully you have one) will have input options under ASIO mode to select either a mono or a stereo as a tracks input source. Select your input as a mono not stereo. 
 
Your issue with the pan is related to using stereo tracks. Mono tracks are what you need to be recording unless the source is a stereo device like a synth or a guitar stereo effects processor. 

Thanks Johnny,
 
I am new but I will get the swing of things. I will write a proper signature later. Here are my specs:
 
Windows 7 Pro 64bit - i7 intel 2.67GHZ quad. I am running Sonar X3 Producer (from Steam) with a RME Babyface as my audio interface. I am a pro-tools user that recently decided to try Sonar. I am knew to the Babyface as well and I think that may be where my base problem lies. I think I just adjusted the Babyface (TotalMix) to send mono. I will try some recording and see what happens.
 
If I already have some tracks that I like that I have recorded as Stereo (right channel only with audio) and I converted that to mono is there a way I can salvage the audio to a new track that will treat it like proper mono that I can mix?
 
 

Normally if you select just the right or left channel as the input on an audio track, it will record a mono signal.
 

In track view you have to highlight the track and then go to the track menu. Go to the bounce to tracks. then you get a popup menu. On the right you see entire mix. Change this to tracks. On the left you can select the tracks you want to convert to split mono. Then on the right just under the track choice you already made, you can choose stereo, mono or split mono. Choose split mono and then click ok to bounce the track.
 
Hope this helps.

SONAR has the annoying habit of assuming you want a stereo track by default. The key is to set the track interleave to mono before recording, and then select a mono input from your interface. It's worth the time to set up a track template that way, as that will make it easier for future recordings.
 
The problem with stereo tracks is that the concept of "panning" has no meaning for them. A stereo track is essentially two mono tracks hard-panned left and right. Even though there is still a pan control, it's really just a balance knob like you have on your stereo. It makes one side louder than the other but does not shift the stereo image.
 
If you want to keep a track in stereo but be able to "pan" it, use the Channel Tools plugin instead of the pan slider. This works like the dual-pan controls you're used to in ProTools.

Thanks guys. That helps a lot. One question... Is there a way to salvage the audio from a track I recorded in stereo and make it into a proper mono track?
 
I haven't looked into templates. I will read about them and try to configure a starting setup I like. I am also not used to the multiple layout configurations that Sonar likes to use. I found ProTools to be a lot simpler in that regard. I am really liking a lot of things about Sonar and once I use it more and get past this early learning curve I imagine I will be using it for quite some time.
 
Thanks again!

Ponpoko
...One question... Is there a way to salvage the audio from a track I recorded in stereo and make it into a proper mono track?

There are several different methods. The simplest is to right-click on the audio clip and select the option "Convert to mono".

Kev999

Ponpoko
...One question... Is there a way to salvage the audio from a track I recorded in stereo and make it into a proper mono track?

There are several different methods. The simplest is to right-click on the audio clip and select the option "Convert to mono".

However...SONAR adds the two tracks together, so the result might go over zero. You can select the track first and go Process > Apply Effect > Gain to reduce the levels.
 
Another option if the two channels have the same information is go Process > Apply Effect > Gain, reduce one channel to -INF, then "Convert to Mono."

bitflipper
SONAR has the annoying habit of assuming you want a stereo track by default. The key is to set the track interleave to mono before recording, and then select a mono input from your interface.

FWIW if you select a mono input from your interface first, SONAR is smart enough to create a mono track and automatically set the interleave to mono.