As I stated in my second topic, most of the time I like to quantize to 16th notes with 80% strength.  I have created a preset which does just that.
 
However, if I forget to switch to that preset when I quantize, then I end up quantizing at 100%, which can sound very mechanical.
 
Even worse is when I am recording a song with swing.  For that, I have a second quantize preset with a swing feel.  If I open up that project later and forget to switch the quantize preset, I end up losing the swing on whatever I'm quantizing.
 
If I notice that I've forgotten to change the preset, then I need to undo the quantize and re-apply it.
 
If I don't notice that I've forgotten, it can often be much later that my ears spot that something sounds too mechanical, or isn't swinging when it shouldn't.  At that point, I have to manually fix the feel of those notes.
 
Either way, it wastes time, and disrupts the creative flow.
 
To me, any interruption in the creative flow is onerous.  If it weren't, then I wouldn't post about it.

Okay, I get it...you're upset that SONAR doesn't do something automatically, so therefore you have to remember to do it. In that case, use the MFX as suggested previously. If you save the template with the UI open, you can even have that open when you open the project so you can see a visual confirmation that it has the right settings. AND, it's non-destructive so even if you forget the MFX is in there or what it's set to, you can always just change the settings and re-apply it - no need to undo. AND, you can save MFX presets so you're literally one click+select to any preset you want the instant you open the project, even after re-starting.

I'm not really upset.  It's just an annoyance that I've been dealing with for more than 10 years! :)
 
Thanks for the MFX suggestion.  I'll give it a shot.

MFX are way underrated. My pet peeve is that Cakewalk doesn't do more of them, but given that the current ones seem to fly under the radar, they probably don't feel they have much incentive to add more.

Yeah, it would be nice if we could create our own MFX plugins using CAL and Studioware.  Somehow! Oh well, maybe with Sonar Y. :)

Anderton
MFX are way underrated. My pet peeve is that Cakewalk doesn't do more of them, but given that the current ones seem to fly under the radar, they probably don't feel they have much incentive to add more.

+1 for MFX love!

And for the OP, unlike the quantize function, the quantize mfx is non destructive and can be adjusted or removed later in the project on the off chance you discover something you played doesn't need quantizing.
 
FWIW I doubt that Cakewalk or many Sonar users would see this non persistence as erroneous behaviour. Quantizing is something that is generally used sparingly and with contextual precision if the results are to be musically pleasing. In this light the idea of preloading a single frequently used preset is somewhat of a moot point. Just an opinion of course - YMMV.
 

Do you add a separate quantizing MFX to each track in your project?  Or is there a way to get multiple (or even all) MIDI tracks routed through the same quantizing MFX instance?
 

Quantizing is something that is generally used sparingly

Not with me!  My playing is very sloppy, so I quantize everything.  However, I never quantize to 100%; I always leave it at around 80% so it feels a tad bit human.
 
 

AutoHotKey is one way to customize any application. It can be used to create keyboard shortcuts to drive objects like the Quantize dialog,

Tripecac
Yeah, it would be nice if we could create our own MFX plugins using CAL and Studioware.  Somehow! Oh well, maybe with Sonar Y. :)

Forum user azslow3 has created a DXi MFX plugin that allows you to write your own MIDI effects in the Lua programming language. It looks pretty slick, and he provides some interesting presets. You can check it out here if that's something that would interest you. PM him for more info, I'm sure he'd be happy to assist you.

Tripecac
Do you add a separate quantizing MFX to each track in your project?  Or is there a way to get multiple (or even all) MIDI tracks routed through the same quantizing MFX instance?
 

Quantizing is something that is generally used sparingly

Not with me!  My playing is very sloppy, so I quantize everything.  However, I never quantize to 100%; I always leave it at around 80% so it feels a tad bit human.
 
 

Haha - fair enough! The MFX plugin is track specific, so you would need to insert an instance on each midi track. You could do this on your track or project templates though, and the quantize settings will stick.