midi to audio ??

Hi guys,
I've been reading up on the forum about problems making midi tracks true stereo. I'm using SHS6 via emu 0404 sound card. Basically I can't get my midi tracks to pan left or right although midi tracks are set to 'all stereo'. I can only get them centre.  If i've understood the forum replies correctly - am I right in saying I need to bounce the midi tracks to audio stereo tracks to enable left and right panning. Sorry if I've misunderstood the concept, but it has been bugging me for a while.  Appreciate any help.
 

hello Robert, 0404 is pci, synths are soft synths KP4, GPO3, and Roland VSC. I'm using the ASIO driver for the sound card. I'm trying to pan the midi track. Hope this helps.

Hello Beagle, I'm using the midi output track, and I've selected all tracks for stereo when opening a new project but the track only shows one waveform after recording, when expanded.

hello again, Beagle. The waveform is filling both top and bottom.

In a word no, I haven't tried that, but thinking about it I'm guessing you're right as the sound actually comes from the synth not the track. doh! Many thanks beagle.

Beagle:
"are you trying to pan a stereo or mono track (panning a stereo track doesn't work the way you might think)"
 
 
Beagle means things like this:
You have a stereo track of a piano. Low keys on the left and high ones on the right channel. When you pan it to the left, what usually happens is the high ones don't move from right to left, but get muted.
You need a stereo tool VST, like SONARs Channel Tool, to modify the stereo picture.
 
Instead, if you have a mono track, you can pan it wherever and you hear all the keys.
 
The rule of thumb is: Mono track for a mono source.

I wouldn't think that pan control should override a stereo signal.
How do you have the cables connected?
Do the outputs from the EMU go to separate left and right inputs on the amp? Are you using any splitters?

ok so now I've bypassed the pre amp and gone direct in to the stand alone amp from the soundcard. I'm using two soft synths, roland vsc for bass and kontact 4 for the other instruments. Both soft synths are panned centre but bass on vsc comes out of left speaker and the other instruments on kontakt 4 come out of right speaker even though both are centred. When I try to pan from synth track, instrument track or mixer, sound still comes out left if panned left but nothing when panned right. Its as if vsc is permanently panned left and kontakt 4 permanently panned right. 

Hello Greg, Soft synths are to master bus and sound card is emu 0404

hello Beagle. The reason I took out the pre amp was because the jack input on it, from the soundcard, didn't work on the left channel if pushed right in, but had to be pulled out a little bit to get both left and right to work. I thought it was the position of the jack plug that was causing the problem, hence I took out the pre amp from the equation. However, I've sorted what the problem was. It was all to do with how I had the outputs set up. I was trying to send the instruments left and right when I should have been setting the outputs left and right, then sending the instruments down the appropriate output. Do you see what I mean? Anyway guys thank you so much for your suggestions, and as you thought the problem did revolve around the output set up.  

Removing the pre-amp from the chain removes one possible bad jack from the chain.

I also know that above he says that panning doesn't affect the actual sound from the speakers.  that would indicate to me that he might have the speakers set up incorrectly OR that the output in the soundcard software is set to MONO (I don't think I've ever used a soundcard with that option, but I"m sure it's possible).

but what I'm so confused about is the "bypassing of the PREAMP" or the 1/2 inserted jack on the INPUT and how that has anything to do with panning of the stereo speakers or the softsynth.

OK, he had a preamp between the 0404 outputs and the "amp" inputs?  amp for the speakers?  wow - that could have caused all kinds of problems, espcially with incorrect cabling.

still not 100% sure of what he was doing, but at least that's a little more clear now!