sonar 8.5 producer. no sound with midi

Problem: Midi tracks produce no sound.
Symptoms: when track/s are playing, volume meter is moving (indicating sound should work). There is no problem with mixed audio/midi tracks (ie where I insert a soft synth of any type. 
When I open a demo midi file (ie downtown.cwp) it gives me the error message "following MIDI devices could not be found" which is "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth". I don't know what this is. I then reassign it to Profire 610 MIDI, my M-Audio sound card. It then says "this file contains System Exclusive data designed to be sent automatically to your MIDI gear. Do you want to send it now?" My answer here doesn't matter, no sound no matter what.
I then try to play around with the Track/Bus inspector in track view by selecting various track names and changing the output routing to "Profire 610 MIDI". All outputs originally are set on "Missing: Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth" which I know is wrong. I don't know where this Microsoft GS Wavetable synth is coming from. 
I go to Options>MIDI devices and there is 1 input: Profire 610 MIDI, I leave that checked; 2 outputs: Profire 610 MIDI (checked) and Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth (unchecked). Changing these check marks doesn't fix the problem.

Same problem exists when I create a new MIDI file track. "Master" is set to Profire 610 MIDI as is "MIDI" in the track bus/inspector, volume fluctuates when I play the keyboard, but no sound comes out.

Thank you, please help!

Maybe I need to insert a soft synth in a new MIDI track, but why doesn't a demo track like the Roland produced "downtown.cwp" file have sound? That is a drum beat demo track, and I can't possibly need to select different drum soft synths for each track.

Also, another thing which makes me think this is not a soft synth problem: I am following the Sonar 8.5 User's guide tutorials, Tutorial 9 - Drum Maps. I do exactly what the instructions say: they have me use DM1GM Drums in a MIDI track output, there are no further instructions for inserting a different soft synth. As I said, instructions were exactly followed and again, no sound although volume levels are fluctuating.

Thanks for the input, any other ideas, or is there still something fundamental that I don't get about soft synths?

A "Drum Map" is NOT a "softsynth"...Tutorial 4 "Playing and recording software instruments" is where you need to start...

Thanks for all for the advice. I have gone through Tutorial 4, and all the other tutorials. I just don't understand why tutorial 9 doesn't have me insert a soft synth and implies that I should have sound without having done that. It seems that that must be an error.

So, could someone give me a step by step for getting downtown.cwp to produce sound? I don't understand how to insert a soft synth that will cover all 9 MIDI tracks. And which is the appropriate soft synth to insert, or does it matter?

Thanks again!

awinant


Thanks for all for the advice. I have gone through Tutorial 4, and all the other tutorials. I just don't understand why tutorial 9 doesn't have me insert a soft synth and implies that I should have sound without having done that. It seems that that must be an error.

My version of Producer 8.5 lists Tutorial #9 as "Exporting, CD Burning and Sharing"...

Amazed,

I think you're pretty much right on the money...It never ceases to amaze me how many folks who've never done any actual serious recording decide to immediately buy SONAR Producer thinking it's the "panacea" or "push a button and I make great music" sort of application. I think it's reasonable for CW to expect a reasonable amount of knowledge by users who purchase the Studio/Producer versions; that's why they also offer the Home Studio alternative.

I am not, in any way, trying to discourage newbies from buying SONAR Producer but offering a "Caveat Emptor" that suggests if you are really new to the world of recording in the DAW realm and know nothing about signal chains, audio cards/interfaces, etc., then you're in for a very steep learning curve...

Where would I find this pdf you are referring to?

It's on Install Disc #1 in the \Documentation folder

-Susan

daveny5

papa2005


Amazed,

I think you're pretty much right on the money...It never ceases to amaze me how many folks who've never done any actual serious recording decide to immediately buy SONAR Producer thinking it's the "panacea" or "push a button and I make great music" sort of application.

Buy or download?

Or just really great salesmen somewhere .

I'm still using Sonar 6 PE, it's been working a threat for us (still on xp though). Really thinking about upgrading to 8 (drools!). I never had to ask any questions as the manual was straight forward enough. Maybe some folks these days are getting lazy?

Awinant please understand that we see more of this kind of post then we think we should. Its not you.  Its a frustration with very basic stuff that is not known by new users. Nor is it about CW or Sonar but about fundamentals that for some reason seem not to be understood by a growing number of users. We see this as a good thing for CW because CW is clearly appealing to new users. At the same time many of us studied for years learning MIDI and audio recording and didn't have these questions or think those that are this new need to do the work first and foremost in order to understand a very complex program aimed at users that need its power.

You have every right to ask questions and I hope you continue to ask. You are very welcome here and I hope you can see the other side to this.

Think of it this way you are taking an advanced course in English literature those providing the course shouldn't have to teach one how to read too. 

At the same time we need to be less frustrated when someone needs an answer no matter what the question is.   

Take care and have fun learning Sonar. We really are here to help.

I wonder how much pressure it would take off the support services if the manuals and tutorials were accurate and updated. I was shocked to hear that the manuals for, say LE version, include the stuff for the big versions. What is more frustrating than a totally unreliable manual!?

I'm also not a fan of video tutorials, because when things don't go the way they show (and I think that happens a lot) you have no guidelines for troubleshooting. In a full manual you can follow the described workflow and try to be logical, IF the manual is any good that is.

Awinant .. don't worry mate, so long as you have the focus then you will get it. Seeing as you have splashed out serious $$ then I am sure you will stay the course. The learning curve at the very beginning can be a bit steep but patience and resolve will get you over it. After all, Sonar is a serious piece of kit, you can't expect to learn it over night.

Good news is that at least you are starting out with the tutorials, I wish some others on here would do the same and we probably wouldn't have so many of the same posts every month. At least now you know that any midi file needs to be routed through a synth, right? WTG! You are learning! :)

it'd probably be more helpful to have forum where people just getting started out in professional grade software can help each other out, rather than be chastised by "ye of immense knowledge" for not reading a manual. in this day and age no one has time to read about how to do something as simple as enable MIDI in a DAW. i know i for sure am looking for a quick fix. many of us are more musicians than anything, not interested in making a career out of learning the ins and outs of a program. does a wealthy person who buys a Ferrari know anymore about his car than the guy who drives a Nissan Maxima? no. he just knows he wants the best money can buy. he wants to stick the key in the ignition and start driving. not worry about looking under the hood.
 
i'm trying out Sonar on a trial basis before i buy. right now i use Mixcraft 5. couldn't be more easy and i didn't need to read the manual. very intuitive. the problem that many like myself and awinant run into is we foolishly think every application has that same intuitive quality. simple things should be intuitive. on Mixcraft there isn't any "select output channel for MIDI". you insert a MIDI track, tell it what MIDI device you want to use then select what softsynth you want to control. simple as that. i figured out how to insert a softsynth into Sonar (i use z3ta+), but i didn't really spend too much time trying to figure out why i couldn't insert a 2nd instance of z3ta to play over the first track. i only fiddled around with it for like 15 minutes so i expect to become more proficient over the next 2 weeks. Sonar certainly looks like its a DAW for the big boys.

By the way, I'm struggling here with ending the MP3 exporting. I purchased Cakewalk's version (19.99) after installing the LAME encoder, yet it's still using the lame encoder.

And, I can't seem to cut out 30 seconds of silence at the end of the song (is this an MP3 exporting thing or some way of marking the end of the song within the file?)

Maestro- I don't think it is a slip editing thing. My clips all end where I want the song to end, and all volume levels go to negative infinity at the same time... Did you check out my song? Curious to know what people think.

Hi awinant-

This is my first song, thanks to all your help! Let me know what you think!

Congratulations!

You'll no doubt get more responses if you post this to the SONGS forum.

-Susan