Inserting tracks

You can insert new tracks by a variety of methods. When you insert multiple tracks, you can set track output properties at the same time. If you want new audio tracks to always use the same output bus, you can set that bus as the default bus.

For step-by-step instructions, follow these procedures:

To insert a single track

Do one of the following:

Click the Insert menu and choose Audio Track or MIDI Track. You can now quickly insert a new audio or MIDI track by using the following keyboard shortcuts:

CTRL+T = Insert Audio Track

CTRL+SHIFT+T = Insert MIDI Track

Right-click in the Track pane at the place where you want to insert a track, and select Insert Audio Track to add an audio track or Insert MIDI Track to add a MIDI track.

Press INSERT to add a track of the same type (audio or MIDI) as the current track.

Click the Add Track button in the Track view to open the Add Track menu.

Sonar shifts the current track and all tracks below it down by one, and inserts a blank, new track at the location of the highlight.

To insert multiple tracks

1.	Use the Insert > Multiple Tracks command to open the Insert Tracks dialog box.

2.	If you want to insert audio tracks, do the following:

Fill in the number of audio tracks you want to insert in the Audio section’s Track Count field.

Pick a main audio output for the tracks in the Main Destination field.

If you want the main output that you chose to be the default output for new audio tracks, enable the Set as Default Bus check box. You can also choose the default bus by right-clicking a bus, and choosing Set as Default Bus from the pop-up menu.

If you want your new audio tracks to contain a Send module that outputs to a specific bus, choose the bus in the Send field. If you choose None, the new audio tracks will not contain a Send module.

3.	If you want to insert MIDI tracks, do the following:

Fill in the number of MIDI tracks you want to insert in the MIDI section’s Track Count field.

Pick a MIDI output for the tracks in the Port field.

Pick a MIDI output channel for the tracks in the Channel field.

4.	Click OK to insert your tracks, or click Cancel to cancel the operation.

Your new tracks appear below any pre-existing tracks, with new audio tracks appearing above new MIDI tracks.

Note: You can also choose the default output bus for new audio tracks by right-clicking a bus, and choosing Set as Default Bus from the pop-up menu.

To use the Add Track menu

The Add Track button opens the Add Track menu, which consists of an Audio tab and an Instrument tab, each with relevant settings for creating audio or instrument tracks. You can specify the track type, number of tracks, and settings such as record enable, input monitoring, input and output.

Figure 141. Add Track button.

The basic steps for creating new tracks are as follows:

1.	Click the Add Track button to open the Add Track menu (or press SHIFT+INSERT).

2.	Select the Audio tab or Instrument tab, depending on which track type you want to create. The Instrument tab is also used for creating regular MIDI tracks.

3.	Select the desired settings.

4.	In the Track(s) box, specify how many tracks you want to create.

5.	Click Create.

Figure 142. Add Track workflow.

To create Audio tracks

1.	Click the Add Track button to open the Add Track menu.

2.	Click the Audio tab.

3.	Select the desired settings:

Input. Select the audio input device you want to use for recording.

Record Enable. Activate the Arm for Recording button on each new track (requires an input to also be selected).

Input Monitoring. Activate the Input Echo button on each new track (requires an input to also be selected).

Advanced. Show/hide the following advanced settings:

Create Folder. Place the new track(s) inside a new track folder. For details, see Track folders.

Create Bus. Assign the new track output(s) to a new stereo bus. For details, see Buses.

Create Aux Track. Assign the new track output(s) to a new aux track. For details, see Aux tracks.

Create Patch Point. Assign the new track output(s) to a new patch point. For details, see Patch points.

Output. Select any available hardware output, bus, sidechain, or patch point you want to use for playback.

4.	In the Track(s) box, specify how many tracks you want to create.

5.	Click Create.

Figure 143. Audio track settings.

A. Add Track button B. Audio tab C. Close D. Input E. Record Enable F. Input Monitoring G. Advanced (expand/collapse) H. Create Folder I. Create Bus J. Create Aux Track K. Create Patch Point L. Output M. Number of tracks N. Create 

 

Tip: To insert a new empty Audio track, press CTRL+T.

To create Instrument tracks

1.	Click the Add Track button to open the Add Track menu.

2.	Click the Instrument tab.

3.	Select the desired settings.

Instrument. Select the desired soft synth. The options are as follows:

Default. Select the default Cakewalk TTS-1 soft synth.

List of available instruments. Select any available VST3, VST2, or DirectX soft synth.

MIDI Only. Create regular MIDI tracks.

Input. Select the desired MIDI input device. The options include the on-screen Virtual Controller/Keyboard and all available MIDI input drivers.

Record Enable. Activate the Arm for Recording button on each new track (requires an input to also be selected).

Open Virtual Controller. Opens the on-screen Virtual Controller/Keyboard after tracks have been created. For details, see Virtual Controller/Keyboard.

Advanced. Show/hide the following advanced settings:

Create Folder. Place the new track(s) inside a new track folder. For details, see Track folders.

Instrument Track Per Output.  This option pairs a MIDI track with a separate audio output track (mono or stereo) for each synth output, assigning sequential MIDI channels. This allows you to have multiple Instrument tracks for a single instance of a synth. Note: If you specify more output tracks than the synth supports, Sonar will create additional synth instances as required.

Split Instrument Track. Split the instrument track into separate audio and MIDI tracks. For details, see Splitting an instrument track to separate audio and MIDI tracks. Specify which instrument output(s) to use for the split audio track(s). The options are as follows:

Main Outputs. A new audio track appears that uses the instrument’s first audio output as an audio input.

All Stereo. One new stereo audio track appears for each stereo audio output that the instrument exposes. Each new track uses a different instrument output as an audio input.

All Mono. Two new mono audio tracks (one Left and one Right) appear for each stereo audio output that the instrument exposes. Each pair of new audio tracks uses a different instrument output as an audio input.

Output. Specify the output. For Instrument tracks, select an audio port. For MIDI tracks, select an existing instrument or MIDI port.

4.	In the Track(s) box, specify how many tracks you want to create.

 

Note: When Instrument Track Per Output or Split Instrument Track is selected, the Track(s) counter specifies how many Instrument output tracks to create instead of how many unique instances of the synth to create.

5.	Click Create.

Figure 144. Instrument track settings.

A. Add Track button B. Instrument tab C. Close D. Instrument E. Input F. Record Enable G. Open Virtual Controller H. Advanced (expand/collapse) I. Create Folder J. Multiple Instrument Tracks K. Split Instrument Track L. Instrument Output for Split Instrument tracks M. Output N. Number of tracks O. Create 

 

See also:

Using instrument tracks

Converting an audio and MIDI track to a single instrument track

Splitting an instrument track to separate audio and MIDI tracks

To create MIDI tracks

1.	Click the Add Track button to open the Add Track menu.

2.	Click the Instrument tab.

3.	Click the Instrument drop-down list and select MIDI Only.

4.	Select any other the desired settings (see To create Instrument tracks).

5.	In the Track(s) box, specify how many tracks you want to create.

6.	Click Create.

Figure 145. MIDI track settings.

 

Tip: To insert a new empty MIDI track, press CTRL+SHIFT+T.

To repeat the last Add Track command

To insert a new track with the same attributes as the last inserted track, hold down the SHIFT key and click the Add Track button . A track is inserted without opening the Add Track menu.

To close the Add Track menu

To close the Add Track menu without creating any new tracks, do one of the following:

Click anywhere outside the Add Track menu.

Click the close button in the top right corner.

Click the Add Track button .

Press the ESC key.

Press SHIFT+INSERT.