Reference Guide

258
Recording
Input Monitoring
snapshot taken at certain time intervals, while the actual waveform represents all the data that is
recorded.
• MIDI tracks display the actual data that they record, both in the Clips pane and the Piano Roll
view (not the Staff view).
• Automation envelopes and nodes are drawn in real time as the automation data is being
recorded.
If you want to turn off the real-time display of audio clips, see the following procedure.
To Turn Off Waveform Preview for Audio Recording
1. Use the Options > Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the General tab, uncheck the Display Waveform Preview While Recording option, and click
OK.
Now when you record audio tracks, a red swath appears in the Clips pane in the area you’re
recording.
Input Monitoring
Being able to hear plug-in audio effects applied to a live signal is an exciting feature of SONAR.
However, there are two issues that users commonly stumble upon when using the input monitoring
feature. The first is that the monitored signal seems to have an echo associated with it. The second
is that live input monitoring can lead to nasty feedback problems, particularly if you have an
outboard audio mixer, or you record from a different sound card from the one you are playing back
with.
SONAR has several buttons to control input monitoring:
• Per-track Input Echo button . Each audio track has an Input Echo button that turn’s that
track’s input monitoring on or off.
• Global Input Monitor button. The Playback State toolbar (to display, use the Views >
Toolbars > Playback State command) has the Input Monitor button on the right end, which
turns input monitoring on or off on all audio tracks with one click.
• Audio Engine button . Clicking this button so that it’s in its up position turns all audio activity
in SONAR off, which includes input monitoring.
To understand the echo and feedback problems, let’s look at how audio signals travel through your
sound card, the drivers, and SONAR. The following diagram depicts a simplified version of this
signal flow.
Note: When you use input monitoring, make sure that the track you’re playing through uses
the same audio interface (sound card) for both input and output. Using different audio interfaces
for a track’s input and output can produce distortion during input monitoring.