Reference Guide

261
Input Monitoring
Recording
The feedback problem results whenever you have a loop in your mixer path: the output of your mixer
is patched into the input of your sound card. Feedback can happen with or without input monitoring,
but since input monitoring can add several levels of gain to the signal flow, it’s of greater concern
when you have input monitoring enabled. Input monitoring is disabled by default when you install
SONAR, and you enable it with the following procedure.
To Enable Input Monitoring
• Turn your speakers down, and on an audio track that you want to monitor, click the Input Echo
button so that it’s lit up (on) . To disable monitoring for this track, click the button off.
Or
• Turn your speakers down, and on the Playback State toolbar (to display, use the Views >
Toolbars > Playback State command), click the Input Monitor button so that it’s lit up—this
enables input monitoring on all tracks. To disable monitoring for all tracks, click the button off.
Now you can hear your instrument in real time with any plug-in effects that you want to patch into the
current track. You might also hear an echo, because the dry signal is coming out of your sound card
slightly ahead of the processed signal. To eliminate the dry signal, see the next procedure.
To Eliminate the Echo from Input Monitoring
1. Open the software mixer that controls your sound card. If your sound card uses the Windows
mixer, open the mixer by using the Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Volume
Control command, or double-clicking the speaker icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. In the Play Control window of the mixer, check the Mute check box in the Line-In column, or in the
column of whatever jack your instrument is plugged into, and close the mixer window.
Now you can hear only the processed sound when you use input monitoring. Using WDM or ASIO
drivers for your sound card keeps latency to a negligible amount.
To Enable input monitoring when arming tracks
SONAR makes it possible to automatically enable input monitoring when arming a track for
recording. To do so, hold down the SHIFT key while you click on a track’s Arm button . Likewise,
holding down the SHIFT key while disabling record during playback will disable input monitoring.
Note: This procedure does not eliminate feedback from your system, only the echo. If you
experience feedback, you have a feedback loop somewhere in your mixer setup.
Warning: Be extremely careful when enabling input monitoring on an armed track if you are
working in a room that contains both live microphones and studio monitors. In such a scenario,
enabling input monitoring on an armed track can result in an extremely loud feedback loop
between the mirophones and monitors and can damage your ears and speakers.