Reference Guide

572
Software Instruments
Inserting Soft Synths
To add a soft synth to the audio and synth tracks’ Input menus (drop-downs) and the MIDI tracks’
Output menus, you have to insert each soft synth that you want to use into each project. There are
two basic ways to insert soft synths in SONAR:
1. You can insert soft synths from the Synth Rack view or with the Insert > Soft Synths command.
If you use this method, you can choose to have SONAR create the necessary synth and MIDI
tracks, and patch them together correctly. If you want to use multiple synth tracks to take
advantage of SONAR’s support for the multi-output soft synth format, you need to create and
patch additional MIDI tracks manually to feed the additional synth tracks.
2. You can insert soft synths into FX bins of individual audio tracks. If you use this method, you need
to set a MIDI track’s Output field to the name of the soft synth you inserted. Then you can record
MIDI data in the MIDI track to play the soft synth with.
The procedure for inserting multi-output and single-output soft synths is basically the same. There
are just more tracks possibly involved when you insert a multi-output soft synth.
You can insert more than one copy (also called an instance) of the same soft synth. Each new copy
has the same name as the previous copy except for having a higher number after the name. Every
copy appears in a separate row in the drop-down menus of synth and audio track inputs and MIDI
track outputs.
To Insert a Soft Synth from the Synth Rack View or Menu
1. If you want to use the Synth Rack view, open the Synth Rack view with the Views > Synth Rack
command, and click the Insert button to display the pop-up menu of installed soft synths.
2. If you want to use the menu command, use the Insert > Soft Synths command to display the
pop-up menu of installed soft synths.
3. In the pop-up menu, click the name of the soft synth you want to insert.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog appears, unless you’ve previously unchecked the Ask
This Every Time check box that’s in the dialog. If you have, SONAR inserts the soft synth
according to the preferences you set the last time you used the Insert Soft Synth Options
dialog. If you need to open the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog when it’s hidden, click the Insert
Soft Synth Options button in the Synth Rack view toolbar.
4. Choose options from the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog according to the following:
• If you want to create a MIDI track that uses the soft synth as an output, check the Create These
Tracks: MIDI Source check box.
• If you want to create a single synth track that acts as an output for Output 1 of the soft synth,
check the Create These Tracks: First Synth Audio Output check box.
• If you want to create separate synth tracks for each of the soft synth’s outputs, check the
Create These Tracks: All Synth Audio Outputs check box.
• If you want to use existing MIDI and audio tracks to play the soft synth, uncheck all of the
Create These Tracks options. SONAR adds the soft synth to the audio track input and MIDI
track Output menus. You need to set an existing MIDI track’s Output field to the soft synth,
and set an existing audio track’s Input field to the soft synth (the audio track will then become
a synth track).