Reference Guide

108 Tutorial 1 – Creating, playing, and saving projects
Playing project files
device that you want SONAR to treat as the default or main output device. This should be the output
on your sound card that has either speakers or headphones connected to it. In the Record Timing
Master list, select the input on your sound card that you plan to plug devices into, such as a
microphone, keyboard or other instrument.
If you are having trouble with any of the steps in the last section thus far, we have created a helpful
set-up guide on our web site that provides step-by-step instructions for configuring your audio
hardware. You can find it here: www.cakewalk.com/Support/hardwaresetup/
Setting the track outputs
The next important step is telling SONAR which output on your sound device you would like audio
tracks to play on. In some cases, it is desirable to have tracks playing different outputs (such as if
you are using external hardware processing for effects). In this scenario, you’ll want to set all of the
audio tracks to the same output.
Let’s start with the Bass track. Locate the track named Bass in the project. Let’s take a closer look at
a few of the track’s controls. If the track controls are not all visible, you may need to expand the track
to see them all.
To expand a track to make all of its controls visible
1. Point the cursor to the bottom edge of the track.
2. Click and drag down to reveal all track controls.
Tip: You can also double-click an empty space in the track strip to maximize/restore the track strip.
Control Description
This is the Mute button. It is used to silence a track during playback. Any tracks that are
muted will not be heard.
This is the Solo button. It is used to silence every track except the one that is soloed. This
can be handy for isolating a particular performance or recording for monitoring or mixing
purposes. SONAR allows you to solo multiple tracks simultaneously.
This is the Arm or Record Enable button, which must be enabled on any track that you want
to record onto. For more details, see Tutorial 3 – Recording vocals and musical instruments.
This is the Input Echo or Input Monitor button. When clicked, this enables the track’s input
to be heard directly through its output. For more details, see Tutorial 3 – Recording vocals
and musical instruments.