Setting up your MIDI Device

Setting up SONAR X3 to Record MIDI

Setting up your MIDI Keyboard

Initial Setup

• Go to Edit | Preferences | MIDI | Devices

• Tick the boxes for your MIDI Device. MIDI can be sent and received so make sure that you tick both devices under the “Outputs” and the “Inputs” sections.
  
• Click [Apply] then [Close]

To Record MIDI from your MIDI Device:

• Next, select the “--Normal--” template, name your project, and then select [Ok]

• Go to Insert | Soft Synth | SI Piano

• The Insert Soft Synth Options page will appear.
  
• Make sure that you have Simple Instrument Track, Synth Property Page, Synth Rack View, Recall Assignable Controls, and Ask This Every Time ticked.
  
• Then select [OK]

• SI Piano should appear

• Select the newly inserted SI Piano track and go to the Inspector View.
  
• The top drop down menu below "In/Out" is the input for the for this track. Select it and go to your MIDI Device and choose the “MIDI Omni” option.

• Select the bottom drop down menu for your outputs and make sure that this is set to “Mains” or “Master”.

• Lastly, enable the Record Enable and Input Echo buttons on the inserted synth track

• Select the “R” button on your computer keyboard.
  
• This will begin recording.
  
• Play your MIDI Controller and you should begin to see data writing in the Track View.

Notes to the Community: Please post comments/suggestions for improvements below.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Great, thanks for the update. I've had class compliant input devices act like that before. They needed Windows to reinitialize the driver. I doubt the Mac thing had any impact, but just cycling the hardware on Windows did it.

A delay will be adjusted/removed by adjusting your Audio Interface latency settings.

Edit > Preferences > Audio > Driver Settings.

You can adjust the mixing latency slider there or, if using ASIO, you can open the ASIO Panel from there and change the size.

[MadsenDev]

I got the delay fixed so it's all good. :)

[MadsenDev]

Also, thank you so much for responding and giving help. :)

[MadsenDev]

Strangely enough it seems to be working now. Weird. I tried replugging it earlier and restarting Sonar without any of it helping, but now it seems to work just fine. Only thing I did different from before was plugging it into my mac to try it with Logic which shouldn't really be the fix. Seems to be a slight delay though.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Okay, with SONAR open, take a look at your Windows taskbar icon section near the clock. You should see a little keyboard with 2 red lights.

When you have a MIDI track inserted and armed, and press a note on the keyboard, are you seeing the Left red light illuminate?

[MadsenDev]

Seth: It's just a simple, small Korg MicroKey.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Torpington, what device are you attempting to use? Many MIDI devices have multiple MIDI in ports and won't transmit note data across all of them.

Also, a substantial number of Midi Controllers/Keyboards need their 'Local Control" turned off before they will output all MIDI Note Data.

[MadsenDev]

Didn't work for me. Everything seems correct up until I try to use it and nothing happens. It recognizes that it's there, I set it as input source and all just like described, just nothing.

[JohnnySalve]

thanks for this, because of you a $100 MIDI keyboard has not one to waste

[Pallihiki]

Thanks, really helpful for supernoob like me.