Sonar users: WTF?

[Lee Flier]

So I'm doing a mix in Sonar and did some mute automation. On one of the tracks that was muted we decided that we might want to bring that instrument in for a bar where it wasn't before, so I soloed it so we could hear what had been played during that one bar and... we hear nothing.

 

I thought, "Surely solo overrides muting, or there's a way to configure it to do so." So I looked in the help file, and it says: "Mute takes precedence over Solo."

 

WTF? Why on earth would anybody solo a track that was muted unless they wanted to actually hear it?

 

Is there any way around this? I don't see anywhere in the defaults where solo behavior can be changed. Never heard of anything like this.

[WFTurner]

Considering that a manual solo button won't undo an automated mute command, I think if you give it some thought, that's a desirable thing. I don't want any manual movement to override any automated ones unless I've chosen to arm and record that movement to replace specific automated parameter.

 

As far as the logic in having a mute button have precedent over a solo button rather than visa-verca, A mute button over-rriding a solo button will be an action that only effects the track your examining while having a solo button override the mute button will not only effect the examined track but all others, hence shutting them off which is defeating the purpose of making the move in the context as you describe, wnating to hear a guitar track for one measure with the rest of the mix.

 

Personally I think the best thing would be for neither button have any effect when the other is in use.

[franknputer]

I disagree completely. I think you SHOULD expect a manually-executed solo to override an automated mute, every time. That's what the solo button is for, to listen to a single item to make judgements about it. Not overriding the mute is just stupid IMO.

 

I don't believe she is talking about un-muting the track in the mix - I think she's just trying to hear what's playing at that point, to see if she wants to un-mute it. Either way, though, a solo should solo - period.

 

Lee, is the solo set to act as a PFL? Perhaps there is a setting that has it act post-fader, that could be causing the issue? (Just a guess on my part, but worth a shot.)

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by franknputer I disagree completely. I think you SHOULD expect a manually-executed solo to override an automated mute, every time. That's what the solo button is for, to listen to a single item to make judgements about it. Not overriding the mute is just stupid IMO. I don't believe she is talking about un-muting the track in the mix - I think she's just trying to hear what's playing at that point, to see if she wants to un-mute it. Either way, though, a solo should solo - period.

 

Bingo. And yeah, it's incredibly stupid, I've never heard of this, in any hardware console or software package.

 

Lee, is the solo set to act as a PFL? Perhaps there is a setting that has it act post-fader, that could be causing the issue? (Just a guess on my part, but worth a shot.)

 

Well that's what I'm asking. Most consoles, software etc. have a way to set the behavior of the solo button so it can be PFL... but I don't see any in Sonar, and the help file seemed to state definitively that mute overrides solo.

[kylen]

I'm trying to imagine what I would try (since my DAW just friggin crashed - argh!) so maybe this won't help...I would turn off automation for a second and then solo the track I want to move the mute automation on along with a track that has the pulse - like Spiders' snare or something!

 

There's a little button near the upper right of my Sonar layout where I can switch out automation - but I don't remember if you can still see the envelopes...I hope so. I use volume envelopes to do that kind of thing so that might work too - you could switch it over from a mute envelope easy enough I think!

 

Good luck

[Lee Flier]

Kyle, thanks, yeah I was able to just turn off the mute and solo the track if I disable automation. And I can still see the mute envelopes, so it's cool. Still lame, but at least it's a workaround.

[kylen]

Cool Beans Lee! I'm not one to judge lame this weekend after crossing a 12v line and sending my DAW straight to hell...haha

[Anderton]

Solo...mute...I have a running complaint with the guys from Ableton, because in Live, you can't record solo button moves. My argument is that it's an important part of my live act, and I want to be able to record it. Their argument is that in the studio, the Solo button is for diagnostic purposes and if you're recording automation and want to solo something, you probably don't want that recorded.

 

Concerning Sonar, yeah it would make more sense if a manual action overrode an automated one...providing it wasn't recorded, of course.

[phaeton]

Shouldn't that be:

 

Sonar Developers: WTF?