CAKEWALK SONAR - Playing a DXI

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Playing a DXi
There are several ways to play a DXi:
• You can record MIDI data and use the DXi as a playback device.
Note: WDM or ASIO drivers do not improve performance when you play back
recorded MIDI data—the improvement comes only when you play a DXi in
real time from an external MIDI controller or keyboard.
• You can play the DXi in real time from a MIDI controller or keyboard. To avoid
excessive latency, your sound card must be using a WDM or ASIO driver. Also,
you must set mixing latency to the lowest achievable level (probably less than
10 msec.), which you do by using the Options-Audio command to open the
Audio Options dialog box, and dragging the Buffer Size slider on the General
tab.
• Some DXi’s that use the DXi 2 format can send MIDI data, sometimes
including MIDI notes, from their interfaces to SONAR. For example, some
DXi’s have MIDI keyboards built into their interfaces that you can click to
send note on/off messages.
Note: By default, SONAR does not echo any MIDI input or automation data
that a DXi sends to any track, but can record this data in any armed MIDI
track whose Output field is set to that particular DXi. If you do want to echo
DXi input to any MIDI track that has the focus, open the Global Options
dialog (Options-Global command), and on the MIDI tab, check the Echo DXi
Input to All MIDI Tracks option. This option also makes it possible to move
the controls in one DXi’s interface and change the settings in some other DXi’s
interface, if the focus is on the MIDI track that’s patched to the second DXi. It
also makes it possible to record notes or automation data from the DXi to any
armed MIDI track.
To Play a DXi with Recorded MIDI Data
1. Insert a DXi into the project (see “Inserting a DXi” on page 402, if necessary).
2. In the MIDI track that sends its output to the DXi, choose a MIDI channel.
3. Open the DXi’s interface (if it’s not open already) by clicking the Properties
button in the Synth Rack view, or by double-clicking the name of the DXi if it’s
patched into the Fx field of an audio track.
4. Set the DXi’s parameters (choose sounds, effects, etc.), and drag its interface
out of the way (the DXi’s interface does not have to be open for the DXi to
sound).
5. If you want to save your DXi settings, type a name in the Presets field, and
click the Disk icon that’s next to the Presets field.
6. Record some MIDI data into the MIDI track.
When you play back the recorded MIDI data, you should hear the DXi through
your sound card’s outputs. If you don’t, make sure your data is in the right range; a