Tim Elmore

Melodyne will not receive keystrokes unless it has focus. No matter what you do, it won't see the Ctrl-Z keystroke, or any substitutes, unless you first click inside its window. Sonar will not allow you to unbind Ctrl+Z from its own Undo function. It is a dedicated keyboard shortcut. However, Melodyne will let you remap its Undo function. You could assign it to a keystroke that you don't have assigned in Sonar. Then, if you ever forget to give Melodyne focus before pressing your shortcut key for Undo, Sonar will ignore the keystroke, since it is not assigned in Sonar, and you won't lose your changes. Rather than go to that trouble, I just use Sonar's Redo function (Ctrl+R) whenever I inadvertently delete a Melodyne region. This restores the Melodyne region and all the editing that has been done. After hitting Ctrl+R, I click the Rx indicator in the edited clip in Sonar and choose "open editor." The Melodyne editor reopens and I resume editing where I left off.

To verify your results, I created a Melodyne region, did some edits, and then switched to a different track. Then I clicked on the original track (that has the Melodyne region) and pressed Ctrl+Z. The Melodyne window closed and the edits were lost. This is the same result you experienced. After that, I tried it a little differently. After I returned to the original track, I clicked inside the Melodyne editor window before pressing Ctrl+Z. I pressed Ctrl+Z, and Melodyne undid its most recent edit. Melodyne remained open and the other edits were still in place. I pressed Ctrl+Z a few more times. After each press, another individual Melodyne edit was undone, until I had undone all the edits. I suspect that Sonar and Melodyne each maintain their own history lists. If that is the case, then it would work like this: 1. Sonar remembers only that it opened Melodyne, and does not track specific edits. 2. Melodyne maintains its own history of individual edit operations. 3. If you go to another Sonar track and then click on the original track (e.g. in Track View) instead of the actual Melodyne window, focus is still on Sonar. It will process a Ctrl+Z by undoing the last command in its history, which is "Open Melodyne." 4. If, however, you return to the original track and then click inside the Melodyne edit window, focus is then on Melodyne. From this point on, Melodyne (not Sonar) receives subsequent Ctrl+Z keypresses and applies them according to the edits in its own history. In the past, I have switched back and forth between tracks this way a number of times, with consistent results. On occasion, I have decided to discard my Melodyne edits, so I simply clicked in the edited track (outside the Melodyne window) and pressed Ctrl+Z to delete the Melodyne region. When you return to the original track (containing the Melodyne region), try clicking inside the Melodyne editor before pressing Ctrl+Z.

It also works if you dock the Console View in Multi-Dock and maximize Multi-Dock. I actually run it this way most of the time. My left-hand monitor always shows Track View, maximized. My right-hand monitor has Multi-Dock maximized and containing Console View and Piano Roll View. I can switch between full-size Console View and full-size PRV with a single click to the corresponding tab at the top of Multi-Dock. All the while, the plug-ins stay on top of Multi-Dock. So you can try it different ways to see what is most efficient for your workflow. I love it when software is this flexible.

Make sure you are running the latest version of Sonar (I am currently using 2025.08, build 004). Just a couple of updates ago, they fixed a problem where plug-in control panels didn't stay on top of the Console View. I have my displays set up the way you described: Left monitor: Track View (with waveforms) Right monitor: Console View, maximized. I often have plug-ins on top of the Console View, and now they stay on top, fully visible, no matter where I click the mouse. There is a setting in Preferences regarding this: + So verify that you are using the latest version and that the box is checked as shown above.

Jim, You might want to try this: 1. Select the Smart tool (press F5) if you haven't already. 2. Press and hold the <ctrl> key down. 3. Move the cursor just below the segment you want to move. The cursor will change to a cross-hair pattern. 3. While still holding the <ctrl> key down, press and hold the left mouse button and drag the segment up or down as in the video below. Automation Editing.MP4 Be careful to position the cursor below the line segment, but not too low. When you are in the right spot, the cursor will change as shown in the video above. This was easier in CbB because the cursor didn't jump when it changed to the cross-hair pattern. I described the difference in my recent post "Automation Envelope Cursor in Sonar vs. CbB." Maybe they will fix it soon. In the meantime, at least it works. It just takes some extra care to move the mouse to the right spot.

It acts as though the graphic design of the new crosshair cursor is offset compared to the crosshair cursor in CbB. This would be consistent with the idea that it happened during the conversion to vector graphics. I hope it is as simple as that for them to fix.

When editing envelopes, such as volume automation, the cursor behaves differently in Sonar from what it does in CbB. In the CbB video below, I am holding down the <ctrl> key while moving past the automation envelope. Notice how the cursor changes to crosshairs as I get near the envelope, and changes back after I get a short distance past the envelope. To move the automation segment, I simply position the crosshairs directly over the line and <ctrl>-drag it down. CbB Vol Automation.mp4 In the next video below, I do the same thing in Sonar. As I approach the automation line, the mouse position jumps downward and to the right as I move across the line, and then jumps again as I get past the line. To move the automation segment, I must carefully position the crosshairs below the line, but not too far, and then <ctrl>-drag it down. Sonar Vol Automation.mp4 In CbB, I have no trouble aiming and dragging the line position. In Sonar, it is easier to miss the aim, so I slow down and do it very carefully. In CbB, I could work faster, especially when there were a number of edits to make. I would appreciate it if the cursor behavior for automation editing in Sonar would be made to match that of CbB.

Yes, using presets is an excellent way to have a track use settings from another track. But sometimes it's really nice to be able to instantly copy settings from one plug-in to another. It seems odd that the drag-and-drop method works in CbB, but not in Sonar. I don't know if this feature was intentionally removed or if I might just have something set different in Preferences or the .ini file.

Until recently, I have enjoyed the ability to copy settings from one ProChannel plug-in to another, using the drag-and-drop method. Although this works in CbB, I have not been able to make it work in the new Sonar. In this video of CbB, I copy the settings from the PC2A module on the left to the PC2A on the right. Copying ProChannel Settings.mp4 This feature is documented in the on-line help here: https://taylor.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=Cakewalk&language=3&help=NewFeatures.067.html The above video was made using CbB version 2024.12. I am currently using Sonar version 2025.07, and cannot get this feature to work. Has it been removed?

Regarding the issue of plug-ins disappearing under the CV: Open the Help module. The standard shortcut for this is "y". When the Help module is open, plug-ins that are displayed over CV will stay visible even after you click on CV. If the Help module is fully closed (not just minimized), then clicking CV will put any plug-ins underneath CV (not visible). To keep them on top, the Help module must be open. Since I don't want to have the Help module displayed all the time, I save screen space by docking it to the Browser, and then keep the Browser minimized when not needed. This keeps plug-ins visible even after clicking on CV. This costs a small bit of screen space where the Browser is shown as minimized, but it is the only workaround I have found.

Sonar recently introduced the handy A/B Plug-in Settings feature. This lets the user toggle between two plug-in setups or revert to the original setup. Please make this feature consistent so it will apply to plug-ins that reside in an Fx chain, not just plug-ins in an Fx bin. I often put an Fx chain in the Pro Channel so that I can put a third-party plug-in between two Pro Channel plug-ins. It would be really helpful to be able to use the A/B settings feature in these cases.

Regarding "pre-roll" recording, I handle it like this: Leave the Recording Mode set to Sound on Sound: 1. Instead of setting punch-in and punch-out points, just left drag the mouse cursor over the part of the track you want to redo. Then press <Delete> to erase that section. 2. Left click the mouse where you want to start rolling (this sets the Now Time). This can be earlier than the portion you deleted. 3. Hit Record. Recording will start immediately at Now Time. You will hear the undeleted part of the old recording, which does not get erased, but you will be recording alongside it. 4. Keep recording until finished and then stop the transport. 5. You will see the overlapping old and new clips in the Take Lanes display. Choose the best place to transition from the old to the new and edit the clip ends accordingly. You can even cross fade the two clips. This is how I get smooth transitions for instruments that tend to play continuously, such as piano. Now that I am used to it, this is as easy as using punch points. Some people will prefer to stick with conventional punch points, but you might want to give this a try to see if it does what you want.

Temporarily changing the track color is a step backward in convenience compared with CbB, but at least it's a usable workaround for Sonar. It's certainly a better option than changing the entire theme whenever I need to edit clip gain. Thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the response. I have the "Display Clip Fade/Envelope Attenuation" option unchecked. That is why the waveform size is not displayed larger where the gain is boosted. When the box is checked, the display behaves exactly as you described. I tend to adjust gain automation by ear instead of by the display, so I leave this box unchecked.

I am trying to do clip gain automation in Sonar while using the Tungsten theme. When the clip is displayed normally (not doing gain editing), the waveform shows up very well. However, when switched to Clip Gain Automation mode, the waveform background is dimmed to the point where the waveform virtually disappears. It's like editing blindfolded. This is very different from CbB in Tungsten, where the waveform background turns to medium gray during clip gain editing, and the waveform is still clearly visible. Here is how CbB and Sonar compare: In Sonar, this doesn't improve much at all if I switch to the themes Dark, Dark Gray, Mercury, Cosmic, Tungsten Classic, or Mercury Classic. Is there any setting that will keep the clip waveform from virtually disappearing during clip gain editing? I have been looking for any settings that might affect track highlighting or clip highlighting, but haven't found anything.