I am currently using Windows XP, 1 GB ram, 2.6Ghz processor, Finale 2005, and Sonar 4 Producer Edition. Once I load my saved midi file into Sonar 4, I am able to load VDL:2 as a VST plugin and I can convert the midi file into an audio file and write to an audio CD. However, when I convert the format into audio, all of the natural ressonace of keyboard instruments and the note length is VERY VERY short. All of the decay sounds correct when I just press play and while I am recording, however it changes when I listen to the audio file.

How can I change this so my recording sounds better? Has anyone used this combination of programs?

Thanks
Phil

Phil - I'm not a Sonar user, so I'm not sure how much help I can be, but a few things that may be worth asking...
When you're creating your audio file, are you doing so by ";bouncing"; in real-time, or (faster) offline. The offline method may cause dropouts if your CPU can't keep up. You may find that recording in real-time would yield better results. Some of this may depend on how many voices you're trying to record at once as well. If you're recording a large score with many instruments and highly polyphonic, it's not a bad idea to record a couple passes. For example, record just battery. Then record just glock, xylo, vibes, then marimbas and timpani separately. By recording less voices at once, it may result in less drop out if you're maxing out polyphony otherwise. Just a few thoughts...