A +1 here for Melda Production Plugins, but as many have said you can do all you need with the stock plugins. And I can't help but PLUG my youtube channel here, I recently did a full mixing series where I mixed a song from start to finish using only the stock plugins in Platinum, I used the prochannel mainly. There are 11 videos in the series and I did it to help people just like yourself.
You can watch the series here ----> https://www.youtube.com/p...0a_ROe0F3ws2HKypmCXDQm

I bought what I did for the presets. I need help to get me in the ballpark. I can handle it after that, but no way could I accomplish anything without some "clues". Just look below at my sig and you'll see what I decided to start with. 

Chevy
 I appreciate VERY MUCH the comments, but for some reason I don't believe that the modest plugins I have are necessarily the right way to go...  even on a budget. They may be, but... I just don't know right now... There are a buzzillion products out there, and some are definitely just plain better than others. They sound better, they're easier to use, etc. You can have an eq that's so complicated, even though it sounds good, and is economical, that it's just not worth the effort and time. I'm hoping to narrow down the field so I don't have to waste time sorting out what's worthy and what's not.

 
I've had access to well over a thousand plug-ins over the years due to writing so many reviews. There is no one answer. Take reverb - each one has its own character. I have several expensive and inexpensive reverbs, and they all have their uses if you're willing to be picky enough to choose one. But if I had only one of them, it would make very, very little difference (if any) on the emotional impact of the music.
 
Or take SONAR's QuadCurve EQ, which is excellent. It has four distinct analog EQ emulations that have different uses. Someone might pick a third party EQ that uses one of those curves and think it sounds great, because it fit the material. But if that same person knew the QuadCurve well enough to be able to choose the right curve for the right job, they would not have needed the other EQ.
 
At this point, I believe different plug-ins will have virtually no effect on your music (and the kind of music you make matters as well). I recommend that you use what you have and learn it. No matter what you use, it will not choose the right settings for you; the best you can hope for is that you stumble on a preset that just by accident, coincides with your needs. There's no shortcut to learning your tools, because it all depends on your application. And no matter what a company's marketing department wants you to believe, there is no "magic bullet."
 
Eventually, you will probably find that no matter how much you know, some plug-ins won't do what you want them to do. For example, SONAR does not include a good multiband maximizer. At that point, it's worth investigating what else is out there. I would recommend the Ozone 6 maximizer and the Waves L3 Multimaximizer, but even those two plug-ins - which are excellent - are subtly different, and I'm sure others will post that they like different ones better.
 
Asking the people in this forum to recommend plug-ins is kind of like asking them to recommend girlfriends . It all depends on what's important to YOU, and no one else knows that. The only way you'll know is through experience. 
 
 
 

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I would agree that what you 'need' you already have for the most part, except maybe some specialized stuff. As you grow you will undoubtedly experiment and gather a larger arsenal of tools, and like most, far more than you need. I never really used any of the Sonar supplied stuff outside Pro Channel, I did mess around way back with some sonitus stuff, or whatever they are called, but I just didn't get on with them, something never clicked, same with the tools that came with REAPER, it's all there, all you need, but I just didn't click with them, look/UI whatever (look isn't probably a good reason to discard something . . . but) it just didn't happen.
 
I went through trying heaps of different stuff, Melda and Fab Filter Total bundles, Toneboosters, T-Racks, Izotope etc etc, until Waves ditched the iLok, then I tried them, love them to death, if it wasn't for Ilok I would climbed aboard the Waves boat long ago, and for me my search would have been over and I would have saved HEAPS of money. I'm lucky in that the money side of things is of no concern, but I still don't like just throwing it away. Now I just use Waves pretty much exclusively, along with Izotopes Ozone 5/6 Advanced, Alloy 2, Nectar Production suite and maybe some other stuff now and then like the T Racks stuff, but not very often. I ALWAYS use the Sonar quad curve in Pro Channel on the master track (sometimes others) because it just adds something very nice, easy to use, and it really is nice.
 
I could recommend heaps of stuff that I like and think are great, you may not. I can recommend the ToneBoosters catalog, the are very nice plugs, and cheap, you get the lot for not much over $100 if memory serves, Izotope's stuff, more expensive, but good all in one for mixing and mastering. There are also heaps of free stuff like, Tokyo Dawn Labs eq and compressors, Mercurial, Ignite amps, Lapou and TSE for guitar sims and effects, all excellent stuff, there is so much out there.
 
Mess around with what you've got, try out some of the freely available stuff, some of it is very good, and worthy of the task, and by all means, if you can and have the desire try some of the commercial stuff, if there are demo's, put them through their paces before parting with your cash, and try a few different ones before you do, don't just settler for the first one, you may find something that just gel's with you, just clicks.
 
Most of all have fun

Chevy
Also, to the others, I appreciate VERY MUCH the comments, but for some reason I don't believe that the modest plugins I have are necessarily the right way to go...  even on a budget. They may be, but... I just don't know right now... There are a buzzillion products out there, and some are definitely just plain better than others. They sound better, they're easier to use,etc. You can have an eq that's so complicated, even though it sounds good, and is economical, that it's just not worth the effort and time. I'm hoping to narrow down the field so I don't have to waste time sorting out what's worthy and what's not.

Firstly, the plugins that come with Sonar are not "modest". By and large they're as 'good' (or 'bad', these things are very subjective) as many, many others. The same can be said for the plugins that come with most of the long established DAWs. It's not so much that one plugin is 'best' and another 'worst', it's that after a certain point and sufficient experience you might decide that you feel the need for a particular sound, or a particular effect, that you don't have.

But to get to that point you first really ought to be very familiar with what audio processors do and what the characteristics of any particular category, e.g. "compressors" or "eq" or "chorus" or "delay" actually are and what makes one different to another and why those differences might matter. Which means being familiar with what you already have. And not relying on presets but learning how to set them up yourself.

It's easy to drown in plugins, there are so many, and it's a trap best avoided.

Since you mentioned CA-style compressors and limiters, Cakewalk's own CA plugin and Concrete Limiter are extremely good and hold up well against any.

What you have now is probably sufficient. An important related aspect is understanding what a plugin does, since that individual type has "common components" that will apply to them all (some plugs are "hardwired" for certain elements).
 
An example would be a compressor - knowing when to use it, why to use, and how to use it trumps out nitpicking this compressor versus that compressor. That knowledge is paramount to learn... having the "best" (which is a subjective term anyway) means nothing if you cannot properly use it.

Bristol_Jonesey
Just as an aside, if you do have spare money burning a hole in your pocket, look at other aspects of your studio before spending on plugins which might, or might not be what you want.
 
Look at your mic locker, room treatment, monitors etc.
 
Upgrading in these areas will make an immediate and significant difference to your music.

I agree totally And there is no update required if changing OS

To be Honest, Mixing and mastering is basically about the use of a few plugins only.   If you use the plug-ins that came with Sonar and familiarize yourself with how they work, you will have half of mixing and mastering done correctly.  The other half depends on how you use your plug-ins.  Will you mess up the mix for mastering, or will you develop a solid mix and master with what you are willing to learn about the proper use of the plug ins you already own.
 
You decide
 
Here is a great "SoundOnSound" magazine article about the fundamental of Mixing.  Take a read and then see if it's the plug-ins or is it you.
 
Fundamentals of Mixing Article

sausy1981

Bristol_Jonesey
Just as an aside, if you do have spare money burning a hole in your pocket, look at other aspects of your studio before spending on plugins which might, or might not be what you want.
 
Look at your mic locker, room treatment, monitors etc.
 
Upgrading in these areas will make an immediate and significant difference to your music.

This could be the best advice you've been given. If you have the money, don't buy plugins, treat your room.

This is so true. Budding engineers often take forever to get around to improving their monitoring situation, but as soon as they do, they realise it's the first thing they should have done.

I'd rather mix through a budget Berhinger live desk with only the built-in EQ in a good room with good monitors than on a Neve 5088 in a bad room with bad monitors, and I'm not joking.

John T

sausy1981

Bristol_Jonesey
Just as an aside, if you do have spare money burning a hole in your pocket, look at other aspects of your studio before spending on plugins which might, or might not be what you want.
 
Look at your mic locker, room treatment, monitors etc.
 
Upgrading in these areas will make an immediate and significant difference to your music.

This could be the best advice you've been given. If you have the money, don't buy plugins, treat your room.

This is so true. Budding engineers often take forever to get around to improving their monitoring situation, but as soon as they do, they realise it's the first thing they should have done.

I'd rather mix through a budget Berhinger live desk with only the built-in EQ in a good room with good monitors than on a Neve 5088 in a bad room with bad monitors, and I'm not joking.

noted, and thanks

Chevy
Wow... overwhelming response...  thanks so much, all.  I'm holding onto my skinny piggy bank for the moment, trying to figure out and make do with what I have, and can pick up for free.

 
Also a smart move. I make myself not buy any gear really, until I've identified a clear use for it.
 

 
 
Now looking for a great reverb, free if possible, don't like the Sonitus one, or the BlueVerb, seem to color the sound. Any suggestions? 

Which version of Sonar do you have? The included Breverb is pretty good, but not sure what versions it does / doesn't come with.

I never really got along with the Lexicon, though I know others rate it highly.
 

twaddle

TheMaartianI surely don't know how you came to that conclusion. Here's what I read in the OP.

 
I think what John was alluding to and what you must surely have missed was the fact that the Op was asking for Economy plugs and you're suggesting the most overpriced bundles on the market, not to mention ilok. If waves are economy what the hell do you call expensive pro plugs?
 
Waves, (as you pointed out) are ridiculously priced.
 
I would suggest the OP steers well clear of waves and takes the advice of Bristol_Jonesey and pwalpwal and gets to know how to get the best from what he has because what he has can do a pretty good job and the are oodles a tutorials from cakewalk about mixing and mastering.
 
Maybe if he feels he wants to spend some more money for that extra polish something like Izotopes Ozone would be worth looking at as an all in one solution.
 
 
Steve

Something is seriously wrong with this post Steve.
 
Not one mention of BFD3.
(I crack me up)