Stage Fright

I am assuming that you are concerned about the recording process per se, and not the material that is being recorded. In the latter case, Noel has good advice. If the former, your situation could be due to two issues:
1. Your recording is sub par.
2. Your expectations are excessively high.
 
1. Could be related to the studio environment, the equipment quality or the technique of using the equipment (mic choice and placement, level setting etc.). If the problem is technical competence, then recognize that recording engineers, who often are in separate bodies than mixing engineers, have typically spent thousands of hours learning to use the best equipment to capture the sound at the best quality it will deliver. If you are a professional recording engineer, then it might be fair to compare yourself to the best in your field. If not...
 
2. Could be related to the fact that you are comparing your recording to stuff you hear on the radio. That stuff is not really recording in the sense that it much resembles the dry tracks that capture the original performance. It has typically gone through hours of processing by experienced specialized mixing engineers followed as often as not by another pass through a mastering engineer's hands (ears?). In the event that you are getting great dry recordings, but less than polished professional final products, then unless you are a professional or have the same levels of experience, setting this as a goal may be a bridge too far.
 
There is a rough rule of thumb that it requires about 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery of most skills. A professional working forty hours a week, fifty weeks a year will get to that level in five years. I for one do not expect to live long enough to master these skills at the level of my involvement in what is just a hobby. In any case, it is missing the mark to experience fear at the initial stage of the process of making a record. Wait until you have completed the process, done your best at every stage, and then revel in the disappointment, shake your head at the waste of your limited life essence and start over. Or just quit and find something you enjoy more. 
 

soens
Relax and don't worry about anything. Hit "record" and act like you didn't.
 
Some guys used to admit to only singing in the shower. There's also something to be said about public restrooms with tiled walls. Other things that might work:
 
Solitary confinement
 
Well padded isolation booth
 
Alone in the car

That makes me think of one of the feature in Logic. You dont have to press the rec button in logic. Just keep playing. Once you feel like you have played something great just recall it by hitting a keyboard shortcut. Hope I am not wrong abt this. Its really great feature coz you are not gonna be conscious that you are recording something. Its like recording what you were singing in the shower. Only you never knew its getting recorded. You can play them back later lol

A glass of red wine before you hit the red button - Best not on every take though!

All the other person needs to know is where the R key is!
 

schwa
I'm not sure if I'm in the right forum, but I have been wrestling with this for many years. 
Sonar is a wonderful tool, and so much more powerful than when I started with Cakewalk Audio many years ago. 
 
My problem is that I am afraid of recording.  It seems every time I hit that red button, I am left with disappointing results.  In the past, I have blamed it on my tools - that I am missing some plug or instrument, or that my mics or pres aren't "good enough". 
 
Well, I have run out of excuses, I can't blame it on tools anymore. 
 
I'm not sure if anyone else has faced this problem, but I'd be interested to hear how you got past it.

 You are not alone. I refer to the record button as the suck button.  In this age most people just edit instead of retakes.

Its the fact that we know "tape don't lie."  When we are performing we usually are not able to evaluate the performance that much and wrong notes just evaporate into the ether never to be heard from again (except in my case where I will make the same mistakes over and over again.)
 
But when we are recording, we know that every mistake we are aware of when we play and all the ones we aren't are going to show up on that recording and be forever captured (or at least until we hit CRTL-Z or punch record over it.)
 
For me, I really try to not worry about the first mistake I make and any subsequent ones I make because I can record another take, punch in to fix the mistake, or edit the track.  Once you realize that a mistake is not the end of the world and its actually part of the process it becomes easier.  At least it does for me.

And if you want to double the stage fright factor.. do like I do and record all your live performances!! 

just chock it up to experience, the more you record, the easier it gets.
im not going to lie though, there are still days where tough passages frustrate me after 10 takes.
Noel is correct though, use take lanes. I don't use them that much but in your situation. learn about them. I only use them on the tough stuff.
 
I feel once you start popping out take lanes on every track, you take a way the fundamentals of inspirational recording which in my opinion is more important then the material you are recording.
once its polished to much, its ruined. you can only polish a turd so much before you look at it and say "its still a turd".
inspiration is captured through flaws and imperfections. something take lanes were never designed for  

There is a story about Tony Banks from GENESIS.  He too had stage freight when it came to recording.  Not when the entire band were playing but when it was time for him to do overdubs.
 
The intros to FoF and The Lamb are some examples.  The engineer would fool Tony into thinking the take was just to check the microphone placement and settings.  In this mode, TB could make it all the way through the take. 
 
So, fear not, you are in great company. :-)
 
Jim

Capture Last Take As Recording. This is a cool thing not just for recording without being consious abt it. But also in many other ways. Think about the times we hit the play button and thought we are recording. Wish sonar has this. https://ask.audio/article...ing-for-midi-and-audio You wont get nervous anticipating the recording if you practice capturing them from playback.

here I have started a feature request on this do vote http://forum.cakewalk.com...ecording-m3430634.aspx

Hey hey,
 
Worked my way through similar issues when I was younger, albeit in a round-about sort of way. I noticed early on that the RECORD light is a blessing really, much like a live performance it screams "If you're gonna do this, all you can rely on is what is in your hands and mind NOW". After much practice you'll see that this pressure really pushes you to the limits and often leads to surprisingly cool results just as long as you can learn to 'live the moment, surf the now...". Its a skill like any other, being spontaneous that is.
 
Secondly I'd recommend checking out some 'demo project' recordings. These are the 'raw sketches' that lead to epic studio recordings. They're loose, ragged, sound entirely imperfect and have little concern for anything but sheer creative bravado - be so blunt and to the point that even those that dont like it will have to admit you / the band / the song are really going for it. Once you are content to show ideas through sketches / demos this will take all the pressure off making it sound like a produced CD. Its just a means of communication then, get the melodies, harmonies and rhythms clear and you're set.
 
Hopefully you can see how the two things above come together. So much of confidence is getting things out the way so that your true self and skills can breathe. Relaxation and focus create the bucket, your natural creative spark will flood and thats when it gets interesting.
 
Now go improvise some music! :D