Hello everyone! Super noob here, but I have been doing a lot of research and hoping to continue to make an awesome album for my band. 
 
1) Other than some good microphones, good audio interface, and computer with software - Is there any hardware/equipment I absolutely need when trying to make good recordings? 
2) Do we have Sonar specific beginner guides available on here?
3) Panning the sounds, any guides? 
4) The pro-channel... is this for mastering only or can it be used for normal tweaking pre-mastering? I am making some really good sounds with it on, but not sure if I should be using it.  If not, should I apply effects only on the track columns? 
5) Sonar Eq guides for guitars, horns (we have a horn section), vocals)
6) Steps to get ready to send off your recordings for mastering.
 
 
 
 
Thanks for any help. I am willing to put the research in to make some great recordings. We have an awesome set-up and I am able to capture good audio, just a matter of knowing the program and what the standards are. 
 

All you ever wanted to know about Sonar X3
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3
 

1) good speakers, good closed headphones (multiples, with an amp, if you plan to record multiple people at once). A nice preamp would be nice but isn't exactly necessary so see what budget allows. Also, very important, a good tracking room/booth and a good mixing room. 
 
3) not really, it depends entirely on the mix and your taste. Check out some tracks with similar band lineup and see what they did. Again, good speakers and a good mixing room help with this tremendously. 
 
4) if it sounds good, it is good. The ProChannel doesn't really have any fx in it that are specifically tailored to mastering. But you can use it for whatever you like. 
 
5) again, very much depending on the sound of the individual instruments and the total mix you're going for. Rolling off some low rumble and high end nastiness can help, but even those aren't blanket rules.
 
6) if you're starting out and there are little old habits to get rid of I would suggest getting a loudness meter on your master bus and following the EBU R128 loudness standards. That way you'll always deliver something the mastering engineer can work with, dynamics wise. 
 
 
 
 

Hi. All good advice here. There are also many good videos on YouTube on X3
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY-BgrDToJMmQlHjkWoIp5hdl8Zy-nOdM
All the best.

There are already detailed answers above.
I have to point you to the quantity of recording channels/preamps
you will like to have. If you record your band "live", means all 
instruments at the same time, 8 or even 16 channel could be few.
Some drum mic technics need ( 2 for kick, 2 for sn, hat, 3 tom 2 oh,2 room)
11- 14 , other technics only 4 mics ,channels and preamps for the drums.
So you  possibly  will find 16 channels to few, cause guit, bass, horn section, vocals,
aso also need a rec. channel. 
 
 
 

Thanks for all of your replies guys, this really helps!!!

Don't forget a pop filter when recording vocals. Get the screw on type rather over the clamp type, the extra couple of books saves a ton of headache.
 
Panning - go hard left, hard right, or center for everything. That's old school but a neat effect.
Or, consider a live stage how you would arrange all the instruments and pan accordingly. You can still pan some things hard left or right. Most mixers tend to keep kick drum, bass, and lead vocals dead center.
 
For mastering, ensure your dynamics are how you like it and leave 12db of headroom before you send it off.