dwardzala
Greg's post above is a fantastic step by step guide.

It really is. I always wonder how some have the patience to construct those detailed, long (and helpful) posts, when all that is in the manual and tutorials :o/  :o).
I hope  the "target group" can appreciate that enough.
 

Wow, I finally have the chance to sit down (sans babies) and run my Les Paul into Sonar, and I look back to see all these helpful posts.  I'm very grateful to all of you.  And gswitz, what can I say?  Thanks a ton.  Now let's give this a shot...

... and it worked like a charm.  After I turned Input Echo on, of course.  Somehow I missed that step at first and was starting to wonder what was wrong.  I need to check out the presets and work through the last part of Greg's post, but I'm really happy right now, so thanks a ton!  And Kalle, I think I'm part of that "target group" now!  I know what you're saying though.  I wish I had the time to RTFM.  I used to.  Thankfully, this forum is populated by people who are happy to patiently help people like me who, for one reason or another, can't or won't figure it out for themselves.  And for that I'm grateful.

gswitz
(Also, don't forget to turn your guitar all the way up to 10 on the guitar body. No reason not to send a loud signal.)
 

Great step-by-step from Greg, but I had to cringe when I got to this line.
Those knobs are there for a reason, and 10(or 11) is not usually the best position.
More often than not, this can lead to some flatulence in the sound from the amp sim.
Your tone starts at the guitar, and it can have a dramatic effect on how a given preset in the amp sim responds.
You may find that many presets sound better with the guitar volume knobs set surprisingly low.
The cool thing is you can play with it while listening with input monitor turned on.
Like yellowcake, I tend to play the effect, so input monitor is essential.
Congrats on getting some free time (and some sleep). Mine are all grown now, but I remember those days.

fwiw, I think Greg might be Geoff. ;-)
 
RobertB, it's interesting that you don't leave the guitar at 10.  I had always considered that by turning it down you are really just adding noise. You can change the drive into the Amp Sim with the gain nob.
 
I'm going to compare notes recorded at different volume settings on the guitar and normalize to the same volume for comparison.
 
You have me curious.
 
http://stabilitynetwork.blob.core.windows.net/g-tunes/20141029_GuitarVolume.mp3
 

 
I did this several times with different tone settings. To tell the truth it just sounds like more noise to me as you turn down the volume on the guitar. There's a little difference in the attack on the notes (mostly me). But I can't hear a big tonal change from the guitar. Can you?
 
I am steadily lowering the volume each time. That's the only real change. I suppose there may be some small difference in tone. It's subtle for sure.

Oops. Sorry about the name thing Geoff.
You might have a bad pot on that guitar. You shouldn't be getting that kind of noise.
On an LP, there are two volume pots, and two tone pots.
By adjusting the volume/tone balance, you can go from a thick and buttery sound to very thin and brittle.
This, in turn, can have a dramatic effect on what the amp sim sounds. like.
Depending on what I am after, the pots are generally set somewhere from 3 to 7.
Good question G,and it's open for dialogue.

I like amp sims that can "clean up" when you turn down the volume, like a real amp. Sometimes the amp will do this itself, sometimes you have to do the right programming.

Craig, when you record for reamping, do you ever play the guitar with volume less than ten on a guitar with only one volume nob?

Really this question is for everyone. Better to turn down the gain in sonar or turn down the guitar volume?

Robert b, of course my tone nobs have a big effect as well as the pickup switch. In this case I was only interested in how the volume nob itself changes the tone.

My strat is a 1995 American with gold lace sensor pickups. The pots are old, but I've never considered them noisy. I clean them.

I'm presuming that the volume nob is not being touched during the performance. Obviously, When part of the performance, it must be used.

Robert with your lp, adjusting the volumes differently makes sense because you are balancing the pickups in that case. On my strat with only one volume nob, it doesn't appear to change the tone, just the noise to signal.

Robert, further, if you aren't adjusting the volumes during the performance, it might make sense to put the higher of the two at ten. Keep them in relative balance but keep noise low as possible too.