Hi Everyone,
I have been looking for days on the internet for beginner tutorials for Sonar Professional. All I have found is endless demos on different plugins, ans so on. They all assume that the reader has a background in MIDI or Sonar Products. What they all have in common is they show "What the various parts do"  but nothing on "how to do it." In some cases  they do not indicate where the part is.  I have installed plugins via Cakewalk Controller but they do not show up and have no idea where they are. Is there any absolute beginners tutorials/step by step book that actually assume the viewer knows nothing about MIDI Audio recording? The user manual is useless, minimal info and assumes previous knowledge.
Appreciate any help.
 
ClifW1976

Have you tried the tutorials provided with Sonar?  There are eight or nine of them that will walk you through how to record audio, midi, etc.  They are not videos.
 
You can find them by clicking on the getting started pick on the help menu or get them here.
 
There is also some stuff on Cake TV that might help.

Have you tried groove3.com? You have to pay for access but I have found what I needed there. 

ekurburski@gmail.com
Have you tried groove3.com? You have to pay for access but I have found what I needed there. 

Groove 3 is worth it, it'll not only give you access to sonar tutorials, but also many other plugins and mixing, mastering techniques in general. And all for around $15 for 30 days unlimited access.
Sometimes you can catch $10 30 day specials.

here is a couple beginner tutorial video's I did a few years back on midi.
Basic Midi in Sonar x2
Sonar X2: 3 Ways To Midi
 
 enjoy

I feel your pain.  I know my way around now, for the most part, but when I first got Sonar and tried to make sense of it, that was daunting.  For me, it seemed as though it was assumed that anyone who would buy Sonar already knew the basics of a robust DAW.  I did not.
 
Please realize that it will take some time to learn this DAW, and also that you will learn it.  Don't give up.
 
If I understand your current troubles, in Preferences, you might need to run a Manual Scan for VST's.
 
https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR&language=3&help=Dialogs2.064.html
 
It may help if you explain exactly which plugins you've installed and are trying to use.

You have to remember that Sonar has almost all of the functionality of a full professional recording studio.  The first time you walk into one of those, you would not expect to know what to do.  just because its software doesn't mean its easy.

This is the same I've been repeating since my post #1 (exaggerating :o):
 
IMO the best way to get grips and a larger view of SONAR is simply 1) do the tutorials that come with SONAR 2) to read the whole 1800 page reference guide.
Of course you don't remember or understand half of it by first read, but you get an idea of what can and cannot be done and in which direction to look for help in any particular situation. Also, you can mark the most relevant things for repeated reading and mark the most difficult/advanced things as "to be revisited after a few years".
When you have some idea of the vastness of the information, you know better what kind of videos you possibly need to watch etc.

My wife teaches elementary school. Good lessons there on how to approach any vast topic (like writing: start with alphabet, words, sentences, paragraphs but early on get them excited about communicating; add grammar and spelling in small doses along the way; introduce voice, perspective, structure, and related topics as needed, expand on selecting content and improving communication, move on to analogy, symbolism, and much more over the years).
 
What are you most interested in accomplishing with SONAR? Since people come to SONAR with vastly different prior knowledge, teaching materials that work for one person may not be best for another. For beginners the great challenge is to discover which features and functions are essential and what refinements and details can be put off for later. As you point out, the manuals are written from a narrow perspective of specifics of each tool and module. For SONAR, that takes more than 2,000 pages in the reference manual (installed with SONAR) even without adding material about the fundamentals of recording, arranging, mixing, mastering, synthesizing, harmony, rhythm, notation, etc.
 
So here is another vote for Groove3 (I am not affiliated with them). The best deal is to get a full year access pass that gives you access to everything they have. Even before purchasing, browse their offerings, and drill down to the list of topics in each course. That is a great way to get a sense of the depth and breadth of what there is to learn. Here are some obvious SONAR starting places among Groove3 courses: SONAR Explained, SONAR Platinum Advanced, Mixing with SONAR. But you can also get a lot out of courses aimed at earlier versions: SONAR 8.5 Explained, SONAR X1 Explained, SONAR X1 Tips and Tricks, and several more.
 
You might also get a lot from the fundamental courses that are not aimed only at SONAR: MIDI Explained, Music Theory Explained, The Fundamentals of Mixing, Mix School 101, Producing Electronic Music, Studio Secrets, and many others.
 
People take full multi-year college and graduate courses to learn music production (see Berkeley School of Music for online example, check syllabus and prerequisites for each course), and professionals continue to learn over many decades. So pace yourself and enjoy the journey. Best wishes to you.

I will second the groove 3 videos as well,
but the thing is with you tube as populated as it is you can almost find the same videos free on the web (you tube)
groove 3 vids are better no doubt but for just starting off those can sometimes be hard to follow.
the thing that will teach you the most is hours behind the screen my friend.
that and simple videos like the ones I linked in my previous post.
I made those videos for beginners just like yourself to be able to learn just the basics,
this is enough to motivate the common folk to take it from there and make great music with the tools they have at their disposal.