If you do not think you have what you need plugin wise (but I believe that you do), check variety of sound's free stuff before you break the bank, as well as Melda Production.
Best of luck.
Ps. I exclusively use SONAR's plugins, + a few UAD.
And I could have lived without the UAD (just wanted that LA3A)

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 think for the start you have already a nice arsenal of good plugs:
The PC La2a is a beast -
The PC Eq is good working-
VC 64 -great for vocs
PX 64 - great for drums ......aso asf
if you need more "colours" you also have the nomad BT stuff.
 
If you have registered your focusrite 2/2 interface,
you can get get the red eq and comp for free.
The sonitus plugs are imo a good and neutral sounding
starting point  .
Have fun
 

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

TheMaartian
 
 
 
 
I have a right to use SONAR any way I choose. I am surprised, and disappointed, at the way this thread has progressed.
 
My last post in this thread.

Sorry it wasn't a fun thread, but it should be...   anyways I do appreciate the info VERY MUCH, despite any negative comments. I'm a noob, and want to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. I know it may be perceived as lazy, but a million bright fellows have already done this, so I'm hoping to cut a few corners with your knowledge in hand. why reinvent the wheel? And $100 isn't by any means out of the question for a quality set of plugins!  Thanks for the offer, will read up on it and get back to you soon as possible. In the mean time, slightly overwhelmed with info here. 
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. What if something even like the T-RackS White 2A Leveling Amplifier is the simplest, most musical compressor that one can get for use on most all tracks, and may be had on sale for $69 ? (This is just for argument's sake, by the way)...  By economical I don't necessarily mean free. The Waves CLA2A is like $250...  to me that there ain't economical. I want to be able to get something decent and not be surprised later on that something of comparable value was much better. If I wind up getting 5 plugins that I use all the time, that work great, sound musical, and have to pay a coupla hundred or so for the set, that seems like a good investment to me. Sorry, perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier. 
 
Anyhow, maybe I should've asked everyone for their favorite economical plugins in each category?

If you are a noob you do make statements that assume much. Try this for size listen to your most favorite song, tell me what brand of EQ was used? Developers love the notion that people believe one brand is better than another. The real difference is how the devs color the basic function of a plugin. There are just a few ways to write a filter in digital audio. The thing to do is learn what you already have and do not fall victim to GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). What version of Sonar do you have? 

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. 
 
 
 

Anderton
 
 
 
 
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. 
 
 
 

I recommend no girlfriends if you are married or already have one. That would severely complicate everything and may stress the limited budget you already have.
 
I'm in the save your Semolians camp. Get to work and when you find yourself needing something, evaluate the situation then. If you want to save a ton of money, before you buy something ask yourself if you already have something that does the same task.
 
Rocky
 
 

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Everyone who uses a DAW at some point will attempt to "master" their production. Many however, will fail. This new series from studio wiz Michael Costa will show you the basics of mastering in the box using typical plug-ins and how to address many common issues found in recordings, as well as as more advanced techniques to solve other trickier problems.
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I currently have about 800 plugins installed with another 500 or so I don't have installed anymore.

It tells you there more plugins than you vp an ever use and some of us have more money than sense.

If you're starting out there's more than enough quality plugins to do any job you want except for a limiter. I think Craig mentioned that. There is a limiter but Boost 11 isn't really up to the job nor is it as good a plugin as others tha come with Sonar.

You been given lots of recommendations but the one that I'll make is to learn what you have already. Not just learn about a specific plugin but really what an eq does, how a compressor and limiter work what does a delay or a reverb do to your sound. Once you have a degree of skill and understanding then you'll also have the smarts to make your choices wisely.
Too many people (I was one) when they start out, think that it's about the plugins and really it's not. In reality it could all be done with pristine recording and mixing techniques with little else. Most mixes I've ever tried to fix have had too much done to them. It's often surprising how good things sound when you take everything out of the mix.
All the best.

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