Sonar has a lot of good plugins, so much so that I have to work very hard to not get pulled away from the
project at hand if not working for a client. I do great paid work but struggle in my personal efforts.
 
After some empirical analysis and honest reckoning I have decided that It would help me if I knew, beyond a general
sense, how others are applying these (Sonar's audio plugins)...
 
That said, main questions in the title... all opinions/tips welcome.
 
Thanks,
Mel

Hmm. Interesting question.
 
I think I don't really categorise things this way in my head. Everything is potentially useful for anything.
 
However, it seems your larger issue is "how to not get distracted and end up tinkering aimlessly". My approach to that is just to keep it basic, for the cast majority of tasks.
 
Think if you were mixing on a console. You'd have the console EQ, and maybe per-channel dynamics, like on an SSL or whatever. So I have my standard template set up like that. Every channel strip has (in this order) Quadcurve EQ > PC76 U-type Compressor > Console Emulator. Buses are the same, except with the 4k S-type bus compressor instead.
 
I also have standard reverb bus, with the sonitus reverb on it, and a standard delay buas, with the extremely humble Sony Simple Delay on it.
 
And that's what the vast majority of the mix work is done with. I only ever add or change when necessary.
 
For vocal and bass tracks, the compressor almost always gets swapped out for the CA-2A. For reverb, most things won't end up going to the sonitus, as at some point, I'll start to have a more specific idea about the reverb, but that's how everything gets sketched in. The delay will generally also change, or other delays will be added.
 
Pretty much everything and anything else will only be added when there's a case for it. By the end of a mix, there'll be all sorts on there. But tinkering and experimenting with unknown factors is very rare during a mix. I might allow myself one or two moments of that. Experimenting with new plugins, I generally do in downtime messing with old tracks that are already finished, and now aren't going to change.
 
 
 

There are definitely some types of plugins that are best deferred until the final mixing stage. Pretty much everything that goes on the master bus, for starters.
 
Some plugins are very CPU-intensive or introduce large amounts of latency, so they might be deferred just as a practical matter. But if you've got oodles of CPU horsepower and aren't playing virtual instruments in real time, then nothing needs special consideration - except those processors that massage the entire mix.
 
Compressors, limiters and equalizers on the master should be bypassed until the mix is nearly complete. A great mix will (theoretically) need none of those things, but that ideal can't be met if master bus effects are put in place too soon in the process.

Well, there are two schools of thought on that. Some people like to mix into master bus compression. I don't like to work that way myself, but there are some very good mixers who swear by it.

You're right, of course. Like you, I prefer to hold off on any master bus compression until late in the game.
 
Often, by the time I reach that point I find that no compression is needed. Consequently, I end up only using a master bus compressor maybe 5% of the time. My favorite mixes are usually the ones that have nothing on the master except a limiter, and it's not actually doing anything.

From the included plugs, I would say that any of the LP series should be avoided until mixing. The multi band comp seems to be a resource hog. I also leave any kind of limiter for the final mix.
 
I'm a rookie but I've learned to avoid anything that's looking ahead at the audio stream. One thing I really like about Waves is that they include average latency specs for different sample rates. This makes it easier for me to decide where and when to use the plug. It would be great if everyone published specs like that.

I simply use whatever I want whenever I want during tracking/mixing.
 
If the latency gets too high for reliable overdubbing, I just bypass all Fx 'E', track, then hit 'E' again.

Thank you all for your replies, some good direction here.
 
I like the points about latency, look-ahead and CPU load, I will
incorporate those considerations into my work flow though I think
my system is still considered adequate if not good for a DAW.
 
Thanks a Lot,
Mel

Yah, aside from mechanical issues like CPU load I don't really think there are any "musts" involved. You use what you need when you think you need it.
 
There are plenty of good recipes, and techniques that tend to work well, but for every one you can find plenty of cases where bucking that trend is also appropriate. 
 
I like to use EQs quite liberally on tracks, almost always subtractive. Getting rid of what you don't need will help clear up space in your mix. I like to use compressors generally on busses, though sometimes a track will need it to alter it's dynamics. I like to leave compressors for the busses to help gel things together and give each subgroup it's defining character and smooth out levels. 
 
The master chain is its own beast. I have a pretty solid recipe I use of console saturation, tape saturation, final EQ and a limiter. Sometimes I'll stick a compressor in there and mix into it, but like said above, I'm finding more and more I can leave it out and just use the limiter as my "faux mastering". If the project is going to get mastered by someone else I'll just flip it on now and then to see what's happening, if I'm doing it I'll give it it's final boost pretty early so I can tweak tracks into it. A tiny bit of stereo widening at the end (not much at all just a nudge). 
 
Sometimes I'll use a plug like VX64 on the vocal bus but when it comes to mix I'll dump it and replace it with dedicated plugs for compression, saturation, delay, and eq. The doubler in VX64 is quite good though, often it stays in.
 

I also use eq in a subtractive way, but I have seen situations in recording studios where the engineer would
pick a narrow Q on a bass track and boost it to hell.
 
Do any  of you guys use a stereo imager while tracking?
Does it add a heavy load?
 
Thanks
Mel