Merry Xmas everyone!
 
With Sonar X3e Studio + Melodyne Studio, I'm returning to Sonar for the first time since V2.2. I am investing properly in training. I've just finished watching video #47 of the 50-part Groove8 series, and have Scott Garrigus' book as a reference. I might even dip into the 2,000 reference pdf as needed.
 
Tomorrow I want to go hands-on for the first time. Though there's a lot to know -- I think having a master list of shortcut keys printed out is going to be very handy -- I'm pretty psyched!
 
(Especially about the comping features, and the Melodyne integration. I bought the first versions of Sonar and Melodyne, and am blown away by where they are today.)
 
Anyway, as I set out, I'd like to ask experienced users: what are the top 1-2 things which aren't in (or obviously in) the documentation, which you wished you had known from the outset, but only stumbled upon later?
 
This could be anything
-- a major-time-saving tip; 
-- stabilty-enhancing settings; 
--how to avoid  some catastrophe or other due to a known issue (for example, I have read here once that auto-save should be disabled, and one should just save manually often); 
-- a useful global setting, or CAL script, or some other outstanding thingie which save you time / makes you smile.
 
Grateful for any tips. Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Back up early and often.
Make sure you know where your audio files are. Use Per-project audio folders.
Know that there are bugs in the software - not necessarily fatal ones, but things that can confuse you - I'm thinking specifically of cut-n-paste bugs. Hence:
Use a scratch project to test how features work. Explore each feature so you know what to expect when working on your "real" project.
 
 

The biggest hurdle for a lot of people is the Skylight interface, meaning, if you were used to the "old" way of doing things, then it might be a bit bewildering at first, but after using it for a while, you will not want to go back.  At least that's the way it was for me....

Happy Holidays,
 
If running the 64 bit version of Sonar, In my experience, the setup is more stable running 64 bit plugs. This required me to do some plugin house cleaning but I believe this got rid of a few  "ghost in the machine".  Welcome to X3 and enjoy..

Thanks all!
 
Stickman, yes, learning with a few scratch projects is my plan. Digimidi, the skylight was a bit daunting at first, though the Groove8 videos help a lot. There do do seem to be several places to find many of the same things -- that will take some getting used to, but should be manageable.
 
LunaTech -- doesn't j-bridge work ok in Sonar? There are only a few 32 bit-only plugs I care about, such as a some from Variety of Sound / Tokyo Dawn Labs (e.g. Slick Eq), but I do care about them a lot...

lingyai!  Haven't heard from you in years!  Glad to have you aboard... You'll love X3...
 
The comping is exquisite!  Super tools, lots of ways to use.
 
Track Templates.... a godsend!  I'm getting heavily into Spitfire/Symphobia and X3's track template system is a critical thing to get into from the beginning!  Everything from vocal settups, including sends to your favorite verb/delays...in one second you're off makin' music.  Just spent the past two xmas days solo setting up 2 16 channel templates with Kontakt libraries which can be brought up and tweaked to a new song in seconds....
 
X3 is sooooo powerful if you can get power user stuff down you'll spend most of your time creating awesome music!  
 
The Forum.... it is amazing.... very knowledgeable people here always respond quickly...mark any quieries for "instant notification" to carry on near realtime conversations...Also, read/go throught Craig Anderton's Blog/tips pegged at the top of this forum.... it's a goldmine!

Howdy Vastman! You are vast indeed. Thanks for flagging templates. When I got introduced to them in the videos I did make a mental note what a massive time-saver they could be, as, like you, I regularly load up multi-out instances of Kontakt, which can be such a pain to do each time. 
 
I found myself on the verge of falling off the pony during some of the Groove8 videos, not because they're bad (on the contrary, I just finished the last one, they are excellent) but just the sheer volume of features, options and ways to do the same thing.  But I got the sense that few are fluff; that no one thing is too complicated to execute;  and in fact most are somehow or another designed to save time and / or make it easier to see the right things at the right time. So, yeah, seems that I if invest up front the time to learn to power tips (especially those keyboard shortcuts) I can rule the world.
 
Oh, speaking of multi-out instances of Kontakt ... seems learning to set this up is something of a rite of passage with each DAW. Are you aware of a quick-start / idiot's guide which shows how to assign each Kontakt (5) output to its own Sonar audio track?
 

This for X1 but it is just as useful for X3. Welcome back!
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2382979

Do the tutorials as listed in the Help file. If for no other reason than to make sure you've got the basics down pat. Welcome back.

Sonar comes with BitBridge, and you can use JBridge as well, BUT you still may encounter issues with some 32-bit 3rd-party plugins when using them in a 64-bit Sonar.
 
Most folks have been moving to using only 64-bit plugins in a 64-bit Sonar, and once this transition is made many many problems seem to go away.
 
When particular 32-bit plugins are needed - and they don't work well in 64-bit Sonar with either BitBridge or JBridge, then you might want to consider working on that particular project in a 32-bit instance of Sonar.  That would avoid having to use any bridging software, BUT you then wouldn't have access to any 64-bit plugins for that project.
 
I would suggest that AS you learn, you also experiment with the techniques you are learning, so that you aren't trying to keep too many new concepts in your brain at the same time.
 
In other words, if you are learning about Quick Grouping, set up a dummy project and play around with what you need to do in order to get familiar with Quick Grouping.  This way, you will find it easier to get your head around things incrementally, and that should be easier than trying to learn it all at the same time - then try to apply all of the concepts at the same time.
 
These user forums are a GREAT resource for working through issues, and for when you get stuck trying to understand some of the features.  The folks in the forums really work hard at helping other folks.  I learn things all the time, and it motivates me to try to help others when I can.
 
Welcome back - you will REALLY like the incredible things you can do these days with Sonar, and with plugins like Kontakt and all the available libraries for it.
 
I also recommend you spend some time learning about setting up Track Templates.  They are incredibly helpful time savers and super powerful.
 
Bob Bone