You can do what you want - right click (on the track if memory serves me right) and change the position of the Pro Channel from before to after FX bin...

I think you are meaning switch it from pre and post fader as per this schematic unless I'm missing something?

http://blog.cakewalk.com/know-your-signal-flow/

http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3&language=3&help=Mixing.07.html
 
The PC pre/post is for the FX bin, for sends it is pre/post fader.

I often switch the ProChannel post FX bin to take advantage of the QuadCurve EQ. For example...amp sim in the FX bin followed by 48 dB/octave low pass in the QuadCurve to take out the high-frequency digital junk, and 12 dB/octave highpass to turn the "cabinet" into an open back.
 
But sometimes I put the ProChannel pre-FX bin...all depends on the application.

P-Theory
Not disagreeing with anything you are saying Craig but to CJ's point it is far more effective to invest time learning a few plugins well to get the most from them which is what I've done with the waves and kontakt stuff.

 
Well, I'm in an extremely fortunate position - checking out what SONAR's bundled plug-ins can do is part of my gig. As a result I find out about a lot of cool stuff I might not know about otherwise, and they become part of my personal "a few plug-ins I know well." Then again I wrote the original manual for Kontakt, so I know that extremely well and use it all the time. It's a great virtual instrument IMHO.
 
And totally agreed about the forum. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of Nomad factory plug-ins so I started a thread on which ones were people's favorites. There were definitely some that everyone liked, so I started learning those. I will get around to the others, but those "faves" were definitely worth checking out and do effects other plug-ins don't do.

Great thanks for all your help, good news on the fx bin I might have a dig around the plugins you have suggested when I get chance.

Sometimes there is just too many options to digest. Sonar definitely has some great stuff going for it.

P-Theory
Sometimes there is just too many options to digest.

YES YES YES!! All that matters is the emotional impact of the music. If you used nothing but ProChannel EQs or nothing but Waves of Universal Audio EQs, I believe no listener would care, or even notice. They want a hook that sticks in their mind.
 
That said, I also believe that if someone wants to use a plug-in because they like the way it looks, then that's the plug-in they should use. Inspiring visuals might very well impact the music more than specs.
 
I think perhaps one reason why people often use the plug-ins bundled with SONAR instead of third-party alternatives is because it speeds up the workflow, which at least for me is crucial for capturing inspiration...and the inspiration is what people hear, not the plug-in. There have been many times when I put in something like a Sonitus effect as a placeholder with the intention of replacing it, but never replaced it because it sounded just fine when it came time to mix. If it ain't broke...
 
One of the laugh lines I use at seminars is "No radio station ever called me and said 'We were going to play your record, but you used a solid-state preamp on the lead vocal!! No way we'll play that sucker now!'"

I think the bundled synths and effects are some of the best around. The Quad Curve EQ is my favourite when I want a clean, transparent EQ. I use Waves VEQ3 when I want to add some additional character. I've only begun to experiment with Blue Tubes. What a great value for those of us that don't have deep pockets. Since Addictive drums was added I'm not even using BFD that much.
 
Great value in the Producer bundle.

Anderton
One of the laugh lines I use at seminars is "No radio station ever called me and said 'We were going to play your record, but you used a solid-state preamp on the lead vocal!! No way we'll play that sucker now!'"

:-)
 

Part of me agrees and part of me disagrees with OP.
 
X3 was really the first version of Sonar that came with plugins I actually use. Melodyne (which I upgraded), Addictive Drums (which I upgraded to AD2), some of the Nomad stuff I use and of course, Prochannel which I really feel has not come close to reaching its potential and would love to see more third parties jump in on it as long as we also get a VST version of what we are buying. For instance, if FabFilter hopped on the Prochannel and I paid as much for it as I would their standard plugin, I would expect to get the VST version as well so I'm not limited to just using it on the Prochannel alone.
 
Plugins from previous versions of Sonar like Dimension Pro I've not touched in years. It's outdated and clunky compared to many of the newer plugins you can get that are along the same lines. I know there are some people who still use it and love it; I am not one of them.
 
The model they used for X3 I really liked: getting high quality plugins with an upgrade path such as what Melodyne did for us so we could get Editor cheaper or being able to update to AD2 at a discount for owning AD1 already. If they continue this trend with new plugins such as FabFilter, ProjectSAM or hell, Native Instruments, I would love that. I just hope they don't include the same plugins for X4 that were also in X3.