I've just finished a fairly complex project, and I'm thinking of stripping out the midi / audio data and creating a template for future projects. I've spent some time customising midi controllers and configuring routing and fx and it seems logical to try and re-use them.
However, I'm wondering how much to leave, and how much to strip out? I could leave all the 'standard' instruments, but then there's a danger that I'll just re-use the same patches each time, and I won't bother to look for 'new' sounds. (And the same principal applies to FX as well)
What do you do? Do you use templates? What is in them?

Whatever you like, I guess.
You can have project templates so you don't need to set up the basics each time,
and track templates, so I have track templates for drums, one for each type.
 
Like a ride cymbal template - I set EQ, fx etc. pretty much identical in each song. Saves time and makes things sound like they were recorded in one sitting in the same room.
 

There are two kinds of Template in Sonar - there is a Project Template, as well as a Track Template.
 
I myself don't do any grand Project Templates - I took the default Normal project template and slightly modified it to set some of the options the way I like to see things displayed.
 
All of the reset of things I do with templates, I do with Track Templates.  Most of the Track Templates I have are made for each different Drum Kit I use, where each track template would have each drum kit piece (each tom tom, each cymbal, snare, kick) sending its output to a separate audio output from the drum synth, as well as a track folder for Drums, that contains 2 midi tracks (1 for clicks and the other for the real drum midi data), all of the audio tracks for the different kit pieces, all of the routing assignments from those audio tracks back to the appropriate output from the drum synth, a bunch of buses, Drums bus, Toms bus, Cymbals bus, Snare bus, Kick bus, Parallel Comp bus, and I have each kit piece's gain pre-staged so that each kit piece is properly balanced to a common level.
 
So - by creating a Track Template for each and every different drum kit I create or use - I have built up a pretty good set of these templates, which I would then be able to reuse for new projects that happen to be using one of those kits I already built a template for.  
 
The above saves me lots and lots of time - as all of the work for setup only has to be done once for a given drum kit - and then any other time I want to use that same kit - a couple of mouse clicks and all of those tracks and settings and buses, etc. are all inserted and ready to rock.
 
Other folks may chime in with their own thoughts on Track Templates, and Project Templates as well.  I find the templates a HUGE time saver.
 
By the way - the audio data does not get saved in a template, so when you create a track template, you just click on the various tracks you want included, and when you export as a track template it will automatically include the relevant buses and effects and synths, and the various settings and patches - and for a project template you would delete off any stuff you didn't want included and the rest (except no audio) would be saved as a project template if you save it as such.
 
Bob Bone
 

I have two project templates.  One is for band recordings so I can dump the data recorded from my Zoom mixer into Sonar tracks that are somewhat loaded with eq, compressors, busses for the band mix.  My other project template is for new mixes that includes AD2, a couple of generic bass, guitar, keys, and vocal tracks, along with the busses and plugs I have in those.  I use similar items for each album, so my template will change depending on the genre for the album.  While I may change many of the plugs and fx on the active project, the template still saves time and allows me to hear a good mix as I build the tracks.

I went to town on project templates about a year ago.
It seemed as versions of sonar went on, my older templates would act a little strange. So I would update them every version. Since the inception of Platinum I haven't had to do that anymore.
 
But I have several main project templates I use.
 
Synth template- all synths.
Audio template- all audio.
Mongrel template- a mix of both audio and synths.
Mastering template- I have several different ones.
 
This is a pretty basic (and pretty boring) video that I made a few years back but still applies.

 

I use a small handful of templates.  My normal with bus template is just a blank project with a basic bus layout.  A main bus with a reverb send bus (with a simple reverb loaded) and a drum bus and a separate drum reverb send/bus.  Those four feed into the final master bus with a simple mastering chain (bus compressor and a limiter) which then feeds into a headphone bus which has the Sonarworks headphone plugin, Toneboosters Morphit headphone plugin and Waves NX headphone plugin.  All the headphone stuff have the settings for the headphones I use, but are disabled in the template.  This basic setup is a good place to start.
 
I then have this same thing but setup for Kontakt, with four empty midi channels and four audio outputs all pre-setup, but no instruments.  Inside Kontakt I can load whatever I want and just pick the sound channel output.
 
And a version of that same 4 tracks/channels setup for EW Play.
 
The idea is the templates don't really have final patches pre-loaded, just buses and routing.  I do have the reverbs and mastering plugins pre-setup.  But the settings for them are bland and very generic and often will get swapped out/around.
 
I wrote a Windows batch file that deletes all the stock SONAR templates that keep being reinstalled with every update so I could focus on just my templates.  I put copies of those stock templates away in a sub folder (which sadly the pick template dialog doesn't support, one feature I'd really like SONAR to add).
 
As a rule I just want to see my small group of templates when I start a new project.  I have a New button on the SONAR command bar that opens the new project dialog with my list of templates.  Makes it very fast to start a new project.
 
I do have a couple of other templates with instruments pre-setup but they are much more specialized (KH Orchestra and an Addictive Drums drum template) with much more complex bus routing (all the multiple microphones), but I rarely use them.

I started out using project templates but have all but completely converted to track templates now. I have a vast collection for all of my favourite synths (complete with folders and audio tracks to bounce to) and input sources ready to go. More often than not I start with an empty project and load up as I need to.
Whichever way you go, they are a huge time saver and well worth spending time on.
 
As Chuck mentioned, I do find I have to redo them occasionally as they become flakey as Sonar versions progress. I have found this to be so even with Platinum. 

I use one project template, for any project that will have real drums. tracks 5-12 are drums, 1 is bass, 2&3 guitars, 4 is direct line from the pa for vocals. Everything is set up for recording a full band with 2 guitars and up to 4 vocals. With my preset on the Roland Studio Capture everything is pretty much ready to go with minimal effort - basically micing the guitars and bass(or d.i.), getting their levels - and ready to record. Drums stay mic'ed most of the time.
 
If I'm not recording a full band and not using real drums I tend to start from a blank project (which I can't seem to get to from the start screen for some reason). I'm moving track templates to the top of my list right now as they would come in handy to speed up getting a project rolling.

I have a project template used to start all of my projects.
There's AD installed, set to my standard kit, 10 Audio tracks to feed the AD outputs into Sonar, all with instrument icons, track names, and routing already set.  All in a Drum Tracks track folder.
One audio track set for vocals, with a compressor and reverb in the FX bin.
Two audio tracks set for whatever instruments I'm recording first.
Drum Buss, Vocal Buss, Guitar Buss, "Other" Buss, all feeding a Master Buss.
 
I'm planning on setting more up: a track template for my standard guitar track (audio track, input Left, Amplitube in the FX bin set to my go-to sound), standard bass track (audio track, input Left, Amplitube SVT sound in the bin), vocal track (audio track, input right, compressor & reverb in the bin).

I do large track templates for my orchestral projects to save the time of building up the tracks assigned to sometimes 5 instances of Kontakt with individual audio outs.
But, it's just as easy to go back and load the last version of a project, delete all musical dat and markers, set the tempo for the new piece and there you have it.

I also do track templates in the same way.
From finished tracks that have pro channel settings,
but also blank built up instances of Kontakt, Omnisphere, Stylus, Trilian etc.

Thay are good time savers.