I am being seduced by these Holiday bundles (who doesn't love a sale?) currently being offered as they seem like great deals -- especially the mixing and mastering bundle.  But I am just really a self-taught and learning hobbyist with SONAR Platinum as a home studio moonlighter in my spare time.  I did spring for the TH3 full version a while back because I am primarily a guitarist and I really do like it and I use that stand alone a lot.  But it seems like SPLAT is chock full of features and plug-ins already at the same time.  Does it have everything I need to get better at recording, mixing and mastering straight out of the box?  I ask this in all seriousness because if you hang around audio forums long enough, people seem to just love after market plug-ins it seems to me! So is that because they've (generally speaking) reached the point of having outgrown what's included "out of the box" and need more specialized gear for specific applications, or is the included fare somehow not up to snuff?  Would it be a good idea to think about getting this bundle for "one day down the road when I get better at this", or might it be better to wait until the need arises and possibly the tech gets even better?

Thanks.

You will never have all of the plug-ins you need
 
What comes with Platinum can carry you quite far for a very, very long time.  But why limit yourself?

The plug-ins included with Sonar are good.  You can get pro sounding recordings using them if you know what you are doing.
 
Some of the third party plugins are great, but you still have to know what you are doing to get pro sounding recordings out of them.
 
In other words, you don't need to buy any additional plug-ins to get started.  You may decide in the future that you want to, but Sonar Platinum has everything you need.
 
Also, even though you didn't ask, the same is generally true with their included virtual instruments.

BobF
You will never have all of the plug-ins you need
 

YaBoyHowdy.

All DAWS are fundamentally equal today with sugar here and sugar there.
If you need to get a handle on audio engineering SONAR will certainly suffice.

If you can't get a GREAT result using just the bundled plugins then it's not the software that's lacking.....

The bundled plugins are excellent as a matter of fact. One could make hit records all day long with just the Pro Channel plugs in Platinum, between the superb EQ, Tape SIM, Tube Sim, Console Emulator. I would suggest adding the CA-2A just because it's so easy to use!
 
R

SiberianKhatru59
  Does it have everything I need to get better at recording, mixing and mastering straight out of the box? 

Therein lies the key. You can purchase a gazillion items of audio software in an effort to make your recordings perfect. Each will have its unique advantages, but most will fall into a standard category. If you do not learn how to use each basic category into which each plugin falls, then, owning a gazillion representatives of the category is not very useful. 
 
If you have not mastered the use of the plugins that come with Platinum, then absolutely, there is everything you need in platinum to make yourself better. Maybe not everything you need to turn out the best state of the art recording that can come from any professional recording, mixing or mastering studio, or enough so that you can walk into such a studio and function without learning anything new, but enough to make your own efforts in these areas better than it is now. If you have mastered all the stuff that comes with Platinum, then you might need to look elsewhere for a challenge. You do not buy more stuff to make you better, you buy more stuff to make your product better, and until they invent a plug that fully automates the process, you will still have to learn the use of anything you buy. When you have exhausted the learning opportunities in SONAR...

eikelbijter
The bundled plugins are excellent as a matter of fact. One could make hit records all day long with just the Pro Channel plugs in Platinum, between the superb EQ, Tape SIM, Tube Sim, Console Emulator. I would suggest adding the CA-2A just because it's so easy to use!
 
R

Actually I got the CA-2A a while back when it was free. Thanks again Cakewalk!

I was using the mixing tutorial project that comes with SONAR this weekend, and I had a blast with that. I even added a Rapture session pad task to it, bounced it to audio and mixed it in as well. I created both a Reverb and Delay bus and used sends from a few channels for that, as well as bussing all the drum tracks together. All very educational and for the first time, I felt life it all clicked home a bit. And the mix sounded pretty good really, I thought.

It's good to know I'll be set fit a while apparently.

Hear, hear!
There are certainly "better" (or sometimes just different) plugins available than what comes with SPLAT, but if you don't really know why you need them, then you don't. Once you have a good handle on how, say, compressors work, start trying the different ones you have on your source material. It takes time to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are and even after years sometimes you can be surprised. Once you feel you can confidently pick one of your compressors for a specific job is when you might want to shop for others that offer specialized uses or just sound different. Same for other plugins. If you know how the reverb plugins work and you still can't get the sound you need you might want to shop, not before.