I have realised there must be a lot in Sonar that I know it's there but was afraid (or too ignorant) to use.
This is to expose what I am (or we are) missing, and NOT to point if there are not so needed features. I hope that you fellows would list some features that you have not used yet and  there will be someone else to explain how much you/we are missing.
 
In my case the features I  have (almost) never used yet are:
 
1. Bi Filter
2. Midi effects
3. R mix
4. Style Dials: Smoother, Gater, Shaper
5. Drum Replacer (shame, I know)
6. Panipulator

I think there are very few people here who have used every single feature Sonar Platinum has to offer.  Maybe the entry level version you'd find more people that use every feature, but Platinum has more than anyone could ever use...especially if you have a bunch of 3rd party plugins as well.

I haven't used any of the ones you mentioned either, except for the style dials, I tried them once.
But I basically use what I like and what I'm used to.  Every once in a while I'll try a feature or function I've never used before just to see what it can do.  But I'm a creature of habit, which is why I'll probably never switch to another sequencer/DAW software.   Some of the features I don't use because I have better plugins (like Ozone and Toontrack's Superior Drummer), some I don't use because I just don't know what they do.  But like I said, after writing close to 100 songs, I like to shake things up a bit and try something within Sonar that I've never tried before.
It's great to have DAW software with so many choices.

Good place to start is Craig Anderton's SONAR tips collection. Tips, by nature, tend to point out non-obvious or underused features.

bitflipper
Good place to start is Craig Anderton's SONAR tips collection. Tips, by nature, tend to point out non-obvious or underused features.

Hey Bit Flipper--
 
Do you think the Sonar tips are really userful? I've been using Cakewalk for decades, but I know there any many features I don't take advantage of. Would you prefer this book over Scott Reams Sonar books?

i've tried Drum Replacer a couple times, but with results that didn't make sense.  
 
Patch Points is a feature i have not used yet, why? i don't know. what are they again?
 
i never use the Step Sequencer, or the Matrix View (maybe because i do a lot of my MIDI stuff in Maschine standalone, and bounce all the individual audio tracks from there into Sonar).
 
i never use Take Lanes because i've had a couple experiences early on with them where my audio would disappear (even though the visual representation of the audio was on the screen still).  so i use my own way of comping in Sonar with individual audio tracks & that works well for me.
 
i have yet to use Addictive Drums, Lounge Lizard, Studio Instruments, Strum Session, and a lot of the Blue FX stuff.
 
what i do use, though, i pretty much LOVE.
 

razor

bitflipper
Good place to start is Craig Anderton's SONAR tips collection. Tips, by nature, tend to point out non-obvious or underused features.

Hey Bit Flipper--
 
Do you think the Sonar tips are really userful? I've been using Cakewalk for decades, but I know there any many features I don't take advantage of. Would you prefer this book over Scott Reams Sonar books?

That Tips book has so many real life examples in it, where Scotts books (are great I may add) mostly rely on the features themselves. What im trying to say is, if you want documentation scotts books are great, when you want over 100 examples of real life situations using Sonar, The tips book is what you want.
 
I have read both and honestly, its hard to compare them. they are so different yet both are excellent reads.
Survival manuals if you will. The tips book has challenged me to work outside the box and learn some new things. Things I never realized existed in sonar.

chuckebaby

razor

bitflipper
Good place to start is Craig Anderton's SONAR tips collection. Tips, by nature, tend to point out non-obvious or underused features.

Hey Bit Flipper--
 
Do you think the Sonar tips are really userful? I've been using Cakewalk for decades, but I know there any many features I don't take advantage of. Would you prefer this book over Scott Reams Sonar books?

That Tips book has so many real life examples in it, where Scotts books (are great I may add) mostly rely on the features themselves. What im trying to say is, if you want documentation scotts books are great, when you want over 100 examples of real life situations using Sonar, The tips book is what you want.
 
I have read both and honestly, its hard to compare them. they are so different yet both are excellent reads.
Survival manuals if you will. The tips book has challenged me to work outside the box and learn some new things. Things I never realized existed in sonar.

Thanks for the comparisons (of sorts). I want to streamline my workflow and see if there are more efficient ways of doing things. I do what others do and just stick with things I know, but since there are so many new features added all the time, if I'm using 10 year old techniques, there's bound to be a faster way to do things.

razor

chuckebaby

razor

bitflipper
Good place to start is Craig Anderton's SONAR tips collection. Tips, by nature, tend to point out non-obvious or underused features.

Hey Bit Flipper--
 
Do you think the Sonar tips are really userful? I've been using Cakewalk for decades, but I know there any many features I don't take advantage of. Would you prefer this book over Scott Reams Sonar books?

That Tips book has so many real life examples in it, where Scotts books (are great I may add) mostly rely on the features themselves. What im trying to say is, if you want documentation scotts books are great, when you want over 100 examples of real life situations using Sonar, The tips book is what you want.
 
I have read both and honestly, its hard to compare them. they are so different yet both are excellent reads.
Survival manuals if you will. The tips book has challenged me to work outside the box and learn some new things. Things I never realized existed in sonar.

Thanks for the comparisons (of sorts). I want to streamline my workflow and see if there are more efficient ways of doing things. I do what others do and just stick with things I know, but since there are so many new features added all the time, if I'm using 10 year old techniques, there's bound to be a faster way to do things.

totally understand where your coming from. I don't like mixing up my routine much to be honest.
However I found the only way to improve certain things is to get out of my comfort zone.
Work in a different way, try new things.
There's nothing wrong with using 10 year old techniques. im right there with you man, some techniques never fade.
but its always nice to expand, try new things. it can only make things better, or you back to the same old "It works for me".
Good luck ;-)

razor

bitflipper
Good place to start is Craig Anderton's SONAR tips collection. Tips, by nature, tend to point out non-obvious or underused features.

Hey Bit Flipper--
 
Do you think the Sonar tips are really userful? I've been using Cakewalk for decades, but I know there any many features I don't take advantage of. Would you prefer this book over Scott Reams Sonar books?

I've been a Cakewalk customer for, geez, nearly 30 years now. I learned something new from Craig's tip sheet within 5 minutes.

While it's certainly interesting to think of features that haven't been used, IMO it's much more interesting to first think of things you need to do, then explore what features/tools might exist to get the job done.