This is sort of a post to some of the new users that have come to our little community as of late.
 
For the past decade or so I've had a bad case of gear lust. I've bought entire effects suites from Nomad, Slate, Izotope, IK, (some) Waves, and from anywhere else that I could find; chasing that elusive perfect mix. I just knew that the next plugin would be the magic pill that would put my mixes into the next level. Well I've finally come to realize..I have 15 compressors, 5 tape sims, too many EQ's, and my mixes have stayed more or less the same, minor improvements, but alas the same. Major head scratching was going on for quite some time considering the amount of $ I'd spent.
   Then I stumbled into the world of instructional videos. It seemes that I had fantastic tools right in front of me all of the time but I really didn't know how to use them properly. I had an idea, but not real training. Even stock plugins can be made to shine once you really get a handle on how, why, and where they are supposed to be set. Plain and simple, I was ignorant and didn't even know what was out there to be learned let alone how to learn it. I'm still and will always be a student of audio engineering, but once you have a teacher show you what can be learned then your eyes and ears are opened and a whole new way of mixing is opened up to you.
 
So..why did I post this bit of soul searching. Well... I just finished watching Sonar tips and tricks from groove3.com and I'm just totally blown away. All of the Sonar related groove3 videos, the ones in the cake store, youtube, and others have helped me grow way more than any $500 effect bundle ever did. Plus for the most part they are dirt cheap compared to a new mic, plugin, or interface.
If you are looking to spend a little cash to invest in your studio, invest in yourself. Get these videos so you can at least see all that your powerful DAW has to offer. Feed your head, FEED IT!

The bonus video with X3 sold in March of Groove3's Sonar Explained, really helped me. I never really used 8.5 enough to call myself familiar with it, then leapt to X3. I'm loving it so much and Groove3 made the transition so much easier, along with X3's interface being cleaned up and more intuitive, I'm finding the learning cure so much softer. After that video I checked a stack of the free taster sections from their site and decided to put some time aside to take full advantage of the $15 all you can see on month pass. A trapped nerve in my back yesterday has left me pretty immobile, so I thought sod it and having been watching for the past hour or so. It's nice not to have to blindly fumble around when you try something new, and will help becoming creative with it come so much quicker.
 
I like the fact it's not just software based material too, and the Music theory and recording techniques videos look just as appetising. 

I can certainly identify with the OP's sentiments after recently picking up a Groove3 instructional video for a different Cakewalk product that I was looking to learn ….
the Groove3 video saved me a lot of time and was very informative ….
 
Kenny

+1 for Groove3's video on Sonar Explained.

+1 I found the videos on EQ, compression and general mixing, of different styles, to be the most helpful. It's interesting though. watch any number of videos from different sources and you'll notice a lot of different techniques.

I like the videos also but one thing you touched on (op)that is really big is the fact that the effects and tools that are stock with sonar even something as simple as the Sonitus Reverb and delays are awesome tools. The Pro channel and tube emulators can take a very tiny signal and be made into a very hot sounding unique awesome clip that can be even further processed. It's basically endless what you can do with just the stock stuff on-board right in front of you if you know what you are doing.

There is no point in these at all..
 
They completely violate the "he who dies with the most toys wins" theory.. 
 
Don't do it!.. keep buying more VST that you don't know how to use!!!!
 
:)
 
and a big +1 to groove3 stuff..

Right on bandso. I try and watch at least one tutorial every day. They really help.
 
Regards,

Don't forget that Cakewalk's Dan Gonzalez is posting a lot of excellent video tutorials here on the site, and they're free. He just did a series on compression that you'll find very helpful. Check the Cakewalk blog to see what he's been up to.
 
Also, if you want to find out about some advanced techniques, my two Advanced Workshop videos are still available from the Cakewalk store. While done using Sonar X1, virtually all of the techniques remain valid.

I don't want to learn! I want to KNOW!
 
Thank you for posting this. I will definitely look at them, because I'm guilty as charged. Just wrote down "groove3" on my smartphone notebook app thing.
 
The issue for me is that when I have a chunk of time to work on my music projects, it's such a rare and wonderful thing that I don't want to spend it watching videos. But I know, I know, and I will.