As for mixing down, my projects are almost always solo, duo or small combos. I only ever mix to buses, then to the master bus, or even straight to the master stereo track. Others here have different methods but if you are just "in the box" then this is a simple method that works well.
There are some very accomplished mixers and engineers on this forum that you may be able to get some serious tips from if you ask some specific questions.
One of the great things about Sonar is it can do just about anything that the other DAWs can do. It may not be the best at everything but if you want a particular workflow, Sonar can usually accomplish it.

Hi brentmann, apologies for my late reply... 
 
pertaining to your question...
 

brentmann

I'm about to final mix my first song (about 22 tracks) and wondering what the process is for Sonar. Is it just a matter of bouncing it down to a stereo track (after levels automations etc) like usual or is there another protocol that is "standard" practice-bouncing to a submix or something in which perhaps post mix eqing would apply sorry for so many questions! ;-)

within the 22 tracks they will definitely be some groups - as in groups of guitars, synths, pads, strings... etc. the most important group being the drums. In the previous group, i was try to get instruments that sound similar to be one group; however, drums are a total beast as the kick may overlap into the bass or vise versa.

just IMHO only:
 
i would usually fix the drums first - get them to sound they way i want - basically SOLO out all the parts that make up the drums and then work on from there - filters, eq, FXs, pans, levels, ... etc the works. then i'll send them all to a DRUM BUS. 
 
Next, i'll choose a group to work with - ie pads or strings. if you record orchestra stings you will find that they take up a very wide freq range from the ultra lows to about 12kHz. SOLO out the parts as above and balance them nicely, be they pads, strings or whatever... same technique as the drums; filters, eq FX...etc. then send them to another bus lets say STRINGS BUS. Do the same for the rest of the other instrument groups.
 
In the end, you will end up mixing with probably like 5 or six buses. here is the tricky part. As you balance them, you will realise that they may not sound they way they did as crisp and clear when they were SOLOed out. at this stage, AUTOMATION, EQ and PAN will become your best friends. work on that. You may find that the bases and lows will be the greatest challenge; followed by the 800Hz to 5kHz range because of the "honk" and also the human perception.

Just remember that no matter how many tracks you start with... sum them up to no matter how many buses, they will always end up on the single MASTER BUS. In mixing the most important point to note it that you are mixing EVERYTHING as a single group. Everything and every instrument has to have its own space and its own time to shine. Bottom-line is they must all sound good playing together.

Many a time, during the composition stage, you may spend hours carving out that "special" sound, but when you get to the mix bus stage, you may find that the "special" sound could be the biggest problem when everything is being played together. The "special" sound, though unique, it too must give time and space for other instruments to support it... making "the sound" even more spectacular.

all the very best... and good luck. Cheers!!!!

Keyz
Thanks for the detail reply. So much to learn! Heres a quick question, if you have automations say volume swell for some accent guitar parts at the TRack level and say you have those bussed with other guitars on a guitar buss, when you are mixing with the bus do the automations carry over to that guitar that is in the bus track as well? The point of all the buses is to make it easier and more organized with far fewer faders for final mixing right?!
 

brentmann
Heres a quick question, if you have automations say volume swell for some accent guitar parts at the TRack level and say you have those bussed with other guitars on a guitar buss, when you are mixing with the bus do the automations carry over to that guitar that is in the bus track as well? 
 

YUP... they do carry over -  not in the physical sense  but you will hear the swell even when you lower the bus fader, the area for the the swell will still be emphasised relative to the rest of the guitar tracks.
 

brentmann
 The point of all the buses is to make it easier and more organized with far fewer faders for final mixing right?!
 

More or less yeah...i guess...  however, there will be times when you will also need to go back to the main tracks just to manage that final-final super fine adjustments.
 
once again good luck... Cheers!!!

Cool Beans! Thanks again! I gotta say I'm mighty impressed with X3 Producer! Great having those "wow" moments when you learn something new that it does! I'll post finished songs when ready!