Composition tool..Do you mean that you record with it in a pre set? Whats the difference?
Again sorry for the questions but i've spent hours and hours fiddling with this stuff and the best tool I have been able to find are my very own ears. I think the initial recording plays a major role as well. I definitely need to upgrade my microphone, speakers, and headphones thats for sure. Going to invest in a pop filter as well.
I did find some EQ settings online for specific type of vocals. More or less people posting what works for them. I tried them out on a track I did and it made a difference. If I could up-load a song I did I would but as of right now my sonar only exports in Wave. I haven't bought the mp3 converter yet.

E.I.T.S


If I could up-load a song I did I would but as of right now my sonar only exports in Wave. I haven't bought the mp3 converter yet.

No need to buy one, there are free ones out there that will do the job - CD-Ex for example. Also, if you use soundcloud as your host, you can just upload the wav anyway.
 
Also, once you have found a set-up for your vocal that works for you, save it as a track template and then next time out just insert your template and you're all set.

Yeah thats a good idea. Right now i'm just trying to gather as much info as possible before I even record something. Really want to do this as good as I can. I found a decent EQ setting...Just need to tweak everything else. I use soundclick right now which but am thinking long and hard about soundcloud.
CD-Ex?? Is there is link?

Paulo's got the idea.
export it as a wave file.
go here https://soundcloud.com/
open up a free account, you can upload .WAV files to soundcloud.
you don't even need cd.ex for soundcloud.
it will end up looking like this:
https://soundcloud.com/charlie-roy/jack-it-up

that's my account, you can make yours here, then you can do stuff like post it directly to your facebook page like you do with you tube videos.

do it up man !!!

then go to our song forum and post it in there so we can hear it.
the song forum is where everyone posts there material.
a lot of us use soundcloud, matter of fact x2 has a new feature called "export to soundcloud.
all you have to do is just mix it directly to soundcloud.
some of us also use soundclick:
http://www.soundclick.com/

as well as reverb nation:
http://www.reverbnation.com/

ive shown you where to go, now its up to you  :)

E.I.T.S


 
CD-Ex?? Is there is link?

Google is your friend ;)

E.I.T.S


GOT IT! Hell yeah...It sounds good already! I just need to figure out the volume settings at this point. Really need to upgrade my speakers as well. Vocal Strip, Compression can all be pre-set. It wasn't too bad to figure out. Thanks for the tips.
Any tips of compression setting? I read that compression has to be done according to the beat you are using...Is that something I just have to trial and error?
What about EQ preset? Or should that be done afterwards? Soooo many questions man....Oh well I got time.

Most FX should be done afterwards. Don't get carried away by the FX during the recording phase, just focus on good takes. A little reverb and compression in your headphone mix may help to achieve a better performance, but IMO there's no use using CPU heavy FX like Vocal Strip during tracking, because the FX won't be recorded anyway, and it may happen you get crackles in the recording.

And remember, that SONAR has nothing to do with the recording level, it's defined by you soundcard settings only.

Sweet, thanks again for the help. I've got some older stuff i've recorded but i'm not confident enough to upload it just yet. I want to make a second go at this before I do that. So in due time i'll be sharing some tracks. Thats the point of this right?
I really appreciate the guidance though.
Peace...
BobbyZ

paulo

E.I.T.S

... my sonar only exports in Wave. I haven't bought the mp3 converter yet.

No need to buy one, there are free ones out there that will do the job... 

...including Audacity.

Damn am I frustrated yo, I have an entirely different problem apparantly. Recording with Sonar has been a pain in the ass! Dropouts occur..I'm using Sonar 8 at this point. I have 7...Can record with 7 with dropouts still occuring but not as much with 8.
I guess this goes back to my soundcard? My Mic settings are all good...So maybe my PC is just overloaded? I don't see how...I only use it for music and occassional internet use. The dropouts are pissing me off though and i'm getting static pops. ITS GOT TO BE THE SC right? Realtek=garbage.
Since I want to do music so bad I basically recorded a dry verse using Audacity and then mixed it with Sonar. I can't really tell the difference in the vocals but then again i'm no master.
Sorry for the rant...Juss don't know what to do.

Sonar  8 hasn't been for sale for a long time. So it's like this, I can only guess that you would buy $500 software, put it on a shelf for 5 years and then try and use it. It's VERY well documented all over the internet that you HAVE to use a proper audio interface for recording with any DAW software. Sorry if you don't have the cash to do this, but even with all the new technology it cost money to do this as a hobby. 
This list is non Pro gear (hobby type prices).  
Software $ 100 - $ 500 
Audio Interface $ 150- $ 600  
Mike- $ 100- $ 300  
Headphones $ 25 - $ 150 
Studio monitors $ 200 - $ 500 
New Computer that works for DAW $ 600- $ 1,500 

So even the lowest prices will set you back $ 1,000
You can shave some off by - Buying used, Borrowing, Borrowing without consent.