What is equivalent to TRIM plugin (Protools) in Sonar X3/Platinum? Is it the gain knob (does the same thing?)... 
Bluecat has free gain plugin (http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_GainSuite/)... does it do the same "trim" functionality? 
My goal is to have more control for gain staging with a 'trim' like plugin?
Thanks in advance.
 
Shahed
 

Hello,
I use the gain knob for gain staging. Yes, I believe this serves the same function. There is also a free vst plugin from Sonalksis called FreeG, which has an accurate meter, a fader and a trim knob,  and the free gain plugin from Blue Cat, as you noted.
 
Mike

There's also clip gain but this is just for individual clips. Same concept but for small corrections rather than an entire track.

Its not clear why you need a plugin. Every track and bus has an input gain control. This is PRE effects so it can be used for gainstaging the volume before the audio hits the plugins. Input gain is the same as trim.
See the signal flowchart for more info.

thank you so much Noel, you answered my simple question: Is lowering the gain knob the same as trim?

I just tried this in Platinum, this is, I lowered the gain knob on a track so that I can set the fader right at "0" instead of far lower. In order to do that, I had to decrease the gain knob about -80 for comparable volume and there was a massive loss of high end and clarity to the track.
 
So I'm a little lost here, I don't see how this is supposed to work. The track was a midi VSTi instrument.

Eric, on a MIDI track, the gain knob at the top controls velocity. You were decreasing velocity which often triggers samples that are played softer. 

The audio track associated with the MIDI track has a gain control at the top that would lower the output after the VSTi. You could probably just lower the output in the VSTi, too.