+1  this is golden advice man.  Simple is good and lots of times things that sound quite complex are really not at all.  I'd also toss in to be sure and enjoy this ongoing process.  It can be frustrating at times.  Definitely a cyclical thing for me in many ways, from a songwriting to the tech side of things and adding skills to the repertoire.  Also, don't feel like you should know all this stuff, or every song you write should be the next song of the year, or each song you mix should be nominated for a Grammy Technical Awards achievement.
 

dcumpian
Plugins are not the issue. Trust me, it takes a lot of practice recording and mixing to learn how to do it properly. You need to understand why your mixes aren't working for you. A plugin is meant to solve a particular issue. You can't know what plugin you need until you understand what's wrong (and right) with your mix.
 
For starters, I would suggest keeping your songs simple with just a few instruments and learn to mix those until you are happy with the results. Read. "Mixing Secrets" by Mike Senior is an excellent starting point. You can do a lot just by learning how to use the plugins that come with Sonar. But you have to learn to hear first.
 
Regards,
Dan

I highly appreciate your advice doncolga. Yes its really frustrating when i make a song that in the end it doesnt sound good. I feel like i was dropped in a forest and started to walk in any direction to go home. I wanted to enroll to study mixing and mastering so i can be guided into a step by step process ,what to learn first and whats next but i dont have enough money. So i would like to solicit in this forum your advices to what should i start to learn first and whats next. Thanks in advane. Sorry for my english its not my first language.

phrygiann
I highly appreciate your advice doncolga. Yes its really frustrating when i make a song that in the end it doesnt sound good. I feel like i was dropped in a forest and started to walk in any direction to go home. I wanted to enroll to study mixing and mastering so i can be guided into a step by step process ,what to learn first and whats next but i dont have enough money. So i would like to solicit in this forum your advices to what should i start to learn first and whats next. Thanks in advane. Sorry for my english its not my first language.

If you are interested in having a professional mix one of your songs, and get a video of the process so you can watch it being done, contact Danny Danzi. He frequents several of these forums. Always a very helpful guy.
 
Regards,
Dan

Where can i find your site guitarhacker?

Found this on page 3, trying to catch up after my vacation. I think you are doing a great job mixing for a newbee in mixing. I listened to both pieces and they sound pretty good. I would add this, never let your tracks share the same space in a piece. Make each track as concise and clear and clean sounding as possible, so when you start the mastering process you can find your problems on each track and the use what you need to fix each track, but don't over due it. When each track has been done solo, then see how they all sound together so you can find what is missing. I may need some reverb, equalization, panning of the track, stereo imaging, limiting, excitement, post equalization, maximization setting on drums, instrumentation or vocals. Vocals should always stand out front. Listen to Robbies vocals, they are up front always. Your doing a good job and reading and practicing over and over again and learning your software all comes to fruitation with time. Do very good from what I have heard so far. Keep at it.
 
Peace and Blessings, John