Kalbinsson: You actually can, just press trial and you can try them for 14 days. I know, I remember there was a deal when I bought a Twin-Finity and I got a solo. After demoing the plug-in, there was no giong back. Not sure if I would have bought a card at that time if it didn’t come free with my hardware.
You get a 14-day trial with all of the UAD plug-ins, which resets every time you buy a new plug-in. I own nearly all of the UAD plug-ins so if you want any advice on anything before you buy, just give me a shout. Hmmm I’m seriously considering to take the external DSP Octo custom. With that I would already have inside these plugins:. UA 610-B. Fairchild 670 Legacy. Precision Enhancer Hz.
UA 1176LN Legacy. UA 1176SE Legacy. Pultec EQP-1A Legacy. Pultec-Pro Legacy.
Teletronix LA-2A Legacy. Precision Channel Strip (Precision Mix Rack Collection). Precision Reflection Engine (Precision Mix Rack Collection).
Precision Delay Mod (Precision Mix Rack Collection). Precision Delay Mod L (Precision Mix Rack Collection). RealVerb Pro I also can pick 3 more plugins (any plugins), my choice would be:. FATSO™ Jr./Sr. & Compressor. Manley Variable Mu® Limiter Compressor.
the 3rd I’m not sure what to choose, if it’s the Ampex® ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder (because I already have the Slate bundle), or the Culture Vulture (but it seems that it’s already on the Decapitator, or I’m wrong), or the Massive Passive I already have the Elysia Alpha compressor in native, also the Sonnox Inflator native. Does it worth it to pay 1’400 $ for all of that, knowing that I already have all these plugins I’ve mentioned? The goal is to mix and master my own tracks professionally, so I would like to have the best I’ll take my time anyway to make a decision, no rush. These are my favorites, I can’t mix without:. Culture Vulture (best saturation - great on everything). LA-2. ATR and Studer (studer on individual channels, ATR for mixbus).
Manley VoxBox - it is doing magic saturation. API Vision. Pultec.
bxtuner LOL - i got in on sale for $5 or so but use it a lot to tune my hw synths and guitar Also love these plugins:. Shadow Hills Mastering compressor - I produce and mix into it. Then turn it off and take it out of master bus. Echoplex Tape Echo.
FairChild. of course 1176.
new API 2500. Neve 1081 - my favorite musical EQ You can get Octo of course - but all those free plugins - Precision and Legacy are not worth it I would get Quad and more plugins.
So many great suggestions here! My personal favs are: Studer, Massive Passive, ATR-102, API Vision, SSL Channel, API EQ Collection, Pultec, Fatso, 1176 Collection and LA-2A Collection, Inflator. Aalso like these, but a little more specialized - AKG BX 20, 610, Fairchild, Moog Filter, Studio D Chorus, VSM-3.
Out of all the UAD stuff I have the only stuff I don’t like are the Precision series Early on I bought the Precision Buss Comp, Enhancer kHz and Hz. Kinda wish I never wasted money on them, they’re not anything particularly special Future wishlist includes VoxBox, API 2500, Brigade Chorus, MXR Flanger and Galaxy Echo. There is no general answers for this - this depends from your personal workflow and the tasks you work with - but it is mainly independent from which music you work on/with.
There are many which tell you UAD2 systems are “expensive dongles”, because you get some of the plugs even on native intel / x86 too. This is far incorrect.
The UAD2 systems are build on high performance DSP plus FPGA “stones”, allowing a much higher throughput of audio data through complex signal processing. This means: the UAD system is in his home area, where it can provide huge “processing power” by a plugin. Afaik any UAD plugins runs internally with 192 kHz (upsampling) - even if you use a plug which is available natively (i.e. Brainworx/plugin alliance). This may lead to different results. This means, that UAD could play the most out with plugins which would require huge amounts of DSP power on native x86 systems. There are not “must haves”, but some of the plugs are very widely used within the pro league att.:.
Manley Massive Passive EQ. Neve Mastering Compressor.
1176 suite (the new). LA2A suite (the new). Pultec EQ Suite (the new). AMPEG / Studer Tape (suite) I would decide for ONE of the channel strips available (API, Neve, SSL). I started with the API Vision console, which brought me a very new way to CS mix - even if i use it only on some channels today. That beast sounds very musicial and nicely analog, but the handling is a bit “new” for first This should be a “complete” comfortable set for a UAD “beginner”. After that, try to use the demo period of plugs one by one (and hear the demos) you might be interested and/or read what others recommend for special tasks.
You will know what tools you need further when you at a stage where it makes sense to buy it. The most UAD can play out are plugs with very complex impulse responses from analog equipment, but UAD still has some very nice “emulations” (or “1to1” implementations of) well known studio gear - i.e. Reverbs, distortion/harmonics stuff etc For small studios the “Ocean Way” plug is very nice to bring the sound of a pro studio into the home or semi pro one. The Lexicon is a nice alternative to buying a hardware one.
There are even some plugs which seems not so near to the original and got some complains from several users (read the comments on the plugs in the store!) - i.e. The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor is very far from the “quality” of the Neve Mastering Comp. but is still very musical to use (means: if you don’t look for a “software version” of the hardware). Use the demo period and try the stuff - do this early enough to get a plan what you want to buy when UAD has a harder short time sale (around end of the year) where you could get up to 70% discounts. Very new plugs usually seems lesser discounted for the first year.
There are even plugs which are so light onto CPU on x86 too that they are no “must have” on UAD, but could be a nice alternative if your PC / Mac is under heavy load. I prefer to buy that only when heavily discounted - the cheapest one (native or UAD).
Neve 88RS Channel Strip Collection The Neve 88 Series is a paragon of large-format analog console design, renowned for its startling depth, airiness, and clarity. Featuring Unison technology, the Neve 88RS Channel Strip Collection gives you all of the 88RS mic/line preamp’s impedance, gain stage “sweet spots,” and circuit behaviors that have made it the modern benchmark in analog preamp design. Now you can track through an authentic emulation of this modern masterpiece — complete with its famous mic/line preamp, cut filters, dynamics, four-band EQ, and post-fader output amplifier. Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection The Neve 1073 Channel Amplifier is easily the most revered preamp and EQ circuit ever designed. Introduced in 1970, this hallowed class-A, transistor mic/line amp with EQ epitomizes the beautiful 'Neve sound,' with unparalleled clarity, sheen, and bite. The Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Plug-In Collection lets you track through the only authentic end-to-end circuit emulation of this legendary piece of audio history. Featuring Unison technology, the Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Plug-In Collection also features the Legacy Neve 1073 and 1073SE (“DSP-Lite”) EQs which are optimized for higher instance counts.
Neve Preamp The pinnacle of Neve preamp design is the classic 1073 module with EQ, but Neve also briefly produced the 1290 module — a rare, preamp-only version of the 1073. The Neve Preamp plug-in gives you all the clarity, grit, and harmonically complex class‑A saturation of this amazing mic preamplifier in a simple, low DSP use, two-knob plug-in that’s perfect for UA Audio Interface owners. Just drop it into the Unison slot of your UA Audio Interface’s Console software to add instant character to vocals and acoustic guitars, or treat synths, drums, and bass with the complex, dynamic clipping behavior that can only come from Neve. Neve 31102 Classic Console EQ Originally featured in the Neve 8068 console, the 31102 EQ was used to mix one of the best-selling debut albums of all time, Appetite For Destruction by Guns-N-Roses. With its distinct filter shaping that falls somewhere between a 1073 and 1081, and its familiar Neve sheen and bite, the Neve 31102/SE EQ Powered Plug-In provides another step in the evolution of classic Neve EQs. Artists ranging from Primus and Metallica to My Morning Jacket have called on the distinct tone of the 31102 EQ in the studio. Neve 33609 / 33609SE Compressor Derived from the original Neve 2254 compressor, circa 1969, the 33609 stereo buss compressor/limiter utilizes a bridged-diode gain reduction circuit and many custom transformers for a uniquely colorful sound.
The UAD Neve 33609 is the only Neve-sanctioned software recreation of the Neve 33609 (rev C). Every detail of the original unit is captured, to match the sonic results and musicality of its hardware counterpart with absolute precision. Essential for bus processing, drum groups, and even full mixes, the 33609 plug-in includes a DSP-optimized 33609SE which allows for higher instance counts. Mix buss sugar! I own a gazillion plugin compressors and up to now my favorite 2 buss plugin compressor was the waves v-series comp. Although I still love that plugin, this neve compressor plugin just sounds like hardware to me. If really tightens everything up nicely and brings a nice bottom end warmth to the overall mix.
The gui is perfect, which shouldn't matter, but lets face it.we all love plugins that look like actual hardware! At the sale price of 149.00 during the neve plugin sale, it just can't be beat in my opinion!
Favorite Mic Pre Bought my first Apollo and dove in demoing all available plugs. This was an instant winner. The Pre with Neve EQ made every mic sound amazing. This is great to use in UNISON on the way in, if you just want some Neve EQ in a mix use the 1073SE Legacy that comes with the bundle and save DSP. UA Prices on plug-ins in the store will drop based on what you already own, causing some confusion.
UA should fix this and just show 'PURCHASED' instead of the reduced price or 'UPGRADE' instead of buy now to minimize some of these bad reviews on an excellent plug-in. Pixie Dust I spent a little time tossing up between the Neve 88RS (new version) and the API Vision channel strips. I'm glad I went with the Neve. It has transformed my mixes. Even just adding this to the mix bus works wonders. Main elements in the mix are more present / forward, there's more width and fizz on the top end, it glues the bottom end together. The distortion and saturation added from the preamp (even as a mix plugin) is incredible, if only subtle.
The EQ is the sweetest sounding software EQ I've ever used. I was never convinced you needed a $250k Neve console to get that magic glue.
But UAD have somehow captured this in a plugin. I don't care that it uses so much juice, it's worth it! This has made mixing so much easier:). Great sounding. There are ALWAYS discount coupons There are a bunch of 1 star reviews because ppl think $149 is too expensive for an update.
My UA account has $75 in 'thanks' and promo codes, and when they expire there are usually others that come later. The 'real' update price is $75 if you exercise even an ounce of patience. Perhaps I'm old, perhaps the 'software is free' generation are quick to whine and complain, but even at $149, that is insanely inexpensive to attain a professional quality tool.
Maybe there are a lot of hobbyist who are thinking about the money differently than I am, but this is basically a new plugin. I have made more than 200 records since changing to the UAD system and the transition to ITB was succesful because of UA. Only real issue is CPU being high. Sounds Great but. It definitely sounds great! I understand that's probably the reason why it is DSP hungry. I own an Apollo Twin, UAD Sat Quad and UAD Thndrb Octo, yet I had to print lots of tracks to be able to finish my mixes.
One must think about investing in more UAD DSP chips to use this plugin as it should. Thinking that way, it is clear that the plugin is way expensive, it definitely demands a new piece of hardware to go along with it.
Besides, I've invested in new releases in the past and soon later they drop the price in half (such as 1073, Fairchild, API Vision). USD money makes it 3 times more expensive in Brazil (that's my problem, of course).
Hoping for a kind coupon from UA, I give 5 stars for the amazing sound you get with this plugin! Excellent plugin but high DSP usage This is an excellent plugin. One of UAs best work to date.
The input stage is clean, accurate and warm. Great sounding filters and EQ. Perfectly usable compressor and gate. All in all it sounds fantastic, and there is very little that can match it in terms of quality.
The only thing that takes away one star is the DSP consumption which is a bit too high to make this really usable as a mixing plugin unless you have at least two octos. It is twice the API Vision strip. It would not have been a problem is DSP was cheaper, but this is beyond the budget of many users. If there was a way to bypass the input stage to save some DSP it would make it a little bit more usable. A stunning facelift - pure Neve goodness Don't believe the hype on this one - grab it and hear it for yourself. Of all thew Mk II versions released so far this one for me is the winner, and the 88RS now sounds like the board it is modelled from.
I like the GUI redesign (signal flow is now more intuitive) and the tweaks done under the hood have really made this strip into something special and very usable on a lot of things - it sounds equally fantastic on Bass, Piano, Vocals & Guitars. My only gripe is the lack of an input meter (and you should be aware the output meter is post VCA but Pre-output dial). The compressor no longer seems to snatch at the audio in that SSL manner, and the EQ is so musical it's a joy. An excellent upgrade & highly recommended to all Neve lovers. I have never written a UAD review.
AND The last thing I needed to do was buy another UAD plug – meaning, I have most of them. And considering I have the original and almost never used it, why again? Well, this plug beat nearly every plug-in in shoot-outs I staged with previous mixes – meaning, where I might have placed 2-3 plugs in concert, the 88RS – hands down – took the prize. This emulation is the very manifestation of the reason I invested in this platform in the beginning. This plug is the most amazing thing I have ever worked with.
Kudos to the entire team behind it. The UAD 88RS is amazing! And if you are staiil standing in the wings. THE go-to plugin from now on I tried every UAD channel strip, but this is by far the best. The sound you get from this resembles real analog so much more!
I have been trying to get a decent plugin chain for my U47 voice recordings, previously stopped at using the Summit compressor. BUT when I put this one on - I was amazed. Neve has one of the best software compressors ever and an amazingly fat, but transparent & musical EQ. As far as ITB mixing goes, I think that for now this is as close as emulating analog goes. This will be used on every channel from now on.
Hands down, it kills any other console channel strips with ease. Oh, and try doing some filtering / correction with Oxford EQ after this and you will be impressed;-)). I demoed this new channel strip for a few hours and realized it was a definite buy!
The sound of the filters sold me. Super clean and unobtrusive.
I love being able to use it with unision tech as a mic pre as well. It's amazing when you think about everything you get with this plug: Preamp, EQ, Compressor, and Gate/Expander. You could literally mix a record with this plugin and it would sound awesome! If you're new to Apollo I'd recommend this or the API vision for sheer flexibility and usefulness. I do prefer this to the API though.
I even used it on my mix buss and loved the result!
Today I want to make the case that plugins are the absolute worst investment you could make in your studio. And honestly, I use the word “investment” with a hint of sarcasm. Now before I jump in, don’t get me wrong: I have and use many great plugins. But on some level I know that plugins have been the worst place to spend my money over the years. Let’s discuss why. You Already Own An EQ, Compressor, And Reverb Let’s get this point out on the table right away.
You do not need any 3rd party plugins to make a killer mix. The plugins that are shipping stock with DAWs these days are powerful, useful, and sonically they sound great. Are they dripping with vibe and analog goodness? Maybe not, but they are clean and professional. And at the end of the day, that’s what you need.
If more plugins aren’t needed to make a great mix, then it follows logically to me that my money is better spent on gear that will help me accomplish more and better work in the studio. Some examples? More microphones and preamps so I can track a full band live, or track drums. I could even to get a better sounding space. Or perhaps pickup a faster computer so I can handle more tracks and plugins as needed. You get the idea.
Spend money on things you don’t already have, rather than doubling up on things you already have. Plugins Don’t Improve Your Front End I think we all like the idea of plugins because they are easy: slap some software on our tracks to enhance them and call it a day. The truth is, you’d get a better mix if your original raw tracks sounded better in the first place. What your audio goes through (microphone, preamp, compressor, eq, converter, etc) is called your front end. The better (or better matched to the source) this front end is, the better your tracks and effectively the better your mix will be.
Plugins don’t affect the front end, just the back end. Sure they can help improve your sound, but you’re starting from a bad spot.
Why not invest money on what’s actually going to affect your recordings? This could be having different microphones for different tonal options.
It could be Even your room acoustics can help your front end sound better. Put your money on the front end. Two Ways To Better Handle Plugin Purchases So how SHOULD one approach buying third party plugins? The first thing you can do is good research. And you do this in two ways: watching reviews and demoing them. I try to review plugins here on The Recording Revolution to help you. I think written plugin reviews are pointless (since you can’t see/hear them in action), so I try and create video reviews of plugins that I’ve used and liked.
You get an informed opinion and you can hear them in real time. Couple that with actually demoing the plugin (one of the beauties of plugins) and you can really get to know how it will work in your studio with your material. The second way to better handle plugin purchases is to buy them with a project (or projects) in mind. Purchase them with a plan to use them all over an album or EP. You’ll get value out of them instantly (as opposed to one day hoping you use them), plus you’ll learn them really well. This is the only way buying a plugin or a bundle is ever worth it.
Otherwise it’s speculative money spent that you can never get back. I hear what you’re saying Graham and I agree that some people collect plugins rather than mix records. But, some of those vibey and analog plugs do make a huge difference in the sound. Even some of the limiters you get in DAWs are just not as good as some of the 3rd party stuff. I think a better way of teaching on this issue might be, “DON’T COLLECT” plugins, that you “might” use.
I enjoyed your article on plugin options and how too many of them can work against you. I think THAT is the biggest killer to a mix. Keep up the great job Graham! I think you’re spot on regarding front end.
That’s where the most critical stuff happens.the capture (and performance of course). IMO good mics, pre’s and converters are the best investments in this game.and even then you have to be aware there’s a lot of hard sell going on. Demo, demo, demo!! It’s cool with Cubase though and I assume some other DAW’s.you can insert your plugs on an input channel and record through them.it’s post conversion, but you can really tweak your sound, via plugin, going in and print it.
I’d like to add that, plugins can in fact be used on the front end. I dont know about all daws but Cubase allows you to put a plugin on the input channel so that the effect gets recorded. That is actually one of my favorite places to put tape emulation. That way the track gets recorded with that tape sound just like it would if you are recording to tape.
Also, i have used stomp box plugins to reamp guitars. I apply the stomp box, in the box on the di track, then run out to the amp. Not disagreeing, just saying that there are some creative ways to incorporate plugins outside the box as well. Hate to sound like a stuck record but here is my view: -What if most of your work is MIDI/sample based composition and mixing and very little ‘front end’ I agree on the acoustic treatment etc though.Some of the plugins I need don’t come with pro tools, multiband compressor, vocoder etc.lastly I think that I’d rather encourage plugin purchasing/investing/collecting over piracy. As a student I justified the use of cracked plugins since it allowed me to complete assignments at home(college studios had legit versions but were busy) but struggled to stop when I graduated until I finally, under some of your encouragement I might add, decided to delete all of them and use stock plugins only then purchase anything I really needed. Just think that plugins are a good investment in certain scenarios my 2c. Funny, cause I’ve been in the same situation regarding education and busy college studios.
But when I realized i could never afford those “hi quality” plugins I tried to emulate their behavior with the stock plugins of Reaper (you Reaper guys out there know there are tons of’em), sometimes by flipping the phase of channel A with the “hi-quality” plugin and then tweaking the settings of the stock plugin on channel B until they would end up in silence (at least almost), sometimes by using the build in automatic parameter modulation (audio envelope triggered). By the way, that way I programmed an incredibly cool fader riding fx-chain for vocals, bass and any other instrument. It even works on snares to increase the punch. Anyway, I quickly realized: I don’t need third party plugins for hundreds of dollars or pounds.
I JUST NEED CREATIVITY and some wonderful things will come out – and most of the time for free! So I deleted all the illegal plugins I had and felt much, much better. I do a ton of work with samples and VI’s and at this point it is a much better investment getting better/different VI’s than adding yet another EQ plugin to the half dozen other EQ plugins that I have. The point isn’t to not buy plugins– if you need a multiband compressor than get one– but the point is that you don’t need LOTS of multiband compressors. And if people can follow that rule rather than try to collect every multiband compressor ever created, they won’t have to resort to piracy because they are spending their money more wisely (not to say anyone needs to or should pirate a multiband compressor in the first place). Ouch, that statement hurts!
I tell you why: For practice purposes you can demo most of the plugins, so that’s no excuse. In fact, using cracked software is stealing. You say it’s just a copy? The “original” aspect regarding plugins is the code! When you use that code with a cracked version you use the original idea of that plugin. This is something another passionate person was working on for a longer time and by stealing that idea without paying the person’s investment of time and effort you simply steal.
Let’s assume you write a killer song and radio stations want to play that song. Normally, they would pay you kinda fee. But in your case they say, “ey, what you want? We play just the copy of your song, the original is still inside your DAW. Why should we pay you?” I think you get the essence. I want to stress that I once was in the same situation.
Why did I change my mind? Because I WANTED to. And when I tried to compensate that putative loss I found out that I wouldn’t need those plugins because I GOT A BETTER MIX ENGINEER. “Maybe, it is not right to say it, but there’s no need to buy plugins, because most of them can be got through torrent. I don’t think that pirate software equals stolen product, because when anyone is stealing, he steals original, but pirating is making copy of original.” Which is stealing If you write a song and someone grabs it off torrent, you don’t get paid. So, neither does the writer of the software.
Moral relativism for the sake of justification is a way to not feel guilty for something you know is otherwise not ethical. The only difference between your torrent assertion and physical stealing is that you did actually physically handle the packaging.
If you buy the software and make, say, a back up copy for yourself. That is making a copy of the original and you are doing it for yourself. If you did not purchase the product but got it for free and the maker did not intend that, you stole the product.
Moreover, you’ve now diluted the value of that product. The maker now is receiving less in income to develop further the now stolen product or other products. That income, otherwise known as stealing from the maker, does something, it pays people to make and develop. If you like the product, pay for it. Downloading cracked plugins is not like stealing; it’s called “piracy” for a reason; it’s like killing the whole crew of a ship, robbing their gold and setting the ship on fire. Sharing information is murder. Actually it’s much worse.
Technology, art, especially music, is a means to make money. And money is more important than letting live.
Respect the immaterial copyrights rights given to us by God, or you’re an atheist and a contrarian (and probably gay too). Anyone who does not agree on this ideological principle is a murderer and a thief.
There are some Killer, and to my my ears surpassing what I hear from “The Big Guys” pimping for at the average 99$US a Pop. There are great plugins outtherebeing put out by musicians who happen to be awesome programmers. But I stay away from Autotune and Tape Emulation,Spring Reverb Emulation etc. Because it’s emulation, and Autotune is the pure work of the Anti-Christ and the worst thing to happen to music Since Disney made every single movie since 1930 a musical with the same plot and charecthers. And That’s why I don’t use Pro Tools. Very good article Graham ?.when I read the comments, I understand that many people here don´t get the important message, really interesting to readwhen you have great recordings or sounds made by soft synths or hardware you don´t need almost NO additional plugins than the ones you already have within your DAW.
Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton, Cubase, Studio onethey all have amazing tools to work with. It takes years to get used to a DAW and even takes more time to work with additional plugins, so all this time spend with those tools, is time where you don´t improve your skills as a musician, don´t speak with other friends about musical topics, don´t check out new instruments at your local music store and so on.again, Graham brought up a very important issue here.
Before you start with plugins make sure you know exactly why you like to purchase those products, and move on step by stepalways checking your existing DAW if the plugins available are really not good enough for the job that needs to be done.the same of course is true for any hardware you buy ?. Just want to play around with your comment and interprete it like this: So in a live situation where you are forced to mix the band on a Yamaha 02R you wouldn’t be able to mix them properly? I mean because you don’t have your 1176ers and LA-2As around? Okay, that was kind of polemic. Another question: have you ever tried your stock plugins on great (I mean really great) signals?
Is it rather restoration or improvement you do when using your plugins? When I started to improve my front end I felt like “Damn, so much money wasted on new plugins just to pretend they’d be the cause for my frustration”. No, offense, Ive checked out some of your songs on Youtube, and for what you do I can see why you can pretty much use stock plugins.
Im not knocking what you do. Personally Im a lot more al over the place, some of my songs are either rock, funk, soul, r&b, pop, orchestral, hip hop, jazz, blues. Electronic, and I work with a lot of people with various music styles. Some of my songs I can get it done with stock plugins, other times other plugins offer me what the stock plugins dont. I even saw in one of your videos where you use some of the Waves classic compressors. Strizbiz – Any mix can be done with purely stock plugins.
That’s the point I’m trying to make. No one “needs” 3rd party plugins to get a great sounding mix. However, there is nothing wrong with using some other plugins that give you a tone or vibe or character you like. In fact, that’s the creative side of mixing. Hence why I own and use a few 3rd party plugins. I like the sound they give me. But most people have been misled to believe that they NEED more plugins to get a great mix.
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They just need to become better mixers. John tiller s campaign series serial key. If you can’t make a mix sound good with stock plugins, then you can’t make a mix sound good with any plugin.
The main reason I have bought third party plugins is actually the UI. Most of the stock plugins in Logic have such a terrible UI and Apple should be ashamed of them. If I had to do a mix with the stock Logic plugins I would just get annoyed and frustrated and mix would probably not come out very well. From that aspect a good UI can actually improve the mix more than the actual algorithms used in the plugin.
If you enjoy working and playing with it, and can change things with ease, I bet that you will come up with a better mix. There are few companies who care about making good UIs for their plugins however. Most of them just make pretty and shiny things that look like old studio gear from yesteryear.
Thankfully there are exceptions. I agree that it makes sense to prioritize the front end, but its really not an either/or situation and the notion that stock plugins are good enoughwell, that only applies if “stock mixing” is good enough. Recording and mixibg are 2 different jobs. Yes recording is more important, on that notion your money might be best spent on christmas lights and incense since the vibe plays a big roll in how well people perform.
But once you’re sitting down to mix, what done is done on the recording end, then the question becomes “how good are your mix tools?”. Anyone who’s ever done a mix in a decked out analog studio knows that its an uphill battle being limited to plugins at all.
The very best are just barely competetive with what the analog world has to offer. I need every last bit of vibe and grit and weight that I can squeeze out of my plugs. Tape and tube emulation are essential.
Recording is a chain that starts at the instrument and ends at the listener’s ear. Every single bit in between matters.
I sweat and paid for mogami patch cables, im not going to dishonour that investment by using subpar plugins. The latest gen of UAD2 plugs, the Fairchild in particular, but also the Pultec, LA2a and 1176 have really raised the bar.
The new Fairchild is hands down the best sounding plugin compressor Ive ever heard. Well worth the “investment”:). I don’t know about you but ever since I used Harrison Mixbus I realised having too much plugin doesn’t make your sound better. Saying that but the DAW matters a lot cause what runs all those plugins is the DAW.
Oh about pirating I can’t say it is stealing I have plenty of plugin that I have purchased from waves and I lost my licence twice with in a year and I can’t recover it unless I wait for a year to come, so I’ve installed pirated waves and it really saved my ass. I really thank for all the people who created pirated waves. I have to disagree with the over all statement that plugins are the “worst” investment in your studio. Of course having a good front end is important and making sure things get recorded right in the first place, but there are a times when someone might just want you to mix something thats been recorded already.
Sure, most Daws do come with useable EQs and Fx, but some may not have the transparency we need, or get us the warmth we need. Plus plugins arent just all EQs and Compressors, there are some great virtual instrument plugins that bring a lot to the table. Also a lot of us are becoming more mobile and just might need to take our laptops and go.
We cant always take a bunch of hardware with us. Im not saying to sink every dime in the latest plugin that comes out, but Id hardly call buying plugins the worst investment.
Very nice topic. Musicians/engineers are blinded by options nowadays. Especially all that vintage/brand marketing crap is funny.
Want to put a few original 1176’s aside and do a ‘a/b/c/d’ test? They will all sound different. So will different 1176 plugins. The thing isvintage gear sounds quirky. Components wear distortion modifications you name it.
Free Uad Plugins
Personally I don’t care. My front end is good and if I want something to f#ck it upI don’t care what it is, as long as I get a sonic result that makes me happy. In the end even an overdrive pedal can do the job as an insert and it costs less then some of the dearly overpriced plugins or hardware units. I do like the eq’s in my DAW. They do the job very well (subtractive e.q.). Most standard EQ plugins are not very musical though, so I used a Sonnox EQ demo. Very musical option indeed as well as a razor sharp surgical option.
Don’t need more than that, but that’s me. I want things to be simple. In the end I want more quality time. In my case that will be smooth creative time to make music in the most intuitive way that I can. Because my front end is very good, I don’t have to worry about it, when it is recorded in the box. Because the original recordings are great, the plugins are just for fine tuning. Not for major colouring, because I do that from the source.
My tip: try to know what sonic stamp you want a recording to havebefore you start the recording. That way, you have a pre-defined goal, so you can work towards it. If you do use plugins, you will select them more easilly, because you kind of know what you want. It will be a bit more difficult to work this way in the beginning, but once you get the hang of itit really is a time saver and will influence discission making on a positive way.
I was struck by the very cynical tone of this article and the way it assumes that everyone who is into recording thinks like an amatuer and hasto weigh buying microphones against plugins. I think that plugins such as Waves or the Blue Cat or Focusrite or SoundToys are just a few of some of the amazing plugins out there that will allow you to transform your recordings into tastefully balanced and more listenable and enjoyable recordings. The presumption that someone is just recording a crap recording and slapping a plugin onto the recording as a solution is absurd. You must begin with a piece worth recording and a recording worthy of any kind of mixing or engineering before you can have anything worthwile anyway. Great plugins are truly amazing and are usually most useful is the most subtle ways not when you clobber the recording with plugins and EQ.
Uad Plug-ins Bundle
God bless companies like Waves and the others for they are truly angels!!! It’s a very good point financially speaking. I still wouldnt ever trade in my UAD plugins for one really good hardware unit.
I own a ton of outboard gear and know the difference. Nothing competes with the UAD stuff unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars for multipule instances of the hardware per track. At the end of the day I don’t think most engineers could tell the difference between the hardware and the software (speaking purely to the UAD-2 plugins) unless they have hundreds of hours of experience with the hardware. I think if you are working professionally plugins are totally worth the loss in equity. Get really good mics, preamps, and converters first though; ). You Guys are almost all saying the same but in different ways, so, your house start in your foundation. I made a couple of albums here in portugal and I think there are some thing you have to consider first (for me the most important) your EARS, room, speakers or monitoring, Cables, mics, converters, so in general the quality of what you are transport to inside your Daw whatever it is.
Dont forget you are join together separate pieces of what together will make MUSIC, so, the choice of each piece is very important, in VSTs is very important the choice of each sound because sometimes you think you can solve a problem with plugins and thats here you start to think in the worst way. Is your lead synth or a great arppegiator that sounds wonderful alone but can kill your work in your mix. Back to the topic, I work with UAD plugins from Universal Audio and there are some cool stuff from Waves too, and many more but you cannot or you should not to put 10 of these plugins in your vocal track or kick or whatever you have to make the right choice and think as if you are working with real gear, so I use plugins, yes, but dont forget that sometimes less is more cheers everyone. Totally disagree, sure you might be right when you are talking about mixing a track and the basics are all there in your DAW. Plugins aren’t just reverb and compression, they can be synths, that are unique. They can be pianos, that are unique or sounds and devices that enable process and dynamics that are unheard of. I guess that is my point, no one want to hear the same thing, new and interesting sounds come from plugins these days when previously they would have been hardware based.
You really have missed the point of why people make music, it’s worth investing in the basics of a studio but plugins are most certainly high up on the list and you should update your article to reflect the realities and backlash. I bet anyone who disagrees with this brilliant article has never worked with QUALITY outboard gear extensively or invested in it. There is NOTHING to disagree here people. Digital technology loses its value with every passing day.
Quality analogue equipment maintains if not increases in value as time passes. Only experience can convince one of this though I guess Next, front end is in my professional opinion, is the single most important area in the chain of sonic quality. And again, only experience will convince you of this.
So if you disagree completely with this article you are in essence calling yourself an unexperienced engineer. Or you don’t have a good DAW like ProTools or Ableton that come with killer stock plugins. If you use a “low end budget” DAW, the plugins don’t sounds as good as the Ableton or Pro Tools one. An example for PC: Mixcraft don’t come with a graphic EQ, an EQ with more than 8 bands, an analog simulation (tape etc) + I have a NI Replika delay for example and it sounds 10 times better than the stock Mixcraft delay. Not to mention the reverb that I got in comparison to the stock reverb Even for anyone that doesn’t care about sounds at all, the difference is obivous.
An example for MAC: Logic Pro X, the Channel EQ is one of the worst EQ outhere due to his addings of unwanted distortions and phasing issues. And there are few plugins like this one in Logic that don’t sound right. So not a matter of “experienced” or non “experienced engineer”.
It’s a matter of front end gear and DAW. A matter of financial mean and perspectives. Of course if you have Pro Tools and awesome soundcard and mics, you barely need 3rd party plugins Even, if, in any way, being an “experienced engineer” can be related with this financial and gear matters. If I’m gonna be honest. I feel like you’re a good guy and it isn’t your intention at all. But I feel like this and some of your other advice would keep mucicians from progressing Like it really depends what type of music people are creating. And yes, if you’re recording a full live band or a drumkit then more mics are more important than plugins.
But for most people for vocal recordings I actually think they’ll get a better sounding final product using a $200 mic and a ton of plugins than a great mic, acoustics, etc I feel like the quality of the original recording matters a lot less these days with how processed pop music is these days. I think you are right, (here comes the hairy) but, it totally depends on what you are doing in the studio. If you are mainly a mixer, then yeah sure I’d say you’d need to get quality mics, preamps and all that good stuff first. Possibly a few good analogue tools if the budget allows, after acoustic treatment and quality monitors, ref monitors, etc, because some do sound great. Either way, getting a quality limiter in the software realm can be the difference between a distorted, low rms mix with a clean transient one which can be pushed a lot higher rms wise. Stock plugins can be great, but many third party plugins do amazing work which would never be possible with stock.
This is more aimed towards sound design and creation of audio, more so than mixing. I figured it was applicable since you are talking about studio, as a whole. I do love the Invisible A.O.M limiter Could never go back again to L3 or some T-racks / Izotope style limiter after using that thing. It’s the new daddy of software limiters (I’ll get a lot of flack from serious engineers on this one. Queuing some Sandstorm) ?.
I think that the biggest problem with too many plug-ins is that too many choices can keep you from getting the work done. What I like to do is keep a file of drum mixs, guitar mixes, vocals, etc, and in my spare time I like to try out as many things as I can in the demo mode.
When I find something that gets the job done I just wait for it to go on sale, like most WAVES plug-ins do if you’re patient enough. That said the stock plug-ins in SONAR X3 do 99% of what needs done. I like their PC76, the console emulations, the Pro channel 4 band parametric, and the Nomad factory delay and reverbs. I can easily mix anything with those plugs. There are plug-ins by Waves though that I feel sound more like their hardware counterparts like the CLA1176, and the CLA2!
Also the SSL and API plugs sound and work great. I also feel that the H-Comp, H-Delay, R-Comp, PAZ analyzers, and the Renaissance reverb plug-ins, which are all in the Waves Gold bundle (which goes on sale quite frequently for 200 to 300 dollars), are very easy to dial in quickly, and to me, time is money! I’ve never bought a plug-in or bundle that wasn’t on sale, and I bought all of mine for less than the price of one real 1176! The biggest waste of money to me is being impulsive, not doing your homework, and not waiting for items to go on sale.
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If you’re smart you can have world class plugs for very little money. As with anything you can overdo it Spending significant cash (hundreds? Thousands?) on plugins might not be a good investment considering the quality of tools available in DAWs these days. However, I will never be able to afford much of the hardware that Waves emulates and sells at sale prices of less than $50. Why wouldn’t I want to use a Neve or Pultec Eq or a Urei 1176 compressor emulation? They sound great and are affordable. Aside from the value proposition, it’s also about workflow: many plugins that emulate hardware are faster/easier to get quality results than relying on stock tools.
Yes, I can and do get killer results with stock plugins. If I get similar or better results from a plugin more quickly, absolutely I’m going to use one.
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