When I started making music, I knew the kind of sound I wanted to produce. I wanted it to be rich and smooth. I wanted it to feel and sound good. I even found myself listening to the music I love differently as well. I noticed the percussion and how it sounded so clean and crisp. I could hear the vocal and the bassline clearly, especially in r&b. The strings were lush, the… you get it. That sound turned out to be ANALOG. The warmth I sought was created by hardware and processing in a real studio.
I met a few aspiring music producers online during those initial months. One of them told me plugins were a scam. At the time, I was inclined to agree. Everybody and their brother were selling plugins that promised to have you Grammy-ready at the turn of a knob or slide of a fader. I still have a few of those plugins. The first one I bought was for vocals. Now that I know more, I realize that it wasn’t a terrible plugin. They were really just providing multiple effects in one interface. They threw in a few presets, but none sounded very good. I won’t mention that plugin here because I’m not trying to bash a company for my ignorance.
The next one I purchased was for mastering. I still use that one from time to time. I think things started to change when I downloaded a trial of Izotope’s producer suite. I got Nectar, Neutron and Ozone. Magic! I still use Ozone on every track. Now that Nectar and Neutron are more modular, I use pieces of it on occasion. But that didn’t stop me from trying everything I could get my hands on. I still do it but not as frequently.
Fast forward. It’s three years later, and I chuckle sometimes when I think about how I tried to shortcut my way through audio engineering. I don’t think there is a magic solution. I have come to value plugins that offer solid presets because they help me learn the software and more about everything that makes a signal sound the way you want it to. EQ, compression, limiting…
Without a grasp on those concepts, the “sound” will elude you. One day I watched a master class with Bob Power. Ironically, I know about Bob because he was immortalized in the A Tribe Called Quest track, Electric Relaxation. He talks just like he did in the song. It was fascinating. As he went through his process, he dropped so many valuable tips and tricks. I also took care to do what I always do: look at the engineer’s screen to see what kind of software they are using. If they don’t note their DAW and plugins, best believe I’m pausing and zooming in to see what it is.
So I’m watching and listening. When Bob pulled up a green plugin, I was like, WAIT. What is that? I don’t recognize the interface. A short search later on the part of the number I could see, and I figured out it was McDSP. Something new. Do they have a trial? Yes? Great. Let’s go.
I didn’t know what everything did and wasn’t familiar with their naming system, so I just put different things on my tracks and tried different presets. I was amazed. Certain plugins seemed to make the signal sound so clear and clean. Even distortion and saturation sounded good to me. I was like, if Bob uses it, that’s what I want to use. Problem? Like many plugins used by the pros, it’s expensive af. Music does not make me money, and I don’t have it just lying around. Oh, wait—Distrokid paid out $5.61 last year. Music can become a very expensive habit. The plugin game makes it worse. The sales. UGH. Always thinking, “I need that.” I don’t even look at gear.
I will say that my toolbox has filled out nicely, but I’ve been strategic.
- Always get a trial. Test it out. If it sounds great but crashes your DAW or computer, you might wanna skip it.
- Watch for sales. Sign up for newsletters and follow on social.
- If you don’t like subscription models, consider them anyway because you usually get access to every plugin, plus new products and updates, for a fraction of what you would pay to own. Matter of fact, the price I paid for an annual subscription to McDSP was less than the cost of purchasing ONE of their plugins. The math is mathin’.
- Speaking of annual subscriptions, do it. Especially if you’re on a budget. Knock it out for a year. If a great sale for an annual product comes along and I don’t want to lay out any cash, I use Klarna or Affirm, usually with low or no interest, to spread out the cost.
- Watch for bundles and special sales from plugin sites like PluginBoutique. I got a year of LoopCloud Artist for $40.
- When you’re running trials, see if it has a solid set of presets to get you started. Some software has very few or they aren’t organized (*WAVES*). Slate Digital is one of my favorite investments. Their presets are excellent and well organized. You can easily save your own, but having a starting point is a win.
That’s all I got. I have slowly narrowed down my “go-to” must have plugins.
