Plug-Ins
The Life Force of Any PT Session
Not a day in front of the box goes by that I don't find myself marveling at some respective plug-in programmers genius. Auto-Tune. Beat Detective. The programmers of those two plugs are truly destined to be inducted into the Plug-In Programmers Hall of Fame. And just think, five years ago (FIVE??!!) who would've thought such wonders would ever be possible. Clearly they did.
The question that I am asked all the time is, what plugs do I use? And what do I use them for? Well, welcome to my world. Below you'll find the faces that I stare at all day, everyday, tweaking these plugs. In the studios that I work at there are no patch cables, no patchbays, and no huge racks of outboard gear. And I don't miss it for one millisecond. It may seem odd at first, but after a while you really can't imagine going back. The amount of control you give up, and the colors in your palette that disappear when mixing in the conventional way, are just too much.
These are just some of the plugs that I find myself going back to again and again. I will explain what instruments I use them on, and explain some of my starting points for how I apply them. BTW, I will be updating this section periodically with additional plugs, and updating my comments on those that I may have already written something about.
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The Compressor That First Allowed Mixing Records All Inside The Box
This was the plug that started it all for me. David Frangioni has been my Pro Tools guru since the day I met PT. In fact, I was introduced to David on my first day as a PT user. I would always ask David about new plugs, and he was always trying to turn me on to those I hadn't tried before. It was the RenComp that he told me I really had to try if I wanted a great compressor. Well, of course he was right and I have been in love with it ever since.
I pretty much use it on anything and everything: kick, snare, toms, cymbals, bass, gtrs, piano, organ,BG's + lead. And the Wave presets that are accessible from the "Load" button (along top row, second from right) are really great starting points. Some of my favorite presets are Drums, Elec Bass, Elec Gtr, + Opto Fat.
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The EQ That First Allowed Mixing Records All Inside The Box
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The Secret Weapon for Warm Digital
And one of the best kept secrets of experienced PT users.
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The Other Secret Weapon for Warm Digital
And one of the other best kept secrets of experienced PT users.
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McDSP
Analog Channel AC1
Solid State Console Saturation
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McDSP
Analog Channel AC2
Tape Saturation With Lots of Control
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A One-Of-A-Kind Limiter
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Gives Mixes That "Wider Than the Speakers" Sound
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The Coolest Delay Out There
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Hype Is Hype, But This Is The Best Reverb Plug - Bar None
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Does A Killer AMS-RMX Non Lin 2
The first, and many would say definitive, digital gated reverb - the AMS-RMX with it's trademark preset: Non Lin 2 - was a model for this plug originally. D-Verb's NonLin patch is a great gated reverb, with all the grit of the original. Why is this important? Because big gated reverb sounds have a very retro vibe these days, and can be useful as a cool effect. Try it out.
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Brilliant Deep Vintage Flange FX
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The Way To Make A Good Sound BAD
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Turns Acoustic Sounds Into Synth Sounds
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Line6
AmpFarm
Good
For Guitars+GREAT For Anything Else
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