So I feel tempted to add my list of workhorses though I know that it will be of no interest to anyone else *lol* And it is very humbling to realize that I spent more on plugins than you. But what about you? Do you need a plugin purge of your own? If you had to only use five plugins on every mix, what would they be? Why? What would get left off the list, and why? This false limitation will only help me to mix faster and with more passion. Well folks, there you have it: I’ve officially narrowed down my list of day to day plugins to five (ok maybe six if you include the ARC). It was fun, the mix sounds great, and it proves yet again that you already own all you need to make a great mix.
#Sonar console emulation vs. slate vcc vmr pro
This month over at Dueling Mixes I did the entire mix with the stock plugins in Pro Tools 11.
#Sonar console emulation vs. slate vcc vmr 64 Bit
Why? Well, none of the above plugins (save maybe for Ozone) are ported over to the new 64 bit AAX format so they aren’t Pro Tools 11 compatible. Recently I’ve done some mixes in the new Pro Tools 11 and could only use stock plugins. In fact, I sometimes do that just to stay humble and remind myself that it’s the mixer, not the plugins, that make a great mix. If were brand new to mixing and just practicing my craft as a hobby, I’d stick with my stock plugins and make it work. But then again, I make a living using these plugins week in and week out.
Now, those are all wonderful plugins that I think are worth every penny of what I paid for them. That being said, I can (and have) mix in headphones and reference on other speakers, which eliminates the need for the ARC all together. This has totally helped my mixes translate out in the real world and I hate mixing without it. If I could include one more (and I will) it would be the ARC 2 from IK Multimedia. And Ozone gives you that final limiting you need, along with some great multiband compression and other sonic goodies. The buss compressor and VCC simply glue things together in a way that I miss if I have to mix without them. The CLA-2a gives different compression style to the SSL and really is great on vocals. The channel strip is my biggest tool for carving and sculpting tracks.
At this moment (summer 2013) my narrowed down list looks like this: Rather I want to use the tools that make me work quickly, creatively, and effectively. I refuse to use a plugin only because I dropped money on it. Neither of which are feelings I want when trying to break the cycle of self doubt as a mixer! It’s Time To Narrow Things Downįor my own mental sanity and creative focus I’m going to narrow down my plugin list to only the plugins I deem worthy to be on my go-to list. It slows me down when I mix and reminds me of the money I’ve wasted.
Do I need 75+ plugins sitting in my plugin menu? No. If we exclude any of my other DAWs and look primarily at Pro Tools, this puts me with a total plugin count of around 75.Īm I using all $3500 worth of plugins week and week out on mixes for my clients? No. And that is excluding any DAW purchases or upgrades (which I estimate as probably at least an additional $1750!). In the past decade I’ve spent at least $3500 on 3rd party plugins. I tried hard to think back on how many plugins I’ve purchased over the past 10 years and how much money that represents. Via Jimee, Jackie, Tom & Asha Flickr How Much I’ve Spent On Plugins Over The Years So today’s post will be a bit more personal, to my situation, but hopefully it will get you to think. Maybe not for you, but for me personally in my studio, it’s time to shed some dead weight and narrow down my actual day to day plugin list. On the heels of last week’s post about plugins being the worst investment in your studio, I have an announcement to make: it’s time for a plugin purge.