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  #1  
Old 10-13-2010, 03:57 AM
xtratorque xtratorque is offline
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Default recommended plug ins for LE?

Hello everyone, I'm working on an EP that I'd like to have released in the spring and I want to do it on my Mac at home. I have PT LE 8.0.3 and I would like to know how good the plug ins for EQ, Compression and reverbs etc are that come stock with the software. There won't be that many tracks on each session, it's blues/rock, acoustic and piano, maybe 10 tracks most and I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm going for a late 60's to late 70's sound for most of it. I want to get the best sound possible in the box and for under $1000. I bought a mixing engineers handbook and Behind The Glass by Howard Massey which are offering some great insights into how to mix but the equipment they mention is mostly analog and very expensive. So if anyone has some advice I'd love to hear it, thanks a lot in advance.
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  #2  
Old 10-13-2010, 04:06 AM
BradLyons BradLyons is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

There are many plugins out there to choose from---I have roughly $40,000 worth in TDM plugins and even I don't have them all, so forget about getting everything But there are some "must-haves" as I see it on various levels depending upon the quality you want. Let me suggest this....

http://www.guitarcenter.com/McDSP-Em...48-i1477452.gc

Okay, this will blow your whole budget but it will cover EVERYTHING other than pitch correction. I'm a huge fan of McDSP for a few reasons....first and foremost their stuff just rocks for ProTools! The sound quality offers some of the best sounding plugins you'll find across the board with TONS and TONS of presets, that might be helpful for you. They are easy to use and you get a wealth of plugins in this bundle that are of the highest quality. Another feature I enjoy about the McDSP plugins is their efficiency of DSP use. This is true either on the HD cards or in native processing, which I use both. So with your system, these plugins will go a loooong long way both in the amount you can use and the quantity of plugins that you have.

I can't tell you how many of these bundles I've sold over the years---and I've never been told anything other than "wow, these are amazing".

There are many other plugins I could recommend such as the WAVES STUDIO CLASSICS, but you're looking for about $1,000 and you need to fill many plugin choices. I can't find a better value or collection for anywhere near that price.
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  #3  
Old 10-13-2010, 06:37 AM
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albee1952 albee1952 is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

I also hear great stuff about McDSP, but I'll offer some alternatives. The first thing you need is a good reverb. IK Classik Reverbs work well, as does 112db's Redline and TL space. Next, you may want a "character" compressor and I like SMACK! and softube's Tube Tech CL1B. I can't work without my Pultec EQ1A(softube makes a nice one, but the Bomb Factory pack can be had used for a bargain). Hopefully, you will have your project mastered, so you don't need to buy mastering plugins. SMACK! and TL Space can also be found used so check the Buy&Sell section here, ebay and Air Users Blog for some great deals(on ebay, look at the feedback scores as you don't want to get ripped off). My experience with buying used plugins has been very good.
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  #4  
Old 10-13-2010, 07:52 AM
Wayne Dawkins Wayne Dawkins is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

Buy Waves SSl4000 and McDsp Analog channel.



http://www.audiosparxcom/waynedawkins
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  #5  
Old 10-13-2010, 08:30 AM
promixr promixr is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

I think that if you really learn your software, and the plug ins that came with your LE system, you can get really good results without spending any money on plugins. ProTools bundled plugins are very good, the AIR EQ's are extremely useable, and efficient. The idea is to really listen to them and understand how they are effecting your program material.

You haven't told us anything about the rest of your setup though. If you are Mixing and Mastering your recording yourself you want to give serious thought to your monitoring, your speakers and headphones. And if you can, you'll want to give some thought to some basic acoustic treatment. That will go a lot further in helping you hear your music correctly, so that when you use plugins you are not correcting problems in your space, but truly massaging your recording into perfection.

To get the most out of your AIR plugins I highly recommend Russ' AIR Users Blog- he's a long time member here and an experienced post engineer from the UK and has a massive amount of useful tutorials and other information to help AIR plugin users:

http://www.airusersblog.com/

There's a one time registration fee- but it's worth it.
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Last edited by promixr; 10-13-2010 at 10:08 AM. Reason: spelling
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  #6  
Old 10-13-2010, 09:40 AM
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albee1952 albee1952 is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

Quote:
Originally Posted by promixr View Post
i think that if your really learn your software, and the plug ins that came with your LE system, you can get really good results without spending any money on plugins. ProTools bundled plugins are very good, the AIR EQ's are extremely useable, and efficient. The idea is to really listen to them and understand how they are effecting your program material.

You haven't told us anything about the rest of your setup though. If you are Mixing and Mastering your recording yourself you want to give serious thought to your monitoring, your speakers and headphones. And if you can, you'll want to give some thought to some basic acoustic treatment. That will go a lot further in helping you hear your music correctly, so that when you use plugins you are not correcting problems in your space, but truly massaging your recording into perfection.

To get the most out of your AIR plugins I highly recommend Russ' AIR Users Blog- he's a long time member here and an experienced post engineer from the UK and has a massive amount of useful tutorials and other information to help AIR plugin users:

http://www.airusersblog.com/

There's a one time registration fee- but it's worth it.
Absolutely My answer was solely directed at the plugins question and I use the stock Digirack EQ's and BF76 a lot(even though I have tons of choices). Promixr raises a great point about monitoring. Don't think that just because you bought "good" speakers, that you are all set. Accurate listening is crucial to making good adjustments to EQ, panning and mixing in general; and what you hear is a combination of the speakers, the room and the placement IN the room. Do a quick and dirty check by opening a session and put the Signal Generator plugin on a mono AUX track. Set it for Sine wave(that's the default) and start at around 500Hz and set a comfortable volume. Now slowly sweep the frequency downward as you listen. I bet when you get down below 250Hz, you will start to hear some peaks and dips in the volume. The worse it is, the more important it will be to add some acoustic treatments(especially bass trapping). Its hard to make good EQ choices when you are not hearing accurately(and the low end is the hardest thing to get right). Good mastering makes all this even MORE important
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  #7  
Old 10-13-2010, 10:26 AM
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Ben Jenssen Ben Jenssen is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

Quote:
Originally Posted by albee1952 View Post
Do a quick and dirty check by opening a session and put the Signal Generator plugin on a mono AUX track. Set it for Sine wave(that's the default) and start at around 500Hz and set a comfortable volume.
To take it a step further, stand up and walk about the room! In a regular untreated room there will be places where the tone resonates wildly, and other places where you hear almost nothing because the waves cancel out. This really makes you appreciate how much the room changes what you hear.
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  #8  
Old 10-13-2010, 10:27 AM
promixr promixr is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

Also to get that late 60's, early 70's 'sound' you are looking for, Tube emulation plug-ins can go a long way to achieving that- and they are really inexpensive. I personally use them on synthesizer tracks, thin synthesizer patches from Absynth and FM8 really bounce from my speakers when I apply these, but if you use them very gently, you can warm up anything (much of the gear in the late 60's early 70's was tube gear...)

I have two favorites:

Antares WARM:

http://imsproav.com/main/ANTARE35602E.html

and Nomad Factory ValveDriver:

http://imsproav.com/main/NOMADFValveDriverADR2S.html

There's really no AIR plug that does this kind of processing, so it could be one way to achieve that sound without spending a lot : )
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  #9  
Old 10-13-2010, 12:38 PM
The Dougfather The Dougfather is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

I'm with Brad.

McDSP rock! They're a great company with a great attitude. Colin McDowell normally deals with any support claims which gives a great vibe. They don't pull your pants down for updates and only now as they're going to roll out au support are they asking for update fees. That's from os9 right through to snow leopard.

Overall i would recommend doing some background in to licensing policies because some, Waves, Sonnox etc charge unreasonable fees if you ever want to transfer your licenses.

McDSP were doing the le bundle for $89 bucks, it's worth that just for the CB4 letalone the ml4000 and others.

Check out Massey too, he has the most transparent compressor going.
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  #10  
Old 10-13-2010, 02:04 PM
n8tron n8tron is offline
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Default Re: recommended plug ins for LE?

I personally feel like the more I use EQ and Compression plugins the more I don't need a variety and stick to the simple ones that I know. I use the Sonalksis EQ and Comp for most everything. Then Massey CT4 and Softube Trident EQ for everything else pretty much.

If I were starting from scratch I'd either go the same route... or possibly try out the Fabfilter EQ and Comp (love the products that company makes, just don't need another EQ or Comp as the sonalksis plugs do the job and they don't leave me wanting more.

I hear DMG EQuality (from one of the sonlksis develpers) is pretty good to at a competitive price. And I hear he's working on a compressor...
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