Plug-In Recommendations

[adam79]

I'm in the beginning stages of building up my home studio, and I want to build up a collection of plug-ins. I don't have the money to buy any bundles, or what I really want (UAD-2), so I can only cross my fingers and hope to get lucky somewhere like eBay.. buying second hand plug-ins. I want a nice Reverb (I'm not that impressed with D-Verb), an Exciter, Compression (especially for vocals and the Master Track); some of the Bomb Factory Compressors (that came with my MBox2's Factory bundle) work well. Also, although I can't use it do to compatibility issues, the Fairchild 670 kicks all kinds of ass on the Master Fader. I also have a SansAmp PSA-1 plug that I use in alot of my mixes. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
-Adam

[albee1952]

What version of PT do you have that doesn't work with the Fairchild? Anyway, reverb is the first hurdle and there are several choices to look at. IK Classik verbs, TL Space, Redline(112db) and Breverb are all very good(I use the IK Classik PLATE and ROOM on more than half my projects and TL Space on the rest. Redline made a great first impression(demo) but I have my needs covered and let it go. Just my opinion, but exciters don't float my boat. But for adding "air" and sparkle, I love the Pultec EQ1A. I also use BF76 a lot. SMACK! is quite nice on vocals(never tried it on the master) and softube Tube-Tech CL-1B is great on vocals AND the master track. Grab the Pultec off eBay and watch for deals(take a look at the airusers blog for some more deals.

[adam79]

Originally Posted by albee1952

What version of PT do you have that doesn't work with the Fairchild?

7.3 LE (w/ OS X 10.5). The program still works, but according to Digidesign, it's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose. I'm just curious how the Fairchild 670 just stopped working even though I never updated anything. When I have the money, I want to buy the 003 Rack+ (which comes with 8 LE, solving both my compatibility issue and need for more tracks).

-Adam

[djstyleee]

Hmmm. It all depends what program you are utilising the software in. Im guessing a mixing engineer? For reverb, the UA emulation's of the EMT normally is my first choice very transparent, Waves Ren verb is another one I like o use frequently. Sonnox Oxford bundle also has I very nice reverb unit. As for plug's in general most the factory plug's bundle with your DAW are good enough to produce high standard audio, I use the factory plug's quite a lot.

[The Dougfather]

Check out the McDSP LE Project Studio bundle, i've turned in to a bit of a plugin junky recently but i nearly always end up switching back to McDSP because sonically there plugins always sound better than the rest. The CB4 is the compressor that the pro's rave about and you get that section of filterbank with the LE bundle.

Massey CT4 is compressor is a seriously transparent compressor. It's my go-to for acoutic guitars because it just sounds natural and doesn't pump. The downside is doesn't have a threshold so is somewhat restricted. Tapehead is great for the masterfader.

[Murt]

Originally Posted by adam79

I'm in the beginning stages of building up my home studio, and I want to build up a collection of plug-ins.

If you want to add to your collection have a look at the current IK Multimedia deal. No reverbs or compressors but you get a nice selection of VI's and a TRacks single.

[adam79]

Is the EQ1A the same as the EQP1A (if not, what's the difference)? Also, what company makes the best version of this plug-in? Are they all good, or are there ones to avoid?

I found a decent price for the Bomb Factory version of TL Space. Is it really that much better than DVerb?

Finally, Do you need the UAD card to use the UA plug-ins? I was reading that they make some of the best plugs.

Thanks,
-Adam

[taperocket]

just get the massey suite and a good reverb plug, that's all you need!

[djstyleee]

To be honest mate, if you at the beginning stage of your career I would not go blowing all your money on the latest and greatest plug's, get to know the one's your already have, learn the details on the affect, process then, you are in a much better situation where you will automatically know exactly what you need for your work. Yeah you do need the UAD card for theUA plug's. The UAD 2 solo will be the cheapest of the cards, you can get a flexi pack as well for a little more and you get $500 dollars to spend on the UA website on plug's. I do really like the UA equipment in general but like I said before Waves are very good so is Sonnox, there are hundreds of companies that provide excellent plug's, it all depends on the application.

[adam79]

I've been audio engineering for 12-13 years now; I've had Pro Tools for the last 2 maybe 3 years. I'm very familiar w/ the program and the plug-ins I have. (the ones that came w/ MBox2 Factory). Plus I have the SansAmp PSA-1 and Fairchild 670. I'm not fond of the D-Verb plug, and want a better reverb plug. Also, the JoeMeek EQ is alrighy, but I want something. better. This is why I've been asking about the Pultec EQ1A and TL-Space. I don't have the money for any bundles; I can only afford two used plugs, I guess on eBay. Is the EQA and TL-Space the two I should be looking at for EQ and Reverb respectively, or are there better ones I should check out?

One more question.. I like to record vocals w/ compression. Is this impossible to do this w/ plug-ins? My method is to record vocals w/ a comp insert (pre-fader) via a bus from an aux track w/ comp, but I've noticed that the track isn't processed w/ the compression post recording.

Thanks,
-Adam