plugins worth the money

[Amzie]

first are there any free plugins that are worth installing and if you had to choose one plugin or one pligin bundle what would it be
any input would be great thanks

[spkguitar]

What kind of plugins are you talking about? Audio manipulation plugins? (compressors, EQ, delay etc) Or instrument plugins? (synths, samplers, etc)

I have a List of Free plugins on my Pro Tools Newbie website. There are two categorizations there; RTAS plugins that can be used directly in Pro Tools, and VST plugins that can be used in Pro Tools via the VST-RTAS Adapter from FXPansion.

If you spend money on anything for Pro Tools, you should spend money to get the VST-RTAS Adapter. It will open up a lot of possibilities with regards to free plugins, not to mention purchased plugins that might not be compatible directly with Pro Tools because they are VST only. The Adapter is worth every penny that you will pay for it.

As for recommendations of other plugins for purchase, it's hard to give clear direction without knowing the answer to "Which kind of plugins?" It also depends on why you want "more plugins". Many of the stock Digidesign plugins will do the job very nicely (the EQIII is one of the most under-rated plugins; I use it on every single session)

You cannot go wrong with the McDSP stuff for high quality audio plugs.

The Massey plugins are great, especially at the ridiculously low price.

[dillon99999]

my recommendation for plugins still stands: UAD-1

although it is not "free" it represents the best bang for the buck with budget conscious engineers.

the quality of the plugins is definitely worth it.

i'm also using a focusrite liquid mix in a separate setup for mixing / mastering - but i just bought it, so i'm still testing the waters with it - and can't report anything significant at the moment.

i've been using the UAD-1 for 2 years now, and have gotten used to it and the sound it produces - so it has become my favorite "go to" device for mixing / mastering.

[SlipKid]

Does anybody know of a compressor that actually works? I've tried using those that come with PT without much success. What I mean is that I can't get any of them to actually take the "wack" out of a sound. Even when I use two in series, my guitar solos, for example, are still jumping out of the track causing pain and destruction. Same with snare. What I need is a compressor that actually flattens the dynamics and still sounds good.

[Stiff]

Volume automation is your friend.

For compressors I like the Massey, Smack!, and Channel G from McDSP.