What is an essential list of necessary DAW plugin's?

[tothemax]

Just to begin, I have been a Cakewalk by Band Lab user since the first free versions were released.

That was after trying to learn digital production with Cubase (the light version that came with an early Tascam US122L interface). Anyway, recently I upgraded to the latest version of Cakewalk Sonar BBL, and the built in utilities are pretty impressive (plugins). After purchasing a few plugin's over the years I'm constantly getting free downloads from UA and have a pretty good selection now. My point is with the new version of Sonar there is so much built in that the learning curve is pretty huge.

So back to my original question, what are the core plugin's that are necessary to know and understand well, and what would be considered fluff. I say this in consideration of time required to really understand a plugin (or a piece of studio hardware). I consider myself intermediate at best, primarily a musician learning to record and mix.

Will appreciate any guidance...

[Bob Bickerton]

My approach is to get to know your core plug-ins really well so they become second nature.

With that in mind mine are, with my favourites in brackets, but yours could be different, so a note rather than a suggestion:

Tracks:

Vocal/General Compressor - UAD LA2A (Gray/Medium Fast)
Incisive MultiBand EQ with Analysis - SSL X-DYNEQ
Subtle EQ - UAD Pultec Range

FX Bus:

General Reverb - UAD Lexicon 224
Realistic Reverb - Cinematic Rooms
Expansive Reverb - Eventide Blackhole
Delay - Whatever suits the track!

Mastering Bus:

Compression Glue - UAD Fairchild 670
EQ - SSL Violet
Stereo - SSL Stereo Image
Limiter - SSL X-Limit
Metering - TC Electronic Clarity System

I then have a range of what I'd consider 'special' FX or problem solvers, of which there are many, but the above generally gets me there.

I work with mainly acoustic genres.

Most DAWs would be able to do all of the above, so it's not a shopping list! More a list of plug-ins I know well, which is the key to success.

Bob

[tothemax]

Thank you so much, very helpful...

One of the UA plugin's that has become a favorite is the Sound City Studio for fine tuning a vocal or acoustic guitar. Prior to that Cakewalk included the VX-64 vocal strip which was fun to use, but a lot to understand for using the integrated features properly.

I have a number of the modules that you have listed, for the ones that are missing there should be reasonable substitutes to learn with. Thankfully YouTube is such a great source for tutorials.

Cheers!

[RichardT]

The main types IMO you need to master are EQ, compression, reverb, delay and limiting.

I think it's also important to control the stereo width of signals, but your DAW may be able to do that with panning.

Saturation/distortion plugins, for me, are at the top of 'the rest'.

[adrian_k]

I think it's also important to control the stereo width of signals, but your DAW may be able to do that with panning.

Sonar comes with a Channel Tools plugin which allows proper stereo panning - essential for working with stereo sources where eg you want to narrow a synth track and place it in the sound stage. Also has MS decoding.

[twotoedsloth]

Hello,

If you're not tied to cakewalk/bandlab, you might consider Harrison Mixbus. It ships with all the plugins you will ever need, and many that you won't. And it's only $25! The channel strip on it's own is fantastic, and the plethora of plugins is extremely generous. I normally use Reaper, but I have done a few projects in Mixbus, and I'm very impressed.

Good luck on your search,

Peter

[Matt Houghton]

The main types IMO you need to master are EQ, compression, reverb, delay and limiting.

I think it's also important to control the stereo width of signals, but your DAW may be able to do that with panning.

Saturation/distortion plugins, for me, are at the top of 'the rest'.

Good advice. Though I'd put saturation/distortion in the first group, particularly if you happen to be working with analogue modelling plug-ins like the UA stuff. And I'd add that learning what you can do with faders/automation alone, and (particularly in a home studio setting) to understand what your meters and frequency analysers are actually telling you, are equally important.

[James Perrett]

If you aren't doing anything specialist then you should be able to do everything with the effects that come with your DAW these days. The only paid plug-ins that I use are Satin for its Dolby A decoding and Izotope RX for noise reduction and a few other bits and pieces. One day I'll try creating a Reaper FX chain for Dolby A decoding in the same way as I did one for Dbx a few years ago.

If you aren't getting the results you want with the included plug-ins then you probably need to up your skills - not buy more plug-ins.

[Kwackman]

If you aren't getting the results you want with the included plug-ins then you probably need to up your skills - not buy more plug-ins.

My mixes and my credit card would be evidence for that being very true

[Arpangel]

I’m a Reaper user, don’t like their plugs, terrible UI and limited saving, I do use ReaEQ and ReaComp regularly but that’s about it.
Couldn’t get by without all my Valhalla stuff.

[Matt Houghton]

If you aren't getting the results you want with the included plug-ins then you probably need to up your skills...

This bit, I'd agree with fully.

- not buy more plug-ins.

This bit I only agree with in part!

Certainly, all the major DAWs come bundled with a good selection of perfectly capable plug-ins for the bread and butter tasks of mixing and mastering music. You should be able to get decent results with any DAW using only its bundled plug-ins if your skills are up to snuff.

But I could also name lots of good third-party plug-ins that do things that aren't possible using bundled DAW plug-ins, that do them more effectively, or that can make doing them quicker or more convenient.

Having said that, I reckon there's little point looking for such things until you've explored and genuinely understood the limits of your bundled plug-ins, and the quality of results that you can achieve with your manual (or automatic, offline) editing tools. In other words, identify the gaps before you look to fill them.

[Matt Houghton]

I’m a Reaper user, don’t like their plugs, terrible UI and limited saving, I do use ReaEQ and ReaComp regularly but that’s about it.
Couldn’t get by without all my Valhalla stuff.

I use Reaper too. It has so many advantages. But I also dislike lots of the plug-in GUIs.

Less the look, more practical things like meter ballistics, lack of facilities like scaling/zooming on metering plug-ins, the unfriendly scaling causing bunching of useful settings on some of the controls, and the fact that I sometimes need to use multiple instances where I'd rather have everything in one GUI.

But for the most part, they sound very good and, assuming you bother to check them out properly, can do exactly what you need them to do. It's just a matter of understanding them and putting yourself in control.

There are some with lovely touches too — eg. meter and EQ GUIs that be embedded in the track or mixer control panels for convenience. Also, there are some community-developed versions with different skins and features, and generally people willing to develop things for the user community for a relatively modest fee.

Not sure what you mean by "limited saving"?

[James Perrett]

But I could also name lots of good third-party plug-ins that do things that aren't possible using bundled DAW plug-ins, that do them more effectively, or that can make doing them quicker or more convenient.

I'd be interested to know which ones you are thinking of. It is possible that I'm stuck in a way of working where I am deliberately limiting myself to using techniques that were available in a certain era. One current project is deliberately targeting an early 60s sound while another requires an early 80s sound. I've been seduced by the odd plug-in that I think ought to work but I have often gone back to Reaper's stock plug-ins and realised that they were getting closer to the sound that I was looking for than the fancy looking alternative.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

I’m a Reaper user, don’t like their plugs, terrible UI and limited saving, I do use ReaEQ and ReaComp regularly but that’s about it.
Couldn’t get by without all my Valhalla stuff.

I would not say terrible- compared to pro tools which has some very elderly GUIs in some of the bundled plugins, one of which is not even 4k compatible (focusrite D2/ D3). But there is room for improvement. I like this skin and the Tukan plugins installed via Reapack are great and have nicer UI. There is an improved UI for the ReaEQ, but I cannot rememober the name of it, and it does not automatically replace ReaEQ where you've already used it. I much prefer Fabfilter EQ, it sounds a lot better.

[Matt Houghton]

I'd be interested to know which ones you are thinking of.

Mostly not effects/processors. More on the problem-solving and editing side of things. Eg. you can't tell me there's anything the equal of Melodyne Editor or Revoice Pro in Reaper. Or a dialogue de-noiser/rescuer that's the equal of dxRevive and DeRoom Pro, or spectral editing to match RX. (ReaFIR has some denoising capability but doesn't come close). Or an intelligent offline audio leveller like Noiseworks Dynassist. But even for EQ — I mean, I can use ReaEQ, and ReEQ is better still, but it's not close to being as quick and slick as Pro-Q4, which offers so much in a single GUI. For processors it's more a case of taste and instant results — I've heard nothing in Reaper as nice as Acustica Audio's El Rey or Taupe, for instance. And it's not just their tech... I couldn't match the sound of the Apogee Clearmountain Phases when I tried either.

That's just off the top of my head... I'll have a proper think when I have more time and maybe come back to this one (or set up a separate thread?!). One caveat: I'm still on Reaper v6 — must upgrade soon, but the system's nice and stable! — so I might have missed some updates.

Don't get me wrong, though. I think Reaper is by far and away the most powerful host for these plug-ins, whether internal or external.

[Arpangel]

We can’t really moan about anything in Reaper, it’s so amazing for what it is.
I am thinking of running Logic too, their plugs look interesting and I’m used to Garage Band so it should be easy to get to grips with.

[BigRedX]

If you aren't doing anything specialist then you should be able to do everything with the effects that come with your DAW these days. The only paid plug-ins that I use are Satin for its Dolby A decoding and Izotope RX for noise reduction and a few other bits and pieces. One day I'll try creating a Reaper FX chain for Dolby A decoding in the same way as I did one for Dbx a few years ago.

If you aren't getting the results you want with the included plug-ins then you probably need to up your skills - not buy more plug-ins.

This in its entirety!

The plug-ins that come bundled with a typical DAW are far more versatile and have way more options than the studio hardware used to make some of the greatest recordings of all time. Spend the time to learn the plug-ins that you have inside out before even starting to think about downloading or buying anything else.

[tothemax]

Great feedback,

Lots of good info here. I've been doing a very small amount of recording over the years, mostly versions of covers to bring to the band for concepts. Having pretty much cut my teeth on Cakewalk (now Sonar), I'm familiar with the interface and it really has more than I really know how to use (properly or thoroughly). Now that it is a paid product and very robust, I feel that the stability and maintenance is probably secure for the next few years anyway.

Lately I've been considering upping the game a bit and doing some more serious recordings. And like the response about "wallet and mixes" said, I'm feeling the same way, that at my level it's time to get a good handle on the basics.

Now that Sonar has a spectrum analyzer included in the Pro Modules, the only thing that may want to add at some point is the RX suite. I had some noisy mixes and I did the RX 10 Elements trial and it was impressive, and actually not critical at this point. A lot can be said for starting with good recordings...

Very appreciative, cheers!

[yeroc]

Lately I've been considering upping the game a bit and doing some more serious recordings. And like the response about "wallet and mixes" said, I'm feeling the same way, that at my level it's time to get a good handle on the basics.

Grab GainMatch-

https://letimix.com/products/gainmatch

It goes on sale for $9 regularly, but is only $19 not on sale. The delta function is indispensable for auditioning and understanding what plugins are actually doing. It will save you money and help you learn!

[Bob Bickerton]

Lots of good feedback here.

I'd like to underline again the importance of getting to know a few plug-ins really well, so they become second nature. It's easy to build up a huge menagerie of plug-ins and I'm as guilty as the next person.

Another point worth making is the GUI. Many of the plug-ins I mentioned earlier I choose to use because they are analogue emulations - not particularly because of their sound, though they do sound good, but rather because of their 'un-clutter'.

Perhaps a better way of saying that is I like the process of turning (virtual) knobs so as to use my ears to assess a process rather than calculate it!

Of course many DAWS offer plug-ins with GUI interfaces that look analogue - I'm just saying that's my preferred method of working.

Bob

[Arpangel]

Lots of good feedback here.

I'd like to underline again the importance of getting to know a few plug-ins really well, so they become second nature. It's easy to build up a huge menagerie of plug-ins and I'm as guilty as the next person.

Another point worth making is the GUI. Many of the plug-ins I mentioned earlier I choose to use because they are analogue emulations - not particularly because of their sound, though they do sound good, but rather because of their 'un-clutter'.

Perhaps a better way of saying that is I like the process of turning (virtual) knobs so as to use my ears to assess a process rather than calculate it!

Of course many DAWS offer plug-ins with GUI interfaces that look analogue - I'm just saying that's my preferred method of working.

Bob

Bob, UI is important to me too, especially if they look old and analogue, it just feels better, maybe there is something going on there that makes us like the sound better.
There should be a list of unnecessary plugs, that’s list would be too long to put here, trouble is, so many are free, and it’s easy to clutter up your DAW.

[Matt Houghton]

I'd agree on the GUI. It's not so much that it has to look and feel analogue, more that it feel intuitive, and that includes making it easy to spot the right control for a specific function without having to read the labels every time. I tend to find skeuomorphic analogue-modelling plug-ins tick that box, but it's not the only type — I find the Fabfilter EQ GUI superb, for example.

There are some 'modern' (think, since Ableton came along) GUIs with a very 2D look where it seems every control is a simple circle with a line that always make me pause to think, which I find unhelpful. Same goes for generic-looking assignable macro controls.

Other people get on well with those, though — so I don't think it's a case of right/wrong, but more that users should honestly consider their preferences in this respect, because it can genuinely impact on speed of decision making and your ability to stay in the right 'zone'. And obviously some plug-ins offer functionality/results that override the GUI considerations.

[Martin Walker]

Lately I've been considering upping the game a bit and doing some more serious recordings. And like the response about "wallet and mixes" said, I'm feeling the same way, that at my level it's time to get a good handle on the basics.

Grab GainMatch-

https://letimix.com/products/gainmatch

It goes on sale for $9 regularly, but is only $19 not on sale. The delta function is indispensable for auditioning and understanding what plugins are actually doing. It will save you money and help you learn!

Agreed, but with a caveat.

I bought Gainmatch a few years ago for this incredibly useful feature, but for those using Reaper (like me and James among many others), it has since included a built-in Delta function that you can switch in and out on a plugin-by-plugin basis. I use this dozens of times each and every day to hear exactly what each plugin is changing in my projects.

[BigRedX]

IMO it would make an interesting SOS article if someone was to try and recreate mixes of some classic recordings using only the supplied plug-ins in each of the main DAWs.

[Arpangel]

IMO it would make an interesting SOS article if someone was to try and recreate mixes of some classic recordings using only the supplied plug-ins in each of the main DAWs.

If you’re then going to master it on to a 45rpm record no one one would hear the difference!
I could get all the sounds I need basically, using Reaper stuff, but why I often don’t is that damn UI, it’s so unfriendly and hence unusable for me.
I’ve tried with the delays, they are fine, but so fiddly to use, and I don’t think anyone would say that Reaper reverb is much good, apart from really basic uses, you aren’t going to be emulating your Big Sky or 224 any time soon.
Reaper EQ is more than fine, compression? "OK" does the job, but I wouldn’t say it was anything I must have.