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Seeking Recommendations for Mixing Plug-Ins


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Hello.  I am looking for recommendations for mixing plug-ins.  I'm primarily interested in a good EQ and a good compressor.  A bundle of mixing plug-ins would be great.  Criteria:

  • plays well with Win 10 64-bit environment
  • VST format
  • good sound quality (i.e. better than the plug-ins included in Reaper)
  • lower CPU demands to run multiple instances in one project
  • priced attractively (my budget here is ~ $300)

 

Thanks

 

 

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I really like the IK Multimedia Stealth Limiter. It is part of the TRackS system but will work as a standalone. 

IK will give you TRackS Custom Shop for free so you can host the plugin if needed. 

It can create harmonic distortion also so it's a "two-fer". 

There are 2 knobs, Input and Out Ceiling (which is the Threshold). 

It sounds great on lots of things, adding some harmonics to a Bass track will really make it pop. Adjust the Out Ceiling to trim the peaks down and the Input to adjust to volume. 

 

I'm on Mac OS so I use some of the Apple system plugins. One of them is a simple Hi Pass filter, I'm certain there are some great ones for Windows too. 

You'll find a lot of uses for a Hi Pass filter, you can clean up a mix quickly by ditching the "mud-range" on vocals, guitars, keys, etc. 

The Elysia Niveau Filter is a great single band EQ for tweaking low mids, it can really make a bass guitar or kick drum pop and clean up the overall mix dramatically.

 

If I could only have 3 plugins those might be it. 

While you are shopping IK, I do like the CSR Hall Reverb, that has lots of options. 

 

AND, Everybody should download the Valhalla Supermassive Delay plugin. It's free, easy to use and very versatile. 

Those would be my top 5.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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The Scheps Omni Channel from Waves is really, really nice, does EQ and compression, as well as saturation, and is currently on sale for $29.99. 

 

(Note that there is ALWAYS some kind of massive sale going on with Waves, so this isn't that urgent.)

 

Love it on drums, vocals, on various busses, and it's a fixture on my Hammond B3 mix bus, as well. 
Not sure how CPU-friendly it is. 

 

https://www.waves.com/plugins/scheps-omni-channel#presenting-scheps-omni-channel

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I'm going to pull the trigger on Eventide Split EQ, the second video on the linked page is a demo of mixing a song using the plugin to tweak the sounds. 

https://store.eventideaudio.com/collections/latest-releases/products/spliteq

 

I have no affiliation with any plugin company. I do have Eventide products and they are great sounding plugins - Physion, Micro-Pitch and Precision Time Align. 

Split EQ is unique, Eventide has a patented method for splitting a sound into two components - Transient and Tone. They've dedicated two 4 band parametric EQ's - one for transients and one for tones. Being able to EQ those separately is fantastic. 

 

Potentially very useful on all sounds, vocals, drums, bass, keys, guitars etc. I can see this plugin becoming my go-to for EQ, it's versatile and could simplify workflow since it is not a one-trick pony or a complex chain of plugins. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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On 3/29/2022 at 2:53 PM, analogika said:

The Scheps Omni Channel from Waves is really, really nice, does EQ and compression, as well as saturation, and is currently on sale for $29.99. 

 

I agree, it's great and the sound doesn't get in the way. As to EQ, the Waves Hybrid Equalizer is exceptionally versatile. However...here are some general comments about EQs and Compressors.

 

You'll often see debates on the web about the "sound" of various EQs, and why EQ X is soooo much better than EQ Y. But the reality is that most EQs model analog EQ technology, which creates variable phase shifts between bands. Different EQs handle this differently. Also, curves are different. For example, proportional-Q EQ has symmetrical boosts and cuts. Other EQs will have non-symmetrical boost and cut characteristics. So EQ X may indeed sound "better" for a particular use case than EQ Y, because its curve is better-suited to that particular application. But, EQ Y might be better in other instances. The reason why I recommended the Waves Hybrid Equalizer is that it incorporates a choice of multiple curves associated with different types of equalizers. 

 

You probably want a linear-phase equalizer as well. It's more transparent, because it eliminates the phase shift between stages. But this comes at a cost (more CPU load, adds latency) and is not a panacea. Nor do you always want a transparent character. 

 

As to compressors, there are at least six major compressor technologies, and two different topologies (feedback and feedforward). Each has a different way of handling gain reduction and each has a particular "sound." So it really depends what you want a compressor to do. Fast response on drums? Smooth response on vocals? Feedback design for bus compression? The thicker sound of emulated transformers in models of vintage gear? Most transparency and least distortion?

 

I'm currently writing a book that's a complete guide to every type of dynamics processor, and goes into all these subjects in detail. It will probably be out sometime in May. Meanwhile, if you want tips on mixing, this seems like a good opportunity to includes a shameless, self-serving plug for Max Your Mix. It's the culmination of what I've learned about mixing since the late 60s, which also involved working with some amazing engineers over that time.

 

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I've had Eventide Split EQ for a few days now. 

I already had a bunch of EQ plugins but they got my attention. Two separate 4 band full parametric EQs - one for transients and one for tones. 

The GUI makes it very easy to use, you can adjust EQ on both transients and tones simultaneously (standard EQ), you can adjust the EQ on transients (one example would be that I reduced the gain on the transients below 3k on a bass guitar, which made the low end smooth but the clarity and punch are still intact) and you can adjust the EQ on the tones (same bass guitar, I boosted the lows a bit and lowered a fairly gentle slope around 320 hz, where "mud range" lives on a bass).

 

Being able to separate transients and tones allowed me to make a bass sound that sits much better in the mix, is distinct, clear and full. 

I like it, will be using it often. It works on anything, drums, bass, vocals, guitars, keys etc. 

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It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I started way back with a UAD card and plugins, and collected some choice stuff.  But that was a pricey way to go.  Once I discovered Plugin Alliance (plugin-alliance.com), I didn't look back.  All kinds of top quality stuff, many of them authorized hardware emulations, and if you wait for the sales (which are pretty frequent but of short duration) and work them to your advantage, the bang for the buck really can't be beat.

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There's not really anything wrong with the sound quality of the ReaPlugs. They are all clean digital effects, therefore you can make of them what you will.

The downside tho is they are not always so nice to use as IMO the Reaper thing overall is focused on technicalites more than usabilities. Fine, that is their thing. Like Meccano vs Lego (or Duplo in the case of Fruity LOL).

 

This is video I made for Higher Hz where I was asked to show my 10 Bestest Free VST. These are all things I use regularly and the Compressor and EQ are really great tools.

🙂

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/25/2022 at 12:52 PM, JamPro said:

Hello.  I am looking for recommendations for mixing plug-ins.  I'm primarily interested in a good EQ and a good compressor.  A bundle of mixing plug-ins would be great.  Criteria:

  • plays well with Win 10 64-bit environment
  • VST format
  • good sound quality (i.e. better than the plug-ins included in Reaper)
  • lower CPU demands to run multiple instances in one project
  • priced attractively (my budget here is ~ $300)

 

Thanks

 

 

Do yourself a favor and check the free ones before buying, you may find you don't need to spend anything. TDR Nova for example is an excellent EQ. 

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  • 5 months later...

Newfangled Invigorate was just released. I fired up the demo tonight. 

It is a compressor, limiter and overdrive with EQ and many other features. It really brought the kick and the bass alive. Could be used as a master plugin or on individual tracks. The presets are great starting points for tweaking your sounds. 

 

It sounds great and is laid out to be mouse friendly. Mac or PC and VST3 is an option. 

 

I don't know about the latency yet although I didn't change mine from my tracking setting.

FWIW, I usually track without plugins and keep the latency low. Once I've got tracks, I increase latency and start dropping plugins. 

 

I'm going to get it, it's $60 right now but I own some Newfangled and Eventide plugins so it's under $40 for me. It's a nicely laid out bundle of useful, great sounding tools.

I'm gravitating towards plugins that can do a great job on multiple tasks so I don't have to load up a chain and tweak front to back. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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