Must Have Plugins

[C_F_H_13]

oooh..
Mcdsp Ac2 on drums. at 15 ips
MhLabs - Channelstrip on drums and backing vocals
ac1 on mix bus.

+1 to all these.

I'd also add McDsp's Desser, Stillwell's Event Horizon, Autotune/Melodyne.

 

[Sickan]

The CPU usage can cripple an average system though, and it isn't currently very intuitive nor easy to use in sessions.

Are you using the Core II engine (and the renderer?)?

 

[mburton21]

-RComp on the snare
-RVox on the kick drum and Vocals
-Q10 EQ to take out nasty noises and frequencies and general EQ - unless I need different rolloff db/oct- then I use the EQ that came with ProTools8 just for the rolloff.
-MaxxBass on toms
-Waves C4 on guitars
-PAZ Analyzer
-CamelCrusher/Sansamp PSA-1 and BF1176 on bass always

That Renaissance compressor on the snare really can do wonders. I use (CamelCrusher's) Tube Warmth on the low end of the bass and Sansamp on the high end rolled at 200hz for some warmth and bite all at once, seems to work nicely.

Just my setup, I'm sure it wouldn't work for everyone

 

[Sacha]

UAD:

Plate 140
EMT 250
1176
LA-2A
FATSO
Dimension D
SPL transient
Precision multiband
Precision de-esser

SSL Duende:

X-EQ
X-Comp
Bus comp

Waves:

C4
H-delay
CLA bundle

PSP 42 and Vintage Warmer

Nebula with Alex B consoles and R2R tape

Ozone

Voxengo Elephant and Curve EQ

 

[nuclearass]

The URS sure doesn't do the SSL thing as well as the Waves plugins, but it's a great versatile tool for all kinds of mixing duties, because of the sidechain and parallel compression possibilities. But for basic eq and compression duties, I often find it a bit annoying and frustrating because of all the possibilities. In the end, I think they're very different tools, even if they both are channel strips...

Must try the CLA bundle asap...

 

[El_Gato]

If you use Waves SSL eq then your source must sound good. It isnt a "fix eq".
It is great for guitars, snare whatever. Just get the recorded source to sound good and you will see

It has not become a standard without being good

My sources sound good for some time now , not awesome but quite good as I use good gear.

So, no eq should fix anything but correct by getting rid of the unpleasant freqs and boosts to fit in the mix IMO. Nothing drastic as I don't need to. If you see my eq's, they rarely exceed 2dBs.

It's a standard, just didn't fit for me in my latest experiences but I'll experiment more with them for my next recording, now I'm curious. Thnx for the advice!

 

[El_Gato]

The URS sure doesn't do the SSL thing as well as the Waves plugins, but it's a great versatile tool for all kinds of mixing duties, because of the sidechain and parallel compression possibilities. But for basic eq and compression duties, I often find it a bit annoying and frustrating because of all the possibilities. In the end, I think they're very different tools, even if they both are channel strips...

Must try the CLA bundle asap...

Yep. For sure it doesn't but I like the versatility. That's the best of it.

I spent hours till I found the input mode I liked for a single track. And that's one of the most subtle features and you have like 40 possibilities or more only in this feature.

 

[MEGA DAVE]

I use waves SSL on almost EVERYTHING, Gclip, Freeverb, Drumagog, just to name a few that always make their way into my work

 

[AboutBlank]

I love:

-Uad 4k CS; SSl Channelsptrip
-Uad 4k Buss Comp; SSL style
-Uad Preci Limiter
-Uad La2a/1176
-TC ChorusDelay+Megaverb
-Freeverb

these are the "always in the Mix" plugs...

Greeetz

 

[Let it burn...]

Not the most exiting stuff but I've gone 100% legal a couple of years ago and these do the job amazingly well:

Logic Channel EQ
Logic Compressor (love this one)
Space Designer with Bricasti and TC impulses
Drumagog (a true must have for every metal engineer)
Stillwell Vibe EQ (VERY musical EQ. Great to boost some "air" and clarity into dirt guitars)
Stillwell The Rocket (Parallel compression and drum master buss from time to time)
Sonalksis SV-315mkII compressor (sounds ands breathes like an analog compressor. Push the input gain and its great for parallel compression)
Sonalksis TBK3 (AMAZING for getting the smack out of a snare or kick. Really aggressive compressor)
Voxengo Varisaturator (one of the best plugs to get that tape-saturation on drums)


D-Verb Plate on Snare when I'm using Pro Tools and Massey Tapehead with Bright button on the drum buss. The BF76 also gets a lot of use on drums.

 

[guitaristenrage]

If you use pro tools, ALL of the massey plugins are amazing! Just simply putting vt3 on a guitar or vocal track with neutral settings gives the tracks a more analog character. And you can download free, non-destructive demo versions of them (no white noise every 30 sec).

Just downloaded... I'll try this tomorrow! Thanks

 

[ahjteam]

CamelCrusher gets on most of my mixes.

 

[Jind]

CamelCrusher gets on most of my mixes.

For me it's CamelPhat - somehow it finds it's way into everything I have recorded - truly a special plugin.

 

[updog]

I'm curious, what do you guys mostly use CamelCrusher/CamelPhat on? (I'm referring to them as the same plugin, as the Crusher is simply the distortion section of CamelPhat) What specific settings do you use (tube, exciter, etc.)?

I own it, but I can't seem to get much desirable results with it. It works for bass, but seems to sound good for little else, except for some weird effects.

I love Camel Audio products, but I've used this one the least.

 

[Morgan C]

^ I use it for vocals and snare drum. Bass it sounds AWFUL imo, really ugly distortion.

I'd like to get a better EQ, I just use the stock Sonar one.. but its so intuitive so even though it doesn't sound great I prefer it over a bunch of others.

Apart from that, PSP MixSaturator and Voxengo Marquis Compressor are amazing. The latter has 3 different modes so its pretty much perfect for anything.


Surprised at people liking the Sonar Sonitus Reverb.. sounds godawful to me, like a garage.

 

[updog]

How do you use it, if you don't mind me asking? I've tried it on vocals, didn't really work... But I was being inept perhaps...

 

[ESPJL5150]

I love to put a TLs Saturated Driver on the drum buss and it's FREE under the warming preset ! I love Voxengo's GlissEQ on my guitar tracks also and BLOCKFISH is a very decent compressor! Let's not forget Le Pou's and Nick Crow's VST amps!

 

[rfahey86]

Waves C1, Sonitus EQ, Superior Drummer 2.0 (The Metal Foundry)

 

[greyskull]

+1 to all these.

I'd also add McDsp's Desser, Stillwell's Event Horizon, Autotune/Melodyne.

you sir have exceptional taste.

 

[Frankzappa]

He's on my team so he have tested a few builds (still in development).. the public test is not ready yet, too much fizz at the moment
In short: I'm not happy with it yet..

It's not perfect YET, but still the best ampsim to date