Plugin Overload

[emenel]

Has anybody else struggled with plugin overload? I feel like I have so many that all compete for the same uses that I can't really decide what to use anymore, and none feel perfect in their own right. Especially compressors.

I'm considering pairing it down to just the essentials and sticking with it until I really need something else, rather than having eight different compressors and 15 eq's to have to choose form each time I mix something.

Now the hard part is choosing what to keep for now...

[JWL]

I'm a big fan of doing a mix with just the stock plugins the DAW provides. It's a very interesting exercise, and often produces really good results.

Then if you find you just need a plugin to get a certain sound, go ahead and use it.

[tjcasey1]

I'm a big fan of doing a mix with just the stock plugins the DAW provides. It's a very interesting exercise, and often produces really good results.

Then if you find you just need a plugin to get a certain sound, go ahead and use it.

Ditto. Even when I have a great new thingy, I find myself going back to DP's Limiter, Compressor, and Para EQ, just because they're familiar tools.

My next go-to is Izotope's Nectar for vocals. Other than that, I tend to use something once and then not remember to use it again.

[digitaldrummer]

I think if you had unlimited access to hardware you'd find the same thing. in the end you would probably find a couple you like and stick with them

[vvv]

Hmmm.

Me, I look at the hardware and say, "I haven't used this lately" and I try and keep using everything, if just for my amusement.

OK, it is just for my amusement.

But the plugs?

I ignore 'em on the usual sounds, only really dig for unusual stuff - I have tons un-used.

And yep, most of what I use (95%?) is DAW-native.

[apropos of nothing]

Yeah, I pretty much just use the stock plugs in Reaper, which is easy, since they're so darn nice.

Know what you're talking about, though; went through it with Cubase 5, where it's like, all these options! The antidote is knowing "all these options -- largely irrelevant!"

[digitaldrummer]

Me, I look at the hardware and say, "I haven't used this lately" and I try and keep using everything, if just for my amusement.

I guess I really meant "access to unlimited hardware". meaning, if you had 200 hardware compressors you'd probably end up finding a few and use them over and over if they worked for you. that's what I've found with most plugins, and as you say the others come out for special occasions. I've never had unlimited hardware though so I'm only speculating...

[vvv]

I sometimes getta little obsessive about shite, and I never throw stuff away, hardly ever sell it.

Consequently I have, let's say, about 10 pre's.

Now, a normal recordist might choose their fave 2-3, sell the others.

I am not normal.

That said, I find inspiration in the variety of sounds, mixing and matching the compressors, the mic's (don't ask how many) and whatever I'm playing into 'em (usually guitars and bass - don't ask how many).

Mind, I don't have two of anything the same, everything was bought because it is different, more or less. And I use it all, or do get rid of it.

I have been told my house looks like a used-equip music store, combined with a used-CD store.

I have lots of cookware, too.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

for mastering, i use the same eq, clipper, limiter, de-esser 99% of the time.

pretty much the same in mixing. i don't want to think about which eq to use, i just want to eq something and move on.

semi-related note...does anyone else feel like a lot of modern plugins induce option anxiety? i.e. they have 876 adjustable parameters? most of them do a good job of hiding that stuff on an 'advanced' page, and of course it's good to have the flexibility if you need it....but still...sometimes my small brain feels overwhelmed.

[joninc]

That said, I find inspiration in the variety of sounds, mixing and matching

[drumsound]

for mastering, i use the same eq, clipper, limiter, de-esser 99% of the time.

pretty much the same in mixing. i don't want to think about which eq to use, i just want to eq something and move on.

semi-related note...does anyone else feel like a lot of modern plugins induce option anxiety? i.e. they have 876 adjustable parameters? most of them do a good job of hiding that stuff on an 'advanced' page, and of course it's good to have the flexibility if you need it....but still...sometimes my small brain feels overwhelmed.

I actually do like simpler plugs, just like with hardware. I use the API EQ more than any I have. I really like the McDSP 6030 comp (watch for a review in the magazine) some models in that only have 1 or 2 knobs.

[lyman]

for mastering, i use the same eq, clipper, limiter, de-esser 99% of the time.

pretty much the same in mixing. i don't want to think about which eq to use, i just want to eq something and move on.

semi-related note...does anyone else feel like a lot of modern plugins induce option anxiety? i.e. they have 876 adjustable parameters? most of them do a good job of hiding that stuff on an 'advanced' page, and of course it's good to have the flexibility if you need it....but still...sometimes my small brain feels overwhelmed.

I actually do like simpler plugs, just like with hardware. I use the API EQ more than any I have. I really like the McDSP 6030 comp (watch for a review in the magazine) some models in that only have 1 or 2 knobs.

Option anxiety with plugins is nothing compared to buying deodorant. Er...perhaps I should use an example that studio dwellers can relate to.

Seriously though, I think there's a disconnect between plugin designers and users sometimes. It's like there's an effort to pack as many features in and make something that can be used in 10 different scenarios. As a user, I would rather have 10 plugins that do 1 thing really really well, and just pick the one for the job, rather than slogging though menus and parameters in a swiss army knife style design. I get the "jack of all trades" approach, but people forget that the saying has a second half: "...master of none." And this is not just with plugs, I feel like versatility in all music gear is often marketing hype. One ring to rule them might have been fine for JRR Tolkein but with pedals/plugs/mics it just isn't always the case.

[apropos of nothing]

I feel like the period of time that I went through where I was very enthused about all the different varieties of reverb and reverb impulse and distortion and compressors and soft synths was of good service to me inasmuch as:

The experimentation of making things sound bad in twenty different ways has made me very focused on what works, and leaving well enough alone.

"Get it at the source." Thanks, TapeOp!