Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

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Theo_Karon
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Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by Theo_Karon » Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:46 pm

Hey all!

I am (with a little luck in the vaccine department) moving out of the country soon, which means that at least temporarily, I will be leaving the comfort & familiarity of my analog console, outboard racks, synths etc behind. I'm planning on renting a mix room so that I can pay for my life and stay at least reasonably engaged while I sort out plans for the whole studio move (LA to Berlin for anyone who's interested.)

I'm thinking that I'll bring an ultraminimalist, bare-bones analog setup - chandler mini mixer, curvebender eq & TG1, API 2500 and Overstayer MAS for the stereo bus, couple of distressors, 1176, Bryce BG2 and 500 series rack with a few preamps & eqs & special effects. Trusty space echo if I can fit it. Handful of mics. Everything else will be computer and (hopefully, again) a great sounding, well-tuned room with some great speakers in it (no console reflections, woohoo!)

I've got some plugins that I love, but I have tended to lean into more computer world type stuff (brainworx, fab filter etc) rather than emulations of analog gear - it seems that's about to change. I have used things here and there at other studios (definitely looking at UAD) but I would love some recommendations of people with a more ITB-centric workflow on what plugins make your life easier in computer land - or are just cool or interesting. Not trying to spend too much money as this is hopefully a 6-months-to-a-year kind of phase as I figure out a longer-term studio situation, but I would like to not have a bad time during that interval - does budgeting 3-5k for plugins seem like a reasonable goal within this set of expectations?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Edited to add: I have avoided control surfaces like the plague on the basis of some early bad experiences - I'd rather just use the mouse if it's gonna be like that - but if there are any more recent developments with some genuine farfegnugen I'd love to hear about those!!

Cheers

Theo
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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by losthighway » Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:58 pm

Theo_Karon wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:46 pm
I'm thinking that I'll bring an ultraminimalist, bare-bones analog setup - chandler mini mixer, curvebender eq & TG1, API 2500 and Overstayer MAS for the stereo bus, couple of distressors, 1176, Bryce BG2 and 500 series rack with a few preamps & eqs & special effects. Trusty space echo if I can fit it.
Some people work for years to gather this level of minimalism.

But seriously, it seems like you have a ton of color and control out of the box for eq and compression, I would think some more utilitarian in the box eq and compression for easy work flow, and a couple versatile reverbs would leave you with plenty of powerful options.

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by Theo_Karon » Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:23 pm

losthighway wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:58 pm
But seriously, it seems like you have a ton of color and control out of the box for eq and compression, I would think some more utilitarian in the box eq and compression for easy work flow, and a couple versatile reverbs would leave you with plenty of powerful options.
Sure! I guess I'm getting at breadth here though - all the transformers in the console, inserts patched up on channels & across busses - even if none of the meters are moving very much, all those little bits of extra THD of different flavors, slightly different freq responses, slew rates etc add up to something really nice and reactive. The mini mixer has a great sound but it's nowhere near as much of a landscape as all that. This is the thing that has always felt like it's missing when I've tried to keep things more in the box. Versimilitude.

I'm wondering what plugins people are using to expand the color palette ITB, moreso than utilitarian/functional stuff. Does that make sense?
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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by kslight » Sat Feb 20, 2021 5:12 am

You may be a good candidate for a Plugin Alliance subscription - $250 a year you get everything they make, and you get $250 in vouchers to purchase any plugins you want to keep forever.

I have never done the subscription but I have around a couple dozen of their plugins...great stuff.

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by digitaldrummer » Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:34 am

I was also going to mention subscription - this might make sense if this is a temporary situation vs much longer term. Slate Digital also has a subscription model and a ton of plugins that also includes some sample libraries and other stuff. I own a few of the plugins but never did the subscription because I don't need all the extras right now. But it is pretty reasonably priced for all it includes ($149/year).

I also love the UAD stuff, but minimalist pricing it is not... Plugin Alliance has some of the Brainworx plugins that UAD also have versions of. I have not tried them side by side but I imagine the algorithms/sound are the same.

Given the hardware you mention, you could probably even get by with whatever is "in the box" with your DAW of choice. for sake of compatibility with someone that didn't have the same plugins as me, I have done mixes with only the Avid basics. it might take me a little more work, but only because I don't use them as often - but most of them are pretty decent for basic utility needs. I imagine the same is true for any modern DAW.
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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:29 am

Theo_Karon wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:46 pm
what plugins make your life easier in computer land - or are just cool or interesting.
life easier:

DMG Equilibrium & Essence
U-he Satin & Presswerk
Tone Projects Unisum compressor
Wavearts Spectre
TB ProAudio DYN-eq
PA Black box hg-2 & Phil's Cascade

cool or interesting:

Audio Thing Outer Space & Valves & Wires
Aberrant DSP Sketch Cassette
PA BYOME
Valhalla Supermassive & Shimmer

Congrats on the move, sounds exciting!

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by drumsound » Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:50 am

McDSP 6030 is my favorite compressor. 10 models (some emulations some original designs) load at once and you can listen to the different models and the setting stay the same. They have an EQ and channel strip like this as well. Their dynamic EQs ae400 and ae600 sound great too. Their plugs are really CPU light. The designer worked for Digi back in the day and they were one of the first 3rd party plugin makers and still make great stuff.

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by permanent hearing damage » Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:58 am

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:29 am
Theo_Karon wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:46 pm
what plugins make your life easier in computer land - or are just cool or interesting.
life easier:

DMG Equilibrium & Essence
U-he Satin & Presswerk
Tone Projects Unisum compressor
Wavearts Spectre
TB ProAudio DYN-eq
PA Black box hg-2 & Phil's Cascade

cool or interesting:

Audio Thing Outer Space & Valves & Wires
Aberrant DSP Sketch Cassette
PA BYOME
Valhalla Supermassive & Shimmer

Congrats on the move, sounds exciting!
curious what you find the blackbox HG2 works nicely on? I have tried using it in place of my Decapitator on Drum bus or on 2 bus, but always prefer Soundtoys.

what about Phil's cascade? i've used sometimes on guitars with success, but rarely reach for it.

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by permanent hearing damage » Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:01 am

to the OP:

+1 for plugin alliance subscription, though I would really miss my UAD comps - esp 33609. over the years, i've acquired an awful lot of UAD plugs buying second hand cards. plenty of deals out there if you're patient, especially as studios need to rely less and less on unloading CPU processing power.

I never had very fancy hardware comps, so jumping to ITB was a huge step up, once I got the hang of it (now THAT took some time!).

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by Theo_Karon » Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:07 pm

Thanks so much for these!

Plug-in alliance bundle looks like a good move - lots of great stuff in there. Looking at UAD satellite it seems that comes with a pretty solid basic set of plugins - might be a good idea to do that then supplement with a few handpicked additions? Any UAD favorites? I will miss my EMT but I hear their plate emulations are pretty great. I’m leaving behind a pair of 2254/e which have been on long term loan at my current spot for the past 3 years :( hopefully can find a decent plug-in replacement for that. Thinking of snagging a hardware 33609 at some point in the not-too-distant future but til then...

Looking forward to researching all of these! Thank you very much everyone!
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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by Theo_Karon » Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:10 pm

permanent hearing damage wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:01 am
+1 for plugin alliance subscription, though I would really miss my UAD comps - esp 33609. over the years, i've acquired an awful lot of UAD plugs buying second hand cards. plenty of deals out there if you're patient, especially as studios need to rely less and less on unloading CPU processing power.
Wait do the plug ins transfer with the cards if you buy them used off someone? How does that work? Sorry if noob question! I was in tapeland for years and made the switch to digital in the native era so I’ve never really dealt with DSP cards etc... thank you!!
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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by digitaldrummer » Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:27 pm

SoundToys Little Plate is really good. I use it more than the UAD EMT 140. the UAD 33609c is really good too. they also just recently released a 2254/e but I haven't sprung for that one yet.

For the UAD stuff, If you have only one piece of hardware, then the plugins may transfer with it. If you have multiple I don't think it does - I think it stays in your account until you sell the last UAD unit. that said, whatever plugins are authorized to a piece of hardware stay there until they are re-authorized. when I first bought my Apollo 16 (used), it had a bunch of stuff authorized to it. Eventually I wanted something else, which meant re-authorizing it to my account, which erased anything that I didn't have in my account... but it let me demo them for longer time which allowed me to figure out which ones I really wanted to buy.
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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:25 pm

permanent hearing damage wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:58 am
curious what you find the blackbox HG2 works nicely on? I have tried using it in place of my Decapitator on Drum bus or on 2 bus, but always prefer Soundtoys.

what about Phil's cascade? i've used sometimes on guitars with success, but rarely reach for it.
I like both in mastering, just a little bit in parallel works really nicely. I have a real HG-2 as well and it's an amazing box but for most things in mastering it's a little much for my taste, I prefer sneaking a bit in underneath.

Been using Phil's Cascade a lot in mixing on this one big project I'm working on, it's pretty much on everything, vocals, guitars, drums, synths. It's worth taking a few minutes looking at it in Plugin Doctor, you can get a much better idea what the knobs are actually doing.

Both of them would be a lot more user friendly if they had an auto gain on the output.

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by FNM » Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:14 pm

If you can make it till cyber monday you could probably get every plugin ever made.

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Re: Plug-in suggestions for the minimalist studio

Post by jimjazzdad » Sun Feb 21, 2021 4:58 am

The Airwindows site https://www.airwindows.com/ has some really interesting plugs and somehow it just feels right to support a guy like Chris Johnson in his endeavours.
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