Here are my top 5 essential VST audio plugins for 2019.
►► Download my Top 30 Essential EDM mixing tips here [FREE]...
bit.ly/2Varg3A
UPDATE: Top 10 VST plugins for 2020 👉 • Top 10 VST Plugins for...
You can listen to my full track here: sirupmusic.lnk.to/DontWannaLose
Stock plugins are awesome - I love them - and in my opinion you can get about 90% of the way to truly pro sound with them.
However, using a few choice premium plugins can take you that last 10%.
Caveat 1: Don’t think a good plugin is going to make bad music sound good. It’s not. Seriously...It’s not!
These plugins can help take well composed, well produced music up to that next level.
Caveat 2: These are the VST audio plugins that I personally use. They are not the only options, and plugin choice - all else being equal - comes down to how well you like the user interface and how well you get to know it.
View them as an investment - not an expense. Whats more…You can download free demos for most of these, so try them out first and see what you like:
1. A premium Synth, like Serum or Sylenth1.
There are others, of course…these are just two I use a lot.
Why? Fun, fast and lots of presets available. Unique routing and modulation options. If you’re still hung about about the ethics of using presets as a starting point, get over it.
A rompler like Nexus is also good (although I’ve never used it so can’t really speak from experience on that).
Sylenth1: bit.ly/2OOA776
Serum: bit.ly/2PbsGph
Nexus: bit.ly/2PfGhMv
2. Some kind of autotune.
If you have a vocal in your track, the chances are (unless it’s a just a little sample) it’s going to be a focal point. The chances also are, that it will need little tweaks here and there in terms of pitch correction.
If your DAW has an autotune, you may not need one, or if you never work with dry vocals, you may not need one. I use Melodyne. It’s quite pricey. Antares do an expensive, industry standard one. Waves do a cheap one (Called "Waves Tune Real-Time")" which is actually pretty good.
Melodyne: bit.ly/33OlswS
Antares auto-tune Pro: bit.ly/2DIC8uW
Waves: bit.ly/3tP7n0S
3. A decent saturator.
Everyone needs one of these. There are some great ones out there. My favourite two that make it onto every track are Soundtoys Decapitator and House of Kush Omega.
SoundToys Decapitator: bit.ly/35Zd2UQ
Omega N: bit.ly/2rcmB45
4. Stereo Imager.
So you have left and right panning built into your DAW. That’s all very good and necessary, but stereo width of each sound - and indeed the entire mix - is one of those last 10%, pro-sounding tweaks. I use iZotope Imager (it comes with Ozone 8 and 9). It’s the absolute boss.
iZotope Ozone 9: bit.ly/33Px1nm
5. A decent limiter.
This is the number 1 in my opinion. If none of the others - if you really want to get your music up to commercial loudness and plan to do your own mastering - this is a key plugin to invest in. The FabFilter Pro-L2 and Sonnox Limiter are great.
FabFilter Pro-L2: bit.ly/2sHTAgZ
Sonnox Limiter: bit.ly/34YQvrn
What are YOUR favourite premium plugins? Let me know in the comments below.
Cheers, and happy producing!
Will
(www.edmtips.com)
►► Download my Top 30 Essential EDM mixing tips here [FREE]...
bit.ly/2Varg3A
►► Here's what I used to make this video:
My Audio Gear:
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 geni.us/AudioInterface
Monitors: Behringer Truth B2031A geni.us/Monitors
Headphones: Sennheiser HD 650 geni.us/MyHeadphones
Microphone: sE X1 S Studio Bundle geni.us/MicrophoneX1
Microphone: Rode NT-USB geni.us/MicrophoneRode
Computer: Macbook Pro geni.us/MacBookPro16GB
My Video Gear:
WebCam: Logitech Brio 4K geni.us/ProWebcam
Studio Lighting: Neewer Pack geni.us/NeewerLightStand2
My Plugins: bit.ly/2K4eFHZ
#vst #plugins #musicproduction