Do you need a thousand plugins?

[V0RT3X]

When i first came to KVR i was under the impression I would need tons of plugins to get that "pro" sound and well I am really starting to second guess that all now.

This is kind of how it went for me.

I mean it was nice having plugin A do something nice for me quick and easy, but I found i could still do similar results with plugin B. Then of course plugin C shows up on the market and promises to do it better than Plugin A & B combined so then I want that plugin. I end up buying plugin C and sell plugin A & B only to find out that it really isn't better for me, but everyone else on the forums raves about it.

Eventually I find a plugin made by a guru which covers everything I need! Then some celebrity says he uses plugin F because its the best freaking thing he ever heard and a bunch of people rave about it. So i end up wanting Plugin F and demo it and in my moment of excitement i realize that OMG yes it does add magic to my mixes.

As an artist I don't want to be doing this forever and ever, so why cant this be easy? Anyhow I end up going back to the plugin the Guru makes and remain happy.

Eventually i find i dont need a whole bunch of other plugins so i sell them off.. then I realize im missing something and make up excuses to myself that I need them to make my mixes better again. I talk about it in the forums only to be met with complete agreement, which sets me on the course to re-buy a bunch of plugins i once owned.

Now in debt I find that i can't keep this bloated plugin folder and start thinking minimalistic again and eventually come to reasonable terms that "Yes I can do this with the few and good plugins I own" and sell off my non-essential plugins and barely make any of my money back.

The end of the story is..

I realized my DAW did most of what I wanted and it still sounds good and I end up pretty much where i left off but with no money!! *Facepalm*

Anyhow I think now that I realized that my DAW can do what I want, I am happy. I am not interested in learning how to master my mixes so I don't need fancy this or that for mastering. I'll just end up hiring a engineer geek to do it for me.

[Numanoid]

I realized my DAW did most of what I wanted and it still sounds good and I end up pretty much where i left off but with no money!! *Facepalm*

+1 Those who are in "the game" with a goal to create tracks or songs, I think the first hurdle they must pass is to limit themselves.

It so easy to go overboard and get lost in the plugin jungle.

I'm in the game, because I like trying out, listening to, and learning about new instruments

[elassi]

In short: you describe the GAS.

Personal view: Since I'm concentrating on song writing rather than sound replay I'm happy with what I have. This is, btw, still too much. A little bit of GAS is left, too.

[Arglebargle]

Only a thousand plugins?





No.

[V0RT3X]

I realized my DAW did most of what I wanted and it still sounds good and I end up pretty much where i left off but with no money!! *Facepalm*

+1 Those who are in "the game" with a goal to create tracks or songs, I think the first hurdle they must pass is to limit themselves.

It so easy to go overboard and get lost in the plugin jungle.

I'm in the game, because I like trying out, listening to, and learning about new instruments

I think im done man, I know what sounds good after testing out a ton of stuff. The only thing I can think of supplementing to my now super minimalistic setup is Equilibrium and Compassion and then im pretty much DONE with ever needing anything else. Ableton has everything I need for geting my ideas across and that's basically all I will be doing is creating sketches, then if they are good enough to make into professional tracks I will take the sketches to a professional studio and get them done properly.

Having everything ITB is a cool idea but its expensive and counterproductive for me, and I think it can turn into quite someone like me who just wants the basics really.

[Emerald Tablet]

Do you need a thousand plugins?

+1 :-p

[Tp3]

thousand ??

Let me re-phrase a famous producer quote :

"We don't wake up with less than 10,000 plugs in our vst folder"

[Tp3]

and seriously :

Most REAL technicians don't need more then what the DAW gives them. maybe some tools here and there... but that's about it.

And even for us, mortals... how many compressors, eqs, delays, reverbs, flangers etc etc, does one need ?


"The more you see, the less you know
The more you know, the less you understand"

[jumper24]

Sadly im one of them that has collected almost thousand plugins over the years.. (ok not thousand, but i have several hundreds payed VI's and efx)
At one point i had a similar problem with hardware..

But most my hardware is gone now, only have a small jam setup for fun (TR909, Juno60, SH09, 01v96 mixer)

But im on a mission - like you probably did - shave it down.. allot

Think i will keep the big bundles i have like (for a start)
GRM
U-he
Fabfilter
Ni komplete 9 ultimate + maschine
Soundtoys
D16

But step one is... dont fukkin buy any new plugins....

[audientronic]

I realized my DAW did most of what I wanted and it still sounds good and I end up pretty much where i left off but with no money!! *Facepalm*

+1 Those who are in "the game" with a goal to create tracks or songs, I think the first hurdle they must pass is to limit themselves.

It so easy to go overboard and get lost in the plugin jungle.

I'm in the game, because I like trying out, listening to, and learning about new instruments

I think im done man, I know what sounds good after testing out a ton of stuff. The only thing I can think of supplementing to my now super minimalistic setup is Equilibrium and Compassion and then im pretty much DONE with ever needing anything else. Ableton has everything I need for geting my ideas across and that's basically all I will be doing is creating sketches, then if they are good enough to make into professional tracks I will take the sketches to a professional studio and get them done properly.

Having everything ITB is a cool idea but its expensive and counterproductive for me, and I think it can turn into quite someone like me who just wants the basics really.

You don't need Equilibrium and Compassion. See how that rang true when I said it? Happy to help.

[kelvyn]

... Yes!

Having choices doesn't prevent you from making decisions:)

[V0RT3X]

I realized my DAW did most of what I wanted and it still sounds good and I end up pretty much where i left off but with no money!! *Facepalm*

+1 Those who are in "the game" with a goal to create tracks or songs, I think the first hurdle they must pass is to limit themselves.

It so easy to go overboard and get lost in the plugin jungle.

I'm in the game, because I like trying out, listening to, and learning about new instruments

I think im done man, I know what sounds good after testing out a ton of stuff. The only thing I can think of supplementing to my now super minimalistic setup is Equilibrium and Compassion and then im pretty much DONE with ever needing anything else. Ableton has everything I need for geting my ideas across and that's basically all I will be doing is creating sketches, then if they are good enough to make into professional tracks I will take the sketches to a professional studio and get them done properly.

Having everything ITB is a cool idea but its expensive and counterproductive for me, and I think it can turn into quite someone like me who just wants the basics really.

You don't need Equilibrium and Compassion. See how that rang true when I said it? Happy to help.

You know what your completely right!

Im gonna stick to what i got instead of buy those in the future.

[highkoo]

You don't need Equilibrium and Compassion.

I gotta say...
Those two were the end of my EQ and Compressor GAS.
Well, until this new FF mutliband... But thats a whole different thing!

With synths and creative effects I think more is better, almost unto infinity, for the discerning shopper.
But with simple dynamics plugs like eq and compression it seems more like just a search for the right one in a lot of cases.
For me, there is a 'go to' eq and compressor for most standard uses.
But there is never a 'go to' synth really. Theres five or ten of them.

[CableChannel]

Peeps I am at peace with my effects section. I was reading all the Waves, Softube, JJR, Audiodeluxe, etc. sales emails, but now I don't need anything more.

Kontakt libs however will be tempting for the rest of my life I think. You can't have enough instruments
At least I discipline myself not to by a fifth Marimba. If I buy something, than it should be exciting and new.

This way I can live pretty well with my mild GAS

[V0RT3X]

Actually I am thinking now in more practical terms, but I don't need my synthsquad and Tremor, or Cytomic or any more software. I think Im gonna put the rest of my stuff up for sale and just rid myself of it all.