Fake Effects Plugin Deals

[LunarKitten]

Hello,

I am not experienced in audio production and interested in expanding my plugins beyond what my DAW offers. Apart from free plugins, there are deals that seem to be too good to be true.

I did some research and read that quite a few plugin deals are in fact not really that much of a deal, that they are in fact fake deals. Is that true?

By that I mean plugins that are extremely overpriced and go on quite a discount regularly. This in my view is not really a deal, and to be honest I find it a bit deceptive. If the plugins are fairly priced at their discounted price, I guess that's fine, but it kind of makes me question the whole company and it is not what I am looking for in a deal.

Since I as a beginner am not picky on what I'm getting. I'm fine with picking plugins up when they are genuinely discounted.

What I'd like to know is



What deals are fake?

and

What plugin deals should I look out for, because they are genuinely good deals?

[_al_]

Yep, it's true. Plugin Alliance are especially bad for this. You will see plugins on there for £200 +, and you won't realise that they go on sale a couple of times a year, for like £30 or something.

Just visit these forums regularly and you will start to get a good idea of what a good deal is.
Plugin Alliance plugins ARE good (if you're into analog emulations and stuff), but imo, not worth the full price (which is why they're on sale so often)

If you drop a few of the deals you've found in this thread, the guys here will tell you if it's worth it.

A couple of sites I've used multiple times for deals, are humblebundle.com and audioplugindeals.com (hope I typed them right).

Think JRR Shop also has some goodies. Never used though.

Just pay attention to these forums, and check the Marketplace subforum also

My rule is to never spend over £100 on an FX plugin (unless it's something I need like right now)

The best thing about KVR though... when a developer you like releases a new plugin, they will often haven a special intro price, and I've bought quite a few things at more or less half price, thanks to the devs advertising on this forum

[swilow11]

I remember someone here saying "The sale price is THE price". I just don't buy these things unless they're on sale now.

[jens]

Since I as a beginner am not picky on what I'm getting. I'm fine with picking plugins up when they are genuinely discounted.

Lol... nice approach - that'll work out great for you, I'm sure of it.

[rj0]

I remember someone here saying "The sale price is THE price". I just don't buy these things unless they're on sale now.

I'd second that, and add that should be extended to just about everything out there that you might consider buying (including physical items, services, etc.). If you need to buy something urgently, and it's not at sale price, you're almost certainly paying a premium. It really pays to be aware of what prices dip to during sales for items/services that you are looking at buying.

[LunarKitten]

Yep, it's true. Plugin Alliance are especially bad for this. You will see plugins on there for £200 +, and you won't realise that they go on sale a couple of times a year, for like £30 or something.

Thank you Al for bringing light to this. I don't like this tactic. If you got a good product why not just offer it for an adequate price and be done with it. Like if your plugin is worth 70$, just charge that much and leave it at that right? When I see stuff like this I don't even want to spend one dollar.

If you drop a few of the deals you've found in this thread, the guys here will tell you if it's worth it.

I just bought AIR music technology plugins, they have no VST3 support and they don't even load in cubase. I would advise against buying from this company.

I was suprised how big the discounts on some plugins were, but I grew supicious. Now I am just wondering what are the ones to look at. Supermassive for example is a mindblowingly plugin period, but the fact that it is free is just an absolute no brainer to get it.

I was wondering if among those plugins that get discounts, if there are no brainer offers or at least some that I should look into. There is currently a anniversary sale on another website, but my experince with them with outdated plugins that don't run and slow customer service has soured me on the idea of buying there again.

A couple of sites I've used multiple times for deals, are humblebundle.com and audioplugindeals.com (hope I typed them right).

Humble bundle is for videogames?

And it is
https://audioplugin.deals/

Think JRR Shop also has some goodies. Never used though.

I will add these sites to my bookmarks. Thank you very much.

Just pay attention to these forums, and check the Marketplace subforum also

My rule is to never spend over £100 on an FX plugin (unless it's something I need like right now)

That is a good rule.

The best thing about KVR though... when a developer you like releases a new plugin, they will often haven a special intro price, and I've bought quite a few things at more or less half price, thanks to the devs advertising on this forum

Nice, thanks for illumating the situation.

I remember someone here saying "The sale price is THE price".

If it is constantly on sale and the plugin price is outlandlishly at odds with the market is it really though?

I just don't buy these things unless they're on sale now.

Good for them!

Since I as a beginner am not picky on what I'm getting. I'm fine with picking plugins up when they are genuinely discounted.

Lol... nice approach - that'll work out great for you, I'm sure of it.

How do you mean?

[jamcat]

Getting a subscription plan may be the right thing for you for now until you have a better idea of what you need and how to use it. I would recommend UAD Spark for that.

Or stick with your DAW's plugins and some respectable freeware to learn the ropes before you commit to any significant purchases. There's no need to rush in to anything prematurely.

[wherethehellwasi]

...some respectable freeware to learn the ropes before you commit to any significant purchases. There's no need to rush in to anything prematurely.

I would definitely second this. If you're looking to expand outside your DAW's plugins, one fantastic flavor of "deals" are the free plugins that some of the quality companies offer as entrees to their lineup. (Or sometimes, as all you need.)

I'm sure others could chime in with more, but exploring the free effects from Melda, Kilohearts, Blue Cat, Voxengo and Valhalla for a start would provide lots of functionality and different styles to try. You won't click with all of them, but it's an easy way to get waist-deep in a few ecosystems you could choose to invest in later.

For somewhat quirkier stuff, Audio Damage's free legacy plugins are fun to try out, and (mostly) have paid modern updates. Lots of options out there, and everybody has a few favorite devs.

[_al_]

Humble bundle is for videogames?

Yeah, but occasionally you'll get an audio bundle on there.
I've picked up copies of SoundForge Pro and Vegas Pro a few times on there for a fraction of the price, and Soundforge has always been my goto audio editor, so I always check back now and then.

But you're right, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that one. Yeah the APD site is good, but if I'm honest, some of my best purchases have been because of this forum.
I would probably have never tried Valhalla reverbs if it wasn't for KVR, because I think the GUI on them is horrible.
But thanks to KVR, they are my most used verbs!

Oh... Plugin Boutique is a site I use a lot too. Have bought so many plugins from them, I don't even know what I own anymore

[jamcat]

Kilohearts is a really solid set of bread&butter plugins.
Voxengo has some really good free tools, and Blue Cat has some good free effects.

Those are all solid choices.

But Melda is a shitshow. I've always avoided those "free" plugins.

[LunarKitten]

Humble bundle is for videogames?

Yeah, but occasionally you'll get an audio bundle on there.
I've picked up copies of SoundForge Pro and Vegas Pro a few times on there for a fraction of the price, and Soundforge has always been my goto audio editor, so I always check back now and then.

But you're right, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that one. Yeah the APD site is good, but if I'm honest, some of my best purchases have been because of this forum.
I would probably have never tried Valhalla reverbs if it wasn't for KVR, because I think the GUI on them is horrible.
But thanks to KVR, they are my most used verbs!

Oh... Plugin Boutique is a site I use a lot too. Have bought so many plugins from them, I don't even know what I own anymore

Well that is certainly good to know. Thank you very much!

Kilohearts is a really solid set of bread&butter plugins.

I really like them. They are not the most flashy plugins but very useful and rock solid.

Voxengo has some really good free tools, and Blue Cat has some good free effects.

Voxengo I like as well. Blue cat not so much, I'm more of a red cat.

But Melda is a shitshow. I've always avoided those "free" plugins.

What don't you like about them?

[Scotty]

Melda is among the best developers out there. The free suite is excellent. Once you to grips with the interface you’ll appreciate the monitoring and auto gain features that are common across many of the plugins. The updates come fast and if you get into the paid versions (or upgrade the free suite to eliminate the small nag text and allow resizing ) you’ll come to appreciate how efficiently they are coded and also appreciate that the updates are always free. The unified installer with the cleanup features for uninstalling plugins is unique and effective. It takes a bit of work to come to grips with the user interfaces but many of us find the effort more than worthwhile. I’m not sure what jamcat means by “shitshow” perhaps he can qualify his comments. Rest assured these are good plugins.You just need to step away from the distraction of audio forums and work with them a bit. I am guessing that you’ll find the time we’ll spent.

[ROTMetro]

Study up on what you want to accomplish, make a list of tools that you demo and like, start saving money, but the most important part...don't make a purchase until Black Friday next year.

[zerocrossing]

I think a lot of companies will give deep discounts from time to time as a way to “let you on the upgrade train.” So, you buy a new plugin at a reduced “early adopter” price, and their hope is that in a year when they come out with v2, you’ll fork out that money again… and again. Like drugs.

Other times, companies will lower the price when they know a new version is around the corner, again hoping you’ll buy the new version.

Some companies, like Valhalla, just keep their prices very inexpensive and quality good, knowing satisfied customers like me will mention them in threads like this and win them new customers. A lot know the market is saturated with great products and even if they have a product that’s right up there with the best, everyone already has a good version of that type of plugin, so they know they need to keep the price low and hope people jump on it anyway. Eventide just came out with a new delay plugin called Recirculate and had a early adopter special of $50 from $100, plus, because I basically own almost all of their software, an additional $20 off. So, for less than I paid for my dinner tonight, I got a fun new delay that I need like I need a second butthole. I had a blast playing guitar into it and just messing with it for a few hours, and even if I never touch it again, I consider it money well spent, because I had a great time.

[LunarKitten]

Melda is among the best developers out there.

They are great in my opinion. Sometimes I read negative comments about them, but I don't know why. I have compared a number of plugins that did the same thing and melda had among the lowest CPU and extra functions. Blew me away.

Study up on what you want to accomplish, make a list of tools that you demo and like, start saving money,

I thought maybe I should save on a SSL buscompressor, since there isn't a free one as far as I know.

but the most important part...don't make a purchase until Black Friday next year.

Some companies, like Valhalla, just keep their prices very inexpensive and quality good, knowing satisfied customers like me will mention them in threads like this and win them new customers.

Alot of love for Valhalla. Supermassive is the bomb. What is your favorite Valhalla plugin?

I consider it money well spent, because I had a great time.