Plug-ins you actually use

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Effects Discussion
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

I think we've all purchased plug-ins that we like but don't really use that much.
I know I have several of them. And others I use all the time.

So which plug-ins do you actually use ?
And which plug-ins do you really like but for one reason or other do not use ?

Post

We had this thread a year ago.:)

Post

OTT compressor, Valhalla rveerb, abbey road drums seem to be on every project I do.

Also really like Cymatics origin for certain saturated sounds. TDR EQ.
Last edited by smallclone on Wed Apr 09, 2025 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post

Waves and Eventide and Tokyo Dawn Labs and Zynaptiq.
Don't need anything else.

Post

I don't have any plug ins that i don't use at all. i have lists (all plug, fx, synths, different kinds of synth, and plugs that haven't gotten much use lately. i feed the lists into random.com and use the top choices. Naturally this works better on some things than others. Experimental pieces, choosing fx, or just getting a project started, even if replace the randomly chosen plugs with different choices.
gadgets an gizmos..make noise~crystalawareness.bandcamp.com/ soundcloud.com/crystalawareness Restocked: 5/2026
if this post is edited -it was for punctuation, grammar, or to make it coherent (or make me seem coherent).

Post

Sold all plugins which I am not using. Now my setup is much smaller.. but it's great. Fabfilter, Wavesfactory, U-HE, Valhalla, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Xfer and some others. And now I am also use the stock DAW plugins as well.

Post

Alexander_D wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:00 pm Sold all plugins which I am not using. Now my setup is much smaller.. but it's great. Fabfilter, Wavesfactory, U-HE, Valhalla, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Xfer and some others. And now I am also use the stock DAW plugins as well.
I actually never thought about selling software. it's a strange concept for me.

Post

multree wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:21 pm
Alexander_D wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:00 pm Sold all plugins which I am not using. Now my setup is much smaller.. but it's great. Fabfilter, Wavesfactory, U-HE, Valhalla, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Xfer and some others. And now I am also use the stock DAW plugins as well.
I actually never thought about selling software. it's a strange concept for me.
Stranger than buying software?

Post

Not too much but use them in every project:
- few stock plugins (but not all included in DAW)
- Bassline
- Crack
- DSEQ3
- FirComp2
- GSat+
- Konsol
- Leikkaus
- LoudMax
- Luftikus
- PhaseMotion2
- PreBOX
- RePitch
- ShaperBox3 (Time+Drive)
- SonEQ
- Valhalla Delay + Modulator + SuperMassive + VintageVerb
- ZL Equalizer
/+ few analyzer plugins like Prism, Youlean Loudness Meter2, mvMeter, ISOL8, EQ Curve Analyzer/

+ BBC Symphony Orchestra, FLEX, Surge XT, NoiseMaker, ThornCM, TripleCheese, Zyklop as instruments


/ red plugins are payware
/ need to sell VOS SlickEQ GE and will be fine (not using)

Post

'channel strip' - Pro-Q, TB Impress 3 (comp), Spectre (saturation), K-clip, Trackspacer (ducking)
Filters - Filterverse, Supermodal, TDR Special filters
FX - Shaperbox, Minimal Audio FX (full suite), Kilohartz (full suite), Infiltrator (mangling), Serato HexFX (general multifx), Transit (transitions), bx_Aura, Spaced Out (verb + delay)
Mastering - Pro-Q, True Iron, Unisum, TDR Slick EQ, iZotope (various), Vertigo's comp
Metering - TB ISOL8, TB dpMeter, Metric AB, Mega Ozilloscope

Bunch of others, but those are the most used by far.

Post

multree wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:21 pm
Alexander_D wrote: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:00 pm Sold all plugins which I am not using. Now my setup is much smaller.. but it's great. Fabfilter, Wavesfactory, U-HE, Valhalla, Spectrasonics, Native Instruments, Xfer and some others. And now I am also use the stock DAW plugins as well.
I actually never thought about selling software. it's a strange concept for me.
I was tried Ilok. And it's terrible for me. it's the reason why I sold all Ilok stuff. It's my experience. Nothing more. On KVR you can find a lot of Sell & Buy stuff.. nothing strange honestly...

Post

Arturia's Infinity reverb since I like the default preset and it's easy to use.
VPS Philta CM - been using it since it was given away in computer music.
Morph EQ - I can't recall the names of any other parametric EQs I have.

Everything else is whatever catches my fancy at the moment.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. - Emerson

Post

Top 10 in no particular order:

Harmony Bloom
NodalRed2X
DIVA
Verve
Ozone
Lexicon 224
The Eighty
Maschine
VSX
Kontakt

Post

I really hate to admit this, but I use Apotheca on almost every track now. It's just too convenient. I'll also use some industry standards - raum | vahalla, a few go-to synths, and that's about it. It's just so easy to fit something right in the mix where I want with Apotheca - panning is easier, shaping the frequency band is easier, and stereoizing is easier...Plus, I can flip around the sound with the mix control - bar four or eight. Super legit. The thing is, it takes pretty much no extra processing power than stock plugins, and being able to bind macros is a useful tool, too. Oddly enough, I'm actually not all that partial, as I have purchased and discarded many products - including prototypes I have made. For example, I have Vahallah Delay, but I rarely use it, and that's one of the more legit lightweight plugins. Like, I purchased a plug-in to do stutter effects - like 99 bucks - and I literally never use it anymore. Apotheca does pretty much everything it does and is way easier to use. Plus, Apotheca has a lower price point.

I've worked for large firms, and the problem is that these firms complicate processes too much to seem impressive. I believe simple, straightforward tools - with lots of easy-to-use features that are consistent and well-tuned or tunable is about all there is to it. I can't stand a product that doesn't have the sliders skewed correctly.

I worked with a product designer who was more convinced that sending memes of bread and asking if I wanted his bread was more valuable than understanding the requirement to have custom curves for controls.

I ask, "So the controls should be monotonic?" They started laughing at me, calling me names, and bullying me....

Products should be as simple as possible on the surface but able to go deep.

I want a killer tool to smash up a track quickly and stay in the moment.
Last edited by Dave_p on Wed Apr 09, 2025 5:53 pm, edited 14 times in total.

Post

Instruments:
AIR XPand2 - my only rompler, delightfully crappy
Arturia Prophet VS
Audiospillage drums
D16 drum machines
GForce M-Tron Pro, OB-1, OB-X, Oddity3, ImpOSCar3
TAL-pha, TAL Sampler, TAL Bassline
U-he Repro 1/5
Waldorf Microwave
Amigo Sampler

Effects:
Aberrant SketchCassette, Lair
GHz Tupe, Vulf Compressor, Lossy, Megaverb
Audiority stuff
Audiothing stuff
Cytomic The Scream
DMG TrackComp
Eventide H910/949/3000
Kiive things
Klanghelm TENS
Korneff Amplified Instrument Processor
PSP 2445, 285
Purafied Micro Limiter, LED Compressor
LX480
Tai Chi Reverb
Valhalla Vintage
Wavesfactory Spectre

Post Reply

Return to “Effects”