Way too many plugins and choices - Need advice to fight GAS/Huge plugin folder

[dexrow]

Most of the stuff that I am missing is the stuff that hasn't been written yet .... been wanting to go off grid maybe a solar panel and figure out a way to get rid of all those little boxes on my drum sequencers.. thought I saw an inexpensive bundle with a drum plugin that I would get just to support programming

[dasen]

limit yourself to the stock plugins in your DAW

[BBFG#]

Don't ask for advice to manage GAS from people and groups that currently enjoy the GAS addiction?

[lobanov]

Using a spreadsheet helped me a lot to reduce the amount of plugins, especially combined with benchmarks (CPU/RAM/disk usage, aliasing, architecture etc). If two plugins are basically the same but one needs more resources or has higher aliasing it's easy to decide which one has to go. I also dropped all plugins with bad GUIs (Menus with submenus, impractical controller layout etc) and everything overcomplicated like modular synths/effects which takes too much time to program (and only features mediocre built-in effects in many cases). All "vintage" and "signature" plugins had to go as well (because what's the point of a Pultec clone if you can replicate the Pultec trick with an ordinary parametric EQ anyway). A project I'm also working on is making SoundFonts out of romplers which has a lot of advantages aside from shortening the plugin list.

Planning is important. Sit down without your DAW and think about your optimal workflow environment. Then drop everything that doesn't fit.

I have a Notion database with all of my plugins (and some that I don't have, that I am researching).

I drop my license info in there, my own notes, any links and quotes from threads worth remembering, any Youtube videos that are relevant or helpful, download links, installation notes, etc.

Beyond plugin category / types, I also have checkboxes for plugins that I keep on my desktop or laptop, and also a checkbox called "A-list" which are my most important plugins to reinstall if I want to get a system up and running quickly.

When I started making this database few years ago, I didn't know if it would be worth it, but I am almost always thankful I do a project like this afterwards.

You can embed the databases anywhere in Notion and pick how you want to view it and filter what you want to view, so I have separate category pages set up for like Reverb, Delay, Synths, Samplers, Compressors, etc. etc. etc.

When GAS hits, there are lots of ways to talk myself out of something new with this setup. And it is also helpful to identify the gaps in my setup, like right now I need some toneboosters mix plugins. But not from GAS, just from knowing my actual needs.

Does Notion have a piano roll? Can it load VST3 and VST2, esp. old ones 32 bits?

Or may be it is possible to load Notion as a VST?

P. S. When do you find time to make music?

[Michael L]

And it is also helpful to identify the gaps in my setup, like right now I need some toneboosters mix plugins. But not from GAS, just from knowing my actual needs.

Gear Acquisition Syndrome is so amateur.
Let’s go pro with Gap Analysis Solutions!

[_leras]

Choose the tools that help you get the sound you are after.

Not sure what the obsession with being fast is. I'm not sure it leads to better music. Though setting up so you don't have blockers in the creation zone is also good.

[lights]

A few years back, I was checking out some new shiny plug-in (which turned out to be a total disappointment) when I suddenly realized I was becoming a “plug-in curator.”

I’ll be honest — I didn’t like that thought. I could see immediately how it was a huge distraction. A fun distraction, sure… but still a distraction. I don’t want to be a plug-in curator. If other people enjoy that, fair enough. But I don’t want to have an opinion on every plug-in ever released after two or three hours of testing, confusion, and frustration. That’s not what drew me into the world of making music in the first place.

Since that day, I’ve had a slight awakening. I stopped seeing plug-ins as toys the little boy in me wants to explore, and started seeing them as replacements for hardware in the production process. (I know — very traditional, right?)

Nowadays, when I’m considering buying a plug-in, I imagine building out a world-class hardware studio. No mediocre stuff, no unused dusty units probed up against the wall. I only add something if it fills a real role in that imaginary studio (tape machine, delay, compressors, etc.). I pick my favorite — and yes, I mean my personal, subjective favorite — and I commit to it like it’s a physical unit… at least until it “falls apart.”

That attitude changed a lot of my buying habits.I became far less interested in most plug-in releases, and noticed there are only a handful of developers consistently making the kind of quality I’d want to use for years, like real hardware.

Granted, those are usually the more expensive ones — but come on… don’t tell me the $29 Juno emulation sounds the same as the Softube one. So yeah, I stopped wasting money on piles of cheaper plug-ins and started picking just one.

Same with plug-ins I already owned, I chose the Mini emulation that genuinely spoke to me and archived the other five. I mean… if this was hardware, what kind of studio has six Mini Moogs? A repair shop, storeroom or a showroom? Not a musician's cozy lil studio.

So this “where would it fit if it was hardware?” idea (silly as it may sound) has helped me visualize what I actually need /want— versus what’s just virtual junk cluttering up my studio.

And yeah, I still demo new plug-ins occasionally, but I rarely feel GAS the way I used to. Last Black Friday I bought zero new plug-ins… even though I was *very* tempted by PSP VintageWarmer — you know, just to have it in the curator’s collection.

[9headshydra]

Here is my solution (own personal solution):

Get one solid DAW (Ableton Live)
Get one solid FX plugins bundle (UA ultimate bundle)
Get one solid Instrument plugins bundle (NI komplete)
+
Cet one solid app for ipad if you use it (Korg Gadget)


then get done with GAS

[jamcat]

Can it load VST3 and VST2, esp. old ones 32 bits?

If you are still hanging on to 32-bit VST2 plugins in 2025, you may have a hoarding disorder, which is far more concerning than GAS.

[Michael L]

Can it load VST3 and VST2, esp. old ones 32 bits?

If you are still hanging on to 32-bit VST2 plugins in 2025, you may have a hoarding disorder, which is far more concerning than GAS.

I am also still hanging on to a few, enjoying that legacy disorder, and warmly welcome your concern from afar

[TechHaus]

Using a spreadsheet helped me a lot to reduce the amount of plugins, especially combined with benchmarks (CPU/RAM/disk usage, aliasing, architecture etc). If two plugins are basically the same but one needs more resources or has higher aliasing it's easy to decide which one has to go. I also dropped all plugins with bad GUIs (Menus with submenus, impractical controller layout etc) and everything overcomplicated like modular synths/effects which takes too much time to program (and only features mediocre built-in effects in many cases). All "vintage" and "signature" plugins had to go as well (because what's the point of a Pultec clone if you can replicate the Pultec trick with an ordinary parametric EQ anyway). A project I'm also working on is making SoundFonts out of romplers which has a lot of advantages aside from shortening the plugin list.

Planning is important. Sit down without your DAW and think about your optimal workflow environment. Then drop everything that doesn't fit.

I have a Notion database with all of my plugins (and some that I don't have, that I am researching).

I drop my license info in there, my own notes, any links and quotes from threads worth remembering, any Youtube videos that are relevant or helpful, download links, installation notes, etc.

Beyond plugin category / types, I also have checkboxes for plugins that I keep on my desktop or laptop, and also a checkbox called "A-list" which are my most important plugins to reinstall if I want to get a system up and running quickly.

When I started making this database few years ago, I didn't know if it would be worth it, but I am almost always thankful I do a project like this afterwards.

You can embed the databases anywhere in Notion and pick how you want to view it and filter what you want to view, so I have separate category pages set up for like Reverb, Delay, Synths, Samplers, Compressors, etc. etc. etc.

When GAS hits, there are lots of ways to talk myself out of something new with this setup. And it is also helpful to identify the gaps in my setup, like right now I need some toneboosters mix plugins. But not from GAS, just from knowing my actual needs.

Does Notion have a piano roll? Can it load VST3 and VST2, esp. old ones 32 bits?

Or may be it is possible to load Notion as a VST?

P. S. When do you find time to make music?

It's ok, bro. I understand what you are going through.

[whassup]

And it is also helpful to identify the gaps in my setup, like right now I need some toneboosters mix plugins. But not from GAS, just from knowing my actual needs.

Gear Acquisition Syndrome is so amateur.
Let’s go pro with Gap Analysis Solutions!

I like your humor dude!

[El°HYM]

Most people just buying more things, to not feel so sad.

[Michael L]

Most people just buying more things, to not feel so sad.

So, to feel Marie Kondo's "Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" your huge plugin folder, don't buy more things but just:
.

Only buy plugins that spark joy.png

.
I might even try it myself, one day.

[El°HYM]

I really hope you didnt just want to hurt my feelings with your comment.