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You may already know that there's thousands of different options when it comes to choosing music production software.
So how can you make the right choice?
What software should you download?
What's best for your needs?
Here's the thing: If you want music production to be less frustrating and confusing, then you need to pick the right tools.
In this guide, I'm going to show you the best music production software and how to choose it.
Let's go.
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Most producers and musicians spend too much time trying to decide which DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to use.
This is time that could be used to make music.
Choosing a DAW doesn't have to be difficult, as long as you keep in mind the following:
Let's unpack these in detail, and then look at which DAWs might work for you.
A lot of new producers and musicians who are looking to purchase a DAW worry about whether it will meet their needs.
Here’s the thing: most popular DAWs can do everything you need and more. That’s what they’re designed for. And unless you’re making ultra-complex or highly-technical music (in which case you wouldn’t be reading this guide), then you shouldn’t have any issues with any of the big 3.
The big 3?
Ableton Live, Logic and FL Studio. We’ll get to these in a moment.
The DAW you choose is not going to make or break your career as an artist. It’s not going to be the “one thing” that increases the quality of your music tenfold. Your DAW is only as good as the time and effort you put into making music. It’s simply a tool.
When I was starting out as a producer, I had one burning question...
Do I use Ableton Live or FL Studio?
I spent hours upon hours doing research. Specifically, I was trying to find which artists used FL Studio and who used Ableton.
After all, I wanted to be like my favorite artists. I thought the way to get there was to use the same DAW as them.
But this is a waste of time.
For every full-time, successful artist that uses Ableton Live—there’s another one that uses FL Studio, or Logic. Just goes to show that all these DAWs have the potential to output great music (if the user is skilled).
Instead of spending hours upon hours researching which DAW to use (that includes reading this guide, by the way)—download a trial version of a DAW and start playing with it.
Some DAWs don’t offer trials, but Ableton and FL Studio do. So start with them.
If you hate the interface of one, try another. If you hate the workflow, try another. But spend some time with each one, especially if you’re a new producer. DAWs take time to learn and become proficient in.
Ableton Live is probably the most popular DAW in the electronic music production space for two reasons:
It’s also the DAW we use for most of our training and education here at EDMProd.
Ableton offers three versions of its software: Intro, Standard, and Suite.
I recommend avoiding Intro (it’s severely limited and you’ll grow out of it quickly).
Suite is worth the money, but you can always upgrade from Standard when you feel ready. So, start with the Standard version and then upgrade to Suite later on if you feel the need.
It’s a favorite among hip hop and electronic music producers for a few reasons:
I highly recommend going for the Signature version if you can afford it. It will keep you busy for long enough.
If you purchase the Producer version, you will encounter limitations fairly early on. Don’t purchase the Fruity edition (same reason for not purchasing Ableton Intro—it’s too limited).
Logic Pro (Mac only) is popular among electronic music producers and also many musicians and engineers for its more traditional workflow and great mixing plugins.
Unfortunately, it’s only available on Mac. So if you’re a Windows user, you’re out of luck. Otherwise, it’s a serious contender with FL and Ableton.
Worth using if you’re planning on doing a lot of recording and/or mixing. Ableton and FL can also handle this, but according to most, they’re less suited for it.
Logic Pro X comes in only one version. Despite this, you won't find yourself limited as it includes a great variety of synths and effects.
Cubase almost makes it into the big 3, but not quite. It’s still incredibly popular among producers and musicians but doesn’t appeal much to the young bedroom producer (possibly due to its positioning towards the more professional crowd).
That said, it’s a well made piece of software that boasts impressive features. There’s a reason why Hans Zimmer, Dodge & Fuski, Noisia, and Amon Tobin use it.
Cubase almost makes it into the big 3, but not quite. It’s still incredibly popular among producers and musicians but doesn’t appeal much to the young bedroom producer (possibly due to its positioning towards the more professional crowd).
That said, it’s a well made piece of software that boasts impressive features. There’s a reason why Hans Zimmer, Dodge & Fuski, Noisia, and Amon Tobin use it.
Pro Tools is the most used Pro Audio DAW. If you enter a professional recording studio, you’ll likely see Pro Tools on the screen.
It’s the industry standard for pro audio technicians and engineers, but it’s not as common among electronic music producers or hobbyist musicians. This is likely because its MIDI editing features pale in comparison compared to the Big 3.
Matt Lange is one electronic music producer who does use Pro Tools (almost exclusively as I understand). We talk about it in this interview.
Reason functions differently to most DAWs. Open it up and you’ll see what looks almost exactly like Hardware racks, which allow you to drag cables and set up complex signal flows.
For some producers and artists, it’s overwhelming and complicated. For others, it’s highly intuitive.
Until recently, Reason didn’t allow third party plugins, which practically removed it as a contender in the bedroom production space. Now that you can use third party plugins with it, however, it’s back on the radar and has some serious features.
With its new “rent-to-own” plan on Splice, allowing you to get started for just $16.99/month, Studio One is a serious option for producers and musicians alike.
It’s easy to learn, simple, but also powerful.
Garageband is a free DAW that comes on OSX. You’ve probably played around with it at some point.
Honestly, it’s a great tool to get your feet wet with, but it won’t take you far. It doesn’t have the audio and MIDI capabilities or various other features found in professional DAWs.
If you like the interface and workflow, I’d suggest upgrading to Logic Pro.
Reaper built its reputation as a functional, affordable DAW.
It’s doesn’t look or feel amazing. It doesn’t have a great selection of effects or instruments. But is affordable.
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While most modern DAWs have great native synth plugins, it’s always worth having 2-3 third party synths in your library.
Not only do you (usually) get a high quality sound when you buy a third party plugin, but if it’s a commonly used synth like Serum, you open up a world of presets and possibilities simply due to its popularity. Producers want to sell and give away presets to build their brand and income—Serum is a popular synth, therefore they make presets for Serum. That benefits us, the end user.
Choosing a synth plugin doesn’t have to be hard. It all comes down to your needs as a producer or musician.
There are three things to consider when buying a synth plugin:
The cost of synth plugins can range anywhere from free (TAL Noisemaker) to expensive (Omnisphere - $499)
Now, the average producer probably doesn’t need Omnisphere. But they also probably want something more complex and developed than TAL Noisemaker (even though it’s a great synth).
Expect to spend anywhere from $50 - $200 for a quality third party synth like Serum or Spire. Splice allows you to purchase some synths (Serum included) on a rent-to-own plan, which I recommend.
Software synths can be inherently difficult to use and understand if you haven’t had much experience with them. There’s a learning curve regardless of which one you choose.
But you still don’t want to purchase a synth that’s unnecessarily complex for your needs. You’ll end up frustrated and feeling like you wasted money.
Finally, you want to choose a synth based on your needs.
If you’re a musician who just wants the odd synth sound in your track, then opt for something simple like Sylenth1.
If you’re a dubstep producer who wants to create complex, intricate sounds that impress everyone else, then Serum is a better choice due to its complex features.
Developed by Steve Duda (Xfer Records), Serum was launched in September of 2014 and took the production community by storm.
As taken from their website:
“The dream synthesizer did not seem to exist: a wavetable synthesizer with a truly high-quality sound, visual and creative workflow-oriented interface to make creating and altering sounds fun instead of tedious, and the ability to “go deep” when desired - to create / import / edit / morph wavetables, and manipulate these on playback in real-time.”
The great thing about Serum is that once you’ve figured it out, you can create practically any sound you like. It’s versatile.
If you just want a simple pluck sound, easy. If you want a complex, self-evolving, multi-layered pad? You can do that too.
Serum retails for $189, but you can get it through Splice’s Rent to Own program starting at $9.99/month.
Serum is a complex, multi-faceted synth. It looks complicated, and can be overwhelming to those new to synthesis.
But despite how powerful and complex Serum is, it’s relatively easy to pick up and learn. There’s plenty of YouTube tutorials to help you, along with the well-written manual.
I recommend Serum for every type of producer and musician. It’s a key part of my workflow, and many others can say the same.
Before Serum was a thing, Massive was the “go-to” synth among electronic music producers (next to Sylenth1 which we’ll get to in a moment).
It’s a wavetable synth that boasts a ton of great features, including a comprehensive LFO and performer module (allowing you to create intricate patterns and evolving sounds), excellent-sounding wavetables, and some handy FX.
NI Massive retails for $149, but look out for occasional discounts if you’re interested.
Massive has a slightly steeper learning curve than Serum (in my opinion), but I think this is largely due to the interface. It’s a bit harder to understand. That said, once you get it, you get it.
A few tutorials and some reading of the manual will get you up to speed in no time.
Massive is popular among dubstep/bass music producers due to its wavetables. It’s arguable that Serum has “replaced” Massive in this regard, and if you’re stuck on the fence, we recommend Serum over Massive.
Note: NI have announced that Massive X is coming out soon (February 2019).
If you’re looking for a simple synth that sounds great, does the job, and doesn’t overwhelm you with tons of intricate features—Sylenth1 is the synth for you.It’s been around for years, and continues to be a favorite even if it’s lacking in features compared to Serum and Massive.
Sylenth1 sells for 139 euros (~$160 USD), but you can also pay this in installments.
Sylenth1 is incredibly easy to use. It’s subtractive synthesis at its finest. We highly recommend this to new producers or anyone who needs a simple solution.
Sylenth1 won’t be able to provide you with the complex, intricate sounds that can be created in Massive or Serum, but for anything else? It’s great.
I recommend this to every producer who’s not interested in purchasing Serum or Massive (due to their complexity), but still wants a high quality synth.
Spire was released in 2015 as the first real, modern competitor to Sylenth1. We think it just that, as it’s been adapted by a ton of professional producers. It has a fantastic oscillator section fueled by a powerful waveshaping matrix, as well as a powerful modulation matrix that gives you total control over the synth.
Spire has a powerful and raw sound that offers a distinct sonic palette, making it comparable (but not necessarily better or worse) than Sylenth1.
€139/$189
Zone is a new entry into the competitive synth market, but offers certain features that other synths can’t touch. It’s a sequencer driven synthesizer that allows you to map nearly every parameter to a sequencer. It also contains all of the features you’d expect from a modern powerful synthesizer.
£99/$139
Zone’s beautiful GUI can take some time to get used to, but that’s in part by design. It’s a synth built for producers who want to get their hands dirty with complex sound design.
As powerful as Zone is, it’s sonic palette isn’t for everyone. Rather than tell you who it’s for, we’d rather you check out the demo sounds and hear for yourself.
ANA 2 is Sonic Academy’s follow up to their fan favorite (and budget-friendly) plugin, ANA.
ANA 2 features an redesigned graphical interface, a powerful 3D oscillator section, and intuitive graphic envelopes. Other features include custom wavetables, the ability to import your own samples, 24 on board effects, and a creative MIDI tool section.
Dubbed “the spirit of analog”, Diva is an extremely powerful virtual analog synthesizer. It models the oscillator and filter sections of 8 of the most famous vintage synths.
If you’re need of a warm, vintage texture in your music, you simply can’t go wrong with DIVA.
Synthmaster 2.9 is truly the swiss army knife of plugins. Even better, its priced like an actual swiss army knife, making it one of the most affordable synths on the market.
It features multiple types of synthesis including virtual analog, additive, wavetable, pulse width modulation, and much more.
It’s perfect for a budget-friendly producer who wants an all in one synth that isn’t as common (looking at you Serum)
FM8 is a high-quality FM synth from the team over at Native Instruments. While FM synthesis is a mystery for many, FM8 features a readily usable and capable interface.
Circle2 is a beautifully crafted semi-modular subtractive synth from the team at FAW. The key focus of Circle2 is it’s usability - it boasts a elegant, simple interface that makes sound design less of a head-scratcher.
Circle retails for $129, but you can get it through Splice’s Rent to Own program starting at $7.99/month.
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Sampler instruments offer a sonic flexibility that simply isn't possible with synthesizers.
Instead of directly synthesizing sound (as with synthesizers), sampler instruments contain recorded samples that you can play back. This allows you to bring the realism and dynamic behind acoustic instruments into your DAW.
From orchestral instruments to grand pianos to analog synths, sampler instruments provide you with hit-ready sounds out of the box.
The quality and scope of sampler instruments is nothing less than extraordinary. For a few hundred bucks, you can have access to a professionally recorded orchestra at the click of a button.
Given this, it's helpful to identify why you want a sampler library.
Do you want realistic sounding string libraries? Check out NI Kontakt and the East West libraries.
Do you want radio ready EDM synths? Check out Nexus.
Do you want creative, unique sampled instruments? Check out Omnisphere 2.
Sampler libraries can get pricey quickly. Most sampler instruments come with stock libraries, and you can purchase additional libraries from either the developer or third party companies.
In other words, if you want a few more pianos for Kontakt, it'll cost you.
Since sampler instruments are sample based (duh), the general playback will be straightfoward.
Most instruments provide you with a streamlined interface up front with detailed control behind the hood.
As mentioned above, sampler instruments are a great way to bring realistic acoustic elements into your music.
Kontakt is the industry leading sampler instrument. It’s stock library features 55+ GB of professionally sampled instruments with powerful editing capabilities.
Kontakt’s boasts an extremely vast library - guitars, symphonies, orchestral drums, vintage keyboard synths, brass instruments, choirs, and much more. It also serves as the foundation for many native and third party sampler libraries.
$399 outright or as part of the $599 Komplete 12 Bundle (keep an eye out for sales)
The front end interface of Kontakt is extremely friendly. Those that want more control can get lost behind the hood, where Kontakt gives you detailed control over the expression of it’s instruments.
Kontakt 6 is for perfect for producers who want to add sense of dynamic realism to their music.
Omnisphere 2 is one of the most capable and flexible virtual instruments on the planet. While it’s $500 scares off many producers, it’s value is beyond incredible.
It boasts a powerful synthesis engine, over 14,000+ sounds, and 57 on board effects. Very few instruments sound as out-of-the-box good as Omnisphere’s.
$499 / €399
Omnisphere 2 gets a 8/10 in my book for ease of use. The preset browser is very easy to navigate, but dialing in a precise sound can take some time to get a hold of. It’s one of those plugins where even seasoned veterans learn something new every day - there is so much more than meets the idea with Omnisphere.
No matter what genre you produce, odds are a handful of Omnispheres 14,000+ sounds can add to your sonic palette. It’s a approach to sampling and synthesis isn’t straight down the middle. In other words, you’re not going to get a clean concert piano, you’ll get a vintage piano dropped down a well plane by thumb piano.
ComposerCloud is a subscription service that gives you access to 40,000+ instruments across 63 different products. It features beautifully recorded pianos, drums, orchestral instruments, guitars, choirs, and much more.
$19.99 - $29.99 per month
The design of their sampler instruments are a bit dated but fairly straightforward.
ComposerCloud is designed more for Hollywood movie scores than EDM bangers, but is perfect for producers looking to incorporate realistic textures into their music.
reFX Nexus2 is the most popular rompler for EDM producers. A rompler is an instrument that plays back audio sampler, rather than synthesizing them (like Serum or Sylenth1 do).
The advantage of romplers is their sounds are designed to sound great out of the box. The sounds in Nexus2 are just that - quality preset and preset. The disadvantage is this limits your control over the sound, since they’re only samplers. This means you’re working within the box of sounds other people have created, as opposed to designing sounds from scratch, making them your own.
Simplicity is what’s Nexus is all about - top quality sounds in just a few clicks.
Nexus2 was popularized among the EDM bubble producers thanks to its low effort, high quality sounds. It’s less popular than it was 5 years ago, but it’s still a handy tool in many producer’s creative arsenal.
$399
Keyscape interface is friendly and straightforward. It'll be easy to integrate it into your production workflow.
Keyscape is all about creative and dynamic expression. If you’re a piano player, you’ll truly appreciate the realism these instruments give you.
Overall, it’s perfect for producers who want a top-quality selection of both standard and unorthodox keyboard libraries.
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Equalizers are one of the most important mixing tools for producers. While stock EQs can get the job done, third party EQs can often get the job done better. Many professionals reach outside of the DAW for EQ'ing, using third party equalizers to make their mixes cleaner, fuller, and warm.
Whether you're looking for digital clarity or analog warmth, it's worthwhile investing in a third party equalizer.
Equalizer plugins generally fall into one of two categories: analog-modeled or digital.
Analog-modeled equalizers are exactly what they sound like - equalizers modeled after popular outboard gear. These plugins emulate the controls and capabilities of outboard equalizers, hoping to capture their analog warmth and character.
Digital EQs are focused on giving you enhanced control over the frequency response of a sound. These plugins are focuses on high-quality processing paired with an easy to use interface.
Functionality is key with all plugins, EQs especially. While analog-modeled EQs have a warm, smooth sound, they're not as intuitive as some digital EQs.
Every plugin on this list is a great plugin, but not every one will integrate well into your workflow.
Since each EQ offers it's own unique set of features, it's important to ask yourself what you need in an EQ.
Do you need a precise digital EQ to help with sound design and creative processing, or do you want a warm, musical EQ to give your track more of an analog feel?
Fabfilter’s Pro Q3 is one of the most popular EQ’s on the market, and for good reason: it pairs a beautifully designed interface with a extremely high sound quality.
It offers all of the basic features you’d expect from an EQ, as well as more advanced features such as linear phase and dynamic phase modes, a dynamic EQ mode, mid/side processing, solo’ing, and more.
ProQ3’s tagline sums it up nicely: “Highest possible sound quality, unrivalled interface workflow”.
£174.99 (~$221)
Since you can fully customize the UI of Equilibrium, you’ll find it easy to work into your workflow.
DMG is the swiss army knife, meaning it can tackle just about an EQ job you throw at it.
Spline's approach to equalizing is unique, so it can take a few moments to get used to it's interface. Outside of this, it's interface is well designed and easy to use.
Our first grouping of EQs are emulations of EQ found on classic SSL 4000 analog mixing console.
SSL style EQs are known for being surgical and aggressive. They’re useful tools to add character and tone to a mix.
Waves SSL G-Equalizer ($199)
Slate FG-S ($19 per month via their VMR subscription)
SSL Native Channel Strip ($329 or $19 a month via their subscription bundle)
API-style EQs are a balanced middle ground between the surgical SSLs and the smooth Pultecs. They can be used as both problem solves (cutting out nasty frequencies) and enhancers.
Waves API 550 ($199)
Slate FG-A ($19 per month via their VMR subscription)
The tone of the Neve EQ and Preamp is one of the most sought after in the industry. It’s adds a rich, warm character that is present on countless hit records
Slate FG-N ($19 per month via their VMR subscription)
Scheps 73 ($199)
The Maag EQ4 is another analog emulation of a classic hardware equalizer. It’s widely known for its “air” band that adds top-end sheen without the harshness.
The 6 band EQ is easy to pick up and apply to your workflow.
The Maag EQ4 is a “musical eq”, meaning it does a great job adding tone and color. As mentioned above, it’s air band is worth the price tag alone.
While not an EQ in a traditional sense, Izotope’s Dynamic EQ is a great tool to have in your mixing arsenal. Dynamic EQ’s combine the precision of an equalizer with the processing of a compressor.
Izotope’s Dynamic EQ gives you focused, detailed control over the spectral dynamics of a sound.
As with all Ozone module, the dynamic EQ has a simple, intuitive interface.
Dynamic EQs are precision mixing tools, useful for both mixing and mastering.
“SURFEREQ is a ground-breaking pitch-tracking equalizer plugin that tracks a monophonic instrument or vocal and moves the selected bands with the music.
SURFEREQ tracks the pitch of a monophonic instrument or a vocal source and can adapt its bands' frequencies relative to the music in real-time, maintaining the natural harmonic balance of the sound source and making it possible to shape the source's timbre relative to the notes being played..” (via SoundRadix)
Great UI that’s easy to understand.
SurferEQ2 is great for producers looking for an extra edge in their mixdowns and sound design.
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Compressors are essential tools that can shape the tone and dynamics of a mix. Every DAW comes with a few stock compressors, but most engineer's prefer using 3rd party compressors.
Why?
Third party developers put more time into making their compressors smoother and more musical. Most emulate the compression styles of classic analog gear, giving you access to vintage style tones strictly in the box.
Most popular compressors excel at a few specific tasks. Some sound great on vocals, others on drums, and others on group busses.
The key is to identify where in the production process you need a higher quality compressor. Once you've got that down, find a compressor who can fill that role and who's sound you like.
Most compressors are straightforward and easy to use (given you actually know how compression works).
As mentioned above, narrow down where your mixing needs the most help. Is it your drums? Is it your vocals? Is it your mix buss?
Fabfilter Pro-C 2 and Fabfilter Pro-MB are two of the most popular plugins on the market. Similar to their Pro-Q3 counterpart, they pair a powerful and capable sound with a beautifully designed interface.
Pro-C 2 is Fabfilter’s high quality compressor. Featuring 8 different compression modes, it’s a flexible compressor that excels at both subtle and aggressive compression.
Pro-MB is a beautifully designed and intuitive multiband compressor. It takes the guesswork out of multiband compression, making it easier to dial in the tight, controlled mixes.
Pro-MB - $199, Pro-C 2 - $179
As with all Fabfilter plugins, Pro-C 2 and Pro-MB are intuitively designed, making it easy to integrate them into your workflow
These are modern, powerful compressors that can be understood by beginners and are used by the pro’s.
Many popular mixing plugins are emulations of classic hardware units. For the next few plugins, we’ll do a roundtop of the top emulations of classic hardware compressors. Many engineers favor analog modeled compressors because they process sound in a very natural and musical way.
LA-2A style compressors are smooth, versatile compressors that sound great on vocals, guitars, and drums. They feature a warm and transparent sound that can add texture and vibe to nearly any sound.
Native Instruments VC 2A ($99)
Waves CLA-76 ($249)
Slate FG-116 ($19/month via their VMR subscription)
Waves API 2500 ($299)
UAD API 2500 Bus Compressor ($299)
Waves PuigChild Compressor ($349)
Slate Digital FG-401 ($19.99/month via their VMR subscription)
Empirical Labs Arousor ($199)
Slate Digital FG-Stress ($19.99/month via their VMR subscription)
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Reverb is one of the most important tools at your disposal. It's central to adding depth and space to a mix.
Since mixes depend the careful use of reverb, its worthwhile investing in a few high-quality third party reverbs.
Third party reverbs will make it easier to add density, dynamics, and clarity to your mixes.
Most popular compressors excel at a few specific tasks. Some sound great on vocals, others on drums, and others on group busses.
The key is to identify where in the production process you need a higher quality compressor. Once you've got that down, find a compressor who can fill that role and who's sound you like.
High quality reverbs range from $49 (Valhalla Room) to $995 (Altiverb XL)
While most modern reverb algorithms are high-quality, it's your job as a producer to make that work well in context.
That means a friendly UI is critical to integrating a reverb into your workflow.
Simply put: the image and space of your mix depends on reverb. A high-quality reverb is an easy way to level up your mixes.
“ValhallaRoom is a versatile, true stereo algorithmic reverb. It features twelve original reverberation algorithms (including the latest Dark reverb modes, Nostromo, Narcissus, Sulaco and LV-426), and produces a wide range of natural reverberation sounds. Sounds range from tight ambiences and rooms, through traditional hall and plate sounds, all the way up to vast modulated spaces. The algorithm designs have been influenced by some of the “classic” room simulation boxes, as well as state of the art modern theory.” (from the developer)
ValhallaRoom is one of the most popular reverbs on the market. Since many stock reverbs come off sounding cheap, third party reverbs are used by most professionals.
ValhallaRoom is an outstanding algorithmic reverb at a great low-price. It’s a straightforward, quality reverb that allows you dive in deep for more versatile sounds.
“From the moment it was unleashed in 1978, the Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb — with its tactile, slider-based controller and famously lush reverb tail — single-handedly defined the sound of an entire era.
From Talking Heads' Remain In Light to U2's The Unforgettable Fire, the Lexicon 224 remains one of the most popular digital reverb units of all time.” (via Universal Audio)
Given the 224’s popularity, several developers have released plugin emulations. I’ve rounded up my favorite emulations below.
Native Instruments RC24 ($149)
Slate Digital Verbsuite Classics FG-224 ($19/month via the Slate Everything Bundle)
“H-Reverb is a pioneering FIR reverb based on innovative Finite Impulse Response reverberation technology, providing richer, deeper reverb tails that sit beautifully in the mix while breathing crisp air into your tracks.
The FIR engine that powers H-Reverb lets you shape and customize the reverb decay envelope beyond the standard linear forms, resulting in perfectly gated, real reverse, and dense reverb tails that don’t muddy up the mix. Taking things one step further, H-Reverb incorporates Waves’ advanced analog modeling along with a drive control, offering signal behavior that until now was found exclusively in high-end hardware reverb devices. This unique design also enables input drive, a technique favored by many top engineers.” (from the developer)
Simply put, H-Reverb is the most popular reverb from one of the most popular plugin companies for a reason.
“Altiverb 7 is the industry standard convolution reverb plug-in for Mac OS X and Windows. It features top quality samples of real spaces to create reverb, ranging from Sydney Opera House to the cockpit of a Jumbo Jet. Altiverb 7 is efficient on the cpu, offers many parameters to tweak the reverb, it is total recall automatable, and it has 64 bit support.” (from the developer)
While I disagree with it being cpu efficient, Altiverb is a behemoth of a plugin. Convolution reverbs allow your put your audio into nearly any imaginable space. They feature impulse responses from vintage reverb gear and rich musical spaces, as well as more experimental responses.
“Eos consists of four high-quality custom-designed reverb algorithms, made with the modern production environment in mind. Three different plate simulators and our own Superhall algorithm give you a broad palette of reverb, and the easy-to-understand interface makes adjusting the algorithms to suit your track incredibly simple.
Want a traditional dark plate reverb? Eos can do that. How about a short, dense room sound for your drum buss? Not a problem. But where Eos really comes in to its own is when you drop Superhall on your piano or synthesizer tracks. The incredibly long modulated hall sounds of Eno-style ambience are where Eos thrives, something that is not possible with convolution 'verbs.” (from the developer)
“Introduced in the late 1960s, the AKG BX 20 reverb was a high-water mark for AKG’s esteemed engineers. An ingenious assembly of mechanical and electronic componentry, the BX 20 offered the glorious depth and color of spring reverb without any of the limitations.
The AKG BX 20 Spring Reverb plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces is exclusively endorsed by AKG Acoustics, Austria and envelops your sources in gorgeously dark, dense ambience that only spring reverb can provide.” (from the developer)
“ValhallaShimmer is an algorithmic reverb designed for BIG sounds, from concert halls to the Taj Mahal to the Halls of Valhalla. All of the sliders have been designed to be tweaked in real time and have a smoothed response to avoid clicks when changing settings or automating the controls. At the same time, the algorithm has been highly optimized, so you get a huge reverb sound without straining your CPU.” (from the developer)
No written explanation of shimmer’s sound can do it justice. It’s combination reverb/delay/pitch-shifter that produces some fantastic sounds.
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Similar to reverb, delay is an essential tool for adding space and dimension to a mix.
While stock delay devices work well, third-party delays offer enhanced creative control over the space of a track.
Whether you're look for a vintage analog style delay or a modern creative delay, this list has you covered.
Most delay plugins feature multiple delay algorithms, giving you the tone and sound of several delays in one plugins.
Also, many feature creative post-processing effects such as phasing, chorusing, and pitch shifting.
The key is to find an interface that's easy to navigate and a tone that fits your sonic pallete.
High quality delays range from $49 (Izotope DDLY) to $199 (EP-34 Tape Echo)
Almost more important than the sound of a plugin it's the friendliness of it's UI. Download a few demo's and find a plugin that fits your workflow.
Similar to reverb, the image and space of your mix relies heavily on your use of delay.
“From real old school PCM42-style effects like filtering, flanging, and phasing, to slap-back echo, ping-pong delay, and tempo-sync with modulation, H-Delay delivers the goods, controlled by a super intuitive interface that lets you get right down to business.” (from the developer)
H-Delay is great because it can produce clean, modern delay as well as analog, lofi inspired delays. It’s the delay of choice for plenty of top mixing engineers.
H-Delay shines brightest on vocals, but also sound great on guitars, synths, and percussion.
“Five deeply modeled delay modes span crisp digital repeats, analog warmth, and experimental textures. Advanced options offer fast ways to open up your mix with pinpoint creative control. And an elegant interface puts new possibilities right before your eyes. From single instruments to entire mixes, REPLIKA XT will add new character to your music.” (from the developer)
Replika XT features five beautifully modeled delay modes paired with an elegant UI. It includes seven powerful on board effects, such as a chorus, flanger, pitch shifter, and frequency shifter.
Replika XT features a clean, straightforward interface that’s easy to pick up and use.
Replika’s powerful delay engine and creative onboard effects make it a great tool to craft more unique and interesting spaces.
“Crystallizer is an otherworldly creative effect that transforms instruments using a combination of pitch shifting and reversed echo. Based on the Eventide H3000’s innovative “Reverse Shift” algorithm, Crystallizer brings granular echo slicing, old-school pitch shifting and powerful new features together into one inspiring tool.” (from the developer)
In other words, Crystallizer is a delay plugin that lets you repitch the delayed unites. It’s a great creative tool that I personally use in every track.
“FabFilter Timeless 2 is not only a perfectly modelled classic tape delay. Its unique high-quality filters and many creative options turn it into the ultimate sound-mangling machine! Create echo, chorus, flanger, phaser, scratch effects and much more.” (from the developer)
Timeless’ feature packed interface can make it tough to dive right into.
Timeless is an extremely versatile and flexible tool that serves as the go-to delay for many engineers.
“DDLY Dynamic Delay responds to your track's musical dynamics to create versatile and intriguing delays. It's a one-of-a-kind effects plug-in that delays the signal differently depending on the character of the sound, without turning your track to aural mud. Adjust the threshold to split your signal based on transients, then send it down two separate analog or granular delay paths.” (from the developer)
I love DDLY because it’s not another standard analog modeled delay plugin. It’s dual-delay capabilities can add an extra level of depth and dynamics to a mix
DDLY can work as either a standard everyday delay or as a dynamic creative effect.
“Repeater features 23 authentic emulations of classic delay machines ranging from classic oil cans and tape machines to vintage digital designs – it’s packed with sounds and new features that will add depth to your mixes, and it comes with a user interface that’s immediately easy to understand and tweak..” (from the developer).
Outer Space is an emulation of the Roland Space Echo RE-201. This delay unit is highly coveted for it’s dual tape echo and spring reverb.
Tape Echo is a faithful emulation that models the warmth and tone of the original device.
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As our friend Hyperbits puts it, "saturation is THE most effective way to add analogue edge and warmth to your music – often meaning the difference between sounding digital, flat, & dead, versus analogue, warm & alive."
Whether you're looking for some analog warmth or digital dirt, it's worthwhile investing in a few third party saturation and distortion plugins.
Since the warmth and energy of your mix depends on saturation, you want the best tools at your disposal to bring your mix to life.
I like to group saturation and distortion plugins into two categories: warmth and color.
Some plugins are designed to add analog-style warmth to a sound. In essence, they make a sound less flat and digital.
The other side of distortion is color. These are plugins that transform a sound, taking a boring saw wave and turning into and gnarly bass sound.
You'll most likely want tools that can add both analog warmth and digital color to a sound.
There are plenty of great free saturation and distortion plugins, such as Softube's Saturation Knob and Camel Audio's CamelCrusher. Top of the line saturators will cost you closer to $200.
Saturation and distortion plugins come in different shapes and sizes. There plenty of great plugins with barely any controls (e.x. Sausage Fattener, Faturator), as well as others with detailed, precise control (e.x. Trash 2, Saturn).
Each saturation and distortion plugin has it's specialty, so it's important to know what you're looking for. Most of the plugins on this list come with a free demo, so see for yourself if you genuinely like the workflow and sound of that plugin.
Trash 2 is one of the most powerful and capable distortion plugins on the planet.
It's a multiband distortion plugin, meaning it allows you to process individual frequency bands separately. Trash 2 features 60+ distortion algorithms, giving you a wide range of tones and textures.
It also features two filters, a convolution reverb, multiband compression, and a delay. These allow you to push the dynamics and tone of a sound even further.
Trash 2 is an absolute powerhouse from heavy, transformative distortion.
Decapitator is one of the most popular distortion plugins thanks to it's simple interface and rich, warm sound.
It features five different saturation models, giving you a wide range of analog style tones.
Few plugins truly capture the "warmth" of analog gear as does Decapitator.
Decapitator can give you mixes warmth, body, color, both in a subtle and a dramatic fashion. Engineers throw in on literally everything, from vocals to synths to drums to mix busses.
FabFilter Saturn is an industry-favorite multiband distortion and saturation plugin.
It's one of the most flexible saturation plugins, offering everything from subtle tape saturation to heavy guitar amps to bit-crushing.
While the concept of multiband distortion might scare some people off, Saturn brings this concept with in reach to the masses.
Saturn is a fantastic all around distortion unit. As mentioned above, it can provide subtle, warm tones as well as heavy, aggressive tones.
As the name might give away, PSP's VintageWarmer is all about adding analog warmth to a sound.
It's a simple, effective tool for adding color and saturation to a sound. It works well on individual sounds as well as on groups and busses.
VintageWarmer offers a unique style of analog style warmth. While it's not my personal go-to saturator, it still finds it ways into most of my mixes.
If you're looking for a plugin that's also a meme, look no further than Dada Life's Sausage Fattener.
Developed in partnership with the production Duo, Sausage Fattener is a simple but powerful distortion plugin.
While the production may seem like a gimmick, I'm all in favor of simple tools that can make a sound better.
It's lack of features is what makes it this plugin great. Sausage Fattener is a simple plugin that can help speed up your production workflow.
Any sound that needs "fattening".
Ohmicide is a bit dated, but it's still a powerful, well designed multiband distortion unit.
Featuring testimonials from Skrillex and Armin Van Buuren, it's a combination multiband distortion, EQ, filter, and compression plugin.
With over 80 distortion algorithms, you're signature sound might be hiding somewhere in the depths of this plugin.
While this plugin isn't as powerful as Trash 2, I see that as a good thing. It's a powerful plugin that offers a unique and distinct sound.
CamelCrusher is a fan-favorite distortion unit because it's free, easy to use, and sounds great.
While the plugin like look simple, it's sound is not. CamelCrusher and it's big sibling CamelPhat are used by top industry professionals.
The creators (CamelAudio) no longer exist, but you can still download this plugin elsewhere.
CamelCrusher is great for both subtle saturation and heavy distortion. Similar to Sausage Fattener, it's a simple plugin with a great sound.
Faturator is another "simple but effective" distortion plugin. It's great tool for adding modern, heavy distortion to a sound.
It's playful, fun interface makes it easy to dial in the right parameters for a sound.
"For such a simple plugin, Devastor 2 produces a wide variety of effects and sounds great on almost any signal. 94 presets showcase some of this potential, but you can take it much further.
Whether used for stylised mixing effects (broken radios, damaged megaphones, etc), parallel-processed oomph, aural excitement or straight up signal-crunching, it's a powerful weapon with many applications in every genre. Just be aware that if modulation is on your checklist, you'll need to look elsewhere (via MusicRadar)."
Devastator 2 is a great choice for heavy, amp style distortion.
The Native Instruments Crush Pack is a combination of three powerful distortion plugins.
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Proper mastering is what turns a good quality mix into a polished, release ready track.
Because mastering is so important, many developers offer plugins designed plugins specifically for both mixing and mastering.
These are plugins that react well to multiple transients, operate at an extremely high-quality, and can add subtle adjustments to a sound.
Each mastering-focused plugin serves a specific purpose. You'll find bus compressors, high-quality limiters, transparent EQs, and more.
It's important to identify what mastering issues you have, then to find the right tools to solve those issues.
Many companies offering mixing/mastering plugin bundles, giving you a wide range of tools at a deep discount.
Mastering focused plugins tend to cost more than the average plugin. Standalone plugins will be around $100-200, while comprehensive bundles can run into the thousands.
Just because (insert artist here) uses a specific plugin doesn't mean it'll work for you. Download the demo's and see if you like both the sound and workflow of a plugin.
It's not that stock plugins can't be used in the mastering process, it's that third party plugins generally will do a better job.
Ozone 8 is industry standard mastering suite. It contains 12 top-quality modules that cover all of the mastering essentials - multiple EQs, multiple saturators, multiple compressors, and imager, and a limiter.
Ozone 8 is extremely popular because it sounds fantastic and it's easy to use.
It's modules are designed with the modern produce in mind, offering precise, detailed controlled with a intuitive, friendly interface.
Ozone 8 is an all-in-one mastering suite that can handles every stage of the production process.
FabFilter has made it nearly every chapter in this guide, so it's no surprise seeing them again here.
Pro-L 2 is a high-quality, transparent mastering limiter. It contains 8 different limiting algorithms, each with their own character and tone.
As with all FabFilter plugins, it's clean UI is packed with helpful metering information
The Invisible Limiter G2 is hands down one of the most transparent brick-wall limiters on the market. Simply put, it allows you to push the input gain an astonishing amount before the input heavily distorts.
It's features include 128x oversampling, manual attack/release times, a dry/wet mix, and much more
The Invisible Limiter 2 is great for in your face dance music loudness.
The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor plug-in is one of the most revered compressors on the planet.
It's a phenomenal master compressor, taming transients and wild dynamics with ease. Trust me, this plugin sounds better than it looks (and it looks pretty sleek).
The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor is a great tool for adding glue, color, and cohesion to a mix.
"The ATR-102 Mastering Tape Recorder plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces can provide the final “analog polish” to your music, turning songs, into albums. Fully authenticated by the Ampex Corporation, the ATR-102 plug-in faithfully captures the unique dynamics, colorful frequency response, and tape saturation of the original hardware." (from the developer)
Since I purchased this plugin, I haven't mastered a single track without it. It's a "secret sauce" mastering plugin if there ever where one.
The Slate Digital Virtual Buss Compressors are a combination of three powerful mix-bus compressors.
Rather than put all of your money into one mix-bus compressor, Slate provides you with three in one sleek interface.
It features emulations of the SSL 4000 G-Series Buss Compressor, the Focusrite Red 3 Compressor/Limiter, and the Fairchild 670
The Slate VBC bundle is trio of three powerful analog-modeled buss compressors.
The FG-X is a high-quality loudness maximizer with phenomenal transparency.
It includes features such as "Intelligent Transient Preservation", which uses looks ahead at your mix and optimizes its saturation curve for incoming transients, as well as "Lo Punch" and "Detail", two handy controls that can add low end or hi end detail back into your mix.
'The creation of Brainworx owner Dirk Ulrich, bx_masterdesk gives you a high end analog mastering system in a single plugin.
Containing every component you need to create professional results, bx_masterdesk allows you to master your own material with a minimal learning curve. Even if you are not a professional mastering engineer!
With a clearly defined workflow and pre-tuned processing chain, you’ll find the entire mastering process extremely intuitive. From setting the perfect level and compression settings to dialing in the right tone for your mix, using bx_masterdesk is as easy as 1-2-3." (from the developer)
$299
The bx_masterdesk is a high quality mastering chain in a simple plugin.
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While the previous chapters cover the bulk of the software market, there are plenty of useful plugins that don’t fall well into any of the previous categories.
This includes drum synthesizers, drum samplers, MIDI tools, volume tools, multi-FX plugins, and more.
Let's look at a roundup of the most popular plugins we've missed so far.
Kick 2 is a fully customizable kick synthesizer. It's friendly UI allows you to easily adjust the amplitude and pitch of the kick. It also features 3 separate click areas that allow you to add sample clicks to the kick.
Other features include compression, limiting, multiple distortion types, and a sub harmonic generator.
PunchBox is an extremely intuitive and powerful bass drum synthesizer.
Starting with a classic bass drum emulation or a custom sample, you can use PunchBox's powerful built in effects to shape and sculpt your sound.
If you're looking to dive deep into the drum design rabbit hole, look no further than D16's PunchBox.
Nectar is an all in one vocal processing tool from the team at Izotope. It contains powerful, modern effects that can add professional clarity and polish to vocal.
It also includes a feature called Vocal Assistant that listens to your audio and applies a custom processing preset.
Waves features a few all-in-one vocal processing plugins, the most popular of which is CLA Vocals.
Designed in collaboration with grammy winning engineer Chris Lord-Alge, it contains all the effects you need to give a vocal that professional polish.
The CLA Vocals plugins is a professional quality vocal processing plugin at a Waves friendly price (i.e. it's regularly on sale, only $49 as I'm writing this).
Vocal synth is a powerful, creative vocal processing tool.
5 different modules allow you to completely change the sound of a vocal (or anything else really).
It contains classic effects such as a vocoder and a talkbox, along with effects that allow you to control a sound's pitch, timbre, nasality, and more.
The signal chain rounds off with seven stomp box style effects, allows you a wide range of in the box sounds.
Little Alterboy is a simple but powerful formant and pitch shifting plugin.
Feature such as hard tuning and tube saturation (from Decaptitor) make this a useful little plugin.
LFO Tool allows you to create custom LFO shapes and apply them to parameters such as volume, panning, or a custom filter.
It's most common use is as a "sidechain" filter, allowing you to design a custom LFO shape to duck a sound against a kick.
"VolumeShaper lets you shape the levels of any audio signal in pinpoint detail.
From multiband sidechain compression effects to extreme gating, from tempo-synced stutter to precise sample-shaping — VolumeShaper provides a wealth of creative musical effects with a visual approach to volume.
VolumeShaper features multiband waveform-based editing, a comprehensive selection of preset curves, a precise oscilloscope, a big spectrum view and an updated preset library. It runs sample-accurate in sync with your DAW, in Hz mode up to the audible range or retriggered via MIDI " . (from the developer)
Auto-tune is the industry standard vocal production tool used on countless hit records.
You know the sound, now you the know the plugin that's responsible for it.
Auto-tune is the industry standard pitch and time correction tool.
Melodyne is the industry standard pitch correcting plugin. It allows surgical control over the pitch, length, timing, and timbre of vocals.
While autotune is more suited for "general" vocal tuning, Melodyne is better for detailed, precise vocal tuning and manipulation.
They're two different plugins with different specialities.
Cthulu is a chord generator and arpeggiator from the creator of Serum (although Cthulu proceeded Serum by a few years).
Its an inspirational plugin that contains a great collection exciting chords.
Captain Chords is good for "rushed" producers that can't be bothered to learn songwriting.
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Learn how to master the fundamentals of electronic music production with the best roadmap for new producers
