Roundup: Best software plugins in each category

well, i think it's an interesting premise because it doesnt factor in how easy it is to pirate a commercial VST.

and while there is some amazing freeware out there, there are things that simply have not been covered by freeware yet that are essential tools. The RX3 pack by izotope for example, no freeware noise reduction/restoration set I've used comes even close, for mac or pc.

to me the statement of 'i only use freeware and have no need to buy software' has almost the same meaningless in 2013 as saying 'i dont watch TV' i know it makes no sense to compare those two statements, but if you dig at each of them they don't necessarily make logical sense on the face of it.

  On 10/8/2013 at 3:56 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

well, i think it's an interesting premise because it doesnt factor in how easy it is to pirate a commercial VST.

 

and while there is some amazing freeware out there, there are things that simply have not been covered by freeware yet that are essential tools. The RX3 pack by izotope for example, no freeware noise reduction/restoration set I've used comes even close, for mac or pc.

I swear on my life that is literally what I said on gearslutz

"freeware covers pretty much everything except niche stuff like izotope rx etc"

I hear you, you're never going to win ANY argument on Gearslutz based on the premise of not wasting a bunch of money to be a 'pro' aka a shadow artist gear whore who doesn't make any music worth a shit. That forum is a joke though, I seriously spent about 30 minutes reading a thread back and forth argument about how DeadMau5 and SKrillex might make music you don't like but they are AMAZING producers and engineers, as if they automatically believed those guys didn't have someone else engineering/producing their work. It was just really weird that no one brought up that obvious point

  On 10/8/2013 at 3:56 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

The RX3 pack by izotope for example, no freeware noise reduction/restoration set I've used comes even close, for mac or pc.

why is it necessary?

it's only necessary for certain applications.

I do a podcast with my sister, and often times on her end she doesn't have time or the resources to setup a proper vocal microphone, so she just sets up a zoom field recorder instead. That plugin pack is literally the only thing i've seen that can realistically remove (to a large extent) room reverb. IT makes the recording sound remarkably close to a vocal booth no reverb recording. Also this pack has what I would consider the most transparent sounding click remover ever, it has no noticeable unwanted effect on the rest of the sound. There is also not anything like spectral repair as far as i know

i know I already asked what people's favorite compressor was, but how about master bus compressors? I've been using the SSL waves compressor with good results, but it doesn't have settings that can be fine tuned, the ratio is literally either 2:1 or 4:1 with no way to make it 1.5:1 or anything like that. PSP mixpressor isn't bad either but sounds too 'dirty' for my tastes. I'm looking for something that can be relatively transparent set one way, but also greatly effecting and punchy if set a different way

  On 10/9/2013 at 12:31 AM, skibby said:

 

  On 10/8/2013 at 3:56 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

The RX3 pack by izotope for example, no freeware noise reduction/restoration set I've used comes even close, for mac or pc.

 

why is it necessary?

 

That program is magical.

Say you're recording a vocal, and someone coughs in the background. And also you recorded it too quiet so the noise floor is really high. You can look at a spectral image of the track, and (a la Photoshop) you can find the cough frequencies and actually scrub them out without affecting the vocal. And then you can take a sample of the noise floor and have the program remove any such noise from the whole track.

I was using that as a counter example to how freeware doesn't cover all ground. Another good example of this is Melodyne Singletrack. There are some freeware attempts at the complexity that program offers, but nothing comes close imo.

I'd say the freeware arena has the area of subtractive synths, 'glitch' plugins, delay plugins and mastering/mixing plugins pretty well covered. I still think there needs to be more powerful freeware reverbs (this area is still lacking) and real-time spectral effects. Most of the innovations in FFT based technology seem to be coming out of mostly commercial companies right now (izotope, celemony, soundhack included).

Physical modeling also seems to be mostly dominated and pioneered by commercial companies. Besides the Xoxos packs for PC-only there aren't many very impressive free physical modeling synths out there (short of Reaktor's user library)

neat thread. I've been wanting to change/update my vst setup a bit. I have been limiting myself to using these for the past few years:

FX:

EQ - Fruity Parametric EQ (classic) (like 2-6 instances per mixer track)

Flanger - Camelspace (use this for gating, filtering, as well)

Delay - Classic Delay, AD Dubstation

Reverb - 2c Aether, Airwalker, M30 Hall Reverb, Classic Reverb (for widening drums & such more than as a reverb effect)

Unique - Classic Auto-Filter, Audiovibrato

SYNTH:

Subtractive - aalto, tc mercury-1, Jupiter-8, OP-X

FM - FM8, Hexter

Physical Modeling - Chromaphone

Unique - Synplant (I'd be curious to find out what kind of synthesis this is exactly. I only understand the DNA/slider screen from using it often)


SAMPLER:

fl sampler

fl playlist

sample to soundfont converter, fl soundfont player

  On 10/9/2013 at 1:03 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

I was using that as a counter example to how freeware doesn't cover all ground. Another good example of this is Melodyne Singletrack. There are some freeware attempts at the complexity that program offers, but nothing comes close imo.

 

I'd say the freeware arena has the area of subtractive synths, 'glitch' plugins, delay plugins and mastering/mixing plugins pretty well covered. I still think there needs to be more powerful freeware reverbs (this area is still lacking) and real-time spectral effects. Most of the innovations in FFT based technology seem to be coming out of mostly commercial companies right now (izotope, celemony, soundhack included).

 

Physical modeling also seems to be mostly dominated and pioneered by commercial companies. Besides the Xoxos packs for PC-only there aren't many very impressive free physical modeling synths out there (short of Reaktor's user library)

Yeah freeware has cheap old-school reverbs covered, but I haven't seen much in the way of 'intelligent' stuff like impulse response, (reverb or otherwise). Then again I haven't scoured the earth or the developer forums. Maybe there's a stash of stuff like that somewhere. Dunno.

Have you spent any time with the Izotope Iris? That thing seems very promising.

Quick update/edit of my previous post :

EQ :

- still SSL Duende Channel Strip on drum/percussive stuffs, nothing comes close for that purpose IMHO. It can be pretty sharp without sounding harsh, and the Gate/Expander sounds so good !

- on "instruments", I either use Airwindows CStrip (an update from their previous EQ) or Sonimus SonEQ Pro. I found both great for cleaning unnecessary low/high freqs and some non-surgical mid cut. Very musical and fast to use, each with its own curves. Not a zillion parameters to choose from, which I prefer.

Saturators :

I sold all my Slate plugins (VCC, VTM and VBC), couldn't stand anymore their FXy, gimmicky tone. They sounded more and more obtrusive and artificial to my ears. I can definitely see why some may love those plug-ins but they're not for me anymore.

I bought Klanghelm SDRR and U-He Satin instead : they're damn affordable and sound better than anything else I've tried. They enhance the signal instead of imposing their color no matter what. Besides, both are great companies when it comes to customer support, super friendly persons.

Synths :

I can't wait to play with next Diva update and experiment with the new OSC and filters.

Along Aalto, I feel I don't need much else in the synth department... but still, can't wait to hear Bazille v1 and Madrona Labs Kaivo.

FX:

Delay: Valhalla Ubermod ($) and FreqEcho (free); Soundhack Delay & Bubbler (free)

Reverb: Valhalla Room & Vintage Verb ($)

Spectral Manipulation: Michael Norris' Soundmagic Spectral package (free. Spectral Weave = insta-drone); Soundhack Spectral Shapers ($)

Pitch Shifting: Soundhack Pitchshifter ($)

Unique (uncategorized): Soundhack Chebyshev (free, harmonic distortion) and Spiral Stretch ($)

SAMPLER:

I've been using Ableton's Simpler and Sampler even though I have Kontakt. I don't know why.

As for mixing tools, I've just been using the stock Ableton ones as well, notably the new Glue Compressor. Will have to check out some of the free devices mentioned.

Some of the Michael Norris plugins have a habit of crashing in Ableton. He's working on some fixes at the moment. They're awesome though.

  On 10/10/2013 at 11:53 PM, Tauhid said:

SAMPLER:

 

I've been using Ableton's Simpler and Sampler even though I have Kontakt. I don't know why.

 

IMO limited gear is way more fun and interesting and creativity-inspiring.

  On 10/11/2013 at 12:34 AM, LimpyLoo said:

 

  On 10/10/2013 at 11:53 PM, Tauhid said:

SAMPLER:

 

I've been using Ableton's Simpler and Sampler even though I have Kontakt. I don't know why.

 

 

IMO limited gear is way more fun and interesting and creativity-inspiring.

 

Agreed, and I'm sure Kontakt is more CPU intensive.

  On 10/9/2013 at 1:00 AM, LimpyLoo said:

 

  On 10/9/2013 at 12:31 AM, skibby said:

 

  On 10/8/2013 at 3:56 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

The RX3 pack by izotope for example, no freeware noise reduction/restoration set I've used comes even close, for mac or pc.

 

why is it necessary?

 

 

That program is magical.

 

Say you're recording a vocal, and someone coughs in the background. And also you recorded it too quiet so the noise floor is really high. You can look at a spectral image of the track, and (a la Photoshop) you can find the cough frequencies and actually scrub them out without affecting the vocal. And then you can take a sample of the noise floor and have the program remove any such noise from the whole track.

 

Iris can do that too, right?

  On 10/11/2013 at 12:52 AM, logakght said:

 

  On 10/9/2013 at 1:00 AM, LimpyLoo said:

 

  On 10/9/2013 at 12:31 AM, skibby said:

 

  On 10/8/2013 at 3:56 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

The RX3 pack by izotope for example, no freeware noise reduction/restoration set I've used comes even close, for mac or pc.

 

why is it necessary?

 

 

That program is magical.

 

Say you're recording a vocal, and someone coughs in the background. And also you recorded it too quiet so the noise floor is really high. You can look at a spectral image of the track, and (a la Photoshop) you can find the cough frequencies and actually scrub them out without affecting the vocal. And then you can take a sample of the noise floor and have the program remove any such noise from the whole track.

 

 

Iris can do that too, right?

 

Sort-of. It depends what the problem is.

Iris was actually designed because people were getting creative with RX and using it for sound design purposes, so it's pretty much the same technology with just a different layout and workflow.

But RX is explicitly designed to do the fix-y stuff.

  On 10/9/2013 at 2:13 PM, lin said:

can't wait to hear Bazille v1 and Madrona Labs Kaivo.

wish granted

https://soundcloud.com/fluorescentgrey/kaivo-demo-electric-grinder

https://soundcloud.com/fluorescentgrey/kaivo-demo-pre-mature

https://soundcloud.com/fluorescentgrey/japanese-temple-ghosts

FX:

EQ: Live9 EQ8

Compressor: Live9 Glue

Limiter: Ozone4

Flanger: UHe Satin

Phaser: Uhe N20

Delay: Uhe Satin

Reverb: Valhalla

Spectral Manipulation: Reaktor

Pitch Shifting: Reaktor / N20

Noise Reduction/Restoration: iZotope RX

Unique (uncategorized): Reaktor / N2O

SYNTH:

Subtractive: Uhe Diva

FM: Uhe Zebra 2

Additive: Uhe Zebra 2 / Razor

Physical Modeling:

Unique (uncategorized) : Reaktor


SAMPLER:

Drum centric: Drum Racks (LIVE 9)

Melodic centric: Ableton Sampler

All-around sampling: Ableton Sampler

Beat-slicing: Drum Racks

Unique (uncategorized) - tbh I prefer my Octatrack

----

So basically N20 / Zebra2 / Reaktor / Diva / Satin and Razor are my band ;)

Sounds expensive !

FX:

EQ - EQ8

Filter - KarmaFX

Compressor - SSL X-comp

Limiter - Voxengo Elephant

Phaser - Oligarc

Delay - OhmBoyz

Reverb - Aether

Spectral Manipulation - DtBlkFx

Pitch Shifting - DtBlkFx

Noise Reduction/Restoration - NoiseX

Unique (uncategorized) - Dfx Buffer Override

SYNTH:

Subtractive - ZEta+ 2

FM - FM8

Additive - Absynth

Physical Modeling - xoxo virtualmachine