In Summary

Engineers can find themselves leaning on a small band of trusted tools that earn their keep, mix after mix. Despite an almost endless list of options out there, everybody has theirs; here Luke talks about the tools that he turns to nearly every day.

Going Deeper

Regardless of genre, there are a few groups of audio plugins that engineers reach for in all disciplines. Beginning with dynamic processors for creative strokes or technical control, these are often followed by equalisation; different situations can decide on the order in which they should happen… Other near-essentials can include harmonic and saturation effects; these can extend to things like amp and cab simulators as well. Usually at the end of proceedings are the time-based effects for creating a sense of depth, space, or just the odd halo of artificial reverb or echo.

Going by the sheer number of audio plugins out there, engineers aren’t ever going to be spoiled for choice. That said, many mixers will find themselves leaning on a small band of trusted tools that earn their keep mix after mix. Everybody has theirs; here I talk about the tools that I lean on nearly every day.

1 - Newfangled Audio Recirculate

I like sticking with a tool unless something better comes along, but when it comes to delay and echo, I’ve never really settled on a single way to delay. My echoic needs are pretty straightforward (in the old days my hardware presets never got into double figures!) with the usual compliment of doubling, slap, and ping-pong being the basis for my modest repertoire. Having used Soundtoys’ excellent effects for a number of years, since then my head has been turned by a string of effects sporting bigger brighter GUIs with sounds that equal my old go-to.

I try quite a few different delay effects in the course of a year, but right now, my mixes are loving the delayed delights of Newfangled Audio’s Recirculate. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that I can’t live without this one just yet, but it is a real grower. Recirculate has swayed me with its compliment of modes that let me do all the old favourites plus its addictive Granular behaviour that promises brand new soundscapes and more. Will I use all its functionality? No, but once the sounds I do use are dialled in, my own preset-count could yet break into double figures…

2 - Softube Bus Processor

Readers of the blog might have heard me singing the praises of one of Softube’s best known products: Console 1. This ecosystem of channel strip plugins can be driven from the company’s built-like-a-tank hardware controllers that embrace the one-control-per-function MO of the gear that it recreates. I rely on three channel flavours in my studio comprising of the default E series channel as well as the Weiss Gambit and British Class A channels. Until recently I had yet to take advantage of any of Softube’s drop-in Console 1 Ready modules for the system.

The one thing missing from my arsenal had been a dedicated bus compressor for my trusty controller. Having recently got my hands on the none-too cryptically named Bus Processor, my mixer is now complete. I’m loving finally having some G-style glue to hand, but just as welcome is its tuneable saturation that maps to Console 1’s Drive and Character controls. Although this can do obviously cooked hues, I’m preferring striking subtle balances between it and Bus Processor’s compression for some delicious console-like glue…

3 - LiquidSonics Cinematic Rooms Standard

Recording and mixing can have its fair share of trade-offs, and one classic compromise has to be budget dictating the acoustic qualities of the recording space. OK, so the aim is always to record in a great sounding space, and I love being able to pull the mics back to soak in real ambiences whenever I can. That said, more often than I’d like I have to move the mics in to play down the room’s influence, especially when recording drums. In the old days, before Cinematic Rooms, this situation meant drums that were either bone dry, or bone dry with the odd artificial reverb tail in close pursuit!

Cinematic Rooms was the first audio plugin reverb that could provide me with a convincing sense of space for dry drum recordings and more, and I still go to it regularly. Those mixing to picture love the Professional edition’s multichannel might, but for me I just like the way it seems to glue itself to sounds without too much tweaking, and despite its in depth control I’m usually there within minutes. Its multiplier controls are especially useful for keeping things shorter where they need to be, but more generally its realism never fails to impress me. This makes it my go-to for when the room makes me work closer than I’d like.

4 - Sound Radix Powair

OK, so compressors might have been developed to control levels, but in equal measure they are used to create the sound itself. From spitty snares, dense acoustic guitars, or glued mixes, getting a sound with compression is pretty standard fare in many mixes. Those carefully crafted sounds can however fall apart if the source arrives with dynamics that are all over the place. Yes we can automate the levels upstream, or even use two devices, but isn’t life too short?

If you’ve ever wondered if there’s an easier way to get a sound with compression that doesn’t lose its form, then Sound Radix’s Powair has adaptive compression that is designed to do just that. Its Adaptive Comp control has the effect of tracking and riding the level into the compressor block for compression effects that stick throughout. Also indispensable is its excellent LKFS-calibrated Leveler. This is Powair’s ‘hand on the fader’ that can ensure consistency on things like dialogue or mixed programme that needs to hit at a certain level throughout.

I’ve been using Powair’s Leveler a lot recently for long-form concert videos where speech needs to hit nearly as high as the music. That would involve a tonne of automation ordinarily; not so with Powair in the mix.

5 - FabFilter Pro-Q3

I don’t usually make complex demands of my EQ, and give me any static EQ (preferably with knobs on it) and I’m happy. Some might even argue that many of the problems that audio plugins claim to slay can usually be avoided in the first place. Long before those sounds even hit the DAW, things like studio layout or mic position can help avoid bumpy recordings, but back in the real world often everything lands where it lands and gets recorded there as well…

A great example of this are the supremely immovable pipe organs that I sometimes find myself recording. When mic positions are dictated by other stuff, these behemoths can present Himalayan peaks and troughs in the mics that only a dynamic EQ can take on. Some might go for the multiband compression approach, but for me it is EQ all the way when it comes to this kind of problem. The clear visual feedback of FabFilter Pro-Q3 equaliser’s dynamic bands is among the clearest I’ve used. This makes it easy to fill in the gaps or take momentary swipes at the odd pedal note that can make it sound like the The End Is Nigh…

6 - Avid Pro Limiter

Yes, the whole point of so many audio plugins is to make things sound better, but there are others with more basic intentions at their heart. Long after the fizz has gone out of the ear candy effects, there will still be the utility audio plugins that let me get the tasks done to actually deliver. When it comes to staying away from the red lights and hitting at the right loudness, right now Avid’s Pro Limiter is the one for me when I’m in Pro Tools.

This is far from the only limiter with a built-in integrated loudness meter, but for me its (albeit small) simple window on the facts concerned is rapid and effective. Many engineers revere their limiter’s sound, however for me this is all about the lightest of touches just to get the mix up to where I need it to be. It does have options to add character, but I’ve always thought the moment I can hear my limiter’s personality is the time to back it off a bit!

An honourable mention goes to my REAPER plugin Container with MGA JS Limiter into JS Loudness Meter. This combo is devastatingly simple and totally effective if I’m not using the DAW’s loudness normalisation across the output.

7 - Blue Cat’s Free Amp

I would describe my guitar playing as fairly pedestrian; I can live with that but surely no-one wants to deal with the stuck-on plasticky fizz that happens with bad digital overdrive. Thankfully, excellent guitar amp audio plugins are easier to come by these days, with more photorealistic valves, dust, and transistors available than you can point a plectrum at. With convincing sounds to match, the only thing left to think about is how to hear all that virtual air being moved without too much latency…

Following a recommendation from Julian, a long-time advocate of Blue Cat’s free feline fuzz, I still use Blue Cat’s Free Amp for just about anything that needs amped tones that inspire. This thing is responsive, versatile, and has well-judged tone controls that are tight enough to be useful and wide enough to be musical. The all-important drive weaves itself nicely into the clean signal, with a small number of diverse amps on tap for results that I think are truly bounce-worthy. This is one cat that came through my door about ten years ago and has been curled up on the rug by the fire ever since…

Over To You…

Given the amount of software tools out there, it’s still surprising that many workflows can be distilled into a process involving so few audio plugins. In 2024 I can live happily with these seven. What are the tools that are indispensable to you? Let us know below in the comments.