Let's talk about plug-ins...

Vocals too high in the mix? Too low? Not even sure? Snare sounds wonky? And how do I make everything louder than everything else? Step in, step in, for your mix Viagra from people who know the secrets.
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rammer24
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by rammer24 »

First go through the JS plugs in REAPER. They have a regular distortion, but they have others that might be better. I once used the "Paranoia Mangler" on vocals. They also have a "Saturation" plug that might work. Go through all the JS plugs. Some do distortion even if the word "distortion" isn't in the name.
Last edited by rammer24 on Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rammer24
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by rammer24 »

If they had a more appealing GUI, I'd probably use JS plugs way more often. I just can't get myself to use those ugly things, but most of them do sound fantastic.
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Minerman
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Minerman »

rammer24 wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:45 pm If they had a more appealing GUI, I'd probably use JS plugs way more often. I just can't get myself to use those ugly things, but most of them do sound fantastic.
I'm guilty of this too dude...I have messed with changing the gui's for some plugins, but most of it is way over my head...

I did manage to figure out how to change the colors, font, etc in this JS midi velocity meter, but again, it's way over my head...
velocity meter.PNG
Just in case you're wondering wtf this is, it's a midi velocity meter that shows how hard I'm hitting my snare, in real time...Can't remember the guy's name, but this JS effect was made by a Reaper user a couple/few years ago...All I did was change the font/colors...
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rammer24
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by rammer24 »

Pretty cool, Minerman. Now it's ugly in living color. :D
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Minerman
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Minerman »

rammer24 wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:00 pm Pretty cool, Minerman. Now it's ugly in living color. :D
Lol...yeah dude, everything was the puke green color, but I managed to change a few lines of code to get the loud colors I like so much... :minernuggs:
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Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Jackson
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My music @ Reverbnation :minernuggs:
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Tadpui
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Tadpui »

Also, Reverb.com has like 80+ free VSTs listed (thanks to Paj from HR.com for the link he posted earlier today):

https://reverb.com/handpicked/free-plugins

I haven't tried any of those, but I want to make my way through all of them and see what they all do.
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Armistice »

Tadpui wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:21 pm I want to make my way through all of them and see what they all do.
Add more confusion and options to the recording process? :biggrin:
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rammer24
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by rammer24 »

Tadpui wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:21 pm Also, Reverb.com has like 80+ free VSTs listed (thanks to Paj from HR.com for the link he posted earlier today):

https://reverb.com/handpicked/free-plugins

I haven't tried any of those, but I want to make my way through all of them and see what they all do.
So many cool looking plugs. But I'm going cold turkey. I must stop downloading plug ins.

By the way, REVERB is a really stupid name for that kind of site. Why REVERB? Pretty random.
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Tadpui
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Tadpui »

Armistice wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:59 pm
Tadpui wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 7:21 pm I want to make my way through all of them and see what they all do.
Add more confusion and options to the recording process? :biggrin:
Of course! Why make it easy, when I already have major difficulty in completing any given project? :D
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Tadpui
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Tadpui »

rammer24 wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2017 10:07 pm So many cool looking plugs. But I'm going cold turkey. I must stop downloading plug ins.

By the way, REVERB is a really stupid name for that kind of site. Why REVERB? Pretty random.
I actually got some Reverb swag for Christmas this year, and I love it. A t-shirt and a hoodie that are first-choice after laundry day. We've all got those articles of clothing...

That site is a wonderland for me, and not in a particularly healthy way. My first purchase there was the biggest investment I've ever made in my hobby (a '65 Jazzmaster), and things just went downhill from there. Compressors, preamps, pedals...I've hardly looked at that site for months now because it was sucking me dry. So many cool things there! Must...look...away...
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Greg_L »

I could be mistaken, but I think that site is in cahoots with Chicago Music Supply, which also happens to be the most bad ass store I've ever been to in my life. Fucking amazing.
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Tadpui
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Tadpui »

Greg_L wrote: Wed Mar 01, 2017 12:16 am I could be mistaken, but I think that site is in cahoots with Chicago Music Supply, which also happens to be the most bad ass store I've ever been to in my life. Fucking amazing.
It is indeed! The same guy that started CME started Reverb also. Agreed, CME is truly badass, and they list a bunch of stuff on Reverb. I'm shaking my head...can't go look there...must not go look there. Too many other things I need to spend money on.

...well, maybe one little peek. NO. Must not look. Wife would cry.

Actually, she's really understanding and usually supports my hobby. But we're paying 2 mortgages for a couple months, and we just finished making out a to-do list of updates we need to make. Somehow, a 1965 Gibson ES-335 didn't make the list. Go figure.

Anyways, Reverb's free plugins will have to serve as my new gear for a while...
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Greg_L »

I was at Chicago Music last fall. It literally took my breath away. So. Much. Stuff!

This is me in front of just some of the Les Pauls....
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rammer24
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by rammer24 »

Nice.
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by rammer24 »

I mean, the guitars. You're ok, too but ....
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Greg_L »

Those are all high end LPs too. Like a wall of Custom Shop, Customs, vintage reissues, Standards, etc. The cheapest guitar on that wall was like $3000.
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Farview »

The plugs I use most are
SSL channel strip, both waves and uad
UAD 1176
UAD LA2A
UAD Cooper time cube for delay, chorus, widener effects
UAD dimension D chorus
Stock Nuendo reverb for drums
Stock nuendo convolution verb, if I need something to.sound like a real space
UAD plate reverb for vocals (can't think of the thing it emulates)

Those are used on nearly every mix.
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Tadpui
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Tadpui »

I remember that pic, that's just an obscene wall of really desirable guitars!
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Tadpui »

Farview wrote: Wed Mar 01, 2017 2:37 am The plugs I use most are
SSL channel strip, both waves and uad
UAD 1176
UAD LA2A
UAD Cooper time cube for delay, chorus, widener effects
UAD dimension D chorus
Stock Nuendo reverb for drums
Stock nuendo convolution verb, if I need something to.sound like a real space
UAD plate reverb for vocals (can't think of the thing it emulates)

Those are used on nearly every mix.
I've gotta ask: how good are the 1176 and LA2A emulations from UAD? I mean, they'd know how to do it better than anybody. And as much as I lust after the real things, I think that my 2 or 3 pieces of real high-end rack gear are plenty for a Joe Schmoe amateur like me. The software is really tempting, but I'm not sure that UAD plugins will run outside of their hardware environment. And even if they did, I've always been curious how they stack up against the real thing.
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Re: Let's talk about plug-ins...

Post by Farview »

The uad plugins do not work without the hardware.

They have several different revisions of both la2a and 1176, which are slightly different from each other.

As with all emulations, they behave like you would expect, but they will not necessarily sound exactly the same as any specific unit.

I like the uad versions better than the waves version, but not because the waves version don't sound like the real thing. In fact, I can't really tell you why. I just do.

However, when I'm running out of uad dsp, I will happily use the waves version without hesitation.

That said, I tend to use the waves ssl channel strip over the uad version. Not sure why either.

With the plugins, you can use as many as you need. With the hardware, you have a finite number of channels. Plugins win.
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