Bit of fun.. Your on a Desert island (f**k knows why your mixing but whatever.. Each to their own) and you can only have 5 plugins to mix with... GO!!!
CLA-2A from waves (just used to it, and it's quick and easy), GW voice-centric (again, easy), fabfilter Q 3 (yep, still), Abbey Roads Plates, bx masterdesk. I am still allowed my Cubase Pro stock plugins, right? Once you start using them in depth they probably run rings around most of these expensive "third party" things. We buy mainly to be inspired, not because we need new plugins. 2:50 I always have that experience "oh I have that, I should really give it a go!"
I may be an outlier here but I love using tons of random plug-ins. The fact that I have so many choices is always extremely welcome and I don’t find myself getting option paralysis because I always reach for an old faithful if I can’t come up with a decision quickly.
Too much choices is the exact reason I don't do subscriptions and I buy only plugins that I've made a research about and I know I will be using. It is expensive but I think it's good for my workflow.
My wife's crafty as fuck. She doesn't make big purchases. Just shit tons of weeish ones. Tellin ye.. She keeps family's in business the amount of shite she buys. All the courier guys say to me.. "For laura".. It enrages me.. "that's Mrs Third ye arsehole. Just cause your at my door twice a day doesn't mean your pals".. Haha
Their PA Forever 29 is a great way to sub and purchase any plugin for $1. I think an option like this works if you want a handful of plugins you like from PA you want to own.
I have always bought every plugin outright, and skipped all the subs. I've paid A LOT more at this point, but I would rather own for life than have a subscription. But I have, like you, gone over to use a lot of the Acustica plugins in my workflow compared to a year or so ago.
Thats the sad thing...you DONT own anything...its not like hardware; i have so many plugs i was happy with but then, they go out of business, hardware obselete (powercore, uad1, wizoo), even daws temoving absolute gems (sx mband compressor). Def NO subs for me either though...way too much emphasis on gear rather than art & talent...see how many mention pitch correction???
At this moment Plugin Alliance came to the Soundwide... That means Plugin Alliance is now part of company Francisco Partners. This is not a Plugin Alliance anymore. Right now it's an American company and we will see some changes. Big companies absorb and kill good ideas for the cash.
@@PaulThird Plugin Alliance is now part of Soundwide. Now this may be just the dba for the Music Creation Group but do we know for sure that Plugin Alliance is actually owned by the private equity fund and this isn’t just a joint venture? It sounds like a small difference but the difference between being owned by a private equity fund and being in what is effectively a partnership with a private equity fund is an important one that makes a real difference. I haven’t been able to get any information about this but I could just not be sufficiently in the loop
Rumors? Well he is on the board and a large share holder of the company. Honestly I’ve been thinking about ditching my sub bundle for the forever ‘sub’ and just buy out the plugins that i don’t already own. Most of the PA plugins I use, I already own. But they keep teasing some awesome stuff I wanna use.
They're offering a much better subscription deal now. You get everything at three price tiers. But how many you get to keep at the end of the year is based on your subscription price.
Nice vid! I cancelled all subscriptions some time ago. I bought like 10-15 plugins from Plugin Alliance (V76u73, Shoeps Upmix, Shadow Hills, Amek EQ, Digital V3, SPL Mo-Verb, SSL G Channel, BAX EQ, Bettermaker EQ, MC 77, SPL Iron...) but I could live without most if them since I already have the UAD Ultimate Bundle. No Slate user except Fresh Air. I also use stuff from Overloud (great quality), Fuse Audio Labs and Black Rooster Audio, Soothe, Leapwing Audio, Acoustica (hate-love-relationship), Gullfoss etc. and UAD stuff. But yes, I still use too many plugins and always delete the ones that I don't use regularly. But hey, I got 5 Pultec EQs and every EQ sounds different hahahaha.
Love the Lindell De-Esser! Best I've tried. I had the Mix & Master sub for one year and walked away owning all my favorites. I think it was a smart move rather than just paying monthly forever.
I cancelled PA a long time ago. I found, despite the quality, I just wasn't using them very much. I bought Metric AB and haven't looked back. I want to do the same with Slate but I'm dependant on TH-U for guitar, and the full version is NOT cheap. Cheers for another great vid!
I've been on the fence about this. I've had a similar experience with having too many options. I ended up only using about 7-8 of the plugins (SSL4000, Maag EQ, HG-2, SHMC-A, L50, L80, SPL TD, townhouse) so I'm waiting until I have bought all of them and then will be canceling too most likely. I recommend to friends just getting into mixing to choose 1 or 2 channel strips or eqs and plugins and REALLY learn those.
One of the things that I firmly believe the most is that mixing is more about making broad, impactful decisions and less about spending a lot of time on the very slight nuances of 3 different compressors. If I pick up mixes I've done 20 years ago that were made in a thousand different little versions, I can't tell them apart. The song is the same. That very tiny fraction of a bit of air more on the vocals? Not meaningful. Yes you can delve deep and polish everything if you want, but the big massive decisions must be there in the first place anyway. Your vocal sound, your drum sound, your main reverb. For those massive decisions, you could mostly use any plugin. Any eq will be able to high pass or to broadly brighten a performance. Any compressor with an attack and release will give you control over the transient. It's really a very few times during mixes that I try to achieve something with a compressor and I feel like I have to swap it out because I can't get there. In all seriousness, if you're debating with yourself during mixing for half an hour on what compressor to chose for your voice, you're not doing the correct thing. And when you narrow down your tools, you're making choices that will go towards a sound. Or in other words, you will gain a workflow. The mixing engineer I used to work for in the late '90s had his room setup the same every single day for decades. He could professionally mix a full pop song in a morning, and I mean, he was one of the most sought after in the world. He'd reach for what was working, which was a few things, he had a flow. He made choices. Personally, I had not updated my home rig in a long while. And renting a PA bundle last december allowed me to get up to date with a lot of new plugins with a single click, and the possibility to experiment with many of them. It's a long process and after a few months I believe I'm not even half the way through. But I'm sure I will keep only about a dozen or less in the end. Oh one last thing, I've used SPL deverb for decades, do yourself a favor and get the Acon, it's just magic.
Tbh I just keep the tools that give me a certain sound that I know well. Means that I can make quick decisions and 9 times out of 10 it's the right one. I think one of the biggest things I learned was the importance of a session template. I rattle through stuff cause its all set up the way I work. Means i can load it up, do a bit of gain staging and have a rough working mix in no time. Reverbs, delays, effects, buses, 2 bus.. All pre set up and just needs a few quick tweaks.
@@PaulThird absolutely. As an example, I was the template of that mixing engineer. I'd set up the session every morning, so that's why he could take half a day to mix a complex song. His assistant fully laying out a session and his tools always in the same place meant focusing only on the mix decisions.
I did this with post production. We only use fabfilter. Thats it. Tiny bit of waves, Lo Air and upward compression like VM2. But its 99% Fabfilter, and none of our clients are complaining XD. Edit: it also makes teamwork way easier, because everybody can always open my sessions, no matter which studio I turn up at. I make a living doing this, so its funny to see amateur engineers obsessing over the best plugins, where as nobody I know who is working really cares and use whatever is lying around. The interns at my studio are snobbier than me and mix like shit XD Edit 2: my plugin list is HUGE. 70+ brands pop up in Pro tools, most of them are budles. I don't use 99% of them and the investment was in a fake confidence boost and honeymoon period. It was fun though, but I could probably go on hoilday for 6 months for that money I "enjoyed" on plugins.
@Jason Cruizer I totally agree! Some people need Inspiration from different Places. For me personally the more I learning the less this is an issue. The depth and inspiration to learn more is coming from listening more carefully to the requirements of the music, being sensitive to smaller differences and knowing where to leave things alone and be subtle. This has less to do with a plugin, and more to do with my philosophy and mindset.
Now in all honesty my thinking is that Dirk is in a grateful phase of his life and he will try not as an entrepreneur anymore but as a wise and trustworthy counselor to release the things that medium users need to get better in production. It is a change of perspective. He won't be in the need of deluding his buyers anymore.
I just nabbed their free Bundle over at PA. It's my first time looking at what they offer. So much candy! Very tempting to try their subscription service, for sure. But, you're right. I already have the basics covered with plugins from my Daw, and especially my NI and Waves stuff. Yup, no need to get into PA's universe.
I sub to the PA bundle, mix and master. I use a few of the plugins. The Lindell DeEsser is my DeEsser of choice too! I love the oversampling option and Air band. I don't mind subscriptions but I make money off my plugins and I write them off on my taxes.
@@akagerhard If you were talking to me, I do. I claim EVERYTHING I possibly can on my taxes. Hardware, software, storage space, business trips, anything my accountant tells me I can hahaha. I just purchased about 2k worth of room treatment for my new office, WRITE OFF hahahaha!!!! :-D
@@matt_nyc_audioengineer Exactly! I was wondering about Pauls comment, because writing off is the same for buying, just like renting! Sorry that I was unclear by not tagging. Unless you're a giga-company like Microsoft or Amazon I think writing off absolutely everything is the only reasonable way haha.
@@akagerhard I really didn't think of it till someone mentioned it to me as well hahaha. In my first few years I didn't claim anything. Once you find out you can do it tho you look at purchases in a whole new way!
Subscription? Are you daft? Between the vouchers they give out every month and their sales, you could picked up all of the plugins you kept for about $80 ... Some advice to any new mixers out there: Buy the mega subscription up front during their HUGE sale - you get a $250 voucher right away. Buy the 10 plugins you really want with that $250 (you now own them) and you have a year to try out everything else : find what you like and wait for it to go on sale. Case in point: the Maag EQ - $39.99 - $25 voucher: $14.99. SPL Iron (amazing comp for buses): ditto ... SPL Deverb - FREE (they give additional $20 reloadable coupons at most big sales). Guitar amp sims (and they are some of the best): $9.99 Hell, today is "Dirks Birthday" - and just about any 2 plugins for $49.99 (that just under $25 each for the drummers out there) ... Lindell 50 for $25 ... Elysia Alpha - $25 ... I cancelled the subscription after the first year - the vouchers kept coming, the sales keep coming. I think on average I have paid about $20 per plugin ... I own everything I could ever want from PA (Unfiltered Audio, Vertigo, Elysia, SPL - all the PA amps) ... PA does things right - whatever subscription you pay for, you get the cash you spent and can use them on their sales ... they even have a new $29 deal where you get any plugin (any) for $29.99 month ... Yes I too back in the day spent a lot on Waves ... spent a kings ransom on UAD plugins and octos etc (hugely regretted it) ... maybe 1 out of 4 plugins I use on a project is PA (but still there are times when the Purple MC77 is just better on a source than another VCA including Tim P - not regularly but I am glad I have the 77 to test out) - so no regrets about a penny spent on PA ... just spend wisely and bide your time ... just my two cents ... your mileage may vary ...
Yeah I wasn't clever when I started it. Too lazy but I think that a part of me actually enjoyed having every plugin and wasn't contemplating the yearly cost, which is probably where most falter and become stuck with it as they don't think about actually owning the plugs without a sub. If I did with PA what I did with waves and purposely went out checking sales I probs only would have had the bundle for like a year tops. You live and learn
Personally I don't like subscription models with music recording software/plugins because there are weeks or even a full month when I just don't make music and when I see a charge to my card, it's not like they will reverse it just because my excuse was I forgot to cancel it. What I've done with the couple of subscriptions I have is use another bank/debit card that allow me to lock my card so that when I see a notification that a charge was declined, I specifically know it's something I'm not using anymore and need to hurry up and cancel it.
I'm with you. Subscribed to PA a couple months ago. Paid the full year up front, so I got the voucher right away. I've used the voucher to buy the plugins I really like and use, and will cancel the subscription at the end of 12 months. That's great that they have a zillion good plugins, but if you only use a handful then it's not worth an ongoing subscription just to say you have access to all of them. And I agree that option paralysis is a real problem - learn a few good EQs and compressors and maybe a single SSL, Neve, or API channel strip and get on with making music.
I find myself getting frustrated when I see my plugin folder grow beyond comfort, it always ends in mass deletion and starting over again. I'm in a bit of a loop since I spent such a loooong time working with a specific set of old plugins, but had to very recently abandon them when I moved to 64 bit. So I'm catching up on this last decade whilst trying to find my new comfort plugins... and also trying not to overwhelm myself with all this choice. It's a headache!
Thank You Paul Third Too many choices, yes. Well, unlike you and a lot of your viewers I have a limited amount of space in my brain so I do need to limit my choices. I'm about to go out to my studio for the day and noticed your channel presented by the youtube algorithm so I watched it with my morning snack. I'm a lifetime musician and most of my recording experience comes from the 80s and 90s but when covid (and isolation) hit I dove back in. I've watched a lot of youtube while R and D-ing and your channel got overlooked. Too bad, but with all the PeterPan type mentors with recording arts type platforms available I had to limit my choices. Your content is excellent and I like it when you call bullshit. Needless to say, in the last two years while using PLAP and others for product research and tec info, the amount of information is dizzy-ing. So in the spirit of "Bit of fun", I'll say, I use: -CLA 1176 (because it's quick) SSL strip (waves. Stopped using it by the way but I have it, just in case I need to fuck up my sound and tone for some reason) Focusrite Red EQ Focusrite Red Compressor (I use these because they have some presets for bass that I think are less than terrible) AbbyRoadsMasteringChain (is it anygood? ... wtf do I know, but it's got a couple dozen presets and I can thumb through them to see if it improves my mixes. But I've got earlier mixes where I didn't use it and I don't hear those mixes suffer from not having ARMC. If anything, I can hear ARMC when I have over used it and things sound too cooked) And that's it and I'm using them less and less as I learn more about the stock plug-ins in Reaper. Honestly, the graphics on store bought plug-ins are fun. And thank goodness there is a wash of companies producing plug-ins to keep the price down so that we don't have to pay 500 bucks for a cartoon compressor. Also, you mentioned "portfolio". That's kind of what I'm doing, developing a portfolio. I'm turning 60 soon and fastly approach an age where I'm no longer able to carry water pumps across muddy oil field leases and wouldn't mind spending my pensioner years doing a bit of playing for other peoples recordings. So, a portfolio is the way to go. I think it would be a fun discussion to make a check list on the do's and don'ts of building a portfolio. So far my portfolio looks like ru-vid.com/show-UCvEsmxcHKfTRIN4F9sjPKyQvideos and I wonder if I'm barking up the right tree. Perhaps I'm just barking. Well, blood sugar is up now so cheers. It's being so nice chatting with y'all. I've read most of the other comment. Todd
A portfolios definitely the way to do it. You are only as good as your end result. If your end result is the one the client prefers then that's the best mix. Doesn't matter what was used to get there as long as you get there. Its getting in front of them in the first place that I'm struggling with 😅
you are too humble. you've earned yourself these free plugins by being a content creator who shows these plugins, essentially advertising them lowkey. ofc that is worth some free plugin licenses
I have bought a lot of Plugin Alliance plugins over the years, but never subscribed. I've always bought them with deep discounts. I have found that a lot of their plugins that I have bought, I end up using a bit, then forgetting that I have them. Sometimes it has just been impulse spending because the deal was really good. Then sometimes wondering why I bought them. I do really like the Slate sub though. Virtual Mix Rack covers most of the mixing staples. Virtual tape machine, and Virtual Bus Comps as well. Solid workflow. Perpetuals of Sonible, Izotope, Eventide, UAD etc. have me more than covered for everything else. With the cost of living increases, I aim to be a lot more mindful about spending going forwards. Stock DAW plugins in Cubase are probably more than enough to get the job done.
Good video as usual! Yes thanks to all the people making plugins everyone has good selection currently. Thank you plugin devs!! Also, Plugin alliance vouchers are a great way do subscription, its great to end up with some of the things you like even if you don't use it often. You are right, most people can try the demos , then subscribe and cancel if they find they don't use them. That's the only real benefit for subscription models, for the users.
I just recently cancelled my subscription as well. I just found that my production/mixing skills were developing to the point where I was like, "Oh, I can get X result without a plugin or with a stock plugin."
I am highly averse to the subscription model, but i signed onto the new "forever29" subscription just to get a few choice plugs over the coming months. You pay the subscription ("29") and get to buy/own any plug in for a dollar each month. Seems like a good compromise for the subscription haters. .One can purchase outright an "expensive" plugin for around 30 quid each month and then cancel when done. Got VSM3, next month I'll get Pro Audio DSP DSM v3.
I see it as a very personal thing. Dependent on each person's situation. In the end you go with what works best for you. Somebody was clamping my ear off about why they can't stand those who do subscriptions and I was like.. Wtf has it got to do with you haha why are you getting so fired up about how other engineers pay for plugins. Has no effect whatsoever on you. And he didn't have an answer to that and ended up apologising 🤣
I could never see loading up on multiple subscriptions. But plugins are expensive. So I picked a pay as you go approach- PA's $29 Forever plan. One plugin a month for $30 (including the $1 coupon price), and almost no exclusions. I have ended up with a couple of bad choices, but for the most part, waiting to get one each month, I've had time to research ones that work for me. Then I watch for great deals on packages for the suites I want. Interesting timing for your post, as I think I have most of what I need from PA as well. But will I pick another? Time will tell. I also have mountains of truly outstanding free plugins. On a side note, not all of us yet know what we need, or what all of this does. Certainly not what makes one plugin better than another until we try them. Some GAS in the area of plugins is a natural part of the learning process. Thanks for just a super channel!
ill never forget one day on a session and I was looking for a plugin in my list of gazillions. I got so frustrated. then it occurred to me, some years back I was moving house and had SO much crap..clothes..toys..CDs etc. my friend said "any thing you havent worn in over a year, toss it. anything you havent played with in a year, toss it, and on and on. Well I did it with my plugins. suddenly my plugin list became VERY small and sessions actually became manageable. I was able to engineer everything the plugins did, with surprisingly little effort. I HATE subscription models. its okay for big things, like using Maya for animations. paying 500 for one month to make 4 grand on a job is a no brainer. but paying monthly for plugins is crazy. I buy what I need and im done with it. fab filter all the way. and I will NEVER go "waves". that one year when everything I BOUGHT were rendered useless by waves? I despised them and still do. holding my projects hostage until I pay. thats the "adobe model" and its cruel
I can't believe I was sleeping on third party nebula programs. It was the best decision I have ever made. TimP, Cupwise, and AITB is amazing. These are the programs I bought so far. I did just buy gold4 and it was great. I have been selling alot of my plugins that I dont use and I too am using alot more convolution. For me 90% of the PA stuff just didnt cut it. I never had a subscription I just buying them with vouchers and deals combined. Thanks again for your reviews
I workin' in fl studio in the drums ( for example) I just put voxengo boogex in parallel and some EQ in the bus put compressor and that's all. But back in the days I also put a tonns of plugins... 😆
I quit my PA subscription because I didn't use them. I tried them out and was not too impressed with the plugins they offered. I kept choosing ones that I know and like better.
Nice point and totally true. 1 Studio one stock plugins 2 modo drums and amplitube 5 3 OVERLOUD GEMS (all) That´s it PS: also de Lindell Desser because it´s the best I tried, and the Shadow hill mastering and blackbox
@@marsrivers omg yes that air knob is incredible! But in general I hate when it doesn’t work and I gotta dial in the de-essing. I like plugins that do it’s job and it’s set and forget. And of course also sounds good. The Lindell is super smooth and a bit analog sounding.
what do you think of IK plugins ? is there a video where you comapre them all... like IK, Arturia, Softube, Slate, Overloud also has a lot "Vintage" stuff...is there a Chart even possible in your opinion ? of course in comaparison with PA/UAD/AA...would be a nice Video even a longer one would be nice
Some of their stuff is pretty good but a lot of their emulations are pretty old. I'd say their plugins are comparible to the rest but are pretty hit and miss
I have a sub for the mix and master bundle from PA, and it’s a lot of choice yes, but I haven’t experienced option paralysis yet. I went into the sub with the specific intent to determine which of their plugins I actually want, acquire them over time via the vouchers/sales, and then ultimately end the subscription once I own perpetual licenses for what I actually need/want/use. There’s not a better deal than PA out there for what you get, imo.
Great video, Paul. Can you talk more about rent-to-own and why it isn't a good idea? I've used Splice to pay for things in installments when I couldn't afford them outright, and I know for a fact if FabFilter ever offered a payment plan on their Total Bundle I'd be on it in a heartbeat.
The rent to buy wasn't good for me cause I ended up not using any of the plugins. What makes it worse is I chose the f*cking plugins haha 🙈 It was expensive as well. Think I was like £24 for 18 months or something. I went full feet in thinking I was gonna use these plugs for the rest of my life. The catch was that I had to incorporate so many plugins so in reality I shouldve just been patient and waited for the sales and bought what I needed. But no, I went 2 feet in and thought.. That's great I want those 4 or 5 plugs but I'm getting another 5 or 6 so I'll pick these ones as well. Wow this is brilliant. What I've done is just bought plugins I didn't need so I could get monthly payments on certain plugs and didn't realise that they aren't extra.. I'm paying for them. I would have been cheaper buying what I needed and waiting on sales. Some rent to buys have stipulations that you must by so many and pay so much. That's when you end up buying shit you don't want or need. But it's got its place if it's an item or items that you are 100% gonna use
Amen. I drive myself crazy with all the plugins I have. All I want to do is recreate an SSL console in my computer and use it. But I don't like the modern SSL, I like the 4000. I have the waves SSL and the brainworx ssl, CLA mixhub. Everyone of them, and it drives me nuts. I like them all. But there is always something I complain about after using them for a while. Uses too much CPU, does the compressor really react like the console? Is the EQ like the console? Maybe I need the tolerance modeling to make it sound more like the mixes I like done on the real desk. I like the E series, but now I like the smooth tone and mid range punch of the G series. I need to stop this madness right now. I tell myself, pick one and stick with it. When I feel like changing, resist. My biggest fear is lacking consistency. I make a great mix one way, and then I change and now my mixes sound different, or I let someone talk me out of using my favorite plugins. Sometimes having too many options is as bad as not having any.
@@PaulThird That would be a great time to do a plugin shootout against the real console. 😎 I'm hoping. 😊🙏🙏🙏
2 года назад
I also cancelled mine a few months ago too… For the exactly same reason as you did, too many choices, money spent in something I wasn’t using completely. And this experience changes the way you look at new plugin bundles as well. I’m thinking about getting the eventide subscription, but when I look at the plugins it feels like I would really use half of them and they feel a little redundant, like 10 plugins that do kind of the same thing. And it’s $30… Have you ever tried this bundle, Paul?
Don't hate me but Warren got me the clockworks bundle from eventide as I looked into split eq haha It's awesome. I use the harmonizers, omnipressor, sp2016 verb and the flanger. Those 4 and split eq I use on mostly every mix. I don't have the other eventide stuff
2 года назад
@@PaulThird Thanks for your answer! I actually think that it’s a good thing guys like you get access to plugins, I know the amount of work it takes to make consistent videos and your work is also important for the hardworking audio guy (or at least I think they should see it like that).
AmpliTube is a cheat imo. That gives you equalisers, distortion, saturation, compressors, limiters, pitchshifters, flangers, filters, phasers.. you name it!
I've never understood subscriptions. I spend way less with PA because I just buy what I want at a $29 price point .... sound familiar, yeah, just like Waves. $250 a year vs more like 30 or 60 bucks a year for me. Like you, Paul, I used to use way too many plugins. And I'd waste a lot of time trying out different eq and compressors in particular. Since starting to use Waves Omni on almost every channel, I love just working within it. I have many other channel strip plugins, but this is the most fun and easy to use ... and yes, fun plays a factor for me. When I open up Waves Scheps 73, it's fun to look at and use and that makes my job more enjoyable. The audience won't care if I use the Omni, 73, Lindell 80 or whatever. Anyway, Omni can be such a simple process, but there are enough options to make it extremely versatile. Start with a touch of saturation and cycle through the 3 types. Done. Throw in a bit of compression, quickly cycle through the 3 types (I usually know which I want) and done! Touch of EQ with all 4 bands fully tweakable for freq, gain, and Q, along with a couple different types of "emulations" for the middle 2 bands. Even has a dynamic EQ built right in. I don't spend too much time comparing other plugins. Just go with the flow and let my instincts take control. Sadly, because of Omni, I now realize how much money I wasted for stuff I don't really need. A subscription would taken even more money from me :)
@@PaulThird As long as you learn from it, the pain doesn't cut quite as deep. That's my experience. Waves rent to own/subscriptions have always been horrible deals. Their bundles are actually pretty good deals. I own Horizon. But now that I use so few plugins from the bundle, it seems like a waste. When I first got into Waves I spent a grand on the Platinum bundle. Yikes! That was before everything became cheap. Oh well. I did get years of use out of those doing professional paid work.
Yeah waves did have its place back in the day. It was the only real big plugin dev out there. IK at a push but not close enough. That brings me back to the nomad factory days.. F**k those days are long gone now haha 😅
Too True ! It makes sense for the first year of the Mega bundle to trial as many plugins and then build a shortlist. To my amazement , The forever 29 plan just landed and has finally closed the gap for users who prefer perpetual licenses to subscriptions. I guess they can afford to do that with million plus users.
If the production and the recording is very good you can mix with any plugin you have, free, stock work very well. If the production and recording is bad, there is almost no plugin that make the song sound good. All the circumstances in the middle is where maybe you need this or that for specific plugin. Always know your tools, you can know 10 or you can know 50,, but you´ll never know 150 in depth
I only have the Ampeg bass amp subscription, which I find useful, but over time it's less and less so. I only use 3 out of the 4 amps and been planning on getting them for a while to save in the long run. Have you tried AA Jade? It has some Maag EQ magic in it, I wonder how it compares with the PA Maag. If it's similar then the PA I guess might be worth it, cause Jade is quite a CPU hog. Also I'd recommend using the older version, for me Jade2 performs very poorly...
They do sound very different in their air bands. Id need to revisit it tbh. I was unsure which I preferred as they sounded so different in the top end but I always ended up back at the maag. It's just so incredibly simple and quick for me. But I may try again as it has been a long time
Sorry to sort of ask you a slightly off topic question to this video, but have you done any videos checking out the LA2A, 1176, and Pultec emulation plugs from Black Rooster? I recently went through what I call a "plugin detox" as well and got rid of a lot of plugins. I still have a lot in my opinion, using a lot of Fabfilter, Valhalla, Tokyo Dawn Labs, izotope, Voxengo, Melda, and finally... Black Rooster. Black Rooster is the only company im using for Analog Emulation at the moment. I dropped all the Waves I owned a long time ago, and the UAD Stuff I was using. I'm not nearly as well versed with plugin design as you are so I'm curious on your thoughts of Black Rooster. Thanks!
I did a 76 and 2a comparison but others things got in the way and the trials expired so I couldn't record it. They were OK but I found them just to be slightly better than waves. I personally didn't think they were any better than the free analog obsession 76 and 2a.
I seem to have "too many" plugins... recently I almost bought a plugin "on sale" which I already own!! Here's an idea for an EPIC shootout... head to head of plugin developers! Softube, UAD, Plugin Alliance, Waves all have everything covered - but, which is the safest bet to go all in? 😐 Arturia, Melda, Slate, Acustica etc. etc.
I don't think I could go all in with one dev being honest. Fabfilter proq3 for example is probably the most used plugin of all time now and in reality they all have their limitations. Acustica are only analog emulations and cpu limited, waves limitations are quality in my eyes. Softube has the console one & fader stuff which probs is the one you could realistically use as a one stop shop as you could the weiss for the fabfilter duties. Softubes really expensive though
@@PaulThird The only benefit to having too many plugins is that I soon figure out which I'm always "reaching for". Softube and Arturia have been getting all the emulation work. Fabfilter and Melda appear in every project.... Sonible and izotope get some cameos. Soothe 2 and Gullfoss on everything! But... if I had to choose all my plugins from one developer it would be... wait for it... Melda Productions! Seriously... they sound better than they look! (which can't be said for most plugins!).
I have been 1.5 with PA Mix-Mastering bundle. When I complete my second year and spend the voucher I am going to stop the subscription. I have too much plugins now and I am starting to use unique free plugins like the Tukan in Reaper.
So the rent to buy is not worth it? I read that you can pay like 25€ a month and eventually own the plugins, which also means you can sell the ones you dont need...but i cant see the option to pay monthly to own....only monthly rent or buy in advance at 249€, or did i miss something?
I did the waves rent to buy and it didn't work out for me but I think the plugin alliance one is the 29 forever or something. I'm not too sure how that works
@@PaulThird The forever29 is $30 a month and you get one plugin for $1, example the Emek 9099, and you can quit any time...I dont think you can quit the Mega rent to own bundle, its annually...I just wrote asking how I own all the plugs after a year but heard nothing back yet..... Btw PGbx will only offer adobe type subscription model next year, which is not cool cause all the plugs we own will no longer have support after 2023
I have two subs. Don’t ask. Lol. I cancelled one after it reupped last year. I use a lot of the mix and mastering one and have slowly been buying the ones i use the most when they’re on sale. There are plugins Ive never used (A lot to go through like you’ve said) and i also have plenty of other plugins i use when they’re appropriate. Im probably going to resub to my mix and master bundle for another year. I HATE subscriptions but love my plugin alliance sub. Interesting to see which ones you own too. Ill have to give them a try.
The maag eq is some sort of voodoo Magick on the high end. I also really like the SSL 4000E. Other than that I can live without the other stuff so I also cancelled my sub. Sounds like they sold the business so they aren't losing sleep over us anyway 😂
I totally agree with Paul! I've had a Slate subscription, but didn't use anything for almost a year. I was paying for nothing. After cancelling, when I got into studio work a bit more, I subscribed to Plugin Alliance. And I don't use a lot of plugins anyhow, I'm still learning what they do and how to use most of them. I've got a few go to plugins, a couple each from Waves (before I learned about their update plan LOL), Slate (before subscription), Plugin Alliance, SSL and a few stock plugins in Presonus Studio One. I've got A LOT of options, so I'm looking for just that small amount of plugins that I really use. Do I need to buy any more or keep subscriptions? Can I get the job done with what I've already got?
@@PaulThird Exactly! I can manage with the stock plugins. It's just a few analogue emulation plugins that I like, such as tape and some EQ's and compressors. But they're not really necessary.
The way I see it is.. You don't need necessarily a lot but there's nothing wrong to have some variations. Nothing wrong with adding some sky blue, magenta, ochre & peacock green to your colour palette.
Even when I did their subscription, I think the $20 level had everything I needed. They gave away the Black Box in the last month. I know its not the mid/side version, but that's got to give your Scottish frugality a tweak. I just realized this week that I had a license for the Maag EQ bc I purchased a Presonus interface about a year ago. Also the BX Rockrack full version. (I had been using the free player for a while which only has presets you can't 'dial in') I was thinking about trying the Air Band again on that eq, but my go to supersonic boost has been the Dave Pensado eq and the Ivory dynamic eq. (which has a band you can set for 24 or 27 k) None of those go as high as 40k, though. Does the Tim P stuff have a way to demo if you use the free version of Nebula? I would like to try some of his stuff.
I own most of the PA plugins and actually use most of them regularly -- but I never sign up for subscriptions, and I only buy ALL plugins on sale. Doesn't matter what it is. Acustica has primarily replaced PA for me, but only because I got a nice computer recently ;)
I have avoided subscriptions because it feels like renting rather than owning. Renting feels like a burden to me. Maybe I will use subscriptions in the future if there is something that I really need.
Paul, I’ve been on this trip for some time now. The realisation that gain staging is 100 times more important than fancy emulation or stock plugin. Fewer inserts by using mostly send effects. I use the term gain staging but I actually mean “keep the source clean you idiot” not so easy when adding multiple fancy inserts. I know and you know I’m being simplistic but sometimes we forget the simple things. I slap my wrist and move on.
@@PaulThird no kidding Paul, I open up a project I worked on a few months ago of which I’m generally pleased but just something niggling me. I drop all track inputs by 2 or 3dB and adjust the mix bus. Slap of the wrist immediately.
I say just stick with the plugins that come with your DAW and only get what you really need that will make things a bit easier or what your DAW doesn't provide.
Also you get 6 Plugins for free from PA right now. Still love the stuff that they are doing. But I dont have any subs becaus i am just too oldschool. Thx for the video ja, reduce to max :)
@@PaulThird Yes the channel strip is pretty gold! Something about it just works (like most familiarized tools haha). But using it with MH Character on FET mode is bananas IMO. Have you tried kiloHearts??
Ain't non of it hardware. Never will be. And the consumer doesn't give a shit what you use. Eventually you will use a waves OG SSL and call it a day 😆. Much love. Great vids as usual
Yup. Slate plugs just always had this accumulative effect for me that I didn't like. Couldn't really put my finger on it at the time but I just used less and less over time
I gave up about a year ago on any software which is subscription based. I also stopped impulse buying plugins. As far as I can see most DAW's stock plugins are up to the job of taking on most tasks these days, in the right hands. Yes, I do use some third party stuff by Fabfilter, Waves, Arturia, TDR amongst others for certain tasks - but there's many past purchases I never or seldom use. The subscription model is bad news for the consumer, whether that be plugins, software, health services, cars etc. and for various reasons. I found it food for thought that if you were to subscribe to : Slate, PA, Roland Cloud & Universal Audio alone - that's at least $80 a month. For software you don't own. You cancel that subscription and your old projects are held ransom. Internet license server down? No work for you today. Company goes bust? Etc. Nope. No more for this guy.
@@PaulThird yes. But you could always just do a monthly subscription whenever you need it. I just have a heart for Dirk and his super sport cars as the gasoline prices exploded so I am supporting him with my subscription
I found the biggest thing for me was getting really good monitoring speakers 4 figure prices. Hindsight is wonderful when you know why. I hear stuff better and realise that the plugins are not as crucial. I use stick more now and far less of it. If I was going to advise use the money on the speakers, the plugins are nice and cheaper, but they are so blurry when used through “prosumer” monitors. 5 plugins to mix with: Logic EQ Logic Compressor, Valhalla Vintageverb and delay Decapitator
Nah I just like gretsch's haha being an indie UK kid Harrison & Squire were very big influences and then when I found Brian Setzer i was officially sold
Personally I have plugin alliance and I don't use any of their plugins anymore (except bx_digital which is awesome). Especially, I was using their console emulations, but when I compare to acustica, SSL native and even waves, it seems that the lindell and brainworx ones are way to hyped up and weird sounding in the high end, like the lindell 50 just destroys my overhead or hi hat when I try to give some air like 2db at 12k, waves api don't do that. but it's only my taste, maybe I'm just weird... 😁
I downgraded from MEGA to Musician, because I subscribed for Knifonium, I tried every plugin and honestly I already have good stuff I know and I use. When Knifonium is on sale I'll buy it and say good bye to PA. Cool plugins tho, just... The market is so huge, there's no point at least for me. EDIT : there's a free bundle from Soundwide on PA right now, and I admit the Shadow Hills Compressor and the Black Box are quite unique
I pay 149 annually for PA’s subscription. Because I know they will continue to release ground breaking stuff. So to stay up to date I stick with them. And I get the 250$ voucher anyway. But I sub to nothing else.
For me PA MEGA bundle is good but I find myself using at most 10 of the whole bunch of plugins. I got the anual suscription so I can use the voucher and get my go to plugins, then unsuscribe
@@PaulThird just make the switch to Reaper man, honestly. You're going to have a tough time for two weeks but then you'll be a changed man. It's going to add years to your life expectancy (not to mention your bank account). Absolutely zero reason to stay with PT unless your livelihood depends on being able to share sessions with people in the idustry who also use PT.
I've been thinking about it but I dunno. I just dunno. I don't have any issues with PT. I know it works. I know it inside out. But I have been pondering the idea
Agreed. You can waste a lot of money on plugins! I’m going to subscribe to PA with an up front annual payment, then maybe purchase the ones I use the most after that. That’s the plan …
From my tests a lot of their analog emulations don't meet the quality of other emulations. Some do, kramer pie for example sounds practically identical to a real pye comp where others really miss the mark and are downright misleading marketing, RS56 for example is a purely linear digital eq but marketed as a vintage abbey road EQ I value waves for their early tools. I think they made good useful simple to use tools to begin with but became very scammy with a lot of the emulations and signature stuff. Some of its good, some of its not. Most of those engineers don't use their own waves signature plugins which tells you everything. I think past 10 years mostly everything they've released is sub par and has been essentially flogging the same ideas ie waves NX, Abbey Road (bar Abbey Road Chambers.. Great plugin) Including a lot of gimmicky stuff to me that isnt any better than anything else on the market. So I think that their early stuff are great well thought out low cpu tools. Waves debreath is the best debreath plugin I've found on the market. I was a mug and spent over a grand over a 10 year period and I massively regret it cause I didn't know any better. So to me they are hit and miss. A lot more miss in recent times and don't get me started on the scam that is the update plan. I'm still using a lot of v9 waves haha 😅
@@PaulThird Taha thanks for the in depth response man ive been spending hours on hours researching on youtuibe and google and reddit. Music can be a jarring thing when trying to learn as so many people have different opinions. I was thinking to get the gold bundle and just rent to buy as i seen people say it had some useful compressors and a good multi band comp and algood eq. But ill take your advice. I just started the rent to own for arturia i have the key lab 88 so thought y not i like all the sounds it came with really and when i looked at reviews i like the soft sound the eq had on vocals maybe i was tripping but it sounded like kinda cream soft and i was just using ableton stock eq before and was making stuff harsh. ive been paying for mix master but need to learn myself as its taking too long always having to pay extra for additional changes its a headache and nerve racking abit as i tried mix mastering my stuff before i feel i have somewhat a better understanding and clearer mind to learn the key things hopefully to do it myself but is a stress time is ticking. Im thinking to get the fab q3 eq aswell and maybe just get the master bundle or mix bundle? what tool do you use with sonible is it the compressor? i seen people impressed with the compressor. Does arturia have good analougue replecation plugins? i like slates one i seen a youtube reviewer demo some and i liked slates one still.
Arturia is one of the better devs for emulations. With a Fabfilter bundle you could basically do anything you want being honest. Proq3, pro-C, saturn and pro-L2.. Mix anything with just those 4 being honest My advice is start simple. Mix with the least amount of tools and then reflect back. I didn't do that starting out and I should've. Focus on your skills as a mixer instead of the tools and you'll find you get better results way quicker cause you are finding your weak points and improving on that. Only look at the tools when you feel that you really have gotten your technique and skills up to a certain level that you are happy with. Then you can experiment
@@PaulThird What do you mean only look at the tools when you have gotten skills to a certain level? tbh i have been making beats now for like 10 years but i havent tried learning mixing for awhile just been making beats and using stock plug ins. crazy now i think about it i should have learnt by now but yes is what it is lol i think my mix masters i get before sending to be mix mastered have improved a lot even with just stock plug ins but ive seen new techniques i want to try online now and keen to learn how to use different eqs and compressors ecspecially for the sound like i got told by a mix master that the ableton stock plug ins was one of the reason it sounded harsh compared two his eqs when he lifted the high end in my vocal. maybe also i was doing too much of a shelf there also as ive seen a lot of proffessional mix masters when they explain how they eq the vocal they arent raising the high shelf as much as i have been. Which is from watching other youtubers giving bad advice on how to eq lol can be a maze tryna lear on here lol so is there any analougue warm sounding plugins u would advise and also audio repair tools do you think izotopes one is the best?
Dude. Its all about the ear, seriously. You can do way more with a digital eq than you think. You don't need analog plugins right now. What I mean by look at the tools when you've got to a certain level is purely focus on your mixing skills and training. Focus on things that YOU are doing. If stuff is too harsh then you are probably boosting too much harsh frequencies in the mid range. Think about taking away shit first, cleaning stuff up before going for fancy emulations. They mean nothing unless you know how to get the most out of them. It's all about context. Learn the sound of compressors and eq's. If the sound source is good quality a digital eq will be fine. Remember that's all fabfilter is at the bare bones, a digital linear eq with dynamic options. Can do way more obviously but thinking basics if you undetstand the fundamentals of eq and training your ear then don't focus on any analog emulation. A mix master has already trained the ear before obtaining the gear. The ear comes first always. Start learning about fundamentals and octaves and eq'ing will start to become a lot easier. Musical sounds are basically made up by a fundamental followed by relative octaves. They kind of dictate your mixing decisions per source and when you bring them all together, you hear what frequencies are clashing and then balance those frequency clashes within the context of the mix etc etc If you think musically eq'ing gets a lot easier. If your snare has a fundamental of around 150hz then you know musically speaking you'll have resonances around 300, 600, 1.2k, 2.4k, 4.8k & 9.6k Thats why many mixing books tell you that the crack of a snare sits around 5k and the sizzle around 10k. Cause snares can have a fundamental anywhere usually between 120-250hz. A lot of engineers make out its all the magic of the ear when in truth its all simple musical science and the first thing they do is find the fundamental frequency of the source or the fundamental frequency of the key the songs in (handy for bass guitars etc) My advice is work with a very small amount of tools, then over time you can judge if an analog emulation will result in a better result on a certain source
Yeah, that will be questioned for ever, what do you really need? I own the plugins i want to use, and that contains a substantial part of Plugin Alliance too;). But it is a sport for me to wait unttil the discounts and then you'll never regret... In the end we're all autistic slaves to it:(
Until you grow a youtube channel and they are basically throwing the plugins at you 🤣 tbh PA never got in touch but it's prob cause I was paying the sub anyway
@@PaulThird Let's start with Harisson Mixbus 32C as a DAW;). Now put on Gulfoss, Blackbox MS, Elysia charcte... Scheps Omnichannel and maybe the Drawmer 1978 hardware compressor;).
@@PaulThird I never thought of that... I just don´t go for subtleties... I subscribe directly to KUSH! Lol... (in fact, I´m not kidding, that´s my sub lol)
I've still never dived properly into kush. I tried to see if I could get a few licenses but they offered me extended trials if I recall. I may do a segment on them but I dunno. Id need to research them
After the company makes subsription plun then it instanly because totaly lazy and un intresting. The best example is Slate Digital. They started as unique and the topes quality digital plugins company. But after they made subsription theu instanly become totaly lazy and un intresting and radiculusly slow in improving anything at all. So the best buy the best plugins YOU need! and suport only developers who give the best plugins for YOU! if you are low on money for some resons wait for sales or contact developers directly, somtimes they might be very nice and give personal discount just for You!
I've been using PA less and less as well. I recently subscribed to the SSL plugins and i've found i don't need much more than that, Waves and my UAD plugs for verbs etc. Am seriously considering cutting that subscription as well.
