Hits:
Unfiltered Audio BYOME - now my go-to effects
Schoeps Mono Upmix - very useful
Kiive Audio Tape Face - sounds very good
Acon Digital Restoration Suite 2 - I use denoise a lot*
Misses:
Waves Claritx Vx - crops long notes because it thinks it’s a reverb tail and produces crashes in Reaper. Boo.
SuperPlate - I use Little Plate all the time, but somehow I don’t get as good results with SuperPlate … haven’t really delved into it much, though
*Though I guess I should get Izotope RX sometimes. I have to find out how to get it cheaperer.
Haven’t bought much software in a long while, but I did make a singular upgrade this year from Cubase 12 Pro to 13 which was very nice. Editing parts is so much more convenient now.
99 crossgrade through sweetwater was the cheapest i found.
If needed, you could pick up one of their elements versions of softwares currently on sale for eligibility purposes and still have the whole thing cheaper than the izotope shop.
That is a bummer. Another reason to keep my windows machine (that and my Nord Modular editor) I’ve enjoyed using Absynth as an effect recently. I wonder if it’s just being completely abandoned?
It’s an interesting take and seems at least partially true. Wasn’t Live originally meant to be a tool to perform live and only later turned into one of the most popular DAWs? Just read that Ableton 12 adds a mixer in arrangement view and I’m looking at my Reason mixer and wondering how on earth they could wait until early 2024 to add that in Live.
Yeah.
Don’t get me wrong. Live’s great. It’s become over the years full-featured, and you can do everything on it, and make everything on it, that you can with anything else, in that Live way of doing it.
I have known many, many people over the years who don’t use anything else, and their tracks are awesome, and they’re SO fast with it. I think I would be too if it’s all I used.
My take is more on me than Live, actually. I came from Logic, then Cubase, then Sonar, then back to Live --> all of those are ‘traditional’ linear sequencers originally (though that’s changed to quite a bit over time also as other companies are picking up ideas from Live, Bitwig).
And of course a single-platform app is going to perform better than a cross-platform one; that’s almost a given without an unbelievable amount of work that probably would mean having two completely distinct branches of the code with very little overlap in underlying API usage… optimization is a very difficult thing to do twice with one thing, or three times with one thing or whatever. I’m quite familiar with that.
In the end I think they’re all moving to the center and you can work with any of them, and have been able to for over a decade, within their differing workflows.
I’d use Live ALL THE TIME if the various companies can get back to some kind of inter-communication bridge that’s similar to ReWire. I used Live as an ‘instrument’ when I was using Re-Wire, from Logic, and I really did quite like that, so I’m keeping the license in case this happens, and it ‘seems’ like it might be slowly happening; Logic Pro 10.8 exposes virtual midi ports to other things now, and while I don’t know all the details, if it’s more-or-less the same functionality you can get by setting up IAC AND I could figure out how to use loopback or something to route audio, I’d be golden.
Koala Sampler Mixer IAP: takes Koala to next level without making it worse/more complicated in any way
Jury’s out:
ButterSynth: I like the sound, capabilities and interface, to the point it could become my main iOS synth. But it was a bit sluggish and it crashed a few times; later there was an update, but didn’t used it much yet after that
Stepic: I know it’s a powerful plugin, but since I mostly work with hardware I didn’t used it much yet
some AudioDamage iOS apps and latest Drambo DSP extensions IAP - so far only took a look at them
Shaperbox 3: Don’t think I could make music without it anymore. So flexible and can do so many utilitarian as well as more creative jobs very easily. I also have infiltrator which is more fsu and I don’t find it as useful unless I just want to fsu.
Atlas 2: Great for finding and trying out drum samples quickly. Demoed it and XO and much preferred Atlas.
Tone Projects Michelangelo: Great sounding and very versatile eq with an amazing UI. Very nice analog vibe from it like the hardware, but it can also do dynamic eq, m/s, transient/tonal, drive different bands more or less, etc.
Leapwing Stageone 2: Best sounding stereo widening plugin I’ve found. Again, very versatile but still quick and easy to use.
Aberrant DSP SketchCasette 2: Nice lofi plugin that can do subtle to extreme. It has found its way in one form or another onto almost every single one of my projects since I got it, displacing most of my other tape plugins aside from softube tape. Don’t know why their plugins are so cheap, but they are all really good deals.
A quick caveat to this list. Rather than reviewing everything I bought in one year I thought it would be fun to review everything I have as either a hit or a miss. Not sure there are too many surprises in here, but if there’s a lesson, it’s that stumping up for the real deal is often better than half measures. Quite useful to review it as a job lot really!
Hits
Ableton. Quick & fun and with some very good on-board effects and instruments. The speed and ease of audio manipulation of Ableton is so good. My only wish would be for some fully fledged or improved mix & mastering tools.
U-he in general. Diva, Repro, Satin and Presswerk. Great company, invests in their products long term. Wish I’d gelled with Hive 2 as it’d be a one stop shop for pretty much all instruments but didn’t quite vibe with the interface so I didn’t pick that one up. Don’t regret a penny I’ve spent with these, and I’ve barely scratched the surface with them. Diva is a classic for a reason. The big surprise for me was the effects, as they aren’t always shouted about.
Novum. When it comes to sound design, I’m enjoying messing with a sample over starting from a saw wave. Novum is kinda killer for this. I probably need to dedicate some more time to it next year. It is incredible and it brings a lot of interesting textures to a track. Great for pads & atmospheric sounds. You can chuck something like a bell sound into it, and turn it into a wide, lush pad in relatively short space of time. It’s also forgiving if you’re a bit basic and not wanting to mess with advanced modulation - of course you can - but it just sounds good either way.
Valhalla for the verbs. Probably don’t need to say why but these guys stuff is just so good. I have Vintage & Shimmer.
Soundtoys bundle for classic and slightly aggressive creative effects. Same comment as Valhalla.
iZotope for mixing and mastering. This is either bundled in with Komplete, or given at a stupid discount, so I’ve not invested a huge amount of cash into this one. The actual devices themselves once you look past the AI blurb & the FOMO marketing are actually very comprehensive and useful. Neutron has pinched a few useful features from FabFilter and Trackspacer. And features like EQ’ing 2 tracks from one instance are very useful. True, it runs hot at times and the assistant can be quite heavy handed. But the assistant has also helped me out of a bind now and then. For what they cost (not a lot if you factor in bundles etc) then it’s hard to grumble for what you get.
Multi Effects in general. Cableguys Shaperbox & Sugarbytes Effectrix 2 - brilliant creative tools for just messing about with resampling. They each do their own thing. Effectrix is way easier to quickly block out some effects and do stuttery looping stuff, Shaperbox is a lot easier to add sweeps and shape (obvs) to a sound. Both different ways of doing the same thing, but fun to have around.
Granular FX in general. Portal is the OG, but has big competiton in the form of EFX Fragments. Love from Dawesome is effectively just the effects portion of Novum, which is more of a granular cloud generator than a sharp scuzzy granulator thing, but it’s very nice and fun.
Atlas/XO. These are now on the chopping block slightly. With Ableton 12 having a “find similar sounds” function, it’s possible that these plugs might not be needed so much. But the main thing Live 12 doesn’t have is the map of the sounds themselves, and still no sequencer. So, these are still a fun part of the workflow - Live 12 will be the decisive move in whether or not they’re around long term.
Lifeline Console. A modern take on the old channel strip. The big win with this is the design. You can see what’s going on, but can also re-order the modules and impart a little analog character for the best of both worlds. Cheap too.
On a similar note, RC-20. Classic for a reason and great for sprinkling a bit of vibe onto a track.
Native Instruments
These bad boys get their own category! For me, Komplete is a hit an OTF & a miss all in one. NI sounds are great and they tend to make up about 50% of my tracks. For what you get for the money onsale, it’s also high bang for buck. But I wish you could buy Kontakt the Play Series & the bundled instruments in Komplete (eg: Light Trilogy), without all the synths and effects. As is well documented in other threads, buying from NI in general comes with a large does of technical jankiness. I use mostly Kontakt as a rompler for either textures or realistic instrument sounds to either play or resample alongside synths & FX from elsewhere. Thinking about it I may have been better off with Omnisphere, as that is a lot more refined and focussed in one instrument. (That said, I don’t love how you can’t trial Omni and selling is on a case by case basis, where with NI allows resales no questions asked.) Will probably stick rather than twist here just to avoid the mess of disentangling, and focus on Kontakt for 24 and ignore the rest of the stuff in the bundle.
“Chuck it & see.” These are nice to have alternatives to some of the above. Maximalist me wants these around, and minimalist me wants to hide them now and again.
Arturia V Collection. Going into this I wasn’t so fussed about the Prophet’s and the Juno’s as Uhe covers that beautifully. The suite of 5 “digital” synths is the main draw here. I also like preset layering in analog lab. NKS compatible, and makes up for what Komplete lacks in the synth department.
Aberrant for something different in a WTF interface.
Baby Audio for a modern take on creative effects. Slightly less aggressive (at times) than Soundtoys - one big sweet spot. And certain plugs are fairly unique and modern takes on certain production techniques like Super VHS, TAIP, or Smooth Operator.
On the fence/still pretty good/may have overdone it a bit
Dune 3/Legend - not that these are bad, I just need a bit more time with them both. Probably not strictly needed with where my music has headed and what other options I have, but time will tell.
Model 80-84. Again, these are stellar emulations but with what I have I’ll just straight up admit that with Repro and Diva I 100% don’t need these. However the reason I got them is their simplicity. Diva & Repro require a bit of knowledge to get the most out of, where these you have limited parameters.
Picked up Wavesfactory’s Equalizer. Fantastic plugin. Despite the name, it’s not a regular EQ but something that employs 32 bands and automatically adjusts anything to fit what I think is a pink-noise frequency curve. And as I tend to mix far too bassy (check out my Current Sounds lol) this just fixes things very quickly. It’s on sale until 1 December if anyone’s interested.
This was a big year for me and plugins since I’m trying my hand at mastering. It wasn’t particularly cheap, but still a fraction of the cost of hardware or paying someone else to do it for me.
Fortunately not a lot of misses, since I’m pretty deliberate with my purchases.
Hits:
Decapitator. I put off buying this for so long, which is funny considering how much I love Echoboy and Little Plate. Sounds identical if not better than a lot of high end distortion units I’ve previously owned (Heat, Culture Vulture, KM-6A).
AudioThing Outer Space. I still want to buy a real Space Echo one day, but at this point I’d have to admit that would purely be for aesthetic reasons. Mapped the controls to my Korg and it sounds like a Space Echo. Groovy.
Kiive Audio Xtressor - Basically the same as above. I’ve run through a few compression plugins and this is by far my favorite. Sounds great and super versatile. I haven’t compared it to the real deal, but everything I’ve read suggests it’s pretty close.
Soothe2 - The most expensive plugin I’ve bought, but it gets used on everything. It helps a lot with harsh resonances, especially from cymbals and snares. Also saved a mix or two that I couldn’t quite nail with plain old EQ.
Sonible Smart Limit - I like this a lot better than Ableton’s stock limiter. Sounds more transparent and basically just makes everything sound bigger and better.
Misses:
AAS Objeq Delay - Neat delay with resonators built in, but ultimately ended up feeling like a bit of a gimmick. It also won’t save my settings correctly in Ableton? I emailed the developer about this and they never responded to me.
Kelvgrand REAMP and Stark - I was a bit roped in by the pretty UI on these, but ultimately didn’t like the sound much. Fortunately they were on sale, so not much lost.
Things I need to spend more time with:
Felt Instruments JASNO - makes a plucky kind of mallet sound and a fuzzy pad sound. Also surprisingly nice for sub bass.
MoogerFooger (bought on sale for $20). I have no idea what to do with this, but I’ll get around to it one day.
LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven - Seems neat, but its competing for attention with Little Plate and Valhalla Vintage.
Bleass Arpeggiator. this thing insanely rocks, even though has some quirks (because just released and not really nature yet). and since latest BAM beta got MIDI FX slot, it seems like i have new favorite combo for composing.
Mela 3 & Mela 4. very useful, playable and versatile apps.
NFM. workhorse FM synth that looks nice (unlike many, many other FM synths that are ugly and tiresome to look at) and runs on Silicon Mac. super useful.
hits (iOS):
Vatanator Pro. i can’t have too many grooveboxes. very playable one, rocks for jamming or just noodling.
Drum-80. Simmons SDS drums emulation. as a drummer and 80s vibe lover, i like this a lot. of course there are samples, but samples suck.
hits (desktop):
Hex Drum. one of three Simmons SDS drums emulation i’m aware of, and the one that was on sale. got to grab it to complement iOS Simmons emulator (Drum-80) on desktop.
just a must have if you love 80s vibe.
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