Welcome to another installment of the Pro Audio series. For this post, I am "mixing" it up (pun intended) and sharing with you a video walkthrough of the Pro Tools template I use for 90% of my mixing projects. The...
In this Pro Audio Series article, I'll introduce you to a few popular hardware compressors along with my favorite plugin emulations. Almost every plugin in this post is available as a demo, so don't just take my word for it. I'd recommend that you download them all and compare them to see if one stands out for you. Whether you're an experienced engineer or just getting started, this is all about personal taste. There's a lot to digest here, so let's dive right in.
In my previous Pro Audio series article, I shared with you some of my favorite chorus effect plugins. In this post, I’ll list some popular distortion plugins. As always, I encourage you to explore the stock distortion plugins included with your DAW, because you may find that they achieve the sound you're looking for (and it won't cost you a penny more). For example, Avid's Lo-Fi is included in Pro Tools and you've probably heard that on a number of top 40 records, great free plugin.
In an earlier Pro Audio series article, we covered some of the most common types of audio effects. And in the last article, I shared with you some of my favorite plugins for delay, echo, and reverb. In this post, I’ll list some of my favorite chorus effects plugins. As a reminder, you might want to check out the stock plugins included with your DAW too, as almost all DAWs include free chorus and distortion options. It’s a good way to get started and doing so will give you a baseline for comparison.
In the previous Pro Audio series article, we covered some of the most common types of audio effects. If you aren't already familiar with terms like delay, echo, and reverb, you might want to read that article before diving in here. In this article, I'll share some of my favorite plugins for delay, echo, and reverb along with a free option for each type. Also, keep in mind that most modern DAWs usually ship with at least one or two options for delay and reverb effects, so it's probably a good idea that you explore those for the purpose of comparing them against these third-party plugins. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but the plugins you'll read about below are some of my personal favorites and cover various budgets, from free to expensive.
From The Beatles to David Bowie to Beyonce, most music recorded over the past seventy years has made use of effects to enhance our favorite songs. Thanks to modern computing power and the advent of effects plugins, there is a virtually unending supply of effects available for use in the music production process. In this article, I'll cover what I consider to be five of the most popular and important effects commonly used in modern music production. Once you have an understanding of these effects, you can take your raw tracks to the next level during the arrangement or mixing phase of your creative process. In the followup article to this primer, I will get to specific plugin brands I like, and some of my favorite plugins for each of the effects discussed below. For now, let's dive right in and get acquainted with some of the basics.
