After using Live for more than half a year, I reorganized and categorized the plugins I had used before. As the end of the year approached, various matters piled up, and the time I could spend on DTM became less and less. So I wrote a note to record the plugins I use, while also noting my understanding of them (I deleted the plugins on my computer that I didn't know what to do with). Recently, I planned to start writing some blogs, so I posted what I wrote. Of course, my mixing is quite poor, so this article is only for my own reference.
2021.12.17 Added Filter & EQ section
2021.12.19 Added Limiter & Compressor section and Delay section
2021.12.19 Evening Added Reverb section and Distortion section
2021.12.20 Added other sections
Filter & EQ section:
- Auto Filter (Ableton Live)
Generally used for filter transition effects, occasionally using LFO for some effects.
- Split EQ (Eventide)
A magical EQ that can separate and adjust transients and tonal elements, but it consumes a lot of CPU and has poor performance, so it's only used in processing before and after sampling or for issues that cannot be solved with a regular EQ.
- Pro-Q3 (Fabfilter)
Used for precise EQ processing; most of the time, I use it and EQ8 for frequency band processing.
- EQ Eight & EQ Three (Ableton Live)
EQ3 is only used for quickly making high-pass and low-pass cuts.
EQ8 is basically used on every track for quick EQ processing.
- Gulfoss (Soundtheory)
For me, this is like OTT in EQ; I only use it when I want the texture that this plugin brings.
- Soothe2 (oeksound)
A plugin used to smooth out harsh sounds; it can also be used to remove muddy elements from sounds, occasionally used when shaping tones.
- Ozone 9 Low End Focus (IZotope)
A plugin used for processing low frequencies in mastering; sometimes it has miraculous effects.
- Ozone 9 Dynamic EQ (IZotope)
A dynamic EQ used only in mastering, smoother in effect than Fabfilter.
- Shade (UVI)
A very... aggressive EQ, but situations requiring such aggressive processing are rare; it's used when needing to remove or enhance a specific frequency band or frequency.
Generally, analog types are not used.
Limiter & Compressor section:
- Pro-L 2 (Fabfilter)
Used on the master bus for non-club music.
- Invisible Limiter (A.O.M.)
Used on the master bus for club music; it can achieve very exaggerated loudness without distortion.
- Limiter (Ableton Live)
Used on individual tracks.
- Color Limiter (Ableton Live)
A limiter with some coloration from Max4Live; I like both the coloration and the interface, but using it too much can affect the original sound quality.
- Glue Compressor (Ableton Live)
Very useful; using it on bass with slight clipping gives a great texture; sometimes I also use it as a limiter.
- Compressor (Ableton Live)
Handles most compression scenarios; also used for sidechain compression.
- API 2500 (Waves)
Originally used mindlessly on every track, it has a nice gentle texture that feels like it can't go wrong.
- Multiband Dynamics (Ableton Live)
Recently started effectively learning to use multiband compression; this built-in multiband compressor in Live is sufficient for my current needs, and I've tried several other multibands, but none are as useful as this one.
- CLA-3A & CLA-76 (Waves)
Used mindlessly on various sounds I record, especially vocals; I feel that even in my subpar recording environment, using it can elevate the texture several levels.
- Pro-C 2 (FabFilter)
The compression feels very smooth, but it always seems to change the sound in an indescribable way after applying it; I've significantly reduced its usage since switching to Live.
- Ozone 8 Dynamics (iZotope)
A dynamic processing plugin born for mastering; the more I use it, the more I realize its powerful capabilities for mastering.
Delay & Reverb section:
- Echoboy (Soundtoys)
If I need to add a delay, Echoboy is my first choice; the sound quality meets my expectations for a delay plugin, and the adjustable parameters are what I usually use. Overall, it's my go-to delay.
- Comeback Kid (Baby Audio)
A delay with a strong lo-fi quality, heavily used on house and trance vocals, occasionally used on instruments.
- Timeless 3 (Fabfilter)
Similar application scenarios to tape delay; sometimes I browse its presets to create interesting effects.
- H-Delay (Waves)
The UI often has bugs; its application scenarios are similar to Echoboy, and it can even cause crashes; generally used for simpler delay processing.
- Valhalla Delay (Valhalla)
Extremely high adjustability, with many types of delays to choose from, but due to conflicting attributes, it's only used when the previous options can't achieve the desired effect.
- Echo & Delay (Ableton Live)
Not a fan of the built-in delay effects in Live; the most common use is for quickly creating Haas effects.
I quite like Echo but can't find a good application scenario.
- Grain Delay (Ableton Live)
A very magical plugin; I've recently understood its specific usage, basically learning while using it, but I rarely use it as a true delay.
- Pro-R (Fabfilter)
My top choice for reverb; I can create almost all the reverb effects I need with it.
- ValhallaVintageVerb (Valhalla)
My second most used reverb; I mainly use it for its Color and Mode, which are particularly practical, and each Color and Mode comes with a specific description to help understand its principles.
- ValhallaRoom (Valhalla)
My third most used reverb; it conflicts with many attributes from the previous ones, but some of its modes are still very unique and usable.
- Blackhole (Eventide)
Used when a deep, bottomless effect is needed, as the name suggests.
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ValhallaShimmer (Valhalla)
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ShimmerVerb (Eventide)
A bit more glamorous than the previous one, but I don't really like the sound quality.
- ValhallaPlate (Valhalla)
The only choice for plate reverb; the only reason I don't choose others is laziness.
- Ghz Megaverb 3 (Goodhertz)
Lo-fi reverb, even more lo-fi than Valhalla's lo-fi.
- OldskoolVerb (Voxengo)
Old-school reverb, sometimes works wonders in old styles.
- kHs Convolver (KiloHeart)
More intuitive and easier to use than Live's built-in options.
Distortion section:
- TRASH 2 (iZotope)
The Swiss Army knife of distortion, basically has all the functions I expect from distortion.
- Misstortion 2 (Nimble Tool)
I choose it for HDM distortion; the adjustable parameters are sufficient.
- SAUSAGE FATTENER (DADA LIFE)
Used to use many distortion and saturation effectors, but now I use them very little; I use it when I feel the sound needs to be fatter.
- Saturation Knob (Softube)
A plugin that quickly provides saturation effects; I use it when I'm lazy or in less important situations.
- Camel Crusher (Camel Audio)
I use it when I need something dirty! It's free and has a small footprint.
- DECAPITATOR (Sound Toys)
I think it's the best saturation; I use it when I'm not being lazy.
- Saturn 2 (Fabfilter)
Can process in segments, and the sound quality is also very good.
- Amp (Ableton Live)
Used in places needing an amp other than guitars.
- Guitar Rig 6 (Native Instruments)
Used where guitars need an amp; the various effectors inside are also very useful for sound design.
- Redux (Ableton Live)
Used for downsampling.
- Overdrive (Ableton Live)
Overdrive; I use it when I'm too lazy to find others.
- Pedal (Ableton Live)
Used when I don't need a detailed pedal, generally I use Guitar Rig 6.
- Erosion (Ableton Live)
A plugin that can add noise to sounds; besides enhancing texture, it can also add detail in the ultra-high frequencies to make lo-fi samples hi-fi.
- Drum Buss (Ableton Live)
Most commonly used for shaping various drums and percussion; sometimes I also use it on other sounds to enhance texture.
- Vinyl Distortion (Ableton Live)
Used to simulate the texture of vinyl and records; actually used very little in practice.
- NANI (WXAudio)
NANI?
- Driver (Native Instruments)
Great texture, commonly used for bass.
Other things:
- Speakers (AudioThing)
Can directly simulate the effect of sound playback on various devices, very useful.
- KiloHeart Bundle
Used for sound design; generally, I use Ableton's built-in plugins for conflicting attributes.
- iZotope Bundle
Commonly used for mastering and vocal processing; other plugins are generally only used when specifically needed.
- Span Plus (Voxengo)
Originally my most used analyzer; very satisfied in all aspects until I used the one below.
- T-RackS CS Metering (IK Multimedia)
Clear and straightforward, and I like its spectrum display function divided into frequency bands; I prefer this over Span now.
- Transient Shape (Schaack Audio Technologies)
Currently the best experience I've had with a transient shaper; great texture.
- ShaperBox 2 (Cableguys)
Commonly used for volume shaping on drums or samples; also has rich functionality.
- LFO Tool (Xfer)
Youth version of Shaperbox.
- Duck (Devious Machines)
A volume shaper that can work in frequency bands; may be used in certain situations.
- SerumFX (Xfer)
A low-resource alternative to Mutipass; also very useful but sometimes causes Live to crash for unknown reasons.
- Glitch2 (Illformed)
Although it has many functions, sometimes I just want to use a single effect from it (before I had Kiloheart, I used it for tape stop).
- Stutter Edit 2 (IZotope)
Can quickly create impressive FX, with high freedom.
- Wider (Polyverse)
A very simple plugin that can widen mono sounds; used for quickly widening mono sounds.
- Ozone Imager 2 (IZotope)
An extremely glamorous imager, used in various situations.
- VocalSynth 2 (IZotope)
A simple and powerful vocoder; for me, having it along with Live's built-in options means I don't need other vocoders.
- I Wish (Infected Mushroom)
The secret to Japanese hitech sound; can be used on any sound.
- Pitch Map (zynaptiq)
Besides for thick bass, I sometimes use it as a vocoder-like effect.
- Texture (Devious Machines)
A plugin that adds texture to various sounds; I've started using it frequently recently.
- MeldaProduction Bundle
A refined version of the KiloHeart bundle; I return to it when I can't find good effects elsewhere.
- Portal (Output)
Originally intended to be categorized as a delay, but its function is often not used as a delay; it also adds unique texture to sounds.
- CLA Series (Waves)
I use CLA stuff when I don't know how to process something (especially acoustic instruments).
That's all I can think of for now; I may update my notes on sound sources in the future.