In this video i'm going to list 10 plugins that should be among your first purchases
when you start producing music at home. i'll give you recommendations for reverbs, delays,
synths, all-in-one vocal processors, and even some plugins that give you tons of playable sounds for
any genre of music. and i'll also add some plugin bundles that are worth the long term investment. if
you're new around here, i'm Sanjay C. i've got tons of tutorials and music year reviews on my channel.
consider subscribing if you haven't already. i always get straight to the point in my reviews
and tutorials. let's get started. number one on my list is a modern synth plugin like
Serum, Massive, or Pigments by Arturia. Synth plugins give you a plethora of sounds
at your fingertips and best of all you can use them to create virtually any sound
possible. the reason this is number one in the list is because you'll probably need to spend some time
learning the synth plugin you choose. but the time and effort you put into it
is going to be worth your while for sure.
one of my favorites is Pigments by Arturia. it's powerful, the interface is intuitive, and
it comes with excellent excellent presets to get you started. by the way, what's your
favorite synth plugin? comment below. number two is a reverb plugin that takes you beyond
your DAW's stock reverb. I'll give you a few of my favorites first is Valhalla
Vintage Verb. i use this on so many things. it's light and powerful at the same time.
another excellent and amazing sounding reverb is Raum by Native Instruments. adding this to any track
makes it just shine. at number three is the delay plug-in. once again the delay plug-ins you buy
extend the possibilities of what your DAW's delay can do. i use Soundtoys Echoboy Jr.
extensively!
it's easy to use, has some of the best sounding delay i've heard, and has some
extra controls and excellent presets that will just inspire you. by the way Soundtoys makes an
amazing plug-in bundle that i highly recommend. if you buy one effects plug-in bundle Soundtoys
should be the one you choose. oh, by the way, this is not the be-all and end-all of all plug-in choices.
if you have some recommendations, leave them in the comments below. at number four is an all-in-one
vocal processing plug-in. i love these because they take the guesswork out of your vocal effects chain
and get you to great results really fast. all-in-one vocal plugins give you compression,
reverb, delay, and add air or body to your vocals - super quickly too! i've used the
Waves Greg Wells Voicecentric plug-in for a while. also worth checking out is
a brand new Al Schmitt plugin from Leapwing Audio.
i talked about a synth plug-in. how about instrument plug-ins?
one of the most desirable sounds is a realistic acoustic piano.
most DAWs don't come with the best sounding acoustic pianos. i highly recommend pianos
from Native Instruments and Arturia. "Alicia's Keys" is a standard used by so many producers.
Arturia also has piano plugins that sound really good.
if you have the cash for it Keyscape by Spectrasonics has beautiful-sounding
pianos and other keyboards as well. speaking of Spectrasonics, next is an all-in-one instrument
plug-in like Nexus or Omnisphere. both of these have tons and tons of presets covering almost
any instrument you can imagine. including guitars, strings, synths, keyboards, brass... anything you want.
both Nexus and Omnisphere have top quality sounds. But that comes at a price. if you're looking for
something cheaper you can get xpand! 2 by Air. super cheap! now with xpand! 2 you won't get the same
quality of sounds or the included effects, but it's a good start for beginners. if you want to pick and
choose certain instruments, check out the bundles from Native Instruments. i walk you through every
Native Instruments bundle and the sounds included in a video here. next, things get super interesting
when you delve into compressor plug-ins. there are some compressors out there that add a unique
style of compression and some use AI to help you compress optimally. all compressors help you get
an even volume from the sounds that you add to your tracks. if you want to get a
combo compressor that the pros use in studios, consider an LA2A and an 1176 plug-in combo.
Waves makes the CLA-2A and the CLA-76 which are a great value and sound excellent.
hey before we get to the next three, if you're looking for some free plugins
check out my Saturday news reports and my 50 FREE Plugins video as well. you'll
find it on my channel. at number eight are lo-fi or tape saturation plugins.
now, even if you don't make lo-fi music, these plugins add warmth and character to your
music - making it warmer, adding that classic tone, and making it sound less electronic.
at number nine are mastering plugins. my mastering plugin of choice is Ozone by Izotope. mastering is
the last step in getting your song or beat ready for your listeners. it gets the volume levels up to
what you hear on Spotify or the radio and also helps with compression, the stereo image, and EQ.
Ozone is an excellent all-in-one solution and it's really easy to use. it has a Mastering Assistant
that just does all the work for you - listening to your music and adjusting it to the right level.
this is probably my most recommended plugin in this list. at number 10 is a drum sample manager.
you're probably going to add some sort of rhythm to your tracks, and the drum sounds
included with your DAW will only get you so far. XO by XLN Audio is an amazing plugin
that gives you beats, samples, and is super easy to use to add drum tracks to your songs.
it also categorizes and uses any other drum samples you've downloaded from the internet.
speaking of samples, you can also get Sample Manager by ADSR for free! it also categorizes,
and lets you use your drum samples from your entire library. so this is my list of must-have
plugins when you start producing at home. did i miss something that you highly recommend? leave
it in the comments below. if you like this video hit the like button and don't forget to subscribe.
keep making the music you love and i'll see you on Saturday for the latest from the music gear
world. hey if you want to check out other plugins i've reviewed check out one of these videos next.