My problem is that I have EVERYTHING. So there is so much that I haven't even tried, but bought because of a great deal. Like I just got the Boz Digital Plus 10db Bundle because it has things I like. Of course, this can lead to spending too much time on what to use, but it is there. Love Iron. That surprised me so much. I really like the UAD cooper delay. I use that a lot. I still use Equality from DMG for surgical EQ. I have all 3 versions of the Distressor. I typically goto the UAD, then EL. Don't really use the slate much. I have most of the Eventide stuff. Black hole for something funky. I like the flang and phase, the harmonizers of course. Alot of the Plugin Alliance stuff. Haven't even tried the bettermaker. The SSL channel strips, MAAG 4 EQ, Townhouse, and a number of things from them. Some I might use UAD or Native. Transient Designer works well. I have all the Slate stuff. I like using revival on somethings that need just a little help. VCC channel really works well if you want to commit to an overall saturation concept. the FG 401, which I think is a Chandler modeled compressor is one of my favorites. The circuit and transformer selections give you a number of options. I like their Neve more than UAD. Again, there is so much it is almost like I just need to pull out old tracks, and just use 1 company's plugins only. Sound Toys, again A LOT of really great stuff. I love echo boy and pan man. I remember using the hardware version which for the life of me I can't even remember the name of, but it pretty much looks and works the same. I got Sound Devices Royal Compressor I have yet to even try out, again. Deal. I like Shimmer from Valhalla as it was a recommendation. Haven't tried the rest of it. I have everything from Waves as well. I like some of the Abbey Road stuff, some of the CLA stuff (not the all in one fancy stuff), there is a lot of good things just I gravitate to other things. I don't like their SSL series, API stuff as much as UAD or Brainworx. Again, too much to go through. Sonible has this smartReverb plugin that is pretty cool and a lot of easy controls to create some interesting reverbs. Speaking of FX, that comes down to what works fastest. UAD, and sound toys are my most common. 480, 224, Cooper, Ocean way, RMX, 250. Eventide falls in this as well, but I have the UAD versions as well. There is just too much, but I'm kind of like Blackbird. I just like having it if you want to try it for something new. Though I need to spend the time on it.
Ah man! I've never heard about oversampling feature on the the fab limiter! hmm interesting. Can't wait for the hardware integration video, thanks for putting in the time to make these videos! You rock man
Gave some nice plugin inspiration I LOVEE the thrillseekerxtc multiband compressor for vocals. It can really bring out a nice balance for thin vocals. Eventhough it's a free plugin. can't wait for the next one colt
Colt, I just "discovered" your channel. You're amazing! I'm binge watching your content. Thanks for sharing your decades of insight in such a clear and understandable way!
They're delay came out last year and won plugin of the year by multiple outlets. It's basically an instant classic and essential plugin in an oversaturated market.
Agree with pretty much all of these! As of recent I have been teaching students and clients that the plugin or hardware matters very little. Performance is everything. For me the plugins/hardware comes down to does it help my workflow or effecientcy, if so I will buy or use, if not I will still find a way to do what I want😂😂. Solid vid!
I am trying to learn how to record my own tracks so every time I see one of your videos I learn something new thanks for all the info man keep up the good work.
I treat plug-ins like analog gear. I just find a couple I like and use them on every track. I use abbey road, Kramer tape on drum bus and master bus. And I use TDR Molotok for compression on drum bus and bass. It's not the plug-ins that make the song
Def not better than Waves or Black Rooster or NoiseAsh. They are cool tho and love the idea that Logic ans Studio One now come with they're own emulations
LOVED seeing your favorite plugins. After watching this, I think it would be really cool to see your top 5 favorite RUclips channels that inspires you. Because, we know we all have them! Excited to see future videos, Colt!
Thanks for watching! Honestly I only follow a couple music channels, Rick Beato, Adam Ivy, Daimien keys and that’s about it. I’ll check in on produce like a pro, and I occasionally watch videos from other channels. But almost all of my RUclips consumption is filmmaking stuff. Casey Neistat, Peter McKinnon, Matti Hapoia, And some other sports stuff I’m into. Thanks for watching!
@@ColtCapperrune Awesome! Somehow I knew Peter would be one of them! Definitely see some McCANON vibes in your videos. Great content for sure! Take care, Colt!
I've come across your channel half a dozen times or so in the past several months, just wanted to say I became a subscriber today.. really enjoy your videos, great quality, great content, kick ass studio - I learn something every time I'm here. Keep up the good work man very much appreciated!! Thank you !!
Cool plugin choices. But I got some bad news for you. V-Gain is nothing but noise button. So cranking up V-Gain adds more noise. You can read more about V-Gain on the manual.
If you don't have the UAD Curve Bender for 2Bus, I recommend the Eiosis from Slate Digital or the Elysia Alpha Compressor. Slate Digital have some other incredible plugins also. I also don't think the UAD worth anymore, the hardware is really expensive. You can get the Softube version for the curve bender and other plugins from them instead and when it comes to 1176 I would recommend the Arturia pack. If you want one of the best Vocal compressor and the best pultec EQ, also Softube have them. Also the Arturia packs for delays and reverbs are incredible, not to mention they also have incredible preamps plugins too. The Plate reverb from Arturia might be the best right now. But Slate digital have the Verbsuite and the Repeater which are one of the best too. It seems that for the SSL strip channel, the SSL Native have the best plugin actually. Never used it, but I will. SSL Native also have an incredible Reverb plugin with incorporated EQ and side chain compression. That one really worth trying! It might be a game changer that you never thought about.
Thanks for sharing your list of plugins. I can definitely see why the SSL 4000E and HG-2 are at the top of your list...blows the default EQ and comp/gain plugins in my DAW away...can't go back to using those! And the HG-2 adds so much richness to the final sound...incredible plugins!
Love your channel! Subscribed! Great vid, man! We use pretty much all the same plugins, but I haven't tried the UAD 176 yet... mainly because the Neve "PREAMP" plugin that owners of the Neve 1073 didn't get for free.... was the exact same code that's in the 1073 plugin. One of the heads of UA even admitted it on gearslutz. That's when I realized that UAD was probably just copying code and pasting it into "NEW" GUI's. 😢 Now I can't help but think they did that with many more plugins! But Colt, brother, I was the most DIE HARD UAD fan EVER! I had the first UAD card back in 2000, and never shut up about how great their 1176's LA2A's and plate 140 & EMT250 were! haha.. And I STILL think they're great! But somewhere down the line UA started acting greedy IMO. And honestly, all that "extra" harmonic distortion they keep adding to the "NEW" legacy updates... doesn't always work in my mixes. I usually go with the legacy 1176LN when I've already tracked my vocal though my Neumann M147, BAE 1073 & my vintage Erei 1176. There's so much harmonic distortion happening during tracking , I just don't need any more! (Other than a nice console emulation 😂) Seems like the Legacy 1176LN is more punchy and cleaner on most vocals and even on drums and bass. So many transients are lost with multiple instances of harmonic distortion. But I do love that BlackBox!!! I feel like it doesn't get the love it should because it NEEDS a gain match feature and a better GUI!. But I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. :). Anyway.. sorry to ramble. It just felt good to feel like I'm talking gear for a minute. haha. Oh, and if you wanna see what I mean about UAD releasing the exact same software programming code under the hood of shiny "new" GUI's... check out this video that Eric Valantine shared - it's crazy! And this is why those blind test plugins are SO important! ruclips.net/video/2k8fHR9jKVM/видео.html IMO, There are only so many things we can do with 1's and 0's when it comes to audio. lol.. I mean, It's not like a brand new harmonic distortion plugin is gonna sound THAT much better than another one. There are only so many frequencies we can process in the Nyquist zones with today's technology. :/ Unless computer scientists can completely crack the code on aliasing and the beautifully chaotic randomness of analog gear ... maybe one day with some quantum computing, 🤷🏻♂️ Ha ! To me it's all about useability & efficiency, and speed! The difference in sound just isn't worth the money that a lot of these companies charge. Maybe one day we'll have some kind of "alien ear" hearing boosters we can stick in our ears to hear from negative -20 hz all the way to 100k hz. 😭 😂 Then there will be a 299 dollar difference. ;) I SO grateful I discovered this though, because now I can get songs mixes/productions done SO much faster and carve in my sound before ear fatigue sets in! With the amount of songs you've mixed though, it doesn't seem like you have the same problem I ran into with A/B-ing plugins for 4 hours a day! haha! Even though I say all this...I'm probably gonna go download some new plugins and have a blast doing some blind tests! 😂
Very interesting... Seems like you could slap an analog hardware looking GUI over any code and fool a ton of people into thinking it's something special lol.
Here's one for the algorithm: Do you (or have you) run into clients with special MIDI needs? I notice how different the process varies between producers and artists... I know it's all subjective and circumstantial, similar to the process of EQ and compression (which goes 1st is determined by what the song & track needs). Perhaps in a future video you can discuss MIDI and the uses it has in different genres and applications? Keep up the great work! Much love and best vibes ~
Thanks for the comment! My MIDI needs are pretty limited honestly. Soft synthesizers, and fairly simplistic program percussion is about all I use MIDI for. If you’re curious about a specific thing let me know and I’ll see if I can address it!
It's actually scary how almost all of these are part of my template haha. I definitely need to get more use out of the 175/176 though, they are so good but man... so many options.
Yeah, everyone is using the same plugins. Maybe everything starts to sound the same. Look at cars now. Pretty much just different badges on different cars. Look at how unique cars used to be, before the homogenizing trend. I still use hardware, I don't have access to high end pieces or prices, I have crappy analog gear, but I prefer it. Things don't sound as objectively good, but things sound better to ME. My stuff just sounds different (worse, lol). I use some of the same plugins as everyone else, don't get me wrong, I'm hybrid, but I really hear the value of sounding different, rather than sounding better. Better, or best is terminal. Like everyone and everything is heading towards that platonic ideal, which when reached is a dead end. Like we're all here at the end of this tunnel, and this doesn't go anywhere. Meanwhile, there's that guy that is using cheap 80's analog gear, and his stuff sounds like crap, but at least it doesn't sound like all of our stuff. And before, "they're tools, they're so powerful, you can create any sound with them" uhm... yeah, okay. But to an extent. I've heard punters talking about vst synths, and they're like, just use one synth, it is a synth that can make any sound. But, if you've worked with hardware synths, you know, each synth sounds different... in every way. A saw wave, which is a mathematical abstraction, sounds different on each of my synths. And that is just the oscillator. Each amplifier, each filter, sounds different, each envelope opens and closes in a different way. So each synth becomes its own flavor, and it is mixing those flavors that makes the dish. And running all of those synths through rack gear, and effects pedals, yeah, it's all noisy and clouds all of the sounds to a degree... but for me, it sounds better. It sounds demo-ish, it sound unprofessional, but, I've had enough of professional sound. I've had enough of professional virtual distortion, and everyone using the same color plugins, like Decapitator. Or whatever. I think music, in almost every way... beat structures, melodic lines, sound... within each genre, there are like these platonic ideals of sound and structure that everyone is achieving now, and it is all so similar. There is more music being "made" I guess, recorded, than there has ever been, but its the most bland stuff ever. I'm a bit of an old timer, but I'm not a boomer saying music was better back then, but there were bands, I won't mention their names, if you heard 4 notes from the song, you could sing the whole song. Instant recognition. It's deep in your brain. And it is not from me listening to it for decades, it was like that when the music hit. And as new generations hear that music, they recognize the hook quality of the music. The hook is in everything in the song, not just a hook musical phrase, everything is hook, the sound, structure, it is all good and unique. It is like now, everyone is at that level of intro music theory, where chord structures are predictable, and people are trying so hard to write hooks, but they fall so far short, like everything is this peacock extravagant display, but none of it really ACTUALLY hooks. Of course there are still artists that are working that have this ability, and my hat is off to them. But... it seems like everyone is way more comfortable making normal music, and grand normal hooks... Shit man, I gotta go. What am I doing with my time?
Hey Colt. Totally love the Chandler Curvebender UAD plugin. I would say the advantage of the plug in is that the hardware has no M/S which for me is a huge benefit.
Great video Colt! Cool to see what you use for plug ins! Can’t wait for the hardware video! I’m really interested to learn more about what you do for hardware!!
I share many of your favorite plugins but I’d like to share my experience with the Chandler Curve Bender in case it helps others. For reference: I’m an industry veteran of 20+ years, actual industry not a “hobbiest”, from label work to TV/post mostly in SSL rooms. My home studio was no slouch either, with a 24 channel board and one tall rack with boutique gear collected over time. Eventually I started moving to all digital equivalents and I would stay late rigorously testing plugins against their hardware counterparts at the studio. I personally found that “digital cramping” and “dimension” or a sense of openness to the sound was the most offensive and most common issue with plugins. Things have come a long way, but especially when emulating saturation & harmonics, this “cramping” is an issue... (yes, I’m aware of aliasing etc. just trying not to complicate this for readers... plus, the Curvebender is upsampled) and if you’re not listening for it even the best ears could be fooled by these tone thieves. Long story short, I had the Curvebender (at a very conservative setting) parked on my mixbus for several months. When I removed it my mixes could “breathe again”, there was more “forward and backward” dimension... when you close your eyes you could “feel” the music again and pick out parts in their space rather than smeared together and 2 dimensional. It definitely sounds sexy at first but when you get closer you realize she’s a cardboard cut out... it actually sucks out the natural feel and tone and it’s replaced with a “plastic” and rather obvious DAW sound. I tried to mess with settings and it always sounded better when I deactivated it. Since I purchased it in the UAD platform I’m now just stuck with it haunting my unused plugins with similar issues. The best performing plugins in this sense are cleaner, like fab filter, upsampled or direct ports of digital gear. For example, the Neve DFC is the biggest sleeper of a channel plugin. It’s not an emulation, it’s a direct port of the same digital Neve board they use at Skywalker Sound. No digital cramping. Open sound. 1/2 the CPU of UA’s other channels and incredible natural EQ and compression. The UI is ugly as hell and it’s billed as TV & film so no one uses it. Anyway, some alternatives for the Curvebender to try it against: Softube Weiss EQ1 is amazing but expensive(another 1:1 port rather than an emulation) The Millennia EQ is very different... smooth, but more open and natural sounding. Acustica Audio stuff sounds INCREDIBLE but it’s just too damn CPU intensive unless you’re doing a mastering session or printing stems. I would describe their tech as more like taking a photo rather than a “realistic drawing”... That said: Acustica has a free EQ plugin called Coral BAX that imparts a very sweet hardware tone, a low and high band and it does’t kill your CPU. Run, do not walk to try this one on your master. This is just my personal opinion/experience. I love Softube... it’s just that plugin and a few of their older emulations(lookin’ at you, summit) that suffer from the issue. Cheers everybody!
Nice video! I am pretty sure you may know it now, but the V-Gain on the Ssl Brainworx is just « analog » noise (and the THD I suspect it to be the same THD in every Brainworx plugin that the brainworx utility attached to it). Otherwise can’t go wrong with SSL indeed :).
Just bumped into your channel. This is very good material. Thanks for taking the time to make these. I actually share 70% of the plugins that you use on every mix as well. I'm a big fan of Plugin Alliance, Valhalla, Kazrog and the likes. I'm not into the UAD ecosystem, but I have variants for everything you use. If you may, something I'd recommend on every channel as well is the IK Multimedia Tape 80. It lives everywhere on my mixes and also on the master bus, it's just magic. I also recommend some of the Soundtoys stuff. Little Radiator is magical on the Guitar bus and Devil Loc Deluxe is crazy good running parallel on the Drum bus. Again, congratulations on the channel, super cool and helpful. The mid-range one was gold. Cheers.
Thanks for watching! You know, for whatever reason I’ve not ever really got into them. I’ve downloaded all the demos, and I have a handful of them. But they certainly don’t make it in every mix. Good stuff though!
Great choices. I'm curious, as I don't often see slate products in these style videos, and I'm wondering of users are turned off by the the rent model that they employ?
Great video, as always. Plugins demand a lot from a computer, so there are good and bad ways to use plugins. WAVES have a way of helping out in this problem & offer good value/discounts. I'll be checking older videos of yours to see if you have talked about minimum spec for pc's. Your next video on outboard hardware will of course be a Pius when considering this issue.
Just letting you know if you will be giving an intro to outboard ...... Please please look up the cranborne series of 500 chassis it will make a huge difference in your viewers and your approach!
Hey Colt-really appreciated this vid as I’m building up my rig at the moment, very helpful. With all the UA stuff you’re using, are you using a UA interface for the acceleration of those plugins? Also, your comments on the multi-band comp for vocals piqued my interest. Would love to learn more about how you use that, both at the front and end of the vox chain as you mentioned...
What’s a few of your favorite plugins??
Metric halo Eq, my to go Eq. Fabfilter Eq and All Waves plugins.
Fab Filter ProQ, Slate VMR, Slate Virtual Tape, Slate FG Grey, Soothe, and Gulfoss.
GGD - Smash and Grab 🤩
I use IPad to mix, so I use LRC5, RV01, RoughRider3
Fabfilter, melodyne, Valhalla, and stock reaper plugins
I’m loving all this free publicity
Clayton Shay it’s a damn good looking hat! 😘
Right there with you - Black Box Analog Design
He started with my two favorite go to plugins good enough, don’t know this guy, but he’s no fool.
colt.................
You're a Allstar!
I absolutely love valhalla verbs and delays.
My problem is that I have EVERYTHING. So there is so much that I haven't even tried, but bought because of a great deal. Like I just got the Boz Digital Plus 10db Bundle because it has things I like. Of course, this can lead to spending too much time on what to use, but it is there.
Love Iron. That surprised me so much. I really like the UAD cooper delay. I use that a lot. I still use Equality from DMG for surgical EQ.
I have all 3 versions of the Distressor. I typically goto the UAD, then EL. Don't really use the slate much.
I have most of the Eventide stuff. Black hole for something funky. I like the flang and phase, the harmonizers of course.
Alot of the Plugin Alliance stuff. Haven't even tried the bettermaker. The SSL channel strips, MAAG 4 EQ, Townhouse, and a number of things from them. Some I might use UAD or Native. Transient Designer works well.
I have all the Slate stuff. I like using revival on somethings that need just a little help. VCC channel really works well if you want to commit to an overall saturation concept.
the FG 401, which I think is a Chandler modeled compressor is one of my favorites. The circuit and transformer selections give you a number of options.
I like their Neve more than UAD.
Again, there is so much it is almost like I just need to pull out old tracks, and just use 1 company's plugins only.
Sound Toys, again A LOT of really great stuff. I love echo boy and pan man. I remember using the hardware version which for the life of me I can't even remember the name of, but it pretty much looks and works the same.
I got Sound Devices Royal Compressor I have yet to even try out, again. Deal.
I like Shimmer from Valhalla as it was a recommendation. Haven't tried the rest of it.
I have everything from Waves as well. I like some of the Abbey Road stuff, some of the CLA stuff (not the all in one fancy stuff), there is a lot of good things just I gravitate to other things. I don't like their SSL series, API stuff as much as UAD or Brainworx. Again, too much to go through.
Sonible has this smartReverb plugin that is pretty cool and a lot of easy controls to create some interesting reverbs.
Speaking of FX, that comes down to what works fastest.
UAD, and sound toys are my most common. 480, 224, Cooper, Ocean way, RMX, 250. Eventide falls in this as well, but I have the UAD versions as well.
There is just too much, but I'm kind of like Blackbird. I just like having it if you want to try it for something new.
Though I need to spend the time on it.
Very excited for the intro video of outboard gears😀😎
Ah man! I've never heard about oversampling feature on the the fab limiter! hmm interesting. Can't wait for the hardware integration video, thanks for putting in the time to make these videos! You rock man
Gave some nice plugin inspiration I LOVEE the thrillseekerxtc multiband compressor for vocals. It can really bring out a nice balance for thin vocals. Eventhough it's a free plugin. can't wait for the next one colt
Colt, I just "discovered" your channel. You're amazing! I'm binge watching your content. Thanks for sharing your decades of insight in such a clear and understandable way!
Yo his channel is one of the best
Cool video, I hadn't heard much about the Valhalla delay. Everyone just talks about their reverbs. Gonna have to check that out 😁
They're delay came out last year and won plugin of the year by multiple outlets. It's basically an instant classic and essential plugin in an oversaturated market.
Dude! This is so awesome bro, learning so much from this channel!
Loving the page and this video! A live mixing session series from start to finish would be GOLD.
Seems like everyone's waiting for it. I'm sure it will happen soon :)
Really looking forward to the outboard gear videos! Perfect timing for me. Thanks Colt!
This gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to judge the quality of plug-ins
Sarcasm?
Agree with pretty much all of these! As of recent I have been teaching students and clients that the plugin or hardware matters very little. Performance is everything. For me the plugins/hardware comes down to does it help my workflow or effecientcy, if so I will buy or use, if not I will still find a way to do what I want😂😂. Solid vid!
I am trying to learn how to record my own tracks so every time I see one of your videos I learn something new thanks for all the info man keep up the good work.
I treat plug-ins like analog gear. I just find a couple I like and use them on every track.
I use abbey road, Kramer tape on drum bus and master bus.
And I use TDR Molotok for compression on drum bus and bass.
It's not the plug-ins that make the song
Yes!! Love the video Colt!! Thanks
I’m long overdue to check out those Valhalla plugins!
Also if you use logic, the Pultec EQs came with the 10.4 update are really hidden gems. Far better than waves and on par with UA.
Yeah! Logic has pretty much everything you need to make a good mix.
Def not better than Waves or Black Rooster or NoiseAsh. They are cool tho and love the idea that Logic ans Studio One now come with they're own emulations
you get a thumbs up for this one colt!
Whew....and about $2,000 later I can be like you too. 😄😄😄 Thanks for the suggestions. Can't wait to give these a try.
Kazrog man!!!! I absolutely love that thing, Valhalla makes great things as well. Loving the videos. Keep on keepin on!
Soooo good!
Great job! I will try the multi-band on vocals for my next mix. I never thought about it that way so thank you for the tip Colt! ✌🏽
I'm right there with you on the SSL E from Brainworx. I love cranking that high EQ knob, Chris Lord-Alge style
LOVED seeing your favorite plugins. After watching this, I think it would be really cool to see your top 5 favorite RUclips channels that inspires you. Because, we know we all have them! Excited to see future videos, Colt!
Thanks for watching! Honestly I only follow a couple music channels, Rick Beato, Adam Ivy, Daimien keys and that’s about it. I’ll check in on produce like a pro, and I occasionally watch videos from other channels. But almost all of my RUclips consumption is filmmaking stuff. Casey Neistat, Peter McKinnon, Matti Hapoia, And some other sports stuff I’m into. Thanks for watching!
@@ColtCapperrune Awesome! Somehow I knew Peter would be one of them! Definitely see some McCANON vibes in your videos. Great content for sure! Take care, Colt!
I've come across your channel half a dozen times or so in the past several months, just wanted to say I became a subscriber today.. really enjoy your videos, great quality, great content, kick ass studio - I learn something every time I'm here. Keep up the good work man very much appreciated!! Thank you !!
I have Valhalla bundle and i love it, I literally use it one everything ❤️
It’s always cool to see videos like that, thanks man!
Looking forward to that outboard gear video.
I'd really like to know how to do the connections and how to use them in your DAW
I’ve gotten so many questions about how to integrate hardware in mixing that I figure it’s time to do a video on it. Stay tuned, it’s coming soon!
@@ColtCapperrune 🔥🔥🔥 looking forward 🙌🏽
Hi colt, Can you do a live mix?
We would learn alot.
I'm sure it's coming. He might need to get permission from some of his clients though ;)
Cool plugin choices. But I got some bad news for you. V-Gain is nothing but noise button. So cranking up V-Gain adds more noise. You can read more about V-Gain on the manual.
Excellent video... you opened me up more to learning my Valhalla
Killer video! Can't wait for the video on outboard gear!
Loving the content Colt! Im just getting my feet wet in to recording and I find your videos real inspiring.
Thanks Cole. Cool set of plugins. Gotta try some.
I agree, that means - Valhalla and Klanghelm those are one of the best ever made plugins for the money !!!!
1:15 E sounds like frim ea sports ad lol
If you don't have the UAD Curve Bender for 2Bus, I recommend the Eiosis from Slate Digital or the Elysia Alpha Compressor. Slate Digital have some other incredible plugins also.
I also don't think the UAD worth anymore, the hardware is really expensive. You can get the Softube version for the curve bender and other plugins from them instead and when it comes to 1176 I would recommend the Arturia pack. If you want one of the best Vocal compressor and the best pultec EQ, also Softube have them.
Also the Arturia packs for delays and reverbs are incredible, not to mention they also have incredible preamps plugins too. The Plate reverb from Arturia might be the best right now. But Slate digital have the Verbsuite and the Repeater which are one of the best too.
It seems that for the SSL strip channel, the SSL Native have the best plugin actually. Never used it, but I will. SSL Native also have an incredible Reverb plugin with incorporated EQ and side chain compression. That one really worth trying! It might be a game changer that you never thought about.
Class video !
sick video! I also love the whole Valhalla line.
Thanks for sharing your list of plugins. I can definitely see why the SSL 4000E and HG-2 are at the top of your list...blows the default EQ and comp/gain plugins in my DAW away...can't go back to using those! And the HG-2 adds so much richness to the final sound...incredible plugins!
Great list of plugs Colt 👍
that's not a long list, appreciated!
0:33 Cheers!
Love your channel! Subscribed! Great vid, man!
We use pretty much all the same plugins, but I haven't tried the UAD 176 yet... mainly because the Neve "PREAMP" plugin that owners of the Neve 1073 didn't get for free.... was the exact same code that's in the 1073 plugin. One of the heads of UA even admitted it on gearslutz.
That's when I realized that UAD was probably just copying code and pasting it into "NEW" GUI's. 😢
Now I can't help but think they did that with many more plugins!
But Colt, brother, I was the most DIE HARD UAD fan EVER! I had the first UAD card back in 2000, and never shut up about how great their 1176's LA2A's and plate 140 & EMT250 were! haha..
And I STILL think they're great! But somewhere down the line UA started acting greedy IMO. And honestly, all that "extra" harmonic distortion they keep adding to the "NEW" legacy updates... doesn't always work in my mixes. I usually go with the legacy 1176LN when I've already tracked my vocal though my Neumann M147, BAE 1073 & my vintage Erei 1176. There's so much harmonic distortion happening during tracking , I just don't need any more! (Other than a nice console emulation 😂)
Seems like the Legacy 1176LN is more punchy and cleaner on most vocals and even on drums and bass. So many transients are lost with multiple instances of harmonic distortion. But I do love that BlackBox!!! I feel like it doesn't get the love it should because it NEEDS a gain match feature and a better GUI!.
But I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. :).
Anyway.. sorry to ramble. It just felt good to feel like I'm talking gear for a minute. haha.
Oh, and if you wanna see what I mean about UAD releasing the exact same software programming code under the hood of shiny "new" GUI's... check out this video that Eric Valantine shared - it's crazy! And this is why those blind test plugins are SO important!
ruclips.net/video/2k8fHR9jKVM/видео.html
IMO, There are only so many things we can do with 1's and 0's when it comes to audio. lol.. I mean, It's not like a brand new harmonic distortion plugin is gonna sound THAT much better than another one. There are only so many frequencies we can process in the Nyquist zones with today's technology. :/
Unless computer scientists can completely crack the code on aliasing and the beautifully chaotic randomness of analog gear ... maybe one day with some quantum computing, 🤷🏻♂️ Ha !
To me it's all about useability & efficiency, and speed! The difference in sound just isn't worth the money that a lot of these companies charge.
Maybe one day we'll have some kind of "alien ear" hearing boosters we can stick in our ears to hear from negative -20 hz all the way to 100k hz. 😭 😂 Then there will be a 299 dollar difference. ;)
I SO grateful I discovered this though, because now I can get songs mixes/productions done SO much faster and carve in my sound before ear fatigue sets in!
With the amount of songs you've mixed though, it doesn't seem like you have the same problem I ran into with A/B-ing plugins for 4 hours a day! haha! Even though I say all this...I'm probably gonna go download some new plugins and have a blast doing some blind tests! 😂
Very interesting... Seems like you could slap an analog hardware looking GUI over any code and fool a ton of people into thinking it's something special lol.
Great vid man love it. Can't wait for you to dig into the outboard gear
Here's one for the algorithm:
Do you (or have you) run into clients with special MIDI needs? I notice how different the process varies between producers and artists... I know it's all subjective and circumstantial, similar to the process of EQ and compression (which goes 1st is determined by what the song & track needs).
Perhaps in a future video you can discuss MIDI and the uses it has in different genres and applications?
Keep up the great work! Much love and best vibes ~
Thanks for the comment! My MIDI needs are pretty limited honestly. Soft synthesizers, and fairly simplistic program percussion is about all I use MIDI for. If you’re curious about a specific thing let me know and I’ll see if I can address it!
Colt, your content is amazing and every time I watch I learn something new! Cheers for the amazing shares and nuggets man! 🙌🏼
It's actually scary how almost all of these are part of my template haha. I definitely need to get more use out of the 175/176 though, they are so good but man... so many options.
Yeah, everyone is using the same plugins. Maybe everything starts to sound the same. Look at cars now. Pretty much just different badges on different cars. Look at how unique cars used to be, before the homogenizing trend. I still use hardware, I don't have access to high end pieces or prices, I have crappy analog gear, but I prefer it. Things don't sound as objectively good, but things sound better to ME. My stuff just sounds different (worse, lol). I use some of the same plugins as everyone else, don't get me wrong, I'm hybrid, but I really hear the value of sounding different, rather than sounding better. Better, or best is terminal. Like everyone and everything is heading towards that platonic ideal, which when reached is a dead end. Like we're all here at the end of this tunnel, and this doesn't go anywhere. Meanwhile, there's that guy that is using cheap 80's analog gear, and his stuff sounds like crap, but at least it doesn't sound like all of our stuff.
And before, "they're tools, they're so powerful, you can create any sound with them" uhm... yeah, okay. But to an extent. I've heard punters talking about vst synths, and they're like, just use one synth, it is a synth that can make any sound. But, if you've worked with hardware synths, you know, each synth sounds different... in every way. A saw wave, which is a mathematical abstraction, sounds different on each of my synths. And that is just the oscillator. Each amplifier, each filter, sounds different, each envelope opens and closes in a different way. So each synth becomes its own flavor, and it is mixing those flavors that makes the dish. And running all of those synths through rack gear, and effects pedals, yeah, it's all noisy and clouds all of the sounds to a degree... but for me, it sounds better. It sounds demo-ish, it sound unprofessional, but, I've had enough of professional sound. I've had enough of professional virtual distortion, and everyone using the same color plugins, like Decapitator. Or whatever. I think music, in almost every way... beat structures, melodic lines, sound... within each genre, there are like these platonic ideals of sound and structure that everyone is achieving now, and it is all so similar. There is more music being "made" I guess, recorded, than there has ever been, but its the most bland stuff ever.
I'm a bit of an old timer, but I'm not a boomer saying music was better back then, but there were bands, I won't mention their names, if you heard 4 notes from the song, you could sing the whole song. Instant recognition. It's deep in your brain. And it is not from me listening to it for decades, it was like that when the music hit. And as new generations hear that music, they recognize the hook quality of the music. The hook is in everything in the song, not just a hook musical phrase, everything is hook, the sound, structure, it is all good and unique. It is like now, everyone is at that level of intro music theory, where chord structures are predictable, and people are trying so hard to write hooks, but they fall so far short, like everything is this peacock extravagant display, but none of it really ACTUALLY hooks. Of course there are still artists that are working that have this ability, and my hat is off to them. But... it seems like everyone is way more comfortable making normal music, and grand normal hooks...
Shit man, I gotta go. What am I doing with my time?
I really like this guy
Really awesome vid Colt! It’s so cool seeing that we use similar plugins at similar points in the mix! Have a great day
Awesome info as always
Hey Colt. Totally love the Chandler Curvebender UAD plugin. I would say the advantage of the plug in is that the hardware has no M/S which for me is a huge benefit.
This is very good channel. I save your videos in dictionary and ofter watch again. Thank's.
Excited for the outboard gear vids!
Great video Colt! Cool to see what you use for plug ins! Can’t wait for the hardware video! I’m really interested to learn more about what you do for hardware!!
I share many of your favorite plugins but I’d like to share my experience with the Chandler Curve Bender in case it helps others.
For reference:
I’m an industry veteran of 20+ years, actual industry not a “hobbiest”, from label work to TV/post mostly in SSL rooms.
My home studio was no slouch either, with a 24 channel board and one tall rack with boutique gear collected over time. Eventually I started moving to all digital equivalents and I would stay late rigorously testing plugins against their hardware counterparts at the studio. I personally found that “digital cramping” and “dimension” or a sense of openness to the sound was the most offensive and most common issue with plugins.
Things have come a long way, but especially when emulating saturation & harmonics, this “cramping” is an issue... (yes, I’m aware of aliasing etc. just trying not to complicate this for readers... plus, the Curvebender is upsampled) and if you’re not listening for it even the best ears could be fooled by these tone thieves.
Long story short, I had the Curvebender (at a very conservative setting) parked on my mixbus for several months. When I removed it my mixes could “breathe again”, there was more “forward and backward” dimension... when you close your eyes you could “feel” the music again and pick out parts in their space rather than smeared together and 2 dimensional.
It definitely sounds sexy at first but when you get closer you realize she’s a cardboard cut out... it actually sucks out the natural feel and tone and it’s replaced with a “plastic” and rather obvious DAW sound. I tried to mess with settings and it always sounded better when I deactivated it. Since I purchased it in the UAD platform I’m now just stuck with it haunting my unused plugins with similar issues.
The best performing plugins in this sense are cleaner, like fab filter, upsampled or direct ports of digital gear.
For example, the Neve DFC is the biggest sleeper of a channel plugin. It’s not an emulation, it’s a direct port of the same digital Neve board they use at Skywalker Sound. No digital cramping. Open sound. 1/2 the CPU of UA’s other channels and incredible natural EQ and compression. The UI is ugly as hell and it’s billed as TV & film so no one uses it.
Anyway, some alternatives for the Curvebender to try it against:
Softube Weiss EQ1 is amazing but expensive(another 1:1 port rather than an emulation)
The Millennia EQ is very different... smooth, but more open and natural sounding.
Acustica Audio stuff sounds INCREDIBLE but it’s just too damn CPU intensive unless you’re doing a mastering session or printing stems. I would describe their tech as more like taking a photo rather than a “realistic drawing”...
That said:
Acustica has a free EQ plugin called Coral BAX that imparts a very sweet hardware tone, a low and high band and it does’t kill your CPU. Run, do not walk to try this one on your master.
This is just my personal opinion/experience. I love Softube... it’s just that plugin and a few of their older emulations(lookin’ at you, summit) that suffer from the issue.
Cheers everybody!
Thanks Bro
Nice video!
I am pretty sure you may know it now, but the V-Gain on the Ssl Brainworx is just « analog » noise (and the THD I suspect it to be the same THD in every Brainworx plugin that the brainworx utility attached to it).
Otherwise can’t go wrong with SSL indeed :).
Interesting!
@@ColtCapperrune No problem, it's in the manual. Thanks for your videos, they are cool.
My top 3 are Waves Helios, TRackS Black 76 and Scheps Omni Channel. Really want to try some UA plugins on my songs. Great video Colt! Thanks
Very helpfull video. Many thanks👍
Thanks a lot Colt! Your advice has given me a lot to think about with my own workflow.
Just bumped into your channel. This is very good material. Thanks for taking the time to make these. I actually share 70% of the plugins that you use on every mix as well. I'm a big fan of Plugin Alliance, Valhalla, Kazrog and the likes. I'm not into the UAD ecosystem, but I have variants for everything you use.
If you may, something I'd recommend on every channel as well is the IK Multimedia Tape 80. It lives everywhere on my mixes and also on the master bus, it's just magic. I also recommend some of the Soundtoys stuff. Little Radiator is magical on the Guitar bus and Devil Loc Deluxe is crazy good running parallel on the Drum bus. Again, congratulations on the channel, super cool and helpful. The mid-range one was gold. Cheers.
good show - can't wait for the show on the outboard gear
Great info
Cool vid man, cant wait to see the nex. Bless
Thank you
Someone please sponsor this guy mannn !!!
Mohnish Landge 😂😂😂
Great video bro', I'm taking notes. Just a little sad I didn't see any SoundToys plugins hahahaha.
Thanks for watching! You know, for whatever reason I’ve not ever really got into them. I’ve downloaded all the demos, and I have a handful of them. But they certainly don’t make it in every mix. Good stuff though!
Great choices. I'm curious, as I don't often see slate products in these style videos, and I'm wondering of users are turned off by the the rent model that they employ?
Great plugins, but how do you live without Oeksound's Soothe and Spiff?
BRILLIANT THANK YOUUUUUUUUU
Hey colt. Can you talk about multiband compression? Its always really noisy for me.
Drink a shot of espresso every time Colt says "literally".
Can you make a video on drum mixing ?
Great video, as always. Plugins demand a lot from a computer, so there are good and bad ways to use plugins. WAVES have a way of helping out in this problem & offer good value/discounts. I'll be checking older videos of yours to see if you have talked about minimum spec for pc's. Your next video on outboard hardware will of course be a Pius when considering this issue.
Super informative and helpful 💎
Since you really like the 1176 comp plugin, can you do a video on Purple Audio MC 77 plugin by PA?
Great vid!
Valhalla has become my favorite. I use the delay and supermassive but plan on picking up the vintage reverb. They’re good on CPU and sound amazing.
Thank you for this video
Just letting you know if you will be giving an intro to outboard ......
Please please look up the cranborne series of 500 chassis it will make a huge difference in your viewers and your approach!
Man you are amazing
You ever use any Acustica plugins? Was considering going for Ivory instead of UAD Manley Massive/Passive or the Chandler....
You videos are what I aspire to make🤘🏻 super helpful and well thought out. Appreciate the content man😁
Love the coffee coaster! How did you get it?
They actually shipped me a rack of gear to check out a year or so ago and the custom coaster was included in it. Great people!
@@ColtCapperrune Oh that's sick! Very jealous!
Have you tried overloud 1176 and la 2a plugins? beasts!!!
Ok you talked me into the UAD 175-76 comps. :D
Good info!
Thanks
Kazrog and SSL 100%
Great video, bud! I was a little surprised by the UA pultec. I thought you’d switched over to the Apogee versions.
Those are absolutely fantastic, but it was hard to justify $300 for the single EQ when I already had these, so I never ended up pulling the trigger
Hey Colt-really appreciated this vid as I’m building up my rig at the moment, very helpful.
With all the UA stuff you’re using, are you using a UA interface for the acceleration of those plugins?
Also, your comments on the multi-band comp for vocals piqued my interest. Would love to learn more about how you use that, both at the front and end of the vox chain as you mentioned...
Thanks man. A lot.
I really like the tracktion plugin bundle. I use the #TEqualizer a lot.
If you can’t afford UAD 1073 Neve plugin, go for Kazrogs True Iron, yes.. so great, and it’s so cheap! 😊
Valhalla some of the best quality plugins that are affordable... Also recommend Tokyo Dawn Labs
Much Appreciated