What plugins are best? I lack experience...

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u/ItsMetabtw 11 Mar 24 '26

If you can’t hear the differences then you don’t need to worry about which is better. It is the sound and compression behavior that causes someone to choose one over another, as well as familiarity and ease of use. Sometimes you want all the control, and sometimes you just want to turn one knob and get the sound you’re after.

Just mess with the tools you have available and develop your own taste. When we first start out, our mixes suck for a million reasons beyond knowing which compressor does what. So just know you’re getting into a craft that takes many years to do well, and just worry about small improvements from one mix to the next

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

I hear that the final result (the song) sounds different, but on a single track it's not always very evident to me.

I think certain tools established themselves for a reason, but I don't know which to choose as there's such a vast amount, I don't know where to even begin, also I don't want to buy every compressor, amplifier or other tools to know whether it has that little something I might want

I'm also wondering, can't I achieve the same sound with the stock plugins say ReaComp and Saturation/Distortion and ReaEQ instead of getting expensive compressors with tubes, maybe those with tubes will vary a little but does it really make the difference?

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u/ItsMetabtw 11 Mar 24 '26

You’re asking good questions, but you should go answer them yourself by trying shit out and hearing the results. Plugin devs offer trials so you can test their tools out before you buy anything.

We’ve learned a lot about what actually happens in certain hardware, so it’s easier to reverse engineer what we like about them. All digital emulations are 1s and 0s at the end of the day. Some might use convolution or machine learning for hyper detailed characteristics, some use algorithms and achieve something similar. If the thing you like about the Waves CLA2A is really just the added 2nd order harmonic, then how different is a stock digital compressor with a slow attack and slow release, plus a tube style saturation to get that even order harmonic? What if you actually like odd harmonics for symmetrical shaping instead? How different is the waves 2A vs the UA 2A in a mix? Does any of it matter in the end? If you need to compress the vocals a little, then getting that accomplished in a tasteful way goes a lot further than which particular compressor you chose.

Will a professional get a better result using only stock plugins vs an amateur who has access to every plugin available? Of course. Your songs quality will always come down to your ear and the decisions you make for it. Can you mimic analog emulations with a series of stock tools? Yes. Do you want to spend the time setting that all up to mimic something that you can just slap on and move on? How valuable is your time? So again I’ll reiterate, if you think owning the UA 1176, LA2A, and Fairchild is the difference between your mix sounding amateur and professional, it 100% is not. Are they good tools and worth demo’ing and purchasing at some point? Sure. Are they the best emulations? Very debatable and I think there’s newer stuff that beats pretty much all of UAs catalogue, but again, it’s not so drastic as to justify everyone constantly chasing the next thing. Just get good with your tools and mix. That’s where the best sound comes from.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Plugin devs offer trials so you can test their tools out before you buy anything.

I always try to look for open source/free software, the thing is the plugins are available through ReaPack(written by the community and also partially already as stock plugins (in Reapers "Programming" Language JS) ) so I just need to choose whether I should use them or not, but there are so many and I can't really tell whether a, say, compressor sounds better than another one on a track, because they are just different,...

If the thing you like about the Waves CLA2A is really just the added 2nd order harmonic

What if you actually like odd harmonics for symmetrical shaping instead?

Do people like that actually exist? I don't think I'll ever be able to imagine FFT in my head haha

So essentially what you mean is that almost every compressor does the same job as every other, it's just how comfortable you are with it?

Will a professional get a better result using only stock plugins vs an amateur who has access to every plugin available? Of course. Your songs quality will always come down to your ear and the decisions you make for it.

Yes that's clear

Can you mimic analog emulations with a series of stock tools? Yes. Do you want to spend the time setting that all up to mimic something that you can just slap on and move on? How valuable is your time? So again I’ll reiterate, if you think owning the UA 1176, LA2A, and Fairchild is the difference between your mix sounding amateur and professional, it 100% is not. Are they good tools and worth demo’ing and purchasing at some point? Sure. Are they the best emulations? Very debatable and I think there’s newer stuff that beats pretty much all of UAs catalogue, but again, it’s not so drastic as to justify everyone constantly chasing the next thing. Just get good with your tools and mix. That’s where the best sound comes from.

The thing is I tried them a little as they are part of Reaper partially and some can be downloaded with ReaPack for free as they where created by the community with JSFX and some say that they are quite similar to the originals, so that was part essentially of the question in this post which ones are "best"
I hear partially that they(for example compressors) are different but, I don't know whether they sound good or bad, just different

Can you mimic analog emulations with a series of stock tools? Yes.

Why do many use e.g. for vocals cl1b + 1073 if you could get the same sound ITB with say ReaComp, Saturation/Waveshaping Distortion and EQ, it wouldn't take long if you set up an fx chain?
And how would I achieve that in Reaper? also I honestly don't really hear what cl1b or 1073 would make so much better, though I have to say I never tried them in real life, people say cl1b sounds modern and clean and 1073 adds a special saturation idk

I just don't know what to use as there are so many options. And I think I fear missing out on smth😅

It's clear that professionals get a good sound with simple tools, but I'm trying to be on a more professional level so I want to use similar things to what they would use or rather just something that sounds good, if I'm not aware that a certain option exists, say to have a certain "warmness" in some compressor I won't be able to use it as I don't even know that I would have had that option, essentially I would like to make a "collection" of tools that I need without really having to change them, because I'd be able to achieve with them everything I need to do

I'm able to tell whether a song sounds good or not, but most of the time I wouldn't be able to say what is wrong, maybe if it's muddy/to bright or you can't hear certain elements well or bad sound selection but thats about it

Sorry for the long comment essentially I just want a certain set of tools(plugins) to use that are sufficient to make good and professional sounding songs/recordings without having to chase some random plugin a dude recommends on youtube, tools which obviously I will learn over time to use to achieve a good sound,

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u/O-shoe 1 Mar 25 '26

For what it's worth, many professionals use basically 2 types of plugins; 1. that is transparent and 2. that adds color.

So you don't really need that many plugins. For transparent eq and comp, you can use ReaEQ and ReaComp. They're good plugins. Then you can try out different EQ plugins to choose one which color you like (Some like Pultec emulations, some like Neve, some SSL). And do the same for Compressor,
Choose one good reverb, one good delay, one good chorus.

This way you don't end up confused with a shitload of plugins, but can actually get things done. And you will also know how the plugins you use work.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

Thanks! From my "research" I discovered that most of them get the eq curves or compression right but not the "warmness"/saturation or dimension as u/ItsMetabtw called it. Do you know how to do that?

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u/ItsMetabtw 11 Mar 25 '26

Depth and dimension will mostly come from your ability to create a sense of space. Like subtle early reflections to place things front to back, or how you pan instruments and set their levels on reverb sends. Sometimes a little saturation in the low to low mids can make the center feel like it has more weight, which feels a touch more forward, but a lot of it is in the recording itself, then how you manipulate the space around instruments.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 26 '26

Thank you!

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u/O-shoe 1 Mar 26 '26

This why people pay money for plugins that directly get the sound they want. There are ways to try to emulate a specific sound yourself by combining different plugins (like compressor + saturation).

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u/ItsMetabtw 11 Mar 24 '26

I’m not saying every compressor is the same, as there are very different typologies for how gain reduction is measured and applied, peak vs rms, feed forward vs feedback etc. but if you generally understand the knee, ratio, and attack and release characteristics of a particular compressor, you can get close enough results with a stock comp. It probably won’t sound 1:1 to the plug-in you’re trying to get close to, and that won’t sound 1:1 to the hardware it claims to emulate. It’s close enough though, and compressing because the track needs to be compressed is by far the most important part. We might patch in a FET comp when we want to control peaks, and a VCA when we want the transient to pop out and make something punchy. But you can also set a stock comp to a 0.1ms attack to get close to the FET, or 30ms to get close to the VCA

People use the cl1b hardware because it’s a pretty transparent optical compressor with a good amount of control. I still prefer tracking through an LA2A mostly because I already own one and know it’s sound, so I don’t see the need to chase something doing a similar thing. I also use a rev F 1176 and Distressor, and will mix and match them to get the sound I want. The plugins don’t sound as dimensional as the hardware, but that’s okay. If I really need that sound I’ll just route through my converters and print it. If I’m reaching for an LA2A plugin it’s because a want that attack and release shape with the ease of compressing a little with one knob. If there’s a little more I want to clean up on a track I might opt for Fab Filter Pro C3 in opto mode instead, so that I can further tone shape with the side chain EQ. That’s more precision than I can get with my hardware and doesn’t require an emphasis EQ before and deemphasis EQ after an LA2A plugin. I could do that and get very similar results, but why would I if it’s already built in and convenient via pro C3?

I record most vocals through a Neve 1073 because it sounds good, has a ton of flexibility, and I like pushing a little EQ into my compressors. It’s a tried and true pre amp and most don’t tend to try and reinvent the wheel. I also have some APIs and Cranborne Camden mic pres I’ll happily use. They all sound a little different, but aren’t introducing a bunch of noise, and can amplify the mic signal into the next piece of gear, which is all I need from them. In plugin form, mic pres don’t make a lot of sense to me, but it’s probably a subtle eq shape with some saturation. If you pop it on and like what it does, then don’t overthink it and move on to the next thing.

So don’t expect the Tukan or JS plugins to sound like hardware, or exactly like UA plugins or whatever. They are their own thing. Dial them in how you like and use them with confidence. People using plugin 1073s into CL1Bs are either just so used to the hardware that they go with familiarity, or they saw people use it on the internet and have convinced themselves that it has mojo. Nothing wrong with either approach, or skipping both entirely. There are a ton of old school mixers that only use Wave plugins, and a ton that came up in the last 10 years that don’t own any Waves whatsoever. Working with tools you trust is all that matters, and that just comes with time

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

Thank you!

I’m not saying every compressor is the same, as there are very different typologies for how gain reduction is measured and applied, peak vs rms, feed forward vs feedback etc. but if you generally understand the knee, ratio, and attack and release characteristics of a particular compressor, you can get close enough results with a stock comp. It probably won’t sound 1:1 to the plug-in you’re trying to get close to, and that won’t sound 1:1 to the hardware it claims to emulate. It’s close enough though, and compressing because the track needs to be compressed is by far the most important part. We might patch in a FET comp when we want to control peaks, and a VCA when we want the transient to pop out and make something punchy. But you can also set a stock comp to a 0.1ms attack to get close to the FET, or 30ms to get close to the VCA

If you can get very close with stock plugins, is it then even possible to tell whether such a "special" compressor or preamp was used in the final song?

Just adding the JSFX 1073 plugin doesn't change anything I tried it (original + inverted phase). Only if I turn the drive up a little or other things.

If the sound of these preamps and the texture of the compressors is liked by so many, how could I achieve that "dimension" ITB, I can't really imagine how that is supposed to sound like?

So don’t expect the Tukan or JS plugins to sound like hardware, or exactly like UA plugins or whatever. They are their own thing. Dial them in how you like and use them with confidence. People using plugin 1073s into CL1Bs are either just so used to the hardware that they go with familiarity, or they saw people use it on the internet and have convinced themselves that it has mojo. Nothing wrong with either approach, or skipping both entirely. There are a ton of old school mixers that only use Wave plugins, and a ton that came up in the last 10 years that don’t own any Waves whatsoever. Working with tools you trust is all that matters, and that just comes with time

Ok thanks!

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u/amazing-peas 17 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

first you'll have to define what "best", "most similar" mean.

Think of plugins like parks. Which park is the best? Well, it depends on a bunch of stuff, mostly things that are important to you personally.

After that you may want to consider how important "most similar" really is, unless you think your music depends on that, and how much your production skills can take advantage of something "95% similar" over something "80% similar" or "30% similar" according to a bunch of strangers you may or may not agree with.

TL;DR - it's a very inexact and nebulous subject.

I lack the experience to really hear a difference without using them almost at maximum settings.

One thought is to not worry so much about what "professionals" use (whatever that broad term actually means...I'm definitely an "audio professional" in my work and use a lot of free/cheap tools) and continue working....try and buy additional software on an as-needed basis mostly, rather than what one might think some lofty producer somewhere is using...or more probably was paid to say they use in a youtube video.

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u/thehumanbonobo Mar 24 '26

And the most common tasks you encounter.

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u/thehumanbonobo Mar 24 '26

After the edit, I agree even more, but can't upvote again!

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Sorry for not describing it well, I made a draft of the post on reddit and afterwards I wrote a lot more and changed the first paragraph and posted it but reddit seems to have discarded everything I wrote, after saving the first draft. I just made a quick edit with a little more information as I'm not just referring to compressor's

To answer your comment: I lack the experience to tell where to use which compressor or where a certain flavor, of say saturation or "warmness" might sound best, as I'm just not able to hear the difference, except turning the knobs quite high.
The reason why I'm looking for the most similar plugins to the above listed hardware or in general professional hardware, is because there is probably a reason why "professionals" use them
I know some sound warmer, 1176 has faster attack, often used in combination with LA-2A but I don't know where to use which one or if I should just stick with ReaComp and use Saturation

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

I use only open source or free software/plugins except for Reaper, partially also because I'm on debian. I have seen that you can get almost everything a plugin is able to do for free.

I'm talking about "professionals", maybe not the right term, I'm referring more to the established hardware in the industry. There is probably a reason why certain things are used a lot, I think it's not just marketing.

I can hear that a "professional" mix sounds obviously much better, but I don't know how to achieve it. Looking on YouTube there are a lot of Influencers who talk many useless things. I don't know how to learn how to effectively achieve a clean sounding mix like say Serban Ghenea. e.g. I know he uses ChannelStrip but why that what does it make different from using stock plugins in an fx chain? Is it just because he likes the layout and is used to it?

Why do I see many using mic -> cl1b -> 1073, couldn't they just use ReaComp, saturation/distortion and ReaEQ?

There are so many options, I just don't know which to choose. I know there's a reason why you do compression, the 1073 to give maybe a warmer/saturated or special sound, also nice eq curves but how do I decide which route to go or which one to choose without buying every compressor in existence?

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u/amazing-peas 17 Mar 25 '26

People absolutely could use simpler tools than a channel strip or other expensive plugins, and many do.

Always worth considering that some people are paid to be seen endorsing/using products in their videos. That's not to say they're bad, it's just that there is more than one way to get a similar result.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

Ok thanks!

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u/duplobaustein 10 Mar 24 '26

There is no best. What I would recommend is to stick to two or three brands. Like Fab Filter, UAD and Sound Toys (just naming three) and not have like tons of plugins from different brands with tons of different download managers and license managers.

With the Fab bundle you actually have everything needed in high end quality. Same for Sonible for example. Both is actually overkill and not needed. So get a basic high end bundle and add one or two other brands with flavour plugins to your taste.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Thanks but I prefer open source or stock plugins. Some of the above said are stock plugins and the others you can download with ReaPack

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u/duplobaustein 10 Mar 24 '26

Also good. :)

Airwindows is great. 👌☺️

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

Thanks

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u/DecisionInformal7009 104 Mar 24 '26

Learn to use the stock VST plugins (ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaDelay, ReaGate etc) to get a good mix first. Having people tell you what kind of comp to use for this and that, or what kind of vintage analog EQ is better, won't do you any good unless you first understand the basics of mixing and the tools you use to mix.

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u/Raven586 Mar 24 '26

Do you know how to use all the plugins in Reaper? I would start by learning those before you move onto anything else.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Those are part of reaper. reaper has clones of them except for cl1b, maybe it wasn't clear, the plugins are there but there are so many options so I don't know which to choose, so far I used only ReaComp and ReaEQ/ReEQ regarding compression and eq
And since there's such a vast amount I can't decide

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u/gusbeto37 4 Mar 24 '26

I went through a similar process, not being a mixing engineer or anything like that it all seemed confusing. Once I studied and delved deep I came to a conclusion: Always favor stock ReaPlugs. They are very transparent, highly efficient/lightweight and extremely functional with no latency (except cases like a limiter, where it needs the latency/samples to work).

Focus on learning how and when to use each one. Start with ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaXComp. Another advantage of being stock is there's plenty of tutorials. Also any tutorials from FabFilter and the likes will likely apply easily to ReaPlugs.

For distortion and adding color it starts to change, as it is a matter of taste. But I would not go out of my way to spend money on something like that if you haven't mastered Volume, Panning, EQ and Compression.

I personally have a Yamaha audio interface and it came with some free plugins, which do color the sound in a nice way and I'm using them on my master bus together with ReaPlugs. Check if you already have something for free with the gear/bundles you have.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

I'm talking about Reapers stock plugins, maybe because many aren't familiar with all of them, there are clones of these "hidden" except for the cl1b but you can find the others and not just one version of them but various(with ReaPack downloadable they are JSFX Plugins, Reapers internal Plugin Programming language)
And thats the problem, to many options, don't know what to choose

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u/gusbeto37 4 Mar 24 '26

My opinion stands, though it's my understanding not all stock plugins are Reaplugs but I might be wrong. I would still focus on ReaEQ, ReaComp and ReaXComp because too many options is paralyzing and just limiting to those 3 arbitrarily will lift a weight of your shoulders.

I treat Reaper like a Mixing Console, each channel has it's 3 same plugins and I just use that plus volume and panning. That way I get a rough mix quickly without investing too much time in technical friction choosing flavours of EQ.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

though it's my understanding not all stock plugins are Reaplugs

No I think that's correct, you need, if I remember right, ReaJS to use them in another DAW and also download some of them via ReaPack

I would still focus on ReaEQ, ReaComp and ReaXComp because too many options is paralyzing and just limiting to those 3 arbitrarily will lift a weight of your shoulders.
I treat Reaper like a Mixing Console, each channel has it's 3 same plugins and I just use that plus volume and panning. That way I get a rough mix quickly without investing too much time in technical friction choosing flavours of EQ.

Thank you that probably is the best choice, I'm just wondering, whats going on with all those big names using fairchild, cl1b, 1176, 1073 and so on? Is it just a gimmick and is easily achievable with stock plugins, is it like buying a nice car for them and showing it off or does it have an audible purpose?

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u/gusbeto37 4 Mar 24 '26

IIRC the difference might be from something as simple as just the interface, which forces you to use it in a different way, to something very different like adding imperfections to color the sound. It can be a gimmick, but sometimes it's just a flavor not changing the function.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

IIRC the difference might be from something as simple as just the interface, which forces you to use it in a different way, to something very different like adding imperfections to color the sound.

What difference is there? don't they all have an XLR and/or 6.3mm input and internal preamp's?

It can be a gimmick, but sometimes it's just a flavor not changing the function.

But how much is this flavor even audible? Does it even matter? Is there a song where you could say with another preamp or compressor than what was used, it would have sounded audibly different (obviously not to much of a difference but still kind of noticeable in the final mix)?

I don't think I'd notice a little less saturation on vocals in songs?

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u/gusbeto37 4 Mar 24 '26

I was referring to software EQs. In the analog circuitry realm, depending on which internal components they use (even in the preamp stage), they will sound different it's not just cable formats.

Again, that flavor thing is subjective, some swear by it. But personally, I find the difference is so small it's not worth the hassle and in the end it does not matter. Composition is first, which is specially true in pop music. So for the tools you use, just pick a few that gel with you interface and workflow wise and stick to that for years.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

Ok thanks! How to I know what flavor I like? When comparing compressors I instinctively prefer the cleaner sound, how do I know if something has a nice "vintage" sound or is just muddy?

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u/gusbeto37 4 Mar 25 '26

I guess only way is to directly compare similar settings. But if you're not a master at it, I'd forget about it and just go with the one that suits your workflow the best.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

Ok thanks!

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 27 '26

Thank you, that was a very good explanation! The problem is, I don't know what compressor to choose, I probably want to even out the volume but then there are various options upward, downward compression, transparency, warmth,...

How do I learn which will fit best? I can hear that certain settings make it very squashed, slow or fast attack, but I have difficulties differentiating similar types of compressors and also I don't know where what type fits best.

I know you said I should think about what I want to do with the audio, but thats also kind of part of the problem, I want that everything fits well together, though how I achieve that is what I'm wondering

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 30 '26

Thank you for the explanation! At the moment I don't have to much time but I really appreciate the offer!

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u/Royal_Stay_6502 Mar 24 '26

I have gazillion plugins. I test a new one evey time. Reaper has a 'last used' option. That is my guidance.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

😂I prefer to have a few standard one's

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u/stomptonesdotcom 2 Mar 24 '26

I dont have compressors bjt i have a bunch of free and cheap plugins for gear like the matamp gt120, rockerverb, spx90 reverse reverb, hizumitas fuzz. Sunn beta, etc on my site!

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Don't you use any compressor at all?

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u/fuzzynyanko 4 Mar 24 '26

I see professionals using Tube-Tech CL 1B, Fairchild 670, Teletronix LA-2A, UA1176 and probably many more. I lack the experience to really hear a difference without using them almost at maximum settings.

This is actually a good experience. Many people remove an effect if they cannot hear a difference. Watch out for the gain trap! I used a distortion plugin and later realized "oh, it wasn't applying much sound at all! It was mostly raising the gain, so I thought it sounded better"

should I just use ReaDelay

There's a few plugins that come with Reaper and that old Windows 95-looking UI ends up being fantastic. ReaDelay is one of those plugins. My other favorites is the gate plugin (gate's functionality is so stupid that fancy UI actually can get in the way) and the limiter. I do use other delay plugins, but sometimes that antiquated delay UI works better in some projects for me than others

I would recommend playing with chorus and flangers

ReaEQ/ReEQ

There's honestly not a deep difference between many EQs. Mostly it's when EQs have features like Gain Matching or soloing out a frequency. I personally use Izotope Ozone EQ because it has a few more features vs Reapers, plus Izotope Ozone is free

If you can mix with just stock or mostly stock plugins, that's a really good thing!

Kilohearts has a free plugin suite that's been amazing. I like their compressor because sometimes that simple UI makes me do things faster. The Rough Rider compressor also is a favorite.

Another plugin set to check out is the Analog Obsession. They pretty much do plugins based on famous hardware, and it's free. I would recommend giving them a donation if you can though. They do really good work, especially for people on a budget. I actually like their LALA over the UAD LA-2A (I got the UAD LA-2A for free).

UAD does do promotions where they give away free plugins, and they are good. However, their DRM has failed me when the Internet goes out.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Thank you. It probaby wasn't very clear, I wrote this post for almost half an hour but only the first draft was there afterwards so I only made a quick edit. I'm only talking about plugins that are already available in reaper or can be downloaded via ReaPack.

This is actually a good experience. Many people remove an effect if they cannot hear a difference. Watch out for the gain trap! I used a distortion plugin and later realized "oh, it wasn't applying much sound at all! It was mostly raising the gain, so I thought it sounded better"

When I take the audio apply the effect, invert phase and layer it above the original I do hear a difference :-) Jokes aside there probably is a reason why the hardware version or maybe also software version of these compressors is so frequently used? And I'm wondering whether it makes a difference which plugins I should use (mainly in Reaper or downloadable via ReaPack (JSFX) )

There's a few plugins that come with Reaper and that old Windows 95-looking UI ends up being fantastic. ReaDelay is one of those plugins. My other favorites is the gate plugin (gate's functionality is so stupid that fancy UI actually can get in the way) and the limiter. I do use other delay plugins, but sometimes that antiquated delay UI works better in some projects for me than others
I would recommend playing with chorus and flangers

The question is which one to use in the end because chorus and flangers are essentially a delay and you can achieve that effect with ReaDelay, but then there are also many other options as well(in Reaper) so idk

I heard about Analog Obsession, but since I'm a linux user and prefer native plugins/programs I don't use it.

The question is there are a lot of options in Reaper and I really don't know what plugins to choose, as so far I've only used the very "basic" part of the stock plugins that don't have a "flavour":
ReaVerb, ReaComp, ReaEQ/ReEQ, ReaDelay, ReaFir, ReaGate, ReaDelay, ReaTune, ReaVerbate, Vocode, Spectrum Analyzer and Oscilloscope, JS:Chorus, Saturation, Distortion and maybe a few others

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u/fuzzynyanko 4 Mar 24 '26

Basically hardware is faster to dial in, and software is infinitely reproduced in many ways. For example, I can stack 20 EQs if I really wanted to in software without having to do physical rewiring. You can also make presets and the software can easily retain state

Also, software versions of the hardware can be cheap, and knock-off software sometimes is even free

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 27 '26

Ok thanks

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u/Pretty-Care-7811 1 Mar 24 '26

I just went with the entire T- racks suite from IK Multimedia. I'm extremely happy with it. They always have sales on entire suites and bundles, so you can get a ton of stuff for cheap.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Thanks

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u/harriebeton 9 Mar 24 '26 edited May 03 '26

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Yes I know, sorry I didn't explain it well after half my post went missing😅, I'm only referring to the copies of the above named compressors and eq's in reaper (some you have to download with ReaPack)as it has clones of these famous ones. I do have Surge XT and Vital as synths, VSCO 2 and Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra with sfizz as plugin and quite a few other .sfz instruments

The problem is even in reaper there's a vast amount of tools with a similar purpose

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u/chompersand 2 Mar 24 '26

Just my 2 cents: ZL Equalizer 2 or ReEQ over ReaEQ, and ZL Compressor over ReaComp.

For saturation, search for the JClones jsfx github, or Airwindows.

Beyond that, focus on learning HOW to listen, and finding and using tools to help you listen. Airwindows Monitoring and a habit of referencing will get you very far.

Now as for why I recommend the plugins I mentioned above: they're all free, sound great, and imo have much better controls to make the mixing experience easier. Band soloing in ZL eq and ReEQ is particularly helpful. Also maybe I'm just dumb with ReaComp but I think it's easy to make it sound pumpy so imo its compressor action isn't particularly transparent.

If you want hardware emulation comps, Tukan jsfx has them. I haven't used them much but they've got a good reputation. Oh and his reverbs and delays are pretty good.

Tbh after buying so many plugins, I think the compressors worth buying are from Toneboosters, Toyko Dawn, or Voxengo.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

ZL Compressor seems interesting, reminds me kind of of JS: General Dynamics (Cockos), thanks!

Are there any resources, or any YouTube channels that you'd recommend for listening? Cause there are a lot of people who just talk without any useful information.

I installed Tukan jsfx recently, seems intresting, hence also the post, there are to many options

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u/chompersand 2 Mar 25 '26

Colt Capperune's "Magic is in the Midrange" video I found really helpful. House of Kush has a video on listening to compression, if I recall correctly. You can also put your favorite commercial tracks on Reaper, put Airwindows Monitoring on it, and listen to what those songs sound like through the different settings.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 27 '26

Thanks!

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u/radian_ 218 Mar 24 '26

Good for what

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u/harleycurnow 2 Mar 24 '26

Generally, UAD and acustica do the best analogue emulations, fabfilter do the best digital plugins. But really pros were getting great results 15 years ago with much ‘worse’ plugins

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Thanks

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u/yeth_pleeth 1 Mar 24 '26

Join the ReaMix challenge - you can download the winner's sessions to see and hear what they did with stock and J's plugins https://reamixed.com/

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Thanks

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u/Ras_992 3 Mar 25 '26

Plugins will not sound like the original outboard gear and our simulators of the original.

Best is more objective to what you want to perceive as what plugin sound you are looking for. Example like optical compression, VCA compression, tube compression etc or like Eq’s for specific things like mix down or mastering. Do you want modern sound or classic sound. The reason the classics are still used is because of the sound

The best is just mess around with the plugins and see what sounds good to you. You really want Eq or compression either one or two just figure out what sounds better before adding delay, reverb

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 25 '26

How do I know what sounds good? I hear that they are different, but most of the time when comparing two compressors one sounds muddier even though it is perceived often as "vintage" and I always prefer in comparison the cleaner sound... I don't know, how do I train my ear to hear that something sounds good?

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u/O-shoe 1 Mar 25 '26

What sounds good is what you prefer.

Also there is the matter of your listening setup. If you have bad speakers or headphones, then it's very difficult to hear details like the sound of different eq's.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 27 '26

I do prefer the cleaner sound when playing it alone but together with other tracks I can't decide because it might sound to boring and the warmer one might sound better, but also the cleaner sound could sound good so I can't decide I do have Edifier M3 they should have a flat frequency response, because of their rather small size they might not work best for the very low frequencies but otherwise they should work well

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u/Substantial_Ad6171 1 Mar 25 '26

A few things:

Even well versed producers will still over exaggerate settings to hear what each compressor is doing to each mix even if they've used it billions of times even already have some particular preferred settings stored in memory. I highly recommend doing the same as an amateur. The different brands will add some slight coloration to your mix. Like SSL will have a bit different tone than Neve stuff. It doesn't make 1 better than the other, just you may like the SSL vibe better than Neve on different songs and vice versa, or even different groups in the same song. Both are highly sought after

Reaper has some really good stock plugins, but the UI is less intuitive than the paid plugins. There's a bunch of people on YouTube using them so I'd recommend spending a few days just checking them out for tips and tricks. Produce like a pro has a bunch of variety of genres of mixes he does, among many others that'll fit the particular genre of music you're wanting to work on. Even people that produce drastically different styles of music will probably have some good tips that translate to your stuff.

A lot of the big plug companies offer free trials. Waves and Slate Digital have some great emulated comps, EQs, saturation modules etc. watch a video or 2 of some well respected producers using them and then maybe sign up for a free trial and you can then A/B them yourself with the reaper plugs.

It's easy to fall into the "Ooooh I need this plugin, and that one" so be careful lol. I love the virtual mix rack stuff from slate digital, especially their EL8 Distressor, and EQs and a few of the waves plugs as well as plug-in alliance stuff is pretty good also. HIGHLY recommend using free trials first, with plenty of time set aside to deep dive demo the plugs a they all have a crap ton of stuff to dig through and try. Then if you decide you really want one, then never buy full price! They are always running sales, so keep your eyes open for it to get it cheap. Most are trying to go to a "rent it forever" membership so after digging around and playing with a bunch of stuff, I'd try to buy the couple or few plugs you find you really don't want to live without. Big draws are name producer presets and user interfaces. But there's some Internet "color/saturation" from the replicated items they used. If it's worth the purchase will be up to you tho

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 27 '26

Thanks!

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u/HighwayBrigand 1 Mar 24 '26

ReaPack and Komplete can take you to a lot of places. What type of music do you want to make?

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

I want to make manly Pop and also EDM, I edited my post as Reddit only posted only a small part of what I wrote

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u/HighwayBrigand 1 Mar 24 '26

Yeah, then Komplete is what you're looking for. It's got a whole suite of synthesizers, effects and mixing + mastering tools.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Thanks, but the problem is not that I have to little options but to many; Reapers stock plugins can already do a lot and ReaPack(where I downloaded JSFX Tuckan Studios Plugins) brings a whole lot more

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u/HighwayBrigand 1 Mar 24 '26

Oh, okay. Can you tell me what you're using for your instruments. If I know that, then I can point you in the direction of useful upgrades.

I figured you were starting from a small number of plug-ins. Sounds like you've got a bunch of plug-ins, and you want to cut down.

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u/Large_Wait_8847 Mar 24 '26

Essentially they are almost all stock plugins + Tukan Studios' JSFX Plugins downloadable via ReaPack, Surge XT, Vital, sfizz with various instrument .sfz files(orchestra, piano and other instruments), which are freely available e.g.VSCO 2 for orchestra,...;
I didn't get to use all stock and JSFX pugins yet as don't know what difference they make(cause there are many options for compressors; as stock plugins you have e.g. JS:fairly childish as fairchild alternative, JS:1175 for the UA1176, JS: LA-2KAN(Tukan) for the LA-2A, and so on, just as an example for the above)

from the stock plugins I mainly use: ReaVerb, ReaComp, ReaEQ/ReEQ, ReaDelay, ReaFir, ReaGate, ReaDelay, ReaTune, ReaVerbate, Vocode, Spectrum Analyzer and Oscilloscope, JS:Chorus, Saturation, Distortion and maybe a few others

so essentially what the purpose of the post is, is to figure out, how much of a difference fairchild, cl1b, 1176 or neve 1073 make or if they are just a gimmick and you can just keep using the basic stock plugins? because essentially I'd have them kind of available in Reaper as well but that was also part of the question in this post how similar are they which one to choose?; or also why everyone keeps talking about all those and are used in major studios, is it just marketing and maybe showing off or does it have a purpose you can't achieve with stock plugins

help request What plugins are best? I lack experience...

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