I'll go first:

Adobe

 

All MAAT plugins.

 

WAVES, IZOTOPE, T-RACKS

 

Nexus3

 

Waves, Slate

 

Output Arcade. annoying..

 

Microsoft Windows.

I might use it, but I don't want to use it. It is like a tax on all personal computers and software.

 

omniesphere

 

MAAT plugins, Sonible

 

Slate

 

Output Arcade of course

 

Output Arcade - even on their own website the guys using it say they'll tuck the sound behind their main sound.. great idea.. let's hope we don't hear it

 

I'll Go second that.. Yes from me on Nexus and any other whitebread Rompler players aswell

You can't even spell one of the most powerful and versatile soft synths ever produced much less use it

 

I find piracy to be a weird thing to be principled about to be honest with you, I mean, not downloading something out of spite instead of just not downloading.

But to each their own I guess.

 

Omnisphere
Nexus
Waves

 

Plugin Alliance, Adobe, DAWs

 

I tend to believe that piracy equalises the experience of the plugins, mostly. I see a lot of people still seem to trust more expensive plugins even then. You shouldn't. There's a lot of PR involved. The quality code in many cases has nothing to do with the price of plugins. But judging by this thread there seem to be surprising number of people who figured this out.

My list is: Most of Plugin Alliance plugins [except some old gems], Waves [except some old gems], Nexus 3 [the developer is an arsehole and the synth is really nothing special], Adobe products [DaVinci Resolve and GIMP do everything I need], Slate plugins [just a fancy interface], MAAT, new versions of IK Multimedia plugins, new versions of Arturia plugins [using just the ones that I really really find useful], Rob Papen plugins [incredibly taxing protection scheme], Tone 2 plugins [I simply dislike that developer so much], and anything FXpansion that needs their utterly stupid download manager.

Speaking of download managers, I hate them all since I hate bloatware and that's what they are [idiotically programmed Arturia plugins go into that category], draconian protections, and all cloud ponzi schemes. I don't want to even try most of this software even when cracked just because if I get hooked I feel obligated to buy it.

Cheers!

 

pro tools

 

Well, that's a given both in software and in hardware that price is no indicator of quality. Brand names and/or shininess does tend to affect a) the price and b) the perception of "quality", whatever that might be.

But that's what I kind of alluded to, download things if you want them.

But hey, I'm a packrat and even if I find something I'd be interested in but it would be out of reach, I try not to... I've got too much shit already and I've made a solemn promise to myself to actually use the stuff that I've got already. Plenty of stuff to learn.

 

The better questions is; what software is actually worth using in 2021 and going forward?

Some software is keeping pace while others are becoming stagnant/complacent. Wave Renaissance & L Series are ones that are still very useful with the exception of the buggy Waves rapper (main reason I don't use Waves).

T-Racks was at one time among the best. Slate Digital, meh. Acustica, please....

FabFilter, SSL Native, Softube & Plugin Alliance are heads and shoulders above everyone else currently. Some DAW stock plugins are just as good as 3rd party releases.

Some basic criteria:
CPU optimized
Code optimized
Sonically adds value
Efficient design/workflow
No unneeded bells & whistles (graphics that look like hardware taking up screen space & GPU resources)

 

Last edited: May 13, 2021