I love these topics. It's good to hear different points of view on this subject. Unfortunately, I can't add much: I am used to being extremely low-fi and minimalistic while recording and mixing, so I just use the stock plugs in FL studio and in Sonar (eqs, reverbs, compressors and other fx). Sometimes I use the free W1 Limiter or Buzmaxi3 in my "mastering" stage, after some equalizing. That fact is that I started to care a bit more about my mixing and mastering (lack of) skills for a couple of years now (I'm more a composer than anything else), and I'd like to thank this community so much because I've been learning a lot from you all.

 

1.The Glue
2.FabFilter Pro-Q
3.NUGEN Stereoizer3
4.Waves Vitamin
5.Slate Digital FG-X

 

Fabfilter Pro-Q & Pro-DS rulez!!!

 

+1 to Voxengo Elephant(3-4), as CM has written it:

+1 IK Multimedia Classik Studio Reverb series(especially the hall one)
+1 Soundtoys plugins
+1 FabFilter plugins
+1 MeldaProduction - MMultiAnalyzer

 

1- Fabfilter Pro-Q
2- Fabfilter Pro-C
3- Cubase EnvelopeShaper
4- Fabfilter Pro-L
5- Cubase UV22HR
6- Cubase MultiScope
7- Waves UltraMax.(for some EDM)

 

output Daw to Avalon Tube Vacumm
TC Electronics Finalizer
BBE Sonic Maximizer
You shouldn't need mastering plugs if all tracks are done correctly,! Maybe just to tinker here and there
cracks me up when some-one records a shitty track and figures I will fix it with plugins!! Not

 

Damn right!

 

In no particular order:
- Equick > Really simple, graphic, nice sounding and I love the analyzer for surgical issues.
- Amplitube > I record DI so it´s really needed. I use it also to get separation in almost any source, in specific situations of course.
- The Glue > I`m still learning when it´s 'The Glue time', but I try it a lot lately. Compressors are tricky for me when I want to achieve color/character and not just some dynamics control (I use stock ones usually in that case). For really picky stuff is great, and if I want something else I tend to add a second compressor after, but I don´t know if it´s the better way. It would be nice to get the sounds with less processing. *yes*
- Radiator > I´m using it a lot for parallel enhancement. Pushed, it adds some compression and grit that is really nice on guitars and bass.
- Sonnox.

 

+1

Very interesting to see all the different choices people make. Really shows that there is no 'one size fits all' in this field.
It would've been cool to take a track and let everybody run that through their mastering tools and check the results, kinda like Evorax's 3 limiters shootout.
Not to see what is 'best' but just to get a little feeling for what all the different combos would do on a certain mix.

I know that isn't practically feasible, just digging this thread and doin some thinkin aloud with my morning coffee over here

 

1. Izotope ozone maximiser section I love how transparent and predictable the limiter is It defeated all other limters hands down

2. 6144 eq, Great Eq I don't know why I like it so much but I end up using it again over and over, it does not have any surgical option and has a really distinct sound

3. tranqulizer, with maximum oversampling, every band can be used stereo or mid side and has its own phase button so you can make it sound like any other surgical eq by my opinion

4. Lexicon reverb: could be ValhallaRoom or breverb or whatever you like ( I didn't like breverb myself)
as long as it works for you, I think I like the lexicon cause it smears the sound how I like it

5. Alloy2: this could be fabfilter pro ds to , but hate to use a desser I rather try to prevent it,

1 spuper special secret trick of mine is done in alloy 1 actually, I use the eq section to boost the highs on a rap vocal. than boost a little transient and then top it off with the desser functioning like a multi-band, only compressing the top end, it has a sound to it i can't reproduce in alloy 2 or any other rack, (Believe me I tried ;) )

 

*yes* *yes* *yes* Fuck yeah.
...what Remix said about T´s comment before.

 

1. Nebula
2. FabFilter
3. Ozone
4. SoundToys
5. TDR (Free)

 

Hmmm... My top 5 (okay 6) would be in no particular order:



DMG - EQuilibrium.

Brain Worx - BX_Saturater.

Brain Worx - Refinement.

Sonimus - Britson.

Waves - Scheps 73 EQ.

Slate - VBC

 

Plugin Alliance Maag EQ - To give a nice boost (that you most likely feel more than hear) to the higher high-end by increasing it with the 'Air' function.
The Glue
IK Multimedia EQP1 - Personally, the best sounding EQP1 VST. I use it to give a very slight low-q boost to the low and high-mids.
Plugin Alliance DSM - One of the few digital limiters that don't turn your waveform into squares. Sounds great.
iZotope Ozone 5 - For the imager which I add to high frequencies while keeping the lows as mono as possible and also for the dither. MBIT+/Normal to bring it to 16-bit is still a pro favourite.

 

1. Fab Filter Pro Q
2. Voxengo Span
3. iZotope Ozone
4. The Glue/Live 9 stock
5. SoundToys Stuff

 

5 desert-island plugins ? probably lots of weed smoking so the music has to sound like led zeppelin or doors with a modern twist. ->

1. ik eq 81
2. ik comp 670 monster
3. u-he satin w/softclipper
4. waves ssl stereo comp
5. d16 sigmund - for dopeness

 

mixing : cla2a, host eq, ik eq 73 for character on vocal, toneboosters isone for mixing on headphones.

mastering : bx digital v2 eq, u-he satin, waves l2

 

1.) Slate VMR, VBC, VCC, VTM
2.) Waves LinMB
3.) Voxengo MSED
4.) Slate FG-X
5.) Waves metering

 

love the EQ 8 shout out!

 

Mixing:
1. VCC
2. Equilibrium
3. Channel X (pre, filters, compressor, pultec style EQ)
4. T-Racks Classic Clipper
5. TrueVerb

For "mastering" I use Waves Linear Phase EQ, API 2500 compressor and Ozone Limiter with IRC III balanced setting, usually I "master" what I've already mixed, so, I like to use the limiter from time to time to check out how is it going to sound, and if there's distortion and such