So I used to be heavily into music production and sound design more than 10 years ago. I used to be on this forum also. I stopped for various reasons and different priorities. I am looking into possibly starting up again as a hobby, or at least winter time hobby, maybe even something I can do with my kids.

As someone who has been completely disconnected from the scene I am not sure where to start, which daw to get, which good plugins are available for free these days etc. So I would really appreciate some advice.

Back in the days I used Ableton live and Studio 1 as daws. I think I would want to use Ableton again, possibly even get a second hand Push. And also, if I get Push, will it work with a free full version of Live?

Also in terms of plugins, I guess I wonder if some of the ones that used to be good back in the days are still around. I used various synths, of the top of my head Vanguard (which was a bit buggy), Waldorf Attack, sylenth, Predator... are they stable plugins today?

And also, have there been new plugins worth of note?

I would appreciate your input on these questions and anything else you think I should be aware of just starting out (again).

 

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 23, 2025 at 10:52 PM

recent versions of Ableton are available on the sister site or known torrent places.

AFAIK Push will work just fine with the keyed versions.

regarding your other questions, IMO it will be best to start slowly and explore what the DAW has to offer. Ableton Live in particular is known as a DAW which has amazing stock plugins. Also has Max for Live, so.. plugins of all kind which run within Live using Max as the background application. Many great ones around, both , free ones on the user library as well as paid ones on the sister site.

In theory you could just use Live and max for live and no VSTs at all and you would have creative resources for years.

https://maxforlive.com/library/index.php

hope that helped.

 

vanguard v2 something was re/released about 6 months ago, and it has some updated things but you'll probably remember most of it almost right away. If you are going to make some EDM grenre/sub-genre stuff, Nexus 5 is from the same developer ReFX and it is by far one of your best options if you have the cpu to handle it. Xfer Serum2 is great, but it is also nice to have V1 installed simultaneously because of how they handled backwards compatibility. UVI Falcon is great but probably more than you want to deal with. Arturia V Collection or Analog Lab would be a good one to start with for vintage synth emulation instruments. Roland Cloud would give you virtual versions of all their classic drum machines and synths. Kick 3 is another I would install to start with, because good kick drums is all it does.

For effects plugins, Get Fabfilter bundle. It is small and can do nearly everything you "need" for mixing. It's the perfect bundle for "starters", but is high quality enough you will never get rid of it. Waves is what you expect in 2025, just let it only install the newest version plugins when you are setting it up in Waves Central. Get Valhalla bundle for reverb.

i'd consider something with those to be a good starter set of the "staple" plugins. Then just add more as you need it later on.

 

The rules in music have not changed in creation or application. If you learned them then you possibly know more than a lot of people lurking and sometimes even posting. I'm sure you still have them because it's like riding a bike, it all comes back once you get back on the bike.

Therefore, my most sensible suggestion is that you will eventually get what sits comfortably for you, but for now, forget what any of us suggest because we can only go by what works for us individually and what we know works. TRIALS for every single DAW are out there and for most of the plugins that are out there too. Yes, it is not fast installing, trying out the DAW/product, and then uninstalling if it does not suit you, but it is and has always been the best tried and true method to find what YOU like.

There is no "BEST", they all do the identical thing with different interfaces and some do more than others. Find the ones (DAWS/Synths/Plugins), that sound and work for YOUR workflow best.
The best question you can ask for a DAW is to name the Genre style you are in, and perhaps the people on this forum from that style will tell you what they use and why they use it. e.g. HipHop, Rock, Metal, Jazz, R&B, EDM etc etc etc

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 1:28 AM

Check out virtual instruments like Pianoteq and chord generators. IZOTOPE is good, Antares updated their stuff and still exists.

With AI there are new ways that can fundamentally change your pipeline of producing music. Online or offline:

Don't be afraid or dislike AI. Used it as a tool to not have procrastination and to play with ideas.

I use AI (Suno) to generate raw melodic ideas. From there, I take full control: editing, arranging chords, and building the final track myself. AI is a starting point, not the composer.

If you compare things from 10+ years ago tools in general are less buggy for sure. There are great new tools for specific purposes and things are just... better, faster, stronger but as usual not perfect.

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 7:05 AM

This!

Ableton stock plugins are very very good! Try to stick to them before adding new stuff.

And... free stuff! Vital synth vst, Full bucket synths, Tyrell, Zebra CM and Bazille CM (free downloads at u-He - no need to buy a magazine anymore), Obxd, PG-8X, Dexed, Cardinal, the usual suspects synths (Vavra, Xenia, Osirus, OsTIrus, Nodal red) will get you covered if you need to go beyond stock Ableton.

For fx, variety of sound, Airwindows, TDR free, Klanghelm free, Melda free bundle, Audio Damage free legacy bundle, toneboosters free legacy will get you covered if stock is not enough.

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 9:58 AM

A few months using only DAW stock plugins would be a good thing for anyone to try sometime. Add Fabfilter, Izotope RX11, Neutron and Ozone,
you'd already have all the basics pretty much covered for anything not in your DAW already.