Hi everyone! I know the title sounds ambiguous, but let me explain.

Recently i found myself revisiting my collection and i noticed that with the years of use, i forgot which plugins i actually use that make an outstanding, impressive difference when they're inserted or with minimum tweaking. Those that really create or add something that you cannot describe how good it is, it just works.

Examples of this, to give better context:

1. Softube Germanium Comp: I remember using it for the first time, playing with presets when i clicked on Michael Brauer's one, it was night and day, since that moment, i started using it to get that super beefy low end in drums, full mixes and even other sources like vocals, it's a crazy powerful plugin.


2. Plugin Alliance NEOLD Wunderlich: Adding high-end with this plugins is amazing, it's crispy and detailed but not fake or harsh sounding, it can make a dull, opaque signal turn into something with presence, a middle ground for natural air but strong enough to overturn a heavy lack of brightness.


3. Mixland 280 Pre: When dialed in correctly, i don't know how, it creates a thump in the low end that immediately gives a widening effect while also pushing forward the bass, i use this one in songs with sharp treble and thin bass, difficult to tame without sounding unnatural, this processor makes the lows stand out more, with acoustic tracks it also works excellent. I even had the opportunity to use it in a videogame project for a friend of mine, to this day he remarks the sound of the bass in UI elements that he compares to other games, praising me, while not knowing that i find that sound by pure luck.


4. The last that i could think of is Tokyo Dawn Records Limiter 6 GE, taming high end with this one is simply wonderful, i'll pair it with Arbiter. Simply incredible results.

 

Give Korneff Sitral Klangfilter W295 a go. I think the analog-sounding saturation and high shelf filters in it will be right up your alley. If you've felt lukewarm on Korneff before I also think it is one of their best plugs so don't let that deter you.

 

yo welcome to the forum. what you said is exactly how i feel about this

 

all the vertigo stuff is great.

 

unhesitatingly, Dmitry Sches TANTRA. But the first version of the plugin, not Tantra 2.

 

TAL-DAC is great, some people like Phils Cascade, but for changing the sound of your audio to an older sampler model, D-16 Decimort 2 is the top of the list for me still.

 

I'm still awed by Variety of Sound's Feenstaub HDR. It's a buss dynamics thingy like nothing else. I'm not big on buss processors in general (a "me" problem, I know) but this one is just magic.



It really can make things stand out, or really gel a bassy drum buss together. And I still can't believe VOS stuff is free, they're all brilliant.

 

Yes, those kind of threads are indeed about playing, not working.

 

Thanks everyone for answering! And thank you, Grape, for welcoming me

Klangfilter W295 is seriously powerful, added to my list. I tested it revitalizing some audio tracks and i found it very musical sounding indeed. Thank you Typical.
Regarding Vertigo's VSM-4, wasn't familiar with the brand before, thank you Grape, it def went under my radar, very nice plugins!
SSL's Glue Compressor was also one of those plugins that i forgot to mention in my list, i use it a lot.

I must try those shared by Will, Clone, Pulse and Lou. Will add my thought later if possible

 

Here are some from mine:

1. Kiive Audio XBus - insane saturation algo in this thing, almost magic
2. Mixland Virelia (also made by Kiive) - makes any track alive instantly. This thing is the 3D sound people want from analog
3. Kazrog MHB Green - the box tone in this instantly changes a track for the better (granted you're not boosting a lot of top end)
4. Korneff Audio Talkback Limiter - from boring drums to samples, the sound this makes is like being in the room with the drummer
5. Korneff Audio WOW Thing - I love this on guitars, just a little touch of it kinda makes the guitars move on the mix in a way I can't describe
6. DDMF MagicDeathEye - for a long time this was my favorite compressor, still there's nothing that sounds quite like it
7. SPL Machine Head - hands down THE tape. I don't care what people say, if it's accurate or not. Anything going through it sounds better, and the effect is so light on the CPU that you can use it as much as you want.
8. Purafied 5420 (also made by Kiive) - this monster takes a bit to understand, but once you do...
9. Musik Hack FUEL - one of the best algos in the market right now, it takes talent to calibrate a thing to work so well with everything, from subtle to destruction
10. Soundtheory Kraftur - probably the missing link for a lot of people. I finally gratuated from it in my last mix, for some time I thought I was cursed that every mix only felt ready when it was on my mix bus
11. Wavegrove Mariform - a small gem from an underrated developer. The sky is the limit with how much it can shape sound
12. Overloud GEM Fuse - currently a must in every mix I do, extremely efficient and simply makes things better with zero effort

I can actually keep going, but I'll stop for now. I can suggest more in a specific category if someone feels that's still not enough.

 

Jerobeam's SOUNDEMOTE stuff.

 

Adding a couple more that i remembered;

1. Polyverse - Supermodal & Filterverse (Incredible FX capabilities, so much potential in sound design too)


2. SIR Audio Tools - Standard CLIP (Super transparent clipper, well known but that doesn't change the facts)


3. Three Body Tech - Cenozoix (Beast, one of a kind IMHO, you can't go wrong with it)


4. Pulsar Audio - Massive Passive [Now MP-EQ, f*ck Manley) (IMHO again but UAD quality in this plugin, great alternative to replace the original unit emulation)


5. Empirical Labs - Arousor 3 (Real ones will know that no one needs the blessed version of UAD's, the quality and the results of this plugin are undeniably top tier)

 

Klanghelm DC8C3 Compressor



https://klanghelm.com/contents/products/DC8C.html

 

Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 2:45 AM

This thread is awesome.

Here are two that I just can't quit:

Tone Empire Model 5000 - Not all bus compressors wear capes but this one does. Combining SSL & API compression gives this unit a flavor all it's own that my ears just love. Every time I try something different, I always come crawling back. It's perfectly suited for hard, heavy, punchy, aggressive music so this suits me just fine.



Louder Than Liftoff Silver Bullet mk2 - The Hitmaker MOJO from this unit makes every mix sound better. Once you try it, you'll never give it up.

 

I was able to test Feenstaub, it has an impressive quality, surprised that it's really free. Amazing 10/10! Will go to my mastering chain

 

Thank you for the extensive list and for contributing to the post, Shinjiya!

1. Kiive is a long friend of my library, KStrip, VX-Q, Xbus all are well known to my ears. Personally i enjoyed Kstrip the most, although all of them are excellent.
2. Virelia wasn't what i was hoping for when i first tested it, it's good but also very CPU demanding, would love to know what are the scenarios where you take the most out of it
3. With Kazrog i have a bit of a hot take, i enjoy their plugins but most of the time i don't find any significant uses for them, in almost any scenario there's other plugins that i prefer. I would also appreciate situations where using this plugin made a difference, maybe my focus is not the optimal one
4. Korneff is still pending but i really love some of their stuff, i was surprised with the previous recommendation that Typical provided, the SITRAL Klangfilter is very good, another one that i use for subtle enhancing is Puff Puff MixPass
5. DDMF Magic Death Eye is 100% a unique plugin, agreed that it does something very different than other comps
6. SPL Machine Head is also a wonderful plugin, i honestly think that, sadly, the marketing of Serban Ghenea's secret weapon created a massive wave of hyper analysis and made a lot of people hate on it unnecessarily just by the excessive expectations
7. I would love to know how to set Purafied's 5420 up correctly, my first test was not the best. I didn't enjoy the plugin at all
8. FUEL is a toxic relationship, there's moments where it shines and makes everything sound buffed up and over the top, but there's also times where it sound like 50$USD R&D, i don't know why this happens, it could be me, of course.
9. 100% agreed, Kraftur is crazy powerful, although i think it was overinflated by marketing, not revolutionary IMO but also it is a very innovative focus on the field, Soundtheory always creates interesting plugins, Gullfoss almost split the entire industry 50/50 when it came out, this was no exception.
10. Pending test, but if it is from the same guys that made HCL Islander, i'm all ears.
11. With GEM Fuse i didn't obtain the best results, but would love to hear your thoughts on it.