What type FX plugins do you usually use and in what order.
How much does it change according to the instrument?
Which would you avoid using on individual tracks/busses in favor of the master?

The below options are alphabetical, and I realize some of them are so similar that they are interchangeable, and I also realize most people will not use all 17 at once! Any thoughts on the order you use is appreciated.

1. Compressor (VCA, FET, Optical, Tube emulation, PWM, etc.)
2. De-Esser
3. Delay ((tape emulation, bucket brigade, slap-back, doubling, looping, ping pong, multi-tap, modulated, dub, etc.)
4. Distortion
5. EQ (graphic, parametric, semi-parametric, dynamic, shelving, linear phase, static, highness/lowpass, mid-side, etc)
6. Exciter or Enhancer
7. Frequency-Shifter/Pitch-Shifter/Vocoder
8. Gate & Expander
9. Glitch, Stutter and Granular FX
10. Limiter (RMS, clip, true peak, multi-band, brick wall
11. Modulation (filter, chorus, flanger, vibrato, phaser, tremolo, rotary speaker, auto-pan, wah-wah, envelope filter, octaves, ring modulator, etc.)
12. Reverb (convolution, algorithmic, etc.)
13. Saturation (tape, tape emulation, vinyl emulation, circuit emulation, tube, transistor, retro, warm, etc.)
14. Spectral Analysis
15. Stereo Width
16. Transient Shaper: transient designer, envelope shaper, spectral shaper, tone box, color box, etc.
17. Other _____________________.

What if you use a 3rd party channel strip or A.I./machine learning plugin like Neutron? Where would you place the other plugin pieces?

 

Last edited: Aug 5, 2023

17 plug-ins..whatever you put in that chain, it will sound lifeless.

 

It depends who is using it. A lil bit of everything can make a huge diff.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest all 17 listed would be used on a track . . . just wanted to list all the options I could think of.

 

A typical channel strip is laid out as: (input) Drive -> Dynamics -> EQ. Then sends to time-based effects. This is where you start. If you can't tell in what order you need to place your effects, better use just a handful of basics for a while. If you do have the humility to spend a couple of years to learn the basics, you'd be blown away of how far one can go with perfect basics (as far as getting a pro-sounding mix)

 

When not using a channel strip, what would be the most common drive and dynamic FX you would use?

 

preamp and compressor

 

What is your preferred preamp plugin and where would you insert a limiter? Final FX in master or somewhere on individual tracks?

 

My chain is usually:

1. Corrective EQ (manual or automatic, like soothe)
2. Preamp/Tape
3. Compressor 1
4. Compressor 2 (dual compression or parallel, whatever works best)
5. EQ
   
6. Saturation (optional - depends on 2/3/4/5)

Some other tools might go at different parts of the chain as needed, like auto fixing phase/time alignment of multi mics, unmasking and gating. Sometimes I also use a multiband compressor in place of one of the two comps. Otherwise, that is the preset I use when starting a session.

 

In addition to Soothe, would you consider Smooth Operator and TEOTE corrective EQs? Where would Sonible SmartEQ and iZotope Neutron fit into the chain?

 

You wouldn't really add Neutron to the chain specifically. You add the Relay plugin to any channel you want to be analyzed by the Assistant. I mention this in reference to your other thread about AI demo mixes.

Some other of these plugin types you have listed I would never use as an Insert. Well, almost never. Reverb, Delay, Exciter, and a few others are almost always Send FX. You should remember that people can only hear/perceive about 3 layers of depth, but also that specific plugin types require lots of CPU compared to others. There's not a lot of reason to put a spectral on an individual channel unless you are having a seriously hard time correcting something. Your EQ should show pretty much everything you need. You can put an instance of Izotope Insight on your master and then just solo that individual channel or group if you need more that your eq shows you.

I don't really follow "rules", but certain workflow steps which make sense; but they are still almost "rule of thumb". But of your 17 listed plugin types, I would keep about 10-14 of them off my master. Almost no heavy "work" is being done to the audio by then, just subtle amounts of final effects and a limiter.

 

I actually do, yeah. To explain it better, I get side-tracked easily, so I decided to put up some rules in my chain. The first EQ (manual or auto) can only cut, this way I can make sure I'll get to shaping the audio in a much better state.

I also use SmartEQ, but I find myself using it more as an analysis tool than actually a mixing tool. I see what it wants to do, and if it works, I try to replicate it. Back then, I also used the entire Izotope suite, but I don't really like how you can only squeeze the most of it using the "mothership" plugin. I do still use some of the individual modules, though, like Neutron's Unmask, Ozone's Master Rebalance and Multiband Compressor. Izotope's approach is more like using only their products and nothing else, and right now I think they're not offering the best stuff out there.

 

I wonder . . .
If one uses Neutron in mothership mode, what would be missing? I don't know much about Neutron. Would users need compressor, limiter, delay, etc.?

 

I go with a gate first and then take it from there. Even that might not be needed with plugins with no noise floor.

 

Noise gate is the one thing I dumped . . . I take my time surgically removing noise between notes.

 

EQ/Filering always first
Dynamics/Saturation always last and their order depends on the source

 

I know that time-based stuff needs to be towards the end or all the crap is multiplied and echoed for eternity.

 

You'll be missing effects, but everything else you need to mix should be there. You can basically do the same chain I used and a little more on a single plugin. In my case, the Neutron workflow doesn't really work anymore.

 

Okay . . . I found the list on iZotope . . .

Unmask, gate, EQ, exciter, sculpture, visual mixer, compressor, transient shaper, relay and tonal balance.

Am I correct in assuming that Neutron is basically a supercharged smart channel strip (unless components are used individually)?

https://www.izotope.com/en/products/neutron.html

If I, personally, used Neutron as part of my FX chain, I guess I would insert a corrective EQ before, then the modulation and time based FX after, followed by a limiter and some final mastering items (if mastering). Does that sound sound?

 

Last edited: Aug 6, 2023

Yeah, it's a smart modular channel strip. It's also a shame that there's not really many plugins like it in the market. The Izotope suite of plugins is an amazing deal, there are companies charging $399 for a single EQ while Neutron comes with everything and more for the same price.