There are tons of mixing plugins available in the market and with new manufacturers coming in daily and new plugins being released regularly, it’s important to keep track of what’s happening around and which plugins are the best to have in our arsenal. There is a widespread belief that the DAWs’ stock plug-ins often don’t make the cut and so, a lot of professionals to look around for other companies that make the best EQs, Reverbs, Compressors, Delays, etc to make your track sound new and stand out from the other tracks.

Here is a list of must-have plugins for music producers and engineers that are looking to take their sound to the next level.

EQ Plugin – FabFilter Pro Q2

The Fabfilter Pro Q2 is the go-to plug-in for a lot of producer and mix engineers. The Fabfilter Pro Q2  allows us to EQ each little elemen into the mix.  One of the main feature of the fabfilter proQ2 is the ability to mix in the linear phase mode. This mode prevents phase issues and is usually not found in other EQs. If you are looking to get a new EQ to add your workstation, then look no further.

Compressor Plugin – WAVES CLA-2A

The Waves CLA-A2 is an amazing compressor that can be used on pretty much anything like vocals, bass or the leads. It is a pretty straight forward compressor and is very easy to use. This is created to emulate a tube compressor and it does an amazing job. Minimal numbers of knobs on this plugin keep it simple to use.

Limiter/Maximizer plugin –  IZOTOPE OZONE MAXIMIZER

The loudness war has been going on for years now and there seems to be no end to it. Everyone wants their music to be pumped up against the ceiling which makes it extremely loud and reduces the dynamics of the track. I use the ozone maximizer which is extremely transparent at limiting and can be kept at super hot levels while not distorting your tracks at all. There are modes which produce amazing results and let you go super loud without any artifacts.

Delay Plugin – Waves H-Delay

Waves is one of the most well-renowned names when in comes to digital plugins .

H-Delay gives you a mix of vintage sound with a modern touch to it.

If you are someone who uses presets often then there are tons of presets that waves generally provide and it’s the same with the case of H-Delay. They give you a lot of presets with which you can play around and a lot of effects can be done with the waves H-Delay plugin. From vocals to the leads to producing a variety of sounds for electronic production, this can be used.

Reverb Plugin – Valhalla Vintage Verb

I have always felt that the Valhalla Vintage Verb is a good reverb for any user. It’s one of the easiest plugins to use with a user-friendly interface. The parameters have been limited to only what’s absolutely necessary to get a standard reverb. It can get small ambience sounds, plates, halls, rooms and huge spaces. It also has a lush modulation on tap. Valhalla Vintage Verb is simple, has low CPU consumption and sounds great, gives amazing results when used on the vocals, leads and snares. The modulation is perfect and makes the music come to life.

This article was featured in our November 2017 issue: http://bit.ly/2nClZ5h