Plug-Ins in Audio Production
Plug-Ins in Audio Production
Plug-Ins in Audio Production
I've decided to go into some depth on the subject of music production and using effects and how you use them for this article so without any further ado, let's take a closer look at our favorite friends in the digital domain, the plugin!
As I've said before, an effect is just that, an effect. If used sparingly you can turn a piece of audio upside down, inside out and backwards all in one hit if you chose to. The main mistake that is made though is over use of an effect, and I think that we are all victims of this at one point in time or another. I, for one, look at a new plugin additive to my studio the same way I look at Christmas. I have to get it installed and have to see what great sounds that I can get out of it. This can be a lot of fun and can take up hours and hours, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as you don't have a paying client waiting in the lobby, so play to your heart's content.
It's an additive to your studio's arsenal; therefore you need to know what it can do. However, look upon this as a kind of research rather than learning about ALL of its functions while you're on the job.
I can not count the number of times that I've been able to tell when a producer has bought a new plugin or plugin bundle, by simply listening to the work going to air on a radio station. Everything is plastered with effects, and sadly they use up most of the power of that package in one foul swoop. Always remember, an effect stops being an effect when it is used all the time, it just becomes the norm; nothing special at all.
So let me make a suggestion....
Pick a piece of work that you can use to play around in, and use that for your "plugin research". If you're really precious about the session, you might want to duplicate it first before going to town with new effects though. This is where you get to play with all the settings to your heart's content, and run it through its paces. A good habit to get into is taking notes or saving different presets under names you'll recognise and remember later on while you're actually working. At this point I can see you're thinking I've gone off my trolley and have obviously been in the studio too long without any fresh air, so let me explain.
When I am working with a new plugin, I need to know what it can do, and I want to put it through its paces, so I experiment, in a recording session or two, and write down all the settings that I find of interest that I'd see myself using by naming the as new settings labelled startupcomp1,2,3 etc so I know that it was an initial idea I had and is still in the making. I'll even go as far as creating a group of settings titled Potential FX . This can save a lot of time down the track, as you won't spend so much time sifting thru effect factory settings when you're lost for ideas.
Don't be afraid to mess up all the plug-in settings to see what happens. All plug-ins have factory settings and those are there as a starting point; they help you realize the potential the plug-in may have, but don't leave it at that. Put a piece of music or a chunk of a vocal on loop and mess around with the settings to see what happens. When you come across one you like, save it and make sure that you name it something obvious, but remember that I said to write it down!
I have a list of all effects that I use regularly and it's always within grasp, somewhere around my Protools system. This may sound like I'm overdoing it, but I have a very good knowledge of where all my different kinds of settings are, and it saves a lot of time. Trust me, try it.
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