Three plugins I’ve been having fun with...

I thought I’d share a few plugins that I’ve been messing around with lately. A good plugin can really break me out of a mixing rut, so hopefully, this can bring value to someone looking to spice up their workflow. Sample Magic Magic A/B: This plugin is the ultimate reference tool and a MUST HAVE for every audio enthusiast out there. It works simple, you instantiate it at the very end of your two-bus chain and it allows you to level match up to 9 reference tracks with your mix and instantaneously A/B them. This has been a game-changer for me, I’ve always had a tendency to mix drums larger than life, but since I’ve started using Magic A/B I’ve been able to get my balances in the ballpark in a matter of minutes. While there a bunch of different ways to go about using reference material, using this plugin is by far the most efficient and effective way I’ve come across to date. MUST HAVE! JST Gain Reduction: Not only is this plugin a one-stop-shop for mixing brutal screams, but its super simple GUI gets you fast and effective results, which makes it perfect to add some vibe to the singer's headphone mix during the tracking process. I like to track and edit with a bit of compression to get a sense of the bigger picture and Gain Reduction serves this purpose without bogging down my system or confusing my simple mind with too many options. It's very aggressive and saturated and can exaggerate sibilance and plosives, which is something JST has addressed with it’s newly released follow up Gain Reduction 2, amongst a bunch of cool new features. I can’t wait to try it. Softube FET Compressor: One of the older plugins I’ve used lately, but an incredibly powerful tool that still stands up none the less. This compressor packs a real punch and has been a staple on my drum mixes for a while now, a fast release and medium attack time injects a healthy dose of snap and body back into to my drum shells when used on a parallel bus. In fact, it’s all over the forthcoming Wings of Thanatos single ‘Vessels of Flesh’. At high ratios, this plugin delivers warm and analogous distortions that sound far more musical and 3D than other FET style emulations I’ve personally used. Hit me up at my website if you need some recording, mixing, mastering, editing… or just about anything audio related.

Cheers!