

Some of the freeware comp plugs can add a nice difference to a arsenal but honestly speaking, I've not had the occasion to spend a bunch of money on 3rd party audio plugs over the last few years. The other stuff is mostly covered by bundled plugs in most anything. There are only a few that I feel I really kinda *need* (or rather, just "like" for certain things) for sound like Waves RComp, Doubler and Altiverb. I actually use very few third party plugs. If something is invented that is truly remarkable and unmissable - I'm sure I'll hear of it somehow - probably through a site like this one. Now, whenever I get an email from one of the countless plug makers I'm hooked up with, I tend to unsubscribe - less clutter. This got me thinking that it really was time for a clean-out and when I started, I was astounded at how much crap I had collected, both paid for and free. The real trick of course is deciding which ones are truly essential and indispensable.Ī friend was recently over and seeing a plugin on my computer asked with natural curiosity "What does this do?" - I felt like a fool - for the love of me I couldn't remember anything about the thing and had to look it up - then realised that I had used it once and that it was rubbish. It really is amazing how few plug-ins you really need for your work. Plug-ins that sat unused on my computer for as long as three years have now been zapped into oblivion - and I must say, this spring clean-out has been liberating. So, rather than let it irritate me further, I recently began dumping lots of my digital detritus. Our modern techno-culture with its penchant for instant gratification, newness, celebrity, and a general state of dissatisfaction with anything that isn't immediate, is like a Chinese dinner: it fills you up but leaves you feeling empty soon after. Just how long can this go on before the bubble bursts? Vst plugs can, as we all know, be very modestly priced(or even free)but many of the heavyweight products which have gained "gravitas" within the various audio industries are extremely expensive.Īre we now at that unenviable point in time whereby companies have geared up to such an extent that they need to continually invent or, re-invent, their product in order to sustain their business model? Not only is the rate of development startling,so are some of the asking prices for the software. Like many things within the digital universe, the development of vst plug-ins, has seen an exponential explosion and proliferation over the past few years which in fact seems to be accelerating.Ĭhoice is now bordering on the mind boggling and there is a danger that(as one British comic put it)we could all end up in "a high state of frenzied inertia". Do some of us use certain plug-ins simply because we have been told that they will make everything sound so much better and more professional. I wonder if we are not suffering a bit from the "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome.
