most important plugins?

[thor]

I'm pretty new at using Pro Tools 12.
I also have Melodyne.

I'm recording demos (I'm not really thinking I'm going to be a Mixer or Master-er)
but I may want to get into creating instrumental music cues for TV, so doing a little mixing and mastering on my own would help.

If I only had money to purchase a few plug-ins, what do you think are the most important?

I'm thinking of getting Waves CLA Vocals. I downloaded the demo and it made a big difference on my voice.

What else would make the biggest difference for me?
Some plugins are included in Pro Tools 12, so I'm hoping someone who is familiar with those plugins can give me advice.

Thank you so much,
Thor

[Cwadroon]

Hi Thor! I'm not a protools guy (Cubase pro 8.5) , but the "most important" plug-ins should be included in your daw. Learning the ins and outs of Eq and compression and basic mixing skills are by far your best bet to start with imo! The rest really depends on your work flow . The waves plug-ins are great, but a lot of that you can achieve with what's included in your daw. For vst's a good "all in one" choice is native instruments komplete 10 or ultimate. But even with all the great sounds and instruments, you will still need to know how to mix them together with Eq and compression. Pretty much everything you will need to start I'd say. Before all that, you will want quality hardware and the best studio monitors you can afford. The most important beginning aspect some will say for mixing is a properly treated mixing environment.
Hope that helps in some way,
Bless

[andygabrys]

I agree with Cwadroon.

I would try not to by anything to be honest.

CLA stuff is cool but its fairly easily recreated with compression, eq, and delay / reverb (and stereo double on occasion). All of which lives in PT 12 just like most other DAWs.

I think I would save the money on the mix plugins and work with what you have for a while then consider augmenting the existing SOUNDS in PT 12 with some third party VIs.

Like Vaccum is cool, Boom is cool but some of the other things like some of the Xpand! sounds leave a little to be desired. The NI stuff is great. Omnisphere is great. U-he...etc etc. etc.

p.s. OK if the money is burning a whole in your pocket and the CLA vocal stuff is on sale for $29 as it often is, go for it. But realize that all that sound can be created with stuff resident in PT 12 if you have the ears and the knowledge of how to work to make them. Which is the same ears and technique you will need to mix the rest of the track. Awesome sounding vocals are great, but unless the track is great too, its not going to make it.

[cosmicdolphin]

I agree with the guys, source sounds will give you more bang for your buck if you are looking to create instrumentals

The CLA stuff is just a chain of other FX which you could probably emulate with stock or free plugins if you take the time to learn them.

[lesmac]

I agree on all points above with a proviso

I think the signature series plugins like CLA, Maserati and Jack Joseph Puig can sound good and you don't have to have all the buttons in and use them as a one stop shop.
You can use parts of them on different tracks and buses.

They can be used to get a feel good vibe early in the arrangement of a song when you are tracking and give an idea of where you'd like to go with it.

Not disagreeing but I wouldn't totally discount them if you see them going for a song.

EDIT:

Exactly what they said in relation to your post.
Work out what is in those plugins' chain and set it up in your DAW. Andy already said what CLA Vocals is.
Save up for NI Komplete Ultimate. I don't have it but I want it.

Yeah good quality source material would be the most cost effective and satisfying option.

[eeoo]

Yeah, if you get a great sound going in so that when you throw up the faders it sounds like a good mix, then when you add some processing it's just frosting no matter what plugs they are. To me that's the goal. Plus the better you get at getting great sounds going in the more you know what plug-ins will help you create the tastiest frosting for your particular cake.

[andygabrys]

Yeah, if you get a great sound going in so that when you throw up the faders it sounds like a good mix, then when you add some processing it's just frosting no matter what plugs they are. To me that's the goal. Plus the better you get at getting great sounds going in the more you know what plug-ins will help you create the tastiest frosting for your particular cake.

that's a good angle too.

[Len911]

And now for the third angle

I agree, the instruments whether real or virtual would be the first thing. Effects or tools the second and/or third.

But what if you wanted to change a sound itself, by adjusting harmonics, and even synthesizing harmonics and fractals that might not exist in the original sound, and in concert with the actual notes.

I find this plugin intriguing, and it's on sale this week for half off. I'm seriously thinking about purchasing it. It seems to do what I always wished I could do but couldn't,lol!

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MCharacter

[Kolstad]

If you record vocals and real instruments, I've found Izotope RX to be a lifesaver to remove noises. As much as everything should sound good after mixing, there's an edit phase with acoustic/electric instruments and vocies, that comes first, as you don't want to amplify unwanted noise. That's something the daw's are not great at, which you can benefit from by 3'rd party plugins.

[cosmicdolphin]

If you record vocals and real instruments, I've found Izotope RX to be a lifesaver to remove noises. As much as everything should sound good after mixing, there's an edit phase with acoustic/electric instruments and vocies, that comes first, as you don't want to amplify unwanted noise. That's something the daw's are not great at, which you can benefit from by 3'rd party plugins.

On that note...Betabug's Phasebug...Zynaptic Unveil ..Jam Origin Midi Guitar

All non standard DAW stuff I use regularly