not paying attention!

[ShaunS]

funny story for you...
just finished a horror instrumental. (one of the few genres I can actually do) did a good job, yep, this one could well be my first forward.
I package it up and get ready to submit it.
Can't find the listing. I look and look. It hasn't expired? 23rd October. Plenty of time. I keep looking - where is it.
have they pulled it - how annoying.
then i realize it was due by 23rd October 2023 not 2024. OMG! oh well, I'll store it, may come up again. How did that happen? (won't happen again).
Anyway, on a different note, I have never imported a plug in. Omnisphere gets a big wrap, what's a good all-rounder for the novice, just to get the feel of importing and incorporating an external plug in. There are so many out there - East West , native instruments. Izotope etc etc, -is it all overrated, should we just get masters of what we have standard with our DAW. Any thoughts or suggestions.
Shauns S

[telefunkin]

I have never imported a plug in. Omnisphere gets a big wrap, what's a good all-rounder for the novice, just to get the feel of importing and incorporating an external plug in. There are so many out there - East West , native instruments. Izotope etc etc, -is it all overrated, should we just get masters of what we have standard with our DAW. Any thoughts or suggestions.
Shauns S

Do you mean that you have never installed any 3rd party plugins or instruments, so you only ever use the tolls that are stock within your DAW?

In theory, you should be able to do just about everything you need to with the plug-ins (ie EQ, compressors, limiters, etc) but you'll probably find that certain 3rd party plug-ins will ease your work flow. There's an endless selection from the very expensive to absolutely free. Some might be no use at all to you whereas others could put a big smile on your face by making something you do all the time a LOT easier and faster. Its up to you to seek those out, but if you have a Google around you'll find lots of summaries with titles like 'Best free plugins in 2024'. Also, have a look at Audio Plugin Deals and Plugin Boutique.

As for instruments, the world is your oyster! A fat wallet helps, but again, there's a lot you do for no cost. It really depends on what you want/need for the styles of music you make. Spitfire Labs free orchestra is pretty impressive for nothing. If you're more synth oriented you could try the free Synthmaster Player. However, Native Instruments have a free package that includes the free Kontakt player (which is the free version of their sampler that will play a lot of 3rd party instruments). Again, you can get a lot of content of all descriptions, types and genres that will work with the free Kontakt player.

Just a warning though, once you're hooked on all of this its very tempting to sweep up everything you can and fill up your hard drive with stuff you'll never use . Equally, its very tempting to buy Kontakt as part of NI's huge package called Komplete, and in return for many $ that will fill many GB and many hours. There's always a learning curve too, plus lots of installer packages. Its up to you whether it makes sense for you to go down that road. If you do, then there's a danger of 'option paralysis', and all of this might help or it might hinder you, but it will certainly mop up time that you could have spent composing. Nevertheless, I would suggest exploring and at least getting some awareness of what's out there. Good luck navigating it all.

[RealPickle]

I have never imported a plug in. Omnisphere gets a big wrap, what's a good all-rounder for the novice, just to get the feel of importing and incorporating an external plug in. There are so many out there - East West , native instruments. Izotope etc etc, -is it all overrated, should we just get masters of what we have standard with our DAW. Any thoughts or suggestions.
Shauns S

Equally, its very tempting to buy Kontakt as part of NI's huge package called Komplete, and in return for many $ that will fill many GB and many hours. There's always a learning curve too, plus lots of installer packages. Its up to you whether it makes sense for you to go down that road. If you do, then there's a danger of 'option paralysis', and all of this might help or it might hinder you, but it will certainly mop up time that you could have spent composing. Nevertheless, I would suggest exploring and at least getting some awareness of what's out there. Good luck navigating it all.

I second the Kontakt/Komplete suggestion, HOWEVER DO NOT BUY AT FULL PRICE. They run huge deals, often around the holidays. I wouldn't pay more than half of whatever they say is the "list price".