by Brian Mitchell (B Leafs):
As a producer or engineer, your choice of plug-ins helps create unique effects to take your sound to the next level, but they can be expensive. Check out these quality, affordable plug-ins.
Waves - SSL G Master Bus Compressor (Currently on sale for $35.99)
An incredible replication of the original SSL G Console. This is best used on the master channel to really bring all of the tracks together.
I personally use the Classic Center SSL pre-set a lot for my drums to make them sound “full”.
Valhalla - Vintage Verb (Currently $50)
Valhalla makes my go-to reverb. It contains exceptional harmonics, and almost always brings life to my samples.
The 1970’s Color is my favorite - it sounds the most natural of the 3 styles in my opinion.
If you don’t mix with a Bus send, this reverb is clean enough to stand on it’s own!
Audio Thing - Reels (Currently on sale for $38.35)
Reels from Audio Thing gives your tracks a classic vintage vibe, as well as a very unique Lo-Fi analog sound.
Certainly one of the better tape emulators, especially when you factor in the price.
Waves - J37 Tape (Currently $29.99)
This is possibly my most used plug-in, especially early on in my engineering journey.
It gives pristine saturation to your drums, but can also be used for instruments/samples as well. Overall, this plug-in will bring your mix a lot of warmth.