What Makes a Good First Plugin Purchase?

If you’re looking to buy your first plugin, you want to make sure it’s a good one. Here’s our advice for what to look for – whatever your reason for taking the plunge

 

Producers buy plugins. As the internet’s top destination for music software from a range of manufacturers, we can verify that it’s definitely true!

Your DAW comes stocked with instruments and effects of its own, and these are usually great, but when it comes time to go beyond the software that every other DAW user has, and to give your music and your workflow a more unique streak, third-party plugins can provide either the playground or the workbench you’re looking for.

There are lots of reasons for taking your first steps into buying music software. In this article, we’re breaking down each and giving you some example first plugins for a range of reasons.

 

 

I want to expand my range of synth sounds

Can a producer ever have too many synthesizers? Perhaps, but even once you’ve surfed through 100 presets on one synth, loading up another always feels like a completely different experience. Your DAW’s stock synths will be super-high-quality, don’t get us wrong, but it’s hard to truly feel like yourself while wielding something that everyone else has access to as well.

So what’s a good type of synth to try out as your first foray into the world of paid-for instruments?

Three all-rounder synth plugins

FabFilter’s innovative Twin 3 (£109) and u-he’s Hive 2 (£126) are both great ways to get started with advanced synthesis – if you can afford them. Other, cheaper ways to expand your sonic palette are found with Future Audio Workshop’s Circle2 (£99), which gives you a similarly sturdy set of features but lowers the price, as does SynthMaster One for £89.

Four reasonably priced creative synths

Moving to more specialty synths, Audio Damage’s Quanta 2 will introduce you to granular synthesis for £109, BABY Audio’s Atoms gives you physical modelling synthesis for a very sweet £80. Newfangled Audio’s Generate is for those seeking industrial, dark synth sounds, while Future Audio Workshop’s SubLab can be a great leap over your DAW to whip up monstrous and weighty basslines.

Three often discounted virtual instruments

Finally, three synths by AIR Music Technology can often be found on a deep sale – that’s Odyssey, Hype and OPx-4, which are all worth a serious look when discounted.

 

 

I need some real instruments

Synthesizers won’t cut it for every production task. Sometimes we need the sounds of real instruments, and not every DAW can provide a full orchestra. Come to think of it, neither can every plugin, which is why you should consider the instrument or instruments you’re looking to access before you dive in. Here are some great considerations…

The essential host: Kontakt

Before we get too deep, let’s not forget the daddy of all instrument plugins. Native Instruments’ Kontakt sampler is a whole ecosystem and host in its own right to hundreds of virtual instruments. Many of these instruments are available free, but to get them working you’ll usually need the full version of Kontakt, which comes with a Factory Library too, to get you going.

Virtual instruments from AIR

One venerable virtual instrument player is AIR Music Technology’s Xpand!2, which holds just about every instrument and is often put on a very generous sale. Similarly good options from the same developer include the string plugin Studio Strings, and Stage EP for your electric piano desires.

Sound Capsules

A great option to check out is Capsule Audio’s range of ‘capsules’. These include options like Felt Piano, Arco Classico, the Sanctus choir instrument, and the Black Ivory piano. These instruments are a great deal at £25 each, and can be made even cheaper by grabbing a bundle.

Inspiring vocal creations

Do yourself a favour and check out Excite Audio’s Bloom Vocal Edit and Bloom Vocal Aether plugins. Both are inspiring takes on vocal generation within an instrument framework. Almost everything has been done for you, so it’s easy to sit back and check out the presets to see what you can make with these two plugins. But that deep programming is also editable, for those wishing to get more advanced.

Sampleson instruments

Another developer to check out here on Plugin Boutique is Sampleson. Their range of electric pianos is great and very reasonably priced (try out Stage 54, Glassy and Wursy, for example), but you’ll also find some complete innovations here, including Sandstorm, Things and Alienize.

 

 

I want a lot of bang for my buck

Of course you do. For anyone looking to buy their first plugin to expand their music-making setup, it’s unlikely that very specific, problem-solving software will be the first thing that gets picked up.

If you want your money spent to go a very long way, start by checking out IK Multimedia’s T-RackS software. This offers a huge package of effects plugins across different options of package sizes, with the standard version coming in at £100 when not on sale.

Cableguys’ ShaperBox gets you a bunch of inspiring processors as part of its package of animated multi-effects. Our own Core Collection package also nets you a spread of great tools to increase your possibilities.

 

 

I want to expand my horizons for guitar

You could plump for something huge like IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube 5 MAX v2 (other, smaller packages of AmpliTube are available too), or check out one of the many single amp or cab options available in our Amp Simulator category.
 

 

I want better drums and beats than my DAW gives me

We’ve got you covered here too. For those who use sampled drum kits and want to move beyond the drum rack, a must-try is XLN Audio’s XO, for £111, and a very solid other option is Wave Alchemy’s Triaz (£129). Both come loaded with content but offer very simple ways of experimenting and finding new sounds. If you’re all about coming up with new drum patterns and learning how and why they work, have a look at Modalics Beat Scholar (£99) for a fresh (and tasty) way to work with drums, or Forever 89’s Visco for a new way of designing drum sounds.

On the other hand, if your beats rely more heavily on timepiece groovebox’s like Roland’s TR-808 or TR-909, you should check out G16 Group. Their Drumazon delivers the sounds of a 909 with modern conveniences, while Nepheton takes on the 808.

 

 

I want more professional results

There are some very advanced, often AI-assisted plugins that can offer a simple route to a professional sound. First you should have a look at Sonible’s smart:EQ (£108) and smart:reverb (£108) (both also available as part of the smart:bundle). These intelligent tools help you achieve a frequency balance (smart:EQ) and reverb signal (smart:reverb) that’s practically born to fit with your audio material.

A synth like Arturia’s Analog Lab Pro (£167) will hit the spot almost every time when it comes to analogue synth sounds, and iZotope Neutron when professional-quality mixing is your goal. Staying with iZotope, it’s worth checking out their Nectar package for getting your vocal parts to stand out in any track.

 

 

I want the software the top producers use

Need to have the tried-and-trusted tools that the world’s most successful producers and musicians use? Some of history’s all-time best selling synths include u-he Diva, Vengeance’s VPS Avenger and Reveal Sound Spire.

Meanwhile, for non-synth plugins, some of the most beloved plugins out there include FabFilter’s Pro-Q 4, XLN’s RC-20 Retro Color, and Plugin Boutique Scaler 2.

 

 

I want to achieve something my DAW isn’t capable of doing

Most plugin developers are aware that they’re competing with your DAW for your attention, and so inside most third-party plugins, you’ll find features and functionality that go further than stock plugins. Having said that, we certainly can’t guarantee it, as every DAW comes with different features and not every plugin covers every base. Nevertheless, here are some plugins that tend to do things that the average DAW doesn’t achieve…

Let us bring you back to Scaler 2, which can easily compete with any DAW’s in-built MIDI functions. Scaler will help you to write a chord progression that works musically and that you wouldn’t have come up with in any other way.

Almost any of the analogue synth plugins you can find on Plugin Boutique will outperform a DAW’s standard-issue virtual-analogue synthesizer, so for those interested in authentic vintage vibes, this is a great way to start building your collection.