top 10 plugins you couldn't live without.

[samicide]

1 - superior/ez drummer (most expansions and groove add ons)
2 - Trillian
3 - C4/6


for me, every other plugin has a decent alternative except those 3, and I have a lot of plugins.

*honorable mention: Omnisphere, Guitar Rig 5, Ozone 5.

[V PETERO]

VCC
FG-X
wave R de-esser
waves R-comp
waves transX
waves H-eq
PsP NobleQ
Valhalla room reverb

[jeffinaustin]

Slate VCC
McDSP Channel G
McDSP 6030
Waves CLA Classics
Digi Reel Tape
waves Kramer MPX
Waves Ren comp
Ren eq
Ren deesser

[zeljkom]

Originally Posted by adamboon

Here are a few Favs:

EQuality
Decapitator
Crystalizer

The Glue
Logic's Spreader
Echoboy
Waves Tune
PCM Native
Devil loc
Logic's Ensemble
Ozone
FG-X

I could live without all of them though

Yeap it think I could, too. Or could I???

[oweng]

hair plug
butt plug
electrical outlet plug
ear plug
bathtub plug
product placement plug
Wall plug
piercing plug
fishing Plug
and
Q10

[tonemaker]

Not in any particular order:

1) TLs Maximizer (freeware limiter, w/ built-in EQ)
2) Equilibre (freeware parametric/shelf EQ, w/ metering and MS functions)
3) KarmaFX Deelay (freeware filtered feedback ping-pong BPM-sync delay)
4) Poise (drum sampler)
5) HighLife (instrument sampler)
6) Image-Line Harmor (additive/subtractive synth/sampler, w/OSC import)
7) Image-Line Toxic Biohazard (FM/subtractive synth, w/OSC import)
8) Vember Surge (FM/subtractive, w/OSC import)
9) Classic Master Limiter (freeware, works nicely as a channel compressor/limiter)
10) *[Various other freeware EQ's, transient shapers, and meters]

Those are my main tools. I trimmed down my VST(i) folder from about 300 plug-ins to about 100, but those 9+ plugins are the ones I use most now.

[F31N7]

1. u-he zebra2
2. altiverb
3. psp vintage warmer 2
4. psp mix saturator
5. fabfilter pro-q
6. echoboy
7. u-he diva< this ones rapidly moving up the list
8. t racks s3
9. amplitude 3
10. glitch

I also use lives delays alot

[nigel saunders]

Sonalkis free g
Soundradix phase align
Waves q clone
Uad 1176
LA2
Fairchild
Soundtoys echoboy
Psp xenon
New favorite Surfeq
Uad 140

[MDM]

1 decapitator
2 sonnox dynamics
3 sonnox eq
4 fabfilter
5 waves SSL bus compressor
6 CL1B softube
7 echoboy
8 lexicon pcm
9 sonnox limiter
10 equaility

[fremantlerecords]

One knob driver!
API 550A
API 550B
CLA-2A
CLA-3A
CLA-76
RVerb
S1 stereo imager
Puigchild
Puigtech

[steveschizoid]

More than anything else - the plugins in my "external FX" tab.....

But aside from those:

I'm surprised noone has mentioned the UAD Fatso.

I'd hate to do without the Slate VCC.

Izotope Alloy with its side chain multiband gate and compressor is very useful.

I'm liking the UAD Tape Echo quite a bit.

That's really about it. I use a lot of the other UAD plugs, but I wouldn't call them essential.

[Continental]

UAD P-Limiter
Vengeance Sidechain
Sonnox Oxford EQ
UAD LA2A
UAD Neve 1073
Nexus
Metrum
Melodyn

[goshalev]

1.Nebula 3 Pro
every other plugin has a decent alternative

[hotpinkbirds]

I honestly could live without all of them, the ones in Cubase 6 are great!

But, I love these:

1. rencomp- still amazingly hardware sounding after all these years!
2. UAD Neve 88RS- beautiful on everything
3. TG 12413- I've never been able to replicate the sound of the compressor with any other plug in. Something awesome going on.
4. Waves Q10- surgery, still the most efficient and useful to this day.
5. UAD Pultec-Pro- That special something that sounds sweet, and those bumps!
6. UAD DBX- incredible snap!
7. The Glue- Probably the best ITB compressor, very versatile with range knob.
8. Halion 4- a sound designers dream come true, endless possibilities
9. Pro-53- a beast!
10. Massive- Currently learning it and am blown away.

I need to add one more:
11. Battery- nothing beats it for triggering. Basic, yet complex and does what its supposed to do well, plus it gets good updates often enough.

[mattg082]

There are a lot I like, but this is titled plugs we can't live without. So....

1.DMG Equality/ before comp corrective some small boosts but mostly cuts.
2. Waves API 550b/ after comp to boost/color
3.Satson console/ love the hpf/lpf and mojo as well as gain structure.
4.PSP Noble Ex/just aweosme! (mix buss)
5.The Glue(mostly busses)
6.CLA comps(cla76 gets abused)
7.Stilwell Rocket(****ing snare! also when cla76 doesn't cut it)
8. Vahalla Verb( great verb!)
9.Logic comp(main comp to sidechain, don't use it for much else)
10. Waves tape plug ( DRUMS!! especially kick to add harmonics in the lower mids cause boosting eq can cause nasty artifacts and this gives mojo. If no mojo a Waves bass plugin can bring the lower mids out, but I like the grimey sound

Any saturation works really great though, for bringing out the low mids to translate on smaller systems and add mojo. You can't eq what's not there and saturation really helps. Mostly noted on kick such as a very low kick like a 808. Just look at a 808 or low sine wave on a analyzer before and after distortion is added.

Synth wise I mostly use Sylenth 1, Massive and make bass mostly from scratch using operator and Ableton plugs in Ableton...Pretty powerful stuff with bass lines!

I mostly mix rock music/metal with the above plugins and those are my go too ones every time!

[pcm70]

UAD - SSL 4k - Neve 1073 - Neve 1081 - Neve 33609 - Pultec - Manley Massive Passive - Studer A800 - Lexicon 224 - EMT 140 - EP 34, Sountoys - Decapitor and Lexicon PCM Native - every mix.

[T_R_S]

1-Softube CL1B
2-UAD Massive Passive
3-UAD A800
4-UAD 102
5-UAD Fatso
6-Waves LB
7-Waves L3 Multimax
8-Waves C6
9- Pod Farm Platinum 2
10-Lexicon PCM-96
11-Avid Channel Strip
12-DSM

[AlbertoPG]

-SonEQ (Sonimus) FREE
-Native Reaper plugins.
-Addictive Drums
-Transient Monster (Stillwellaudio)
-Sampletank XL.
-TAL Synths VSTIs FREE

[nznexus]

1. MDE-X
2. Crysonic Spectralive
3. Altiverb
4. Ozone5
5. Guitar rig 4
6. Trident A range
7. 2C Aether
8. Izotope stutter edit
9. Wizoowerb
10. Novation FX Suite

[xgman]

What would be interesting is the top ones culled from all these posts.

[JTGeek]

All the plugs in Samplitude
Sonnox bundle
TC VS3

[toolate4roses]

DMG Equality, Waves API 2500, and my lexicon verbs. I could have mixes using only these three plugs and not be real upset about it.
Although I do love my echo boy, UAD 140, and melodyne more than I could ever love a human baby aswel.

[S4410]

NI Kontakt
Access Virus ti
Soniccharge Microtonic

UAD EMT140
UAD LA2A
UAD Neve 1073
UAD Precision Limiter
UAD Studer 800
DMG Audio Equality/Equick
Valhalla Room/Ubermod

[ObiK]

Thanks for the T-Racks 3 mentions!

[mizzle]

Stillwell Bombardier
Reverence (Cubase)
URS Saturator
Voxengo Elephant
Sonnox Trans Mod
PSP Neon
Guitar Rig
Izotope Ozone
Cytomic The Glue
Softube FET compressor