TOP 3 Plugins to Spice up Your Creativity
As a music producer creating a new sound; something unique, ear-catching & exciting sometimes feels just out of reach. Of course, there are those magical sessions where the stars align and an amazing, innovative record is born. However … other times maybe you need a little extra hot sauce, and with these plugins in your arsenal you’ll be sure to create a recipe that will be turning up the heat !
PLUGIN 1 - Soundtoys Little AlterBoy
The power of pitch control! The power of timbre manipulation! The ability to sound like a pretty cool robot? The inspiration that this plugin can provide is limitless!
You may be thinking “well Jem, I already have Autotune and Melodyne, what the hell do I need this for?”.
A very valid question.
Although autotune and melodyne are the powerhouses of pitch correction, Little Alterboy is designed to be a creative tool used to purposely change the audio source in a tasteful, refreshing and a totally invasive manner. Although you may be able to get away with changing the gender profile of your voice with the “formant” control with no suspicion, this plugin usually sounds seriously “vibey” on vocals, guitars, keys … well almost anything you want to slap it on really.
The power to creatively harmonise and change the timbre of the input signal can create a depth and completely unique & exciting flavour to your production. This is the reason why so many pro producers use this hidden gem of a plugin.
Don’t believe me? Check out the video below !
PLUGIN 2 - Valhalla Supermassive (oh... and its FREE!)
This is one of those plugins where you can easily get carried away for hours, listening to the endless eclectic soundscapes created from almost any audio signal.
Seriously, its a creative black hole! But a beautiful one.
This delay & reverb plugin can make a piano note sound like it is traversing the stars. An incredible tool. You can use it to create cinematic soundscapes that can rival the majesty of Hans Zimmer’s composition for Interstellar. Or alternatively use this plugin to add a slight melancholic touch to your acoustic guitar playing.
Valhalla Supermassive packs 12 different algorithms for delay & reverb, with 10 different parameters which control “mix, width, delay, warp, feedback, density, MOD rate, MOD depth, EQ high Cut, EQ low cut”.
Remember, this plugin is completely free, no strings attached. It’s a no brainer !!!
Check out a demo here:
PLUGIN 3 - Soundtoys Devil Loc Deluxe
Based on the Shure Level-Loc, the Soundtoys Devil Loc Deluxe can annihilate the dynamics of your audio signal with fuzzy goodness. The original Shure Level-Loc is a go-to feature for top engineers such as Tchad Blake (see here), and with Soundtoys, this power is wonderfully replicated in plugin format.
With lighter settings for “crush” and “crunch”, the Devil Loc will be able to tastefully bring out the ambience of drum room mics, with the added ability in the deluxe version to tame the cymbals with the “darkness” setting. Also included in the deluxe version is the ability to change the limiter release time to “fast” or “slow” - another improvement over the original hardware Level-Loc.
Although this plugin is well known for drums, my favourite use for this is on vocals. This plugin will add a rich, fuzz-like distortion akin to a guitar amplifier which will level out the dynamics and add character to the audio signal. Next time a client enters the studio asking for a radio vocal sound similar to “Royal Blood”, give this plugin a go and listen to the magic unfold !
Watch the master mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge use this on vocals:
I hope that this post was useful in some way. If you're looking for some creative inspiration in the studio, I’m sure that at least one of these plugins will come in handy. Thanks for checking out this post, I’ll see you in the next one!
