Streamlining workflow in the current plugin world.

Yes, i actually use pro tools and always have. When I upgraded last time I went for the perpetual license. I have always been able to run the perpetuals way longer despite of osx updates than a subscription is worth. I pay every maybe 3-4 years the pro tools upgrade plan for a year and im back in business. That is the only upgrade costs I have, but thats pretty far apart. I have been spinning the idea of learning Luna and having that some day to fall back on, but right now this still works.

Over the years I've changed my workflow drastically.

I was analog, then mostly digital, then switched to hybrid for the longest time. Now back to mostly digital where I think I'll be for a long time coming.

Each setup has had pros and cons.

One of the biggest cons of any of these setups was actually the desire to own MORE of everything. Hardware costs were mostly self-limiting, but the desire would still distract me from sitting down and learning SKILLS. Instead I would just plot my next purchase that would supposedly "fix" whatever I thought was deficient.

Turns out that even having the best hardware, the best cables, the best amps, the best mics and all that really didn't change the fact that I wasn't doing good work. In fact it was making it harder because I was doing achingly small changes while circling the drain instead of doing huge changes to get myself out of the cycle of buy-test-try-repeat. I thought the solution was always MORE.

Lost lots of money trying new gear, selling it for a loss, etc.

The truth is that the solution was always LESS.

I didn't need a compressor on every channel. I didn't need every version of 1176 so that I could audition each one for a vocal track. I didn't need 8 mics to choose from for snare drum. I didn't need 42 different types of preamps to make sure I could choose the right one to hear every little nuance of that tamborine.

But plugins make it easy to buy, buy, buy, buy. They're cheap. Every single one claims to be the best at whatever they claim to be. It's easy to build up a list of 400 plugins for the same price as a single piece of hardware.

But that's what makes it hard. Now you're going to spend your time trying all these different plugins and losing any perspective you might have started out with.

It's a hard decision, but necessary one, to distill your choices to what works and stick with it.

So now my workflow is generally the same mics in the same applications going to the same preamps, probably to the same HW compressor on the way into the box. From there I use the same templates with the same plugs on certain tracks bussed to the same folder busses with the same bus processing.

A use case might be: Vocals are U87 into Neve 1290 into a blue stripe 1176 then into the converters. Every single time. Why? It works everytime.

Almost all the pros have a workflow that they use every time. Some claim to "start anew" every session, but they also generally put gear back into their "sweet spots" anyway which is just a more time consuming way of doing templates.

I made a folder of plugins that I know sound really good, and I stick to it. I don't need every compressor plugin on the market -- just 3 or 4 that I know sound excellent. Same for EQ, saturations, reverbs.

I've developed preferred chains that work well for each source. I primarily stick to those not necessarily because it's the most perfect ideal for that individual instrument that day after eating that much salt the night before but because it reliably gets me results I like.

I've developed optional chains for when that first chain doesn't work. How do I want it to be different than what I'm getting. I've got a chain for that.

I'm familiar with some wildcard plugins that can make big changes if you need to dramatically alter something.

And then I use that batch of plugins until I find something that's limiting my results. I don't ever look at new stuff coming out until I find myself constantly running into the same problem.

I have a pretty narrow batch of plugins. Softube channel strips and stock EQs for most channels that need them. Compressors, transient designer, EQ, and saturation is part of those channel strip plugs. Some compressors that accomplish things the channel strip plugs don't. Some EQs that accomplish things the strips don't. Some specialty saturation to accomplish things the strips don't. Fabfilter stuff for when I need surgery. And then a grip of often used reverbs, delays, modulations, off-the-wall stuff.

Only thing I really need right now is an EQ with a different low shelf for buses/mix bus/mastering. I'm not super happy with the low shelf options I have right now. I'm often looking for something different than what I'm getting. I've been complaining about my low shelf difficulties for months - I end up auditioning a few to find the right one - and I think I'm finally motivated to find something because I'm seeing real lost time in that department. What am I going to get? No idea because I don't pay much attention to new plugins. But I'll figure it out when the time's right!

I must be... Behind the times then Dan!

I'm going to look up your recommendations, so I have a better frame of reference

Doesn't all this get back to that 'ol Joe Meek quote? (If it sounds good...)

Will review Thread before bed.
Thanks, Chris
P.S. Plugs = Mostly Pastime for me.
But fun!

I agree. The recording is everything. That is also the hardest part. Everything from tunings, to instruments, room and the most crucial, performance. Now you are not even at the microphone yet. There comes the most expensive part for a small studio, the front end. If all this is done right… the rest becomes pretty routine. Neverless, a lot of todays market seem to focus on the after a/d conversion part. The rough reality for engineers and mixers seem though to be rescue missions of bad recordings sent to them. So in that sense I can see a market for a great selection of ever evolving tools to make their life easier. 

I too started way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and tape machines were the only way to record. Personally, I am very glad those days are gone. But anyway... I have way too many plugins. I use Nuendo and I have all the plugins in specific folders for organization based on what they do. It takes no time at all to find a specific plugin. I also have a mix template I use on most everything. When I'm doing a vocal, I have the same hardware input chain and I use the same set of plugins. I know them well and I can work fairly fast. When I have some downtime, I may open up one of the lesser used plugins and mess around with it to see if it can take the place of anything I already use. I try to never go "hunting" while actively mixing a project. So much of it is personal taste anyway. I can make 15 different compressors sound the same, because I'm looking for a specific sound. Yes, some are better than others, but the choices are just too many and most any will work. Note that on my templates, most every parameter is zeroed out and the plugins are bypassed. They are just there for when I'm ready to add that flavor.

I have to agree with Dan about old code plugins. I can remember back in the late 90's when I switched from tape to the computer. It was years before EQ, compression and reverb were worth using. Just horrible sounding stuff. Today I'm spoiled for choices.

Best way to speed up your workflow is to use a template. Everything is in the same spot and the same track colors.

For me, there's no right or wrong — plugins are just tools, and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

I do agree that the good stuff tends to work more often, and usually sounds better. Hard to think of a situation where I'd pick PuigChild over Unisum, for example.

Over the past few years, I've been using "analog" plugins less and less. I get most of the color/character/vibe I want while recording and selecting samples, synths, etc. A lot of analog emus add crud to the signal that I just don't care for, and many supposedly "clean" plugins do this, too. It's surprisingly difficult to find plugins that can be hit hard without introducing unwanted junk.

My staples these days are Unisum, FirComp, Kirchhoff EQ, Venn Audio Free Clip, DSEQ 3, Techivation T-De-Esser, Slate Fresh Air, and a handful of others. Analog emus are peppered in tastefully, usually on the master bus. Fuse, Black Rooster, and Acustica usually work great for this purpose.

Agreed on all parts.

I'd add on caveat to any suggestions in this thread..  Everyone needs to stop auditioning everything all the time.  Trying a dozen different monitors(or mics, or preamps, or plugins) will rarely do much more than confuse and remove perspective.  

I think Quint had a perfect example of auditioning something when he tested the KH310 monitors.  Switching between them quickly easily displays their differences, but it rarely informs us on what is *right* for the job.  In fact, it can lead you the opposite direction.  Slowly allowing yourself become accustomed to something and using it for a while is the best way to find out if it works.  IIRC, he didn't like the KH310 at first because they weren't like the other monitors he tried, but that also became part of they reason that they worked.

At least for monitoring it's hard to set them "wrong" unlike a lot of other gear where you can simply fuck up the settings and fool yourself into thinking that the gear sucks and that you need to keep looking..

I try to stick to a few staples and use a lot of others for more specific reasons. These days I'm usually going with Pro Q2, Satin, Dopamine, Lindell 902, Molot GE, Basslane Pro, L1, and then UAD 224 and 480, Softube Atlantis, UAD Cooper Timecube, Seventh Heaven Pro, H300, H910, CLA Effects, Seventh Heaven Pro, Hits Chambers, and I've been playing around with that Aurora DSP Rotten Pool reverb. I've been able to modify my mixes so that DRC2 works well with them now and I'll use that in mastering. I don't use much across a whole mix aside from Fusion and DRC2. Basslane Pro sometimes. When thinking back to how stuff must've been done decades ago when records sounded much better, they didn't have all these options or plugins that allowed you to mess with every little thing. And it's like Dan said, a lot of plugins have objective flaws. Maybe you can work around them to some degree, but you're handicapping yourself. For me, it's been a lot of trial and error to hone in on what gets me what I'm looking for.

Man, I've been in a room were I thought some RME 8 channel pre was good. Then took it home and it was so veiled and boring, it needed vintage warming.