Plug In Devs. something inovative please?

I want a plugin that will analyze my psyche, my mixes, my esthetic and then do it for me so I don't have to.....

Mrholmes, I have the Waves Mercury bundle (with 150 plugs or more), plenty of UAD plugs, and a huge asst. of plugs from Soundtoys, Softube, Eventide, and so many others. With all the plug-in firepower I have and have used, here's what I'd suggest. Cherry pick 5-10 plug-ins, and it will improve your mixes a whole lot, just don't fall for the plug-in hype and overbuy.

My Must Have recommendations: Don't think you don't need more reverbs, it's the single most important effect after you track.

Get the Sound Toys Little Plate when it's on sale for $29 again. It's actually closer to the real EMT-140 than UAD's is, and they give you 5 different plates, it just feels very close to a real plate.

Next, get the $60 limited version of Liquid Sonics Seventh Heaven Bricasti emulation reverb. I have the fantastic Relab XL480 (costs $400), and a dozen more reverbs, the 7th Heaven has supplanted them all and is now my first reverb on every track. Tracks just sound cleaner and clearer, bigger and more pro, something like what a Bricasti actually does.

UAD's Oxide tape sim is the only tape sim that ever made me feel kind of like I was listening to tape, including their well done Ampeg ATR-102. The ATR-102 has been the first plug on my 2 bus for 5 years, it's simple, and improves sound greatly. If you don't have a UAD satellite or Apollo, search out one good tape sim.

I've must have had tried most of the 2 bus mastering compressors around, and the good old Waves L2 is still the easiest to use. I can't say it's the best because I haven't tried all the well known brands or new designs, but I've tried a least 10 of them, and the L2 still does the trick quickly.

So far I've listed 2 reverbs, a tape sim, and a mastering compressor. I do like Slate VBC compressors, they have Focusrite, SSL and a proprietary one similar to the Shadow Hills. But I'll leave it there and let the other guys fill in the blanks. I think I'd suggest you look into the the Fab Filter pro L2

* the Liquid Sonics 7th Heaven and Soundtoys Little Plate alone will up your game instantly. I don't know if they offer demos, but it's worth checking out.

Softube Console 1 did it for me.

My fault I talk workflow on the screen.
If I have four big plug in windows openit gets stupid.
It should be the case that I can see all possible parameters in one window.

I am not talking sound anymore some plug ins sound pretty good and it still is hybrid for me.
But sometimes its pure ITB becasue time is tight.... kids, family, making money etc.

I use an OLD screen off to the right, full of plugins running. Its all 2 buss stuff, transport, track color selection, metering, etc.

Ill up that cynicism with pointing out how little chance that mine comes to fruition becuase frankly—if i made an app tomorrow that you open up and play your song into....and a band just accompanied you in real time, then once you liked it all you hit “mix&master”, answer a few questions....and out comes a directory of 128mp3 to MFiT to 24/96 linear....no one would buy it. Maybe not no one....but, “wait, I cant tune my voice with my Melodyne Super Duper Deluxe i bought?” I dont like the snare drum sound in that band, cant I use my SuperiorSlate4 snares? What kind of app cant tab to tranisent? I like the way Logics swipe to comp works better. How do you handle parallel compression?

...and its dead. Best I could hope for is to be bought out by Presonus or something to have pieces parts included with a new S1 release.

Good idea, like if plugins came with a small minimalist skin with tiny knobs? It could be nice, then I could have a ton of parameters visible in the edit window. I do spend a ton of time opening and closing plugins because of screen real estate. But my biggest waste is when I don't take time to assign the tracks a color. So simple, I don't know why I hate doing it.   

Loads of innovative/"not copying old hardware" plugins out there, you just aren't looking hard enough, go and check out KVR!

Some innovative plugin developers: AirWindows, Valhalla DSP, Tokyo Dawn Labs, DMG, Voxengo, Sonoris, Klanghelm etc.

Melda Audio has some great plugins. All the ones I’ve owned have user definable gui’s so you can arrange the window and customize it how you like. Also, they don’t seem to be copying anyone.

The Auto Dynamic Eq they make is awesome. Especially when you use the sidechain.

I think you could examine your workflow itself.

I mean, if that's the point you want innovated. I've heard so often the need to have everything in one UI....and I get that. It's why people like that Reaper construct....it's why Slate does his MixRack....etc....but, I'd counter that with I can LOOK at my virtual mixer as SEE everything I'm doing quickly, because I try my best to not use those thing. I don't constantly open plug ins. If there's a Waves LP Lowband, I am high passing that channel. Obviously, I have to open it to adjust, but are you REALLY constantly opening and adjusting, or opening to see what all's going on with the channel?

I HATE Slate's Mixrack. Turned me off to the whole thing for that reason. So....now....I just see "VMR" on a track and mentally note that I'm dong what? Right--open it up and see--is it a subtle circuit emu or a Monster 1176 crushfest? It is a custom shop EQ or a dirty Neve EQ? Is it...there's actually no real visual feedback from systems like that and Console 1. And, I didn't even know that was important to my workflow until it was removed....but, I guess it comes from glancing around the analog mixer....turn head look at rack gear....

While I'm sure I'm in the minority with that, since everything seem to be moving that way....I just demo'd the Schepps Omni thing and thought "this is fucking nuts--I can't really tell what's on while it's OPEN! Let alone as soon as I close it..."

Now--I'll tie that back into what I was saying about innovation coming from the DAW.....as a plug in, I find that thing useless...but, what if that was just "the channel" of every channel on the DAW....and some fraction of what is now the "plug space" of the mixer is a bunch of little inidcators--maybe some innovative space conscious single display that shows in/out levels....gain reduction of compressor....clippers on/off....EQ curve (like Logic's channel EQs do)....what if all that was just nested around the main fader meters? and a single button opened the OmniChannel to adjust all those in the one....a plug in macker can't DO that....the DAW maker has to...

Didnt Slate mention somewhere recently individual versions will happen?