My five most-used plugins are all part of Sweetwater’s up to 80% off sale - here’s what makes them essential for my workflow

I first came across the Distressor when I was recording with a band in an analogue studio, and ever since then, I’ve loved using the software version of it on my drum busses. Part compressor and part saturation, it can mimic other famous compressors like the 1176 and LA-2A, as well as inducing harmonics into the signal for tape-style colour and various distortion effects. Although I mainly use it on drums, I have also used it on vocals, and other engineers I know like it on bass guitar. It’s a versatile tool to have in your armoury, and at this price completely worth the money.

I had to hold off upgrading from Superior 2 to 3 because even for software it’s so damn pricey. Over the past few years, it also seldom ever got a discount, no doubt due to its massive popularity. Over the last 12 months or so, I’ve seen it discounted quite a few times, so I finally picked it up at the start of the year, and safe to say I’ve been absolutely blown away by it.

I use it for creating drum tracks for my solo work, whereby I use programmed drums to save on studio time, but I’ve also used it for sample replacing live drum tracks, and stacking drums for that modern drum tone. The fact that you can import multi-track audio and the software replaces the hits automatically is unbelievably powerful, so despite it still being quite expensive even when on sale, I highly recommend it if you want to improve the quality of your drums or work entirely in the box.

When I’m recording guitars in the box, I love adding UA’s Sound City Studios to help bring them to life. Modelled after the real-life studio, it’s a subtle effect but one that can dramatically change the tone of tracks recorded in the home studio. It’s great for reamping less-than-stellarly recorded guitar tracks, and as well as modelling the legendary live room of the studio, it also replicates the desk and preamps, too. It probably won’t blow you away initially, but once you get it right, it’ll become an indispensable part of your setup.

Ah, sweet Synchro Arts Vocalign 6 Pro, saver of time, maker of menial tasks much easier. When I have a singer who isn’t so great at nailing their doubles, this plugin gives me far more than its monetary worth in terms of time saved. Aligning vocals is a painstaking, and let’s face it, boring task at the best of times, but with a few clicks of my mouse, Vocalign takes care of the legwork, letting me focus on the fun stuff like delay and reverb throws. I also like to use it on guitar takes that aren’t tight enough, great for fattening up double or quad-tracked guitar takes.

I’ve been using the UA ATR-102 on nearly every mix bus I’ve set eyes upon for the last few years. It just adds a lovely low-end warmth and beautiful top-end clarity to a track, even when you just leave it in its default state. It’s my go-to for enlivening the more sterile sounds you often get with the in-the-box recording, and it typically goes as the last thing on my mix bus before the limiter. It really brings the mix together at the final stage, and for just $49 in the Sweetwater sale, it’s truly superb value for money.