10 super-useful 'Swiss Army knife' VST/AU plugins
Multi-faceted processors
When you’ve got a specific production task to carry out, there’s a lot to be said for finding a plugin that’s devoted to that job, but this can take time and isn’t always the best option.
Sometimes, it’s better to kill several processing birds with one plugin stone, and the good news is that there are plenty of products out there that enable you to do precisely that.
Here are 10 plugins that put multiple processors under one roof, saving you time and enabling you to get good results fast.
Waves Butch Vig Vocals
A-list engineer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Garbage) has teamed up with Waves to give instant access to the EQ, dynamics, saturation, and focus functions he uses to shape his signature sound.
4 out of 5
Waves JJP Drums
Jack Joseph Puig (U2, The Black Crows, No Doubt) is a Grammy-winning studio boffin. Here, Waves has recreated his favoured drum processing chain within one plugin, making it a snap to dial in punch, attitude and control.
4 out of 5
Beatskillz That Thing
Offering an analogue-style chorus, vintage-sounding filters, various soundscape generators and a bitcrusher for emulating classic drum machines, this multipurpose tool is unashamedly fast to use.
3 out of 5
iZotope Nectar 2
Aimed at vocal production, Nectar 2 provides pitch correction and editing, breath removal, plate reverb, harmonic saturation, dynamics, equalization, gate, de-esser and more. It can even detect pitch and create harmonies.
4.5 out of 5
Soundness Soundsoap 5
Soundsoap combines several corrective utilities into a single, unified plugin. Broadband noise can be automatically detected and removed from any signal. Add click, crackle and hum removal and you’ve got cleaner mixes!
Waves Scheps Parallel Particles
Another Waves plugin that combines and condenses processes into a mere four controls, offering Bite, Air, Sub and Thick parameters.
iZotope Ozone 7
This ever-popular, all-in-one mastering suite provides maximizer, exciter, stereo imager, EQ and dynamics functions. The Advanced version also adds Vintage Compressor, Vintage Tape and Vintage EQ modules. A must-have!
5 out of 5
Exponential Audio Excalibur
Created by one of the original minds behind Lexicon, this rockin’ multi-effect features four ‘Voices’ that can each house one of 13 effects, including chorus, flanger, phaser, ring mod, shifter, reverb, filter, distortion and more.
4.5 out of 5
Dmitry Sches Tantra
Need interesting and exciting rhythmic effects? Distortion, tremolo, filter, delay, lofi, flanger, glitch and reverb are all on tap here, with modulation provided by the highly customisable built-in 32-step sequencer and multi-step envelope generator.
iZotope Alloy 2
Designed as an all-in-one mixing strip that can subtly enhance or totally tweak any and all tracks in your mix, you get an equaliser, transient shaper, exciter, dynamics (with upward and downward compression), de-esser, and limiter.
4.5 out of 5