Understanding Your Plugins vs Buying More
There are so many plugins available today, with so many different companies making great products, and even many free plugin offerings out there as well. Most people (including myself) don’t realize how many plugins they have, let alone the percentage they regularly use.
Let me get this straight, there’s nothing wrong with continually growing a plugin collection, the issues arise when plugins are purchased without purpose (or the wrong purpose), which I believe contributes to lazy engineering practices.
To further knowledge growth, using a plugin need go beyond picking a preset, and dive into actually understand the fundamentals of why the plugin is doing what it’s doing, and how it needs to be changed to best fit into your workflow or your mix. Plugins are tools to help achieve a solution, however when you don’t really understand how the tool works, it won’t be able to help you solve problems to the full extent. Sure, it can get you partway there, but it will continue to fall short, and the cycle will continue to find new tools to half-solve another problem that another tool (which you already have) is quite capable of.
Plugin presets are often where people start when using a new purchase. However, everything in music creation is contextual, which means plugin presets are not a one-size-fits-all solution, but instead are a starting point and something to learn from. New plugins won’t just solve your problem or achieve the sound you’re going (regardless of the flashy marketing), time needs to be spent learning the tools inside-out to unlock its full potential.
Another issue is that educators online portray that the plugin they are showing in their tutorial is the ONLY way to fix the issue, so a viewer feels like they need it as well. There are plenty of tools (in most cases) that will achieve the same (or very similar) results IF you know the fundamental knowledge, which is what should be getting explained, not simply the exact approach, numbers and techniques used in that single scenario.
Audio engineering and production is on the crossroads of science and art because we use technical tools to achieve our creative vision. The difference is there are many different ways to use the tools to create your creative visions, and no 2 situations are the exact same, EVER.
That being said, acquiring new plugins is not bad, however they should be purchased with a purpose in mind. Here’s an overview of a good criteria to think about when deciding on a new plugin purchase.
Do I have a plugin that already does the same thing? - This point is pretty obvious, if you already have a similar EQ plugin, is this one really that different or just new and flashy?
Does this speed up my workflow or make something much easier? – Basically, will this fill a whole in my workflow, maybe do the work of multiple plugins, or provide something would otherwise be manual or impossible?
Is this going to inspire me creatively? - Some plugins are exactly for this, especially soft synths, amp sims, drum samplers, etc. I consider these “source sound” plugins, like using a different guitar or amp in real life to achieve different tones to inspire you in different ways. Other times, just having a new technical plugin (EQ, compression, etc) that has a new feature or look can give a boost in creative energy. We just need a change sometimes.
Do I have something to use this plugin on right away? - This is very important, having a reason to use it RIGHT AWAY can avoid impulse purchases, and instantly gives you a way to integrate it into your workflow, thus solidifying it in your mind for future use. Avoid plugins purchases that never touched because they are forgotten by the time it would be useful, that’s just a waste.
Is it on sale? - General word of advice, wait for stuff to go on sale if you can. Things go on sale often, why pay full price if you don’t have to!
One of the best ways to get started, and really learn what you are missing or where you want to upgrade your tools, is by using the built in stock plugins in your DAW. Most DAWs have plenty of great tools to make great music. Once you learn those tools, you’ll discover what features you feel you’re missing, and can begin searching for meaningful upgrades, not just a shot in the dark.
In the end, you need to be honest with yourself about why you are buying a plugin. It’s only your own knowledge, workflow, bank account, creativity, and quality of work that will be impacted by not being honest and letting new flashy marketing overtake real knowledge acquisition.
Think smart about new purchases before you get them, and then take the time to learn everything you can and apply them to your own workflow. It won’t be two clicks and done, it requires trial and error, but the result is becoming a better producer and engineer.
Also check out my other podcast about Learning your tools before upgrading!
