The plugin holiday season has just passed and producers normally go crazy buying new plugins. Now, it’s time to put the tools to work…
3 THOUGHTS FROM ME
1. The good part of buying plugins is that they often give us a new set of tools to try new sounds and experiment. To start, just play with the presets it comes with and try to understand how the Plugin works. Check how the presets can influence a sound you really like and see what can you come up with. This could be a trigger for your next song, so take advantage of this experimentation moment and put it towards making new music! You can learn more about how sound design can help you in this post or by checking our youtube channel.
2. New plugins give us a new boost of motivation since we get excited with the purchases we made. Channel this excitement into learning your new plugin inside out because that’s the only way you’ll later control it, and not be dependent on presets. Presets, as mentioned, are good to start, but only when you truly learn what you’ve bought is when you’ll make the most of what this VST has to offer to you. Since you own it now, you need to really ‘own it’.
3. At the same time, buying plugins can become an addiction, and this could harm your creativity in the long term. The more plugin you have, the less you’ll likely focus on / specialize on one, and the more you could go into paralysis of choice. When buying a plugin, it’s important to understand why you’re doing it, and to get it solely for the motivation it gives you is not enough. Make sure to understand what this will add to your arsenal and if you can do the same with something else. We often can do the same with what we have, we just don’t want to learn what we have, and buying a new plugin won’t solve a ‘knowledge’ situation.
1 QUESTION FOR YOU
1. What did you buy on Black Friday? More importantly, why did you buy it, if you did buy something? Here are some reasons for you to keep it:
a. It brings a new functionality/kind of sound to you that you needed. Melodyne can open a new range of possibilities with Vocal Tuning that some ‘auto-tunes’ can’t do.
b. It has a better sound / flexibility than the ones you own. Serum and Diva are often said as better (sound and looks) than Sylenth1, but make sure it’s not a lack of ‘not wanting to learn’ Sylenth1.
c. It looks way better than the ones I own. If the plugin ‘looks’ makes you feel better and makes you want to learn it and develop your skills, proudly go for it, but don’t forget to develop your skills!
