LINKS & MORE

Searching for the right record label? What Festival to go? Which plugins are useful?

The search is over!

Explore my carefully selected collection of essential PLUGINS and useful LINKS featuring an extensive list of LABELS, FESTIVALS, and MORE.

As a producer, your primary objective should be to attain top-notch sound quality using 90% stock plugins only - and Ableton offers an exceptional and outstanding library of high quality stock plugins and options.

However, there are still other plugins that may be superior, more unique or enhance your workflow because of their complexity. There are also some analogue plugins and emulations with their special and unique sound and coloring no stock plugin can reproduce (e.g. the emulation of the well-known Pultec EQP-1).

Do you think anything is missing or would you like to be included on this list?

Feel free to send me a DM! 😉

FABFILTER

Fabfilter is undoubtedly among the top companies for high-quality plugins.

My go-to plugins for EQing, particularly the new Pro Q4, as well as for Saturation/Distortion, Multiband Compression and Limiter, are Fabfilter's Pro Q4, Saturn 2, Pro MB, and Pro L.

I especially favor Pro L for mastering, while I usually opt for different limiters or compressors for sound design, production, and mixing.

PLUGIN ALLIANCE

Plugin Alliance is definitely my absolute favorite company when it comes to high-end and high quality plugins.

They offer a fantastic range of great plugins, but I'd like to highlight a few of my absolute favorites:

FOR MY MASTERCHAIN:

On the Master Chain (or "Main" how Ableton calls it since V12) I love to use 3 plugins:

The Black Box HG-2 (or HG-2MS),

bx_digital v3,

bx_townhouse Bus Compressor

MORE GREAT PLUGINS FROM PA::

ADPTR AUDIO Metric AB

AMEK Mastering Compressor (not only for mastering, also awesome for sounddesign & mixing!)

AMEK EQ200

bx_pan EQ

Dangerous Music BAX EQ

dearVR Music

Knif Audio Soma

Lindell Audio MBC Multiband Compressor

Mäag Audio EQ2 & 4

Neold Wunderlich

Purple Audio MC77

Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor

DS Audio Tantra 2

Unfiltered Audio Byome

Unfiltered Audio Tails

Vertigo VSC-2

Vertigo VSM-3

TDR - TOKYO DAWN RECORDS

TDR offers three exceptional free versions of their plugins that are truly essential!

The TDR KOTELNIKOV compressor is undoubtedly one of finest available. It's become an indispensable part of my K&B group!

TDR NOVA boasts valuable features such as dynamic EQ with Attack and Release options, a unique offering before Pro Q4 introduced it at the end of 2024.

Additionally, the TDR VOS SlickEQ is another fantastic free equalizer.

PULTEC EQ

The introduction of passive EQP-1 by Pultec in 1951 marked a significant turning point in music history

The EQP-1 features a distinct and unique sound coloration, making it essential for controlling low-end and high-end frequencies, especially when it comes to Kick & Bass.

Universal Audio and Waves provide some of the finest emulations of this legendary piece of equipment.

OSZILLOS MEGA SCOPE

The OSZILLOS MEGA SCOPE by Schulz Audio is my preferred choice, particularly for phase alignment of Kick & Bass.

While there are excellent free options available, such as Bom Shankas occularScope, the standout feature of the Oszillos Mega Scope its ability to be loaded on multiple channels, along with its straightforward precise latency control.

KICK 3 & KICK NINJA

The Kick design is truly on another level. Kicks, alongside the Bass, form the essential foundation of our music, so achieving perfection in Kicks is crucial.

I always suggest that beginners utilize professionally produced samples or presets.

For those looking to create their own Kicks or modify professional presets, I believe Kick 3 from Sonic Academy is the best kicksampler available. The updated V3, with its phase control feature, makes my top choice.

Another excellent plugin for Kickdesign is Kick Ninja from The Him which offers precise controls over key, amp, and phase.

MORE PLUGINS

Absolutely! There are many excellent plugins out there, but here a few additional ones that are truly worth highlighting - well, they are absolute fire!

DIST Coldfire by Arturia
Glitch 2 by Illforms

Shaperbox 3 by Cableways
Soothe 2 by Oeksound
Trackspacer by Wavesfactory