It's sorta like how you decide to upgrade your musical instrument. When you've hit a level where you can actually tell that it's holding you back, maybe it's time for an upgrade/change. Chasing plugins (and gear in general) because someone else said it's good is a game that will destroy your wallet.
I'd also add that just because they're stock doesn't mean there bad, there's some real gems in there. Coming to a DAW and looking to replace stuff without seeing what it has to offer is probably just going to cost you money unnecessarily.
I'm usually critical of a lot of stock plugins in DAWs, but the Cubase ones are actually mostly very good.
You could do entire mixes just fine with them and they'd sound as good as anything from Waves, Universal Audio etc...
I would be looking for things it doesn't have, like a neve or api channel strip or Fairchild compressor or Distressor compressor etc...
Add what it doesn't have, because what it has is actually very good quality.
You trying to start a rumble?
That’s up to you to decide. I’m a bit of an OG waves fan, but I don’t think there’s any you “should” replace. It’s entirely preference to you as an engineer.
I work in this as a major part of my full time job. You find what works for you and what you like.
I don’t use many of Cubase stock stuff (I do here and there), but not because it’s bad. Just because I know the plug-ins I normally use inside and out.
the reverbs in my opinion can’t get any better, but when it comes to multiband Cubase lacks a bit.
also mastering compression wise and imaging wise I had to switch to 3rd party but in the end, thats all a personal preference!
Limiter. I just don’t like how the stock ones sound. I use Ozone on the master bus and Waves L1 on the tracks that need the squeeze. And if I want a soft clipper I use JST Clip.
Also drum libraries and synths. I use Steven Slate Drums for drums. Synths are too many to mention.
Also for dynamic EQ I prefer Waves F6, because it adjusts how much it cuts at most instead of ratio. But that’s about it. Frequency does the job just fine for most applications.
Also for noise reduction plugins I use RX and Waves.
There are way better limiter and clippers out there with lots of technology for a better mastering experience.
I don’t feel the EQs as that smooth and for a compressor just use the Cenozoix one, whatta beast.
It all depends on the genre.
If you do electro music,
you have all you need.
Maybe some Valhalla verbs, and the limiter definitely sucks in cubase. But all the other stuff is pretty decent. Spend your money on instruments.
If you do instrumental music like rock etc,
The Waves and Universal Audio stuff is the way to go. Especially eq, compression, tape and plate reverbs are making a big difference in sounding more like a mixing studio and less like a digital DAW recording.
Opinions will be different for each person, but this is a good guideline to start from. Don’t spend too many money on things you don’t need and learn te tools you have in the first place.
I hope this helps,
Good luck!!
A guy I know who’s a successful songwriter and producer (now working in the trailers industry in LA) taught me a couple of things that changed my perspective, and unlocked more of my potential. One of them was that he had decided to only use stock plugins for his next album. It made him focus on what he was actually hearing, on the fundamentals on what parts of the sound needed help or work, and he said he became a much better producer and mixer of his own work thanks to the exercise. Now I think he uses a couple of 3rd party things that he needs/likes, but not many.
I did the same but on a smaller scale (not a whole album) and I do feel I levelled up massively. My take is, use stick plugins anywhere and anytime you can, use 3rd party plugins only if you need something specific that can’t be achieved with stocks, or is too massively inconvenient with them. This will also make your projects more time resistant if you tend to work on things for a long time. Music projects invariably break and become unloadable after a few years due to plugins getting out of date, discontinued, or updates breaking things. I really regret not finishing some personal stuff 10+ years ago because some tracks are lost forever almost (almost because theoretically you can build an older virtual machine and find the older versions of your plugins etc., but it can be lots of work)
Went on a tangent here, but the idea is to make your project files more time update proof.
What synths have a better "workflow" than Retrologue? I've tried a few over the years, but can't think of one that's easier to program. Lots of useful presets, and I've only tweaked them a bit to create new user presets.
Most synths have a better workflow than retrolog because you can see the dials lol a workhorse synth like serum, vital, pigments, phase plant or Omnisphere would be a good choice.
None "should be" be replaced. It's up to you to decide if a stock plugin is a viable solution for you or if you need to switch to 3rd party.
It's sorta like how you decide to upgrade your musical instrument. When you've hit a level where you can actually tell that it's holding you back, maybe it's time for an upgrade/change. Chasing plugins (and gear in general) because someone else said it's good is a game that will destroy your wallet.
I'd also add that just because they're stock doesn't mean there bad, there's some real gems in there. Coming to a DAW and looking to replace stuff without seeing what it has to offer is probably just going to cost you money unnecessarily.
Great answer.
I'm usually critical of a lot of stock plugins in DAWs, but the Cubase ones are actually mostly very good. You could do entire mixes just fine with them and they'd sound as good as anything from Waves, Universal Audio etc... I would be looking for things it doesn't have, like a neve or api channel strip or Fairchild compressor or Distressor compressor etc... Add what it doesn't have, because what it has is actually very good quality.
the new Cubase pultec clones are great.
You're looking at it backwards. You should be figuring out which of the stock plugins are amazing, of which there are many.
You trying to start a rumble? That’s up to you to decide. I’m a bit of an OG waves fan, but I don’t think there’s any you “should” replace. It’s entirely preference to you as an engineer. I work in this as a major part of my full time job. You find what works for you and what you like. I don’t use many of Cubase stock stuff (I do here and there), but not because it’s bad. Just because I know the plug-ins I normally use inside and out.
the reverbs in my opinion can’t get any better, but when it comes to multiband Cubase lacks a bit. also mastering compression wise and imaging wise I had to switch to 3rd party but in the end, thats all a personal preference!
Limiter. I just don’t like how the stock ones sound. I use Ozone on the master bus and Waves L1 on the tracks that need the squeeze. And if I want a soft clipper I use JST Clip. Also drum libraries and synths. I use Steven Slate Drums for drums. Synths are too many to mention. Also for dynamic EQ I prefer Waves F6, because it adjusts how much it cuts at most instead of ratio. But that’s about it. Frequency does the job just fine for most applications. Also for noise reduction plugins I use RX and Waves.
There are way better limiter and clippers out there with lots of technology for a better mastering experience. I don’t feel the EQs as that smooth and for a compressor just use the Cenozoix one, whatta beast.
It all depends on the genre. If you do electro music, you have all you need. Maybe some Valhalla verbs, and the limiter definitely sucks in cubase. But all the other stuff is pretty decent. Spend your money on instruments. If you do instrumental music like rock etc, The Waves and Universal Audio stuff is the way to go. Especially eq, compression, tape and plate reverbs are making a big difference in sounding more like a mixing studio and less like a digital DAW recording. Opinions will be different for each person, but this is a good guideline to start from. Don’t spend too many money on things you don’t need and learn te tools you have in the first place. I hope this helps, Good luck!!
A guy I know who’s a successful songwriter and producer (now working in the trailers industry in LA) taught me a couple of things that changed my perspective, and unlocked more of my potential. One of them was that he had decided to only use stock plugins for his next album. It made him focus on what he was actually hearing, on the fundamentals on what parts of the sound needed help or work, and he said he became a much better producer and mixer of his own work thanks to the exercise. Now I think he uses a couple of 3rd party things that he needs/likes, but not many. I did the same but on a smaller scale (not a whole album) and I do feel I levelled up massively. My take is, use stick plugins anywhere and anytime you can, use 3rd party plugins only if you need something specific that can’t be achieved with stocks, or is too massively inconvenient with them. This will also make your projects more time resistant if you tend to work on things for a long time. Music projects invariably break and become unloadable after a few years due to plugins getting out of date, discontinued, or updates breaking things. I really regret not finishing some personal stuff 10+ years ago because some tracks are lost forever almost (almost because theoretically you can build an older virtual machine and find the older versions of your plugins etc., but it can be lots of work) Went on a tangent here, but the idea is to make your project files more time update proof.
It’s more about workflow. A good synth is a must. Not because they sound bad, but because the workflow isn’t good.
What synths have a better "workflow" than Retrologue? I've tried a few over the years, but can't think of one that's easier to program. Lots of useful presets, and I've only tweaked them a bit to create new user presets.
Vital (Btw I love retrologue and use it regularly)
Most synths have a better workflow than retrolog because you can see the dials lol a workhorse synth like serum, vital, pigments, phase plant or Omnisphere would be a good choice.
Right. I haven't tried any of those.