SOFTWARE PROCESSORS

Although it's commonplace now for software effects and dynamics processors to go way beyond hardware units in terms of functionality, just like their hardware cousins, the quality of plug-ins can range from mediocre to excellent. We spent countless hours auditioning as many as we could lay our hands on, and have selected over 100 of what we believe to be the best third-party plug-ins available - all legitimately sourced for both reliability and a clear conscience.

Although most plug-ins now come in all formats, not all of them actually work(!), or at least work together - the icons below tell you which we have installed and working with either Pro Tools, Logic, or both, and also which of them run on Pro Tools TDM hardware, which means they don't require any of the computer's processing power, and in most cases can be used latency-free during tracking.

Pro Tools

Logic

TDM

• Amp Modelling/Guitar FX
• De-esser
• Delay
• Dynamics
• Dynamics/EQ
• EQ
• Mastering
• Metering
• Modulation


• Noise Removal
• Pitch/time/Harmony
• Reverb
• Stereo Processor
• Sound Replacement
• Time Alignment
• Vocal

Amp Modelling/Guitar FX

Bomb Factory Tech 21 Sans Amp We do have a genuine PSA-1 for guitarists who like to get their hands on the knobs and turn it up to 11, but for adding anything from mild crunch to dirty distortion to a track in a hurry, the Bomb Factory plug-in version does an excellent job. Eventide H3000 Factory Although not strictly a guitar product, the H3000 has found its way into the racks of many of the world's most discerning guitarists. Eventide's software recreation uses exactly the same algorithms, and allows up to 18 effects blocks to be patched together in any combination via its on-screen patchbay. Line 6 Amp Farm This is the plug-in that launched amp-modelling onto the world, and formed the basis of the famous 'POD' range of hardware. Amp Farm contains models of 13 classic guitar amps, and incorparates the ability to mix and match with a wide variety of cabs, microphones and recording positions.

Native Instruments Guitar Rig An extremely comprehensive software guitar processor, Guitar Rig not only offers models of 12 amps, 27 speakers and 9 microphones, but also has 44 different FX processors which can be combined in the drag 'n' drop virtual rack - it even has a built-in looper. Waves GTR Waves are renowned for their attention to detail, and GTR is no exception - they have painstakingly modelled an amazing 32 amps, 29 cabs and 26 stomp boxes, including many bass models. We also have their PRS-designed DI box which allows you to track a dry guitar signal for later experimentation, whilst simultaneously recording your regular amp.

De-esser

Antares Sybil A de-esser of excellent quality with a very straightforward interface, which nonetheless offers control of all the key parameters. Waves DeEsser Extremely comprehensive de-essing (the removal of sibilant vocal sounds such as 'shh' and 'ess') in a single plug-in with no side-chaining to worry about and minimal artifacts.

Waves Renaissance DeEsser Like the rest of Waves' Renaissance range, the De-esser cuts controls down to the bare minimum and offers a variety of presets to get the job done quickly without having to understand every detail of the process.

Delay

Bomb Factory Moogerfooger AnalogDelay Modelled after the limited-edition original from Bob Moog, this delay produces extremely lush tones that can be pushed into breaking up in a very classy fashion. Digidesign Reel Tape Delay Recreate the original sound of tape delay without all the hassle, but with the ability to control even the levels of wow and flutter. Lovely warm sounds - not just for dub! Eventide H3000 Band Delays The famous Band Delays from the H3000, including all the orginal presets. Up to 8 simultaneous tempo-locked delays, controlled by function generators with 19 different waveshapes, and an extremely high Q filter per voice whose centre frequency can be defined by musical note name - creates amazing patterns with ease.

Line 6 Echo Farm Models of 12 different vintage echo units (including the Roland Space Echo) with an extremely easy-to-use interface - set delay times by musical note values, and smear pitches by modulating it in real time. Waves SuperTap SuperTap is a 6-tap delay with an excellent graphic interface - a grid allows you to set the individual delay times as you would in a sequencer, a spatial positioning display facilitates the simultaneous setting of pan position and level for each tap, and there are also many filtering options.

Dynamics

Bomb Factory BF-2A Modelled after the Teletronix LA-2A tube levelling amplifier, Bomb Factory's plug-in version has an extremely warm sound, and of course can be used on as many tracks as you like! Bomb Factory BF-3A The BF-3A takes the sound of the LA-2A one stage further, with more smoothness and a unique sonic fingerprint that really makes instruments and vocals stand out in a track. Bomb Factory Fairchild 660/670 A faithful model of the Fairchild 660 - probably the most sought-after valve compressor/limiter of all time (the 670 was the stereo version). The original used an unusual 'variable-mu' valve design which was capable of dynamic gain change, and could therefore be used to carry out the gain-reduction itself (most valve compressors only used valves for the input/output stages). It also had an extremely fast attack time. Very solid sound. Bomb Factory Purple Audio MC77 The Purple Audio MC77 is perhaps the ultimate evolutionary stage in the history of the famous 1176 - the 'go to' compressor of choice for many engineers, particularly for vocals as it offers a brightness often lacking in other designs. Bomb Factory's model is personally approved by Andrew Roberts, the MC77's designer. Eventide Omnipressor One of Eventide's early success stories, the Omnipressor is so-named as it offers expanding, compression, limiting and dynamic reversal all in one unit. The plug-in version features all the original controls, plus of course the ability to automate parameter adjustment. Waves Linear Phase Multiband An incredibly transparent 5-band compressor which uses phase-linear crossovers, and has adjustable knee and 'electro' or 'opto' characteristics. Although this plug-in does sound fantastic, be prepared to use a lot of delay compensation!

Waves MaxxVolume A completely unique plug-in that combines several different dynamics processes including automatic gain riding to produce an output signal with rock-steady level. Excellent on vocals, also great for broadcast and mastering use. Waves MV2 Sophisticated compression in a hurry. Separate high and low level processors are combined in a simple 3-fader interface with a variety of great-sounding presets. Waves Renaissance Axx 3 parameters give you everything you need to quickly bring guitars and basses under control - threshold, attack and gain. The ratio curve is fixed and release and limiter settings are adjusted automatically. Waves Renaissance Compressor Renaissance Compressor uses technologies from the L1 Ultramaximizer and the C1 Parametric Compounder to produce classic warm-sounding compression with a straightforward user interface. Waves Renaissance Vox As its name suggests, Vox is optimised for the dynamic treatment of vocals. Amazingly, compression, gating, expansion, limiting and level maximization are all controlled from only 3 sliders - simple, yet very effective. Waves TransX Transient Shaper Unlike any other dynamics processor, TransX is specifically designed to process transients and their relationship to the rest of the signal. It is capable of adding incredible punch, emphasising sustain, or even 'sucking' reverb off a track, and comes in single-band and 4-band variants.

Dynamics/EQ

Eventide E-Channel An excellent 'channel strip' which is optimised for running multiple instances - in fact, up to 6 instances of gate, compressor/limiter and 48-bit 5-band parametric EQ per DSP chip at 44.1kHz. Eventide Ultra-Channel The Ultra-Channel is Eventide's 'no-holds barred' take on the channel-strip, and sounds superb. Each instance features gate, compressor/limiter or Omnipressor, 48-bit 5-band parametric EQ, stereo delays, and Harmonizer based thickening - not for those keen on conserving DSP resources! Focusrite Liquid Mix & 96kHz Expansion In a nutshell, excellent sound quality that requires no DSP power from computer or Pro Tools cards, and a great user interface. The Liquid Mix uses convolution technology to model the precise behaviour of numerous classic compressors and EQs, and guarantees the permanent availability of 32 channels of each of them at 44.1kHz (or 16 at 96kHz). Amongst its many excellent models are the Urei 1176, Fairchild 670, Empirical Labs Distressor, Pultec EQP-1A, SSL E & G Series EQ and bus compressor, and others from API, Avalon, EMI, Focusrite, Manley, Millenia, Neve, Summit, Teletronix and more. Waves AudioTrack All the basics in one easy to operate plug-in - 4-band parametric EQ, gating and compression/expansion with minimal DSP load.

Waves C1 Parametric Compounder C1 is a sophisticated 'channel strip' which consists of 3 separate modules (compressor, expander/gate and EQ) which can be combined together in various ways with internal or external side-chaining, and look-ahead processing to preserve transients. Waves C4 Multiband C4 combines just about every dynamics and EQ feature you can think of into one plug-in, using technologies from both the C1 Parametric Compounder and the Renaissance Compressor. 4 bands of up/down expansion, compression/limiting, standard and dynamic EQ. Very powerful. Waves Renaissance Channel Follows the usual Renaissance formula of combining excellent quality processing and lots going on under the hood with an elegant interface which lets you quickly get to grips with all the key parameters.

Noise Removal

Waves X-Click Although the algorithm behind X-Click was originally designed for removing clicks and pops from vinyl recordings to restore them, it now finds a good deal of use in cleaning up less-than-ideal source material suffering from digital clicks, switching noise and mains pops. Waves X-Crackle Effectively removes crackles from vinyl recordings, and also other similar types of noises. You can solo the process to hear just the crackle, which may be a more popular use these days!

Waves X-Hum Although we're pretty confident that our studio is hum-free, material does come in that isn't, and X-Hum does an excellent job of cleaning it up. Also great on typically 'dirty' equipment such as guitar amps. Waves X-Noise X-Noise can 'learn' the profile of any kind of consistent noise such as hiss, aircon, computer fan noise etc, and then effectively remove it whilst leaving the signal intact - impressive.

Time Alignment

Eventide Precision Time Align A very simple plug-in in concept, but one that can make a huge difference in practise - a nice long fader allows you to line up multi-mic recordings for perfect time alignment - great for drums and classical recordings. Adjustments are displayed in milliseconds, centimetres, and feet and inches for the old skool.

Pitch/Time/Harmony

Antares Autotune Evo The original pitch corrector, and many would argue, still the best. The Evo version makes the process of achieving spot-on intonation much faster, and if you really want, it does the 'Cher' effect  :-) Antares Choir Choir takes a single voice and turns it into as many as 32 individual voices, each with their own pseudo-random timing, pitch and vibrato variations. You can get an amazingly realistic choir sound from a few simple vocal harmony tracks. Antares Harmony Engine Produces up to 4 independent harmony voices in real time with a variety of humanization features and intelligent harmony generation modes which are capable of turning out some very realistic-sounding arrangements. Celemony Melodyne Studio You can argue the toss about whether or not it sounds better than Autotune, but there's no doubt that you can get more creative with Melodyne - it's easy to completely rearrange both the pitch and timing of monophonic lines, and perhaps by the time you read this, polyphonic too! Digidesign X-form X-Form uses a relatively new frequency domain process behind the scenes to give extremely high quality time-stretching and formant-correct pitch shifting over a very wide range - from 12.5 - 800% of original speed, and/or +/- 3 octaves. A good time to make a cup of tea if you plan on using this on any length of material  :-) Eventide H910 An excellent emulation of the original Harmonizer - perhaps not 'hi-fi' by today's standards, but it has a unique sonic character nonetheless.

Eventide H949 The H949 was considerably more sophisticated than the H910, with de-glitched pitch-shifting, the ability to insert pitch-shifting into the feedback loop of a delay, randomization and flanging - all lovingly recreated in the plug-in. Eventide Octavox/Quadravox Eight voices of diatonic pitch-shifting, each with its own delay, pan and level control. The plug-in features Eventide's unique Notation Grid which allows voices to be placed as musical notes on a staff. Quadravox is a four-voice version. Waves SoundShifter An excellent quality pitch-shifter and time-stretcher which offers multiple modes to optimise processing for different types of material, and also has a graphic front end that allows you to draw in changes over time for easy creation of special effects. Waves UltraPitch A sophisticated harmony generator that is capable of anything from high quality thickening effects to 6-voice intelligent pitch-shifting with formant correction and a voice character display. Waves Waves Tune LT Waves' own take on pitch correction, with formant correction, a Melodyne-style display with piano roll, vibrato generation and many other parameters. Operates in sync via Rewire.

Stereo Processor

Waves Center Center is a simple plug-in in essence - it separates the 'phantom center' of a stereo recording from the edges - but has many uses, for instance raising/lowering lead vocals in a finished mix, controlling ambience, isolating vocals for mashups, and changing the character of drum loops. Waves PS22 PS22 makes a stereo track out of a mono one, but maintains mono compatibility. Perfect for big guitar sounds and effects.

Waves S1 S1 is great if you want a stereo track to really jump out of the speakers, as it can give the illusion of sound coming from outside the regular stereo field. Ideal for extra-wide drums, reverb returns, or even whole mixes if used with care.

EQ

Antares Warm Warm is not a traditional EQ, but a valve/tube emulator that does exactly what it says on the tin, with the standard 'Warm' mode adding a touch of lovely dynamic saturation, and 'Crunch' for less subtle effects. Extremely processor-efficient which means you can afford to use it on pretty much everything! Audio Ease Speakerphone XL If you've ever wondered what your guitar/vocals/drums would sound like through a PA system, megaphone, television, mobile phone or child's toy, Speakerphone will show you! With tons of additional parameters, it's capable of anything from a straightforward 'radio voice' to the downright bizarre. Bomb Factory Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter A very funky sounding Moog filter with 12/24dB octave options, drive control and envelope follower. Moog approved. Bomb Factory Pultec EQH-2 Pultec EQs were the first commercially made 'program equalizers', dating back to 1951, yet remain extremely popular today (and change hands for huge sums of money), chiefly thanks to the unique sound quality imparted by their passive designs. The EQH-2 was a specialist high frequency device, and Bomb Factory have done a great job of replicating its exceptionally smooth sound. Bomb Factory Pultec EQP-1A The EQP-1A was Pultec's very first model (actually it replaced the EQP-1 which lacked a gain make-up stage) and oddly features simultaneous cut and boost of both high and low frequencies, which actually produces some lovely results, all the way down to 20Hz! Bomb Factory Pultec MEQ-5 Based on the 3-band passive mid-frequency equalizer that was designed to complement the EQP-1A - fabulous on vocals. Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation Despite its many faults, analogue tape did one thing very well - saturation. Reel Tape lovingly models the effect, complete with the ability to vary speed, bias, calibration, and even noise, for all you gluttons for punishment. Eventide EQ45 A faithful recreation of Eventide's original EQ45, complete with 4 fully parametric bands of EQ, 12dB/oct high and low-pass filters, and an extremely smooth sound.

Eventide EQ65 From the same series as the EQ45, the EQ65 concentrates on filters for problem-solving and creative use. It has 18dB/oct high and low-pass filters, and two variable-depth notch filters. Sonnox EQ & GML The EQ from the Sony Oxford console is probably the most highly regarded of any digital desk, and comes in 4 different 'flavours' to cater for a wide range of EQ needs. We also have the George Massenburg 'GML' option which emulates the famous GML 8200 analogue EQ, and which was designed in conjunction with the man himself. Waves Linear Phase Equalizer A surgical EQ with no 'sonic fingerprint'. This type of EQ simply does not exist in the analogue domain, and has only recently become a possibility in digital because of the considerable computing power required to implement it. There are 5 bands, each of which can each choose from 9 different filter types, and up to an amazing +/- 30dB of gain. Waves MaxxBass A specialist bass processor which gives the illusion of extremely deep bass, even on smaller speakers. A great effect, although best used sparingly! Waves Q10 Paragraphic Equalizer This was the world's first 'paragraphic' equalizer and was one of the products that gave Waves the reputation for quality it has today. Multiple filter types, Q, frequency and +/- 18dB of gain for up to 10 bands of EQ - very powerful. Waves Q-Clone Q-Clone captures the actual sound of hardware equalizers and then lets you apply them to as many tracks as you want (DSP allowing). It comes with a huge library of presets from classic units, and you can also capture your own 'recordings' of favourite EQs, or any other audio device for that matter. Waves Renaissance Bass Renaissance Bass takes the technology behind the MaxxBass plug-in and combines it with a streamlined user interface to get you results quickly. Waves Renaissance Equalizer Up to 6 bands of 'paragraphic' EQ based on vintage-sounding filter curves, and with the familiar Renaissance interface for straightforward access to some lovely warm analogue-style sound quality.

Mastering

Sonnox Inflator Sonnox is the plug-in company that was created as a spin-off to the creation of the mega-bucks Sony Oxford digital console. Their Inflator is a unique processor that adds both presence and warmth to a signal, and can also substantially increase perceived loudness, without crushing the signal as a traditional limiter would - genius! TC Electronic MD3 Although MD3 doesn't have the greatest interface around, the superb sound quality means that this is easily forgotten. Offering multiband maximization and EQ in both standard and mid & side (MS) modes, it has consisently been voted the best sounding mastering processor by many professionals in direct A/B comparisons. Waves L1 Ultramaximizer The original plug-in peak limter with look-ahead limiting, 48-bit processing and built-in dither.  (Simple explanation of dither - noise shaping process that produces better sounding 16-bit output from 24-bit audio.) Waves L2 Ultramaximizer L2 takes the L1 formula one step further by adding ARC (Automatic Release Control) and a 9th-order noise shaping filter.

Waves L3 Multimaximizer An incredible 5-band version of the 'L' maximization sound, based on phase-linear crossovers and offering a fantastically detailed level of control together with an intuitive user interface - a very modern sound. Waves L3 Ultramaximizer A special edition of L3 which provides the same quality of sound, but with a greatly simplified interface. Waves L3LL Multi A 'lite' version of the L3 Multimaximizer that uses phase-compensated (rather than phase-linear) crossovers to achieve much lower latency, and thereby offers the possibility of use on high numbers of individual tracks. Waves L3LL Ultra A special version of L3LL Multi which provides the same quality of sound, but with a greatly simplified interface.

Metering

Roger Nichols Digital Inspector XL A great set of highly-customizable meters for the very important job of monitoring your audio. Includes Bob Katz's 'K-System' meters which our monitors are calibrated to, and which provide a very predictable environment for mixing and mastering.

Waves Paz Psychoacoustic Analyzer Tells you all the basics about your audio from a single set of plug-ins without first having to take a degree - position, frequency, phase and level are all covered.

Modulation

Bomb Factory Moogerfooger 12 Stage Phaser Bob Moog's original phaser module is a highly sought-after piece, and the modern hardware incarnation is extremely popular too. This software version is just as capable of its wide range of sounds, from a subtle shimmer to heavily distorted resonance. Bomb Factory Moogerfooger Ring Modulator A very wide-ranging carrier oscillator and dual-waveform LFO permit some really extreme lo-fi sounds, as well as the more traditional 'clangorous' textures. Digidesign Reel Tape Flanger Legend has it that flanging was invented by John Lennon when he was so stoned that he fell asleep on a revolving tape spool. Or something. Digidesign's fantastic 'Reel Tape' Flanger offers emulation of the original process with controls over drive, wow and flutter, and even machine type for a truly authentic experience. Also does ADT. Eventide Instant Flanger The 'Instant Flanger' was one of the first devices to recreate tape-based flanging, and this software implementation does the same again in typically idiosyncratic Eventide fashion - lots of fun. Eventide Instant Phaser An excellent simulation of the world's first-ever phaser - this is the sound of Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir'. Trillium Lane Labs Everyphase An extremely comprehensive and great-sounding 18-stage analogue modelled phaser, with an extremely flexible LFO, and even sidechain modulation possibilities. Capable of reproducing the sound of the very devil himself scraping his fingernails down the blackboard of life.  Maybe.

Waves Doppler A fantastic tool for giving sounds an extremely realistic illusion of movement. It combines Doppler effects with reverb, and has an intuitive drag-n-click interface which allows you to literally draw the movement of your sound left/right and front/back. Why stop at ambulances? Also great for percussion, synth parts and sound FX. Waves Doubler A comprehensive doubling (or quadrupling) effect which is all over the sound of many modern records - pop vocals in particular. The excellent interface allows you to simply draw in the desired pan position, delay and detune amounts, as well as tweaking filtering and modulation parameters - instant fatness. Waves Enigma What is it? Enigma is quite unlike any other modulation plug-in, combining notches, notch filters, LFOs, feedback, feedback filters and reverb to produce to produce some really radical effects. Waves MetaFlanger MetaFlanger is a parameter-rich flanger and phaser that has several unique features including a modulation meter, tape delay emulation switch, and 'Modulation Stop' button that allows you to freeze the LFO at any point in its cycle, making light work of achieving the optimum setting for static effects. Waves MondoMod A really handy plug-in that covers tremolo, vibrato and rotating speaker (Leslie) effects in detail, but with a very thoughtfully laid-out interface, and of course, tempo syncing.

Reverb

Audio Ease Altiverb XL The original software convolution reverb, and many would argue, still the best. If you haven't heard convolution reverb before, be prepared to be amazed - it really is like being there. Altiverb offers perhaps the widest range of impulse responses (samples of acoustic spaces), lets you create your own, and even shows you what the original space looks like. Best Service Halls of Fame Not a plug-in in itself, but a complete set of impulse responses for all the presets of the Lexicon 960L and TC Electronic System 6000, the finest artificial reverb processors ever made. Use with Altiverb or IR-L. Digidesign ReVibe Revibe is a room-modelling reverb that combines 9 different algorithms and over 200 room types/early reflections algorithms to produce an extremely wide range of results, optimised for Pro Tools HD Accel cards, and also for 96kHz performance. A parameter-tweaker's delight. Eventide H8000 Reverb Superb sounding reverb from the H8000 hardware unit with a wealth of carefully laid out parameters on offer. The early reflections in particular are excellent.

Waves IR-L Convolution reverb from Waves with the ability to stretch reverbs to up to 4x the original length without artifacts, and adjust the impulse start-time to change pre-delay if required. The 'low CPU' mode makes this a good choice if you need to use a lot of different reverbs. Waves Renaissance Reverb A more traditional-style algorithm-based reverb with reverse, gated, 'ResoVerb' modes and more, in addition to good solid halls and plates. Nice straightforward interface. Waves TrueVerb A 'room modelling' reverb akin to ReVibe with great sound quality and an excellent graphic interface for editing both reverb and early reflections. Room sizes up to 20,000 cubic metres!

Sound Replacement

Digidesign SoundReplacer Replace or augment drum and percussion tracks with up to three samples which can be crossfaded/switched between with adjustable thresholds based on the original track's dynamics. Replacement samples can be 'Peak Aligned' with the original audio to ensure phase-accurate placement. Synchro Arts VocAlign Pro Originally designed for film dialogue replacement, VocAlign is also perfect for tightening up backing vocals and other instrumental parts. The process is extremely simple, and can also be used creatively, for instance to mould continuous sounds around drum loops.

Trillium Lane Labs Drum Rehab If you want to go into more detail than SoundReplacer allows, Drum Rehab is your plug-in. Up to 16 levels of dynamic cross-switching with alternate stickings, free or choked voicing, and a built-in library of drum samples with sound-editing capabilites.

Vocal

Antares Articulator Articulator allows you to extract formant and envelope data from a vocal track and apply it to anything else - create genuinely 'talking' drums, singing guitars, whispering strings, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Antares Aspire Controls the 'breathiness' of a voice to add a bit more rasp to a rock singer for instance, or to angelify your lady vocalist who's been at the Rothmans rather too often. Antares Duo Very fast and effective vocal doubling which goes far beyond the traditional ADT effect by offering variation of timing, pitch, vibrato and even the throat characteristics of the second part. Antares Mutator If you really want to mangle a vocal, this is what to reach for - Mutator features a combination of throat modelling, pitch shifting, 'Alienization' and of course, 'Mutation'. Darwin would be proud.

Antares Punch Punch is designed to enhance the impact of a vocal, and does so with an extremely simple interface, although there is much more going on 'under the hood' here. Great results in double-quick time. Antares Throat Throat provides a detailed model of a human vocal tract through which you can pass a vocal (or any other signal for that matter), controlling parameters such as breathiness, throat length and width, glottal width and voice type, even going beyond the possibilites of (known!) human anatomy. Waves Morphoder You can use vocoders just for the standard 'robot voice' effect, but why not go much further when you have all this on offer - phase linear modulator EQ, built-in carrier synth, graphic control over bands, formant control, independent Q per filter and a lot more.