Plugin Chooser

Knowledge Base

How to Use the Plugin Chooser

The Audio Plugin Chooser helps you select VST/AU plugins for mixing, mastering, and production. Answer questions about your DAW, budget, and mixing needs, the tool recommends plugins in free, budget, and professional tiers.

Plugin Categories

• EQ: Shape tone (parametric, graphic, dynamic). Waves, SSL, Neve make classics.
• Compression: Control dynamics. Universal Audio, Fabfilter, Waves dominate.
• Reverb: Add space and ambience. Valhalla, Waves, Spaceman are favorites.
• Delay: Echo effects. Valhalla, Soundtoys, native options like Logic's Space Designer.
• Saturation: Add warmth and distortion. Universal Audio, Soundtoys, Waves.
• Metering: Measure and analyze. Waves, FabFilter, Youlean (free).

Free vs. Paid Plugins

Free: Excellent for learning. ReaEQ (Reaper), Youlean Loudness Meter, vb.Audio (reverb), Voxengo (saturation).
Paid Budget ($50-200): FabFilter Pro-Q (EQ), Valhalla VintageVerb (reverb), Softube (saturation).
Professional ($300+): SSL Native, Neve, Universal Audio, Antares.

Building a Mixing Arsenal

Start with good stock plugins in your DAW. Add one quality EQ and compressor. Graduate to specialized tools as you grow. Don't buy plugins randomly, focus on gaps in your workflow.

FAQ

Q: Do I need the most expensive plugins to sound professional?
A: No. 90% of the sound comes from mic, room, and technique. Plugins are 10%. Use what sounds good to you.

Q: Should I use native plugins or third-party?
A: Start native. Third-party when you need specific character or tools your DAW lacks.

Choosing plugins without wasting money

Infinite Creation may earn a commission on purchases made through links from this tool, at no extra cost to you. That relationship does not change which plugins the questions lead to, and everything below is written on the assumption that most people reading it should buy nothing at all.

The plugins bundled with your recording software are better than their reputation. Every major package ships equalisation, compression, gating and reverb capable of professional results, and a mix failing with stock plugins is failing for reasons a purchase will not address. Learning one compressor thoroughly beats owning nine.

Buy to solve a problem you have already hit. The useful sequence is noticing a specific limitation, confirming your existing tools genuinely cannot address it, and only then looking at what would. Buying first and looking for a use afterwards is how people accumulate large collections they do not open.

Specialist tools justify themselves faster than general ones. A de-esser, a spectral repair tool or a dedicated loudness meter does something awkward or impossible with stock plugins, and the time saved is measurable. Another equaliser is rarely a meaningful addition, no matter how good it sounds.

Demo everything on your own material. A plugin sounds transformative on the manufacturer's demonstration track and unremarkable on your podcast, because the demonstration was chosen to flatter it. Most developers offer trials, and a fortnight of real use answers the question far better than any review.

Free plugins cover more ground than most people expect. Several widely respected equalisers, compressors and analysers cost nothing, and a few are standards in professional work. Exhausting the free options before spending is a genuinely viable route rather than a compromise.

Watch out for maintenance cost. A large collection means more to install on a new machine, more to keep authorised, and more that eventually stops working after an operating system update. A small set you know deeply carries none of that.

Vocabulary

Stock plugin. A processor included with your recording software rather than bought separately. Capable of professional results in every major package, and the correct starting point before any purchase.

Demo version. A time-limited or feature-limited trial letting you use a plugin on your own material before buying. The only reliable way to judge one, since manufacturer demonstrations use material chosen to flatter the product.

Authorisation. The system tying a plugin licence to you or your computer, sometimes needing a hardware key or an online check. A practical cost of ownership, because each one is another thing to restore when a machine is replaced.

Signal chain. The ordered series of processors a sound passes through. What each one contributes depends on its position, so understanding order usually improves a mix more than adding another processor to it.