9 Ways You Could Be Using Your Plugins WRONG

[@xjaemusic]

#9: not every single channel needs a plugin, don't overmix. Get it right at the source, plugins are problems solvers and tonal shapers. If there's no problems and a great tone, just leave it be, if it sits fine in the mix as it is, don't create a problem that never needed solving.

[@nostralgia3203]

while not every channel needs a plugin, if you never experiment, you'll never potentially find new sounds/effects. don't be afraid to play around. you can always turn off your plugins to go back to the original sound :)

[@isherwoodme]

I see this all the time in groups. People asking which plugins to use for a vocal track, for instance. The answer is ALWAYS: "Nobody Knows until they hear the track". Maybe it needs something, but LISTEN to it and give it what it NEEDS to get the end result you want.

[@lloydcooke5503]

Exactly, very good point.

[@GTSongwriter]

Nice. I haven't thought about the A B switching. Thank you!

[@mictianrv]

Great video!

[@philipalvarez8833]

Possible #9? Relying on plugins to "fix" your sound, rather than utilizing proper mic'ing/recording techniques to get the best sound possible from the beginning, so less processing is needed.

[@jessedinoia8836]

Just watch Dave pensado who is a mixing God & you will challenge your thinking in a big way. The amount of processing is eye watering. But it sounds killer. I think I would take his advice. FYI, the space it was recorded in has more impact on the sound than the mic or recording technique. Now check out how he treated Bonnie Tyler's million dollar studio vocal with plugins. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5uri6iigbmng7s

[@vallo1287]

How about for 9: “not using a plug-in just because you’ve recently watched a video on it”?! I’m very guilty of that (often from your videos - although more often that not it’s successful!) Great vid - just learned a few things I didn’t know, thanks

[@earledaniels4539]

Haha 😂 totally agree with this one. I am quilty of this. Also over using your latest plugin purchase.

[@mikeswell9021]

Give this man a beer 🍺

[@aapadre]

Nah I say do it and be perfectly fine with making bad music. Every artist, engineer, and producer have made bad songs. Ur music will get better. Try EVERY plugin in a bundle that u buy and have fun.

[@bongopro4401]

I don’t pay attention anymore to all these hyped up plugins claiming to be the best, with the tools I have I let my ears decide what I want

[@chitlun]

On the “mixing with you eyes” scenario… Having ‘cut my teeth’ on tape way back, I get somewhat annoyed with myself from time to time because I can sometimes be guilty of this but I’ll immediately go back and rectify by using my ears. It’s one of the inherent problems with working with such a visual tool I find… Ooh shiny!

[@tarenvegas]

Thank you for clearly setting the compass to pathways of least resistance

[@GladysGrace001]

Wow! I love the haircut. I'm digging the new suavé look.

[@seymourdollas2250]

Learned some things...kudos to you waves

[@virginstudio120]

Thanx for the advices. Good tips! 😉👍🏼

[@Paramashiva_frequency]

I’m actually very glad I already know all of this :3

[@samuelokafor7784]

this vid was refreshing to watch, thank you.

[@maomao180]

The low end clipping on HEQ sounded really dope actually

[@dalebrownmusic]

#9: Hearing with your wallet. Choosing the most expensive plugin you have in its category instead of a stock, free, or less expensive one. Thanks for the great vids!

[@dbigswishTV]

Am so ENLIGHTENED😃 ... Tanx a million

[@twitchingtriforce8010]

All of these tips are great thanks for this, I always find myself changing sounds and forgetting how I had then so the A-B Switch and the read/write automation tips for me were the most useful here 🥳👍🏾💜

[@PendelSteven]

#9 might be: buying an plugin collection and not trying half of the new plugins you've bought. So I've made it a habit - in Studio One you can set a picture of the plugin in the browser - and if I've ever tried / used the plugin it'll have a picture. This way I can easily spot which plugin I still have to try. It's understandable that if you've just bought Waves Gold you haven't had got the time to try even a third of them in a day. Or let's face it, I'm posting this since I bought Arturia's FX Collection 3 recently.

[@isherwoodme]

I just recently made a list of ALL my plugins and am determined to go through each one (several I've never used - and still might not after using them) and learn everything I can about them. Read the User's Manual, tips and tricks from other users, etc. on each one. THEN, I'll know WHEN to use each one or whether I need them at all.

[@auchild433]

thanks you for explaining the setup a and b i always ignored that until today got to give it try

[@von_Apa]

Very good video!! Thank’s a lot! 💥🎶☑️

[@djjuno106]

Brilliant video and wish this was made 10 years ago lol thanks waves

[@seekohn3022]

#9: Buying a bunch of plugins of which you only use 10 percent of it, cuz there was a 'great' deal available at that time and you made yourself believe you need them. But honestly with waves plugins and deals you can't go wrong. They are cheap in price but high on value for specific aplications. Love em. Affordable and great overall. They'll never let you down (I'm not sponsored by waves btw 😂)

[@hanisiblini]

GREAT TUTORIAL !!!

[@ProAudioLessons]

#3 is what I see in amateur mixes most often. Duplicate wet effects being run in-line instead of utilizing a send and return configuration will absolutely max out your CPU faster than you could imagine. Beyond that, it’s also just so impractical.

[@officialsaikomusic]

That's so! The bus mixing is the key!

[@thinkingfield]

Guilty of 4 5 and 6!! Good tips. I’ll add for 9 feeling like you have to use an extra plug-in just because it’s available. Sometimes less is more! Which could be 10 also 😉

[@vigilant545]

Great video! This guy delivers every time👍

[@AlexeySolovievMusic]

Amazing video Dan! Thank you so much!

[@Keroser1983]

Very very important stuff!!!! These are the things that will make anyone a better musician / mixing / mastering person. We should not overlook. For me, the most imprtant thing is studying the plugin. There can be many features that we can miss.

[@dancooperwaves3685]

Spot on my friend

[@OKFCPrez]

Geez these videos are awesome and full of great information, I'm already looking forward to more. OK, you got me, I'll start using the A/B compare.

[@lX-NDR]

Just bought the cla series! Love it

[@artistic-wordplay]

You won't regret it - good purchase.

[@shockwave2439]

Thank you for explaining this thoroughly!

[@1971avig]

Thank you very much, it was realy helpful 🌹🙏

[@rickdeaguiar-musicreflecti7692]

Thank you for taking the time on this. Great information and advice :)

[@88keyz]

👍🏾need more of these types of videos 👍🏾 thanks much appreciated for sharing this type of video 👍🏾

[@rytiye4982]

I got tip #9 : Less is More!! Nvm duplicates, sometimes more than 3/4 will actually deplete the quality of your sound!! I hear a lot of commentary stating: “treat before you record!”. Sounds like the advice of Sound Engineers. Beat makers don’t focus on Sound Engineering enough and it fails them a lot in terms of quality product!! I’m guilty, I’ve been there!! Love this vid!! Thanks 😊

[@lazwid7879]

I haven’t get to understand this

[@nathanielbrown8718]

One thing I love about analog obsession is that their plugins are automatically gain compensated

[@christianmontagne7659]

Great video ! Learned a few things thank you!

[@29djandy]

Very helpful 👍 and much appreciated teaching

[@tonycapone2016]

Love mv2 one of the few waves plugs I use.

[@Quant-Beat]

Many producers haven’t taken signal routing seriously, still believing the insert-on-channel is the big path. Signal routing gives gain staging and the opposite. They talk a lot about gain staging, to exaggerated levels - but that requires pretty much a correct signal routing to even start with if one is not happily wasting tremendous time by choice. Correct signal routing is crucial for even making a good mix, level-wise.

[@precisionsoundworksstudio]

Another great vid, Dan! Very useful tips! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jirosaves_theworld]

no. 3 are the reason my old laptop blown lol so i stop doing that and using kind of your trick......and glad it was quite good solution to save CPU usage

[@ralfmoss]

I need to use automation more often. Nice vid Thanks

[@dancooperwaves3685]

It's super helpful. If you want a mix that moves, move those faders

[@pdesaulniers]

Super useful, like always :D !!

[@damienlott]

Great video! Respectfully disagree with point 3. Over the years I have learnt that, with backing vocals, drums, guitars, definitely sounds, at least different, compressing the sources individually. IMHO sounds less compressed and clean compressing the backing vocals individually versus compressing the bus. On the other hand, agree that you can share the reverb. Anyway good tips on your video, thanks.

[@devingobind]

Have you tried using clean saturation on the individual tracks? And then compression on the bus. Of course it'll be different for every genre, but consider giving it a try. I get pretty natural results with this method, especially on backing vocals.

[@Maxxabstract]

@@devingobind bout to give this a gander now :) thx

[@TheLithGH]

I definately suffer from your phrase, "choice paralysis"! Great video, thanks for posting!

[@theturtleproject]

#9 using a plugin just coz its new and you want to try it out, even though it doesn't fit your needs in your current project , yes i am speaking from experience

[@isherwoodme]

#1) I learned this after getting a lot of bad advice and silly responses years ago when I wanted to eliminate the amp buzz from an amp sim. Eventually, I figured out on my own, after a lot of "It's not real if there's no amp buzz" nonsensical comments. Lowering the Input Volume on the plugin COMPLETELY eliminated the amp buzz and hum, and gave me clean amp distortion and tone with ZERO "amp noise", then just cranking the Output Volume to bring it back to a decent volume.

[@ACelebrationofLIFEMendoza]

Superb thanks so much wov!!!

[@JasonGeraldG]

I think you are very good speaker/teacher.

[@_DRMR_]

If it sounds good, you're doing it right.

[@artistic-wordplay]

Yeah, it's all about individual taste.

[@danielmoraes7913]

Excelent and super usefull!!! Thanks

[@georgeabraham4285]

Thank you sir..

[@JAYFLOPROBEATS]

Learn about a full class course worth of tips and tricks in the 12 mintues of this video. Thanks for this!

[@dancooperwaves3685]

You're welcome!

[@albertrosa9954]

Well Done!!!

[@L.DOT.P.]

Thank you!

[@montgomerynsamba4323]

very useful

[@caspermaster-com]

Matching output level, use your ears, if you add 6 db because gain reduction said so, you are to loud, as it only the small peaks getting reduced that much, an average would be better, as sometimes it compresses 6 sometimes 0, so in between would be 3, and that is probably where you wanna set your output for comparison, but use your ears.

[@mortimermcpherson3939]

Very helpful . Thank you

[@skeletor.stramen]

Awesome video. God bless you.

[@vitaminfian]

Great, thank you

[@dallasowen620]

#9 perhaps.. More to do with buffer size than a plugin .. If you increase it to max while mxing [ NOT RECORDING ] Your pc can handle a lot more.

[@THZORROMUSIC]

thanks mate! this is quite vague for the input gain. yes, there is the sweet spot, you could have maybe given some concrete examples for cla or also the eq. and yes, you have ears...

[@trancephile2412]

VERY IMPORTANT ADVICE , thank you

[@dancooperwaves3685]

You’re more than welcome!

[@maximilianojuarez1]

💪💪thanks a lot. Cool advise

[@lemmeador7996]

Good stuff, Dan! Thanks for sharing. Is that Steve Maggiora vocals? My biggest headache at the moment is using plugins in ProTools that haven’t been rewritten for M1 compatibility. A couple of my favorite reverbs are in this category and it absolutely kills CPU efficiency, especially in 96k sessions. Thankfully, all of the Waves plugins are playing nicely.

[@dancooperwaves3685]

I'm right there with you Lem. We're all riding the M1 transition together. The male vocalist used in this video is an artist I work with called James Hodder.

[@CRtrain]

Maybe it's just my subjective ear but I don't hear how the make-up gain on that compressed drum loop at 4:35 actually sounds better. It seems like it's all running together

[@lX-NDR]

When to use a plugin as insert or send fx.

[@mickjames7962]

Great tips very good and all true although I will say CLA plugins and some others are designed to be overdriven to some degree.

[@bjoernschulz949]

Excellent!

[@mpc40001014]

Plugin Peril :) is putting a limiter on your master bus with minus 1 on the output of the limiter okay to just to catch peaks ??

[@mrvron]

The hair is growing fast for the winter ❄️ 😂😂😂😂 Nice video

[@dancooperwaves3685]

Winter's coming!

[@DenisVolga]

All these i've went through with pain of self-learning (don't learn otherwise). But this process never ends (maybe it is just quicker and less painful). Still can't overcome having way too many instruments, which causes more work (in itself and in making everything clear, cohesive.. and still many "have to keep beautiful parts" are just getting drowned in "too much"...my wife says that my music is for "musically educated dogs that can hear and appreciate what we, basic humans, can't"). And, yes, the big quantity of plugins does not make music/sound better - just the opposite and some plugins are very CPU hungry to the point of not just crackling, but freezing everything. Finishing now fixing, remixing old projects that recorded 4 years ago, when i was completely "green" and stupid: tried so much, piled up so much with no good results, and then just lowered the levels, 2-3 plugins - nice, listenable. It is all about learning/using for the good, not for masochistic learning, just using, sounding "special" and loud. This is not regarding neophytes only: there is way too much "high quality garbage" everywhere i can't even call music....another huge topic.

[@Khaliqri]

Thank you

[@agondistortion]

Work on the big picture , balance first spend much of the time balancing trasks that is the main thing after that spend time on the masterbuss add movement through compression that will give an overall vibe and energy to the song , put a reverb on a mastrrbuss diale in the exact paramenter that will give the track room to breathe and add another dimention to it , take out the reverb and put it as a send than blend each intruments to taste this is just one way , the other way is doing something u never done before and surprise urself with a crazy mix 😉

[@sPARk108Ling]

Wow muchas gracias amigo ! ☺

[@dogpile5902]

About mixer signal flow in DAW ? Samplitude from bottom up, Bitwig top down,Renoise right to left and Reason left to right etc....

[@victorbigand1502]

I have a question for everyone who can answer me... Relating to tips #3, I have the idea that processing each vocal separately doesn't have the result that processing the overall bus. Tell me if im wrong, but with auto tune for example, you will not reach the same result by autotuning a whole bus rather than each track, or do you? Same for de-esser, and for reverb too, right? I mean finally in the overall bus you can adjust delay, overall eq and maybe compressors to glue everything, but compressors to bring the vocal front have to be set within each track, right? I may have to evolve on this point because I'm using so much cpu in my sessions... Please advice me

[@dancooperwaves3685]

Tuning needs to be applied (that is if tuning is needed) on a track-by-track basis - not bus. This is because most tuning plugins are monophonic

[@MarcusSt0ne]

Do the outputs on all waves plugins internally clip regardless if you turn the fader of the track down so there is no clipping in the DAW?

[@dancooperwaves3685]

No, in a standard configuration plugins are inserted pre-fader, so the position of your DAW’s faders won’t impact the level within the plugin. Not the case in point 4 as track outputs are feeding into an aux, so plugin inputs can be overdriven by fader levels there

[@benediktmeyer4328]

wouldn't a compressor on a vocal bus react different to the signal than inserted to every individual channel ? I get it with eq but as shown in your example all the vocals were compressed by different amounts and that is something you could only fix on a channel by channel basis right ?

[@indivisibleman]

Concerning #3, using a single Aux for many vocals . . . EQ? Sure. However, wouldn't each vocal be better served with it's own compressor? Assuming you're using them, each performance is not identical, so doesn't it make sense that each note from each performance would be being treated separately? Seems like the controls of a compressor dictate that it would be reacting to a given transient but then it'll be busy doing so as the very next one comes along . . . if it works as I think it does, you're defeating the purpose, no?

[@Cybah]

idk if you guys are aware... but clipping and distortion and all that is very popular in hiphop and trap and we actually often want kicks and 808s to clip because it adds a beautiful crunch and hardness to your drum sounds

[@dancooperwaves3685]

That's a genre-specific workflow I was unaware of, but for this video we had to be as broad as possible with our examples

[@officialsaikomusic]

Thanks for these useful tips. But how about CLA Mixhub? When I load it on my mixer tracks, and then add its channels to buckets, It'l slow down my PC as hell!!! although I didn't use any other plugins but CLA Mixhub. How can I improve my PC's performance while I'm mixing songs using multiple CLA Mixhub clients? (My PC runs with a powerful hardware)

[@waves]

Hi there, our tech support department is open 7 days a week and will be more than glad to assist. Please contact us directly: www.waves.com/contact-us

[@rhemaman]

I think you left out one of the most important points with regard to the use of plugins in a mistake that most people make. One of the main tools needed for mixing which is lost to those who use plugins unless they actually go through the work of doing assignment to knobs is the ability to control one parameter at the same time as another. Professional results have never been gotten by experienced engineers in the industry this way

[@OriginalRaveParty]

Cheers Dan

[@804E]

Awesome. 9. Save your presets!!

[@dancooperwaves3685]

That's a very good point! Especially useful when mixing album projects where continuity is needed

[@apostolicway2604]

Newbie here. Can you give an example on saving a preset and why would I want to save it. Again I’m still learning but feel I can benefit from this. Thanks. Also I appreciate this video waves!

[@dancooperwaves3685]

@@apostolicway2604 Let's say you get a great vocal sound on one track and want to use it in another mix... saving your own custom presets are great for this. Saves reinventing the wheel each time. Or, maybe you have a certain way you like to start with certain plugins... for instance always starting with a low pass filter in and EQ. Why not "save a preset" and "save as default" so the filter is ready each time you load that EQ. Saves a little bit of time each time you mix with that plug.

[@oinkooink]

Anyone got a tip for running levels through plugins where the average level of the instrument is far exceeded by the transient peaks? Like a snare or kick or a drum kit for example.

[@antoinebunel]

sounds like you just need a compressor with a fast attack to tame the transients.

[@oinkooink]

@@antoinebunel Maybe. But fast attacks can tend to smear the transients and make them less defined.

[@BobbyCrane]

#3, isn’t there a difference of having compression on the individual track verses sending all the vocals to the same compressor buss? Like, wouldn’t the compressed be treating ALL the vocals as a whole, and instead just the individual vocal?

[@CaptainCricket3D]

There is a difference here. When sending every vocal to it's own individual compressor, that compressor is reacting ONLY to that individual vocal which will create a different dynamic. When grouping all vocals into an aux then compressing all vocals together, the compressor reacts to the sum of all vocals, creating another dynamic response which will be different than treating all vocals individually. The question is this: What way works best for the song? You're the judge to decide the answer for that. This video just sums up different approaches to think about. This video isn't about hard and set rules. At the end of the day, it's music so if it sounds good... It is good!

[@BizzyMo]

Nice to see healthy 🙏🤘

[@superconnie5003]

What reverb were you using bro?

[@davidzang7197]

#3: There still gonna be a difference between a bus compressing and compressing with individual tracks. The difference is not significant if the input is only one signal source at a time. The best solution is really to get a powerful-enough machine or learn to use less-CPU heavy native plugins. Fancy-looking plugin doesn't guarantee a good sound!

[@danielwiebe2123]

Agreed. Vocals need to be compressed separately for the most part. If you are trying to save CPU, print each vocal with the compression engaged. EQs are great on a vocal BUS, and automating a compressor can be handy there as well.

[@davidzang7197]

@@danielwiebe2123 or just use avid channel strip. I seriously think the channel strip is a great plug-in and it does most the treatment pretty good. For lead, I’ll use outboard compressor like CL-1B.

[@moxieyankee8152]

@@danielwiebe2123 what about if you need to change something, you can't do that when you've printed. I thinking using a bus is best unless you need to really compress each track.

[@rytiye4982]

It’s always down to choice, I like comps on individual tracks, however some plugins work wonders on groups!! Experience is the real winner!!

[@garyshirinian]

What chain of waves plugins do you suggest to use for you mastering normally. Thx

[@dancooperwaves3685]

If you like all-in-one solutions then the Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain is well worth checking out www.waves.com/plugins/abbey-road-tg-mastering-chain#presenting-abbey-road-mastering-chain

[@garyshirinian]

@@dancooperwaves3685 thx. This should be enough, it has everything on it. All in one.

[@mache3984]

Clipping is actually fire.

[@Ifelovv]

Heeeey, those are my speakers !!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@dancooperwaves3685]

My kids think they look like WALL-E. I think they look like E.T. 🤣

[@Ifelovv]

@@dancooperwaves3685 depends on the generation you’re from doesn’t it? 😆😆. I’m with you on E.T. My amplifier board went out on the right speaker but adams audio put a new one in at no cost to me so I’m happy.

[@HezeBeatz]

Nice 🥰❤️🇳🇬

[@apostolicway2604]

Pardon, how exactly do you use A and B comparison?

[@virgilhughes7837]

Simply make one setting on A, then click A->B and make a different setting on B. Then you can change between them as you like to A/B them

[@apostolicway2604]

@@virgilhughes7837 Awesome and thank you!

[@ErikMKeller]

Hi Dan, I was about to share this video but saw that it states "unlisted" in YT. Am I still allowed to share the link? Your rundown of the possible errors is great and I'd like to share these insights.

[@dancooperwaves3685]

It’s set to public, feel free to share. Many thanks

[@amanpatelindian]

thank you so much

[@johnmellor932]

Not taking into account plugins modelled on analogue gear. It may be a plugin but it's expecting a -20dBfs signal. Caught me out a few times.

[@grandrapidsvoiceover1040]

Rms not dbfs

[@johnmellor932]

@@grandrapidsvoiceover1040 No. 0VU is -20dBFS so it's not expecting anything higher than that.

[@ThatBoyChub]

All FACTS

[@jpnaweb]

Waves plugins have issues in Magix Sound Forge.

[@waves]

Please note that Magix / Sound Forge are not part of our Supported Hosts lists: www.waves.com/support/tech-specs/supported-hosts We cannot guarantee they will work as expected on hosts that are not part of the list linked above.

[@jpnaweb]

It seems Waves and Magix has no interest in making plugins install, activate or work reliably.