My Top 10 Plugins of 2024!

[@andrewhuang]

What do you think of this list - anything amazing that I missed? Find the featured plugins linked in the description!

[@chocolateflavoredrainbows]

How about 100 plugins?

[@M.W.777]

@@chocolateflavoredrainbows LoL

[@Fabricks_music]

Have you heard of GSDSP? - awesome plugins, very creative stuff. Thanks for that nice list 😊

[@ClintMoody]

SnapBack!

[@seighty4recordings]

Kilohearts Filter & Shaper Table were a couple of good buys for me this year.

[@NudistAudio]

Aww thanks Andrew for the shoutout! 😊As the creator of Nudistort, can confirm that I do NOT fully understand it.

[@Reske_]

It is literally so deranged that you put a delay in it... (and the "abnormality" knob... if you know you know)

[@niklaswiikku]

Awesome job with the plugin mate!

[@_DRMR_]

Will you do a Linux build at some point? :)

[@slash196]

Kraftur is crazy. When you do it right, everything gets louder but also more defined. The individual pieces pop better. It's wild, soundtheory strikes again.

[@BEATSURFING]

WOW! We're honored to be included in this list with such great company. We couldn't agree more about your top picks - Visco and Krafture are amazing. Transit 2 is also on every single project of ours these days. BIG UP FROM THE TEAM!!!

[@dpringlexx]

Here at Soundtheory we're pretty humbled by you giving Kraftur such praise. We worked hard to create something a bit different and we're so glad you appreciated it. This is a really intriguing list of plugins by some pretty cool people. All best from all of us at ST.... David

[@mattbantle]

Thanks so much for pulling this list together! I feel like we’ve reached a point where there are so many plugins out there that it’s a bit overwhelming. Would it be possible for you to come up with an “all-time favorites” list that could be updated annually?

[@andrewhuang]

Solid idea!

[@soundsorcerer2297]

@@andrewhuang Please!

[@sayhellojordan2671]

@@andrewhuang I second this!

[@iFOXwitIT]

I look forward to this video every year. So good.

[@sonicacademy]

Oh wow thanks so much Andrew 🤙 amazing for kick 3 to be part of a list of such incredible plugins. Much ❤ from everyone here at Sonic!

[@andrewhuang]

Keep up the amazing work!

[@Reske_]

Nudistort blows my mind completely every time I use it. Use it on everything, especially synths! Sounds like nothing on planet distortion

[@Popbot]

woah lol i didn't expect to be jumpscared with my username passively on screen for a few minutes for the combobulator section; awesome seeing people discovering that plugin.

[@somedude8604]

It's a neat plugin :)

[@Popbot]

@@somedude8604 their more recent plugin is even crazier; the only usable concatenative engine (non-m4l) that i'm aware of.

[@futur_sunds]

Popbot

[@Craftal]

Lmao same, my heart skipped a beat. 😂

[@Popbot]

@@Craftal 😅yeah...

[@LilDeuceDeuce]

Transit and Transit 2 are both great; I'm using Transit 2 a lot right now on an upcoming project. Instant inspiration where you can either just twist a bunch of random knobs and see what happens, or get really specific and granular with how you control it

[@LodestarFM]

ABERRANT DSP MENTIONED

[@Slowhunch]

Love lair

[@Rami-bi9xj]

love em and Slate + Ash

[@vieetng]

big s/o to abberant dsp!! digitalis and sketch cassette forever

[@MFGH0ST]

They so deserve it

[@nathanallen9291]

Sketch Casette is the best. Hands down.

[@velanche]

I thought that I was done with snagging effects plugins for the year; I mean, I already copped Transit 2 and can't wait to dig deeper. But then, well...Lair, Ripple and Nudistort. I messed with the presets of each on a current project, and they are now part of my collection. Really appreciate your taking the time to share the goods!

[@jippalippa]

I'm loving all these wild user interfaces! So cool to see something different than regular graphs and sliders.

[@RevRyukin7]

Actually good list. Better than most. Kudos.

[@soundsorcerer2297]

That Kick plugin is WILD !

[@_DRMR_]

First time you have a plugin recommendation that runs on my machines! The only one that is free and opensource.

[@kalleeriksson2148]

Two of my top favourites this year are drum machines/drum synths: Battalion from Unfiltered Audio and Dyad from Fors (Max for Live instrument). Dyad is bloody brilliant with Ableton Push - it feels like you're operating a dedicated hardware instrument.

[@KordTaylor]

👏🏻 So cool to have Warp. A great replacement where folks are using the Apple AU plug, etc. Sounds better and more fun!

[@CemeterySoulsMusic]

Kick 3 and transit 2. Must haves ❤

[@IdoBerg]

ive been using transit 2 for a while now and its AWESOME!

[@SentaAerger]

skip to 13:27 for some noise

[@MMXVII]

Those new plugins you put out seem so awesome man, I'll get those some day when I got extra cash !! Good work, lots of inspo to get from there

[@GL-GildedLining]

Totally fire selection, Mistah Huang. Kraftur, VISCO, Random Metal, and Transit 2 are all feeling like Must Have territory to me, and Topline Vocal Suite seems very tempting.

[@KordTaylor]

New Distort is beautifully abstract. ❤

[@Slowhunch]

Kraftur wa my number 1 plugin too this year. It seemed to get a mixed response but for me it’s meant I can keep the dynamics of my mixes while getting them louder. It feels like magic, and so helpful for making a super fast demo master too

[@PatrickWaugh-kk3ze]

Thanks for Warp, and great design on Transit 2

[@bagusubud]

can we use kick 3 for other drum sample like snare or toms?

[@Cefshah]

Great video as usual Alex!! Happy Holidays!! ❤ 🎄

[@alejandromagana1554]

I would have added Filterverse in there, such a crazy plugin for mangling any audio or use it as a synth 🫶🏻💕

[@Dysjoint]

True, with the 1.0 update it's such a beast.

[@andrewhuang]

It’s awesome and was close to making this list!

[@cyrusrichard8935]

9 - lair (combination rev n disto) - fun 8 - topline vocal suite (multi effects for vocals but effects are cool individually) - fun en fait 7 - kick 3 (le synthé pour design des kicks la) - en vrai veut tester depuis un moment donc essaie 6 - Combobulator - déprimant mais ridiculement utile pour sd (ai powered) 4 - nudistort - à test peut etre fun 2 - Visco (multisample morphing creating one new result, the combination of the samples) - très fun

[@claudius3124]

Now, THAT's what I call a top ten! Btw, I really appreciate your work(s). Please continue doing what you do. It's people like you that make people like me believe there's still a future in music somewhere, even though we sometimes have a lot of reasons to doubt it. Thanks again and cheers! ;-)

[@chelmano0]

Airwindows for the win! Galactic 3 and ToTape are the best plugins

[@noThankyou-g5c]

1:00 how does it speed up audio it hasnt heard yet? Isn't that always a problem for reversing/speeding up effects? Normally take however long theyre speeding up before they output anything

[@Mukna132]

The only way you can truly do that (bear in mind I havent used the plugin yet so this is just based off my knowledge of plugins) is to use ARA. This would mean the plugin would be first in the plugin chain

[@Beatsbasteln]

it probably just uses an internal delay with tons of latency

[@TheReemixa]

that last kick 3 kick imported into ableton is hilarious :D

[@Targetdrew]

I loves me some Kraftur. Current 2 is such a banger as well.

[@shliggyb]

Such a fun list man!

[@gracelandtoo6240]

Been waiting for this one, finally!

[@PanicGirlVids]

Wow, some great plugins in there that I have never heard of before 🙌

[@tometrist7052]

Random Metal is soooooo sick. Def my favorite. Can go absolutely crazy or keep it constrained.

[@BrailleSounds]

Lair looks great! What is the closest thing in hardware?

[@daniellezcanomadiedo-sm1cz]

To tape 8 sounds awesome!

[@Blockidk-i1n]

For people who have the Combobulator plugin, the idea of it seems cool as shit, but my main turn off so far is that every sound demo I've heard of it sounds kinda... not great? For those of you who have it, can you do more with it than just the weird looped squelchy stuff that I hear?

[@encanti]

We will be dropping many more demos soon! Many of the sonic territories Combobulator opens up are unreachable by any other means. It's a completely new realm of music synthesis. It might fall flat if you're expecting it to transform your music into a fully finished track, but if you're trying to tap into previously unimaginable generative effects and gestures, then Combobulator is for you! Get creative with processing the inputs and outputs, and I'm sure you'll find the right place for it in your music in no time.

[@Blockidk-i1n]

@@encanti Nice

[@quantumphlo]

Transit was already so great but it really became a monster this year with the 2.0 update. The warp feature is fantastic for spacetime manipulation 🌌 Surprised me with Ripple Phaser 〰️ And Soundtheory impresses once again. I haven't tried Kraftur but based on my experience with Gullfoss I'm sure it's awesome! 🎵

[@onionheadguy7094]

KRAFTUR looks so useful, thanks Huang youre the best ❤

[@MuffinMachine]

FYI the UA vocal insert is on sale for 99 usd. Normally like 400.

[@JureJerebic]

For me it's been oeksound's Bloom, absolute game changer for a mixing noob like myself

[@RolandSater]

Get well :) Great creative selection

[@MeikelSteiding]

Great selection. 11:46 LTJ Bukem vibes.

[@chronicvortexofficial]

Cool stuff

[@davidmfr3y]

7:59 is a GIFT

[@MrAw3sum]

Have you seen concatenator plugin? Its very strange but probably good for freaky sound design

[@andrewhuang]

Yes! I have a feeling I will include it next year (since right now it’s only in beta)

[@brianhansen3829]

Checked out Red Timbre Audio? They are doing similar stuff.

[@PauLtus_B]

Was NuDistort on your Labyrinth album?

[@bizmofunyuns9693]

I hear glade makes some awesome plug ins

[@AspireAndInspire]

Would love to see someone use Visco to morph between two different voices singing the same lines

[@Taeodoestech]

Amigo Sampler def should be top 10

[@jasonfnorth]

Thank you Andrew!!

[@jazz9939]

Aberrant DSP are the goats!!

[@V170223]

What is that gorgeous mic(?) in the foreground? Really like the design pattern on it.

[@andrewhuang]

Ohma - saw it hold its own in a shootout with a U47 and I was sold 😄

[@b21muzik]

Granuler & Phaser🎉

[@Sueki-xe7ur]

If you like Combobulator you should try out Neutone Morpho 11:23

[@marchesi8]

Kick 3 anazing 🎉

[@TheCosmicTeapot]

I get why including Transit 2 is a bit like laughing at your own joke but honestly, it objectively deserves to be on the list. Is a multi-FX plugin ground-breaking? Absolutely not. But what you've done by innovating on that concept certainly is. I love things like Effectrix 2, EFX Motions and Infiltrator but your "one knob to rule them all" feature puts Transit 2 on the GOAT level.

[@TheCosmicTeapot]

Also, a good alternative to Topline Vocal Suite is Xvox Pro by Nuro Audio. Same kind of vocal channelstrip concept and I put it on any vocal track.

[@liothomasart]

This guy got the weirdest plug-ins ever I swear.

[@alexisgasca6878]

I’m just starting to create music and have no idea which plugins to acquire any suggestions?

[@mehmetcangider]

Use the stock plugins first, after right amount of time you wont feel the need to ask. Imho. ❤

[@kungfunt]

valhalla suprmassive is free and an amazing reverb / delay plugin

[@bd9158]

Yeah like @mehmetcangider said, use your stock ones. When you hear people talking about their favourite plugins, figure out how to make it happen with your stock ones. Pretty much the only reason to get third party plugins is to improve workflow. Once you know your stock plugins, you'll know which things are taking the most time, and you can start from there. When you do get to buying plugins: trial first, never buy full price, almost all plugin companies do silly discounts around the holidays. Also sign up to email lists, many companies will make a plugin free every now and then, or give steeper discounts for subscribers. And often there's a free plugin that does the same as that expensive one you're looking at!

[@gogo_crunchy8926]

I would recommend learning your stock plugins first. Once you know how eg. reverb or compression works and once you know what kind of sounds you like, you’ll know what to look for in third party plugins. Also - there are a lot of cool, free plug-ins that are just fun to experiment with. As a suggestion for actually good, free plugins: Vital, TDR Nova and Valhalla Super Massive

[@florianangerer5121]

It depends a bit on what you are trying to do. When it comes to effects like equalizers, distortion, compression, reverb, etc., there is basically a 100% chance that whatever DAW you’re using comes stock with multiple options for all of these things. if you are looking to expand your arsenal, Airwindows Consolidated could be a good start (it is free and contains hundreds of different effects). when it comes to virtual instruments (these are your synthesizers and samplers), it depends a bit more on what DAW you are using. Some of the more producer oriented ones come with a lot of things already, some other ones are may be a bit lacking in that regard. Like with effects plug-ins, there are free, and in many cases open source options, for covering basically everything (with the possible exception of high end orchestra sample libraries), many of them insanely powerful. I don’t want to attach a list of stuff that you will likely never need to a comment that is already way too long. If you could talk a bit more about what specifically you are trying to accomplish, I could maybe narrow things down a little bit and give you more specific suggestions, that is if what you are doing is not completely out of my wheelhouse.

[@ad_x.]

needed this ❤

[@ak-gi3eu]

We need a plugins videos which has randomize buttons

[@ArcRunner]

TY - this is great nfo I went with newfangled audio Saturate over Kraftur - I like them both tho, maybe i'll wind up with both...

[@IamRaffinaD]

Thank you

[@EdLrandom]

lol, I was like "nah, airwindows kit is all fx plugins I need" and the first plugin he shows is one of them

[@airwindows]

I didn't even know that was happening until I heard from his people like 'hey thought you should know, Andrew picked one of your plugins for the top 10' :) he knows how to give a plugin a workout! Listen closely and he covers nearly everything it can do while making it all sound awesome

[@Singlelite7]

Is the song in the transit demo out for release??

[@andrewhuang]

No but I’m working on it!

[@Singlelite7]

@ Thanks for inspiring!

[@Glo7130]

MASTERING CHAIN PLZ!!!

[@niklaswiikku]

Would love to see how you master.

[@Toniowok_]

pure joi ty

[@defface777]

Andrew lookin like 1993 Beck ;)

[@jubeijackson6602]

To Tape is news to me. Thanks Andrew

[@codexstudios]

Check out all of Airwindows stuff! Tons of creative effects and useful tools.

[@CryogenTheMusicMan]

Nice to see Gone getting some love in this video! I kindly and cordially *demand* more Sonic Boom!

[@pablocampos7029]

7:29 why did you add autotune to your voice? :D

[@tryctan2399]

i really didn't expect to see my guy popbot here, he didn't tell me he worked with them ):

[@jeramym9506]

Andrew, do you not get option paralysis? These tools mostly all seem like my nightmare haha

[@justcama]

I can't wait to hear Reality remastered.

[@antoniog2854]

is ToTape8 only for Ableton?

[@JayAlsman]

It’s for any DAW that supports CLAP/VST3/AU/LV2, also available as VST2, and as Modules for VCV RACK. Chris generously gives away 400+ plugins for free, including the mentioned ToTape8.

[@antoniog2854]

@@JayAlsman got it..thank you!

[@joelreske4393]

I’ve gotten into the maybe bad habit of putting Nudistort on tracks by default I love it so much.

[@GuilhermeSantos-wy8kf]

Lair is the bomb

[@AlfredoEsqueda]

MR. Bill is everyones friends

[@Slowhunch]

Transit 2 has really become a staple for me now. So much more flexible and powerful be transit 1. So fun!

[@JBehrMusic]

hey its andrew huang, slap!

[@ShredForCred]

Yeees! 🤌🤌🤌

[@obiwantschernobyl5650]

Didn't know Liu Kang was into music stuff and plugins.

[@JuanMariaSolare]

¿qué pasa?

[@diegooliveirabenjamin]

Kraftur has to be the best, absurd tool!

[@cherrycoke106]

More than anything thanks for reminding me what a legendary tune Que Pasa?! is.

[@Drrolfski]

No Fabfilter Pro-Q 4? Talking about staple plugins..

[@harleyfields1664]

probably wasnt out yet when this video was made

[@RolandSater]

@@harleyfields1664 ProQ4 is a goat incredible. But i comes to Andrew to discover more weird and inspiring plugins. But i get your point Prp Q4 is a masterpiece.

[@BranZHamZ]

I love my Lair, but that Kraftur looks too useful to pass up

[@JamieMarfleet]

Ohhh sticky shoes, my sticky sticky shoes,... Why you stick on meee, baiiibyy...

[@thomasfitzgerald4240]

Would have been nice if you could have explained which were free and paid

[@lucaddy]

cool!

[@jatari18]

I came into this video, feeling confident I didn't need to purchase anything, but would just watch to see what's good. Then I saw Random Metal. Then I saw it's on sale. Then I ran outside and screamed your name at the sky.

[@indigosnow_]

I love you

[@maxterwel]

Hi Andrew, we need automatic gain compensation in Transit, it gives a lot of energy as a transition fx that makes the drop feel weaker.

[@andrewhuang]

It’s not really possible because you could feed it signals of any frequency and there are up to 30 parameters at a time with all kinds of different possible movements. We included several modules that have a Gain knob so you can compensate and of course you could also put the Compressor near the end of the chain to help. Adjusting levels after applying different effects is all part of mixing :)

[@maxterwel]

@@andrewhuang I see, thanks for the reply and the great plugin.