Best & Worst VST Plugins(Synths & Effects) of 2020!

[@AveMcree]

Time stamps are built into the video.. Hope you enjoy!

[@michaelheath1194]

Definitely enjoyed. Thanks for the quality content Ave!

[@lucaraiden6873]

sorry to be offtopic but does someone know of a trick to log back into an instagram account? I somehow lost the password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me.

[@dennisconnor8557]

@Luca Raiden instablaster ;)

[@lucaraiden6873]

@Dennis Connor I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site on google and I'm in the hacking process now. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@lucaraiden6873]

@Dennis Connor It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thank you so much you really help me out!

[@SumnSumnSumnHTK]

I normally don't drop everything i'm doing to watch a video buuuuuuuuuuuuuttttt when i saw this title I haaaaaaaaaad to click on it. lol

[@bunker8digitallabs]

I completely agree with you about Nexus. It used to be the go to synth, but it is tired and way too expensive. There are so many better options out there and when you price point comes within a hair of Omnisphere, there is no real comparison. Completely agree that it is way too expensive for a preset synth. You cannot change the sound in any significant way so it ends up being the same thing it always was.

[@missbob12345]

dont feel bad ave, im only 20 n i wear old spice🙇🏻‍♂️

[@kiillabytez]

Speaking of.... The Spice Girls are preparing their reunion tour. They've enlisted two artists: Cher will be performing as Old Spice, while Dolly Parton will be singing as Spice Rack!

[@josebordasmusic]

I think Vital has terrible presets, but it’s even more powerful than Serum and it sounds fantastic. For sound design from scratch it’s hard to beat.

[@AveMcree]

The presets are trash or at least for what I do.

[@88keyz]

👍🏾

[@akira20ish]

@@88keyz serum 2.0 is on its way just you wait

[@88keyz]

@@akira20ish still tho vital is free 👍🏾😊👍🏾

[@akira20ish]

@@88keyz yeah and its trash and buggy as hell i bought serum and dont regret it

[@jamesrobinson529]

Can't be mad at any of these reviews. Every one, spot on!

[@iamjohnblack]

Kyle Beats Drip VST most annoying ad.

[@fa0179]

Two clicks

[@iamjohnblack]

@@fa0179 i dont need to see that shit plugin a hundred times a day, is it possbible to block that ad?

[@fa0179]

@@iamjohnblack ahaha yeah I hear you, I started hearing "two clicks and it's perfect" in my nightmares. I actually don't get that ad much anymore. I guess his ad money ran out. I'd try a ad blocker ad on for whatever browser you are using if it's becoming too much to handle.

[@iamjohnblack]

@@fa0179 lol 2 clicks is the dumbest shit I ever heard in the history of music production.

[@7Wounds]

I'll see your Kyle Beats and raise you ANY Unison ad lol

[@azziz4biz]

The sauce is a joke

[@bryantwalley]

All the older ladies with money like that old spice.... just saying...

[@88keyz]

👍🏾😊👍🏾

[@cresshead]

or brut 55 :)

[@ICTS22]

I used to be drinking buddies with some dude from Argentina and when we used to go try to pick up girls he would always share his Old Spice (OG original spray) with me lol

[@azziz4biz]

V Collection is Great, but expensive.

[@nathanmantle377]

Hey, you can do rent to own on splice! You end up paying the same amount in the end, but can do it monthly, AND they let you pause whenever you want. Splice are an amazing company, check them out!

[@michaelperez5273]

I mix with 80% fabfilter

[@AveMcree]

Your computer about to explode🤣

[@gelatinous6915]

My ears are aching homie

[@xtrct7303]

Vital has stereo modulator bro, you could emulate the UDO Super 6 binaural stuff with it. Personally I'd rank Vital is better than Serum, except for the fx section.

[@azziz4biz]

Vital may not be Serum but I'm loving it. For me it's fire!

[@BackSlashJvb125]

give it like 2 years and the presets will eventually get better, as more people get into it, it just came out last year

[@azziz4biz]

@@BackSlashJvb125 I'm already loving it. Serum needs competition. Competition breeds success and that's a success for all of us.

[@ileryon4019]

Xfer is already planning on Serum 2 I think. Nope it's not going to be free for non-serum users.

[@earlsfield]

As someone who owns (still) Trinity and Triton, Korg did a good job.

[@ApexBeatsArchive]

2 plugins took me this year. UNISON MIDI WIZARD UJAM FINISHER FLUXX

[@DeeJayAARonYT]

😂

[@manuriquiz3344]

We def smokin on that Unison pack this year, since they still wanna try my mans with their ads....

[@A_Class216]

😂😂😂

[@NubiOfficiel]

@@A_Class216 hahaha looool get 'em!!!!

[@HGCProd]

🤭😭🔥

[@beeisbad]

Bro!!.... you should have played the JEOPARDY theme music when you paused after asking "is it the BEST... or the WORST?" Lol. Great content as always bruh!

[@DerrickBigWalker]

That shit was funny as shit! I agree with you on pretty much everything. where I strongly disagree is about Vatil! is too much like Serum but who doesn’t want a free version Serum! not everybody has your budget bro!

[@ACM9407]

SO glad you called out Nexus 3 by reFX! I purchased that thing earlier this year going off of the recommendations and was astoundingly disappointed considering the hype Nexus gets. Overpriced/overhyped...Also, glad you mentioned Arturia, Scaler, Thermal, and Playbeat. Definitely some of best of the year. Great vid!

[@traezaX1]

Ironically the Kyle beats ad came after the review.... Couldn't make this up ...😂😂😂😂😂

[@88keyz]

This reminds me of the Grammys awards or the academy awards lol this cool tho lol

[@MuzikkZone]

I love how you kept it real on Nexus 3. I didn't even bother. Still a rompler. Same expansions from 2 with the exceptions of news one you can but. The GUI was no from me out the gate. #Trash

[@azziz4biz]

Love Reason Rack, Love Reason to write in and fire up.

[@josebordasmusic]

I just bought it again and I’m surprised at how good Subtractor sounds.

[@azziz4biz]

@@josebordasmusic My first go to was Subtractor and Malmstrom in Reason

[@FeelLykeWise]

Analog V is definitely dope! I really like browsing through sounds then opening the settings cutoff movement etc. Only thing i don't like is sometimes a sound has this built in reverb crap. I like doing my effects separate to my liking. I hate the fx on most VST's I usually only use those built in effects for reference but literally anything will sound better.

[@akira20ish]

Izotope is my go to for mixing but I’ve been going back and fourth with stock or paid love urs heckmans stuff too and reveal sound spire I switched over to ableton live suite and haven’t looked back :update I prefer fabfilter now: not izotope

[@akira20ish]

also serum 2.0 is coming soon

[@jamesw2831]

That Waves joke was funny man lol. I got it instantly because I'm in that age group.

[@NubiOfficiel]

Ave you're my man i f with you 100 but mayn why you had to shit on Nexus ???!! Not every producer is a sound designer ... me as long as i can put an arpeggio on, a gate, some effects , mess with the ADSR man i'm good ! Shout out from France tho i still rock with you bru lol One

[@clevelandboiohio492]

Yo Ave ... quick question my G ... and I gotta ask you this for 2 reasons. 1st Reason is because you’re the 1st person to sprinkle some game on me about Scaler 2. So I thought it was only right to ask your opinion about it. Basically I can’t decide which plug to get between Scaler 2 or Orb Composer 2.0. I’m a dude who isn’t fluent in playing up and down the keyboard. I have basic playing skills and decent coordination with a general idea of music theory. But I’m not trying to be pianist performing live on stage at symphony hall ... I just want to make some nice rhythms and melodies and chord progressions for R&B, Trap, Pop, trance, alternative, edm type beats for artists. So my question to you or anybody who’s reading this is ... Scaler 2 or Orb Composer 2.0 ??? And what’s the official price of Orb Composer 2.0 ??? I’m finding different prices on it which may influence my decision. And lastly I’m in search of 808’s , 808’s , and more 808’s !!!!! Subs ... kicks ... that have that BOOOOOM !!!! So if anybody can recommend a good Plug in For 808’s and Heavy Good Quality Sub’s , I would truly appreciate it. So far it’s between Sublab or the 808 Plug in from Initial Audio. Which one should I choose Ave ???

[@bluematrix5001]

DRIP AND THE SAUCE suck! sounds bad, the layout is horrible! everything is bad about Drip!

[@alchemistrpm82]

Bro I came here to see some truly trash plugins my guy. You only showcased high-profile stuff! Which will obviously tend toward quality even if it's not the best option. Show us some hot garbage next time! It's guaranteed to be fun.

[@geebee44]

And props on being willing to step out here and say Nexus 3 is one of the worst of the year... as popular a piece of software that it is, that says a lot about you. I don't have the Triton yet, but I know its dope. The Triton workstation is the father of a lot of these romplers. I was going in the studio and around beat makers back in 99/2000 and everyone had to have a Triton... for a reason!

[@theepicredstoner1604]

Calling Vital a Serum clone doesn't seem that fair imo Because Vital has way more to offer than Serum does. For example: Spectral Warping Stereo modulation Modulation remapping Text-to-wavetable 3 Wavetable oscillators instead of 2 Random LFOs The list goes on. In the early days of Vital it was basically identical to Serum. But since then I think it's grown enough to differentiate itself from Serum. Plus like you said it's 100% free and that still blows my mind.

[@ab-kr6qn]

Hows the cpu and stability in comparison to Serum?

[@kalidesu]

A plugin is only as good as it's presets, and few other things. Price pragmatism isn't the main one. Vital in some ways is still a little rough in some UI areas and user experience, that will make and break me using it. While Vital can "theoretically" do what your (insert your favorite pricey commercial wave-table synth) can do. What your paying hundreds of dollars for is the user experience, work flow, UI response, and a large library of presents.

[@snesmocha]

@@ab-kr6qn depends on which version, if you’re like me and never updated past 1.0 early pre from in the mix, then you’re lucky, cpu usage is generally not awful though it does get iffy. If you’re using past 1.1 then pray to god you have a cpu past an i7 6700k

[@snesmocha]

@@kalidesu eh not much of a preset user, though I understand your mentality I’m just too fucking cheep for serum xd

[@djplatinium100]

bro, you got to far about the vital you get the serum clone end actually good one FOR FREE, aka vital, you just trippin bro

[@holgieselchen7033]

A very interesting discussion you have initiated about Vital and Serum. I find your argument that Vital is serum-like brave. That is exactly the point why Vital is so attractive for us. An important point you raised is the pricing policy of Serum. I can only agree with you on that. Thank you for your personal views. I think they are important.

[@weareparkerful]

Drip is one of the worst plug ins of all time.

[@mvmnt.]

I skipped through most of this this video just for the "Is this one of the best or one of the worst?" sections. Gold.

[@johnspear7962]

do this every year please!

[@geebee44]

Her"mays" bro... not her"mees." named after the fashion house, in saying his plugin is high fashion, highly usable couture.

[@jermainesmith6315]

Lol I'm laughing about the Ole Spice. My 13 year old son wears it, I won't buy it for him so he gets his mom to.

[@0815Snickersboy]

Yeah vital is very similar to serum but it is free. The only thing serum dies better are the onboard fx (however those of vital are really good for a free synth) and the wavetable Editor. However I would argue that there are very few people that actually make their own wavetables anyway so it probably does not matter. And that hermes thing should be 0/10 because it says synth but definitely is not a synth

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Nexus takes the cake for being the most expensive Rompler in the market at over 3 grand for just a preset machine. The entire Reason ecosystem is a creativity machine. If you have Suite, you don't even need third party plugins. Great instruments and effects as well as things like chords, beat map and on. A lot of Steinberg's plugins are underrated and fly under most people's radars. And some are even quite cheap as well. I would choose Tunefish 4 and Graphite over Vital. Why? Because they are not resource hogs. There's also Steinberg's Anima, which looks even more like Serum than Vital. Surge also does Wavetable synthesis along with subtractive and FM. I'd be very careful with signature Waves plugins. As popular as the Omni Channel is, you can bet your bottom dollar that Andrew Scheps doesn't use it. Same for CLA. As Shelly Yakus points out, the vast majority of famous engineers lie to when demonstrating techniques. All FabFilter plugins are amazing. All of them. They can do many things no other plugins do on top of being lighter in resources than most. I feel izotope needs to focus more on performance. Their plugins do neat stuff and are not simply emulations but they consume so much resources.

[@AveMcree]

CLA definitely doesn't use the products he cosigns but Andrew Scheps a different story. Despite his large collection of hardware. He'll mix in the box before turning on all that stuff. Leslie Braithwaite is 100% in the box & so is Lu Diaz. At the very least they might use Manley preamp or Avalon (Neumann U87 mic) for vocal. Most the big dogs only mix songs that are certified hits anyways. Go figure right?

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

@@AveMcree What Scheps actually uses is a series of parallel chains in a ProTools preset he has and that was what he used as a basis for the Omni Channel, since the plugin only emulates certain aspects of certain pieces of hardware, rather than being "Here's the plugin version of my favorite hardware unit". It's safe to say that none of those old school guys use anything but ProTools and Waves plugins...When they use plugins.

[@RayTheProducer]

Drip was a complete waste of money. All the presets sound the same, and I often find myself putting it on something, only to then go: Nah. Oh well. Serves me right for being lazy. PS Lolz at Waves being the Old Spice of plugins. OVOX made it into my new music, but it kinda really does one thing. Shrugs. Enjoyed the video as usual. Cheers.

[@AveMcree]

🤣well thanks for watching

[@Juliano_DJOL]

I used to use the hell out of the reason rewire when I was using pro tools in like early 2000s, been wanting to get it back in logic just hadn't got around to it.

[@lukeyk94]

I'm 27. And I wear old spice. Don't feel so bad

[@fentanyljones6956]

Have you delved into the Arturia buchla model? If so what did you think?

[@BlezzBeats]

Thenathan Underwater Drake HAHAHAH

[@bluematrix5001]

hahahahahah HIS FACE IS PRICELESS! HAHAHA SO FUNNY "ONE OF THE BEST OR ONE OF THR WORST?"

[@lil_floofer]

as a cubase user i am supprised i didnt know about backbone

[@SensuAudica]

Forgot to mention the insane price of Nexus 3.

[@DJTocaLa]

Hi There. Please give us a review and opinion on the Sonible plugins.

[@Dewane1511]

No "XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color Plug-in" ?

[@protein9157]

Xln released around 2015~, we talkin' about 2021 plugins

[@rotemcohen7425]

Great video! Thanks for your insight

[@KnockSquared]

Man this was fun to watch. Thanks for the time stamps

[@dannyjames804]

What's the plug in league or disc called bro

[@bluffgawd]

Two clicks and it’s perfect

[@lotusblack7535]

can't wait for the 2021 list 💀💀

[@riszetriple8697]

Still got my triton studio with some busted keys

[@malikisrael9355]

What’s your favorite plugin to sound design with?

[@akira20ish]

Spire and Dark Zebra right now

[@jonathanparham]

you're too nice lol

[@TelcomTransmissions]

Wait what was the title again? Lol

[@ClassEBeats]

Great video man and happy new year! Shout out to Game for making an amazing plugin, Hermes is def one of my favs💯💪🏾 We’re gonna need that Traptendo expansion pack for Hermes though👀

[@MobSquad615]

The sample in the intro i been holding for a while! Tall in the saddle i think

[@MobSquad615]

Not tall in the saddle but killa

[@DSPplug]

Thanks for these useful reviews. I bought the sauce and thought it's kind of useless because it's non-descrip. It's a bit of excitation, a bit of depth like an unfinished reverb. Oh well. At least I got it on sale. BTW, check out my vst's at DSPplug.com, will give you them all for free.

[@csababorbely3453]

what i watched many times the "isitoneofthebestoroneoftheworstplugin?"(facefreezing and "grimace" and moving cam slowly closer) :D

[@TheQuantixXx]

hermes gets a good rating lol im outta here

[@RememberBeats]

Bought Nexus 3 when it came out. Sold it the next month 🙌. REFX asked me why I wanted to sell it so quick. I was like: Seriously?

[@SouthernEmperor]

You've evolved bruh. LOL

[@robertlee1176]

What’s some Nexus alternatives you could recommend?

[@HGCProd]

Serum. $190 or $10 a month on Splice.

[@tavionslaps]

THANK YOU FOR THIS

[@azziz4biz]

I love Ovox, it always delivers

[@tvariuness]

okay. you can't give things "above average" on a video called "best and worst" haha. if you wanted to give things a rating of "above average" just call your video "the above average vst plugins." i was looking for hot takes and two plugins into all i got were "above average" twice. smfh.

[@azziz4biz]

$0 for that Drake wanna be

[@GregorysMode]

A Unison advert came on at the start of your video, coincidence? I think not. lol Merry happy new Christmas Year to you old chap, may all your beats be bangin =o)

[@DigitalDiarrhoea]

Really nice summary of the 2020 VST plug ins.. Your beat in the background with the piano is awesome too!

[@hilokertz276]

Great vid Ave, what's your opinion of UVI's Shade. Do you plan to review it maybe?

[@JohnathanMonroe22583]

I bought Drip to support the community, but I wasn't impressed.

[@88keyz]

I like the honesty thank you much appreciated 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾😂😊😃🤣😆🔥🔥🔥

[@angelbeatzonthetrack1701]

Kkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[@kiillabytez]

I've used a lot of UJam plugs and I always find them lacking in several areas.

[@KnzoVortex]

I have to say, if you’re telling me Vital and Serum are basically the same synth, you actually don’t know what you’re saying, I gotta be real. 3>2 oscillators, spectral bend modes (and normal ones) stereo modulation, unison spread on WT position, text to WT, far superior and non destructive WT editor, modulation remap... You’re not telling me these two synths are the same.

[@garycummingsjr.6896]

the upgrade from analog 4 to V is 400$ that is crazy! i never saw a update price that hight. that a whole new synth not an update.

[@cresshead]

cool video give you a quick insight on a lot of plugins... ovox looks interesting to my needs

[@forsale313]

Yup the honest way is the best way. Thanks and you saved me more money and TIME.

[@StevoLloyds]

Thank you Ave, always good to have your own opinion backed up by a pro. I like Izotope stuff, although a bit too digital sounding for my like, tried I've Neoverb with high expectations after Izotope had acquired Exponential Audio (great reverbs from a former Lexicon employee) and wasn't overly impressed. The mixing of different reverbs is the current trend (Waves CLA Epic for example, which is better) but the implementation and the reverbs were not great for Izotope / Exponential Audio. Only the frequency clashing / EQ aspect and mixer interface were novel and useful. Thought I was missing something, but you've confirmed my initial thoughts.

[@3kool208]

Bruh idk why I bought nexus3 and didn’t buy the korg vst 😩

[@ickebins6948]

Great review. Keep it up. Thanks from germany

[@MasaTheSlayer]

nice video, some plugins that i have to check.

[@DopeSoundGroup]

Great summary of 2021 VST's. Thank you for all the honest and unbiased reviews

[@DALEEEEED]

You acurate

[@azziz4biz]

Scam for newbies and for pros, you could do it yourself. It never even says what it is or whats it does

[@88keyz]

You know what I just bought some old spice deodorant I'm looking at the 2pack right now lol I do keep some axe deodorant lol

[@geomcloco432]

"let's be uncrabby in 2021" lol Very well said. SO glad i got on your channel, cuz i'm on that wavelength. I love the anime/manga cartoon breaks (is there an expression for that?) Crap. Watchin while writing. Old spice? just turned 54 and so much music inside head and don't KNOW theory but FEEL things I can't express (the voices REALLY want something new) JUST bought decoda for $30 and scaler2 stutter edit (frosting on the cake, cuz I appreiate something that can be broken down to just the basics of say piano...but also love my glitch.Yeah, hipster boss at work was surprised when i requested BANGARANG. "old man, geo?" lol ). Realized recently if i could go back and could b anything...DEFINITELY would be remixer. From SHEP rM of janet's pleasure principle to RAZORMAID rM of Tamia's Stranger in My House... to me a GREAT remix can up against and best the original. Maybe I'll find my calling. If not, having fun like videogame while acomplishing and learning something? *insert that anime break closeup* lol Rent money very well spent! (that's my ultimate stamp of approval) Thank's again! If I ever end up winning the lotto (or have anythng close to any disposible income, or even a living wage, I got you) Can't wait to watch all the stuff i haven't, and I appreciate your view from someone that KNOWS music yet understands those that don't. (if that maks sense) Count me in!!!

[@geomcloco432]

oh, and just registerd "rent money" seal of approval trademark, feel free to use lol , viewers license away. lol JK Years ago i realized, if you ain't gonna capitalize or even do ANYTHING with a great idea, you might as well give it away and see where young blood will take it.

[@bobafruti]

Waves may be... waves, but their synths and creative fx (like ovox) are very nice (one could even say underrated)

[@alz121372]

Thanks for making a video about these plug in

[@RoneySmithseedoflife]

I’m glad that I don’t have any bad eggs in my gear lol 😂😂😂😂 Make a similar video for the guitar world 🌍🙌🏾🌶

[@HybridCult]

Love your honesty man, I actually gotta I agree with all of these choices. Although you rated some of them more kindly than I would

[@ICTS22]

I tried Vital recently and liked it very much, but my computer really doesn't have enough power to handle all of the visualizations. I've never tried Serum so I don't know if I would have the same problems with processing power.

[@georgeespley9177]

Personally I think serum is less cpu heavy than vital

[@weareparkerful]

Ovox is awesome It takes my crappy voice and makes it cool

[@MCRoadk1ll]

love it, esp the worst! I slapped the Like

[@Frannk_jp]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it That’s why I still wear old spice 😂