My Top 10 Plugins of 2022!

Order my book Make Your Own Rules! andrewhuang.com/book
Leave a comment if there's an amazing plugin you want to recommend! We were blessed with some great releases in 2022, some updates to old things and some incredible new things. No one can try them all...but we can try to try them all lol
Listen to my new single Tesla Coil:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/3fu7HU...
Apple Music: music.apple.com/ca/album/tesl...
Deezer: www.deezer.com/us/track/19760...
Bandcamp: andrewhuang.bandcamp.com/trac...
Featured plugins (some of these are affiliate links which helps support the channel):
Playbox shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=200059...
Physion www.pluginboutique.com/produc...
SubLab XL www.pluginboutique.com/deals/...
RX10 www.pluginboutique.com/meta_p...
Fragments www.pluginboutique.com/produc...
Moogerfoogers www.pluginboutique.com/produc...
IHNY2 www.pluginboutique.com/produc...
Opal www.uaudio.com/opal-morphing-...
Digitalis www.pluginboutique.com/produc...
Codec lese.io/plugin/codec/
Learn music production with my online class: studio.com/andrew
Merch!
teespring.com/stores/andrewis...
Support my work on Patreon and be the first to get all my new music: / andrewhuang
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:39 10. Fun free digital degrader
1:51 9. Cute but deep degrader/glitcher
3:14 8. "Morphing" synth
5:52 7. Intuitive compressor with character
7:13 6. Killer models of classic analog goodness
9:21 5. Granular spectacular
10:04 4. Life-saving audio restoration
11:48 3. Super subs
12:47 2. How do I even describe this
15:24 1. Sample flipper, vibe maker
18:28 Final thoughts
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★ GEAR ★
Disclosure: Most of these are affiliate links - if you buy anything through them (even if it's not the linked item) I'll receive a small percentage, which helps support my channel.
My most used plugins www.pluginboutique.com/articl...
Ablerton www.ableton.com/shop/live/?af...
Keyboard bit.ly/2MH4xbN
Headphones - lots of hype amzn.to/2JmTmDK
Headphones - low latency wireless amzn.to/3Ap5Qnx
Headphones - super pro omg amzn.to/2VOcmjz
Modular (North America) www.pntrac.com/t/TUJGR0tHS0JH...
Modular (Europe) tidd.ly/3bNzKb9
Small audio interface amzn.to/2H7x4mx
Big audio interface bit.ly/33r0SER
Analog preamp/comp bit.ly/2RvrYIe
Ableton Push www.ableton.com/shop/push/?af...
How I learned synthesis bit.ly/2PROCoT
Lav mic amzn.to/3ssEZ66
Main camera amzn.to/3FngomP
2nd camera amzn.to/2aHkv35
I use Distrokid to get my music on streaming platforms - get 7% off your first year here: distrokid.com/vip/huang
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--
If you're new here, my name is Andrew Huang and I'm a musician who works with many genres and many instruments - and I've also made music with many things that aren't instruments like balloons, pants, water, and dentist equipment. For more info visit my website: andrewhuang.com
You can also stream and download my 40+ albums and EPs at andrewhuang.bandcamp.com or check out my other videos at / andrewhuang
Thanks for watching today and a big hug to you if you share this video with someone!

[@andrewhuang]

Here are the plugins I featured! Some of these are affiliate links which helps support the channel :) Playbox shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2000596&u=1854313&m=77930&urllink=&afftrack= Physion www.pluginboutique.com/products/9846?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 SubLab XL www.pluginboutique.com/deals/show?sale_id=11536?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 RX10 www.pluginboutique.com/meta_products/9602?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 Fragments www.pluginboutique.com/products/9211?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 Moogerfoogers www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/39-FX-Bundle/9811-Moogerfooger-Effects-Plugin-Bundle?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 IHNY2 www.pluginboutique.com/products/9542?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 Opal www.uaudio.com/opal-morphing-synthesizer.html Digitalis www.pluginboutique.com/products/8908?a_aid=627b76c3d6dc5 Codec lese.io/plugin/codec/

[@CFox.7]

unfortunately - Nothing you make is memorable - people need to remember you are a content creator not a hit song producer !

[@linusspielberger6775]

@@CFox.7 sometimes it's better to be quiet! If you feel that way, that's ok, but the world doesn't need to hear it...

[@CFox.7]

@@linusspielberger6775 its a public forum where community feedback is encouraged.

[@mariesyvian8187]

@@CFox.7 "nothing you make is memorable" isn't feedback

[@CFox.7]

@@mariesyvian8187 it meets the definition - just because you dont like to see it - doesnt mean its not feedback. Negative feedback is still feedback. Stop wasting my time

[@startracings]

Small comment: thank you for putting manual subtitles on here instead of auto-generated ones! Really appreciated for when I have low-auditory-processing days.

[@wokeil]

It's so interesting to see that digital-age audio artefacts are now becoming "usable" in production nowadays. I knew that was going to happen when I saw it go from tape to cassette but the speed at which it's evolving is crazy. What's next when there's no old tech left?

[@andrewhuang]

Nothing escapes nostalgia. Used to think early phone photos were just horrible quality and now I see them and I’m like ahh what a simpler beautiful time lol

[@ComposerMichaelDow]

@@andrewhuang for sure! The blurry unfocused edges of an older disposable camera certainly add extra nostalgia! Sharp focus isn't always great as it's not really that natural or how we really remember things!

[@ianboyer2224]

There will always be “old tech”. In a couple years, the current technology will be old

[@prototype8137]

@@ianboyer2224 gee thanks captain obviuos

[@WillyJunior]

Soon the nostalgic thing will be a time when AI couldn't produce music

[@NativeInstruments]

15:30 Goosebumps 🥺🙏

[@htmnmusic4915]

Crazy selection in this list, however I think that you missed Sistema synth, that's a crazy synth with a free option. PLEASE do more free plugin videos!

[@gukai]

Wow, folks! Thank you all for mentioning our synth

[@Sonderyugen]

This is really neat, I'm going to definitely at least try the free version to start with the next chance I get!

[@JeremyLam0]

Saving formlater

[@bionicsuger8988]

I tried the plugin dats just some pure bullshit

[@nickpmusic]

Playbox is my favourite in that its neverending what you can do with it and gives you suprises.

[@GonyohoriMatake]

Always grateful for any upload from you bro🙌🏽

[@lurmirari]

i love using ring modulators on vocals, with the frequency automated to the notes being sung, and layering that with the clean vocal, super crunchy

[@macronencer]

This is a great tip! It's like singing through an ARP Odyssey, right? :)

[@lurmirari]

@@macronencer haven't tried that but i'm guessing that gives more of a vocoder kind of effect?

[@macronencer]

@@lurmirari I'm just imagining it, I've not tried it. But the Odyssey is particularly famous for its ring mod lead sounds. I can't even remember whether it has an external input anyway, just daydreaming :)

[@DrBuffaloBalls]

Thanks for the tip, just tried this and it sounds amazing! Definitely gonna use this more than jsut once.

[@macronencer]

I guess what's going on here is essentially frequency doubling (because the frequencies sum, so if they're the same then you get an octave above). There will be difference frequencies as well, so assuming the singer isn't perfect you'll get low frequency modulations too - are these part of the "crunchiness"? I really have to try this, now!

[@MickBenjamins]

Lovely selection in this list, and so nice to see Playbox on your number one spot! ♥

[@TanoshiSan]

Dude Andrew, you have given me so much freaking value with this video, I've been looking for VSTs that can spark my creativity that are on sale right now and you have done that, thank you so much for this video!!!

[@madsdahlmusic]

These are my fave videos. PLEASE do more of this!

[@PULSEMusicGroup]

WOW! Just did my list for my fav Native Instruments of 2022 on my channel and Playbox made number one as well. God........Playbox is out of this world! Great vid Andrew! Blessings!

[@gerardleaf]

I discovered Playbox in the facebook ads and I’m very grateful for that. One of my faves from this year

[@tylerdoop]

I happily used your affiliate link when I listened to the sound that came out of this video. Went ahead and grabbed Playbox for that amazing sound it creates. I don’t know too much music theory comparatively so I feel like it might help me speed up the process of learning on my own. Thanks so much for the video !

[@brzk_]

i work as an audio engineer here in germany for a couple of tv shows. and let me tell you: iZotope RX is soooooo good. i am fortunate enough to have the RX9 Advanced version and it saves my life and the mostly horrible audio they do on set literally every day so many times. you can throw almost anything at it and you can find a way to make it sound good 9 times out of 10

[@kingo5940]

was genau machst du wenn man fragen darf?

[@brzk_]

@@kingo5940 arbeite in einer recht kleinen firma und mach die komplette audio post für köln50667 und berlin tag und nacht. daher auch der meist horrende ton. das sind meine haupt aufgaben, bin aber auch immer wieder an projekten wie deko queen und dergleichen dran

[@Percevalko]

Was kann/muss man studieren um so einen Job zu kriegen?

[@dirg3music]

Yeah there's nothing quite like it. I use it all the time for polishing up recordings and cleaning up noises. Such a fantastic tool and absolutely worth it.

[@arqelf9505]

@@Percevalko Mach ein Praktikum beim Sender.

[@Oversampled]

Okay the 1 & 2 are insane 😱

[@DarthDerpOfficial]

glad to hear that the audio isn't compressed like it was before! great video :)

[@WilliamHumphreys]

Fabulous overview. Thank you!

[@Calymos]

Hot damn, that RX10 was SO much better than I expected. Wish I had that for live shows when I'm mixing, lol!

[@rottenandremixedrecords]

This is one of my favorite KZbin channels for ableton tips and tricks thank you for sharing all the information

[@ZDanielPhoenix]

Codec does something special for me. I remember recording my old mixes in 2002, from cheapo windows speakers to old messed up "mini-tapes", to degrade the audio in fun ways. And this is free and easier? Amazing find.

[@matko8038]

I've been looking forward to this

[@sb84e]

Cool list! Ill definately be using These!

[@danic.3760]

Wow, I consider myself a very good melodies creator, and Playbox broke my mind, I could pass hours trying things to find the perfect chords to create something unique. Thanks, I'm buying that no matter the price.

[@davidbullock5629]

Thank you Andrew ... very fun. I didn't even look at Playbox before this video.

[@Tmp3st]

Thanks for the suggestions! lots of stuff to play with. Def gonna grab physian! Insane to be able to work only on the transients or the harmony separately. I wouldn't know how to do that easily in my Daw. I like Playbox too, great for idea generation!! One of your randomized chords and samples run gave me an oldschool trance vibe.

[@IamMonvi]

I'm glad to see you repping Opal! I don't have a working mac right now, but the time I spent with it had me wondering why more people weren't talking about it. I think the Spark only aspect it launched with, might have turned people away, more than anything else

[@343labs]

Great list Andrew, thanks for sharing!

[@PiddeBas]

I've been looking for a plugin like Cødec for so long, thanks for sharing!

[@bobsmith12345]

thanks so much for these videos! as a new producer, lots of free plugins are a pain to work with! the ones you recommend are always high quality and easy to use, its a blessing

[@redhotchilipepper8]

That codec plugin is a really nice one, and free too, not too much things to tweak, exactly how I like it. Going to download that one. Thanks for bringing it to my attention:)

[@AgonalRhythm]

Huge fan of the free plugin, Lese Codec. It sounds great with automation, and really brings a fresh bitcrushed "lo-fi" feel

[@bcoda]

thank you for getting me to open my DAW again Andrew! it's only been a few days but thank you nevertheless! ♥

[@Beatsbasteln]

my personal favourite from your list here is digitalis. i don't even use any other processor than the data module, but that thing on its own is already super powerful. it's like a creative and juicy take on denoising

[@VIRALBEATS360]

I never realized that Playbox has so many features. Definitely going to take a second look. Thanks!

[@MistyMusicStudio]

All those plugins look great! Really love the variety of tools too, something for everyone on this list. My top pick for this year [technically late december last year?] is Arturia Mello-Fi. It's pretty basic but everything works well does exactly what it should, very useful for turning live jams with friends into broadcast-ready LoFi productions.

[@surfrider71]

Great video Andrew!

[@danielpirone8028]

Thank you for the considered list!

[@tutunuitekanawa3940]

That de reverb is crazy Cheers Bro

[@victoriawang1356]

as someone who is just starting her production journey this is really helpful. Thanks andrew, for not only gifting me this but being a part of my music journey for so long. I will, however, procrastinate on watching this video, because I am irresponsible.

[@scottbussler4041]

consider taking his monthly class. It's a great way to quickly up your production game. it's fun too

[@sunnydaysonly420]

Very informative video, I'm a little out of the loop with plugins. Thanks much!

[@iendros]

Playbox! Definitely on my wishlist! And RX 10 is just great. It's a tool (the audio editor) that needs lots of training, but it's absolutely worth it. I frequently need to edit bad video audio, often drenched in reverb and low frequency-mud. I'm totally fascinated. Tested it on a interview, where the camera was the only audio recording source and the room was behaving like a cathedral. But the worst was the talent being several feet away from the camera + additional camera noise. It is possible to work on such cases with that.

[@noahpauley]

I have the previous version of RX10, the RX9 and I haven’t had a chance to use it yet but I’m sure it’ll be very useful in my future classes.

[@arthurahlfont4657]

using the u87 as your KZbin mic is such a flex I love it

[@anitalouise4199]

just got playbox for their black friday sale and I'm so excited to use it

[@jessejamesmcclear3613]

Codec, totally reminds me of the Teenage Engineering's OP-1 "phone" effect... I dig it!

[@UDiAudio]

Cool plugins for sure! So proud I got the opportunity to design some presets to Physion 😎

[@Anders01]

Opal seems interesting. I didn't even know about it. Thanks!

[@radiofloyd2359]

Ring mods are slept on dude, they're great for a different kind of sound degradation!

[@ihaar]

Absolutely. Just set it to a low frequency and dial in the mix a bit. Sounds better than most bitcrushers

[@Makker_1]

The notch filter in opal is essentially a phaser, the filter also seems really useful for neuralbass.

[@denismckenzie1991]

Physion Transient isolater is such an awesome idea! So many possibilities, especially if you were to double the track, one for the tone and one for the transients, and then bus them to contrasting efx. Ooph!

[@DaikiGuitar]

Nice video thanks!

[@ELPHNT]

Wow, that interface for Digitalis is so retro. Love it 😍 +1 for Codec! 🥳 +100 for SubLab XL - been delivering for me so nicely in my last few productions 💪 +1 for RX 👌 And so much damn love for Playbox. Just insta awesome sounds ✨🤩 Also been killing it for me recently. Keen to check out everything else! Thanks for the recs 👏

[@PedroMachadoBorges]

Pretty cool dude! Thanks !

[@phelper4554]

Playbox is really something special, crazy that no one else came with it up before 🔥

[@swisha_223]

ive been looking at digitalis for a while now, very cool to see it here!

[@surajpoudel7383]

Good job bro. 👏

[@Weaverbeats]

Playbox is really good and underrated by people.

[@DrakiniteOfficial]

I appreciate you disclosing your potential conflicts of interest in the beginning of the video! When in doubt, it's always good to educate your audience who is and isn't paying you to say things.

[@gimmickmusic8827]

There is a lot in the Komplete Ultimate bundle that I want, but as a hobbyist I have an incredibly hard time justifying the price of collector's edition.

[@rudyvalentino6559]

I appreciate the inspiration cause I have no more room 4 hardware buddy. Thanks

[@hvllxwmakesnoises]

the plugin market is looking really good these days, love looking through to see what weird or dumb things i can find. one recommendation i have is Pocket Dimension by Freakshow. it seems to be some sort of chaotic granualizer effect with great graphics and capabilities to make some interesting soundscapes. in fact, all of the Freakshow plugins are worth taking a look at, but i'm pretty sure u already covered one of them.

[@crookman42]

great picture quality!

[@observant_sound]

I released a Kontakt 6 library where you can modulate your own samples with my custom engine Mod Matrix :) Very proud of that one! Will definitely check out some of these from the video as well!

[@emulatorretro]

I just discovered Playbox myself, and it is my favorite plugin, esp when limited up with Vochela. Yeah I got them both on their black Friday sales at 50% off each. I had an actual coffee to combine with Vochela sale to get the 50% off. When their powers combine, it sounds and feels amazing! I do mainly use my Orba2 on Playbox and sometimes my Novation Mininova as well or even at the same time to get that extra mod wheel effect while playing on the Orba2 at the same time.

[@Lewp77]

very nice! I like em

[@Diablara-Difteroben]

Nice review! I also really like these visualizations in plugins. Sometimes I'm less objective and decide to buy it because of that....

[@Nicenigel14]

I am looking forward to the next installment of Theory Thursday with the examples of that cool triad stacked chord! Any idea on when it will come out? 😁

[@saintcorinthian4253]

Digitalis is such a great plugin, I bought the 3 plugin bundle they got and I honestly can say that they are all so good. Digitalis in particular has changed my sound design work flow haha

[@tz4601]

AberrantDSP is an amazing little boutique shop, I had no clue they had a new plugin out. They really are reasonably priced, and everything I've tried of theirs has sounded great. I think it may literally be one or two people but I'm not sure. Definitely one to support.

[@baymax001]

Wow, the feee plugin is 🔥

[@JACKSONPRYORBENNETT]

Playbox looks cool as heck

[@oriolfreixa2445]

Amazing plugins. I hope some year one of mine is on the list!!

[@LucasStrandell]

Native Instruments never disappoints

[@Visleave]

Nice U87, Andrew!

[@calvinbaxter7151]

Dang play box just seems like fun for someone who just wants a to get right into playing!

[@negvey]

i cant believe that Codec plugin is free, unbelievable, ive been waiting for a tool like that for years

[@markelite4892]

I use to make sick underground like beats using little big planet 2, Andrew ever tried that or looking for a new idea? what i did was use pulleys and levers and sound bits "speakers" that would rotate like multiple cds. like you grab the device or you can stand near it and it would activate and loop itself. If I can do this I know others have tried I would like to see Andrew have fun with this idea and use his moog skills and creativity to come up with something awesome! And the emitter technology is really cool in this game.

[@sassyginger127]

Hey Andrew! I’ve been subscribed to your content for a while and I love it! But if it’s not to much trouble, I wanna see some plugins that I could use in Protools (particularly free ones) that are just as cool as the ones in Logic/Ableton. Many thanks.

[@omnipop4936]

At 8:18, when you say "The MuRF is like a sequenced filter thing", your voice is timed perfectly with the beat.😃

[@joshj8276]

9:34 "im just gonna scroll through presets for you"

[@multi.instrumentalist]

The mooger fooger ring mod is how they make the fallen voices in Doctor Who, I’ve seen them do demos

[@chameleonblockstudios]

Damn I had no idea codec was free hell yeah thanks Andrew

[@konsumentptakow]

thank you !!

[@UncommonRecordsnyc]

Just bought Digitalis. Even though a lot of these aren't AAX or under $100, I still found the video interesting. Thanks.

[@LyricsVideo4U]

00:46 Very nice!

[@compucorder64]

My favourites were the NE plugin bundles, especially having multiple Basimilus', but also Manis and Desmodus. Tracktion Dawesome Novum for granular. Arturia DIST tube culture for saturation. Korg WaveState Native, finally does their synth engine justice. For new soft synths, I like Cherry Audio Sines. For retro, D16 Phoscyon 2, Cherry ELKA-X and G-Force SEM. Enjoying Neural DSP's Archetype: Rabea too. CA just released a CS-80, GX-80, but I haven't tried it yet. And Arturia's Minifreak plugin should be a nice new arrival.

[@SuperFashi]

crazy, wow

[@LionHrodgari]

5, 6, 3 and 1 are for sure my personal top 4.

[@stefevr]

I was hesitating between getting playbox or LORES from BI, i got LORES but I think I will have to splurge on both, theyre amazing

[@tobeyforsman]

I picked up Digitalis this year. AberrantDSP are making some really fun stuff.

[@macronencer]

Watching you demo Physion was kind of funny after having literally just watched a load of tutorials on Bitwig's Spectral Suite :D

[@whoisdark__]

physion blew my mind

[@semyonboyk0]

Absolutely LOVE to see Digitalis on the list. I own all 3 Aberrant DSP plugins, and each of them is amazing. Considering the company consists just of a cat and two guys, it's amazing what they came up with.

[@DJPenta]

Just came here to say Tesla Coil is LITTTT 🔥🔥🔥 (& Ofc video is great as per uge)

[@ZlakEdoras]

Finally!!!! :D

[@actavisrides]

Ran into your video thanks a lot

[@oodoodoopoopoo]

Have you used the newer VCV Rack? I would love to see you playing around with it.

[@youssoubarro1671]

🔥🔥🔥

[@treesurgeon2441]

I used to have to do all this stuff by hand with cds. Despite not having to do that anymore I miss those days.

[@tutubeos]

Very cool 😎