Hi,

Anyone have recommendations for the best plug ins for:

Compression
De-Esser
Reverb
EQ
Mastering 

Also, does anyone recommend the plug ins that are built into Sonar? I've used Sonitus, Breverb and some of the others, but don't know how they stack up again other plug ins that I can buy for another company.

Thanks.

Sure - The new lp and eq plugins in sonar platinum are great mastering processors, and the eq in the pro channel is extremely useful as well.
 
The compressors available in the pro channel are pretty good, although I will often gravitate to something with more functionality.  I recently grabbed the waves api suite - as waves is having a sale over the summer, and have found that their compressor has a very sweet high end even when you really hit it hard.
 
As far as a d-esser Im not aware of one specifically in the sonar package - but I havnt really looked as I often use the one in izotope's alloy 2.  You can however use just the upper mid band of the sonitus to do the same thing.
 
As far as verb - I moved into the psp line last year after sampling the spring verb from them on guitars.  I think its very well done - I soon grabbed their award winning 2445 plate verb - which emt now endorses, and it has become my go to verb.
 
Best
David

From my experience, the FX bundled in SPlat are as good as anything else.  For the most part, the trick is in understanding how to manipulate them.  If you're looking for useful presets, they may be hit and miss.
Having said that, here are my go-to items:
Compression:  Focusrite Red 3 (came bundled with my interface)
De-Esser:  Never used one, but any parametric EQ should suffice
Reverb:  Quite happy with Breverb
EQ:  SPlat-included PEQ322.
Mastering:  I don't use an all-in-one for this, but just use the LP MB Compressor and LP EQ.
 
These are for my home-recording versions.  My "studio" doesn't sound particularly good, and I've found that I get much better results by hiring an engineer/studio owner friend of mine to mix/master for me.  

Hey, thanks so much guys.

Yes, knowing how to use/manipulate the plug ins that are built in does really help, so maybe I should buckle down and really try to work with, for instance, Breverb, before running to another verb.

Many people are pushing the Waves stuff to me. Gonna read some more about them now.

The fastest way to see what is in SONAR is set the plug-in browser to Platinum Effects. This will display the bundled effects organized by type. The VX-64 contains a deesser. Don't forget the ProChannel has 2 compressors and REmatrix Solo reverb.
 

Thanks, Scook, good tip.

I just read about the Waves CLA Vocals bundled with some other stuff for only 99.00. Anyone have any experience with this plug in? The video shows that's its superfast in applying multiple effects on a vocal, as well as many presets you can tweak.

Jerrycast
Hey, thanks so much guys.

Yes, knowing how to use/manipulate the plug ins that are built in does really help, so maybe I should buckle down and really try to work with, for instance, Breverb, before running to another verb.

Many people are pushing the Waves stuff to me. Gonna read some more about them now.

I'd start off using the plugins in the package, they are really good.
 
No need for another EQ if you have plat.  
 
B-Reverb and Rematrix are truly great options for reverb
 
Compression, this is the only one where I use something else most of the time...and it is cheap.  
http://klanghelm.com/contents/products/MJUC/MJUC.php
If they released a pro-channel version of this that is the only improvement I could see.
 
De-Esser - first of all work on your mic techniques, this will cut down your need for one.  There is one in the VX-64, it is ok and will get you started.  There is also one in the Blues Tubes package that comes with Plat.  Just learn to use them
 
 
I own a number of Waves plugs and never use them.  For me personally they are a waste of money.  I'm not saying they are of terrible quality, but they are not on the Pro-Channel and I find they don't offer me anything I don't have elsewhere...and without spending the extra money on them.  The CLA Vocals is ok for quick work if you are new to mixing.  However , I would never pay $99 for it.  Waves goes on sale constantly.  You can pick up the vast majority of them for $29 - $49 if you wait.  But again even at these prices, I find most of them to be un-necessary once you learn to use what you have in Sonar.  
 
 
 
 
 

I don't generally like the Waves "catch all" plugins, although I have to admit CLA Bass can work really well. You can try out any Waves plugin for free for a week (or longer? not sure).

I have a healthy dose of their stuff but they are not the answer to everything, there are plugins both cheaper and better working in some cases. If you want to dive into a specific category in more detail you'd probably get some good suggestions.

That said, my "go-to" plugs are:

Compressor: depends completely on the source and the effect I'm going for. My most versatile option is FabFilter Pro-C2 but I use at least four or five others regularly. The stuff that comes with SPLAT isn't bad and CW's CA2A is really good (extra purchase though, I think).

De-esser: I use FabFilter Pro-DS a lot because I happen to have it and I like the interface. Waves Renaissance DeEsser is pretty good too. But essentially a DeEsser is a specialized version of a multiband compressor so as was pointed out, you could use the upper mid band of the Sonitus multiband compressor.

Reverb: Currently I use ValhallaDSP's VintageVerb and Room a lot. But I actually like BReverb and sometimes still use it. If I need a "real" space I use Waves IR-1 which uses impulses (basically recorded real room responses). SPLAT offers Rematrix for this.

EQ: FabFilter ProQ2 is my favorite general EQ but as was pointed out the LP-EQ and ProChannel EQ are really good and only miss a few options compared to ProQ2. For "flavour" EQ I like a Waves Pultec style EQ I have, I believe SPLAT also has a few in the BlueTubes collection.

Mastering: I don't like to do a lot of my own mastering and I think there are many misconceptions about what mastering is. That said, for a quick fix I use ProQ2 in linear phase mode, Waves Center to deal with some basic stereo issues and one of the various multiband limiters I have.

Thanks guys. Will dive into Sonar deeper to see if I really need any other plug ins. I appreciate the suggestions too and w/read about them all.

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