What 3rd party plugins could you not live/work without?

I am really just getting into much in the way of aftermarket plugs/software so I figured I would ask what are your favorites that you would hate to be with out?  You know,the ones you would run out and buy 1st if you had to start over?  
  For instance, I found easy drummer a HUGE improvement over session drummer for running my V drums through. It would drive me crazy to go back to session drummer... 
 

Having recently had to rebuild my DAW I can answer that...
UAD - I have many, want ALL of them!
Waves - I have the Native Gold Bundle, and am quite happy with it.
PSP - all their delays are awesome! Their Lexi 42 emulation is spot on.
Sony - their Noise Reduction plug-in is wonderful.
Voxengo - only have a few of theirs - Crunchessor stands out - will add more when I can.
Kjaerhus Golden Series - can't get it anymore, so I have those backed up six ways!
Jamstix & Toontrack Superior - I think this is the ultimate combination for creating realistic drum tracks.
NI Komplete - I use Kontakt on almost every project, I use a lot of the other synths less fequently, but I do enjoy using them.
Audio Alchemy Chameleon & AAS Tasman - the two most enjoyable-to-program synthesizers out there.
I'm still looking for an amplifier emulator, I've tried Amplitube and Guitar Rig, and they are OK. I love dB Audioware Flying Haggis - it does what it does well, but it doesn't cover a ton of territory. The Line6 stuff is better than average, but a nuisance to work with. I also use my Adrennalinn a lot... but that's hardware - at which point I often go ahead and hang microphone!!
Izotope Restoration Bundle - demo'd it this past fall, haven't figured out how to pay for it yet, but first job that requires it will be the time to do so!
And while not plug-ins... I really could not do much without Sonar, Sound Forge, and Wavelab!

Fabfilter Pro Bundle (EQ, Compressor,Gate, Limiter)

DMG Audio Compassion (very versatile compressor)

Ozone: mastering and eq in the tracks and busses

Melodyne: pitch correction

Jamstix: intelligent drums

Instrument synths: kontakt/komplete ,  MIroslav, GPO,  EWQL...all for creating sounds. 



I stopped buying or DLing everything I saw that I thought would be cool to have. There are many free things out there. When I built my DAW last year I loaded only the ones I actually used in the previous 6 months. 

I don't miss the ones I left behind. What I have I use and know. 

Guitarhacker


Melodyne: pitch correction


I don't miss the ones I left behind. What I have I use and know. 

 
I might check that out.  When I personally find that my vocal is a little is a little pitchy I re-record it but wih the other guys in the group they are often not around so I have turned to V Vocal for minor fixes though with rock vocals th grit in a growly kind of track can throw it off and it makes in nearly impossible for me to find whre it should be when the lines look like they are jumping all over the place.  Is this any better for that sort of thing?
 
I hear ya, I am sure you could easily end up with a ton of useless crap in your daw that you never use.

See my list here

I may not use all of them all the time, but all are equally important.

But if I had to choose 5

Superior Drummer (with all SDX's and EZXs)
Steven Slate FG-X
UAD Helios
UAD EMT 140
Nomad Factory MAGNETIC/UAD Studer (this is a tie as for me they are interchangable)

yorolpal


2}        Bapu still doesn't own these.

Why don't you just triple-dog-dare me, huh?

What 3rd-party tool couldn't I do without? None! I know this because I remember a time before I had any, and yet still managed to make music without them.

Still, there are a few that I'd be extremely reluctant to part with:

Voxengo SPAN, because it's just so useful. I put it on tracks, I put it on busses. I use the mastering mode on vocals as well as on the master bus. I use it for K-metering. I use it even when Pro-Q is in the chain, because the two visual displays compliment one another perfectly. I'd be reluctant to part with it because anything else that does what it does is expensive.

FabFilter Pro-Q, because it's just so ergonomically friendly. I can dial in corrections much faster with it than with any other equalizer I've used. I wouldn't want to part with it because tweaking track EQs is boring and I like to get it done and move on.

FabFilter Pro-C, because it's the most versatile compressor I've ever used. It's got almost every feature you could ever ask for in a compressor. The visual feedback makes dialing in thresholds and ratios fast and accurate. I wouldn't want to part with it because I'd have to revert to using 4 or 5 different compressors in its place.

Kjaerhus Classic Compressor, because it does one job that Pro-C doesn't handle as well: vocal track leveling. Won't part with it because it does this one job better than any other compressor I've ever tried, plus it's sufficiently CPU-efficient that I can stick it on every vocal track.

Ozone, because it simplifies limiting, and also because I like the harmonic exciter and multiband compressor. I wouldn't want to part with it because then I'd have to buy FabFilter Pro-L.

Kontakt, not for the factory content, which is weak, but for all the great - and cheap - third-party libraries. I wouldn't want to part with it because it gives me sounds that I can't get anywhere else, e.g. carillon, kantele, or bamboo percussion.

SampleTank, because the palette is broad enough that I can always find something appropriate in there, and because it's extraordinarily CPU-efficient. I wouldn't want to part with it because I'd have to go back to the TTS-1 as a placeholder for composing.

ValhallaRoom, a recent addition to my arsenal but already a favorite.  It's surprisingly versatile, from subtle ambiances to spacey, swirly and endless tails. It doesn't work for everything, but I usually try it first anyhow because when it works it works so well. I wouldn't want to part with it because it does things that no other reverb in my toolkit can do as well.

Melodyne - I make my harmonies using it. Then, re-sing the parts matching them perfectly with the pitch corrected vocals. When I've got things how I want them, I mute the Melodyned created vocals leaving a pitch perfect, naturally sung harmony part. With Melodyne, I can experiment with notes and come up with harmonies I may not have created otherwise. Sometimes, Ill come up with something I can't re-sing (my vocal ability is quite limited) or the electronic sound actually puts a cool spin on things. If that's the case, I'll just leave it.

Also, when you're working with singers who have problems doubling themselves, there's nothing better or easier for turning a single take into convincing double or even triple parts than Melodyne.

Mathew: Omnisphere, Alchemy, Hollywood Strings and Nexus 2 - you've pretty much duplicated exactly my own ultimate lottery-fantasy wish-list. 

Kroneborge


and yet, the gear lust still calls me.   Which just goes to show, it's very hard to be happy with what you have.  I'm sure even if I had UAD complete (or whatever it's called), I would still want other stuff.

Ya

Did not stop me from getting Waves Mercury and FabFilter Pro Bundle.

I did not own the FabFilter Pro plugs when I originally replied to this topic cause I was waiting for the price to drop but I would definitely put them in the must have category now that I do have them. So fantastically well designed and functional and usable. I got the Softube mix bundle and using the EQ's in that bundle compared to the FabFilter Pro-Q is like having a mental hand tied behind your back.

It cost a decent amount of money for the FabFilter stuff but I don't regret a dime of it for an instant and I am still exploring and learning this package.


Ken

1)Toontrack Superior with the SDX's

2) Kontakt w 3rd party libraries

3) u-he DIVA  - As long as I have a mainframe computer handy :) 
 
4) Z3TA+2

5) Rapture with the Galbanum Expansions and Architecture 2010

6) Dimension Pro with Custom sfz's 
 
7) Ivory Italian Grand piano

8) NI B4 II

9) Wave Arts Trackplug 5,MasterVerb 5 and Tube Saturator

10) Valhalla Room
 
11) Nomad Factory Bundle
 
12) Tone Boosters Bundle
 
13) Rob Papen Distort  (Funking great for mangling loops)
 
14) Scuffham S-Gear
 
15) Revalver