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anonymous 1 May 2002

Plugins are in their infancy. The pluginswe use today will on day be looked back on fondly as curios. The people who are developing them, currently, will eventually be seen as the pioneers of an entirely new method of processing audio.
pluginsare currently still the red-headed step-children of the recording world. People use them, yes, but no one brags about them the way they do hardware. There are many reasons for this. One has to do with the fact that people like things they can touch. Another is that computer programs can be replicated to infinitum, whereas there are only a handfull of Fairchild compressors- people cherish that which is in limited supply. Another reason is that, frankly, many pluginsdon't have the sonic quality of hardware (my opinion, one I have heard from others, you are fully entitled to disagree). They are good, though and getting better, and perhaps someday plugin compressors will outstrip their steel-box cousins.
This is a forum about plugins a forum that may well have a chance to influence this young, exciting field. The ideas and opinions expressed here will probably be read by people who create plugins So what do we want to do with it? What do we want from plugins How can they be more useful? What would make this forum more useful, more informative, more engaging?
I am listening. Doc.

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Comments

Doublehelix Thu, 05/02/2002 - 04:15

There are a few good ideas that have already been presented on this forum for new plugs...the harmonizer plug and one that I brought up, the 3-D spectrum analysis plug.

One of the porblems with learning how to apply effects, especially with mastering, is that a lot of what we do takes "ears and years", and is not an easy thing to teach, or to define hard and fast rules for. Analysis plugs that can help us make decisions will go a long way towards supplanting their hardware counterparts imho. Presets for the most part are rubbish, but they do give us a place to start...I'd like to see some more analysis types of things to help us make rough decsions on our own, that we can then fine-tune with our ears.

anonymous Mon, 05/06/2002 - 18:07

Superb, two insightful offerings- Julian dropping by to ask for better simulations of existing processors, compressors to be precise, while Doublehelix wants more in the way of analysis tools. I am going to dig my teeth into these responses soon, but my brain is still sorting through ideas...
Thank you for your thoughts. Cheers, Doc.

anonymous Tue, 05/07/2002 - 08:45

Littledog,
I probably shouldn't tell you this online, and RO will probably get a black eye for it, but I am going to reveal to you where to get what you just asked for... and cheep, too. And the good quality stuff that will shape your sound.
OK, so that scummy lookin' guy who's always hanging out on the corner, the sketchy looking dude with the hockey haircut and acid-wash jeans? That guy, he will sell you all the crack you want.
You did say crack, right? Man, it makes EVERY mix sound good. ;) Cheers, Doc.

anonymous Fri, 05/10/2002 - 01:48

Further thoughts on the future ofplug-ins
1. plug-inswill continue to mimic existing hardware, with improved accuracy as time goes on.
2. There will always be people who prefer the hardware version.
3. Sharp-minded companies will continue to developplug-insthat are not software versions of hardware (example 1176 compressor). As theseplug-inscome to have their own distinct sound and personality they will be appreciated for their own merits. I see this as a maturation of the field. People will buy a compressor plug-in because it sounds good, not because it looks like a top dollar compressor costing thousands of dollars.
More to come, Cheers, Doc.

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