Bundled plugins vs. 3rd party plugins

cornbb

What do people think of the plugins that come bundled with DAWs, Logic and Cubase in particular? I'm particularly interested in hearing people's opinions on the basic stuff like reverbs, EQs etc. Would you be caught dead mixing a track using Logic/Cubase reverbs or is it necessary to splash out on something by Waves or similar? From the point of view of your average bedroom producer, of course, not someone who's gonna be mastering the next Radiohead album

TelePaul

I actually like Cubase SE3s Reverb A. The ring mod and roatry effects are quite cool too. But I use an awful lot of third party freebies, for example Glaceverb is a pretty comprehensive free VST.

I love Kjaerhus Audio's free compressor and limiter, I'll use those over the bundled Cubase Dynamics any day. I hear good things about Reapers plugs. I guess it's a matter of perspective, I'm a student and can't afford any expensive VSTs so I make do with what I have, but I don't feel I'm losing out much.

Niall - Dahlia

I use Pro Tools bundled software all the time while tracking. If the singer wants reverb I'll use D-Verb. If the drummer wants his room squashed in his phones I'll just use Dyn3. No point in slowing the session down by using resource intensive plugins, especially when you're hopping between session files. But when it comes to the mixing stage it's away with all that and to 3rd party plugins and outboard.

But...if time is tight, and things are sounding good with a few bundled EQ's and compressors in there...then what harm? So long as it sounds good there's nothing to be ashamed of! At the end of the day it's just another tool, another shade to work with, no harm keeping all the bundled stuff and having the option even if you are using expensive 3rd party stuff.

When I first started using Waves plugins I found a big improvement on the EQ and compression side of things (compared to Pro Tools plugins). Thats the bread and butter of mixing so I thought it was a good investment (NPP). In the studio I work in they have alot of Waves stuff, so I was right at home from the word go and it's still the go-to for EQ and compression. So if you have the cash to spend on some quality plugins definitely consider it.

I hear Logic comes with excellent plugins though? I really got to get a few days with Logic, I've only had a chance to demo it really.

jtsuited

don't really like the logic or protools eq's but they are the best bundled ones I've heard.

Logic 8 has a heap of amazing plugins. however the eq's aren't the best working with sub-bass stuff. Bundled EQ's tend to have a tendency of adding artefacts also. Apparently though Logic's linear phase EQ doesn't add anything.

Wasn't a big fan of the digirack plugins but they were certainly usable. I think the generic bundled compressors are well up to the job but if you're going to do really serious mixing, you got to get something along the lines of the sonnox (which I prefer to the waves stuff), the waves bundle or others (massey etc.).

Edit: just to add since we're on the subject- the nicest eq's I've used have been on the focusrite liquidmix. Bloody amazing compressors too. So if you're thinking about splashing out on a big plugin package, seriously consider the liquidmix. In fact just get it!

cornbb

Actually, the reason I was asking was that I attended an Apple course/seminar/whatever you want to call it for Logic 8 today. It wasn't so much a tutorial as a marketing push, but I was gobsmacked by how good it looked, especially the range of included plugins and instruments. Of course its very difficult to hear how good they sounded in that environment, which is why I asked here. I've been a Cubase fan for years but I think Logic may now have the edge, helped by a much improved workspace and impressive set of instruments. Hope they've improved the audio engine too though...

But of course if the included plugins aren't up to much, then that benefit goes straight out the window...

jtsuited

don't get me wrong, the logic plugins are the best bundled plugins out there. pretty much everything about them is perfect.
Eq algorithms are always gonna be led by the dedicated eq plugin type companies.

The synths in Logic 8 are absolutely mindblowing, and the effects are incredible (and you get an absolute shedload of them).

I only switched over to Logic about two or three weeks ago (from ProTools/Ableton), and for the first time in years I feel really excited when I get down to work.

Seriously, get it.