Are You Using Too Many Plug-Ins?

A couple of years ago, I had a very interesting conversation with Grammy and Juno-winning mastering engineer Bryan Martin, who founded Sonosphere Mastering in Montreal in 2003.

Bryan Martin began his career in 1986 at Platinum Island Recording Studios in New York, where he worked alongside some of the top engineers and major artists of the time. His recording and production career later took him from New York City to London, Prague, Berlin, Memphis, and Austin, with credits ranging from Rufus Wainwright and Mark Eitzel to Max Roach, Run-DMC, KRS-One, Pinetop Perkins, and David Byrne. In short, the man really knows sound!

Mixing Has Moved Into the Box

Rest assured: I am not about to tell you that plug-ins are the worst invention the audio world has ever seen. Quite the opposite. They have democratized access to mixing tools that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. In doing so, they have helped lower production costs—for better or worse, some might say.

They also require no cabling, never break, need no maintenance, take up no physical space, and collect neither dust nor spiders!

The facts speak for themselves: chances are, your favorite songs were mixed at least partly in the box. Unlike hardware, plug-ins evolve at lightning speed, offering new possibilities every day. In short, mixing in the box is now the norm, not the exception.

This Is Where Things Get Complicated

But all of this comes at a cost. According to Bryan, the problem is not the use of plug-ins; it’s their accumulation. Using several plug-ins forces your processor to work harder. In the process, the audio can lose definition in low-level passages. Plug-in overuse can also create phase issues, alter the stereo image, and affect the overall definition of the sound.

Furthermore, overusing plug-ins can generate anomalies in the very high frequencies, and although this mush sits very high in the frequency spectrum, it can still reduce the dynamic headroom of your mix. At the mastering stage, these problems make encoding more difficult. The codec tries to interpret the high-frequency mess as part of the music itself, resulting in artifacts that are both unpleasant and audible.

Since most music today is consumed in digital formats, this is a problem that needs to be prevented at the source. Here are a few ways to reduce the number of plug-ins you use.

Record Better

There is one very simple way to limit the number of plug-ins in your mixes: record better. If you work with virtual instruments, loops, or samples, choose sounds that are as close as possible to what you have in mind. By solving problems at the source, you automatically reduce the number of corrections you will need to make during the mix. In the worst case, consider rerecording or changing your sound choices.

Use Subgroups

Whenever possible, group similar tracks—backing vocals, guitars, synths, and so on—and do the heavy lifting in subgroups rather than on each track individually. Not only will you save time, you’ll also avoid piling unnecessary processing onto every track.

The Size of Your Plug-In Folder Is Not the Answer

Back in the day, even the biggest studios had far fewer tools than we now have in our plug-ins folder. Engineers had to know those tools inside out to get the most out of them. The same principle still applies: it is far better to master a handful of plug-ins than to stumble blindly through your entire arsenal.

Choose one or two plug-ins per function—a compressor, an EQ, a reverb, a de-esser, and so on—and really learn them. Learn their strengths and weaknesses. Experiment with different instruments and different contexts. You will get far more out of every processing decision.

Avoid Getting Lost in the Details

When mixing, nothing is easier than chasing your own tail endlessly. Start by setting up your session: name your tracks properly, group them, and organize them in your mixer. Then get a good balance and fix the problems that immediately jump out at you. Add the effects and automation. Take a break. Get back to it and fine-tune your adjustments. Most of the time, lingering on a mix only makes you lose the big picture and get hung up on details—so stop. If more needs to be done, your client will let you know.

Stop Mixing in Solo

You spend half a day making a guitar sound amazing in solo. Then you bring the rest of the mix back in, and suddenly that “perfect” guitar does not fit at all. So you add another EQ, maybe another compressor, maybe a widener… Sound familiar? We have all done it.

The problem is simple: nobody listens to a guitar track in isolation. A mix is a whole, not a collection of perfect soloed tracks. Most decisions should therefore be made with the full mix playing. Use the solo button only when you really need it—for example, to set a gate, identify a noise, or check a specific problem. The rest of the time, keep the track in context. Your mixes will be more cohesive, you will work faster, and you will almost certainly use fewer plug-ins.

Establish a Hierarchy

Not every element in a mix has the same importance. Some tracks carry the song; others simply support it. There is probably no need to put a compressor, two EQs, and an Aural Exciter on a barely audible background texture. It is far more useful to focus your time and processing power on the elements that matter most, then work your way down the list.

Sometimes, Mute Is the Best Processing

Just because you recorded something, or because someone sent you a track, does not mean you have to use it. Likewise, why use all three guitar microphone tracks when one of them works perfectly well in the mix?

Don’t be too sentimental. If a track does not serve the song, do not try to force it into the mix with processing. Try the mute button instead.

Clean Up Your Processing

If you tend to reach for plug-ins easily, you may sometimes be surprised to find that some of your settings cancel each other out—for example, -4 dB at 200 Hz on one EQ, then +2 dB at nearly the same frequency two plug-ins later on the same track. Others may simply no longer be useful, such as a widener on a track that is now panned hard left.

If you feel your plug-in count is getting out of hand, take the time to review your settings and eliminate duplicate or unnecessary corrections.

Don’t Fix Mix Problems on the Master Bus

The master bus is not the place to fix problems in a mix. Any processing placed on the master bus affects every track, whether it is part of the problem or not. For instance, if your mix has too much low end, identify the tracks causing the problem and fix them there, not on the master bus. Often, you’ll even find that some existing corrections were working against what you were trying to achieve.

Beyond reducing the negative effects of plug-in overuse, these simple tips will help you make better decisions, work faster, and improve the quality of your mixes.