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Five characterful plugins that don’t play by the rules

1 Let’s check out a few examples of plugins that could become core components in creating a signature sound. Basically, I look at plugins like these as the counterpoint for the more transparent, workhorse-type plugins. They can give your music some attitude and edge, imparting a distinctive sound to whatever material you happen to be working on. 2 D16 Group’s Decimort 2 emulates the colour and characteristics of many classic hardware samplers. Choose a preset, slap it across all of your tracks and you’re instantly transported into a different world. This plugin can be quite aggressive at its default preset settings, so it’s often a good idea to turn down the preamp gain slightly. 3 Waves’ CLA-76 is a popular emulation of one of the most legendary hardware compressors: the Urei 1176. This compressor is especially known for its ability to squash drums in a distinctive way, but it can work equally well on vocals, bass and other things. There are many more 1176 plugins out there too, so take your pick. 4 A great reverb could be all you need to create your signature sound. Eventide Blackhole is definitely one of the more special-sounding reverbs out there. It sounds far from natural, but that might be just the ticket. It pays to explore different reverb plugins and find the one that works for the sound you’re after. 5 Soundtoys Primal Tap tends to get overshadowed by their famous EchoBoy plugin… and that’s exactly why I like it! Not everyone and their cousin are using Primal Tap. It sounds superb but also distinctive; it also has just the right amount of controls to be a versatile and dependable tool for all kinds of situations. 6 Tape emulations can be fantastic in giving your mixes a uniform sound. Due to its advanced grouping facilities, u-he Satin lends itself particularly well for this type of work. You can set up plugin instances across your entire mix and then group them up and control them centrally. Satin sounds great, too and gives you loads of control.