SongLab Deep Cuts Vol. 24: The Plugin Graveyard

There is a strange contradiction in modern music production.

We have access to more sounds, instruments, effects, samples, and production tools than any generation before us.

And yet...

We're constantly looking for the next thing.

A new synth comes out.

A plugin promises to sound exactly like legendary hardware.

A subscription service gives you access to hundreds of new instruments.

So we download it.

Open it.

Scroll through the presets.

Find three sounds we like.

Use one of them on a song.

And eventually...

We move on to the next thing.

Meanwhile, sitting inside the DAW we've been using for years are instruments and effects we've barely touched.

Welcome to the plugin graveyard.

You probably have more than you need

Most modern DAWs come with an incredible collection of instruments and effects.

Synths.

Samplers.

EQs.

Compressors.

Reverbs.

Delays.

Distortion.

Modulation.

Limiters.

And plenty more.

And these aren't simply "good enough" tools.

They can absolutely make records.

The problem isn't the tools.

It's that we rarely learn them deeply.

We open a synth and immediately start scrolling through presets.

There's nothing wrong with presets.

They're useful.

They're fast.

They can spark an idea.

But there's a huge difference between finding a sound and knowing how to create one.

Learn the instrument, not just the preset

Open a synth you already own.

Initialize a patch.

Start with nothing.

Learn what the oscillators actually do.

Move the filter.

Change the envelope.

Experiment with modulation.

Push the resonance.

Destroy the sound.

Then try to put it back together.

Do something weird.

Do something ugly.

Do something you would never have chosen from a preset menu.

Eventually, something changes.

You stop thinking:

"I need a synth that makes this sound."

And start thinking:

"I know how to make this synth do that."

That's a completely different level of production knowledge.

Unlimited choice can become a creative problem

This is where things get interesting.

Having thousands of plugins sounds like freedom.

But unlimited choice can actually slow you down.

If you have 2,000 plugins, the question can become:

"Which one should I use?"

Instead of:

"What does this song need?"

That's a very different creative mindset.

Sometimes limitations are useful.

Pick one synth.

Use it for a week.

Make a bass.

Make a pad.

Make a lead.

Make something percussive.

Make something completely ridiculous.

Then do the same thing with your stock EQ.

Or your compressor.

Or your reverb.

You'll probably discover things you've owned for years without actually knowing what they can do.

Constraints can make you more creative

Some of the most interesting creative exercises come from taking things away.

One drum kit.

One synth.

One microphone.

One guitar.

One room.

One plugin.

When you don't have another hundred options sitting one click away, you start solving problems differently.

And that's where production instincts develop.

You stop searching.

You start creating.

New doesn't automatically mean better

This isn't an argument against new technology.

New tools can be incredible.

Sometimes a new instrument really does give you something you didn't have before.

Sometimes a new plugin solves a problem beautifully.

Sometimes opening something you've never used is exactly what your creativity needs.

But there's a difference between buying something because you need it...

And buying something because it's new.

The industry is very good at convincing producers that the next tool will somehow unlock the record they've been trying to make.

Usually, it won't.

Because the limitation probably isn't the plugin.

It's the decision.

Learn before you buy

Before you buy another synth, plugin, sample pack, or subscription...

Open what you already have.

Pick something you've barely explored.

Turn off the presets.

Start from zero.

See how far you can push it.

You may discover that the sound you've been looking for has been sitting inside your computer the entire time.

You just haven't learned how to find it.

And this applies far beyond plugins

This principle applies to almost everything in music.

You don't necessarily need another microphone.

Learn the one you own.

You don't necessarily need another guitar.

Learn how to make the one you have sound different.

You don't necessarily need another compressor.

Learn what the one you've been using for five years actually does.

You don't need another sample pack to make a great drum sound.

Learn how to manipulate the samples you already have.

The deeper your relationship with your tools becomes, the less dependent you become on constantly acquiring new ones.

That's when technology starts working for you instead of distracting you.

Your taste is the real plugin

Here's the part that matters most.

The quality of a record isn't determined by how many plugins were used.

It's determined by the decisions made with them.

Performance.

Arrangement.

Songwriting.

Sound selection.

Timing.

Dynamics.

Taste.

Experience.

Creativity.

You can make an incredible record with a very small collection of tools if you know how to use them.

And you can make a terrible record with every plugin ever created.

The tools don't make the producer.

The decisions do.

Final Musings...

There's nothing wrong with being excited about new technology.

We're producers.

Of course we want to play with the new stuff.

But don't confuse collecting tools with developing your craft.

The next great sound might not be hiding inside a new plugin.

It might be hiding inside the one you've owned for three years.

Open it.

Learn it.

Break it.

Push it.

Figure out what it can do.

Because sometimes the best way to find something new...

Is to learn something you already have.

Stop collecting.

Start exploring.

Keep creating.

Keep showing up.

Keep learning.

And maybe...

Let the plugin graveyard rest for a while.

- SongLab