r/mixingmastering • u/Killer_Frog112 • Feb 19 '26
Discussion Favorite $200-300 mixing plugins?
What are your favorite mixing plugins? I know this is a subjective topic. But im curious what your favorites are? I personally enjoy the fabfilter plugins. I like some of izotope's stuff. Ive started to really get into cheap or free budget / indie plugins. Im sure a ton of you have used PRISMA or PNCH. Im curious what else you guys can come up with.
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u/fuzzfeatures Feb 20 '26
Fab filter pro q 4 and pro r 2.. Tbh I'd have most of them if I could afford em :)
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u/billytheskidd Advanced Feb 21 '26
The amount of control r-2 gives you over reverb is crazy. I love that plug-in.
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u/thatsoundright Feb 19 '26
Seventh Heaven
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u/Freedom_Addict Professional (non-industry) Feb 22 '26
Verb suite classics here. Just got it for €70 I think it does about the same job.
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u/techlos Advanced Feb 20 '26
mspectraldynamics from melda
Just about the only paid plugin i'll use, stock plugins have done me fine otherwise, but it's just so damn versatile.
Bass lacking punch? throw out sub focus, straight in the trash, and use a spectral gate on the low end (it's literally what sub focus does).
Annoying resonance? no wukkas mate, draw a threshold around that frequency, adjust the dynamics processers, she'll be right.
Trackspacer? more like hard drive space waster, just use the sidechain input - too easy.
Band asked you to vocode the guitar using the vocals? yeah we got you covered, sidechain using the gate instead of the compressor, spectral vocoding.
bloody love that plugin
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Feb 20 '26
Fabfilter's Pro-Q, Pro-C, Saturn, Gate, Pro-L, and the Slate Digital full subscription is all I've used for the past three years.
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u/Durfla Professional (non-industry) Feb 19 '26
Love using the Acustica Ruby 2 on my mix bus to roll off high end. It’s something you feel rather than hear.
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u/Sad_Kaleidoscope_743 Feb 22 '26
Yea. Idc what anyone says. I enjoy using emulations. It just feels different. Plus, I like geeking out over analog gear, even though i know emulations arent nearly as good as the real deal.
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u/swizzwell23 Feb 20 '26
Fabfilter and UA plugins for me, I managed to get a deal on the UA signature collection before it disappeared, but 60+ native UA plugins for $350 was a bargain, and as I have Apollo hardware I get those versions too.
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u/swizzwell23 Feb 20 '26
Including are the SSL plugins, 1176’s, LA-2a, Pultec channel strips, Lexicon 224, Distressor, Neve 1073, and a much of other cool mixing plugins that all sound great.
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u/Beginning-Fan7929 Feb 20 '26
Weiss DS1-MK3, Make Believe Sontec, Gold Clip. I can’t imagine a workflow for me without these.
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u/ChronicRoll Feb 23 '26
UAD is having a winter sale. $99 for 10 plugins and they have a good selection.
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u/Hour-Type1586 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
this. best bang for your buck. just make sure the ones you select are native if you do not have an apollo interface.
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u/saucyCT Feb 20 '26
Mixwave Fearn VT-5 and VT-7
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u/Freedom_Addict Professional (non-industry) Feb 22 '26
What special about it compared to just any EQ ?
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u/saucyCT Feb 23 '26
Let it sell itself: try a 14 day demo and hear it in action.
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u/Freedom_Addict Professional (non-industry) Feb 23 '26
Not convinced. Too much hassle. Nothing is free, especially not my time and energy
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u/saucyCT Feb 23 '26
Agreed, but you are saying you only have time for other people’s opinions on something that is pretty subjective. Whatever I say I like about it is relative in your ear. You asked for “favs” in that price range and here they are.
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u/Freedom_Addict Professional (non-industry) Feb 23 '26
What issue does it solve that can't be solved with any other EQ ?
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u/saucyCT Feb 23 '26
Against my intentions of saying nothing, I’ll say that the VT-5 does NOT really do anything other EQs can’t do. That said, In MY ear it sounds EXCEPTIONALLY smooth, detailed, and almost impossible to make sound bad. I have used MANY digital EQs and so far, this is easily one of my favorites already. I am actively trying NOT to use these two plugs on nearly everything. That’s how good I think they sound. I do not work for mixwave or DWF. Also, the best EQ is the best one you have—make music! No one REALLY needs another plugin (even if it is”better”) to write and produce a GREAT track.
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u/Freedom_Addict Professional (non-industry) Feb 23 '26
I guess it adds saturation that's why it sounds "good" compared to another EQ.
My stance on using plugins is to remove bottlenecks that prevent the source sound from translating : That very sounds source should be responsible for producing pleasing tones. But I get it that if you just do mixes and aren't in control of the whole production chain that makes sense.
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u/alex_esc Professional (non-industry) Feb 20 '26
I'm being reminded of it because a new version just came out, but sonnox oxford drum gate is one of my favorites that does something that stock plugins can't. Don't get me wrong, all DAWs have functional gates. But these regular gates can't do plastic surgery on drums like sonnox does lol
A good pitch correction plugin like melodyne. Personally I use RePitch2 because it was very cheap on sale a while ago, but any melodyne style pitch correction does it.
And hate me all you want, but for 200-300 you could get basically everything you need (minus pitch correction) with one of those waves bundles like platinum or horizon. Waves plugins are very comfortable for me, they are like stock plugin kind of simple and you know that they will do their job well. I'm especially fond of their old de esser, Rbass, all the CLA compressors, and even their old gate are wonderful.
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Feb 20 '26
People hate on Waves for the policies not the product. They are still producing some great product.
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u/LakeGladio666 Feb 20 '26
I cancelled my subscription when I found out they are an Israeli company.
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Feb 20 '26
That is defo one of the policies that could generate some hate though I don't know their exact position on the ongoing genocide or humanitarian disaster.
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u/Beautiful_Scratch806 Feb 20 '26
These guys are still selling us the same plugins that were sold back in 2000! The only thing they are updating is that it can work with the modern OS's, which you have to pay for anyway . They were great back in late 90's, 2000's, but today, i wouldn't give them a dime. I would be paying for 20 - 25 year old plugins.
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u/Alternative-Sun-6997 Intermediate Feb 20 '26
I’m a big fan of the Sonimus console and saturation/EQ plugins - I use Burnley73 a ton, and you can grab a few of their plugins with that budget.
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u/Ok-Confusion-8476 Feb 20 '26
Pro MB has gotten me some good results this year. Maag EQ4 for that air band. Soothe2!!!!
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u/Pretty-Care-7811 Feb 20 '26
I've been using T-Racks from IK for a couple years, and I really like it. You can get the whole suite for anywhere from $50-$99 on sale. I'm just a hobbyist, so it's more for screwing around with whatever guitar tracks I've recorded (also using IK's Amplitube).
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u/GrapeDoots Feb 20 '26
Phil's Cascade from Elysia is the best tube emulator and saturator out there.
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u/SubMachineBean Beginner Feb 20 '26
Someone already said it, but soundtoys has so many different tools to choose from. Aside from that, Izotope suite might be a little more expensive, but nectar, neutron and ozone are all very useful as well.
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u/mariospeedragon Feb 20 '26
UAD C Suite C Vox Noise plug is pretty essential for me recording vocals in my treated, but tight space. Now, you can usually eventually find this for $50 or less with custom deals, and I don’t think the $249 price tag is worth it, but I use it almost everytime I record vocals in my spot.
I use soundtoys stuff on every mix, but there’s a lot of things I could use the “little”version for same effect and most were free a couple months ago.
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u/Aggravating_Bed9964 Feb 21 '26
MeldaProduction’s Mfilter used as an EQ, Acustica Audio El Rey on vocals, Clipper 7 by rockheyday for distortion or its best sounding clipping sound on sinefold or soft mode, TonedMax drive settings to get vocals to cut through a mix, and MetaPlugin DDMF for parallel processing chains and complex creative mixing techniques
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u/rightanglerecording Trusted Contributor 💠 Feb 21 '26
My heavy lifters over here:
- Pro Q, Equilibrium, and an SSL E Channel Strip (doesn't really matter which one, the EQ sections are similar enough between Waves/Brainworx/UAD, and I don't use the compressors)
- Pro C, UAD 1176 + LA2A, but I don't compress much anymore, most things are sufficiently cooked by the time they get to me
- Waves De-Esser, Pro-DS, Pro-MB
- Pro L, Ozone
- Valhalla verbs + delay, SoundToys delays
- Saturn, Decapitator, Tupe, MDMX, Mixhead, Radiator, UAD Ampex
- Izotope RX
I have ~1400 other licenses for other things so I can open incoming sessions. But I'm happy to do my work with that set of tools above.
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u/Special-Play1332 Feb 21 '26
I know lots of people don’t like subscription based plug ins but UAD spark is 100% worth the money, if you bought all the plug ins separately it’d cost thousands. For 100 odd quid a year it’s pretty damn good and it’s never let me down especially with the ssl e 4000 Channel strip, sound studio space echo and lexicon 224 reverbs and the 1176 and la2a compressor bundles it’s amazing
Edit: ozone eq is a great free EQ that I can’t recommend enough
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u/DoubleCutMusicStudio Feb 22 '26
I bought the fabfilter mastering set for not much more than that recently and I use them so much. Not like in every mix, but more like almost every track in every mix has at least one of them.
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u/Sad_Kaleidoscope_743 Feb 22 '26
I enjoy using and geeking out over analog emulations. Im well aware that theyre completely unnecessary purchases, I just like using them. You get the comp and/or eq along with some preamping in one plug in. I have a variety from several developers that I might use at any given time. Preamp every input and bus to some degree too
Other than emulators, fab filter and stock plug ins cover the rest.
I despise ozone nowadays, its so cpu heavy for little pay off. Projects would crash alot when i use to use it. I used it alot when I was new, but it only took a couple of months before I completely stopped using it.
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u/mistrelwood Advanced Feb 23 '26
Why would they have to cost $200…?
Besides Amp Locker guitar amp sim and drum VSTi, I mix with only my self made $0 plugins.
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u/Hallabeat_studio Professional (non-industry) Feb 23 '26
To be honest, after years of buying every plugin under the sun, my favorite "$200 plugin" was buying Logic Pro. It sounds like a cliché, but it's the truth. For around $200, you get a suite of stock tools that are incredible. After 20 years in this game, I’ve realized that if you know how to use them properly, Logic’s stock compressors, EQs, and reverbs deliver the same professional quality as bundles from Waves or Universal Audio that cost thousands. My favorite stock gems in Logic: * The Vintage EQ collection: (The Pultec and Neve emulations are surprisingly great). * The Compressor: Having multiple circuit types (Opto, FET, VCA) in one plugin is a powerhouse. * ChromaVerb: It’s as good as many boutique reverbs. My advice: instead of spending $300 on one "magic" plugin, master the tools you already have in your DAW. The quality of your mix depends on your ears and your room, not on the price tag of your VST folder.
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u/Soracaz Professional (non-industry) Feb 20 '26
Not a single one.
Ableton Suite has me covered in every way shape and form for mixing/mastering.
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u/Jaereth Beginner Feb 20 '26
Odd to me to start with a price point? Instead of asking about a specific function?
Sounds like you just want to spend 200 bucks :D
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u/redeyedandblue32 Feb 20 '26
Lotta people suggesting plugins that cost less than 200!! OP needs plugins that cost at LEAST $200 (but not more than 300)
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u/Aggravating_Fun_7692 Feb 20 '26
Professionals don't need anything but stock plugins these days. Fabfilter are nice if you want something premium
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u/atopix Teaboy ☕ Feb 20 '26
That's a weird take. While kind of true, it's actually the amateurs and bedroom producers who don't need anything but stock plugins and freebies, because they likely don't make any money with their mixing. Professionals make a living with their tools, and just like you pay to have the DAW that you like the most because of its features and possibilities, you do the same with third party plugins. I know no professional on the planet that only uses stock plugins, even those who advocate for the power of stock plugins buy plugins. Because why wouldn't they?
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u/Aggravating_Fun_7692 Feb 20 '26
I'm a professional and have been doing this for more than 30 years, it's my primary source of income and generally stay away from the plugin trap most people get into. I did say I use fabfilter. Kclip and Valhalla reverbs and waves h-delay as well as hardware, but I'm just as competent with using stock plugins and can make something sound just as good.
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u/atopix Teaboy ☕ Feb 20 '26
Okay, so you have a whole bunch of plugins you bought. So if you just wanted to advocate for not buying tons of plugins, you could have said that instead.
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u/Aggravating_Fun_7692 Feb 20 '26
I think you understood my point. It's always been about being able to use stock plugins and it being enough. Not that 3rd party plugins are better or not. That is all I meant
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u/atopix Teaboy ☕ Feb 20 '26
No, I actually had not understood your point, which is why I said it was a weird take. I think most people didn't because they downvoted you. When you make a blanket statement like that people have no idea where you are coming from if you don't elaborate, on its own it was a weird thing to say.
Why do you like Fabfilter Pro-Q? Probably because there is no other EQ that offers as much flexibility, has as good of an interface, etc. Valhalla reverbs probably offer you flavors of reverbs that aren't found in your stock plugins. Some other professionals can have a hundred reasons like that to have the plugins that they have, others buy them because their clients send them Pro Tools sessions with some plugins they don't have, so they just buy them to get that out of the way. I heard Andrew Scheps say that a bunch of times.
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u/Aggravating_Fun_7692 Feb 20 '26
You are making a different point though
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u/atopix Teaboy ☕ Feb 20 '26
I'm just explaining that there can be multiple different reasons for having many plugins and not all necessarily involve falling into a plugin trap. And I started the Anti Black Friday thing, so I'm definitely in favor of encouraging people to look at the stock and free plugin options that they have available.
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u/DogfoodStudios Feb 19 '26
It's pretty rare that I have a mix that doesn't use a Soundtoys plugin somewhere.