Favorite plugins for design?

[Phrequencies]

Hey folks! Figured I'd start the conversation here a bit.

We all have preferred EQs, reverbs, synths etc...

But what's everyone's favorite plugins for design? When you want to make something that much more unique...

My personal favorites are MMorph from Melda and Whoosh from Tonsturm. Both of these give me super unique results that I feel I can truly make my own.

Let's hear it!

[mattesque]

I feel like it's hard for me to answer because everything I use is really part of the design. I heavily EQ things with the Brickwall filters in ProQ3, so much that I think that's part of my design stages.

And then it's so project dependant. On Don't Starve I didn't use any synth sounds at all (except for one robot voice) but now I'm using my eurorack set up for creation and processing ALL the time.

I do like the various Dimension D emulations for adding a little something at times. Audiothing has one, Arturia has one.

I really wish I could get my Boss Tera Echo pedal in a plugin form.

Arturia Tape MELLO-FI has been getting used a bunch of dirty stuff up.

Echoboy Jr and Tape Echos with really really short delays and high feedbacks for a metalicness.

[TheMightyZQ]

Oooo yeah. Big topic and wildly different answers depending on context/need. I do a lot of transient enhancers, dopplers, saturators, delays, etc...but my main tool is definitely Soundminer/Radium. Allowing me to perform both sound generation and processing real-time is where it's at (for me at least).

Also, highly recommend checking out Nick von Kaenel's list of free/paid plugins for sound design that he posted on Twitter:

[Goa]

I use filterfreak a lot plus mVocoder.
Analog Channel also adds a bit of color that helps make it more identifiably "mine" as I process all the sounds I make with it.

As for free plugins, I'd say Pecheneg Tremolo. I love that plugin, and I've used it for years.

[CattonArthur]

This is super basic but I've been obsessed with the bitcrusher in the Kilohearts Essentials pack the last couple days. It doesn't do anything fundamentally different from other bitcrushers I have, but something about it is getting me to use bitcrushing in a more creative way. It gives you really easy and fine(not stepped) control of the sample rate so I end up using it on the more extreme end and doing more modulation with it. I've used it as a shortcut for getting a good "synth" bend/rip/whatever by just making the sound with my mouth and then playing with the sampling frequency. I used that as the basis for a bunch of 90's anime style sounds. I use the Logic and Plogue bitcrushers all the time to make stuff sound retro and lofi, but Logic's is stepped and Plogue's isn't set up well for easy noodling. The Kilohearts one is a party bitcrusher. Bonus points: it was free

[Gautam Ramdas]

As of the moment, my favourite plugin is soundhacks free ++pitchdelay. It’s a granular delay and pitch shifter that’s great for making evolving textural sounds and works amazingly well with reaper’s parameter modulation.

[david guinot]

Reaktor/Vital and Melda Free Suite would be my go-to when designing stuff! Throwing them everyday on stuff Im not a big buyer though, my most recent plugin purchase (a year ago)was Manipulator, which I still use from time to time, but its for more OTT moment. Guess it depends as well on current project right ?

[ScottGilmore]

Very project dependent of course but I'll add the below developers as I find their suites of plug-ins to be top-notch and a bit more 'specific' (for lack of a better term) with reagards to usage and sound design potential.

Valhalla DSP - https://valhalladsp.com

Unfiltered Audio - https://www.unfilteredaudio.com

Freakshow Industries - https://freakshowindustries.com/

Output Audio - https://output.com/products

[swiitsh]

Wow, I didn't know about Freakshow industries, and after trying their plugins a little, I must say I'm a big fan. + Their designs are very fun. Thanks for sharing Scott !

[nickdymond]

I kinda love Audio Damage's Discord for layering in pitch-shifted variations underneath things. Sometimes a full 12-24 semitones down and then piped into the delay/reverb modules, but othertimes just a few cents in either direction for some swirl. It can be dirty and murky in a Martin Hannett sort of a way and it's been really useful for a couple of dirty/murky projects I've been on the past few years.

+1 to Dimension D emulations (I use ERS' one, distributed by DDMF)