A COLLABORATIVE POST
WRITTEN BY BOOM BOX POST
In an industry that is constantly evolving, it can get overwhelming trying to keep up—especially for those just starting. At this point we have done a couple of blog posts spotlighting our favorite audio tools. For this installment of “BBP’s Favorites”, I asked our team which plugins they couldn’t live without. Whether they are stock plugins or third party, if you don’t already utilize these picks hopefully our love for them can convince you to.
Also, make sure to check out Parts 1 & 2 below!
BBP's Favorite Audio Tools Pt. 1
BBP's Favorite Audio Tools Pt. 2
MondoMod
Tess | Supervising Sound Editor
I really like “MondoMod”. It adds fluctuations and textures to effects and it’s really fun to use when designing. I used it to make extraterrestrial lightning strikes out of wood cracks for Invader Zim: Enter The Florpus and I use it all the time to make “digital” sounds by switching the waveform to square and turning the BPM way up. It’s a really easy-to-use design plugin and it’s definitely one of my favorites.
Vari-Fi
Katie | Sound Effects Editor
One plug-in I use all of the time is “Vari-Fi”. This stock plug in has some very specific uses, but is definitely one of my most frequently used plug-ins for sound effects editorial. It creates a speeding up or slowing down effect using a combination of pitch and speed. I use this effect when I am designing a sci-fi or magical things. For example, if I'm making a sci-fi ray gun, it allows me to make the ray gun sound like its powering up or powering down using the steady I create.
Pitch Shift Legacy
Jeff | BBP Co-owner / Supervising Sound Editor
One of my favorites is still “Pitch Shift Legacy”. It’s by far the plugin I use the most. Click here to check out a blog post we did comparing different pitch plugins. It’s a super useful article for anyone debating the best pitch plugin option for them.
I also really love Waves “Doubler”. Just yesterday, I need a lot of “dark whispery” vocal treatment options as an ASAP mix fix. I pulled this up, and they loved a tweaked version of the Dark Fader preset.
EQ3 1-Band
It sounds simple, but my most used plugin is easily the "EQ3 1-Band” EQ from the built-in ProTools Audiosuite. A lot of files we have in our library have a good amount of low end, and anything with a considerable amount of low end tends to not play so well in our younger preschool-aged shows. So I always have this plugin handy with a gentle high pass filter.
Dehumaniser 2
Jessey | Sound Effects Editor
Probably one of the most useful tools for vocal creation that is out there. It is my go to when I start thinking about signature sounding vocals. It is especially valuable for vocals that need to be performed by using a plugin and creating those vocals live. You can turn the human voice into everything from a cyclops right on down to a gremlin or lizard boy. So it is definitely a tool I keep at the ready for vocal creation.
Make sure to check out our awesome Designing Creature Vocals With Dehumaniser 2 blog post that talks all about this crazy cool plugin!