roman.i wrote: ↑Mon Aug 26, 2019 1:19 pm Hello,
I'm searching for a decent quality effects bundle for FL studio (Mac),
for home mixing and sound design, for electronic music.
(I don't like the sound of built in plugins in FL).
I was looking at Waves bundles and Voxengo.
Is there any other affordable good quality bundles.
I have around $150 to spend on this.
Thanks
The two best bundles 'on the market' at this price point are:
1: Toneboosters - Essentials and Bus Tools.
2: Melda - MFreeFXBundle.
That will set you back just a little less than $150.
With those two bundles you will have enough power at your disposal to do fully professional mixes (when you learn how to use them all).
The Toneboosters bundles are all you need really, and the interfaces are much easier to grasp than the Melda ones, but the Melda bundle is a nice compliment with not that many redundant tools.
For example, with Melda you get a nice Convolution plugin for all those IR reverbs, mics and there's even a 'Sound Design' section in there as well with included IRs.
The reverb in the toneboosters bundle is very under-rated, even though it is widely respected. It is a really superb reverb that is often overlooked probably because we are drowning in reverbs and it doesn't have a fancy interface. You can create very realistic spaces with this plugin. It's a real workhorse.
You are kind of missing out on fancy delays as well with these bundles, just keep that in mind, though the TB Module provides a basic and usable one that does the job. You can always compliment this area with the plethora of free VSTs available. I understand you don't want to waste time hunting around here, but I'm sure some others can recommend you the best of the free stuff around right now. Have a look at TAL for both excellent reverbs and delays. https://tal-software.com/products
And don't forget that if you have FLStudio you have the Fruity Convolver, which can be used as a reverb as well.
Personally I like the Image Line FX plugins and I even bought the Juice Pack to use outside of FLS.
As for the Toneboosters bundles, you get what is probably the easiest to use Track Compressor on the market, coupled with what is arguably the best Bus Compressor on the market - they are that good.
Also you get what is probably the easiest to use Track EQ on the market, coupled with what is arguably one of the best Dynamic EQs on the market.
The Gate is highly usable as well. It takes a while to learn but it's very powerful for a lot of stuff (not all Gates work on all program material).
The Barricade Limiter is something of an 'industry standard' and you probably won't need much more than that for a while.
And the ReelBus plugin will add a lot of colour and depth to things with its amazing 'emulations' of tape machines for things like subtle saturation on the mix bus. But don't overlook Ferox when you want some not so subtle saturation/distortion - that thing is an absolute beast, but it can also be very subtle as well when you learn how to dial it in.
Plus you get some great metering tools for working out your levels in the DAW. And many other great plugins on top that you will end up using too.
As for the Melda bundle, for me, it really shines in the Tools department. The analyser is really great and it includes a Sonogram (which once you get used to using you might end up using more than conventional analysis methods). It really paints a picture you can understand in a way that no other method does.
There are so many other useful tools in there that I won't bother going through them, but suffice it to say, you are pretty much covered on the fundamentals for mixing and sound design. Some tools you may not use that often, but many you will.
If you are doing sound design, you may want an easy way to capture stuff as you experiment. Melda has a sound recorder in there to help you out. But it's probably redundant for you as Edison can be used for the same purpose. But if you venture out from FLS, unless you have bought the Edison VST, you won't be able to use it outside of FL.
Also, I would say the Modulation plugins in the Melda bundle are quite excellent as well. For sound design, there isn't much you couldn't do Modulation wise with these. Amazing stuff.
Really, there may be some overlap between the Toneboosters and the Melda bundles, but they compliment each other far more than they detract.
Mixing and sound design is about so much more than just slapping on yet another reverb and whacking on yet another fancy delay. Those things are used a lot for sure, but they are the icing on the cake, not the cake itself!
I would avoid plugins by Tokyo Dawn or Klanghelm for the moment, not because they aren't excellent world class plugins (they are) - I own pretty much all of their plugins they have made in fact - but because they are not the easiest to use. I don't think anyone would argue with that.
The Toneboosters and Melda track Compressors have visual feedback and you can dial in what you want in seconds, ditto for their EQs (the Melda EQ is also exceptional). The others? Not so much.
Plus you will be getting much more bang for your buck with those two bundles. The Tokyo Dawn and Klanghelm stuff is very very fairly priced, but they can't compete with the sheer number of highly usable and broad range offerings I've outlined here. They are much smaller operations and this is not a criticism, of course.
Off the top of my head (and having a quick glance at my VST directory), you get something like a couple of dozen plugins with the Toneboosters bundle and a few dozen plugins with the Melda bundle.
That should keep you going for a while.
If you learn to use what is on offer there, you'll be much better placed to make more informed decisions later with regard to the other plugins you really need, not want.
You will end up saving money in the long run.
If all I had in my desert island studio was these bundles I'm recommending to you, I'd still be a very happy bunny. They're the first things I throw on a new machine when I build it (other people's machines, VM's, etc.).
I also own most of the other plugins that Toneboosters have done - the EQ and the Reverb are exceptionally good. And I own quite a few of the Melda multiband plugins as well on top. But my argument still stands.
For $150 I don't see how you could do better.
And both Jeroen (Toneboosters) and Vojtech (Melda) provide the best support 'in the industry'. They may take a couple of days to get back to you, but they will go as in-depth as needs be to sort out any problems you might have. They'll even help you out with stuff you are just experimenting with. They both have great passion for what they do.
Get the Toneboosters and the Melda bundles. You won't regret it.
