How To Organize Vst Plugins & Overcome Audio Plugin Addiction - A Serious Conversation

I have come across many times that a lot of friends & subscribers here, music production & audio enthusiasts in general spend a lot of time collecting sometimes thousands of audio plugins they will never use & end up just taking space out from computers & clouding decisions when you produce music by analysis paralysis with having too many options.
In this video I want to have a conversation with you about this topic, reflect a bit on this behavior, understand it & share how I organize my plugins in a practical manner to avoid getting lost in this.
Let me know if you have this type of behavior or how you organize your vsts if you haven't.

8 Steps Mixing Checklist Using Free Plugins
How To Make More Music In 30 - 60 Minutes A Day
Home Recording #1 Law

0:00 Intro & about
1:36 my FREE stuff for you
2:32 Vst plugin addiction cases overview
6:33 Where could this come from? My theory
8:25 How to stop falling in this trap
9:45 Why am I telling you this
11:27 How I organize all my plugins
20:19 Your thougts & comments on this topic
21:46 my FREE stuff for you

➤My template
Guitar Stuff
Bass stuff
Drums
EQ
Compressor
Transient shaper
Saturation/Disortion
Problem Solver
Reverb
Delay
Special FX
Utility & Productivity
All in one
Limiter
Clipper
Mastering
Sample replacement
Synth/Pianos

➤Contact me for business, questions, mixing, collab, lessons

[AmnerHunter]

8 Steps Mixing Checklist Using Free Plugins
How To Make More Music In 30 - 60 Minutes A Day
Home Recording #1 Law



0:00 Intro & about
1:36 my FREE stuff for you
2:32 Vst plugin addiction cases overview
6:33 Where could this come from? My theory
8:25 How to stop falling in this trap
9:45 Why am I telling you this
11:27 How I organize all my plugins
20:19 Your thougts & comments on this topic
21:46 my FREE stuff for you

➤My template
Guitar Stuff
Bass stuff
Drums
EQ
Compressor
Transient shaper
Saturation/Disortion
Problem Solver
Reverb
Delay
Special FX
Utility & Productivity
All in one
Limiter
Clipper
Mastering
Sample replacement
Synth/Pianos


➤Contact me for business, questions, mixing, collab, lessons

[stevenhowell]

I've definitely been guilty of spending more time watching VST reviews and downloading them than actually using them to make music. I've managed to correct this as a new year's resolution. One thing that helped is that I reorganized the VST collection in my DAW into about 10 categories of 10 plugins each: the stuff I thought was most useful or most unique. A bunch of stuff that I didn't like I deleted. And the rest I left in my DAW but tucked away in an "Extras" folder. So they're there, just in case, but 95% of the time I don't need them, and stick with my fave 100

[RussPaladino]

Amner, this post proves what a valuable asset you are to composers and musicians, and also what an honest, decent person you are. I think many of us come to th these conclusions about plugin addiction eventually. In the last several months, I decided to only download what inspires me. Also, I feel it’s important to support the freebie authors if I’m using the plugin, even if it’s only a $5 or $10 donation. Thank you for dealing with this issue in a Frank and open way. Thanks for all that you do.

[michaelmilburn]

Hi Amner, I think collecting plugins also actually comes from not knowing how to use them to get the most out of them. If someone says a compressor is great for x or y task, then it's easy to think - hey I wish my drums sounded better, maybe this will do it; but it'll just be another compressor that you might not know how to use to make the drums sound the way you want. Alot of audio stuff is that way. It's easy to think a new plugin might fix a problem when in reality we as users don't know how to get the sound we want no matter what series of plugins we use. We've not learned to use them properly or our ears aren't good enough to identify what's wrong with our mixes. At least I think that's part of it for me. I also just like trying things out for fun, but often I just don't know what I need to make a track sound better so we try lots of different things.

[cmd_f]

Yup. I think I'd qualify.
I can mostly get by and write music, but I always, always check for new ampsims and drum plugins. Instead of loading facebook I check all the common plugin sites and YT frequently.
I'm itching to try Kazrog's new Ampcraft plugin, even though I have way too many sims to even use regularly.
I am working on this. I uninstalled half the plugins I don't use and that helped quite a lot.
When I try something new I make a case for keeping or deleting it. That's probably the only way to not get overwhelmed and still not use most of these new plugs.
I also had plugin burnout last year where I was sick of seeing new things pop up. I felt almost claustrophobic. Had to step away from watching gear reviews for a while and focus on other things.
So yes, plugin hoarding is totally a thing.
excellent video as always!

[HenkSwanevelder]

Thx Amner for this. As a fairly new producer in this space, I discovered quickly 2 things: a) 1 can get quickly "trigger happy" & hoard a ton of plugins, and end up using only a vert small %; b) after some while, the real benefits, advances & special features of plugins are forgotten, or 1 can't remember which plugins can do certain things. I've also discovered that, especially plugins you don't use often, you forget how to use them properly. Therefore I, as with your folder system, also try to save a tutorial, as well as it's user manual, systematically & easily accessible in the same folder system. 1 should, however, take care to still avoid hoarding plugins, as a method described above can cost you a lot of hard drive space, wasted time & energy. However, keep up the good work - I really enjoy your channel. Lots of blessings....!!!!

[mikeblack]

Great subject to cover, I missed the live event but sympathise and empathise with those affected by this issue.

[nigelstewart]

Thank you again, Amner; you do such a good job.

Also, I would like to compliment you on the way that you communicate - always so encouraging, supportive and sensitive.

I have stockpiled a huge stack of VSTs over the past decade and more, but I take a slightly different stance:

1. Firstly, from the very earliest days, I have kept a spreadsheet as a kind of database of everything that I have acquired. It's automated, so different aspects are colour-coded to make it straightforward to track what I've got and where it's archived and, if it's installed, where I installed it.

2. I view these VSTs as a palette that I can 'dip into' for inspiration. This means that I am always being stimulated to develop my work in directions that I might not naturally follow.

Once again, thank you for both what you are doing and for the way you are doing it.

[Arriscraft]

I am one them Amner, I have lots of plugs too.But the one I use the most is acoustic voice by nenbrimi .Your site rocks man ! Rob

[SuperJonSluggo]

Wow, I totally thought it was a joke...but I can see how it could get ya!

[pelennorDSP]

I have around 2000 plugins and counting, I definitely am a plugin addict.

I'm conflicted as to whether free or paid plugins are a more serious issue .. paid plugins puts a natural limit as to how many you can afford to buy, but you can collect every free plugin you have drive space for, and that can cause overwhelm, indecision as to which one to use, etc...

[marcelmiagi]

Thank you for making this video, Amner. You shared some great advice and I know a lot of us can use some guidance like what you've shared. Thanks for all the great content. This is one of my favorite TY channels!

[gisellechacon]

I had to edit my original comment. It never occurred to me that plugin addiction could cause people suffering. That's sad. Addiction is serious. Having watched this I do feel a little better about my messy 850 plugin collection. I do love collecting- especially free stuff that's often SO GOOD! But it also helps to weed out the stuff you don't use. Thanks for the organizing tips!

[Klangraum]

Very good topic. A good restaurant can be recognized by the fact that the menu is manageable. This also applies to the plugin collection.

[FC-xczy]

You can install the VSTs themselves on the computer, but the presets and samples on a separate SD drive. Get an SD for your recordings as backup as well.

[resington]

Only ever bought drum plugins and some guitar plugins/IR packs. Don't think I've ever bought anything else. It is hard resisting marketing but so far I've held my ground haha.

[Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

This is like your dealer telling you to cut back on the dope! 😁
Can't wait for the next free plugin video Amner! 🙂👍

[wakeforldmusic]

I also had problems with this. Now I only use stock plugins and maybe 3 plugins that are free.

[mlwsf]

It's a bit like Dad's junk drawer. He would never throw anything away because he never knew when he was gonna need some random thing.

[erkamau]

I would create insider Reaper folders of categories, as shortcuts, and for criterias I would consider: sound quality, CPu weight, neutral or emulation colour, ergonomy and priority. If i needed a comp for a lead sound Is more importante than a Comp for a reverb or a pad, for example, so for each category i think It could be enough 4 plugin, an to have a second option we can consider a total of max 8 plugin for every classe, might be 10 or 12 only for guitars. I would add preamp, monitoring and metering categories to complete the panorama. 👍Ciao