When there are so many Black Friday deals, it’s easy to miss or lose track of the offers that might be best for you.
In an effort to help you hone in on those deals that are really worth your attention — and your money — I realised that the best strategy this year is ultimately to highlight those products that we would happily recommend at any other time of the year.
So don’t lose your head this week chasing countless “bargains” on things that you probably wouldn’t be considering without all the wild discounts; instead, use this bonkers sales period to strategically stock up on the actual best-in-class products, those that will actually deliver and have the most significant impact on your ability to make great music now and into the following year(s), and that will provide you the most fun and satisfaction while doing it!
- Arturia FX Collection 5 — 50% OFF It’s really not an exaggeration to say that in 2024 this is one of the only true “possibly all you’ll need” bundle of effects plugins, covering almost everything for either creative or purely technical mixing applications, from saturation and distortion (Dist COLDFIRE is a favourite) and compression, to classic and modern reverbs, delays, creative analogue filters, and the newer bus processing additions. Any of these plugins could be considered in the upper echelons in their respective categories, with Arturia’s combination of excellent GUI’s, thoughtful implementation of controls and additional advanced features that can be hidden if you’re not wanting to get bogged down in details. Arturia increasingly excels at demonstrating how to effectively balance the sonic power of analogue modelling with the flexibility and ease-of-use features that the digital environment affords.
- iZotope Ozone 11 Advanced — 59% OFF Over the last few versions, Ozone has really become one of my most trusted and most used plugins – partly because, with the Advanced version, you get all of the processing modules as a full suite of separate plugins. This means I’ve become accustomed to using individual Ozone modules right from the beginning of a creative project, for mixing and sound design as much as for its official use designation as a “mastering” tool. At this price, it’s excellent bang for your buck.
- Fabfilter — 25% OFF ENTIRE RANGE Including the gold-standard EQ and my current favourite reverb, Fabfilter plugins all have the magical quality that they are straightforward enough for beginners learning the basics of EQ or compression, but also accommodate and encourage some of the most advanced processing techniques and workflows there are, seeming to grow with you as your skills expand. These plugins are as essential as any for serious producers. A great starting point is actually the Fabfilter Essentials Bundle which consists of three compressor, equaliser and reverb plugins (Pro-C, Pro-Q, Pro-R).
- Eventide Blackhole — 72% OFF Being masters of both pioneering time-and-pitch-warping algorithms and digital reverb units, it follows that Eventide’s Blackhole is an all-time favourite for cosmically cavernous reverb effects. There are also great deals on their H9 plugin series range and the full Anthology XII bundle.
WARM UP WITH SOME OF THE BEST SATURATION PLUGINS:
- XLN Audio — 50-55% OFF their range, including three of our favourite plugins from recent years, RC-20 Retro Colour, the innovative and incredibly useful and inspiring sample library-organiser-instrument XO, and the newer and super-inspiring Life creative sampler.
- Output Thermal and Portal — 50% OFF Thermal has gradually become my go-to distortion and saturation plugin, often beating out class competitors like Arturia Dist Coldfire and Rift 2; Portal is excellent for granularly mangling a sound in ways that are almost always exciting and inspiring while still retaining a satisfying degree of intelligibility that means the results are still useable in an actual project! With both plugins, there is an air of professional-level control and flexibility, and the presets are extremely tastefully curated and well organised (never underestimate the value of actually good presets that you can navigate easily).
- Minimal Audio Rift 2 — 50% OFF Next-gen dual-stage saturation and distortion, particularly good for electronic music.
- IK Multimedia Amplitube 5 — 64% OFF Guitar amp sim with a host of options and effects, a sonic playground whether you’re working with a guitar or sound designing anything else!
- Brainworx Black Box HG-2 and HG-2MS — 91% OFF One of the best analogue-modelled tube saturators, now at a ridiculous price that everyone should take advantage of. The HG-2MS version adds mid/side functionality, but either version will provide some excellent warmth via the simple but deceptively subtle dual-stage controls.
INVEST IN SOME OF THE BEST SYNTHS:
- Kilohearts Phase Plant — 50% OFF Digital modular Swiss-army-knife, and a particular favourite among pro sound designers.
- Arturia Pigments 5 — 50% OFF Excellent combination of synthesis engines from virtual analog to wavetable to granular and additive, intuitive modulation system with plenty of visual feedback, and even one of the best built-in sequencers in the game. Best overall synth in the game in 2024? Very possibly.
- GForce AXXESS, Minimonsta2, impOSCar3 — 50-60% OFF Some of the most fun and most physical-sounding analogue synth emulations.
AWESOME SECRET WEAPONS:
- HY-Plugins Sequencers Bundle — 40% OFF Making techno this past year, the sequencers from HY-Plugins have been a true secret weapon. Each one uses a different sequencing method, from chained blocks to Euclidean circles generating fluid polyrhythms, and some are based on iconic hardware sequencers from the likes of the Roland 303 acid generator to the mighty MAQ 16/3 and Dark Time units from Doepfer. Dedicated sequencer units are a ridiculously fun way of exploring composition, parameter modulation and beat programming, and with plugins this deep and flexible you’re guaranteed to hit upon your own unique ways of using them (and generating inspiring happy accidents and track-starting riffs by the bucketload). Recommended.
- Cableguys Snapback — 40% OFF Cableguys new plugin is a collaboration with electronic music artist BT, and is an incredibly useful tool for creatively layering and enhancing drums with a particular emphasis on messing with the perceived timing of the transient/start of the combined hit to make things groove just as you want. It’s a cool concept based on a trick that we’ve had to do manually for years, so it’s both a useful timesaver utility tool while also opening up a host of new and fun creative possibilities. Check out Dan Worrall’s demo video on Snapback for more.
- Devious Machines Duck, Texture and Infiltrator 2 — 25% OFF Some of my most-used plugins, all of Devious Machines range is excellent. Duck long ago replaced LFOTool as my go-to envelope shaper, and Texture is one of those secret weapon creative tools for adding character and weight to sounds in a unique but totally intuitive and satisfying way. Meanwhile Infiltrator 2 is arguably the very best multi-effect plugin out there. All recommended!
