The MUST-HAVE's in Music Production?

[GDPunkRock]

Hey guys, just wanna get everyone's opinions on what they think are the most important softwares/plugins for music production. Basically, WHAT DO YOU use when you are creating your own music?

Feel free to include reasons as to why you think the stuff you use are MUST-HAVEs as well as what do you use it for(eg. Style of music - R&B,Rock,etc.) and do try to stick to only the SOFTWARE side of things!

 

[Cheez]

Genre - orchestral/film, pop/contemporary, jazz

In order of importance (other than the DAW software):
1. Kontakt 4 (won't mention libraries here - too many)
2. SD 2
3. VSL

Kontakt is the single most important plugin in my setup. Almost all the sounds (90% or more) I use come from Kontakt libraries. My VSL is mainly for certain solo orchestral instruments (oboe, flute, classical guitar, soprano sax) - if my music calls for them. I also have Kong Audio but have not done too much Chinese music lately - so they are waiting to be used (I have a few Chinese pieces up my sleeve...). Absynth, FM8 etc are nice but not essential for me - I hardly use them at all. I have lots of other plugins but they sit around doing very little/nothing. Examples are Massive and Battery - never used them but they are there as part of Komplete.

For the mixing/mastering side of things, after upgrading to Sonar X1, I need few other extra plugins since the Prochannel in Sonar X1 has excellent EQ, compressor, and tube saturation. I won't consider them as additional plugins since they are integrated in Sonar X1 DAW environment. I still use some which can be important (but not absolute necessary, and in order of importance):

1. SPL TwinTube for certain tube saturation with a different colour than the one that comes with X1
2. Guitar Rig 4 if I'm using guitars (in fact almost always if I'm using guitars)
3. NuGen Audio Stereoizer 3 (quite crucial for certain solo instruments to expand their stereo field)
4. PX64 Percussion Strip (part of X1) - use that quite often.
5. Flux PureLimiter II - for touch ups at the end

 

[kongwee]

Depending on which DAW you chose. I'm Logic user, so the effects I just used what is given. I only buy some Airwindows plug-ins for emulation stuff. I got download IK amplitude free. I got Guitar Rig that come from NI Komplete Elements.

I buy a lot of EXS and Kontakt sound library. Imperfect Sample(piano), AscousticSample(piano), Native Instrument (string and brass), Best Engine (world), Play(MOR), and many more can't remember.

 

[mcuosver]

I use reaper as my daw,bro. mostly i do song writing(rock,metal) by putting down a drum track with EZDrummer Lite, then rec guitar after that using a Zoom G1U. the processed guitar quality is not that nice cos the zoom's processing isn't 2011-esque(can't even rmbr how old isit), but it does better than me lining it directly from an amp. all,in all, i find everything i use very good for doing rough demos of songs onto a PC,then you can share it with ur bandmates,etc.