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You don’t need the latest and greatest plugins to get a polished-sounding mix. We show you how to get the most from standard EQ and dynamics processors

It’s a common misconception among new producers that anyone making decent-sounding music must be using hundreds if not thousands of pounds’ worth of high-end plugins. The reality is that many artists simply use their DAW’s stock mixing effects. The producer who knows how to get the results they want from basic equalisers, compressors and gates is much more likely to make quality mixes than the producer with a ton of expensive plugins but only a shallow understanding of how to use them. In fact, having too many plugins in your arsenal can be counterproductive: those who only have access to limited tools tend to learn to use those tools far more comprehensively.

So, rather than spending a fortune on new effects, we recommend mastering the ones you already have to hand in your DAW first. Not only will this help you to make better mixes now, but it’ll also enable you to make more informed decisions as to what types of sounds and features you require if and when you do decide to upgrade.

In these walkthroughs, we’ll show you how it’s possible to get the most out of the most basic EQ and dynamics processors.

We’ll reveal how some plugins can be used for more tasks than you might imagine: for example, EQ can make it possible to boost the overall level of a signal