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 by attenuating peaks in its frequency spectrum, a compressor can be used to control and enhance transients by turning up its attack time, and a gate can be used to tighten up percussion samples.

By following these guides you’ll increase your understanding of these simple but powerful effects, and improve your ability to mould sounds into the shapes you desire. With this knowledge you’ll be able to achieve a far greater variety of results than you would relying purely on presets, and you’ll get better overall mixdowns as a result.

We’re using Cubase, Live and Logic but the processes can be used in most DAWs. All audio examples are at FileSilo.

> Step by step 1. Shaping drums with a gate in Cubase

1 Noise gates were originally invented to reduce the overall level of noise in multitrack analogue recordings, but they’re still useful in the digital age for, amongst other things, shaping drum sounds. Create an audio track in Cubase and drag Clap.wav onto it.

2 This clap has a lot of reverb on it – in fact, it’s so long that the sample ends before the reverb tail has finished! This clearly won’t do. To fix the issue, click the Insert tab in the Inspector, then the triangular disclosure button on the first slot. Select the Gate effect from the Dynamics folder.