EZ Series from Toontrack is really great
I would skip EZ and use their Superior Drummer 3 version. If you are playing rock songs, MT Drumkit 2 will let you get tracking drums fast and it is FREE but Toontrack has the better interface.
EZBass is pretty good.
Ample Bass and Ample Guitar have FREE versions.
Helm, Dexed, and DSK The Grand, NeoPiano are free (I think) for synth and keys.
Sonatina Horn and Sonatina Trumpet and DVX Saxophone are FREE.
The best FREE reverb plugin I have used is OriRiver.
The best FREE delay plugin is Voxengo Sound Delay and can do stereo and ping-pong well.
The best virtual doubling plugin for guitars, synths, drums, etc is Waves Doubler and can also be used as a pitch-shifter/harmonizer.
I think I'm close to 1000 plugins now including some of those expensive commercial ones. Takes a few seconds for my DAW to load. LOL. Get comfortable with some of the free stuff first before committing to paid plugins unless you have to have it.
Get comfortable with some of the free stuff first before committing to paid plugins unless you have to have it.
Thanks. Have you found a free alternative to RapidComposer or similar than can auto-harmonize melodies, chord suggestions, chord detection and provide some help for song writing?
Thanks. Have you found a free alternative to RapidComposer or similar than can auto-harmonize melodies, chord suggestions, chord detection and provide some help for song writing?
I pretty much compose right in my track window. You have the bar and measurement lines in the window, and you can label and section your parts in that window. As for song writing, I just study songs. You mostly have only 3 parts to create; verse, chorus, and bridge. Only the verse and chorus gets repeated. Bridge is only one time and usually some sort of solo goes there (not necessarily a guitar). For an intro, if the song is in C Major then I would noodle a C Major scale or the minor Pentatonic as an intro. Outros can be an abrupt stop on the Chorus or a volume fade.
I don't know much theory. I use my ears to know what chords go together and I practice those progressions.
Get comfortable with some of the free stuff first before committing to paid plugins unless you have to have it.
This, and...
try the included plugins in any DAW you use first.
One of the great advantages of using the stock ones is that in-theory you should be able to pull up a project in 10 years' time and not suddenly find that (paid and free) plugins are missing / incompatible with a new OS, computer or DAW version.
This, and...
try the included plugins in any DAW you use first.
One of the great advantages of using the stock ones is that in-theory you should be able to pull up a project in 10 years' time and not suddenly find that (paid and free) plugins are missing / incompatible with a new OS, computer or DAW version.
And plugins in the DAWs might not look sexy like many third part plugins do but they are as good as any paid ones. If I could talk to my younger me today I would tell me to only buy plugins that do things the included plugins don't do. That would have same me some money for something better. 
Anyway about drum plugins it's all about your needs. If you want mixed ready drums, go with EZ Drummer. If you want to tweak, go with SD3.
