058 – Problems With Plug-Ins
Plug-ins can be wonderful audio tools to use, but they aren’t always seamless.
Written by Scott Adamson
I wouldn’t quite say that plug-ins are controversial, but it’s certainly an area of discussion among pro audio engineers — and usually people fall emphatically on one side or the other. I discuss more in the following post, but first check out this video:
First of all, let’s look at what exactly a plug-in does. Essentially, it’s a digital audio signal processor that can be inserted in the signal path of an input or output buss. It can be a multiband compressor, gate, de-esser, reverb, delay, pitch-shifter, distortion, specialized EQ, or any other kind of audio processing. In live sound, it replaces what a piece of outboard rack gear would do in an analog setup.
We generally think about plug-ins being third-party, though that isn’t always the case. But it is a great way to get the sonic characteristics of specialized audio processors that you won’t find built in to the console. However, using third-party plug-ins raises a couple important concerns: where is the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) hosted for the plug-ins and how is the licensing handled?
The licensing issue is dealt with pretty much the same way as it is in the studio world — most plug-ins require the use of an iLok, which is a small USB device that stores and manages licenses for digital audio software. The notable exception is Waves, who uses a proprietary authentication method that’s stored on a USB drive.
Obviously, carrying around small USB sticks with all of our licenses can be a problem. You easily can (and should!) make backups of show files for consoles, but licenses are restricted to one device. There are ways to download replacement licenses in case you lose them, but if you’re in the middle of a field for a festival with zero internet and your show is about to start, it’s tough to do.
Apart from licensing, we also need DSP to power the plug-ins. This requires a host computer with enough CPU capacity, which could be the console itself (all digital consoles are just a computer with a control surface); it could be an external computer with an interface; or the DSP could be hosted on a dedicated server if the processing demand is especially high.
When we add an extra computer to the setup, however, it adds risk. Servers crash. Connections can fail. If most of your mix is built in plug-ins and the server goes down during the show (I’ve seen it happen more than once), you’re in trouble.
For this reason alone, a ton of pro touring audio engineers disavow plug-ins all together and just use the built-in processing on their console. It comes down to the idea that a great engineer can get amazing results no matter what gear they’re using (even though a high-end console helps, for sure). In live music production, it can be more important to eliminate variables that have the potential to crash a performance.
This risk goes down when the DSP for the plug-ins is actually onboard the console — not on an external server. One of the consoles I use for touring is the Avid S6L, which allows you to run third-party plug-ins directly on the console. While the licensing can still be an issue (I always have a backup iLok), the risk is much less and I personally find the sonic variety I get from using plug-ins on that console is worth it.
The brand I’ve been using more than any other the past few years has been McDSP. They’ve been making plug-ins for a long time and their products are well known in the studio world. The Live Pack, which is available for the Avid Venue series of consoles, has been a fantastic tool for getting really polished mixes.
Currently, my favorite specific plug-in is their 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip, which lets you insert a huge array of EQs, compressors, and other specialized modules in a single insert point. It’s easy to switch between the options, each of which has its own sonic characteristics. It’s fun to have a studio’s worth of inserts all directly accessible in one plug-in.
Get real-world live sound mixing tips straight to your inbox.
Of course, there’s a ton of other plug-ins as well, and many engineers are really happy with the results they get when using them. After all, many of us are a little nerdy about gear and enjoy the variety, even if it’s all digital. While many engineers (myself included, sometimes) still carry around actual hardware versions of certain FX, dynamics processing, or other specialized piece of gear, it is certainly helpful to have the plug-ins available to use, store, and recall from a little USB stick.
