Universal Audio's insane Rocktober software sale just landed, and it includes 5 plugins I think every home producer should have in their arsenal

A laptop with the Universal Audio Culture Vulture plugin running on it

(Image credit: Universal Audio)

As the line between analog and digital gets ever more blurry, it’s not just amp modeling where you can get the benefits of legendary analog gear in the comfort of your home studio. Universal Audio’s plugin recreations of consoles and outboard gear offer a much lower-cost way of adding the professional touch to your recordings, and with plugins starting from just $24, they’re now even better value for money in the Rocktober sale.

The Prime Day guitar deals will be launching tomorrow, so if you want to up your recording game then this is a great sale for an early deal. The sale will last the whole month of October, which will take us right up to the point where the Black Friday guitar deals start landing, but there’s no guarantee that the plugins currently on offer will stay discounted.

Save big in the Universal Audio Rocktober sale with plugins starting from just $24

I use a variety of different plugins when I’m mixing, but Universal Audio makes up the majority of them. Sometimes I use them to recreate the sound of the hardware I use in the studio, whereas at other times it’s for getting that injection of analog warmth from a production done entirely in the box. Five of my favorites are on sale starting from just $29, so here they are in no particular order:

Another plugin I use on pretty much everything, the Oxide Tape Recorder is a regular customer on my drum bus, adding punch and low end warmth to the overall kit sound. It’s super easy to use unlike an actual tape machine, meaning you can apply it effectively with a minimum of fuss. It’s great for getting that final bit of warmth onto any instrument, and is really effective used on buses to help glue everything together.

Another bit of outboard gear I’m very familiar with, the Avalon BT-737 Tube Channel Strip can be characterised with a single word - clean. Seemingly no matter how hard you push it them the preamps still remain incredibly transparent, delivering a glossy sheen to whatever signals you feed it. With preamp, opto-compressor, and EQ I use it a lot for vocals, but it’s versatile enough to take a shine to pretty much any instrument.

The API 500 series is one of my favourite bits of outboard in the studio I work in, so when I’m at home the EQ plugin is one of my top choices. An engineer friend of mine described it as ‘revealing’ and I can’t put it any better than that. Even when you start getting into boosting frequencies in the realm of 12dB it still somehow manages to sound good, and despite being initially confusing, I find the two-tiered knobs really quick and easy to use once you get used to them.

While I don’t have an actual one of these to use, it doesn’t stop me from putting the SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor on pretty much all of my productions. It works amazingly on a drum bus for adding punch, as well as on the master bus for helping add that final touch of cohesion in the mix-down phase. I love how it’s really easy to get a good sound out of it, and the built-in presets give you a strong starting point even if you’re not an expert in compression.