16.2 Five Types of Plug-in
Especially when you are new to digital audio, when you start to explore the world of plug-ins you might find yourself feeling overwhelmed, if not utterly confused.
Kind: concept (user-guide-section) Chapter: 16 REAPER Plug-ins in Action Source: REAPER User Guide v7.70
Especially when you are new to digital audio, when you start to explore the world of plug-ins you might find yourself feeling overwhelmed, if not utterly confused. Why? Because there is so much choice. Heaven help me, have I really got to understand all that lot to be able to use this recording caper? No, you don’t. Learn in steps as you go. Broadly speaking, many plug-ins can be thought of as belonging in one of five categories of plug-in (although there are exceptions). These five types are:
- Sound Shaping: these plug-ins affect the frequency (pitch) of your track(s). An example is EQ.
- Time-Based Effects: these plug-ins manipulate how your track(s) interact with time. Examples include Delay, Chorus and Reverb.
- Analytical Plug-ins: these display information, but don't in any way alter the sound of the track.
- Volume Changing: these are plug-ins that determine the overall volume or perceived volume of your track(s). Examples are Compressors and Limiters.
- Routing Plug-ins: these do not shape the sound of your tracks as such, but are used for tasks such as routing. Routing is generally beyond the scope of this chapter: we'll get to it in Chapter 17. And those exceptions? Well, some plug-ins cut across more than one of these categories, performing more than one job. An example is a Multiband Compressor, which in some ways acts as both an EQ and a Compressor. It would be way beyond the scope of this User Guide to teach you the science between these various plug-ins – that would require an entire volume in itself! Our objective is to give you an introduction to what REAPER offers in this area, and to show you how REAPER's own interface is used to control them.