I have recently obtained a nice Line6 POD UX2. Which means I can record guitar. I had my hopes all up on getting stuff done for OCR and whatnot and mooching off my free plugins for mastering and whatnot.
Unfortunately, I think I got a little overconfident.
I don't think I have what I need for good mastering and mixing just yet. I have the plugins CLAS, TLs Maximizer, and the entire Classic series, and they aren't helping much. Or I'm just not using them right.
Regardless, could you all possibly share with me any other free plugins I could use for my mastering/mixing? I certainly am no professional with these things, but I spend every hour of my day trying to learn how to get my music done right (and building up my instrumental skill of course) and am really serious about this. I want to make good, professional quality music as quickly as possible; I want to be productive for once and get shit done. I don't care how hard it would be to learn how to use any of the stuff you share with me; I'll spend as much time as possible trying. On a side note, try to keep these plugins free or cheap (because I have little to no spending money for the time being) and then show the recommended, pricey substitute after. If I DID have spending money, what would be the price range for everything (EQ, Compresser, Limiter, etc.)?
If I may also ask: How did you get as good at Mixing and Mastering as you did? Is there any real secret? Where could you have possibly learned the tricks of the trade and what makes which tick? And don't tell me to go to the Production thread; I want to hear what you, personally, did with your time to figure things out.