Plugin Alley

You Compressed It… So Why Doesn’t It Feel Punchy?



When I coach students through their mix?

I see the same pain on repeat:

Drums that look punchy on the meters

Vocals that technically sit right

Bass that’s compressed to hell and back

...and yet?

The mix feels tighter then Michelle Pfeiffers in her Catwomen Costume

No movement. No glue. No punch.

Here’s the missing piece:

Compression isn’t volume control.

It’s emotion control.

It’s the difference between a kick that hits you in the ribs…

vs. one that just kinda shows up for work and clocks out early.

Most producers squash the life out of their mix — not because they suck,

but because no one ever showed them how to shape with compression, not just tame.

Want punchy drums?

🎯 Try this instead:

Attack: 30ms

Release: 100ms

Transients stay punchy.

Energy breathes.

Your mix stops sounding like it gave up halfway through the chorus.

That’s just one move from The Punch Map — my cheat sheet for compression that slaps, not smothers.

Inside, you’ll get:

The 4 core compression “feels” (and when to use each)

Dead-simple settings that work right now

A no-fluff guide to shaping punch, glue, warmth — whatever the song needs

Settings that work even when your ears are cooked and your session’s 48 layers deep

This is for the producer who’s done asking:

“Why does this sound worse after compression?”

👇[Grab The Punch Map Compression Cheat Sheet — Free]👇

pluginalley.com/the-punch-map/

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

Plugin Alley

Something in your mix is hiding. And it's wrecking everything.


You ever bounce a track thinking “pretty solid,”

...then listen the next morning and want to crawl under your desk?

Same.

It’s not that your ears suck.

It’s that your mix is stuffed with sonic junk you didn’t know was there.

Here are the 7 frequencies quietly wrecking your clarity:

200–400Hz = Mud that makes everything blend into gray

400–900Hz = Boxy, cheap, garage-band energy

500Hz–2kHz = The clutter zone — no one wins here

2kHz–4kHz = Harsh and shouty (hello ear fatigue)

5kHz–10kHz = Sibilance that hisses like a snake

100Hz–250Hz = Sounds full... until it just sounds weak

50Hz–150Hz = Boomy. Unfocused. Drowns everything.

Try this tonight:

Load up your EQ. Solo a track.

Now sweep through those trouble zones with a narrow cut, not a boost.

When it gets worse? You’re close.

When it clears up? Bingo.

Dip it gently — and watch your mix breathe.

Or better yet — snag the Session Unclogger Cheat Sheet I made for this exact brain-melting spiral.

It’s the frequency-by-problem map I wish someone gave me 10 years ago — instead of telling me to “trust my ears”
(rude).

👇[Grab The Session Unclogger Mixing Cheat Sheet— Free]👇

pluginalley.com/the-session-unclogger/

4 months ago | [YT] | 6

Plugin Alley

I Thought My Tone Was “Fine.” Then I Heard It in the Mix.



Soloed? Fine.

In the full track?

Flat. Fizzy. Like someone microwaved a guitar.

So I did what any spiraling producer/guitarist does:

Bought another amp sim.

Stacked 3 EQs.

Lost 2 hours and my will to live.

And still ended up with the same lifeless tone — more disappointing than when I told my parents I wanted to make music for a living.

Then I found the chain.

The one that made my DI sound like it cost money — without spending a dime.

Try this tonight (or scream into a pillow):

Dynamic EQ first. Slice the mud before it hits the amp.

Add saturation. Think paprika, not BBQ sauce.

Amp sim ON. Cab OFF.

Load your IR in a real IR loader (not the sim). It matters.

Bonus Tip #1:

If you’re EQing like you’re peeling wallpaper off your tone?

You probably picked the wrong IR.

Spend 5 minutes finding one that doesn’t fight your cymbals.

It’ll fit in the mix better — and you’ll feel less rage.

Bonus Tip #2:

Same IR not hitting in the chorus?

Duplicate your track.

Swap the mic position.

More lift.

Less “why does this feel weird?”

I dropped the full signal chain — plus my go-to plugin picks — inside the Wall-of-Sound Cheat Sheet.

👇[Snag the Cheat Sheet Free]👇

pluginalley.com/the-wall-of-sound-sheet

4 months ago | [YT] | 3

Plugin Alley

The rule I followed that made my mix worse


I used to think I had to “balance” a mix before I could make it exciting.

Turns out? That was the thing killing the excitement.

Let me break a rule. (Even one of my own.)

When I first started mixing, I had no idea what I was doing.

Faders all over the place. No gain staging. Zero plan. Just the hope it would all work out.

And the result when I’d finally print the final mix? Chaos.

But buried in that mess of a mix?

There were always magic moments.

Little pockets of magic where I’d think:

“Wait. I did that?!”

Then I got “better.”

Learned to balance “properly”.

Learned to follow the rules.

Learned to do it right.

And my mixes got… fine.

Clean. Controlled.

But the goosebumps? Gone.

The sparks? Dead.

Because I wasn’t mixing for me anymore.

I was mixing for what I thought I was supposed to do.

So I tried something backwards:

I skipped the rules — and started at the outro chorus.

The part I wanted to feel like a finale.

I set a timer.

Muted every plugin.

Just faders, pans, and what felt good in my gut.

If a tom fill didn’t hit?

I automated it — just for that moment.

Then let the track snap back like nothing happened. (Thanks Automation!)

Everything changed.

The mix wasn’t a to-do list anymore.

It was a story.

Scene by scene — outro to intro.

I wasn’t fixing the song.

I was conducting it.

And the real shift?

I stopped asking “What’s wrong with this?”

Because the second I asked that — my brain turned into a crime lab.

Hunting flaws. Finding “issues.”

Mixing scared.

So I flipped it and started asking:

What’s working?

What do I actually love?

What’s getting in the way of that?

I wrote those answers down.

No negative notes.

No shame. Just signal boosts for the stuff that gave me chills.

Suddenly the mix didn’t feel “almost.”

It felt mine.

No new plugin.

No secret technique.

Just more me in the mix.

The crazy thing?

That messy, go-with-my-gut moment in the outro chorus — it made the whole mix feel like mine again.

And that’s when I realized:

It’s not about following the “right” steps.

It’s about building a mix that actually excites you.

Which — spoiler — is exactly what the Finish Faster Framework helps you do.

The whole system is built to break the perfection loop and help you:

Start with your ears, not your rules

Mix backwards from the part that gives you chills

Write down what works (instead of trashing your mix into oblivion)

If your mix keeps feeling “meh but clean”? You don’t need more polish.

You need more you.

If every mix feels like it almost works… but never hits the way it does in your head?

If you're tired of tweaking the soul out of something that used to give you chills?

👇 Grab the Finish Faster Framework now — and stop balancing the life out of your tracks. 👇

pluginalley.com/the-finish-faster-framework-lp/?co…

6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 13

Plugin Alley

Your snare reverb is wrecking your punch. Here's why.


Most people slap reverb on the snare mic.

Which is great if you want your mix to sound like it’s playing from under a wet blanket.

Here’s the move that fixes it:

Route your drum reverb through the snare sample — not the raw mic.

Why it works:

Less wash, more glue

Punch that doesn’t disappear

A room sound that feels like part of the mix — not some effect you added out of guilt

One tiny reroute. Massive payoff.

And it’s just one of 20+ plug-and-play moves inside the DrumFire Tricks Vault — part of the full Mix Like You Mean It Bundle.

If your drums almost hit but never quite stick the landing… this is where they finally do.

Here’s what’s inside:

✅ The Finish Faster Framework


A 7-day workflow that unsticks your mix, shuts down overthinking, and makes done feel obvious.

✅ The Overthinker’s Survival Kit

Built for the “why am I still tweaking the snare 3 days later?” spiral. This is your reset.

✅ The DrumFire Tricks Vault

Pro drum cheats to make your mix slap without sending you back to Mix_v12_FINAL(FINAL)_pls_work.wav

This is what turns “it’s close” into it’s done.

👇 [Grab the Mix Like You Mean It Bundle — Only 48 Hours Left] 👇

pluginalley.com/mix-like-you-mean-it-bundle/?commu….

7 months ago | [YT] | 5

Plugin Alley

You just dropped $$$ on plugins for better tone… and your tone still sounds like a toy.


Here’s what’s really going on:

When I coach students on guitar tone, I see the same setup every time:

Amp sim dialed in

IRs stacked like a buffet plate

Gain cranked

EQ carved like it’s Thanksgiving

And yet?

The DI still sounds brittle. Thin.

Like it’s cosplaying a pro tone it didn’t earn yet.

Truth time:

Your tone problem isn’t your plugin.

It’s your picking hand.

80% of your tone lives in your wrist.

If your picking’s weak, your tone is too — no matter how boutique your chain is.

🎯 Quick fix:

Set a metronome.

Down-pick your lowest string for 90 seconds.

Rest 10. Repeat twice.

You’ll feel the snap come back.

That’s your tone waking up — *before* your plugins even show up to work.

Bonus move:

Use a strobe tuner when you practice.

Not just to tune — but to spy on your attack.

- Notes go sharp? You’re digging in too hard.

- Flat? Not enough bite to land the pitch.

It’s real-time tone truth.

Less guessing. More clarity — from the hand up.

This is just one move from my **Wall-of-Sound Cheat Sheet** — built for producers who want their guitars to punch, not apologize.

No need to drop $300 on another amp sim — this makes your free ones punch like they cost it.

The tone cheats I wish I had before I thought I needed new gear to sound legit.

👇[Grab the Wall-of-Sound Cheat Sheet — It’s Free] 👇

pluginalley.com/the-wall-of-sound-sheet/?community….

7 months ago | [YT] | 6

Plugin Alley

You sidechained the kick… but the mud stayed. Here’s why.


When I coach students on low end.

There’s a pattern that shows up again and again:

Kick perfectly sidechained to the bass

Bass EQ’d into submission

Lows cut, subs tamed, reference track locked and loaded

And still?

The mix feels heavy and cluttered but you can’t figure out why.

Here’s the truth most people miss:

Even with pristine low-end control…you can still get wrecked by the murky middle.

200Hz–400Hz.

That zone where bass, guitars, vocals — even drums — all go to wrestle for space.

It’s where your clarity goes to die.

Not the lows.Not the subs.The low-mids.That’s where the real mud lives.

🎯 Quick fix to try:

On your bass track — scoop 2–3dB at 250Hz.

Then A/B it in context.

Feel that?It just breathed.

Bonus move: low-pass that bass gently around 25-45Hz.

Kill the ghost-rumble that’s doing nothing but smearing your mix.

This is just one of several mix fixes inside my Mixing Cheat Sheet — made for those “why does this still sound like trash?” moments.

No fluff.

Just moves that work when your ears are cooked and your deadline’s laughing at you.

👇[Grab the Cheat Sheet — It’s Free]👇

pluginalley.com/the-session-unclogger/?community=Y….

7 months ago | [YT] | 8

Plugin Alley

This screw-up still haunts me.


The tone was perfect.

Raw, wild, locked in like a pitbull on a steak.

No polish. All punch.

We’d been tracking for days, six songs deep, guitars layered like lasagna.

Two amp heads. Two cabs. A whole forest of mics.

It sounded glorious.

Then the artist flew left for tour.

And we needed to tweak the tone.

“No problem,” I thought.

“We’ve got the DI. I’ll just reamp it real quick.”

Cue horror music:

No notes. No photos. Nada.

Just me, chasing a ghost tone through the hallways of my own frustration.

And here’s the worst part.

It wasn’t a freak mistake.

It was a system failure.

That was the moment I stopped winging it.

Stopped scribbling on napkins and hoping they'd survive the drummer’s coffee.

I built a real solution — one that’s saved my sessions more times than I can count.

The No-Miss Session System

Every mic move, knob twist, amp setting, and mix tweak —logged, searchable, and backed up.

If you’ve ever lost a great tone and wanted to scream into a SM57…

Trust me, this’ll save your mix (and your sanity).

✅ Track everything
✅ Cover your ass
✅ Recreate magic without guessing

👇 Grab The No-Miss Session System👇
pluginalley.gumroad.com/l/PA-TSTWB?community=This%…)

Your future self will high-five you.

— John

7 months ago | [YT] | 4

Plugin Alley

Your compression isn’t broken — but your approach probably is



You followed the rules.

So why does your mix still sound like it's breathing through a paper bag?

Because compression doesn’t work in isolation.

It works in context — and that’s where most mixers go wrong.

Let me break down the 3 silent mix-killers:

1. Parallel Compression = The Fake Punch Trap

You solo the vocal. Smash it. Blend it in.

Then wonder why everything feels off.

Here’s the problem: you dialed it in soloed.

But compression reacts to the full mix not the isolated signal.

Now you’ve got fake punch and real chaos.

2. Multiband = The Wobble Maker

It promises surgical control. What you get?

Boomy low end
Jittery highs

Because if your attack and release aren’t dialed for each band or worse, if you solo’d the whole time your mix ends up flapping like a loose sail in a storm.

3. Mix Bus Confusion = The Hidden Culprit

Compression is a domino chain:
Track → Group → Bus → Mix Bus → Master

And if your vocal’s parallel comp is fighting a multiband lead comp, and they both
hit your mix bus glue comp?

You’re not mixing anymore you’re refereeing a bar fight.

If you want your compression to actually work and not wreck your mix you need to hear it in context.

That’s why I made the Compression Cheat Sheet, it walks you through the key decisions that actually matter.

Stop guessing attack/release

Start setting compressors based on sound, not chartsFinally get punch, glue, and control without the pump and wheeze

Your mixes will thank you.

-John

👇Grab your free compression cheat sheet👇

pluginalley.kit.com/compressioncheatsheet?communit…

7 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 9

Plugin Alley

🎄🎁Free Plugin Gifts Below 🎁🎄





I have been keeping an eye out for free plugins and I decided to compile a list of plugins free for the holiday season.

So here is a list of the one’s I’ve found that are pretty sick and available for free for a limited time:

​Nembrini Audio - Cali Reverb Modern High Gain Guitar Amplifier​

Nembrini Audio make some great sounding plugins and have a silent night holiday giveaway going on. For limited time you can get there Cali Reverb Modern High Gain Guitar Amplifier ($29) for free. The Cali Reverb Modern High Gain Amplifier plugin is modeled on Mesa Boogie Rectoveb* 50 watt head.

👉 bit.ly/PA-NembriniAudioCaliReverb

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​Acustica Audio - TH2​

Want to add some epic phat synth bass to your tracks without paying for a virtual instrument? Acustica Audio heard your wishes for the Holidays and have dropped TH2 as a free download for limited time.

👉 bit.ly/PA-AcusticaAudioTH2

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​
Universal Audio - Pure Plate Reverb (Expires December 24th, 2024)​

Universal Audio have decided to finally join in on the free plugin holiday festivities and you can pick up their Pure Plate Reverb for free right now.

👉 bit.ly/PA-UADPurePlateReverb

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iZotope - Neutron 5 Elements (Expires December 31st, 2024)

iZotope just dropped the updated version of their highly loved Neutron 5 and have teamed with KVR to offer a free copy of Neutron 5 Elements to all registered KVR users. If you’re not a user, create an account follow the prompts and you’re all set.

👉 bit.ly/PA-KVRNeutron5

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Eventide - DeBoom, Sheen Machine (Expires December 31st, 2024)

Eventide is giving two plugins that are processors behind their SplitEQ plugin, for limited time you can get DeBoom ($49) and Sheen Machine ($49) for Free.

👉 bit.ly/PA-EventideDeboomSheenMachine

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Newflanged Audio - OBLITERATE​

The company behind one of my favorite Mastering/Mix Bus plugins; Elevate from Newflanged Audio just dropped a new distortion filter OBLITERATE.

👉 bit.ly/PA-Obilterate

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Arturia - Augmented MALLETS Play (Expires January 2nd, 2025)

Just dropped a free instruments collection called Augmented MALLETS Play. Augmented MALLETS Play fuses the percussive and harmonic charm of the marimba, vibraphone and celeste with cutting-edge synthesis - giving you immediate access to a diverse range of authentic, hybrid, and contemporary mallet sounds.

👉 bit.ly/PA-ArturiaAugmentedMallets

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Baby Audio. - Warp​

Baby Audio. just released the updated version of the highly addicting Transit with Transit2, if you haven’t picked this plugin up or demo’d it you’re missing out of making really cool production transition and effects easily with a few clicks. Transit2 has been so well received that Baby Audio. have dropped a free copy of the Warp module included inside of Transit2 so people can have fun warping their production (seriously one of the funniest plugins I’ve used in a long time).

👉 bit.ly/PA-BAFreebies

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Cradle - State Machine Playtime​

It’s a free synth that makes toy and playful sounds.

👉 bit.ly/PA-StateMachinePlaytime

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PSP Audioware - Chamber Reverb​

It’s a chamber reverb, pretty straight forward 😅.

👉 bit.ly/PA-PSPChamber

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Fractal Audio - Cab Lab​

This used to be a paid plugin but Fractal Audio the kings of digital guitar signal processing have decided to make their Impulse Response loader completely free of charge. Cab-Lab 4 with DynaCab™ makes it quicker, easier, more intuitive, and more fun to achieve great tone, allowing you to customize and mix cabs, mics, and more. An Impulse Response, or “IR” can be thought of as a sonic “capture” — essentially the “fingerprint” of a tone over time.

👉 bit.ly/PA-FractalAudioCabLab

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Free Mixing Course - Plugin Alley

A step-by-step guide to creating a mix from start to finish, but it’s actually transferable knowledge. You'll take a supplied sample track and transform it into a mix using mostly free software in 8 detailed lessons.

It's a great place for brand new mixers to start.

You’ll learn essential mixing skills alongside a selection of tried-and-true mixing tips, and when you’re done, you’ll be well on your way to making the mixes you deserve.

👉 bit.ly/PA-TMBFBFreeCourse

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Fine Classics Plugins - Subtle Spaces​

This is an intuitive new reverb plugin perfect for sound design or adding depth to any source material. Dive deep into 15+ unique rooms to place your tracks in - or experiment with 40+ presets. The plugin also includes width to improve your stereo image even more, and a pre-delay to adjust the rooms to suit your song perfectly.

👉 bit.ly/PA-SubtleSpaces

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Now if you’re hell bent on spending money here are a few no brainer deals I’ve found.

$10 deals

​Tokyo Dawn Labs Kotelnikov Gentlemen Edition
👉 bit.ly/PA-TDR-Kotelnikov-GE

​Tokyo Dawn Labs VOS SlickEQ Gentlemen Edition
👉 bit.ly/PA-TDR-VOS-SlickEQGE

​Tokyo Dawn Labs Molot Gentlemen Edition
👉 bit.ly/PA-TDR-MolotGE

​Tokyo Dawn Labs Limiter 6 Gentlemen Edition
👉 bit.ly/PA-TDR-Limiter6GE

​Softube Transient Shaper​
👉 bit.ly/PA-ST-TShaper

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$19 deal

​Sonnox Claro EQ​
👉 bit.ly/PA-Sonnox-ClaroEQ

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​
$29 deals

​Sonnox Inflator (Text Mix Winner, one of few plugins that makes everything it's used on sound good)
👉 bit.ly/PA-OxfordInflator

​Trackspacer (Side chaining cheat code)
👉 bit.ly/PA-Trackspacer

​VocalSynth 2 (vocal effects cheat code)
👉 bit.ly/PA-iZotope-VocalSynth2

​Clearmountain’s Spaces (based on Bob Clearmountain's workflow for Reverbs)
👉 bit.ly/PA-Apogee-Clearmountai...

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$39 deal

​BFD3 (Andew Scheps enjoys it)
👉 bit.ly/PA-BFD3

​Sonnox Drum Gate​
👉 bit.ly/PA-SonnoxDrumGate

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Bundle Deals

​Waves Silver Bundle - 16 plugins
👉 bit.ly/PA-Waves-SilverBundle

​Waves Gold Bundle - 45 Plugins
👉 bit.ly/PA-Waves-GoldBundle

​Waves Platinum Bundle - 67 Plugins
👉 bit.ly/PA-Waves-PlatinumBundle

Welp, that’s all for now!

-John

11 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 35