Don’t let the marketing fool you. The plugin won’t “make your song sound like a hit.” You will.
Look, I get it. I’ve been there more times than I care to admit. My plugin folder is a digital junkyard of impulse purchases and “limited time” deals that seemed absolutely essential at 2 AM.
You’re working on a mix. The drums sound flat. The vocals need... something. You know what you want to hear, but you can’t quite get there with what you’ve got. So you open another tab. Just to see what’s out there. Just to check.
Three hours later, you’ve watched seventeen YouTube videos comparing vintage console emulations, you’re convinced your entire mix has been sabotaged by inferior EQ curves, and you’re one click away from dropping $200 on a plugin bundle that promises to solve all your problems.
This is Pluginitis.
It’s the musician’s version of thinking a new pair of running shoes will make you faster. Spoiler alert: they won’t. Your legs will.
The Logic vs. Emotion Cage Match
Here’s what’s happening in your head when that “Add to Cart” button starts looking real good.
Your Logic Brain—the prefrontal cortex, if you want to get technical—knows the truth. It knows you already have four compressors that do basically the same thing. It knows the problem isn’t the plugin; it’s that you haven’t learned to really use the ones you have.
But then there’s your Emotion Brain—the limbic system, that impulsive little bastard—and it’s screaming in your ear. “I’m stuck! I’m frustrated! This new saturator will fix everything! Look, it’s 40% off!”
Guess which one usually wins when you’re tired, stressed, or creatively blocked?
The impulse to buy isn’t about the plugin. It’s about escaping the discomfort of the work itself. Clicking “Buy Now” feels like progress. Sitting with a muddy mix and actually solving it? That’s hard.
The Triggers Are Everywhere
We’re not living in some neutral creative bubble. We’re swimming in a digital ocean specifically designed to make us want things we don’t need.
The Comparison Trigger: You see another producer’s plugin collection. Holy shit, they have everything. Suddenly your setup feels like amateur hour. You start making a mental shopping list.
The Frustration Trigger: The mix isn’t gelling. You’ve been staring at it for three hours. Instead of stepping away or trying a different approach, you go hunting for the magical plugin that will add that “professional sheen” you’re missing.
The FOMO Trigger: “SALE ENDS TONIGHT!” “70% OFF FOR THE NEXT 6 HOURS!” These emails are designed like surgical strikes on your Logic Brain. They create artificial urgency to bypass rational thought entirely.
And here’s the thing—sometimes you do need a new tool. I’m not saying never buy plugins. I’m saying most of the time, we’re buying solutions to problems we haven’t actually diagnosed yet.
How to Get Your Logic Brain Back in the Driver’s Seat
You can’t stop the marketing. But you can stop yourself from becoming its victim.
The 24-Hour Rule
This is nuclear-grade impulse control, and it works.
When you feel that hot rush to buy, stop. Put it in the cart if you need to. Then close the tab. Walk away. Go play your guitar. Make dinner. Watch a movie. Sleep on it.
Come back in 24 hours and ask yourself: “Will this plugin actually help me finish the song that’s sitting on my desk right now?” Not the imaginary perfect mix you’ll make someday. The actual project you’re working on today.
Nine times out of ten, the answer is no. The other one time, at least you’re buying it for the right reason.
Shop Your Own Plugin Folder
Before you buy anything, force yourself to spend 30 minutes with the version you already own.
Want a new reverb? Spend half an hour with the stock reverb in your DAW. Want a vintage compressor emulation? Dig into that free one you downloaded two years ago and never really learned.
You’ll be amazed how often this works. Not because your current plugins are magic, but because you finally spent time actually learning what they can do.
I learned this lesson the hard way at Dick Grove School of Music. Dick used to tell us, “Put your instrument down and you’ll become a better musician.” Sounds backwards, right? But what he meant was: expand your thinking. Don’t let your technical limitations define your musical vision. The same applies to plugins. Don’t let your collection define what you think is possible. Learn what you have first.
Unsubscribe Like Your Creativity Depends On It
If you were trying to quit drinking, you wouldn’t hang out in a bar. So why are you subscribed to seventeen plugin newsletters?
Be ruthless. If an email makes you feel like your setup is inadequate, unsubscribe. If a YouTube channel makes you covet gear instead of making music, stop watching.
Curate your digital environment the same way you’d curate your physical studio. Keep the things that help. Remove the things that distract.
A Reality Check From the Old Days
I’m old enough to remember real studios. There weren’t reverbs and compressors for every track, much less multiple compressors for every track. And yes, I’m a “boomer.”
You know how many plugins I have scanned in my DAW right now? 568.
You know how many I actually use? Maybe 20, okay 30, but you get the idea.
I’m waiting for the flames from the youngsters who need 128 tracks to comp vocals. Go ahead, I can take it.
But here’s the thing—those limitations forced you to make decisions. You had to commit. You couldn’t endlessly A/B between seventeen different compressor flavors because you only had a few compressors in the entire studio and you learned to make them work. You got good at mic placement because you couldn’t fix things with a magical “de-room” plugin later. As Rick Beato, or maybe someone else said, “before there was ProTools, there were pros.” That’s the truth. We used to say, you can’t fix it in the mix, and in reality, you still can’t… really.
I’m not saying those days were better. I love having options. But somewhere between “one hardware compressor per studio” and “568 plugins I’ll never use,” we crossed a line. The tools stopped serving the music and started becoming the music. Or worse, they became the excuse for why the music isn’t finished.
The Bottom Line
The plugin companies want you to believe the magic is in the code. It’s not. It’s in your ears.
I’ve heard incredible mixes made with stock plugins. I’ve heard terrible mixes made with $10,000 worth of boutique software. The difference wasn’t the tools. It was the person using them.
So close the browser. Open your DAW. And let’s actually finish that song.
The gear is just gear. You’re the musician.