The best tools are designed to fix a specific problem, and as anyone who has ever used a Swiss Army knife will know, tools that seek to solve every problem usually solve all those problems equally badly! The old phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" has some truth to it.

In this article, we highlight 10 plug-ins that seek to fix specific problems with a minimum of fuss. They may not be flexible, but that would be to miss the point. They do one thing, and they do it well.

Auto-Tune Auto-Key

Antares Auto-Tune Auto-Key is a plug-in that can identify the key of a piece of music by listening to it. On a recent podcast, I'll admit to being a little skeptical about the need for such a plug-in. I have a reasonable understanding of music theory and can figure out the key of most music fairly intuitively. And I've never understood how anyone can work on a piece of music without understanding what key it's in. However, I also acknowledge that many producers are happy to work in this way, and the question of what key someone is playing in only arises during tasks like vocal tuning.

The interface is very simple. Audio can be analysed in real-time or by importing a file, and the offline process will detect the key. That key information can be sent directly to Antares Auto-Tune. Quick, efficient, and solving a specific problem, it's exactly the kind of plug-in that belongs on this list.

Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate

I've been a longtime champion of this plug-in purely because it does something that I do regularly, and it does it faster and better than I can manually. It was the first plug-in I used that utilised an element of AI. So, rather than relying on differences in amplitude between the wanted signal and the spill I was seeking to exclude from my close mics on my drum kit, Oxford Drum Gate understands the difference in timbre between a kick, a snare, and a tom. Most of the time, I find I don't have to change any of the parameters at all.

It does more than this. It can generate MIDI triggers, and does so extremely accurately. So much so that I have generated MIDI triggers for kicks, snares, and toms all from a single mic recording of a drum kit. Impressive! A perfect example of fixing a problem that exists in everyday workflow.

Goyo Voice Separator

Another AI-driven plug-in, the issue of dealing with noisy or reverberant dialogue is one which is no longer exclusively a concern of post-production engineers. This plug-in, which is freely available as a public beta at the moment, is as simple as it is effective with three controls: ambience level, vocal level, and vocal reverb. The AI behind this plug-in achieves things that simply can't be achieved using conventional tools like expanders. There are more sophisticated tools available that offer more control and probably superior results, but Goyo wins on simplicity and availability. After all, at the moment, it is free.

Sound Radix Auto Align 2

The story goes that many years ago Nir Averbuch and Yair Chuchem were having a ‘code jam’ session in Nir’s studio, where between rounds of idea > code > test > code loops, Nir continued to work on whatever project he had on my desk at the time.

That’s when Yair saw Nir nudging tracks by hand, measuring delays on a sample level. Yair was surprised to hear that at the time there wasn’t anything that could help speed up this process and make it better. And that was their ‘ignition moment’ which inspired the original version of Auto Align. They put aside the project they were working on and went on to develop Auto-Align. That original version of Auto Align was the result, and it was immensely popular for over a decade.

However, it has been superseded by Auto Align 2, which takes a process that could best be described as automatic and reduces it to a single click. What's more, it extends the results beyond polarity and delay and introduces frequency-dependent phase rotation for superior results. Actually, I could have populated this list with nothing apart from Sound Radix products. All of their products follow this philosophy: Identify a problem that currently can't be adequately addressed and build a tool to fix that problem. Auto Align Post is possibly an even purer example of this philosophy, identifying as it does the problem of comb-filtering between moving mics in post-production and fixing them with a click.

Oeksound Soothe 2

Soothe 2 is a dynamic resonance suppressor that has proved so effective that it's gaining a status close to that of a must-have plug-in for many people. Unlike the plug-ins so far on this list, operationally this is a relatively complex tool. However, like all the best tools, it's extremely fast to set up, and you really don't have to work very hard for the results you're looking for in the majority of cases.

Working in Soft Mode is more forgiving than the original Hard Mode, and in practice, I find that on a track with issues sufficient for me to want to fix them using Soothe 2, just dialling up the Depth control often gives the results I'm looking for. The curve in the main display, which looks like an EQ, allows you to focus the process onto the areas of the spectrum that need it most. And while it has advanced features, I can't say I've investigated them thoroughly just because I really haven't needed to. Dial in the depth, target the process, check the results using the Delta button, job done. A fantastic tool.

Accentize Chameleon

Matching the sound of an overdub or fix with the original take, especially if it's happening on a different day or in a different space, can often be tricky. Match EQ functions have existed in EQ plug-ins for a long time, although often matching EQ by ear is effective and can be faster. The same can't be said of matching reverb. If there is a significant difference in the reverb between takes, particularly on dialogue, then matching it manually can be time-consuming and difficult.

Chameleon from Accentize can match the reverb on an existing recording by analysing the reverb on that original recording and synthesising a match from its reverb engine. In our test, we found this to be both simple and remarkably effective. This is a gift to dialogue editors, but we found it useful more widely than that. Chameleon offers a fix to a previously difficult problem and definitely deserves a place on this list.

Synchro Arts Vocalign

Vocalign has been around for a very long time. Its ability to manipulate the timing of one track to make it fit another has been invaluable, both for tightening ADR and also in many guises in music production. The current version, Vocalign Ultra, is better, simpler, and faster than previous versions, and that core functionality remains unchanged.

Double-tracked vocals, impossibly tight backing vocals, huge guitar parts, super tight brass - the uses for this plug-in extend far beyond post-production. You can do a lot of this tightening work manually in your DAW, but if you try Vocalign Ultra, you'll use it.

Nugen Audio LM Correct

Anyone who mixes to loudness specs understands how, with practice and a well-set-up template, it's not difficult to mix close to your loudness target. However, anyone who has found themselves tweaking levels two or three times to get exactly on target will know how useful a plug-in that can automatically tweak your near-miss mix to be bang on spec can be.

LM Correct is that plug-in. As long as you're close, it's a one-button job. I mixed podcasts for years using just Avid Pro Limiter. The first time I tried LM Correct, I asked myself where this had been all my life and why I hadn't tried it sooner. It's simply a must-have.

Metric AB

This plug-in is designed to help with the most nebulous task of all: Making sure that your mix, in spite of all the detailed work you might be doing, sounds good in the broadest sense.

Using reference tracks is something you will find is standard advice online and elsewhere. Find a track you like the sound of, which would make a good reference against which to judge your own mix, and compare your mix to it regularly throughout the mixing process. Sounds simple? Well, only if it is convenient to swap between your mix and your reference and, crucially, if your reference is loudness-matched against your mix. Metric AB covers both of these things and much, much more. We frequently describe it as the most important plug-in you'll use in your mix.

Krotos Igniter

We are now straying away from simple tasks and into plug-ins that make difficult things easier. Krotos has built a reputation for designing tools that make Foley tasks fast, simple, and accessible by incorporating elements usually found in software instruments. Matching the sounds of vehicles to picture is one such task, although other Krotos products apply the same logic in different scenarios.

In this case, all of the sounds of a vehicle can be performed in real-time, much the same way as a real Foley artist might - engine noise, gear changes, and other associated vehicle sounds. I don't do this kind of work, but when I first saw these Krotos products in use, I thought they looked like the most tremendous fun.

That would be to miss the point, though. For the people who use these tools professionally, they represent immense savings of both time and money. Krotos Igniter is definitely deserving of the final place on this list.

What plug-ins that solve specific problems would you have included in this list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!