Plugins & Gear

Fewer than you think, as long as you know them well. Serum and one quality mixing bundle like FabFilter or Soundtoys will take you a long way.

Add a good reverb, since that's where stock plugins fall furthest behind, and Valhalla's are some of the most affordable. Your DAW's stock EQ and sampler are fine for plenty of everyday work. Past that, add plugins one at a time, when you can name the job the new one does that your current tools can't.

Some are. Paid plugins tend to pull ahead in specialist areas like reverbs and synths, where a company spends years building one thing.

Some free tools still earn a permanent spot in professional sessions, like Softube Saturation Knob and Xfer's OTT. And a cheap plugin you know inside out will do more for your mixes than an expensive one you've barely learned, so buy slowly and learn each one properly.

Yes. Our processing chain runs saturation first, then reductive EQ to cut what you don't want, then compression, then additive EQ for boosts.

Saturation adds new frequencies, so you cut after it. You shape the sound before compressing so the compressor reacts to what you're keeping and doesn't flatten the boosts you add at the end.

Once you understand why the order works, you can break it whenever you have a reason. Building chains like this for every sound in a mix takes up two full modules of the Hyperbits Masterclass.

The one you'll open every day and learn inside out. The techniques that make great records carry across all of them, so learning its shortcuts and piano roll until the software gets out of your way matters more than the logo on the splash screen.

Ableton Live and Logic Pro are the most common picks for electronic music, and FL Studio is a strong choice for pattern-based beatmaking, with free lifetime updates. Logic only runs on Mac, so on Windows it's really between Ableton and FL.

A computer that can handle big sessions, and a pair of good studio headphones you get to know well.

Monitors and an audio interface come next. Before you trust those monitors, put some basic acoustic treatment in the room, because an untreated room lies to you about the low end. A microphone only matters once you're recording vocals or instruments.

Past that point, reference tracks you know by heart will do more for your mixes than another piece of gear.