I get a lot of questions about various steps in the mastering…

If you dip your toe (or your whole leg) into mixing yours or someone else’s tracks, you’ll quickly learn that you can spend hundreds or thousands on plugin emulations without batting an eye. But do you have to spend a fortune to get a quality sound and improve your mixes? In a word … no! Here are a few essential plugins to get you started, including a free secret weapon you may not know about. With a few exceptions, they are all under $100, with most under $50 or free.