are there any famous music producers or artists that use only stock plugins?

everytime i watch an "in the studio" kinda video of people making a living at music, when they open up their DAW, there would be hundreds of 3rd party plugins, hosts of sample/loop libraries, and a ton of preset banks, from people making DAW tutorials to stars like armin van buuren.

 

I wonder who makes music with only stock plugins.

Why is that relevant ? While confining yourself to anything *might* spark your creativity (after all, we're good at problem solving, and having only a monophonic synth with only one oscillator and no pitch bend might trigger that instinct), in the real world it is more about getting the job done with excellent results in usually less than luxurious time. So why punish yourself in following a dogma when you know you can get what you need easily and fast with synth X from another company ? After all, Logic itself is a conglomerate of in-house developed and externally bought plugins, with design concepts spanning 20+ years, as this screenshot will easily illustrate:

 

And, if they're making commercial music "for" a particular market, they've got every incentive to "do it like their colleagues do." As the corny old song goes, "They've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there."

 

(The cost of all that stuff, like the computer itself, is, of course, a tax-deductible "business expense.")

 

Still, the cornucopia of musical sounds, effects and filters that is available in today's Logic Pro X is "--uge!!" You can certainly produce excellent music using nothing more than this [vast ...] musical toy-box. It still astounds me just how much you get, and how little Apple charges you to get it. (Plus, there are lots of other great programs that you can use. For instance, I also like to use Audacity, which is both very powerful and absolutely free.)

 

For decades and centuries, composers, arrangers and musicians were also making "excellent music," with infinitely less options at their disposal. "Use what you have, as creatively as you know how, and get busy."

thanks for the awesome replies! much appreciation!

Also, some of the included Logic plugins used to be (excellent and expensive) "3rd party" plugins, Apple bought those companies and included that stuff in Logic.

Alchemy was (and still is) state of art powerhouse synth.

in the real world it is more about getting the job done with excellent results in usually less than luxurious time. So why punish yourself in following a dogma...

I fundamentally disagree with the comment about calling using less (or stock) plug-ins a 'dogma'. Doing this can be a radical time-saver in itself. I am a big fan of the saying "Just because you can, doesn't mean you must". Everyone of us falls into the trap of needlesly over-complicating things at one time or other. Recently I have radically simplified recording guitars by going back 25 years in my life to recording with Boss and DigiTech effects pedals through a baby Marshall again. Does it sound any 'worse' than with plug-ins for days? Honestly? No. Is it any quicker? Hell, yes!

 

For decades and centuries, composers, arrangers and musicians were also making "excellent music," with infinitely less options at their disposal. "Use what you have, as creatively as you know how, and get busy."

I totally agree!

look at the demos that come with logic (ie the billie eilish song, foster the people, etc).

 

i personally use very few logic plugins; i use what i like, and appreciate having so many great synths, effects to choose from. but when i first got into logic, i did some projects with just the stock plugins, and that was a great challenge. then i looked for things that more-suited my needs, and now live on those plugins; i prefer the fabfilter plugins (for example), and the synths i choose to work with.

 

whatever works. but one could definitely never leave the default space in logic, and make great music.

i've tried many popular plugins like sylenth 1, serum, vahalla room, and to be honest, if you're a heavy preset user/tweeker, you gotta get 3rd party plugins, but since i almost always create sounds by myself, i find logic's stock plugins to be capable enough, what logic lacks right now is editable waveforms for its oscillators and LFO tools, i also wish we can use the arpeggiator midi fx to modulate/automate parameters, since drawing automation is a time consuming work.

Beatles would have killed you ~40 years ago for an iPad with garageband when they created Sgt Pepper...

Of course the large grey, trunk-sporting mammal in the room that nobody has addressed is the more likely reason why you might see ‘tons’ of plug-ins on the screens of professionals. A little thing called ‘marketing’.

 

Seeing something associated with a high profile professional is a very effective marketing tool for a manufacturer of any product. It means they can give away comparatively few freebies, safe in the knowledge that a vastly bigger number of those who aspire to be like that person will make the connection and pay for it.

 

Simple, incredibly effective and a fundamental part of selling stuff since the beginning of mass media.

Of course the large grey, trunk-sporting mammal in the room that nobody has addressed is the more likely reason why you might see ‘tons’ of plug-ins on the screens of professionals. A little thing called ‘marketing’.

 

Seeing something associated with a high profile professional is a very effective marketing tool for a manufacturer of any product. It means they can give away comparatively few freebies, safe in the knowledge that a vastly bigger number of those who aspire to be like that person will make the connection and pay for it.

 

Simple, incredibly effective and a fundamental part of selling stuff since the beginning of mass media.

 

uh, what? most 'pros' i know (am including myself!), buy plugins that intrigue us, serve a need, inspire us... or just seem worth owning. i use what works for me, and love having choices. one should be able to make exceptional music with just logic, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with finding 3rd-party plugins that we like, or work better for us.

 

marketing may make me aware of certain things, but it does not force me to buy anything. choice is a great thing...

marketing may make me aware of certain things, but it does not force me to buy anything. choice is a great thing...

You’ve missed the point of what my post says

marketing may make me aware of certain things, but it does not force me to buy anything. choice is a great thing...

You’ve missed the point of what my post says

 

no, i don't think i missed it at all, but if you want to clarify, please do that; i am not intentionally misunderstanding you.