Audio Friends
Korneff Audio
This is a badass plugin company ran by the man himself, Dan Korneff. Dan is a mad scientist and a gear guru. His plugins are super reliable and they sound killer. I love the
Talkback Limiter on drums, Amplified Instrument Processor on guitars, and Micro Digital Reverberator on drums (Dan has a post on how he uses it on snare that you can find here).
Kiive Audio
Kiive is a new plugin company that is making game changer plugins. Ed Lucciola is the mastermind behind it, and these plugins are becoming my go-tos for quick solutions. The S-quick strip is amazing at shaping tracks to fit together. I have a bunch of presets you'll find in the drop down menu that I am using constantly. Tapeface is my favorite tape plugin.
STL Tones
STL is in my humble opinion the king at software guitar amp modeling. Their AmpHub is an invaluable tool for writing and dialing quick tones. Will Putney's Tonality (https://www.stltones.com/products/stl-tonality-will-putney-guitar-plug-in) has some of my favorite bass tones. I used to record that exact amp at the Machine Shop, and having it as a plugin now is the best.
Toontrack
SD is an amazing tool for quickly writing a song. Their interface is super intuitive and the sample libraries are great! It's crazy how good they sound and how real it feels. The mixer and plugins are really good sounding too. It's a must have tool for anyone writing at home or mixing drums.
KH/DK
David Karon builds these badass pedals I love. The Ghoul JR is my favorite Tubescreamer style pedal. It makes any amp roar! The Scuzz Box is my favorite fuzz. Goes from farty gated fuzz to full on Hendrix. Love it!