In fact, if used sparingly on a few tracks it adds up in a nice way. In practice this one little plugin can bring a subtle warmth and energy to your drums, guitars, even vocals. In fact there is a preset on the plugin called “Tape Saturation” and it simply dials in a tad bit of distortion and saturation from the plugin. While it may seem that it’s design is to crush audio and smash it to 8 bit glory (which it can do quite well I might add), this plugin finds a home in my mixes as a warm tape saturation effect. Somewhat related to the Fuzz-Wah is the original Avid Lo-Fi plugin. Add as much or as little as you like and you’ve got a totally vibey sound which helps a part stand out in the mix. On top of that you have a “Fuzz” option which brings in some grit and distortion. This can help take a so-so guitar part, piano riff, or vocal and sit in the mix differently. Imagine it like an actual guitar wah pedal where you can open or close the filter and leave it in one place.

The two biggest ways I use this plugin is to put a weird EQ filter on something with the “Pedal” setting.

This effect may seem like it’s meant for guitars, but trust me it can do it all.

But none is cooler (in my opinion) than the AIR Fuzz-Wah. When Pro Tools began shipping with a whole slew of new AIR plugins in version 8, I was pumped! Just open up the Modulation or Harmonic category of plugins in the insert menu and you’ll find a ton of great new effects to experiment with. Either way, let me point out 3 of my favorite and underrated stock plugs. I use them on just about every mix! Maybe it’s because some people have little faith in stock plugins, or perhaps it just takes time for people to discover the potential of their Pro Tools rig. And it confuses me because these are three of my favorite Pro Tools plugins. With all the great stock plugins that ship with Pro Tools, I see three hardly ever being talked about or used.

Pro tools express plugins