I will analyze different DAWs and useful plugins for any young and inspiring producer.
The DAW
A DAW (Digital audio workspace) can offer a large amount of things right off of the bat, such as different plugins and pre-installed synths. The main two DAWs for Windows are (arguably) FL Studio and Ableton. The main DAWs for Mac is Cubase and Logic (I haven't had any personal experience with them so if you have then feel free to add to this in the comments).
FL Studio
FL Studio is an entry level DAW and it can be very easy to dive in and start creating within minutes. The DAW comes with a large array of pre-installed goodies such as Sytrus and Harmless. FL Studio uses a slightly different way of creating automation, it does this by creating a layer in the form of an automation clip, but it is still easy to get the hand of.
FL Studio offers a lot of techniques that you can use such as sampling (like any other DAW) and individual channel routing and mixing.
The basic edition of FL Studio is cheaper than Ableton and can be found here; FL Studio
Ableton
Ableton is a professional DAW and is definitely more complicated than FL Studio but once learned it is very easy to use. Ableton offers inbuilt automation and it is built into each individual track layer.
Adding plugins can be a bit of a hassle but it's still easy to do. Ableton can be found here: Ableton
Plugins
Must Have
Serum - This is a must have synthesizer as it is extremely powerful and can create very strange sounds out of nothing. I'd watch videos on how to use Serum to the best of its ability by watching someone such as Virtual Riot or anyone on Youtube such as RocketPoweredSound who teaches you how to make a particular sound from a song.
Massive - Massive is the earlier brother of serum but it is still equally as good and it offers everything that Serum offers and it can create some very interesting sounds using custom wavetables. I tend to prefer Serum to Massive only because of the personal wavetables that I can create.
Nexus - Another synth that can create sounds that are both crucial and amazing for genres such as trap and EDM. The base product comes with a large array of presets that someone can dive straight in and start producing. Nexus can be found here; https://refx.com/nexus/
OTT - OTT is a compressor made by Xfer records. The plugin is free and can offer the user multiband compression with some excellent results. OTT can be found here; https://refx.com/nexus/
Little AlterBoy - This plugin is something that can change vocals using pitch and formant correction and it can be quite useful in creating multi-layered vocals if you get them right. Little Alterboy can be found here; http://www.soundtoys.com/product/little-alterboy/
GuitarRig5 - This plugin imitates the sound of a guitar amp and can be useful when creating basslines in different genres. One of my personal favorites and can be very helpful when creating electronic rock. GuitarRig5 can be found here; https://www.native-instruments.com/en/pr...rig-5-pro/
FabFilter Pro-L - This plugin is one of the best limiters out there in my opinion and it is extremely helpful, I believe it is a must have for trap producers as it helps see clipping when creating subs (I see it too much), and it is a must have. It can be found here; https://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-l...er-plug-in
LFOTool - The LFOTool is essentially an automatic gain reduction plugin where it helps lower the volume of large synth leads, and subs, the make sure that the sound of the kick is not drowned out by the mix. It can be found here; https://www.xferrecords.com/products/lfotool
Valhallaroom - This plugin is amazing at what it does, which is reverb, and it is extremely helpful when creating dubstep for those long reverb snares. ValhallaRoom can be found here; https://valhalladsp.com/shop/plugins/valhalla-room/
Reaktor 6 - Reaktor 6 is a plugin that can have multiple uses, from sound generators to synths to effects, and it has been used in a lot of songs such as Terrors in my head by Deadmau5 where he used the preset Korg from one of the sound generators and this is present throughout the track. It can be found here; https://www.native-instruments.com/en/pr...reaktor-6/
Ozone 7 - Ozone 7 is a very useful mastering tool that you can add to your track to give that slight boost to your sound and also get rid of those annoying frequencies. It can be found here; https://www.izotope.com/en/products/mast...ozone.html
Cthulhu - This plugin is an arpeggiator and it is a heavy influence in some of Deadmau5's work however for FL Studio you do need an extra plugin to export the MIDI data (the notes) from the plugin (you can use LoopBe1 for this). All hail Cthulhu; https://www.xferrecords.com/products/cthulhu
Strobe2 - This is yet another synth that is similar to Serum, it lacks the ability to use custom wavetables however it does make up for it with its powerful performance. It can be found here; https://www.fxpansion.com/products/strobe2/
Sylenth1 - This is another multi-purpose electronic synth that has a lot of usage in things such as deep house along with other sub-genres of EDM. It has some amazing in plugin presets that allow you dive straight in at the deep end. Sylenth1 can be found here; https://www.lennardigital.com/sylenth1/
Z3TA+ 2 - Another extremely powerful VST that is on par with Serum in terms of power. The plugin has inbuilt envelope filters along with LFOs that can be assigned to anything in exchange for some strange and wonderful sounds. It can be found here; https://www.cakewalk.com/products/z3ta/
FabFilter Pro - Q - This plugin is used for EQ-ing and mastering. It helps give you a visual representation of the frequencies so you can get rid of that pesky frequency that's causing phase-cancellation. It can be found here; https://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-q...er-plug-in
Useful links;
Music Theory - https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/w...usictheory
I'd say this is extremely useful if you want to stay in the music industry for a long period of time and as a career (would recommend piano lessons)
Making Music with Panda Eyes -
SeamlessR - https://www.youtube.com/user/SeamlessR/videos
Another collection of videos that mainly focus on FL Studio.
Busy Work Beats - https://www.youtube.com/user/busyworksbeats/videos
A collection of videos focusing on trap.
ADSR - Music Production - https://www.youtube.com/user/ADSRtuts/videos
You can also check out their website for free preset packs for Serum and Massive along with some free VSTs.
Spektral Sound Tutorials - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz0HQr7...d1g/videos
Another YouTube channel dedicated to making presets from songs, can be very helpful in cases.
Pyramind - https://www.youtube.com/user/Pyratube/videos
Lots of useful things in this channel and it can teach you some sound design and also a method of work.
Michael New - https://www.youtube.com/user/Rhaptapsody/videos
Video tutorials on music theory using the piano.
