The Best Native Instruments Plugins For Metal Producers

You’re staring at the Native Instruments website, wallet in hand, wondering which plugin is the magic bullet. Is it a specific Kontakt library? A secret setting in Guitar Rig? Will Massive X finally make your mixes sound huge?

Here’s the deal: it matters which plugins you use, but probably not for the reason you think.

If you need to surgically remove harsh fizz from a guitar track, a dynamic resonance suppressor like Soothe2 is a game-changer. If you want a specific drum sound, the library you choose absolutely matters. But when it comes to the workhorse tools—EQs, compressors, channel strips—the brand name on the GUI is way less important than the brain using it.

The biggest trap in music production isn't using the "wrong" compressor; it's Plugin Acquisition Syndrome. We see our favorite producers using a certain tool and think that's the secret. We end up with 15 EQs and 20 compressors, yet our mixes don't magically improve. Why? Because the tool doesn't make the decisions. You do.

The best plugin is the one that lets you work fast and get the sound in your head out of the speakers. With that in mind, let’s break down which Native Instruments plugins are actually worth your time for metal production and how to use them effectively.

Kontakt: The Unstoppable Sampling Powerhouse

If you buy one thing from NI, it should be Kontakt. It’s not just an instrument; it’s a platform. For metal producers, it’s an absolute essential for building modern, punchy, and epic arrangements.

For Drums

Let’s be clear: a huge part of modern metal production relies on sample replacement or augmentation. Kontakt is the sampler that runs some of the most popular drum libraries in the industry, like the entire GetGood Drums lineup. Loading up a GGD kit inside Kontakt gives you access to perfectly captured, multi-velocity samples that are ready to be triggered from your raw drum tracks. This is how you get that consistent, punchy kick and snare that cut through a wall of downtuned guitars.

For Synths & Orchestra

Think of the epic string arrangements in a Spiritbox track or the eerie synth pads in a Motionless In White song. That’s often Kontakt at work. It’s the go-to for adding symphonic layers—strings, brass, choirs—and electronic textures that make a production sound massive.

You can layer a subtle synth pad under your main rhythm guitars or add an aggressive orchestral stab to punctuate a breakdown. Many of the top-tier Nail The Mix instructors use Kontakt for exactly this kind of layering and sound design to take a great mix and make it unforgettable.

Guitar Rig 7 Pro: Your All-in-One Tone Machine

Guitar Rig 7 Pro has come a long way. It’s a beast of a plugin that’s much more than just an amp sim. Think of it as a complete signal chain playground for shaping not just guitars, but bass, vocals, and even drums.

More Than Just High-Gain

While Guitar Rig has great high-gain models like the "Van51" and "Hot Solo+," its real strength lies in its modularity and the quality of its new IR loader. Modern metal tone isn't just about the amp; it's about what you do before and after it. Guitar Rig’s drag-and-drop interface makes this incredibly easy.

If your DI signal is a bit boomy, don't just reach for the amp’s bass knob. Toss a "Pro-Filter" module before the amp and high-pass it around 80-120Hz to tighten things up before they even hit the gain stage. This simple move can clean up your low-end mud instantly.

Actionable Tip: Sculpting with the Chain

That fizzy high-end that makes your guitars sound like a can of bees? Tame it inside the plugin. After your amp and cabinet/IR block, add the "Graphic EQ" module. Make a narrow cut somewhere between 7-10kHz to remove the harshness without gutting the essential aggression and pick attack. Learning how to shape tone with pre- and post-EQ is fundamental to getting professional results.

For a deeper dive into these techniques, our hub on EQing modern metal guitars for max impact has you covered.

Transient Master: The Secret Weapon for Punch

Sometimes the simplest tools are the most powerful. Transient Master is a perfect example. With just two main knobs—Attack and Sustain—it lets you completely reshape the envelope of a sound. It's a must-have for dialing in modern metal drums.

How to Use It on Drums

• Snare: Need more crack and less ring? Turn up the Attack knob to emphasize the initial hit and turn down the Sustain knob to shorten the decay. This helps the snare punch through the mix without taking up unnecessary space.
• Toms: If your tom fills sound washy or the room mics are bleeding too much, pull back the Sustain. The toms will sound tighter, punchier, and more focused.
• Kick: A little bit of extra Attack can help the beater click cut through, especially in fast double-bass patterns.

Beyond Drums

Transient Master is also killer on rhythm guitars. If your palm-muted chugs feel a bit loose, try dialing back the Sustain just a tiny bit. It can tighten up the performance and make fast riffs feel more precise and machine-gun-like. It’s a subtle but effective trick for adding clarity. If you want to learn more about dynamic control, check out our guide to metal compression.

Solid Mix Series: The Workhorse Channel Strip & Bus Comp

Do you really need 10 different SSL-style plugins? No. You need one that you know inside and out. The Solid Mix Series (Solid EQ and Solid Bus Comp) is a fantastic emulation of a classic British console that gets the job done without overcomplicating things.

Solid EQ for Broad Strokes

This isn’t the EQ you use for surgical notch filtering. A tool like FabFilter Pro-Q3 is better for that. The Solid EQ is for adding character and making broad, musical changes. Use it to add a little bite to a snare drum around 3-5kHz, carve out mud from guitars around 400Hz, or add "air" to a vocal with a high-shelf boost. It’s about vibe and color, not clinical precision.

Solid Bus Comp for Glue

The Solid Bus Comp is modeled after one of the most famous bus compressors in history. Slap it on your drum bus or even your main mix bus to add that cohesive "glue" that makes individual tracks sound like a finished record. A classic starting point for a drum bus is a slow attack (~30ms), a fast release, a 4:1 ratio, and just enough threshold to get the needle knocking back 2-4dB on the loudest hits. It will tighten up the performance and add a satisfying punch.

Massive X: Modern Synths for Modern Metal

If you’re producing metalcore, djent, industrial, or any other forward-thinking subgenre, a powerful synth is a necessity. Massive X is a sound designer's dream, perfect for creating everything from evolving atmospheric pads to aggressive, distorted bass drops and searing lead lines.

This is a specialized tool. You don't need it if you’re mixing straight-up thrash or death metal. But if your music calls for electronic elements, Massive X provides a modern palette of sounds that can add depth, texture, and a futuristic edge to your tracks.

The Real "Best" Plugin Is Your Brain

Here's the truth: Jens Bogren could get a world-class mix using nothing but stock plugins. Why? Because he knows what to do. He understands phase relationships, how to balance frequencies, and how to create dynamics. A plugin is just a hammer; the skill is in knowing where and how hard to hit the nail.

Every plugin you add introduces a tiny bit of processing time, or latency. While your DAW's delay compensation engine is supposed to handle this, it’s not always perfect, especially in complex sessions with lots of parallel processing. Throwing a high-latency plugin on a single drum in a parallel chain can cause phasing issues that smear your transients and weaken the sound. Being mindful of your tools and signal flow is part of the craft.

Stop chasing the next shiny object. Owning every NI plugin won't make your mixes better. Learning to master a few of them will.

That’s what Nail The Mix is all about. We give you the raw, professionally recorded multitracks from massive bands like Gojira, Periphery, and Lamb of God, and then let you watch the actual producer who mixed the album mix it again from scratch, live. You see every plugin choice, every fader move, and you hear the "why" behind every decision.

Ready to invest in your skills, not just your plugin folder? Check out our full catalog of Nail The Mix sessions and see how the pros really do it.