FINNEAS reveals the one plugin that he couldn't live without: "It's on 99% of every song I’ve ever made"

FINNEAS, the solo artist and producer best known for his work with his sister, Billie Eilish, has revealed his all-time favourite piece of music software.

In an interview with the Tape Notes podcast, FINNEAS was asked to name his absolute favourite bit of gear, and responded by singling out Spectrasonics Omnisphere, a classic synth plugin and virtual instrument known for its expansive sonic capabilities.

“Software-wise, I gotta give it up for the plugin Omnisphere," FINNEAS said. "That’s on 99% of every song I’ve ever made. At this point in time, it’s one of those plugins that’s too good not to turn to. It’s so vast, it’s just a masterpiece of a plugin.” The producer also sang the praises of the Fender Acoustasonic, describing it as a “really cool instrument.“

Elsewhere in the interview, FINNEAS was asked to give advice to younger producers trying to find a place in the industry. He recounted a nugget of wisdom that he found useful as a teen: “When I was 13, I called a mastering engineer - my friend's Dad - and said, 'how do I make my song loud?' He told me about limiters, I didn’t know what a limiter was,“ FINNEAS recalled. 

“But then he said, 'listen, it’s really important that you understand the delineation between the correct way to do something and whether you like it or not. Everyone’s going to tell you why you did something incorrectly. But it’s really important whether you like something or you don't like it, because it’s your taste that really matters. It’s going to be your greatest defence. If someone says, 'that vocal’s too compressed' - that’s true, if you don’t like the way it sounds. But if you did that on purpose, if you like how it sounds, then that’s the correct way. Taste is everything.”

“As a self-taught person, I’m always doing something wrong. But my defence is - do I think it sounds good or not? If I do, then it’s correct, even if I did it wrong.”

This month, FINNEAS shared a new single, Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa. His latest album, Optimist, was released in 2021. 

Listen to the full episode of the Tape Notes podcast on Spotify.