It's probably safe to say that there are few, if any, studio recordings over the past 60 years that haven't used some kind of wizardry to get the production as wanted, whether that be just multiple takes, punch-ins, overdubs, auto-tune or whatever. In that sense I doubt there's been a single studio recording that hasn't 'cheated' in some way.

Most 'live' albums have probably had more than a little post-processing to get them nicer. That's also 'cheating' some.

IMHO, don't worry about it; use the plug-ins.


Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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