KVR Audio

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:01 pm

Hi guys,

Simple question: Which Waves Signature Collection would you choose and why?
TM, JJP, CLA or EK.

Specifically I'd like to know which one would be best for dubstep, drumstep, DnB, House etc, as they seem to be quite focused on "recorded" music... guitars etc... or am I reading that incorrectly?

Cheers

PS: won a random draw comp, can choose a Waves Signature Collection pack.

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 5:30 am

Theo?

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 5:37 am

I have spoken *against* these quite a few times in the past..

but probably the JJP

If i HAD to choose one bundle i'd choose that one but note i am not into these plugins at all....

But the JJP one has a fantastic doubler that works on guitar and vocals and is just one slider and it just works, no need to fine tune settings, so that is indeed cool, and the strings and keys strip is nice to add movement and thickness to pads and strings, it works well, and the bass is good to chunk up the bass, there is a synth setting which can work really nicely on virtual instrument synth bass.

so yeah, the JJP.

But i still wouldn't buy it personally unless it was included in a waves bundle i was happening on planning to buy anyway

Second choice tied between maserati and CLA. Totally different.

If i could take one plug out of each and make my own bundle for the same price, i might then do it.. except for one from the kramer bundle (which is now explained below, this has been edited after below post)

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 5:41 am

Oh, I also know which pack to STRONGLY advice AGAINST for ANYONE.

and that's the Kramer one..

it's completely useless eye candy (imo)

note, this does NOT include kramer tape, which is quite usable, nor the channel, which, ditto.

But the 5 signature pack.. grrrr.. it's BAD... don't know how Eddie likes the sound of these..

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:54 am

Thanks for that Theo, really appreciate it. I just realized that they have demos of these, so I'll try all, but will pay special attention to the JJP and CLA (both of which I was leaning towards actually). Now I have to classify it at this point: I will not be spending money on this, I won a draw and the prize is which ever artist sig. bundle I want.

One other question... can one only demo 2 bundles at a time? Installed the demos for all four, at lest that's what I though I did, but in the Waves License Manager things only CLA and JJP is showing up... that gives?

Mercado_Negro · Post by **Mercado_Negro** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:11 am

I'm gonna pick up the CLA Bundle. I got the demos of all four bundles this morning and I've been trying them out on different material I've worked during the years, projects/sessions I know pretty well (if you have the chance, please do the same, it will really tell you what's the best choice for your work).

It's the most useful of all 4 bundles, at least for my work. The plug-in for guitars has a good doubler, it doesn't sound "flangey" like Kramer's and JJP's. The "re-amplify switch doesn't sound good at all, very harsh and fake but I can switch it off (it's off by default). The plug-in for effects is also decent, its filter and telephone colors are usable for rough mixes. The plug-in for basses sounds good on 4-strings, if it's used subtly it can add a nice tone. The unplugged plug-in has, surprisingly, nice reverbs, I can see myself using it here and there on rough mixes. I don't see myself using the plug-in for vocals.

Cheers

[EDIT: Just read you downloaded the demos so forget what I said on my first paragraph about getting them. I requested all 4 demos and downloaded them from the cloud to my computer just fine]

morelia · Post by **morelia** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:46 am

I demoed them all and went for CLA. I (try to) do rock/hard rock music so it seems to suit that the best IMHO. No help beyond that as I don't do the style of music you asked about sorry. I'm pretty happy with them as a starting point but find I mainly use them as a quick and easy way to get a not to bad sound for recording vocals and to a lesser extend guitars and bass.

cyphersuit · Post by **cyphersuit** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:04 pm

I have CLA and JJP and Maserati Groups. I like CLA and JJP a lot, the Maserati single plugin is not living up to the hype.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:30 pm

GeorgeZ wrote: Specifically I'd like to know which one would be best for dubstep, drumstep, DnB, House etc, as they seem to be quite focused on "recorded" music... guitars etc... or am I reading that incorrectly?

Yeah, that's about right. Personally, I wouldn't buy any of the Signature packs for the styles of music that you mentioned. Not that you couldn't find a use for them, but there are many other more suitable options out there.

FWIW, I bought the Maserati Acoustic Guitar (ACG) plugin as a single and I really liked it, so I decided to upgrade to the full Maserati bundle. That turned out to be a mistake, as I really don't use any of the other plugins aside from the ACG. I think that maybe they're most useful for doing quick mixes or just a starting point as morelia mentioned, but I have never really found them to be very practical. That said, I think that I would have probably gotten a little more mileage out of the ACG + CLA bundle, which seems to suit my style better. I like TheoM's idea of mixing/matching to create your own bundle.

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:44 pm

Thanks heaps for the input cryophonik. Guess I'll HAVE to demo em properly in that case!

AudioGuy720 · Post by **AudioGuy720** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:10 pm

I like the CLA Signature plug-ins.

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:43 pm

Ok, I've had a really good play with them now, and it's a good thing I' demo'd it, cause I have bit different opinion on these now Theo

JJP is too harsh for the stuff I do, and I seem to like the TM bundle the most, as the plugins are more... erm.. conventional. I like the JJP plugs, don't get me wrong, but I like the fact that the TM plugs have just "treble and bass" controls instead of "punch" and non-specific "magic-pie-in-the-sky" labels. Mind, I might buy the TM pack on the BF sale and then pick the JJP pack as my "prize"... or should I buy the POWER pack and still pick the TM one

One thing I can say is, I really wanted to like the CLA bundle, but for what I do generally (I do play guitar, and do rock tracks now and then, but not as much as I use to) it just didn't fit the bill. And for some reason I was really disappointed with this, but that was a good motivator to try the rest of em properly. I may demo them more, it's a race between the JJP and the TM though... Haven't tried the Kramer yet, but I'm pretty sure it won't do the trick for me (from what I've seen in review videos etc). I'll definitely still test it naturally, but ye...

EDIT: One MASSIVELY weird thing though is that I can't seem to get the shell, or any of the plugins to show up in Sonar X1 or the demo of Reaper. The VST search folders are correctly set up, and all my other plug ins show up just fine?!

yl · Post by yl » Sat Nov 24, 2012 10:00 pm

The Maserati is the best sounding one for my line of music (rhythmic/heavy bass/heavy fx)
the GRP plug is pure magic.

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 6:13 am

yl wrote:The Maserati is the best sounding one for my line of music (rhythmic/heavy bass/heavy fx)
the GRP plug is pure magic.

Ye, I'm with you on that one mate!

samsam · Post by **samsam** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 8:24 am

Maserati does look very tempting, especially with the discout on a discount some resellers have got.

Which Waves Signature Collection... (chose TM) [2012 thread]