New BSS DPR-402 Compressor / Limiter / De-Esser from Waves

[Uncle E]

Heh, yes, you're right. It's the Waves WUP that gets me, I can look past it for the DBX, NX, or Abbey Road Plates but not for a BSS.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

Heh, yes, you're right. It's the Waves WUP that gets me, I can look past it for the DBX, NX, or Abbey Road Plates but not for a BSS.

well again, you can use the plugin forever without WUP..and before a years wup is up likely V10 will be out, and you can use all V10 upgrades wup free.

I must admit i am just dying to know what you think of it, and if it's like the hardware you don't like, or a bad emulation but nevertheless a good sounding plugin.

hehe.

[simon.a.billington]

Waves dynamics i really don't like at *all*: CLA all, puigchild, H Comp, SSL all, V Series, One Knob Pressure (ugh it is SO bad), all the artist one knob comps, EMO (what a let down), all their limiters, and everything else i haven't mentioned. Overall I do not like the majority of wave's dynamics plugins.

I have not found an issue at all with the earlier emulations, but you and I both know we differ in opinion when it comes to Waves plugins, so we'll leave it there. It's not a bad thing either.

I'll use my Wave emulations alongside my other ones as well. When you think about it, each dev has modelled one unit, so using the one plugin multiple times is like using the one unit multiple times. Technically, that wouldn't have been done much in the days, but they would most likely have a couple of units. I liken using the same emulation from different devs to having multiple units, so I'll use them as such.

Mind you I'm not terribly "authentic" in my approach, but I find there is merit in giving yourself some limitations. Put a dbx on everything and it doesn't sound special any more, put it on a small select number of things and now they have they adopt a more unique character. Of course the same is true for all the emulations.

I'll even use Logic's emulations, although technically not as faithful, I liken that to "knockoffs", which have always had their place in the studio too, still do!!

I'm afraid if I demo the DPR-402 I won't want to part with it, and I'm too much of a slut to be able to let things go sadly. I'm good some months, bad at others. I'll either hold off for as long as possible, before the sale price ends or I will end up hoping to god it comes on sale for Black Friday. Either way, I really can't see myself not getting this one at this point. It's just too useful.

[incubus]

I agree except SSL. Never understood that one, but Theo is NOT the awful "debbie downer" in history. So, grain of salt, etc.

H comp for example is dead on with me. I got it bundled with H delay, (which I really think is cool) and it's just not kosher for the most part. A barren desert of MEH would be how I describe it!

[simon.a.billington]

Yeah I like that one too.

To each his own.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

I agree except SSL. Never understood that one, but Theo is NOT the awful "debbie downer" in history. So, grain of salt, etc.

H comp for example is dead on with me. I got it bundled with H delay, (which I really think is cool) and it's just not kosher for the most part. A barren desert of MEH would be how I describe it!

you like ssl too?

I can actually prove it with the channel gate at least, like, literal proof, and i have had it proved for the bus comp with a dev in private, of how off it is to the real thing.

That said, there's nothing saying you can't LOVE what it does, but it's not an SSL sound..

I can pick the waves 100% of the time in a blind shoot out, just as i picked the 1176 vs the hardware with 100% accuracy.

I'm quite enjoying the CLA3A, i was wrong about the 2a and 3a. It was the 1176 i hated that much and i just didn't previously give the cla2a and 3a the proper time of day, but they are good.

The attack on the 1176 is 100% wrong.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

BTW, for anyone interested, this waves 402 is capable of a super fast click free attack, which is quite rare for software. I really highly recommend it without reservation.

It's also very good at smooth levelling and i like the sound of the limiter at the output.

i rate it 9/10 overall as a plugin. It's very very good.

[Kindred]

I was a bit "yawn" when I saw this, however after a 10 minute demo I bought it. Really easy to dial in settings that tighten things up.
12 months ago I didn't own a single Waves plugin and now I have almost 20 of them. They are killing it lately.

[Harry_HH]

Its interesting reading praising commentd e.g. by TheoM and Kindred.
I've got several really good compressors/limiters and some fairly good channel strips, both clean/transparent ones and coloring 'vintage' ones.
I've demoed the BSS DPR-402 now 5 days. I was especially interested in the option of different jumper settings, and combination of de-esser-compressor/limiter.
I have to say, I slight dissapointment (after checking e.g. the ProTools Expert presentation). My main citique is that the output tend to be very cold. Its not transparent or clean 'cold', but a transistor-type, dead cold.

Where to use that plugin if its neither a good all-around strip nor 'the best' in some spesific area.
It may be a good emulation of the hardware, but this is no reason to use it 'as such'.

Not even the compressor is that brilliant if you are reaching effect-kind of compression (e.g. 60's style over-compressed piano), in that spesific category my good old URS 1975 Classic Compressor is unbeatable.
De-esser works relative well, but I have much better de-essers.
You can get some nice effects by using the combination of compressor and limiter, but so far, I'm not enough impressed to press the buy-button.

[lolilol1975]

I'm gonna wait til it's $29

For less than that, you can get ToneBoosters Evoke which is pretty good.

[onnodevisser]

funny thing is: i used this processor a million times live between 1983 an now. I always felt it took away the high end of a analog signal. and just by putting it into the signal chain. Not compressing at all. Often i would bypass it because of that. No complaints about the working of it as a compressor/lim/desser but i preferred working with dbx processors like the 160 or the Drawmer compressors because they didn't have that problem. I assume that problem isn't there with the plugin version?

[MogwaiBoy]

I assume that problem isn't there with the plugin version?

It might have been an input impedance issue with the hardware unit - they would be stupid to emulate that!

I have this plugin incoming... I'll let you know if it rolls off any highs even at idle.

[MogwaiBoy]

Well - I can confirm that no it doesn't inherently cut highs

This is a great compressor. Not sure about for mastering but certainly for buses and individual instruments.

[Skorpius]

Heh, yes, you're right. It's the Waves WUP that gets me, I can look past it for the DBX, NX, or Abbey Road Plates but not for a BSS.

I have similar feelings about this. If it weren't for the effing WUP plus the unbearable Waves Central installer, I'd be buying and using more Waves plug-ins. But the combination of both is too costly and too much of a hassle.

[simon.a.billington]

Heh, yes, you're right. It's the Waves WUP that gets me, I can look past it for the DBX, NX, or Abbey Road Plates but not for a BSS.

I have similar feelings about this. If it weren't for the effing WUP plus the unbearable Waves Central installer, I'd be buying and using more Waves plug-ins. But the combination of both is too costly and too much of a hassle.

I say this to everyone who has grief with WUP, only because often, they don't fully understand it...

You do realise that you don't have to pay WUP annually, or that you need it to update your plugins. Ideally, you may not have to pay it until you want to update to Version 10. If and when that ever comes along.