I actually have pretty good hardware and monitors and such for my home use. I have Event TR6 Monitors, a Presonus Firepod, An Edirol PCR-M50 Midi controller, Pod XT Pro, Bass Pod XT. So I'm all set with hardware for now.
I'm curious as to why Waves is so expensive. Shouldn't there be something special about their plugins, sound quality wise. I run the Voxengo Curve EQ and HarmoniEQ on my guitar tracks and they sound awsome. I tried doing a similar setup with Izotope Ozone on the tracks and it just doesn't nearly as good as the 2 Voxengo plugins.
Waves Platinum or Voxengo Plugs and a computer upgrade?
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 836 posts since 12 Aug, 2005
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- KVRAF
- 3411 posts since 26 Mar, 2002 from london
Waves established themselves years back when there was no competition. So they've been used in studios since then, and the reputation of being THE professional studio tool has stuck. In the same way that it's 'common wisdom' that macs are better for audio(!). And that Pro tools is necessary to achieve a pro sound. And all that shite.
Aleksey of Voxengo has a really brilliant mind for this type of thing, plus he listens to his user base. Compare Soniformer 2 to standard multiband compressors and you'll see it's absolutely ingenious. It's superb, and there's nothing else like it.
Aleksey of Voxengo has a really brilliant mind for this type of thing, plus he listens to his user base. Compare Soniformer 2 to standard multiband compressors and you'll see it's absolutely ingenious. It's superb, and there's nothing else like it.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.
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- KVRist
- 214 posts since 7 Oct, 2004
monkeymanx, I just bought elephant, curveeq and polysquasher. To my ears they sound better than ozone and psp warmifier. Did not compare to other plugins. I used to use endorphin and busmaxi.
Cheers
Cheers
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 836 posts since 12 Aug, 2005
I actually like the Multiband compressor that comes with Cubase SX3 just fine. Seems to work well with what I need. For final mixes I think the T-Racks compressor is really good too. So, I'm not really sure if I need any more compressors, but I will give polysquasher and soniformer another run, I didn't really do much with them though.
Ozone is alright. I bought it when I first got into doing audio with my computer, and wanted something to liven up the mixes at the end. Now, I really don't like anything in Ozone. It's decent but I'm probably going to sell it as I won't be using it anymore.
chagzuki, I understand what your saying... I was originally going to buy an Mbox, but then I looked at the Firepod and thought, geez for about 200 dollars more, I can have expandiblility to record live bands if I desire. I also stayed away from Pro Tools, and went with Cubase and am 100% happy with Cubase.
I'm looking at getting Voxengo Curve EQ, HarmoniEQ, Warmifier, Voxformer, and Elephant. I'm almost 100% on those. The 2 EQ effects there really bright the distorted guitar tracks to life, and warmifier and add a bit to it...
Ozone is alright. I bought it when I first got into doing audio with my computer, and wanted something to liven up the mixes at the end. Now, I really don't like anything in Ozone. It's decent but I'm probably going to sell it as I won't be using it anymore.
chagzuki, I understand what your saying... I was originally going to buy an Mbox, but then I looked at the Firepod and thought, geez for about 200 dollars more, I can have expandiblility to record live bands if I desire. I also stayed away from Pro Tools, and went with Cubase and am 100% happy with Cubase.
I'm looking at getting Voxengo Curve EQ, HarmoniEQ, Warmifier, Voxformer, and Elephant. I'm almost 100% on those. The 2 EQ effects there really bright the distorted guitar tracks to life, and warmifier and add a bit to it...
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- KVRAF
- 1933 posts since 29 Apr, 2005 from Beyond all space, time, and dimension.
Screw Waves. Get your dual-core, then also try everything from Kjaerhus Audio and WWAYM in addition to Voxengo. You can put together an awesome native bundle of your own for not too much cash and have the new PC to run it all superbly.monkeymanx wrote:Ok, so if you could choose between buying a new motherboard and CPU(Dual Core) and some Voxengo Plug ins, or Waves Platinum without the computer hardware, which would you choose?
I have tried out some of the Voxengo plugins on demo, and they are pretty good. The CurveEQ is one I really like... Elephant is probably the best loudness maximizer I have tried too... Better than Izotope Ozone's and probably better than the T-Racks soft clipper...
I havn't had a chance to try any Waves plug ins so I'm really not sure what to expect except a high price tag. Does anybody know if you can demo their plug ins?
Right now I have Cubase SX 3, T-Racks, Izotope Ozone, DFHS, Battery, DFH1, Sonik Synth 2, SampleTank 2XL... So, I'm really only looking to pick up one more bundle here since I have a bunch of stuff already. Also, if anybody is interested in Ozone, Battery, DFH1, I will be selling them pending emails with the companies getting approval to transfer ownership. O, Possibly T-Racks also, depending what I pick up for plug ins.
The Voxengo plug ins I'm looking to purchase at this point are, Voxformer, CurveEQ, HarmoniEQ, Elephant, and possibly Soniformer.
Anyway, I posted this on another board, but really didn't get much out of the responses. Also after reading stuff on this board it seems there are alot of good freebies...
Here is my small version:
PLEASE VISIT www.thehungersite.com DAILY AND CLICK THE LINKS. THEY DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY BASED ON AD INCOME. IT'S FREE!
PLEASE VISIT www.thehungersite.com DAILY AND CLICK THE LINKS. THEY DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY BASED ON AD INCOME. IT'S FREE!
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- KVRian
- 903 posts since 14 May, 2003
It is hard to beat Voxengo plugs--really nothing better out there IMHO.
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- KVRist
- 292 posts since 25 Dec, 2003 from Bay Area, CA, USA
I'm with everyone else: Voxengo + PC upgrades.
It's not that Waves is total crap, some of the plugs are very nice, just ridiculously overpriced, and definately not "the best" out there (vs Voxengo, Kjaerhus, Tritone, PSP, UA, TC, etc).
When buying any Voxengo product, you can establish a relationship with Aleksey, who will personally listen to your suggestions/complaints/ideas, take them to heart, and most likely implement them very quickly (if they are good). This adds an enormous amount of value to the plugins, as you receive free updates as they are continuously improved upon based on your input. With a company like Waves, you probably can't get in touch with the actual coder, and if they even listen to your suggestions there is no garuntee they will ever be implemented, let alone quickly and for free.
It's not that Waves is total crap, some of the plugs are very nice, just ridiculously overpriced, and definately not "the best" out there (vs Voxengo, Kjaerhus, Tritone, PSP, UA, TC, etc).
When buying any Voxengo product, you can establish a relationship with Aleksey, who will personally listen to your suggestions/complaints/ideas, take them to heart, and most likely implement them very quickly (if they are good). This adds an enormous amount of value to the plugins, as you receive free updates as they are continuously improved upon based on your input. With a company like Waves, you probably can't get in touch with the actual coder, and if they even listen to your suggestions there is no garuntee they will ever be implemented, let alone quickly and for free.
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- KVRAF
- 7489 posts since 6 Jul, 2004
Due to school holidays/boredom/interest in buying more effects I recently ran demos of loads of top-drawer effects including Waves diamond. I would say the following:
The waves effects are all VERY GOOD, but only a few of them are TRULY OUTSTANDING. In most cases, there are better (in my view) alternatives.
The Waves effets are overpriced and use PACE protection. Both of these are strong reasons to avoid them in my view.
Some of the Voxengo effects are indeed very good, but they were not to my personal likeing. On my system they seemed occasionally unstable, screwed with my Windows registry, and I didn't much like their aesthetics or way of operating. Much of that is probably system specific and down to my own taste.
I also demoed various effects by Wave Arts, Kjaerhus (I already own/bought some of the Golden range), PSP, Izotope, etc.
I personally felt that the Kjaerhus Compressor GCO-1 and (slightly less so) EQ (GEQ-7) give you more control and sound better than their Waves equivalents. The Golden Audio Channel GAC-1 totally anihilates the Waves Renaissance Channel (even the reviews say so!).
The GCO is perhaps less transparent than the Renaissance Compressor or Waves C1, but the Waves Renaissance Compressor doesn't even show you a graph of the compression you are applying! The GCO adds an analogue warmth that I really like very much. GEQ-7 allows you to choose from four different types of response curve, which emulate different analogue predecessors, and work well for different situations. It is a lovely and highly useful EQ. Check out the Kjaerhus golden effects here:
http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/gold-series.php
The PSP effects are great. The highlights are imho the filter and delat type effectsL PSP84 and Nitro. These effects do stuff that none of the Waves effects I tested are basically designed for.
http://www.pspaudioware.com/
The other effects I was really very impressed with were the Wave Arts bundle:
http://www.wavearts.com/PowerSuite.html
which you can download and test fully-functional for 30 days. I bet you will be hooked! I must say that having compared them next to the Waves effects I thought many of them were actually better than Waves. The highlight (for me anyway) is the Multiband Dynamics plug, which I think is a clear winner over the Waves C4 or Linear Multiband.
My advice then is to check out the Kjaerhus, PSP and Wave Arts plugs before making a decision. You could buy your favourites from these and the Voxengo range and still afford your computer improvements, rather than buying Waves. You would I think end up with a better computer, better effects, and no dongle!
The waves effects are all VERY GOOD, but only a few of them are TRULY OUTSTANDING. In most cases, there are better (in my view) alternatives.
The Waves effets are overpriced and use PACE protection. Both of these are strong reasons to avoid them in my view.
Some of the Voxengo effects are indeed very good, but they were not to my personal likeing. On my system they seemed occasionally unstable, screwed with my Windows registry, and I didn't much like their aesthetics or way of operating. Much of that is probably system specific and down to my own taste.
I also demoed various effects by Wave Arts, Kjaerhus (I already own/bought some of the Golden range), PSP, Izotope, etc.
I personally felt that the Kjaerhus Compressor GCO-1 and (slightly less so) EQ (GEQ-7) give you more control and sound better than their Waves equivalents. The Golden Audio Channel GAC-1 totally anihilates the Waves Renaissance Channel (even the reviews say so!).
The GCO is perhaps less transparent than the Renaissance Compressor or Waves C1, but the Waves Renaissance Compressor doesn't even show you a graph of the compression you are applying! The GCO adds an analogue warmth that I really like very much. GEQ-7 allows you to choose from four different types of response curve, which emulate different analogue predecessors, and work well for different situations. It is a lovely and highly useful EQ. Check out the Kjaerhus golden effects here:
http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/gold-series.php
The PSP effects are great. The highlights are imho the filter and delat type effectsL PSP84 and Nitro. These effects do stuff that none of the Waves effects I tested are basically designed for.
http://www.pspaudioware.com/
The other effects I was really very impressed with were the Wave Arts bundle:
http://www.wavearts.com/PowerSuite.html
which you can download and test fully-functional for 30 days. I bet you will be hooked! I must say that having compared them next to the Waves effects I thought many of them were actually better than Waves. The highlight (for me anyway) is the Multiband Dynamics plug, which I think is a clear winner over the Waves C4 or Linear Multiband.
My advice then is to check out the Kjaerhus, PSP and Wave Arts plugs before making a decision. You could buy your favourites from these and the Voxengo range and still afford your computer improvements, rather than buying Waves. You would I think end up with a better computer, better effects, and no dongle!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 836 posts since 12 Aug, 2005
I'm going to give some of the plugins you mentioned a run here...
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- AcousticHippie
- 4769 posts since 12 Mar, 2003
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- KVRAF
- 25037 posts since 12 Jul, 2003 from West Caprazumia
dunnobugs wrote:It is hard to beat Voxengo plugs--really nothing better out there IMHO.
I love their sound and use them constantly but they are real cpu suckers - the Kjaerhus Gold plugs have the same quality soundwise but use very few cpu cycles for what they do (and also they tend to be more flexible) albeit they are a bit more expensive...
thus if money wouldn't matter personally I'd go for Kjaerhus instead of Voxengo - nothing better (native) out there imho
But I think if I wanted to buy several effect plugins at once and if I even had the money to consider waves then I'd sreuly do for UAD1 or powercore...
- if you consider how many plugins you get even in the entry level packages and also that everyone raves about their quality you'll find that this is the most value for the money you can get...
Last edited by jens on Sat Aug 13, 2005 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRAF
- 7489 posts since 6 Jul, 2004
Yeah, I would agree with all that.jens wrote:dunnobugs wrote:It is hard to beat Voxengo plugs--really nothing better out there IMHO.
I love their sound and use them constantly but they are real cpu suckers - the Kjaerhus Gold plugs have the same quality soundwise but use very few cpu cycles for what they do (and also they tend to be more flexible) albeit they are a bit more expensive...
thus if money wouldn't matter personally I'd go for Kjaerhus instead of Voxengo - nothing better out there imho
One of the things which I was not so fond of was the CPU overhead in Voxengo. Kjaerhus are very light on CPU by comparisson, and I think they do sound better, too. There are far fewer of them of course, but they are very full-functioning, and Torben has plans to enlarge the Golden range further...
The Wave Arts plugs are also extreemly CPU efficient. I was stunned by how CPU friendly the MasterVerb is - better than the Waves reverbs, and also far better than any others I had tried (in terms of CPU). A nice smooth sound too.
For me I think the Kjaerhus Golden and Wave Arts plugs provide a good set, all with great sound and CPU friendly. The Wave Arts ones are also particularly fantastic for ease of use.
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- KVRAF
- 25037 posts since 12 Jul, 2003 from West Caprazumia
I have the GCO-1 and I'm not using anything else anymore for compression - if I'm using Voxformer I switch the compressors off and put CGO-1 before it instead - 'nuff said!headquest wrote:Yeah, I would agree with all that.jens wrote:dunnobugs wrote:It is hard to beat Voxengo plugs--really nothing better out there IMHO.
I love their sound and use them constantly but they are real cpu suckers - the Kjaerhus Gold plugs have the same quality soundwise but use very few cpu cycles for what they do (and also they tend to be more flexible) albeit they are a bit more expensive...
thus if money wouldn't matter personally I'd go for Kjaerhus instead of Voxengo - nothing better out there imho
One of the things which I was not so fond of was the CPU overhead in Voxengo. Kjaerhus are very light on CPU by comparisson, and I think they do sound better, too. There are far fewer of them of course, but they are very full-functioning, and Torben has plans to enlarge the Golden range further...
The Wave Arts plugs are also extreemly CPU efficient. I was stunned by how CPU friendly the MasterVerb is - better than the Waves reverbs, and also far better than any others I had tried (in terms of CPU). A nice smooth cound too.
For me I think the Kjaerhus Golden plus the Wave Arts plugs provide a fairly comprehensive set, all with great sound and CPU friendly. The Wave Arts ones are also particularly fantastic for ease of use.
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- KVRAF
- 25037 posts since 12 Jul, 2003 from West Caprazumia
I hate beta-testers who love to tease!multree wrote:wait till there's a demo out for Quantum-fx 2
