All Waves plugs $29 plus 4 for 2! Thoughts on NX?

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soulata wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 2:12 pm The ones I really like and need on almost every mix I do are ADT, MV2 and one of the Renaissance Compressors (can't remember which). Everything else I could live without.
I figure Waves will keep the CM sale "extended" through the end of the week, so I have some time to demo a few more. Going along the lines of your thoughts, the ones I really like and use on almost every project is: Vitamin, H-Delay, H-Comp, MaxxBass, SSL G Bus Comp, SSL E Channel, S1 Imager, and TG Mastering. I have others, but those are my go-to's. Apparently--just counted!--I have 32 Waves plugins, acquired over the years through purchases and freebies.

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2:43AM wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:08 pm Apparently--just counted!--I have 32 Waves plugins, acquired over the years through purchases and freebies.
32! :o

Thanks to several here for thoughts on the NX products and other suggested Waves products. :tu:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:15 pm Passing Bye wrote:
"look at SparkySpark's post 4 posts up, let that sink in for a moment"
Go MuLab!

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Agreed wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:59 pm I actually like HLS! It has a nice coloration and EQ emphasis for tracking guitar through, I've found, easy to boost the mids in a pleasing way with its EQ also. Preamp drive is not so special sounding but not like hurting my ears either, I won't be hitting it too hot personally though. This is what I was hoping for, tone shaping, maybe not the hardest goal to meet but HLS is working in that capacity.
Glad it’s working for you. What I want specifically is a true preamp emulation (no unity gain nonsense) so I can drive the inputs of plugins that follow, chiefly the IK tape machines. I only use the EQ to broadly shape what is going “to tape” if necessary, just like it would have been done back in the day. This is the “tracking” side of the recording.

Each track then goes to a new channel in my daw with a different console strip where I do the mixing/production stuff everyone is familiar with. I use separate console scenes in Studio One to completely separate the two “sessions” since in the real world albums are tracked, and then some time later played back from tape and mixed, often at a different studio. So these are very separate events with very separate philosophies and techniques employed.

It may seem like overkill to most people, but I find it actually focuses what I’m doing and gives production a structure and purpose, so I’m not just arbitrarily throwing plugins on tracks randomly. It also works very well to get a legit “studio album” result.

So, like I said, I wanted to have the option of an authentic Helios preamp to drive the front end, as opposed to just colour some tracks. HLS has unity gain so it just adds brittle fuzz as you increase the gain. This does nothing good or useful for interacting with the tape that follows.

The Waves SSL EV2 on the other hand works exactly how I want, as do the IK Neve and API EQs (which include legit preamp modeling) and the Arturia and Lindell preamps. bx uses unity gain so the TMT consoles don’t work on the tracking console, but are good for mixing console duties.
THIS MUSIC HAS BEEN MIXED TO BE PLAYED LOUD SO TURN IT UP

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SparkySpark wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:35 pm 32! :o
Keep in mind that many of them kinda suck! The first plugin I bought from Waves was H-Delay in 2014. Still use it a lot, but has been falling behind Echo Boy.

IIRC, Waves used to give out more freebies in the past. I want to say one for BF and another for CM. I think the first freebie I got was OneKnob louder. What a stupid plugin!

I love the sound of Abbey Road Plates; nice and clean, but it's a CPU hog. I may pick that one up. MV2 is another good one; no frills and it just works. MV (MaxxVolume) 2 is more automated and drastic, but in a good way, than MaxxVolume (1), which was actually a freebie back in 2014 or 2015. I demoed Brauer Motion in the past, so I may need to check that one out again.

Tune and Tune LT are just lousy. I was hoping they'd be on par with Steinberg's PitchCorrect, but nope. It cannot detect and work on synth lines.

Seriously though, I went through their entire plugin lineup, and I'm still struggling! :lol: Here's what I have demoed thus far:

• Kramer Master Tape - On the fence with this one.
• AR Plates - Love the sound. CPU hog.
• AR Chambers - Good clean sound, but like Plates more. CPU hog.
• AR Saturator - Seems great upon first-load, like they hit you with a wow factor, but then you try to figure out why it sounds good, then dial down the output volume, and then realize it's simple saturation and EQ work.
• MDMX Distortion Modules - Seems like carry-over code from Berzerk, which was a great freebie. "Fuzz" was the only module I liked. Much LESS versatile and redundant to Trash 2, for example.
• PRS SuperModels - Not impressive to me. Kind of digging the cab sound for synth work, but...not worth it. If I can manage to get my old copy of Guitar Rig to work, then that would cover it.
• MV2 - Really digging this one. Very useful for vocal sample leveling, emphasizing some elements/channels in a mix, etc.
• NLS Non-Linear Summer - OK. Cakewalk did this same thing, but integrated it into Sonar X1-2-3-Platinum. Just an extra hassle for a little saturation.
• L1 Limiter/Ultramaximizer - I need a simple gain-matching limiter, but often overlook the Limiter in Ableton Live. Well, L1 and Live's Limiter are nearly identical, at least in the applications I need it for. They both even have the same latency of 1.3ms!
• HLS Channel - It's OK, IMHO. I find the versatility of the SSL E-Channel to suit my needs much more appropriately.
• Smack Attack - Good plugin, but Alloy 2's (no longer available) 3-band transient shaper more than covers the task.
• Reel ADT - Not sure I'm using it correctly, as I don't record/do vocals, but it can do a nice chorusing effect, which seems useful. Jury's still out on this one.

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2:43AM wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 6:03 am Seriously though, I went through their entire plugin lineup, and I'm still struggling! :lol: Here's what I have demoed thus far
...
Thanks! Very interesting! Also interesting to see that we look at completely different plugins. For me, for example, distortion is distortion, more or less. (I know Output has their distortion unit with fifteen sorts of it, that is, they cherry-picked fifteen among all sorts of distortion...)

Indeed, I'm much more about creative software than sonic perfection.

So I look to Waves for other things, such as the NX packages as mentioned above, and I also like the VocalBender (at a reasonable price tag). I think some of their stuff should just be put on a "less favourite" page, not to confuse people, and let their good plugins show. Tune LT would be one of those. :lol:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:15 pm Passing Bye wrote:
"look at SparkySpark's post 4 posts up, let that sink in for a moment"
Go MuLab!

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SparkySpark wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 1:55 pm Indeed, I'm much more about creative software than sonic perfection.
I hear ya! I really wish Waves would get more crazy with their creative plugins and/or offer more. When I think Waves, usually it's "analog modeling," but it ends about there. Their soft-synths are pretty good, as I have Element and Codex, but they can be crippling to a CPU. I'm about 95% external synths for my music, so it's not a complete loss. At the end of the day, I take all of their plugins with a grain of salt, and that's unfortunate, because I feel that many of their plugins impress in the beginning, but once you get to know them, they fall a little short.

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Waves plugins are always at $29 🥲🥲

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LAV888 wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:38 pm Waves plugins are always at $29 🥲🥲
Indeed they are, but it's rare that you get a buy one, get one free sale, which in this case, it's BOGOFx2. Maybe happens once or twice a year.

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jamcat wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:27 pm
multree wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:32 pm the list isn't THAT short..... what's the copy protection on waves plug-ins nowadays....??? this offer is tempting but I wouldn't want iLoks or something on my machine.
I don't mind iLok. Most developers let you do virtual iLok and give you 2 authorizations, so it's just a glorified machineID-based challenge/response. I actually choose to use the dongle for my Windows DAW because you never know when you're going to have to wipe a Windows machine clean and start fresh. I use machine-based iLok on my MacBook Pro.

The only thing you need to watch out for is some developers might restrict machine-based iLok authorization. Of everything I have, only Slate Digital does that, so I've retired them.

Waves is actually a bit more of a hassle, because they only give you a single lifetime authorization for your purchased plugins, plus a second "complimentary" authorization if, and only if your WUP is current. So you have to move your Waves license around to use multiple computers if you haven't paid your yearly protection money.
You can store the licenses on a stick (which you have to move around). That's not much better, however.

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2:43AM wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:08 pm
soulata wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 2:12 pm The ones I really like and need on almost every mix I do are ADT, MV2 and one of the Renaissance Compressors (can't remember which). Everything else I could live without.
I figure Waves will keep the CM sale "extended" through the end of the week, so I have some time to demo a few more. Going along the lines of your thoughts, the ones I really like and use on almost every project is: Vitamin, H-Delay, H-Comp, MaxxBass, SSL G Bus Comp, SSL E Channel, S1 Imager, and TG Mastering. I have others, but those are my go-to's. Apparently--just counted!--I have 32 Waves plugins, acquired over the years through purchases and freebies.
32 only? Did you start collecting yesterday?? *just kidding* :P

I have a few more though, none of them purchased in a bundle :help:
i9-10900K | 128GB DDR4 | RTX 3090 | Arturia AudioFuse/KeyLab mkII/SparkLE | PreSonus ATOM/ATOM SQ | Studio One | Reason | Bitwig Studio | Reaper | Renoise | FL Studio | ~900 VSTs | 300+ REs

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I just demoed Nashville NX and CLA NX. I was surprised to find they used more CPU than Acustica Sienna free
When I removed them, I noticed the impulse responses (.wir) in the Waves data folder (Program Files (x86)/Waves/Data). Might these be for different headphones and speaker configurations?

I preferred Sienna free or TB Morphit with Isone
Currently trying to turn noise into music. :neutral: Is boutique the new old?

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I have to admit I don't really get on with the "virtual acoustic space for your headphones" plugins.

I know it isn't even like a new concept, i.e. crosstalk options in headphone amplifiers have been around a while, but I have yet to use one of these plugins and be like "wow, this is simply better, I can hear things I couldn't and the sense of space is so accurate" - I mean I hear things differently using those tools obviously but it has never seemed to actually improve my tracking or mixing process to use that kind of thing. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm just really used to how my headphones sound with a lot of material since I've had 'em all for between 10 and 15 years now.

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