Waves V14 is Finally Here! Hooray!

[78deluxe]

Well that is good news because I really like Omni Chanel, the SSl channel strip, vitamin and the Studer tape emulation.

I've had Waves Central break plugins a couple times (both during the transition to v10 and also a v12 plugin I had multiple copies of just stopped working). Without WUP they will not lift a finger to help sort out the issue, which isn't usually related to an OS problem on Windows (yes, MAC OS updates tend to break plugins).

Which 4 are you looking to purchase. I have a lot of WAVES plugins but I never use them any longer (other than Clarity VX, which I think is helpful and uniuqe that the price point). Everything else I was able to replace. General hardware emulations Plugin Alliance offers a great value proposition if you time sales/vouchers, etc. and give you 3 authorizations. Melda, Izotope, IK Multimedia, Audiority, Akon Digital, Toneboosters all offer a model with a much more generious authorization system.

I like Omni-Channel also but gladly switched to PA Amek 9099 console (yes they are different things, but WAVES gave me too many issues). The SSL WAVES - I easily replaced those with Plugin Alliance counterparts - and think they sound better too. Studer Tape Emulation, I really liked the WAVES too. Well until I got the IKM one which is more of a resource hog but also sounds better. The WAVES vitamin - all depends on what you want to do but there are other multi band saturators/exciters that can handle the job. Melda SaturatorMB comes to mind, and PA VSM-3 are ones to take a look at.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I don't understand why anyone would have to upgrade. Do the plugins stop working on newer os's?
What happens if you don't upgrade?

So...I sucked it up and bought WUP recently. Allow me to explain why...

First, the only way to run Waves plugins on two computers is with WUP. I just bought a second computer for use with music, a 2021 Macbook Pro. Which brings us to #2: my Waves licenses were so out of date they did not include Apple Silicon support without a paid upgrade. I was running V9 and V10 plugins, and native silicon support was only introduced in V13. But they worked fine on my Windows PC, hence why I never upgraded in the first place. But I did purchase a year of WUP a few weeks ago. Now, because WUP lasts a year, when I upgraded to V13 a few weeks ago, I'm automatically upgraded to V14...so at least I'm not extra cranky with today's release! In fact, it's a pleasant surprise.

So if you want to run Waves plugins on multiple machines, you're forced into buying WUP, and then any bug-fixes, hi-res graphics or modern OS support that may have been introduced after your WUP ran out...well those need a paid update to.

It's not so bad if you're a Windows user with only one music production PC. Otherwise, it's annoying to have to buy WUP.

...if you have specific Waves plugins you're checking out, consider the potential future costs, and consider alternatives.

[electro]

Waves NPP was there 24 years ago and maybe longer. After all these years are there even any bugs left? Aside from x64 ports (2013) and HiDPI GUIs what could warrant new updates?

[v1o]

Just a word of warning for Cubase users; the spec requirements on the Waves website says 14 is only compatible with Cubase 12. I’m happy to stick with V13 and Cubase 11.

Can anyone confirm if v14 does not work at all with Cubase 11?

[superscan]

Just a word of warning for Cubase users; the spec requirements on the Waves website says 14 is only compatible with Cubase 12. I’m happy to stick with V13 and Cubase 11.

Can anyone confirm if v14 does not work at all with Cubase 11?

https://www.waves.com/support/tech-spec ... rted-hosts

Click on Version 14 Tab, only lists Cubase 12. Version 13 shows 11 and 12 for Mac, 11 for Windows.

[pixel85]

There's no change in how Cubase operate with vst in C12, so I don't see why it shouldn't work in C11 or even older versions.
All what that means is they tested it only in C12 and if you'll have issues in C11, you can't expect their support to help you fix that issue. In other words, their support will only respond to issue tickets related to C12.

[plexuss]

Wow Waves min system requirements were increased with V14: macPOS 10.15 and Xeon-W as minimum. Further pushing older mac system users off the map. Strange for such a seemingly ubiquitous plugin company. I guess their business can handle more customer attrition. Seems totally bone-headed to me, but then thats Waves....

[Junkyard Sam]

It doesn't matter than V13 was 7-8 months ago... With Waves, upgrades are paid by the year. So anyone who got WUP to get V13 gets V14 for free.

I'm ecstatic about this update. HiDPI uis for two of my favorite Waves plugins: AR TG Mastering Chain & F6 (which is an underrated EQ. I still think it's the easiest-to-understand dynamic EQ available!) But also the CLA compressors, PuigTec EQs, Ovox, and the API collection!

I appreciate the mix knobs, too --- and don't forget the lengthy list of bugfixes. On a side note, Waves does quiet bugfixes periodically -- they just don't make a big deal about it. Just something I notice in my Waves Central updates from time to time.

They're still my favorite plugin company. The plugins sound good and they offer consistency, reliability/stability, and typically low CPU usage. Most plugins are $30 each, and discounted if you get them through a 3rd party. You purchases count towards bundles, so you aren't discouraged from buying one at a time... Eventually you get personalized deals and next thing you know you own Mercury and Abbey Road Collection for a small fraction of the list price.

I don't know if it's a coincidence -- but the UI updates they made and the mix knob feature are things requested on their forum. So it at least feels like they quietly listen to customer feedback. With that in mind, I'm going to request a HiDPI update for H-Reverb next. That's an underrated reverb, and I adore its built in ducking.

Waves Tune is another plugin in desperate need of updating. It's a perfectly capable plugin but the UI is terrible by today's standards. (Not Tune Realtime, that one is great.)

[jamcat]

I bought my Waves plugins less than a year ago.
I had 2 licenses each under WUP. After updating to V14, I now have only one license each.

Did Waves just steal my 2nd licenses?

Edit: For some reason you have to re-register your second licenses after upgrading.
You have to go here to do it:
https://www.waves.com/account/register-second-licenses

Also, I had to do a complete uninstall, cleanup, and reinstall through Waves Central to get V14 to load. I seem to remember having to do this when I upgraded to V13, too.

[vad.martyn]

Waiting for Waves V15 to introduce linking of IN and OUT knobs for plugins like cla76. and more bug fixes.

[LoveEnigma18]

Until now I used to keep upgrading my bundles for getting WUP covered, but now I am on Horizon and there's only Mercury above it, which is still very expensive.

Am in the same boat.

Prediction - in the next 12 months we’ll start seeing some serious Mercury deals. It used to be the crème de la crème and contained everything they did - including new releases. But it has progressively been devalued as more and more plugins aren’t in it (and of course the competition is far more fierce).

TBH there’s little in it I’d want over and above Horizon. I bet a lot are in the same boat, so they will need to be lured…

Mercury + Studio Classics upgrade is currently $472.50 (with their so called best bundle discount sale) for me even though I have a whole lot of individual plugins along with Horizon and Studio Classics bundles. So, while the prediction makes sense, I seriously doubt that this price will go significantly lower than this, at least to the extent to lure us. I am not really interested in the Mercury bundle for plugins, but the only reason I would think of it is to get WUP extension and get V15 for free next year.

Alternatively, Studio Classics WUP is currently about $75 (25% off WUP sale), which makes it more affordable and the better option for me right now as it is the bundle actually worth upgrading to V14 due to the new updates.

So, I think getting stuff WUPed is probably our last resort if there's stuff we can't upgrade to the latest versions. I planned my Horizon upgrade in a way that has helped me get on the V14 for free, but Studio Classics missed by a couple of months.

[kidslow]

I. dont understand why anyone would have to upgrade. Do the plugins stop working on newer os's?
What happens if you dont upgrade?

1. You don't have to.
2. No.
3. Nothing.

All the flaming and bashing are from people on here who don't agree with Waves business model. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but rather than scroll past, they insist on dropping in and posting negative untrue comments.

In fact, v11 do NOT work on M1 macs, under Rosetta or otherwise. So yes some version of the plugins do stop working on some newer operating systems and hardware. There is nothing negative nor untrue about that assertion. With v12 you can run most in Rosetta mode, and v13 are native.

[LoveEnigma18]

It's always good read through the Waves release notes to see if you really need to upgrade/WUP to the latest version. We can selectively upgrade/WUP and save money by spending only on the plugins that we actually use. [OS support is of course a different thing and it may warrant upgrade of all plugins, but usually this problem only seems to affect Mac users, not really a problem for Windows users - please don't quote me on this.]

https://www.waves.com/downloads/release-notes

[ramseysounds]

Just a word of warning for Cubase users; the spec requirements on the Waves website says 14 is only compatible with Cubase 12. I’m happy to stick with V13 and Cubase 11.

Can anyone confirm if v14 does not work at all with Cubase 11?

Yeah cos I'm lying and just making stuff up

[Igro]

I hope in V47 all the plugins will get high resolution GUIs. But then I'm not sure if i still alive.