Weird problem with Waves Ren Comp and levels.

[steins]

I´m having a strange problem with Waves Ren Comp. I´ve used this plug for years, but now, suddenly it behaves weird.

When I insert Ren Comp on a track and adjust, or just touch a parameter, the level drops 6dB or so, even when Threshold, Gain and Ratio is set at zero. That´s right: Every parameter is at zero, yet the level drops 6dB when I take it out of bypass. This is also visible on the plugin input and output meters.

This started to happen a few days ago. At first I didn´t understand what the heck was going on. My mixes just didn´t sound right the next day, levels out of control.....took a while to get it narrowed down to Ren Comp. I don´t have to tell you how frustrating this is. It´s like some invisible hand offsets the threshold with a fixed amount....

I´m using Waves 6.0.6 (or whatever the latest version is - just downloaded and installed it - didn´t fix the problem), PT HD 7.4cs8 on a Mac Pro with OS 10.4.10, HD3 Accel. Did all the usual stuff like trashing prefs, updating to latest versions. I´m awaiting a response from Waves support, but maybe some of you have experienced the same issue? Maybe I´m just doing something wrong, or there is a setting somewhere I don´t know about?

Stein Tore

[DigiTechSupt]

Is this occurring in all sessions, or just one?

If it's just one, it could be session corruption - using Import Session Data to a new session may solve the problem.

If it's happening in all sessions, have you tested this from a new admin account yet? If not - please do so and let us know if anything changes.

[WildHoney]

Also, check to make sure you don't have redundant waveshells -- I was having similar (but not the same) problems w/ Waves RChannel a couple of years ago that ended up being tracked down to the fact that there was e.g. a waveshell 5.4, 5.5, 5.7 all in the waves folder at the same time. Once I got it down to just the most current stuff, it worked fine. why the waves installers didn't do this for you automatically i have no idea. . . .

[steins]

Thanks for the replies,

DigiTechSupport;
I´ve tried Import Session Data, but the bug is still there. I have not testet from a new admin account, I´ll try that when I get back to the studio. I´ve been busy all night replacing Ren Comp with Dynamics 3 (great plug btw!) so I could complete some mixes before deadline ;-).

I got a respons from Waves Support, telling me to completely remove Waves and then reinstalling. I did so. It didn´t fix the bug, but I made some progress in tracing down what´s going on. Here is the reply I sent to Waves support after trying to reinstall (they haven´t replied to this one yet):

<mail_waves_support>
Hi,

I did as you suggested, but it didn´t solve the problem, altought I´m a little but further towards a solution. I´ve found that after deleteing Waves Prefs in my user/library/preferences folder and restarting ProTools, I can create new sessions and insert Ren Comp, and it behaves like it should. If I then open one of the ProTools sessions in which the bug first occured, the bug is still there. If I then open the newly created, bug-free ProTools sessions again, the bug also shows up there.

Trashing Waves Pres cures the problem for the new sessions (the sessions created after reinstalling waves), but not the old sessions. And the new sessions gets affected by the bug only after I open an old sessions.

This is so strange behaviour that I´ve recorded a video of me operating the ren comp so you can see and hear for yourself. I hope the video quality is good enough to be able to see and hear what is happening. Also note that the plug is compressing, even when treshold is at zero. This is also visible on the GR meter, altought barely. I will make a better video using a real camcorder if it can be of any help.

I´ve made a Flash video which you can view here:

http://www.vinterlandstudio.no/video...p/rencomp.html

What to do, what to do........ ;-)

Regards,
Stein Tore
</mail_waves_support>

Stein Tore

[dbjp]

After trashing the Waves pref file, what happens if you import session data from your old session into a new one, without opening the old session first?

[DigiTechSupt]

I'd really be interested in hearing if the new admin account fixes it....

[steins]

Just tried creating and logging into a new admin account, and it did not help. This is what I´ve narrowed it down to:

- Ren Comp behaves normal on new sessions created after deleting Waves Prefs in users/library/preferences/
- Ren Comp still has the bug on older sessions filer
- The bug also shows up on new sessions AFTER opening an old session containing the bug.

Importing Sessions Data in new sessions after trashing prefs didn´t help either.

It seems like the old sessions containing the bug invokes som kind of offset to the treshold level. This offset, or whatever it is, is then read by later ren comp instances in new sessions.

Still puzzled about this...

On the bright side, I get to try a lot of different comps than my usual-go-to ren comp... ;-)

Stein Tore

[peter99]

Originally Posted by steins

Just tried creating and logging into a new admin account, and it did not help. This is what I´ve narrowed it down to:

- Ren Comp behaves normal on new sessions created after deleting Waves Prefs in users/library/preferences/
- Ren Comp still has the bug on older sessions filer
- The bug also shows up on new sessions AFTER opening an old session containing the bug.

Importing Sessions Data in new sessions after trashing prefs didn´t help either.

It seems like the old sessions containing the bug invokes som kind of offset to the treshold level. This offset, or whatever it is, is then read by later ren comp instances in new sessions.

Still puzzled about this...

On the bright side, I get to try a lot of different comps than my usual-go-to ren comp... ;-)

Stein Tore

hi
I had exactly the same problem and I found out it had to do with the vombination of B4 and ren comp in the same session - as soon as I removed B4, deleted the track and (very important!) resterted osx with protools everything seemed fine - when put b4 again I had the the same problem again of course... I reported this to my protools dealer - 1 year ago - never heard anything again but it seem to be fixed with latest version of B4 and waves
hope this helps

[steins]

Originally Posted by peter99

hi
I had exactly the same problem and I found out it had to do with the vombination of B4 and ren comp in the same session - as soon as I removed B4, deleted the track and (very important!) resterted osx with protools everything seemed fine - when put b4 again I had the the same problem again of course... I reported this to my protools dealer - 1 year ago - never heard anything again but it seem to be fixed with latest version of B4 and waves
hope this helps

THANKS!!!!! The B4 was the culprit. I´ve had a dialogue going with Waves Support regarding this matter and they have been extremely helpful, but neither of us suspected the B4. And frankly, I don´t understand how B4 could interfere with RenComp.

After updating from B4 II 2.0.3.009 to 2.0.4, everything is back to normal.

Thanks again,
Stein Tore

[peter99]

cool!