Waves v.9 TDM to get SoundGrid Licenses

[joesackic]

Looks like Waves has a plan for all those TDM licenses after all. If you don't mind their new grid format.

Posted from SweetWater:

http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/wav...icense-update/

[Mista Min]

I think this is pretty great. That means that a TDM studio could potentially go with HD Native and Waves Soundgrid and get all the real time DSP they might want. Hmm.... very nice. Or a TDM rig, could stay as it it and get extra plugin juice for it's rig.

From what I understand Plugin Alliance has already agreed to port their plugins to Soundgrid, so that means two major developers are on board. We'll have to see who else hopes on the band wagon concerning this, but very very interesting stuff!

[JFreak]

Interesting indeed, but not what I would have liked to see from Waves. When I got into DAW world, I could easily see that Digidesign and Waves were best friends. Now...

[Bob Olhsson]

I don't see how it's that different in concept than UA's approach. People seem to forget that when many of us entered the DAW world digidesign running on a Mac was the only host there was for plug-ins and the only format that existed was TDM!

Like it or not, almost everything has changed since then. My all native system on a six year old computer runs circles around the huge mix systems I used to rent in the late '90s for doing post. Today a mac mini runs circles around it!

[JFreak]

I know, but running circles is not everything.

Say if I wanted to use a Waves C6 multiband compressor or a SSL channel strip on a brand new Avid S3L live mixer, I just can't because there is no AAX DSP version of Waves.

Sonnox fortunately has most of their plugs out already, but I fear that Waves tools are now lost for good.

[nst7]

Won't this live console also run AAX Native as well?

[JFreak]

Avid site only says AAX DSP

[nst7]

Bummer.

[JFreak]

I think that was the only possibility. There must be some DSP in the Engine unit, so everything must go through that box which apparently is AAX DSP. It is not a bummer, it's just that it's a bummer that Waves currently does not want to play with us... :P

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by JFreak

I know, but running circles is not everything.

Say if I wanted to use a Waves C6 multiband compressor or a SSL channel strip on a brand new Avid S3L live mixer, I just can't because there is no AAX DSP version of Waves.

Sonnox fortunately has most of their plugs out already, but I fear that Waves tools are now lost for good.

I fear you may be misunderstanding some things...

You do realize that you can build a "straight wire" AAX native plugin? One that just takes whatever is input to it and sends it directly to the output unchanged?

Or you could build an AAX native plugin that did nothing but take the input, store it for 10 seconds, then send it to the output?

The point is, "What happens in the plugin...well, that depends how kinky the plugin designer is".

The important thing is that a plugin could take whatever is input to it and send it out a network port. Conversely, it could take info from a network port and feed it out the plugin's outputs.

So, there will never be a Waves AAX DSP plugin, nor will there ever be a need for one!

All Waves needs to do is build an AAX native (or VST3 or whatever) interface plugin that can talk to a DAW, and via the computers network port, talk to Waves own DSP box. Since Waves will not be using HDX's DSP chips, all they will need to provide is an AAX native plugin.

The only possible "gotcha" is incompatible network protocols, and this is not an insurmountable problem...