Waves Masters Bundle

[Schmee]

Hi,

After finishing college and starting to take on projects for paying clients instead of just for college work I have noticed a certian need to go out and buy some plugins for my system, something I have never bothered with in the past as if I didn't use the DigiRack stuff then my sessions wouldn't laod when I loaded them on the college TDM systems.

Anyway, I recently purchased the Waves Renaissance Complete bundle and am now looking for some mastering plugins. Anyway I have tried Maxim, it was ok but I got better results using DP3's stock plugins. I downloaded the demo for T-Racks, didn't get on with it at all.

The only one left really is Waves, I had a look at the C4 and L1 a while back when I first got my 001 but I got a promo CD from Waves the other day and watched the video about the Masters Bundle and I must say I was impressed. I have also read some positive things about it on here but just wondered if there were any other good RTAS plugins out for mastering? Also is there anyway of demoing a waves bundle if you already own one? I know I could just wipe my whole system and start again and install the demos but I would rather not, but £850 is a lot of money to spend on something that I might not like.

Anyway, I am looking for other options that I might be able to download demos for. Also does anybody know if Waves issue temporary codes to unlock an extended demo of there plugins, all I need is a day to sit down with the Masters bundle and try it out. What about music stores, does anybody know of any shops in the Sheffield area that has plugins installed on a demo system to try out before you buy?

Lee

[guitates]

I can't imagine anything less than the Masters bundle, or more precisely. the Platinum Bundle.

I completely recomend the L2, and the Linear plugs...UnEqualed in sound...

[jmp]

You can download all the V4 Waves plugs for demo right from their website. Hell, they'll even send you a free CD with all of the plugs they make if you ask on their site.

One thing I'm not sure about though is whether you need the iLok key to demo them. Some other firms require that you have one installed, even for a demo (URS and Sonic's "NoNoize" come to mind)

I heartilly endorse the L2 and LinEQ, but also recommend the PAZ tools in your master fader to give you a visual presentation of what you are hearing.

[JFreak]

masters bundle is the way to go when you need absolutely linear phase behavior, in other words: pristine clean. another possibility is the psp vintagewarmer, which is a tube kind of C4 & L1 only that it works in three bands (and costs much less than masters bundle). i like its musical sound a lot, though i recognize the need of masters bundle in some cases. give it a try, it might be what you're looking for...

[Schmee]

I will get the demo and have look at PSP Vintage Warmer.
As for Waves I will see if there is anyway of demoing another bundle.

Thanks for the replies,

Lee:)

[Schmee]

Well I downloaded the PSP Vintage Warmer plugin and I must say it is very nice, also a bargin at over £700 less than Waves Masters.

I think for a lot of stuff I work on the PSP will work very nicely, just tried it on some tracks I am working on and I was impressed. However I think I am still going to get waves in the future as I do work occasionaly where I need plugins that are very transparent.

Thanks for you help anyway guys,

Lee

[Chris Coleman]

Well I downloaded the PSP Vintage Warmer plugin and I must say it is very nice

As with any processing (especially on the entire mix), make sure you're comparing the results of your processing level-matched with the original, otherwise you'll never be able to overcome the ears' natural tendency to favor the louder outcome.

[C-TOWNsound]

The waves linear EQ plugins are the only plugins I know of that use IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) EQ. This means that the filters and EQ do not mess up the phase like ordinary analog EQ. I'm not sure how it works, but I think it does very precise FFTs, and simply puts more or less energy in the FFT band that you choose.

I tried the waves masters demo and was blown away by the difference in sound from IIR eq to normal eq (FIR finite impulse response). For mastering this kind of EQ is incredibly useful, because it does not distort the phase. For other applications, the old style EQ may be useful, but I have a feeling that other companies will come out with IIR plugins similar to the waves bundle. The only problem is it takes a ton of processing power, and adds some latency.

Anyone know more about the IIR/FIR differences? I would love to learn more.

[Schmee]

In reply to Chris Coleman:

I did listen to the mastered mix at the same level as the original and I must say for the music I was working on the PSP Vintange Warmer did make it sound just that little bit fuller with out making it boomy.

There is also the fact it increase the overall level considerably, which again suited what I wanted. I do some projects however where I don't feel the characteristics of the PSP would suit, hence the need to still buy Waves Masters.

Lee

[Schmee]

In reply to C-TOWNsound:

I found out about the waves masters from a vid I got with this months SOS.

A example they give for Linear phase was this:

In Pro Tools create two tracks with the signal generator on and send them to another channel to record the combined signals. One one channel set it too Sine @ 220 Hz -6dB, on the second Sine @660 Hz -6dB.

Now on this new track zoom into sample level so you can see about 6 waves, now go to the AudioSuite menu and apply the 1 Band EQ as a Hi Pass filter at around 75 Hz - 100 Hz, look at how the filter changes the phase of the waves. When the guy did that with the Linear Phase EQ, nothing at all happened.

Obviously this small change on a sine wave transfered accross to a mix could cause some undesired alteration to the sound which you may/may not want. The example above though give quite a clear example of how phase can be altered and why in some cases it can be undersirable.

Lee