Waves Native Power Pack or T-RackS 24?

[tallbobsmoke]

THE POINT:
I have extensively read several threads (some of them quite heated) on the subject of mastering. For those on the cheap (like me) there seem to be those who really love t-racks and there are those who really love using 3rd party plug-ins within Pro Tools.

I am teetering between buying the Native Power Pack or the T-RackS.

Would anyone care to throw in their two cents as to which (if either) I should get?

RAMBLING:
Just FYI, my band plays a mixture of funk, country, rock and so on. So I'm mixing a variety of styles. Each song is being mixed according to the genre that it belongs to (for example, one funk song with horns is mixed similar to a few of my favorite P-funk songs).

thanks in advance

[lwilliam]

My $.02...

When you buy the Waves NPP, you get basic mastering tools that can ALSO be used for mixing. Granted, you don't get the C4 with the NPP, although it can be purchased separately.

The T-Racks ONLY does mastering. You can't insert it on a track.

In fact, I believe the C4 will do just about everything that T-Racks will do except dither. It will expand compress, eq, add dynamic eq - and will do it with four bands.

You can seriously screw up your mixes with the C4, or, used judiciously, can polish them nicely.

The combination of the Waves Renaissance or Native Power Packs along with the C4 make for a powerful combination.

However, I can't say that I've done more than mess around with the demo of T-Racks, whereas I've been a Waves Native Gold owner for quite some time.

[P_J]

With NPP you'll get L1 and good Q-serie EQs. When you master something I think one very important part is always having a good EQ.
I like very much C4+L1 combination, but I have also done good masters with T-Racks.

[msunj]

I don't own the T-racks, but have downloaded the demo. The Waves Gold package is expensive but The C4 L1 combination work great for mastering plus you get comps eqs verbs etc. I started with the Native Power Pack then upgraded to the gold package. The biggest disadvantage of T Racks is not being able to use it as an insert in your pro tools session.

[j creasey]

my 2 cents ! t racks smokes waves for mastering [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] t racks retains more dynamic range than waves and the analog modelling is great.

[tallbobsmoke]

OK. So far I'm seeing an even result. So it seems that for the money, t-racks is probably a good choice for mastering.

I've seen a lot of horror stories about the security "features" of t-racks. Any comments?

[Doc]

Personally, I use both Waves and T-Racks but for different purposes. Usually, I'll finish my mixes in ProTools usually using Waves Ren eq and L1 Ultramaximiser, then bounce a 24 bit file to disk.
I then bring this 24 bit file into T-Racks and use it to dither to 16 bits for CD. I know this can be done with the L1+ but I prefer T-Racks dither. I don't usually use T-Racks for eq or compression / limiting as this is already done with Waves. I do however like T-Racks' EQ and if you are after 'retro' valve/opto compression, T-Racks does this quite well IMHO.
Don't know what the security issues you refer to are but I've had no problems.

[Chompers]

waves

[Kamurah]

I too am a Waves Gold and a T-Racks user.
I think they are each good at what they were designed to do, however, if I had to live with only one....it would be the Waves.

L1 is worth it alone. Damn that thing sounds fine. Combined with C4....fughettaboutit.
When you combine these awesome plugs with the Metric Halo channelstrip or the Bombfactory UA emulations, it is truly inspiring.

I use T-Racks to sometimes add "color" (which is a desirable thing upon occasion)

Bottom line: You should use what sounds good to you...download the demo's and get a taste and then buy the one that will do the job you need.

cheers

[img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[Doc]

Kamurah,

I'm with you 100%. Even though I've already mentioned that I use both, if I had to choose between Waves or T-Racks, Waves would win hands down even considering the price difference.

tallbobsmoke,

If quality EQ and CPU usage is a major issue to you (it is to most of us) you may want to look into the McDSP stuff. Very CPU friendly and great sound. Their multiband compressors are great too. I use McDSP mainly for channel EQ and compression.

If I had to sacrifice any of the above options, T-Racks would be first to go, then McDSP, then Waves.