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Waves Tony Maserati Collection
A respected engineer’s ideas take form in a unique plug-in collection
By Fabio Garcia
For a while now Waves has been releasing plug-ins that were developed with the input of famous engineers who then lent their names to the products. The aim: offering software processors with user-friendly interfaces that model hardware processors as used by those engineers. When faced with a mix project, each engineer uses his preferred processors to deal with a specific situation. For example, to process a voice, the engineer might chain eq, dynamics and effects. Of course each engineer has his individual working habits, and all of this experience comes to the table when massaging a sound. The plug-ins of the Waves Signature Series take advantage of the original engineer’s experiences to provide a fully professional sound without having to precisely know the thought process involved. When a user turns a knob on one of these plugins, he or she does much more than just adjusting a single parameter—the user taps into the sound that the engineer behind the plug-ins had achieved with his processors. Rather than worrying about adjusting compressor parameters or looking for eq frequencies, all the user needs to do is adjust how much of the plug-in should be applied to the track under consideration.

PLUG-IN OUTLET

In use GTi has five programs, each offering the effects usually applicable for specific situations. AGC offers two different acoustic guitar programs and simple parameters like Punch and Excite to bring out the life in acoustic guitar tracks. Both guitar processors offer specific combinations of useful effects; for the acoustic we find reverb and exciter, while for the electric we have chorus, flanger, delay and vibrato, although not all are available simultaneously.

The plug-in collection under review reflects the tastes and working habits of Tony Maserati, a veteran who has worked with Sting, David Bowie, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Jason Mraz, k.d. lang, the Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, and many more. Each processor is intended to provide Mr. Maserati’s sound in a direct and simple way.

The processors The plug-ins in this collections come in two versions: Mono In / Stereo Out, and Stereo In / Stereo Out. Most are designed to work as inserts on tracks, but several were recently made available in Send/Return mode for use in a mix, and the newest addition to the bundle (which arrived too late to make this review) is the GRP Group Processor, intended for mixes and stems. The collection contains seven processors, each intended for a specific program material. We reviewed the first six: the GTi Guitar Toner, VX1 Vocal Enhancer, DRM Drum Slammer, HMX Harmonics Generator, B72 Bass Phattener, and ACG Acoustic Guitar Designer. All the processors have excellent graphic user interfaces intended to be reminiscent of classic gear. Each plug-in offers two to seven different programs to cover specific situations, e.g. GTi has five variants Delivery: DVD called Clean, Clean Chorus, Heavy, Thick Rhythm, and Soft Format: Windows (XP or better), Mac OS X (Universal Binary), Flange. With these choices in hand, operation is very simRTAS/AudioSuite/VST/AU ple—in most instances it suffices to insert the appropriate Copy Protection: iLok USB key plug-in and to tweak the sensitivity knob to the right degree. License: single iLok—one user, multiple computer installs If you want to tweak a plug-in in more detail, of course, Documentation: PDF you can use the other knobs and buttons to adjust relevant Price: $830 parameters to get the correct response. For example, the More from: www.waves.com B72 Bass Phattener has four adjustable parameters: Sensitivity, Bass, Treble, and Output.
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It is worth noting that GTi is not an amp modeler but a tool to shape tone; you will probably find it best to use it after a modeling plug-in like IK Multimedia AmpliTube, for example... if you’re not recording a miked guitar amp in the first place. The GTi processor had interesting results on guitar tracks to my ears, since it adds ‘air’ to the sound that could have been masked in the mix. Each program here offers its own character, and the guitar sound benefits from the particular shape you can achieve. The compression incorporated in the processing is a highlight, since it allows the racks to sit nice and tight without artifacts. The sound of acoustic guitars—both nylon and steel string—also turned

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Recording - November 2010

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